Thunder, I agree with you to a point, in regard to Hybrids, but only to the point that your argument holds true today. It will not hold true within 5 years.

Per public knowledge only, save for the Zebra stuff:

Tesla is releasing a 300 mile per charge vehicle within the next 12-months, called the Model S with a 45-min. quick charge capability. It seats 7-people, has a max speed of 120 mph. and a 0-60 time of 5.6 seconds. The vast majority of Americans do not drive 300 miles without taking 45-min. breaks for lunch, or dinner, etc. That will be 2011 with archaic battery technology. Within another 12-months battery capacities will increase that range DRAMATICALLY.

The Tesla roadster has a 244 mile range. These are purely electric vehicles, I'll grant you. They are NOT hybrids. But, if/when one were to stick a small 40 hp. motor in any of these vehicles, for recharging purposes or for powering the vehicle when the batteries die, you can have cars with a dramatically increased range.

When that level reaches 500-miles, it's game over. We're testing at that level now, using technology available today. That doesn't even account for what's in the pipeline! I almost always limit my driving to 500-miles per day. Anything over, and fatigue takes its toll. Sure there are a few times I've pushed the 750 mark or with a partner the 1,000 mile per day mark. But, never without taking a break to recharge my own body's systems. At the same time, our future vehicles will be recharging, as well. Battery technology is currently growing at a rate akin to semi-conductor technology, with increased capacity, leading to further increases in capacity, etc. It's just amazing what's out there. Some of the technology has been around since the 60s and has been used to power nuclear missile guidance systems, but has now been highly modernized. (see Zebra batteries- you can wikipedia it, but you won't find anything on the current state of Zebra technology, as one very small example)


While 25% of the vehicles on the road may be hybrids in the next 5-years, we're going to be looking at far higher percentage of new vehicles sold that will have hybrid technology built into them. So as individuals trade in their old vehicles, they'll be trading them in for hybrids, regardless of the brand. There's little downside, in fact in many cases there is a performance increase.

Sanyo is currently producing 300,000 to 400,000 batteries per month for hybrids and electric vehicles. They estimate by 2015 they'll be producing 10 to 15 million batteries per month.

When you get into more advanced batteries, such as molten salt based batteries: the Zebra battery for instance (which has been highly modernized) you're looking at ranges of up to 500 or 600 miles per charge. This technology exists now.

Visit San Jose (Silicon Valley), venture funding for tech is all but non-existent right now, unless one has a revolutionary idea. The entire region is abuzz refining these exact technologies.

Unbeknownst to most, the companies that are now receiving venture funds have been around for some time. Their design work is done, but no one wanted to touch the companies, for lack of a market.

The market has since arrived, and you would be hard pressed to even believe some of the ways in which energy is being produced and extracted, if I were to post it here. You'd say I was full-of-Sh_t. There is a true revolution going on, gentleman, and if one had $2m+ to invest, one could be privy to such technologies.

You need not take my word for it, nor do I expect you to. But just observe...the next 5-years will be very interesting for the auto industry, and hybrids and electric vehicles will most certainly NOT mean boring automobiles. In fact, they'll equate to the exact opposite!

I expect this post will receive many naysayers which is fantastic. That way, you'll be all the more surprised as news of these fantastic products trickle out. If you're a true car enthusiast, you're going to be utterly shocked at the capabilities of upcoming electric and to an extent, hybrid vehicles.