Car hybrid

Car hybrid

A prototype of the future Toyota Prius Plug-in

With all of these new hybrids and plug-in cars hitting the market in 2010, what’s going to happen to the quintessential hybrid model, the Toyota Prius? After a spate of complaints in late 2009 about poor braking, Toyota can’t afford to rest on its laurels—even though the company continues to sell more Priuses than all other hybrid combined. Therefore, expect the Prius to continue to evolve.

With the Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf threatening to steal the green car halo, the company isaccelerating its plans for a plug-in version of the Prius It won’t become available until 2011, but expect news about its trial run of 500 plug-in Priuses to continue to gain attention. At the same time, rumors of an entire Prius family of cars—from a subcompact hybrid to a crossover—will continue to percolate. We suspect those rumors to turn into real product announcement as early as the 2010 Detroit Auto Show in January. By the time a family of Priuses hit the market, the automotive world will be well on its way to offering 30 or 40 hybrids of all shapes and sizes, from low-cost to high-horsepower, from vehicles that barely save any fuel to ones that run almost exclusively on electric power.

BMW X6 Hybrid

·         BMW’s High-Horsepower Hybrids: X6 Hybrid and Active 7 Hybrid

The BMW X6 is a crossover SUV that has crossed over into sports car territory. The company calls the vehicle a “sport activity coupe.” Its chief characteristics are a sleek profile, sloping roofline, low-slung stance, short front overhang, long rear overhang, long wheelbase, muscular wheel arches, large wheels, four-wheel drive, stability control, and lots of performance. The X6 will probably get an unhybrid-like 480-horsepower 4.8-liter V8 engine—yielding acceleration from a standstill to 60 mph in about 5 seconds. The 20 percent improvement compares to the conventional X6 is less impressive. But if luxury and high horsepower—with a smidgen of fuel efficiency restraint—is your thing, you might also consider the BMW ActiveHybrid 7, also due in 2010. It’s the fastest-accelerating hybrid sedan in the world, according to BMW. Expect fuel economy about 15 percent better than the 750i, which gets 15 mpg in the city and 22 mpg on the highway.

·         Dodge Ram Hybrid

Despite its problems, Chrysler still plans to roll out a hybrid version of the Dodge Ram pickup in 2010. Pickups continue to be the largest segment of vehicles sold in the US, so maybe an advanced technology high-mpg Ram will improve Chrysler’s fortunes? That’s unlikely. GM’s hybrid pickup, the Chevy Silverado Hybrid developed in the same collaborative program that produced the Ram Hybrid, is selling about 200 units per month. Rising gas prices could conceivably convince Chrysler to produce the Ram Hybrid in bigger numbers, but pickup buyers shouldn’t hold their breath. Nonetheless, the technology is impressive: a multi-displacement 5.7-liter pushrod HEMI V8 gas engine mated to two 60kW electric motors allows the truck to use electricity, four-cylinder, eight-cylinders, or a combination