WebProNews

Among the many tech companies rewarding employees for opting for hybrid vehicles, Google pays if Googlers either buy or lease a hybrid.

Business 2.0 listed how a few companies that encourage their staffers to drive hybrid vehicles, like the hugely popular Toyota Prius, put their cash where the rubber hits the road.

Google pays out $5,000 for purchasers of a new hybrid. If the employee goes with the lease option, the payout is $2,500 instead. In New Hampshire, trendy outdoor clothier Timberland pays $3,000 toward a new hybrid.

Hyperion Solutions, based in Santa Clara, CA, started the hybrid incentives with a program last spring. They pay $5,000 to each of the first 200 employees who buy a car that gets 45 miles per gallon or better.

"Our employees care about global warming and the impact of their commutes," Godfrey Sullivan, Hyperion's president and CEO, said in the report.

The diesel Honda Accord 2.2 i-CTDi Sport should easily qualify for Hyperion's program. It averaged over 76 mpg in a European test. Oh, and it set 19 world speed records for Production Car Class B, according to a VTEC.net report.

David Utter is a staff writer for WebProNews covering technology and business. Email him here.