By as early as 2014, according to recent analysis, the winners of the automotive battery industry might have already won and revenues will rule.

Within the next few years a number of lithium-powered hybrids, plug-in hybrids and EVs will hit the road. Initially, most will be low-volume vehicles. Consequently, sales of NiMH hybrids will continue to dominate for some time, unless of course Toyota converts the Prius into a lithium hybrid.

Considering the importance of lithium, how long can Toyota wait before committing to lithium for its flag ship Toyota Prius? Even if Toyota’s lithium-powered plug-in Prius tops plug-in sales by 2014, that might not be enough for industry-leading revenues. Of course, Toyota’s recent lithium investments and battery partnerships hint that such complacency is unlikely.

Moreover, Ford has started to sound a lot like Toyota on hybrid vehicles. By 2018 it’s possible that Ford could actually begin to challenge Toyota’s hybrid sale’s crown, and Ford’s lithium commitment appears set to begin in 2012, with lithium-powered conventional hybrids the key.

When the plug-in Prius goes on sale in late 2011, I expect lithium-powered conventional Prius hybrids won’t be far behind. If not, maybe Toyota will need some kaizen lessons from Ford.

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cual es mejor?, es por gusto, los dos me gustan son dos maquinas

Despite owning Toyota vehicles, I’m no huge Toyota fan. I love their hybrid cars, but I hate their dealerships. Of course, since I have a hybrid bias, Toyota is my favorite automaker, despite their crappy dealerships.

Take Toyota out of the hybrid game, and there is no game. At best you’re left with a pep rally that might lead to a game. Moreover, if Toyota survives the recall scandal, their hybrid cars, and/or possibly gas prices, will put far more pressure on the Big 3 to increase their fuel economy than any government regulations.

Fortunately, despite Toyota’s recalls, a new hybrid plant in Japan is set to open to help offset demand. And that’s a good sign that Toyota will stay on track to be 30 percent hybrid by 2020 – far and away the industry’s most aggressive battery-powered plans.

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Kudos to Edmunds for putting out a number of stories focused on the real unintended acceleration story, survival.

Yes, I know, many of these unintended acceleration stories are probably nonsense, such as the latest runaway Prius story, and that might also be a piece of the ‘real story’. Likewise, the chances of experiencing unintended acceleration are exceptionally slim.

Ultimately, despite what Congressional grand-standers, ambulance chasing attorneys and a drama-thirsty media would have you believe, most instances of unintended acceleration are easy to survive. According to Edmunds, shifting your car into neutral instantly ends unintended acceleration. Nevertheless, Edmunds was still was able to stop a V-6 Camry with a wide open throttle by keeping strong and constant pressure on the brakes, even without power brakes.

Essentially, almost all sudden acceleration problems are survivable, if you are an informed driver.

Speaking of which, anyone want to start a class action lawsuit against the DMV for failing to properly educate today’s motorists?

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Watched the overly dramatized, although very fascinating, Food Inc. last night, and I was left with two over-whelming thoughts: 1.) Is health care reform a joke when high fructose corn syrup is subsidized by the government, and 2.) Isn’t ethanol simply code for big oil?

In the US, most foods and many products can in some way trace some of their roots back to corn and, consequently, petroleum. Ultimately, America’s corny economy isn’t just killing the US health care system, according to Food Inc., it also uses vast amounts of petroleum. And, as many scientists have suggested, if it takes as much, or more, petroleum to displace petroleum via ethanol, what’s the gain, aside from massive subsidies for the politically powerful corn lobbies, cheap fast food, and low-cost labor?

Yet, President Obama has been as big a proponent of ethanol as President Bush was of big oil, but is there really any difference? Isn’t over-dependence upon ethanol just as bad, if not worse, than over-dependence upon petroleum?

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Fisker Karma 2010 Hybrid Car shown at Detroit Auto Show 2009.

Fisker goes hybrid with an old design, Top Gear may be coming to GT5, and is that Porsche Panamara going to look any better? Hosted by your girlfriend, Ji Young Min. Check out feed.fastlanedaily.com and don’t forget to subscribe to us via itunes.

Edmunds.com has put together a video of the different ways to slow down an “out of control” Toyota Prius. Ironically, Edmunds finds that an out of control Prius really isn’t that out of control.

Check out the video

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Due to consumer demand, GM has no intention of abandoning its production of large trucks and SUVs, however, a greater portion of them will be hybrid vehicles Bob Lutz told the AP.

However, the hybrid move isn’t necessarily some new vision coming out of GM. Rather GM is making the move to meet new CAFE requirements.

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In February, Ford sold almost 33,000 Ford F Series trucks, making it the top selling vehicle in America, by far. Of the top 3 selling vehicles, 2 were trucks. Inevitably, day after day, month after month, year after year, and decade after decade, large trucks dominate the top of US auto sales.

Nonetheless, while the bread and butter of the Big 3, the 17 mpg all-American truck is killing America.

Fortunately, a few years ago, GM made a pretty smart move and added hybrid technology to its trucks. Unfortunately, despite big increases in fuel economy, especially in city traffic (although how many really need a truck in city driving?), sales for hybrid trucks, such as the Chevy Silverado hybrid, have been almost non-existent because of the significant upfront costs.

Of course, sales for the Chevy Volt range extended electric car will be much better than GM’s hybrid trucks. Still, it might take more than a decade for the Volt to achieve even a third of the sales the F Series is currently achieving and possibly far longer.

While the development of small hybrid and electric cars is critical, isn’t it time to put more energy into the real problem?

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