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Hybrids
What do you get when you cross a hippie with a rapper?
The Cadillac Escalade Hybrid of course.
I remember when my dad, after emigrating to Chicago from Europe and after countless hours of toil, finally made it in America.
The first thing he did was reward himself by buying a massive Cadillac Eldorado. 
The original version of the Honda Insight, sold between 2000 and 2006, was odd-looking. But as the first mass-produced hybrid vehicle available in the United States, its unique status and strange appearance made it cool. When the Insight departed, the Toyota Prius took over hybrid dominance, and Honda hasn't been happy since. The Insight returned in 2009 as a 2010 model and Honda is ready to go head-to-head with the Prius by offering its new base model Insight for less than $20,000. It's the country's least expense hybrid. 
Now entering its third year as a rare luxury sport sedan hybrid, the 2009 Lexus GS 450h is a desirable automobile that just happens to be a hybrid. There's little, if any, consolation to its “green status” in any area of the car — acceleration to braking, handling to design. It's a hybrid alright, with its small hybrid nameplate is so subtly positioned, how would anyone really know? It's a heavy heavyweight in the premium sedan market. It features extraordinary technology, including features other hybrids don't offer. The GS 450h operates in gas-only or electric-only mode or a combination, for example, with little difference in performance but plenty eco-friendly ambition.
A decade ago, your
quirky “green” neighbors down the street may have driven a Honda
Insight, but hybrid vehicles largely existed on the fringe. Today,
owning an eco-friendly car has become mainstream—the same family down
the street may still have their odd-looking hybrid, but the fraternity
now includes soccer moms, bank executives and college students.
The 2010 Honda Insight will be available sooner than previously announced, according to the New York Times. The gas-electric hybrid will be available beginning March 24 at a starting price for the base LM model of $19,800. According to the newspaper, the total price (with destination charge)
will be $20,470 or about $2,250 less than Toyota Prius, the
best-selling hybrid in the United States.
Far too few new American cars average more than 30 mpg. But the 2008 Nissan Altima hybrid is in the small fraternity and that means it warrants extended consideration. A midsize sedan with strong competition among hybrid and non-hybrid family vehicles, the Altima hybrid offers surprising versatility and holds its own in many areas against non-hybrid leaders Honda Accord and Toyota Camry.
This is the second of a two-part series, "Cool Hybrids To Consider For 2008. In the first part, I reviewed the Ford Escape and Chevy Malibu.
It's unlikely Ferdinand Verbiest was known as an environmentalist nor did he likely have a quest to be "green." But as a Jesuit priest of Belgian ancestry living and working in China, Verbiest was a visionary.
Confused about the differences between the Ford Escape and the Mazda Tribute? Don’t be. They are essentially the same vehicle.
And if two options aren’t enough, how about three?
The 2008 edition continues the second generation of the Honda Civic hybrid, which was introduced in 2006 and has maintained a strong share in the ever-expanding hybrid market.
TheWeeklyDriver
