Just ran across two of the initial press releases from next week's Auto show. First was "top 10 auto trends" at the auto show. My reaction after reading this was, "Hello? Anyone heard that OPEC is cutting back on oil production?" Apparently not. Though it's interesting to note how many of the items listed under Trend #10, "High Tech Gadgets & Gizmos", are currently available in the 2004 Prius. Second was a list of concept cars. There is one hybrid concept car listed there -- the Mitsubishi Eclipse-E, which is advertising the hybrid engine in terms of speed and power as opposed to fuel savings. Also some talk of "variable valve timing" to produce fuel savings. Not a surprise -- I don't think I'm the kind of person the auto show organizers are aiming for (except for the gadgets & gizmos ).
Besides raw speed, the hybrid powertrain also improves fuel economy and lowers emissions when compared to vehicles with engines that develop in excess of 450 horsepower. In other words, it'll get over 10mpg. What BS marketing ploys.
