I'll wait a good but before I pony up for a hybrid at this point.
I will say the ford escape hybrid has been a decent success and the 08 they just debuted yesterday looks to be even better. They arent' there yet.
Report from reuters today talking about how hybrid sales are down this year, specifically mentioning toyota. After the crutch that the US govt had for subisdies was done, people didn't care anymore.
They are becoming the in vogue thing for many manufacturers, but the parallel I draw is with cell phones from the 80s.
They were big, expensive and sucked. Hybrids are typically pricey, don't deliver enough extra fuel economy to offset the price.. yet. But they will.
One thing I would love to see is a baby turbo diesel compass. As we get very low emissions regulations, clean diesel fuel, and better emissions controls (particulate filters and urea injection) on diesels, they will be super clean, not stinky, and offer fantastic fuel mileage. Not to mention have kick ass torque.
Hell the euro caliber has one now as I recall.
Couple this with biodiesel made from plants, and you are realy giving the world a hug. On the environment front, hybrids have actually drawn fire about their batteries, keep in mind these things have to be disposed of properly and will probably not last as long as the vehicle itself.
for example I around 22mpg (us gallons) in my 7000+ pound f250. :lol: