Newsweek: Hybrids are Obsolete

A non-hybrid plug-in is just an electric car. I'm happy to use the electric engine where I can, but I'm not going anywhere without a gasoline backup engine, at least not anytime soon.

 

The Prius is an ICE car. It takes gasoline, burns it in an internal combustion engine, and uses that energy to move the vehicle. The addition of electric hybrid components has made that ICE vehicle more efficient but it is still an ICE. This improvement in efficiency is similar gains from other technologies like fuel injection and turbocharging.

So it is entirely possible that another technology may come along to make ICE vehicles even more efficient than current ICE vehicle + electric hybrid components. If an automaker gets a greater efficiency boost at a lower cost from another technology they will use that alternative technology instead of electric hybrid technology. Just a few of the many things being worked on around the world:

Hydraulic Hybrids:
Clean Automotive Technology | Modeling, Testing, and Research | US EPA

Six Stoke Engine:
[ame=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crower_six_stroke]Crower six stroke - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]


Variable Compression Ratios:
Saab's Innovative And Efficient Variable-Compression Engine - Popular Mechanics

 

I've been reading through the latest proposed climate change legislation.. in a broad sense, the investment you describe is part of the plan.