Ultra-Cheap Hybrid Coming to U.S.?

Source: Hybrid Owners of America
Published: Thursday, December 03, 2009

Is a hybrid under $10,000 in your future? While details have yet to be released, Indian car company Tata has announced it is planning to produced a hybrid version of its Nano, billed as the world's cheapest car. The regular version of the car, which was launched in July in India, is about $2,200 U.S. and gets 51.7 MPG so we can only speculate what the specs would be for a hybrid version. An improvement over 51.7 MPG, along with reduced emissions of a hybrid, would be impressive. The regular Nano is slated to go on sale in Europe in 2011 and sales in the U.S. are expected shortly thereafter - though the company has not announced any non-India roll-out dates for the hybrid version ... Will Denmark's aggressive plan to push electric cars get the world a lot closer to Warren Buffett's prediction that all cars will be electric by 2030? Only time will tell. The government in Denmark already offers a minimum $40,000 tax break on new electric cars and free parking in downtown Copenhagen but there has been skepticism. Now, Dong Energy, the largest utility in Denmark, is partnering with a Silicon Valley start-up "in a $100 million effort to wire the country with charging poles as well as service stations that can change out batteries in minutes," reports the New York Times. They hope that easy access to charging stations will up the interest in electric cars in Denmark, one of the world's most environmentally conscious nations ... Ah, it's the stuff of science fiction. Almost 200 miles on a single charge? If you'd told us just a few years ago an electric car could go this far without a recharge, we would have laughed you right out of the room. But Nissan has just announced it is working on a new lithium-ion battery that would go up to 190 miles on a single charge. They plan to use the battery in the Leaf, which reportedly gets 100 miles on a charge presently. They are planning the long-range battery to go into cars starting in 2015...