Although hybrid cars account for only about 3% of U.S. car sales, their share is growing rapidly. Sales of hybrid cars surged 25% during the first four months of this year compared with the same period last year. And the pace accelerated last month, when sales jumped 58%. That outpaced the overall April sales gain of 18% for small fuel-efficient cars and comes as total new-vehicle sales are slumping.

The reason is simple. The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gas topped $4 a gallon in California for the first time Thursday, according to AAA. That’s up 16% from a year earlier, and many analysts expect pump prices to go higher as the summer driving season kicks off over the Memorial Day weekend.

“The fact is that ever-rising energy costs will alter American driving and dietary habits,” says Dave Gonigam in The Daily Reckoning.

“Seven-dollar (or $12, now that Robert Hirsch of Hirsch Report fame has repeated Charlie Maxwell’s $12 forecast on CNBC) will make the 40-mile one-way commute unsustainable. And to some degree, we already see this reflected on a nationwide map of foreclosures, county-by-county, as put out by RealtyTrac.”

CNN reports that US gas prices have now risen for 14 straight days.

According to the report: “For the first time since 2002, Americans plan to drive less on the holiday weekend than they did the year before, with high gasoline prices in a weak economy a prime reason.”

A great way to profit from skyhigh crude oil prices, which is causing high gas prices, is to invest in Canadian tar sands stocks, says Brian Hunt in DailyWealth.

“When oil is trading for $60 a barrel, mining the tar sands is a good business. When oil is trading for $80, it’s a great business. And when oil is trading for $120, it’s a money machine.”

Christian DeHaemer in Taipan Daily has another great way to play spiraling oil prices: natural gas.

“On Monday,” says Christian, “the Russian giant, Gazprom, shut down a quarter of its gas supply to the Ukraine to force the country to pay off a $600 million debt. This was settled today, but underscores Europe’s worries over the reliability of natural gas coming from Russia.

“The last time Gazprom played this game was two years ago, when the Ukraine went for three days without gas and pipelines in Europe saw a drop in pressure.

“Europe gets 20% of its gas from Ukrainian pipelines. The Ukraine, in turn, gets its gas from Russia. It’s a system that leaves Europe beholden to Russia, much like the U.S. is beholden to OPEC.

“As Lord Palmerston once said, “Nations have no permanent friends and permanent allies, only permanent interests.” This means that Europe is looking for other suppliers. North Africa fits the bill, and a pipeline is being built to Spain.

Read on here to learn more about ways to profit from the situation.