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The car of the future has already arrived. I was fortunate enough to have seen one of these while in Japan last October. They have been on sale there for a couple of years. Utilizing a serial-hybrid drivetrain, this vehicle won't force you to use special fuel or ask you to carry a REALLY long extension cord. GM failed because it caused buyers (OK, lessees) of its Impact to recharge and sacrifice range. As more advanced forms of generating electricity are developed, this type of drivetrain will win out as the most efficient; the advantage being that the generator is (for the most part) irrelevant to performance. If we finally do get a fusion reactor powered by garbage, it would fit nicely where the optimized internal combustion engine now resides. Other cars on the verge of production appear to have 2-doors. How am I supposed to put my children in the back seat, guys?
This site is more a commercial sales pitch than anything, which is a shame. They have good ideas and some plans you can buy. One of the many consultants who have been around since the oil crisis, telling us how much better our lives would be if we only drove electric cars. However, they do acknowledge the advantages of hybrids in a recent paper.
Hypercar (Rocky Mountain Institute)
This website has some great rhetoric. Unfortunately, it seems that's all it is. I've been watching this group with interest for a while. With all the time and money these folks have spent over the years on modeling and "technical assessments," they could have hired a few more engineers and built working prototypes. (Hint, hint, Amory.) They seem to have the concepts nailed down, but what they lack is how to build the darn things. Also available from RMI is lots of environmentally sound thinking. Contrary to most tree-huggers, they look at things from a broader point of view. From containing urban sprawl to transportation, their position is to optimize design. Think of them as cheerleaders for the future.
Honda beats Toyota to US sales punch on
hybrid technology 
This is my evaluation of the first mass-produced hybrid available in the US, Honda's insight.
