Toyota is aiming for a million drivetrains using a hybrid setup this year to run the Prius and the Auris HSD. The Japanese car manufacturer is not really looking in the direction of new designs for their upcoming hybrids especially with the good reliability and performance they are getting from their 1.8L small hybrids.

The powetrain executives of Toyota confirmed that they will be launching new hybrid units that will tap into the flexibility of their current hybrid technology to give the cars sporty characteristics.

The powertrain guru of Toyota, Gerald Killman, explained that they do not need to design new hybrid systems when their current systems can supply what they need due to its adaptability and flexibility.

It seems the rumors buzzing before are true that Toyota is going for a hybrid system that can rival the Honda CR-Z. The concept car FT-CH which took the spotlight during the Detroit Auto Show last January might be a good preview of how the upcoming car might look.

It is still uncertain if the new hybrid units will take the Prius name or will they create a new one to market.

The Ray embodies the direction Kia wants to take towards fluid design lines and efficiency which is the current name of the game in the automotive industry.

The concept car Ray represents the future line of Kia under its sub-brand that will be called EcoDynamics. The EcoDynamics badge will represent sporty designs, use of low emission systems, and excellent fuel efficiency.

The Kia Ray will be using a 153 hp 1.4L engine coupled with a 78 kW electric motor.

The Kia Ray makes use of recycled and lightweight components with a full glass roofing which uses solar cells to power the car’s accessories. The body of the car also use cool-glazing substances to keep the energy demand for cooling the interior low.

The aerodynamic design of the car makes use of some tricks to reduce the drag of this amazing new Kia Car. The car has a very low roofline, underbody panel to take car of the flow of air under the vehicle, and a high deck on the rear to further reduce drag. It has an excellent drag coefficient of 0.25.

The car’s headlight also slides back into a housing to give way to extra air intakes to help with the cooling of the engine. The green car also makes use of motion detectors in place of side mirrors.

The GM facility that seized operation last summer used to produce the Saturn Sky, Opel GT, and the Pontiac Solstice. These models were killed this year as the company went into restructuring through bankruptcy.

Fisker comes up as one of the high-profile start up car manufacturers developing electric vehicles. The other player is Tesla.

Fisker unveiled the 2010 Karma sports sedan during the 2008 motor show in Detroit. The deliveries of these aggressive rides will start by May. The Fisker Karma will compete with the Model S of Tesla which is due for release in 2012.

With the low interest grants from the federal government, Fisker will be spending most of the funds to fuel Project Nina and come up with the infrastructure needed for its assembly.

The Project Nina is expected to be priced at the $48,000 line and it also qualifies for the tax credit since it is an electric vehicle. The production of Fisker is set to reach 100,000 units every year.

The Fisker team will still do their designs and engineering at their Pontiac, Michigan plant although their main office is in Irvine, California.

A new report reveals that a hybrid LaCrosse is also in the works and may come soon. GM executives confirmed that there will be indeed a hybrid but they did not verify the exact time line of the project.

GM is working on coming up with hybrid technologies and the public may expect more detailed announcements from the marketing arm of Buick as the release date comes closer.

The announcement of the production of the hybrid LaCrosse comes after GM turns off its lights on the Malibu hybrid starting with the 2010 model.

The LaCrosse hybrid may be produced using a technology derived from the BAS+ hybrid system from the Malibu. The two hybrids will be sharing similar body parts and will be built in the same GM facility.

The Malibu was killed due to low sales performance. All eyes will be on the hybrid LaCrosse and how it can up the figures.

General Motors (Buick‘s owner) is planning to make 14 hybrid vehicle models by 2012 and most likely the new variant of the Buick LaCrosse will be one of them.

The car manufacturer continues to look into alternative propulsion for their midsize units but is not on the stage of revealing any details about them.

Two Toyota Prius units were converted as hybrid cars running on a Hymotion L5 Plug-in Conversion Module designed by A123Systems. The module nestles nanophosphate Li-ion batteries which saves up on up to 100mpg of fuel consumption.

The hybrid Prius units can be electrically assisted for an average of 30 to 40 miles. These hybrid cars can be recharged for a short five hours through any 110V electric outlet.

The Hymotion L5 Plug-in Conversion Module by A123Systems cuts down the greenhouse gas of these hybrid Prius units by at least 50% compared to conventional Prius units. This is approximately 80% less compared to regular sedans. Further experiments and data collection will be done by the Department of Energy National Laboratories in Idaho.

The hybrid electric bucket trucks configured by International Durastar, on the other hand, showed up to 60% of fuel savings because of the module. These trucks can also run totally without diesel consumption, and solely depending on electric power. The two units have been assigned to Dominion Virginia offices in the north.

The power company uses 1.7 million gallons of soy-based biofuel on 783 trucks. The higher cost of biofuel, Dominion said, is offset by the vehicles’ fuel efficiency and minimized maintenance requirements for the engines.

Dominion Virginia Power generates up to 27,000 megawatts of power annually. It serves retail power consumers in 12 states.