States pushing hybrid vehicles, Chrysler hybrid update

"More than a dozen states and several cities are encouraging drivers to buy fuel-efficient hybrid cars by offering tax breaks, free parking and the use of HOV lanes reserved for car poolers," according to a new USAToday article. The motive? To help clean the air in these cities.

Of course, not every hybrid buyer cares about the air. In fact some buyers in Virginia started buying hybrids to shave time off their commutes because they could drive in the car pool lane. Unfortunately, this has lead to congested car pool lanes in places like Virginia, where residents purchased every available Toyota Prius and Honda Civic hybrid.

The big move in fuel efficiency and gas prices hasn't gone unnoticed. Chrysler has announced that its hybrid powertrain will be ready for production in late 2007. "Thereafter, starting in 2008, a lot more applications. We have been pretty quiet about which vehicles," noted Chrysler COO Tom LaSorda recently (Autoweek).