[mitsuguy]

Originally Posted by CompuDude

What we need is Mr. Fusion! LOL

Seriously, though, plug in hybrids are a great idea. The only change is they have the ability (not the requirement) of plugging into the wall to charge the batteries, rather than being 100% dependent on the on-board engine to do the charging.

Now yes, the power from the wall has to come from somewhere, too, but AC from the electrical grid comes from a variety of sources: coal is one (not great, but the economies of scale make coal usage far more environmentally friendly than your car engine burning a gallon of gas to create the same juice), and it is plentifully available, unlike oil for gasoline. Other sources include hydroelectric, wind and solar... all CLEAN sources of electricity that are FAR better, again, than using gasoline (or even mixed gas/ethanol blends) to fuel your car.

Finally, I wonder if this hybrid motor was actually developed (and owned) by Ford, or is this a simple tweak of the same hybrid tech that Ford has been licensing from Toyota for it's current lineup of hybrids?

heh, that's soo funny.... Nissan uses the same tech as Toyota in their hybrids as well...