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When Toyota Motor Co. (NYSE: TM) unveiled the Prius hybrid passenger vehicle way back when, the automaker was hailed as being at the forefront of eco-friendly carmaking. Although the Prius has become a best seller in the hybrid category, other automakers have chimed in recently and have begun making competitive vehicles. At the same time, Toyota has continued to make gas-hungry vehicles in the same vein. The newer Toyota Tundra and Sequoia are two examples.

The newer Tundra is Toyota's largest truck ever, and it has a gas engine that's just as meaty as many large truck engines have ever been. So, the pioneer of marketing what is arguable the world's most popular hybrid is now being chastised to making such energy-hungry engines in its newer, larger 8-cylinder engines.

While Toyota is busy placating both the rain forest crown and the 'power at all costs' crowd, rival General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM) is rolling out the new Chevrolet Tahoe SUV, powered by a gas-electric hybrid. Generally, it's quite an oxymoron to hear that an SUV has a hybrid engine. But, GM's claim of up to 50% better gas mileage in city driving is nothing to sneeze at. GM's not the only one -- Ford Motor Co.'s (NYSE: F) smaller Escape SUV has had a hybrid option for quite some time, and all other manufacturers are starting to realize that making an eco-friendly vehicle is becoming more important than horsepower ratings to the average customer.

Toyota certainly is not out, but it's increasingly becoming the target of environmentalists who claim double-talk by the Japanese automaker when it comes to making eco-friendly vehicles. Toyota certainly does not need any more problems than it has had this year.

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