Hyundai Motor Co. is joining the hybrid party with a mass-production model, the Avante compact sedan, that is set to go on sale in South Korea and some other markets next year.

Although Hyundai makes no secret of its intent to ultimately bring hybrids in the U.S., it has not disclosed North American sales plans.

The South Korean automaker said that its hybrid lineup will grow as midsize models are introduced in 2010.  A fuel-cell electric vehicle is expected in 2012, the company said.

Global demand for hybrid cars is rapidly growing, and Hyundai wants a piece of the action.

The automaker said its research shows that 390,125 hybrids were sold in 2006 and 517,911 in 2007. Hyundai said it expects total annual hybrid sales to hit 750,000 this year and to begin exceeding one million by 2010.

John O'Dell, Senior Editor

Hyundai Tucson Fuel Cell Vehicle

As if on cue, the cars of the future queue up and drive past Vijay Vaitheeswaran.

A shiny new Nissan Altima hybrid powered by both gasoline and electricity zips by silently. A slick European-spec Audi A6 sedan purrs by, burning clean diesel.

Then comes a Prius hybrid with a short power cord where you'd expect to find a tailpipe, signifying its aftermarket conversion to a 100-plus mpg plug-in. There's even a Hyundai Tucson fuel-cell electric SUV carrying three tanks full of hydrogen, enough to travel about 150 miles.

Vaitheeswaran, a reporter for The Economist and co-author of  Zoom: The Global Race to Fuel the Car of the Future, nods in appreciation.

He's taken a break from his book tour to attend an alternative fuels program in the industrial town of South San Francisco.

 "In a nutshell, oil is the problem, cars are a big part of the solution," he said.

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A weekend devoted to worship of fuel-swilling, carbon-spewing muscle cars wouldn't seem the ideal place to preach the gospel of clean transportation, but the California Fuel Cell Partnership pitched its tent just inside the entry gates to the Coronado Speed Festival this past weekend -- and got a lot of action.

Almost 1,500 people attending the two-day festival on Coronado Island in San Diego Bay dropped by the partnership's stand to take a drive in one of the eight fuel-cell electric vehicles on hand. 

“It’s actually a smart thing to do,” Hyundai spokesman Kevin Oates said of the decision to force-feed fuel cells to the speed crowd.  “It lets us reach out to the trend-setters. These are people who are dedicated auto enthusiasts, and they can influence the industry,” he said of festival-goers. 

“They’re auto enthusiasts,” he said, “so they’re enthusiastic about their muscle cars and racecars, but they’re also very open to the idea of the fuel cell as a door to the future of the auto.”

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EPA fuel economy ratings for individual models are posted on price stickers

America’s passenger vehicle fleet, still top-heavy with light trucks and large sport utility vehicles, turned in an average fuel economy of 20.2 miles per gallon for 2007 models, unimproved from 2006, according to a new report by the federal Environmental Protection Agency.

That the numbers didn’t change despite soaring fuel prices and a nationwide push for greater fuel economy to help reduce our dependence on imported oil reflects both the slow pace at which automakers can adopt improved technologies and the reluctance of U.S. car buyers to give up the kinds of vehicles they’ve been buying for years.

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Although there's plenty of development work on alternative fuels and power plants going on in U.S. automakers’ R&D labs, the industry is consumed these days with fixing its collective financial woes and there's not much noise being made about advancing green technology. Not in the U.S., anyhow.

We likely won't hear too much about what's close to being market ready until the carmakers and the UAW complete their ongoing master contract negotiations and possibly not until the hype around January's Detroit auto show begins.

But Asian and European car companies, including European subsidiaries of both Ford and GM,  are stepping in to fill the environmental void, with a spate of clean diesels and gas-electric hybrids in the works. A lot of green goodies will be shown off at the 2007 Frankfurt Auto Show, which begins a two-day press preview on Tuesday.

Here's a look at what's on tap.