You've come a long way, hybrid battery tech

Patience. Perseverance. Determination. Ingenuity. Just a few of the qualities necessary for the engineers and developers of new technology, namely the new litho-technology in the hybrid battery market. While all current hybrids operate on nickel-metal hydride battery packs, the future is focusing on lithium-ion batteries. Developments in lithium-ion technology have been advancing by leaps and bounds, but there's still much more ground to cover - and, according to Automotive News, a few more years to wait - before the greener rubber will truly hit the road.

In the meantime, they reported sales of current hybrids are up: "Altogether, 203,098 hybrids were sold in the United States through July 2007, up 42.4 percent from sales of 142,622 units during the same period last year." And the leader? The trusty Toyota Prius: 110,565 were sold during this period, up 86.5 percent from the same seven-month period last year. Any chance you're thinkin' of getting one of those fuel-savin' hybrids for yourself? Check out the 2007 hybrids plus the up-and-coming models, along with a whole slew of recent hybrid road tests and get the low-down on realistic daily life with a hybrid.

photo courtesy flickr © toastforbrekkies