I too think that the fuel standards should be raised to more of the 40 mpg range, the technology is there to do it. Most companies here in the US are already making a diesel version of their cars in europe and can achieve really high mileage. They need to do some work to pass the emissions standards in the US but it could be done. However, it will be difficult to make the larger vehicles and trucks to achieve this standard. The weights of these larger vehicles will have to be reduced to improve the mileage, I am unsure how this will be done.

Electronics are what is not being discussed, everyone do me a favor and rent, “Who killed the electric car?” It may change your mind as far as what is the type of car that we all need to be driving. I still think a company like Th!nk out of Norway is going to blow all of these companies out of the water eventually. Hydrogen fuel, natural gas, and others are all developing technologies, but electronics is a developed industry, and only some very few items need to be worked out for a fully electronic car to really be an viable alternative. If not an true alternative, really look for this hybrid technology to spread further into new car development.