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Just look around, look at the signs of the future.

They tell us that the big cars — big passenger vehicles in general — are dinosaurs. Spiking fuel prices, fears about energy security (particularly in the United States and, to a lesser extent, in Western Europe), cities clogged with traffic congestion and melting glaciers that many people see as a sign of a global warming problem that is very real and very much man-made, are having a profound impact on consumers. That, in turn, is changing how car companies go about their business.

Start with Canada. In March, Canadians bought more small, entry-level and fuel-efficient vehicles than ever before in history — at least as a percentage of the new-vehicle market — notes the market research company DesRosiers Automotive Consultants.

"And you had better believe it when analysts tell you gas prices are driving this equation," company president Dennis DesRosiers wrote in a note to clients.

He added: "The long-term trend to entry-level indicates a general recognition that the cost of energy is going up long-term and consumers need to adjust their vehicle purchase to a smaller platform to reduce these costs."

As pump prices in Canada go up, so do small car sales. It's that simple.

According to M.J. Ervin & Associates, the average price for a litre of regular gas in Canada is now approaching $1.20 — the price it hit in Toronto last week. Premium is approaching $1.30 on average and the average for a litre of diesel is now more than $1.30. Since early 2004, retail gas prices have nearly doubled, according to M.J. Ervin's historical data.

No wonder car buyers are going small and fuel-efficient in greater numbers than ever before. DesRosiers reports that in 2007, entry-level sales reached 51.8 per cent of the new-vehicle market in Canada, up from 50 per cent in 2006. In the previous few years, he says, entry-level market share grew by two to three points a year.

Manufacturers, reading these signals, are now launching some of their best new vehicles in segments where fuel economy rules. "Each and every vehicle company is positioning some of their best products in this segment and this is driving sales," notes DesRosiers.The new products and fuel-efficient technologies we are seeing now, and future ones we will see shortly and in the mid- and long-term, reflect not only fuel prices, however. Sure, fuel prices matter greatly and, in a consumer society, buyers decide much with their pocketbooks.

But there are also bigger societal trends, global trends, which are influencing consumer behaviour. Take the recent initiative by New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg. He proposed a congestion pricing plan last year designed to unclog midtown Manhattan streets and raise money for mass transit.

Bloomberg's proposal failed in the New York State Legislature, but it had unprecedented support in New York City. If it had passed — and Bloomberg has vowed not to give up the fight — New York would have been the first city in the United States to introduce congestion pricing.

But Bloomberg's plan was far from being the first of its kind. The mayor took cues from London, Stockholm and other foreign cities now trying congestion pricing as a way to charge drivers to enter crowded city centres and busy highways.

Advocates say congestion pricing systems work. They cut traffic, generate billions of dollars in fees and make drivers consider alternatives to using their cars. And these systems reflect a broader public sentiment about cars and their role in our daily lives.The Government of Canada, for the first time in history, will regulate the fuel consumption of new cars and light trucks, beginning with the 2011 model year. Ottawa has also proposed regulations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. While there are critics who say the proposals do not go far enough, it's clear that the federal government, like so many others around the world, sees a future filled with cleaner vehicles making more efficient use of fuels.

Auto makers and their dealers are, of course, lobbying frantically in this area. Much of their effort is aimed at preventing individual provinces and U.S. states from setting and enforcing their own greenhouse gas emissions and fuel economy rules. Many environmentalists dismiss as "propaganda" an industry argument that numerous provincial and state rules would create a chaotic patchwork of regulations across Canada and the U.S.

However, given that in both countries the auto industry employs one in seven people, directly or indirectly, concerns about a regulatory patchwork that damages the industry and the economy should not be dismissed out of hand.

But critics and cynics alike have a point when they say the debate over congested cities, fuel economy and vehicle emissions is nothing new — and that auto makers have been at least partially paying lip service to all these things for years.

As far back as 1959, the Chevrolet division of General Motors ran a full-page newspaper advertisement proclaiming, "Our cities have been straining at their seams. Traffic is jam-packed. Parking space is at a premium. And our suburbs have spread like wildfire. People are living farther from their work, driving more miles on crowded streets."

The ad? It was for a new compact called the Corvair. Obviously, the concerns voiced in that marketing effort fell largely by the wayside for at least some auto makers during the rush-to-horsepower/SUV era of the 1990s and the early part of this decade.

What's different half a century later? For one, oil is trading well above $100 (U.S.) a barrel — it hit $118 this week — and looks to be staying there permanently. More importantly, attitudes and value are changing even among the crowd with gasoline running through its veins.

Exhibit A: Automobile magazine, a so-called automotive "buff book" aimed are car nuts, recently put a battery-powered Tesla roadster on its cover. The Tesla, produced by a Silicon Valley start-up company, can do 0-100 km/h in well under five seconds. That is equal to the fastest Chevrolet Corvette.

Cool electric vehicles? Get used to them.

GM, for instance, is investing enormous research and development resources in developing a production version of its Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid electric vehicle. Others, from Toyota to Honda to Nissan to Ford to Daimler to BMW to Land Rover — virtually every global auto maker, in fact — have similar programs under way or at least planned.

Toyota, of course, is the world's sales leader in hybrids and Honda has been touting plans that seem aimed to catch up rapidly.

Diesel engines are another fuel-saving technology that is about to explode onto the Canadian and U.S. markets. The latest high-tech diesels from Europe are cleaner by far than the soot-belching diesels of the 1970s in North America.

Though typically priced higher than similar cars with conventional gasoline engines, a flood of new diesels from Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and even Honda can provide at least 30-per-cent better fuel economy.

The new Jetta diesel from Volkswagen is one example of a family vehicle with drastically better fuel economy and it will be priced well below $30,000 to start. Moreover, the Jetta diesel, as well as new diesels being launched by others, will meet strict air-pollution standards. They are so-called 50-state vehicles, in that they meet the tough laws in California and other states that have followed California's lead.

The impending arrival of cleaner diesels, plug-in hybrids and even hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles is promising, but also problematic.

The problem is infrastructure. Many service stations don't sell diesel fuel at all and the supply of diesel fuel in Canada and the U.S. is limited, thus its higher price.

An even bigger issue is where to fill up on hydrogen if you're driving a fuel-cell car. No such service station network exists, oil companies are unlikely to spend their huge profits on creating one and car companies are either unable to unwilling to get into the hydrogen filling business.

As for plug-in battery recharging, when the Volt comes to market at the end of 2010, as promised by GM, a critical mass of recharging outlets won't yet exist. Extension cords, anyone?

These technologies and initiatives are all interesting, but equally promising and useful is an array of so-called "interim" technologies that are affordable and effective at reducing emissions and improving fuel economy. Ford, for example, is touting what the company calls "volume-based, near-term actions" such as its EcoBoost engine technology.

In a presentation last week in Detroit to the Society of Automotive Engineers, Andreas Schamel, Ford's chief engineer for research and advanced engineering, says EcoBoost can deliver real-world fuel economy improvements for millions of customers within the next five years.

EcoBoost mates advanced direct injection technology and turbocharging with a gasoline engine. It can deliver up to 20-per-cent better fuel economy, 15-per-cent lower CO2 emissions and superior driving performance compared with larger-displacement engines, Ford officials say.

Ford plans to spread EcoBoost across its full lineup — from small cars to large pickups to luxury Lincolns. In the next five years, Ford says EcoBoost will be available on a half a million Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles annually in North America. In 2009, Ford will first introduce EcoBoost on the all-wheel-drive Lincoln MKS featuring a 3.5-litre twin-turbocharged V-6 with an estimated 340 horsepower and more than 340 lb-ft of torque.

"There is no single, universal answer around the world. That's why we're pursuing technology such as EcoBoost that's scaleable to large-volume production now in the short term," Schamel said.

"EcoBoost will provide real-world fuel-efficiency benefits in the near term with a shorter payback time than other advanced technologies. We believe hybrids, diesels and technologies such as plug-ins and fuel cells have a role, but we believe that having the right mix of fuel-saving technologies over time is the best approach."

Promising as all these developments are, the greatest fleet-wide fuel savings will come as a result of something far simpler: a large-scale move to smaller vehicles.

Indeed, not only are sales of small cars surging in Canada, but the same trend is showing up in the United States, too. Tiny cars are exploding in popularity, even as the overall auto industry declines.

Indeed, sales in the subcompact car segment, which includes the Toyota Yaris, Honda Fit and Chevrolet Aveo, rose 33 per cent in the United States last year. Moreover, about 30,000 prospective buyers have put down a $99 (U.S.) deposit for the two-seat Smart fortwo, which is only now coming to the United States, although it has been on sale in Canada for several years. Sales of the Honda Fit, which arrives in the U.S. for the first time this fall, are expected to be equally strong. (The 2009 all-new version of the Fit will replace the version that has been on sale in Canada for three years.)

Analysts in the U.S. predict that sales of small cars and small crossover utility vehicles, such as the Honda CR-V, are the only segments positioned for near-term growth in the U.S. Small vehicle sales here are expected to increase by 25 per cent through 2012.

As analyst DesRosiers notes, all these and coming additions such as Ford's new Fiesta, due in 2010, are grabbing attention for being fuel-efficient, relatively clean, fun to drive and, above all, stylish in their design and refined in their execution.

Take the all-new Mini Clubman as a perfect example of a premium small car that combines outstanding fuel economy with a very obvious "cool" factor.

The Clubman, a stretched version of the Mini Cooper, is a relatively environmentally friendly fun-to-drive fashion statement, not a bare-bones econo-box of any sort.

The new small cars are also, for the most part, affordable enough to attract young first-time buyers who want high fuel economy, low emissions and easy parking in crowded urban areas.

Naturally, small cars do have disadvantages. Canadians have become accustomed to them, but Americans, who have long shunned small cars largely in favour of fuel-swilling SUVs, will need to get used to cramped cabins and less power.

That's the future and the future is now.