Can you believe it?  Owners of the incredibly efficient Chevy Volt electric hybrid must use Premium gasoline in their car.  There are no exceptions, unless you want to harm the engine, and lose efficiency, which was the whole point of purchasing the expensive hybrid anyway.

It should be noted that this problem won't affect everyone though, since the Volt is designed to travel up to 40 miles without using a drop of gas anyways.  Most Americans won't travel 40 miles round trip in a day anyway or at least on their typical commute.  However, the idea of using premium gasoline does remove the Volt from being a long haul type of car.

So, will this news about the Volt needing premium gas hurt sales?

ilovebodykits.com has an amazing new body kit for the 07-08 Lexus Hybrid.  It looks amazing, especially on the model Lexus hybrid they are showing it off on.  Slammed, clean, and stylish without being too over the top.

The complete body kit retails for $3,750 plus freight.  The Lexus Hybrid full body kit includes long side skirts, front and rear bumper.  Fog lights are extra for the Lexus Hybrid long body kit, but worth it if you want a simple clean easy fit.

Toyota certainly has not been without problems in the past few months, but the new Prius Plug-In style hybrid is expected to go over well with consumers.  Despite all manufacturers claiming to be the greenest in the industry, Prius only seems to have to compete with itself on efficiency.

For industry hybrid analysts, they feel the new plug-in Prius will simply be too much money.  Currently the Prius hybrid is in a prime consumer spot, retailing for mid $20,000.  It's a comfortable price that people are willing to spend, without feeling they can't recoup the savings of a hybrid car.

The new plug-in Prius is expected to retail for over $30,000, which makes it too expensive for a lot of buyers.  Although a great selling point, being able to travel 13 miles without using a single drop of gas, it may not be enough to lure the mass market.  What's worse is that the distance the plug-in Prius can travel without using gasoline will fall over time.  The loss of efficiency will further depreciate the value of the vehicle and alter resale.

Consider purchase options for would be hybrid owners in the near future:

Nissan Leaf, 100 mile range on all electric.
Chevy Volt, 40 mile range on all electric.
Prius Plug-In, 13 mile range.

The new Prius Plug-In is expected to be released sometime in 2012 for the US market.  It will be a very interesting time for many hybrid buyers, with more choices than ever.  But will the $30,000 price tag stifle sales, thus stifle development and moving forward?

Porsche took the SUV market by storm back in 2002, when they stepped out of their sports car comfort zone.  The Cayenne was originally outfitted with a V8, capable of producing over 340 horsepower.  Not exceptionally powerful, but enough to wear the Porsche badge.  New for 2011 model year is the Cayenne S Hybrid, which was just debuted at the New York Auto Show.

Like all hybrids, the Cayenne S Hybrid will be capable of running on just gas, electric, or both.  But what makes it different is it's capability to hit 150 miles per hour!  Advancements by Porsche in the hybrid-SUV market have allowed for a 40% increase in fuel efficiency and do so in style and safety.  The 2011 Cayenne S Hybrid even includes an additional 150 lbs of safety equipment, so it's not just hybrid technology that will make Porsche's SUV a contender in the niche.

A tentative price point will be set at just over $67,000.  That's a lot of money for any hybrid, but if you are buying a Porsche, perhaps money isn't the first thing on your mind anyway.  Besides, it's a far cry from the $104,000 turbo edition V8, oh yeah, and it's greener.

Getting all wet over the unveiling of the 2011 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid at the New York Auto Show?  Well, although it's a step in the right direction, it's nothing new.  The 2011 Lincoln MKZ hybrid borrows the technology from the Ford Fusion Hybrid, only adding it's own refinements to justify a higher price for a higher class market.

Not saying the refinements aren't worth the money, such amenities as Scottish leather seats, walnut trim, and technology capable of automatically limiting the stereo volume and speed depending on the driver.  Also, the body lines of the Lincoln MKZ hybrid are much more elegant than what the Ford Fusion has to offer, after all it's going after a completely different target audience.

Looking to finally enter the hybrid car market, but the Prius just isn't you?  Well, take a look at the upcoming 2010 Ford Fusion hybrid.

2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid

BASE PRICE: $27,625.

AS TESTED: $32,295.

TYPE: Front-engine, front-wheel drive, five-passenger, mid-size sedan.

ENGINE: 2.5-liter, double overhead cam, Atkinson cycle, inline four cylinder with electric motor.

MILEAGE: 41 mpg (city), 36 mpg (highway).

TOP SPEED: NA.

LENGTH: 190.6 inches.

WHEELBASE: 107.4 inches.

CURB WEIGHT: 3,800 pounds.

BUILT AT: Hermosillo, Mexico.

OPTIONS: Option package 502A (includes blind spot detection, power moonroof, rearview camera, Sony audiophile 12-speaker sound system, leather seats, heated front seats, premium floor mats) $3,945.

DESTINATION CHARGE: $725.



For More Pictures View the Full 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid Gallery

Ford has already been talking with power companies to help build an infrastructure for their upcoming electric vehicles.  Technology is being developed that will allow smart cars to speak with power grids all over the US and allow the car to decide when is the best time to 'fuel up' and recharge.

These discussions are ahead of Ford releasing their all electric utility van, expected to be released sometime next year.  Furthermore Ford hopes to release an all electric Focus sometime for the 2012 model year.  Ford and GM with the Volt are hoping that their investment into all electric will pay off.  Oddly enough Toyota, the hybrid innovator, is still holding off on their dive into an all electric vehicle.

Part of GM's restructuring involved writing off what was left of Saturn, which also meant that the Plug-In Vue Hybrid was going to go by the way side.  Well, not all was in vain, and a lot of that technology and design will be directly placed in the all new Buick SUV Plug In Hybrid.  Don't get your wallets out just yet, because this all new Buick Hybrid won't be available until sometime in 2011.

The reported technology being used in the Buick Hybrid SUV will allow up to 70 mpg.  However, unlike other hybrid type cars and SUV's, the furthest the Buick hybrid can travel on electric alone will be 10 miles.  Furthermore, it is not being designed to provide any towing or load power on electric motors alone.  To accomplish these feats the motor will be a V6 Flex Fuel setup.

There have been a few scattered local news reports about unsuspecting people being hit by silent hybrid cars.  So far, this type of news has been ignored amongst the hybrid car manufacturers.  However, Japan is considering new laws that would require hybrids to make a little noise, for safety.

Specifically this law is to help keep vision impaired (see blind people) safe.  The idea is that if they could hear them, they wouldn't walk out in front of them.  I guess.  The idea sounds like it would work, but I figure these people would still be likely to walk out in front of any vehicle, no matter how noisy.


No doubt Toyota will be the first to jump on board, since the Prius model is the #1 selling hybrid.  Although with 200,000 units already ordered in Japan, it's highly unlikely this lower priced next generation model will feature any kind of additional noise makers.  Maybe a recall?

Volvo has been developing plans to create a plug in style hybrid.  Volvo, which is a Ford subsidiary, is working on establishing an infrastructure for electric vehicles.  Plans are being worked on jointly by Volvo and an electric company based in Sweden called Vattenfall.

According to Volvo, they would manufacture the vehicles, which would also run on diesel, while Vattenfall would supply the electric motor.  Although to me this sounds like too many cooks in the kitchen.

As of this posting no date has been set for the release of the new plug in Volvo hybrid, nor of any specific plans.