Escape hybrid is the new tax credit king

Worth a $3000.00 tax credit

Lately, when the topic of hybrid tax credits arises, I usually spend my time advocating for more tax credits for hybrid cars. It just seems obvious that tax credits aren't just for influencing consumers, but they should also be for creating competition amongst automakers. While the IRS created some interest, it didn't force ANY competition. Of course, then again, there's the AMT, etc., etc.

Anyway, back to today. Both the 2008 Ford Escape hybrid and the 2008 Mercury Mariner hybrid qualify for a $3000.00 federal tax credit - a $400 increase over last year - making them hybrid tax credit kings. The Nissan Altima hybrid is second at $2350, followed by the Honda Civic hybrid at $2100.

If one of these tax credits is about to drive your next hybrid purchase, make sure you speak with your tax advisor about issues like AMT.

CARB shmarb? Incentives not regulations?

The hybrid wars are coming

So CARB has scaled back its ZEV, or Zero Emission Vehicle, standards for 2014. Does it really matter? Isn't getting as many hybrid cars on the road this year and next year the best path to research, development and production of advanced hybrids, such as plug-in hybrids, range extended hybrids, and fuel cell hybrids?

Isn't it time for incentives, not regulations?

Finish: CARB shmarb? Incentives not regulations?

PHEVs: A halo for 'clean' coal?

Let's play hide behind the hybrid!

The 'halo effect'. According to some, the 'halo effect' created by the Toyota Prius has provided a huge boost to Toyota automobile sales beyond just the Prius. Likewise, the 'halo effect' of the Chevy Volt has generated a huge amount of media buzz and consumer hype around GM.

Are utilities now trying to use the halo effect of plug-in hybrid vehicles to sell 'clean coal' to America? Every day now, Southern California Edison, one of my local utilities, is running ads correlating PHEVs and clean coal.

Yet, can coal ever be really clean? The chorus of carbon sequestration critics continues to grow louder, and even if technologically possible, the costs of carbon capture can be astronomically expensive. Considering these costs, might not more renewable energies now be worth the investment? Isn't it time to accept the fact that fossil fuels are dead fuels?

PHEVs are a very good idea. PHEVs powered by renewable energy are an immensely better idea.

Huge lift in Prius production set for 2009

60 percent increase in production in 2009

Toyota will increase production of the Toyota Prius in 2009 by 60 percent according to reports coming out of Japan. In 2007, Toyota produced some 280,000 Prius hybrid cars, and next year the automaker plans to produce 450,000 of the hybrids per year.

While the reports don't make the claim, it seems pretty obvious that Toyota is gearing up to launch the the third iteration of the Hybrid Synergy Drive, thus the increase in production.

Wow! Honda is hoping to sell 200,000 Prius killers next year. A big jump for Honda, but still less than half of Toyota's Prius production - let alone their total hybrid production. Every other automaker won't sell even 100,000 hybrids for at least a few years after 2009. Do US automakers have enough in the tank to catch up? I'm not sure, but the Chevy Volt better move like greased, fricken lightning - that's for sure.

0 - 60: Ignorance or arrogance?

Is there a difference?

There has been a lot of hot air coming out of the auto industry regarding CAFE's 35 mpg by 2020 - even though there are already a plethora of loopholes between here and there. So, is CAFE going to cost, as GM's Bob Lutz has suggested, about $6000 extra per vehicle?

Not if automakers are smart, according to MotorTrend's Angus MacKenzie. As an example, MacKenzie points to the Mercedes Benz BlueEFFICIENCY C-Class, which is reported to achieve about 36 mpg - a good bit more than the low 20's of a standard C-Class. So, how does BlueEFFICIENCY do it?

Reduced weight, reduced rolling resistance, reduced aerodynamic drag, and a smaller turbo-charged engine. And, most important and unflattering for gearheads, a reduced 0 - 60 time. All of this, Angus predicts, because of the smaller engine, will probably lead to an equally priced vehicle - just 2 seconds slower.

That's not rocket science, and for those just dying to have extra power, or an extra second or two off the line, hybrid technology could easily bridge the difference. A fleetwide average of 35 mpg is achievable today, but not for ignorance and arrogance, and it doesn't have to cost $5000 per vehicle.

AutoWeek thumbs up Escape hybrid

A fuel economical "tall wagon"

A couple of editors from AutoWeek offered a few criticisms of the Ford Escape hybrid, such as the need for fine-tuning the CVT and the awkwardness of many of the drive-by-wire components. Still, for those looking for a mid-sized, fuel efficient vehicle, both editors found the Escape hybrid to be favorable.

Clean your neighborhood, win a Civic hybrid

Help Clean Up America

Honda is again sponsoring the Road to a Cleaner America, a volunteer program to "clean and beautify the streets, roads, and highways that we travel every day". Organizations that "go the extra mile" participating in this effort can win a number of $4000.00 grants, or even a brand new 2008 Honda Civic hybrid.

Click here for more information.

Hybrid vehicles: Can Honda slay the Prius?

Honda won't be the only automaker with a big hybrid announcement in 2009

"Prius-killer". That's what some over at Honda have been calling the automaker's latest hybrid primed for launch next year - a unique, hybrid-only model with Honda Clarity design cues, better-than-Civic hybrid fuel economy, yet cheaper than a Civic hybrid.

Still, Honda isn't the only automaker with a big hybrid announcement planned for '09.

Toyota will be launching the Third Generation Hybrid Synergy Drive in hybrid cars like the Toyota Prius some time next year, in addition to debuting a few new production-ready hybrid-only vehicles at NAIAS 2009. In fact, one of those new hybrid debuts might just be smaller and cheaper than the current Prius (Toyota's new Honda hybrid-killer?).

So, can the latest Honda hybrid do what no other hybrid has come close to achieving - slaying the mighty Toyota Prius? Probably not, but who really cares? More selection, cheaper and better hybrids - isn't that what consumers really care about anyway?

Fashion and cars: All about style and that's the problem

My stylish hemp shoes?

Earlier this week I read an article in AutoWeek titled Style Marks: Fashion is influencing car design and vice versa, that has been bugging me every since I read it.

Style. What is style? Is it the bling-bling gold chains and fast cars of a rock star? Is style that essential quality we use to obscure reality, you know, check out my hot new runway clothes made in a slave labor camp using obscene amounts of chemicals and with cotton using obscene amounts of water, fertilizers and pesticides? Check out my gas-guzzling, foreign oil war-creating, pollution-causing bling-bling automobile! Gas-guzzling forever, yo!

Well, I guess I'm a dork. I buy my cars and shoes not for how they look, but for the impact they have on the world. Call me overly practical. Call me boring. But I say function trumps style any and every day of the year.

Chinese fuel shortages: The need for hybrid tax credits?

Give the Prius some credits

For some in China today, there isn't any gas or any diesel. Maybe tomorrow, maybe not. If any fuel does come, it will quickly be guzzled away. China, inevitably, must find more foreign oil - a LOT more.

Hence, even if America becomes a little more fuel efficient in the next few years, increased consumption from China will easily replace our demand.

The need to go hybrid

Yesterday, I posted studies demonstrating America's increasing demand for fuel efficiency, and the desire for more fuel efficient automobiles. Yet, other studies indicate that while American consumers definitely want more efficient vehicles, they don't want to pay any extra costs for such autos - even if those costs are more than recovered during the life of the vehicle.

Thus, isn't it time for some temporary government intervention? Finish: Chinese Fuel Shortages: The need for hybrid tax credits

Honda's Prius-killer will be a NiMH hybrid

New hybrid will use Clarity design cues

Early next year, when Honda launches its new dedicated hybrid vehicle, it will use a NiMH battery pack.

"In terms of reliability and durability, I must say there still remain some concerns [re: lithium]," Honda President Takeo Fukui said according to AutoWeek.. "I don't think they are necessarily best suited for mass-produced vehicles." Nonetheless, Fukui also stated that lithium could replace NiMH if the technology matured enough for Honda.

Honda is hoping to sell as many as 200,000 hybrid vehicles by next year, and by 2012, Honda intends for hybrids to make up 10 percent of sales by 2012.

Carbon capture: Another problem for PHEVs?

The government's clean coal con-job?

Autobloggreen has an interesting post regarding America's energy problems today. Clean coal, largely achieved via carbon capture, it seems, might be more myth than reality according to a growing horde of carbon sequestration critics. And, even in the cases where carbon sequestration might work, its costs, well, simply might not be worth the cost compared to alternative technologies.

This comes off the heals of other studies suggesting that in areas still using old coal technology, plug-in hybrids could produce more CO2 than if just gasoline were used to power conventional vehicles.

None of this suggests, even for one second, that further development of plug-in hybrids or electric vehicles should be delayed. However, these studies do seem to suggest that America's energy problems will not be solved alone by plug-in hybrids, the Chevy Volt, or any other type of automobile.

Finally: Fuel economy rules!?

High gas prices re-shaping consumer psychology

A new AAA survey suggests that fuel economy is now the number one consideration for new car buyers according to the DetroitNews, and other data also supports the growing importance of efficiency in the mind's of consumers.

"The survey results clearly demonstrate that gas prices have reached levels sufficient for consumers to dramatically alter their driving behaviors and car-buying habits," said Kathy Harrison, vice president and chief public affairs officer for AAA Michigan.

So, if gas prices recede a good bit, will consumers return to their gas-guzzling ways, or have we finally wised-up?

Hyundai to kick up hybrid efforts in '09

Fuel cell cars by 2012

Hyundai will begin the mass production of hybrid vehicles next year, producing the Avante, a compact sedan, as its first mass-produced hybrid model. By 2010, more hybrids will be added to the mix, and by 2012, Hyundai also hopes to begin selling fuel cell cars as well.

Everything continues to drive towards 2010: Year of the hybrid vehicle wars.

GM: Smartest marketers in the industry

'Volt Nation' is a lifeline to GM's future

A couple of years ago, if you talked hybrid cars to most fans of GM, they'd tell you the technology was pointless - the benefits just weren't worth the costs. Today, however, GM fans will passionately argue that GM's dual mode hybrid technology isn't just beneficial, but superior to other hybrids, such as the Toyota Prius.

Even better, GM fans will tell you that GM's Chevy Volt is going to change the world. Even though the Volt is probably 3 years away from hitting the streets for a few thousand lucky drivers, there are 10's of thousands of GM fans bugging GM regularly about the Volt. Like the Prius, the Volt has brought a bit of halo effect to GM - not bad for a concept that is still a few years from reality.

I've said it before, but I honestly believe that GM has the smartest marketing division in the auto industry. While many would argue their business is cars, not marketing, the good thing about the Volt and the new perception of GM that GM's marketing is creating, nurturing and developing, is that it is also creating new expectations for a much more fuel efficient GM.

Lutz takes cheap shot at Prius

All you do is talk, talk, talk

In the future - whenever that is - GM is going to build cheap hybrid vehicles "without the premium, where today if you buy a Toyota Prius you have to live to 150 to get back the premium over a conventional car," stated Bob Lutz.

Ironically, according to many studies, the Prius can recover its hybrid costs in less than 4 years for the average driver.

Of course, why be surprised that Lutz is again attacking the Prius? Just a few years ago, Bob Lutz openly and regularly mocked hybrid cars, even calling them stupid. Today, on the other hand, Mr. Lutz admits it was GM that was stupid. I guess when you don't have a competitive product, all you can do is blow hot air.

GM willing to lose money on the Chevy Volt

GM willing to lose billions on the Volt?

The board of directors at GM is prepared to lose, minimally, hundreds of millions - maybe even billions - on the Chevy Volt.

"We won't make a dime on this car for years, and the board is OK with that," stated Bob Lutz at the New York Auto Show.

At this point, do they have a choice?

Can the X-Prize achieve what automakers cannot?

SpaceShipOne after the first X-Prize

After SpaceShipOne won the first X-Prize, several years ago now, I sat in the Mojave Desert feeling as if the world was on the verge of a great change. I'm still waiting. Nonetheless, the X-Prize did lead to Virgin Galactic and a number of other private space ventures, so the fruits of the first X-Prize are still ripening.

Today, at the New York Auto Show, the X-Prize is hoping to inspire a new wave of green cars. Yet, I cannot help but wonder, is an automotive X-Prize really needed? Every major automaker is now working on 'green cars', and the main obstacles now boil down to costs. On the other hand, however, the lack of out-of-the-box thinking seems to be a major auto-industry illness.

While the 'green' X-Prize might not lead to a new, green production vehicle, the X-Prize can still inspire the public, perhaps even reshape consumer psychology regarding fuel economy and pollution. That alone is worth the effort.

Lutz: Volt is the future. His global warming beliefs "immaterial"

Lutz's beliefs on global warming are "immaterial"

CNBC interviewed Bob Lutz this morning at the New York Auto Show, and his statements on global warming were a focal point.

Lutz claimed his statements were taken out of context, and that his beliefs regarding global warming are similar to many astrophysicists that hypothesize that solar radiation could be a big part of today's global warming. Nonetheless, Lutz claimed his beliefs about global warming are "immaterial".

According to Lutz, the only future for GM is take the automobile out of the global warming and foreign oil dependency equation, and the only way to do that is with vehicles like the Chevy Volt.

Questions about diesel v. hybrids

Diesel can save the world right?

Ultimately, I hate comparing diesel technology to hybrid technology because it's like comparing apples to oranges. Unlike diesel technology, hybrid technology is not fuel dependent and hybrid technology can make diesel technology more fuel efficient. Still, I have a couple of issues regarding the hybrid cars versus diesel cars debate.

1.) Why are tests between diesel technology and hybrid technology made on the highway when it is city driving and congestion that result in the worst fuel economy, the worst pollution, and the worst CO2 emissions? If congestion is the future, why are we testing the past?

2.) It takes more oil to create a gallon of diesel than a gallon of gasoline. Creating diesel also causes more pollution. Why isn't this added into the fuel economy of diesel vehicles if the point is to reduce oil consumption?

I could go on, but I'll leave it that for now.

Can a premium car driver be a liberal?

Do you have to be a liberal to be a Democrat?

There is a new study regarding which type of car owners favor which Presidential candidates. People whom drive hybrid vehicles, regardless of party, prefer Barrack Obama. Whatever.

Interestingly, however, Democrats that drive luxury vehicles prefer Hillary Clinton. This reminds me of something that has bothered me for some time. Once on a drive through a wealthy neighborhood in Southern California, a brand new Jaguar cut me off - a Jaguar with a bumper sticker claiming "Jesus was a Liberal".

Would Jesus, a liberal, really drive a luxury car today? If so, then I'd say Christianity no longer has any meaning. If not, can a premium car driver really be a liberal?

2015: 1 in 3 GM sales will be hybrids

100,000 Volts by 2012

By 2015, 1/3 of GM sales will be hybrid vehicles according to GM's Bob Lutz. "Around 2015 we're going to have to sell a ton of hybrids whether people want them or not," because of new U.S. fuel- economy standards, Lutz told reporters today in Washington. "It's basically going to result in the quasi-disappearance of V-8 engines."

On a side note, Lutz believes the Chevy Volt will reach 100,000 sales per year by 2012 as well.

Has foreign oil dependency finally caught up to America?

Time for an intervention?

With the economy tanking and the fed making some big rate cuts, the dollar is set to decline even further, which means oil prices are going to skyrocket even higher according to conventional thinking on Wall Street.

Likewise, we're going to spend more than a trillion in Iraq to protect our $1/2 trillion per year addiction to foreign oil. Whom, but a crackhead, could rationalize the costs of that kind of dependency? America is just one successful major oil refinery attack from $10.00 gas.

So, enjoy your $3.50 crack, America! It probably won't get much cheaper.

Hybrid interest declining?

Not buzzworthy?

According to the latest surveys, prospective car buyers are less interested in new technologies, such as clean diesel and hybrid cars, even as gas prices have gone higher. Of course, with the economy tanking, consumers have less money to spend on an automobile, and most hybrids aren't exactly cheap.

Eventually, I'll bet hybrid interest picks back up, but until it does, it might be a great buying opportunity for those interested in hybrids today.

Proof the hydrogen economy is real, now?

How to fuel the hydrogen highway?

You've received the e-mail, heard the stories, etc. - 'Power your car with water.' I think even MotorTrend's Technologue even wrote about this once, but now you can see a video that shows how a new form of electrolysis could convert just a few ounces of water into more than 100 miles worth of fuel, according to the inventor.

Is it fact or fiction? How much electricity is required? Is there another catch, or is the world on the verge of hydrogen revolution? - Thanks for the link Noz!

Watch the video

Hybrid buzz: Is the Volt drawing too much electricity?

Honda believes cheap hybrids, not PHEVs are the future

Around 2010, GM is going to do something interesting - it's going to sell 4 different types of hybrid vehicles. Mild lithium hybrids, dual mode hybrids, dual mode plug-in hybrids and range extended hybrids.

Why? Some of this diversification is no doubt a technological hedge. The rest boils down to costs - most Americans are not going to be able to afford a vehicle like the Chevy Volt.

Thus, in 2010, lithium will make mild hybrid technology, such as that powering the Chevy Malibu hybrid, as efficient as today's Toyota Prius. Of course, it will also turn the 45 mpg Prius into a 60 or 70 mpg Prius - for the same price, maybe even less.

Hence, does GM risk pushing consumer expectations too high by focusing so much buzz on the Volt? For example, if potential hybrid consumers can't afford the Volt, will they settle for a lithium-powered Malibu mild hybrid, or will they head to another brand in disappointment?

What does buying a hybrid really mean?

Some Prius drivers are annoying, though not as annoying as large SUV and muscle car drivers

What does it mean to drive a hybrid car?

I pondered this question the other day as I took LA's Metro Goldline up to Pasadena in search of a pair of organic hemp shorts, which I did not find. Only one store, Patagonia, even offered any organic shorts - cotton - but the shorts were just too short for my taste.

Anyway, as I walked through Old Town, Paseo, and South Lake on my quest, I noticed - as I have many times - the unusually high number of Toyota Prius hybrids that fill the streets of Pasadena. Where do all these Prius drivers shop for clothes, I wondered? Don't at least some of them buy green clothes to match their green car?

Then there's Paris Hilton, who calls her new hybrid "awesome" as she drives it over to Macy's to buy thousands of dollars of clothes made in sweatshops that lack any regard for the environment, but at least she drives a hybrid, right!?

For those needing new autos, buying hybrid vehicles is a fantastic act of consumerism. Still, what does buying a hybrid really mean?

Will US automakers survive economic woes of 2008?

Can US automakers afford new technologies

The real estate market is taking shots left and right. Consumer confidence is in the toilet and auto suppliers are struggling to stay afloat. The US economy is either in, or close to, a recession that is slowing US auto sales and sinking stock values.

"If something bad is going to happen, it's going to happen in 2008," Haig Stoddard, an analyst with Global Insight Inc., said of Detroit's automakers. "This is going to be a test for them. If they can make it through this year, they're probably going to be OK."

Yet, even if US automakers survive 2008, how will US economic woes affect the ability of automakers to push forward with new, much needed technologies, such as hybrid cars?

Chevy Volt only available in 5 cities to start

Who is gonna fix it?

According to Larry Burns, GM's Vice President of R&D and Planning, launching the Chevy Volt by 2010 is going to be a real "challenge" according to LeftlaneNews. And, only about 10,000 Volts will be produced the first year - although I bet the final number will be less.

Yes, none of this is really new news. Rick Wagoner, Bob Lutz, Frank Weber, etc., etc., have been echoing these statements for months.

However, when the Volt does launch, it will probably only be sold in just 5 cities as dealers are trained to service these hybrid vehicles. So, while the Volt might launch in 2010, it still might be several years before it makes it to a Chevy dealer near you.

Global warming: Too much focus on cars?

Is the focus on cars a global warming sham?

Angus MacKenzie of MotorTrend was recently doing some research on global warming emissions and he found out that transportation accounted for 30 percent of US CO2 emissions, with cars accounting for 60 percent of those emissions. Thus, personal transportation - the cars and trucks we drive - account for just 18 percent of the total US CO2 emissions?

Sure Congress has achieved a plan to reduce these emissions by 30 percent, but how significant is 30 percent of 18 percent, Angus wonders. And, more important, what is Congress doing about the other 70 percent?

Shouldn't technologies, such as hybrid cars, be valued more for their potential to end foreign oil dependency, rather than to fight global warming? Has the auto sector become a CO2 scapegoat?

Waxman claims White House blocked California EPA waiver

The White House blocked the EPA

"Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., chair of the House Oversight Committee, contended in a letter to EPA administrator Stephen Johnson that the White House scuttled a 300-page draft regulation that would have essentially required automobiles to average 35 miles per gallon by 2018 -- two years ahead of an energy bill signed into law on Dec. 19." (more)

Of course, had Congress acted responsibly over the last few decades regarding fuel economy, would the EPA have even mattered?

Michigan to study PHEV use on grid

What happens when a large amount of hybrids plug-in?

Yesterday, the Michigan Public Service Commission announced that it was starting a pilot program to determine the electricity requirements of plug-in hybrids on the Michigan electric grid, as part of Michigan's Smart Grid Collaborative, which is tasked with understanding the state's electricity needs.

"The success of plug-in hybrid vehicles is dependent on the deployment of intelligent grid technology," stated Public Service Commission Chairman Orjiakor Isiogu.

Exxon v. Chevron: A battle for hybrid vehicle supremecy?

Hybrids ride the road to the future?

We've heard about the Chevron/Cobasys conspiracy to inhibit hybrid and electric vehicle development. Even Exxon has thrown its hat into the hybrid ring with a focus on separator film technology -a critical component to lithium batteries. So, are these oil companies conspiring to keep Americans addicted to oil?

Exxon, a a major player in the world's separator technology for electronic devices, sees a big future in hybrid vehicles, according to the Wall Street Journal. Not only is there a profit margin for the company in hybrids, but perfecting the separator technology for large-battery-using hybrids can help the company gain more traction into the overall electronics market - a bigger market than hybrids - as the world heads into the digital/electronic revolution.

And, back to Cobasys - the company still believes that technological improvements will enable NiMH to challenge lithium.

GM CEO challenges Bob Lutz on global warming

Shocking: A crass statement from Bob Lutz?

Not long ago, when GM's Bob Lutz challenged man-caused global warming, I didn't think much about his remarks. Anyone that has ever spent any time around Lutz wouldn't be surprised. Besides, while Lutz might not buy global warming, I've heard him speak passionately about the dangers of foreign oil dependency a number of times. And, ending foreign oil dependency would also achieve significant reductions in CO2 emissions. So, whatever.

Nonetheless, GM CEO Rick Wagoner recently contradicted the statements made by Lutz, acknowledging both global warming and the need for GM to accept this reality as a necessary business requirement.

Higher oil prices - Have Americans learned?

Bring it on

This morning the dollar picked up a little strength and the price of a barrel of oil dropped immediately. A few hours later oil prices broke mid-day records. Is oil going back down to $3.00 or up to $5.00?

I don't care. I drive a few thousand miles, at most, every year. Instead of driving I've spent the last several years building my life around LA's Metro light rail and subway system. Apparently, I'm not alone as mass-transit use has reached a 50 year high.

If the dollar strengthens and the price of oil stabilizes, will American continue to embrace mass transit, hybrid vehicles, and smaller SUVs? Have we changed? Or, when prices drop, will I just have more seats to choose from on my subway ride?

$35,000 Chevy Volt - How long until its profitable?

What percent of Americans can afford $35,000?

The Chevy Volt is shaping up to be a fantastic piece of automotive engineering and, just as with most revolutionary engineering feats, it will be expensive.

Hence, is it even possible for GM to make any money off the Volt in the first 5 years at $35,000? How many Volts will be required to achieve effective economies of scale? Several hundred thousand? A million? A few million?

Hybrid vehicles, such as the Volt or a plug-in Toyota Prius, MUST be built, but wouldn't a $15,000 Prius - achieved via tax credits - be the best step forward for the next several years?

Water and electricity: Plug-in hybrids are doomed?

PHEVs could guzzle water, electricity?

Did you hear the one about plug-in hybrid vehicles? Turns out they are just a big joke. Wanna know why? Because replacing America's fleet of gas hogs with electric vehicles will require intelligent planning by the government.

Seriously, plug-in hybrid vehicles do have issues, such as the recent Texas study that suggests careful planning is required for plug-in hybrids so that water resources aren't depleted. Then there's the little problem of the US electric grid falling apart, and plug-in vehicle cost. Ultimately, electrifying the automobile with a sensible grid will require a lot of planning and, more important, many billions of dollars.

Then again, when you consider that the US is now spending $12 billion a month in Iraq to enable our $1/2 trillion per year foreign oil dependence, planning and paying for the electrification of the automobile seems pretty simple and cost-effective.

ZAP to offer plug-in conversion kits

ZAP and Hybrids-Plus to partner

ZAP will soon offer a plug-in conversion system for both the Toyota Prius and the Ford Escape hybrid using a hybrid-to-plug-in hybrid conversion system developed by Hybrids-Plus that utilizes lithium batteries from A123Systems.

For the Prius the cost is $24,000 - $32,000, depending upon the amount of electric range desired. For the Escape hybrid the price is $36,000.

Gas prices up 64 cents compared to last year

Up 9 cents from 2 weeks ago

The average price of a regular gallon of gasoline is $3.19 per gallon according to a new survey. No worries though, Iraq is costing just $12 billion per month! Of course that's nothing compared to the cost of foreign oil itself. In 2008, the US is expected to spend $440 billion on imported oil.

Foreign oil dependency rules!