Gas prices higher, hybrid cars cheaper

Oil is currently trading above $57 a barrel, and gas prices are going to go higher. While the U.S. probably won't, when adjusted for inflation, reach record gasoline prices, higher gasoline prices are here to stay. Any event, natural or otherwise, which disrupts the tenuous oil supply will spike prices higher. Iran knows this, Venezuela knows this, and you can be sure terrorists know this as well.

And if you listen to more level-headed analysts, next year could be significantly worse.

By next year, the additional costs of hybrid cars could be offset by the high price of gasoline. In California, where gas prices might top $3.00 before year's end, hybrid cars are almost price-competitive already.

Additionally, if Congress continues its tax rebate program for hybrids, possibly even increasing it, hybrids could quite quickly become more economical than conventional cars much quicker than most automobile analysts expected.