The Chevy Volt will have a new name and a new manufacturer when it goes on sale in November 2010 - the Toyota Jolt.  According to sources within Toyota and GM, the decision was made after President Obama's auto task force deemed the Volt to be too little, too late and too expensive to save General Motors.  To save on production costs for both companies, the re-badged Toyota Jolt will be manufactured at the NUMMI plant in Fremont, California.  NUMMI is the same plant where the GM/Toyota co-produced Toyota Matrix/Pontiac Vibe is made.

Yesterday afternoon Tesla dropped a bomb on the electric car world by revealing the Model S concept. Set to hit the streets in late 2011, the Model S features up to 300 miles in range, space for 5 adults and 2 children, a 17-inch touchscreen LCD instrument panel, and a 45-minute fast charge capability, all starting at under $50,000 after a $7,500 federal EV tax credit.

Here are the highlights from Tesla:

Tesla will be unveiling the new Model S sedan today at 3:30 Eastern.  LeftLane News is providing live video from the event on UStreamTV , and I have embedded the video below.

Pricing for the car has been set at a target of $57,400 before the $7,500 tax credit it will be eligible for.  It already appears that the Model S will be packing plenty of bang for its buck, with the interior center console sporting a very large screen that will hopefully be linked to some sort of touch-activated, user-configurable computer system.

The Prius Chief Engineer Akihiko Otsuka himself confirmed with the Automotive News and Japan's Nikkei newspaper that a Yaris Hybrid is being developed and should be ready for the 2011 model year.

The new Toyota hybrid will be marketed to both Japan and the United States and will be equipped with a version of the Hybrid Synergy Drive system. Expect it to target the lower end of the market and be released with a target price lower than the Honda Insight's $20k tag.

I caught this last night during House or 24... something on Fox. Pretty nifty commercial. Looks like Honda is going right after the "active lifestyle" customer that the Prius currently attracts.  Here it is in YouTube "HQ" goodness.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (aka the Stimulus/Spending Bill) will reach President Obama's desk this week and within the $787 billion bill are many provisions for new, energy-focused initiatives including major increases in tax credits for EVs and PHEVs.

Bob Wilson (user bwilson4web) put together a fantastic analysis of what the January 2009 Hybrid sales report can tell us about who hybrid customers are and what drives them to purchase a hybrid automobile.

Article submitted by member cwerdna.

Article is a little confusing about the supposed US pricing.

"TOKYO (AP) -- Honda introduced Thursday the cheapest hybrid on market, starting at 1.89 million yen ($21,000) in Japan and under $20,000 in the U.S., hoping to turn around sluggish sales battered by the global downturn.
...
The big appeal of the Insight, a five-door hatchback, is its pricing.

Details of overseas pricing are still undecided. But it's cheaper than Toyota Motor Corp.'s Prius, the top-selling hybrid, which sells for $22,000 in the U.S. and 2.3 million yen in Japan..."

An interesting read. I might concede the point that the 2010 Fusion Hybrid is better than the 2009 Camry Hybrid, but I think the author's first drive of the 2010 Prius will change his mind. At least I hope so.

OK, let's just get it out there: The 2010 Ford Fusion hybrid is the best gasoline-electric hybrid yet.