Sooner or later it was bound to happen, that being a person being hit by a hybrid because he/she didn't hear it coming. This time it was young Minnesota child, Owen Flannigan, who was the unfortunate victim. The good news is that the young boy was not seriously hurt.

Jane Flannigan, the child's mother stated that her 8-year old son said, ""I saw the car, but I could not hear anything." The Prius apparently pulled over to the curb without the child being aware of it, and in the process, hit him.

One group that's really concerned about this lack of noise issue is the National Federation of the Blind, which believes that Hybrids pose a real threat to those who rely on noise from cars to keep themselves safe.

"These quiet cars that are very difficult to hear in the normal flow of everyday outdoor activity play a safety hazard," says Jennifer Dunnam, president of the NFB's Minnesota affiliate. "Blind people depend on their hearing to know what the traffic is doing."

Last month, if you recall, I did a blog on this very topic (Are hybrids and electric vehicles, by being so quiet, creating a safety issue?). In fact this is the third time I've blogged about it.

Full story here here.

We managed to snag a little face time with Nissan super boss Carlos Ghosn here in Beijing. As we expected, he talked mostly about business stuff given that he runs two of the world's biggest automakers, Nissan and Renault. He did, however, spend a few minutes talking about Nissan's electric vehicle program, and it's clear he sees it as a must-have technology for the future survival of the company.

His basic premise? There's a huge chunk of the world population that doesn't currently own cars, but they want to own one eventually and nobody is going to stop them. That means millions of additional cars on the world's roads in the coming decades, a situation that makes zero-emission vehicles absolutely essential.

That leaves two paths: pure electric cars and hydrogen fuel cells. As far as Ghosn is concerned, pure electric is the way to go. The infrastructure is already there with no need for new fueling stations, transport systems or training for consumers. Everybody already knows how to plug stuff into the wall; it's too simple to ignore.

According to Ghosn, Nissan will have an electric vehicle in the U.S. by 2010 followed up by a pilot program in Israel in 2011 and worldwide sales in 2012. He says his confidence in the program comes from the fact that the engineers working on it know they have a shot at changing the very nature of the industry.

Of course, good intentions only go so far, but as Ghosn also noted, "We are spending a lot of money on this program." We'll see if it's enough in a couple years. -- Ed Hellwig, Lead Senior Editor, Inside Line

Some time back I did blog entry on hybrids and pure electric-powered vehicles being so quiet, that this could be a safety concern. Now there are others who feel the same way. I'm talking about blind pedestrians who have a tough enough time as it is negotiating traffic when crossing streets.

I've posted two links (here and here) on this, to get you thinking...

Volvo, as in Volvo "Truck," not Volvo "Car," is testing diesel-electric hybrid trash trucks. They are hoping to sell hybrid trucks next year. When you think about it, a trash truck is perfect for hybrid duties. The speeds are usually very low, which means the electric motor aspect is most often in use. It shuts it self down when it comes to a halt like hybrid cars, which trash trucks do a lot of. It recharges when braking, again, something trash trucks do a lot of.

Here's Green Car Advisor's take: Volvo Truck Talking Trash About Hybrids

There remains much debate over the merits (and demerits) of lithium ion batteries as a viable power source for hybrids. Honda, a company often associated with being on the cutting edge of technology, is not so sure about lithium ion batteries, at least not just yet. Their upcoming Prius-fighter is likely to use proven battery technology, that is until lithium ion batteries have proven themselves.

Here's Green Car Advisor's take: Despite Competition, Honda Not Sold on Lithium Ion

Also, here's another related story on Honda's above-mentioned Prius-fighter, as a few details are now beginning to emerge.

Frankly I'm not surprised to hear this, as Audi has done wonders with diesels in racing. My guess is the Touareg V10 diesel will be the basis from which Porsche will undoubtedly tweak so that it meets their needs. In addition to this, there are rumors that there could be a Panamera hybrid as well.

The reason for doing this? Apparently it's due to the tougher upcoming emission requirements that will soon be upon Europe.

Full story here.

As most of you know Inside Line also conducts long-term tests on vehicles that they purchase. Usually the vehicles are kept for one year, but in this case, because it's a hybrid and they wanted to get a true long-term evaluation of how it is, they've kept the vehicle for two years.

The results are disappointing, to say the least. Oh, the car performed okay, but the gas mileage over two years (30,000 miles) is not nearly what Lexus claimed for the RX400h. The EPA sticker on this vehicle is 31 city and 27 highway. What Edmunds ended up with is:

Best: 28 mpg

Worst: 16 mpg

Average: 20 mpg

Besides the disappointing gas mileage, this clearly points to just how valuable these long-term tests can be. There's nothing like living with a vehicle for a long time to see what its true colors are, and in this case it's more red than green.

2006 Lexus RX 400h: 2 years and 30,000 miles

Toyota is wrestling with the idea of possibly turning the Prius into a brand unto itself. I had read a while back of perhaps adding more models under the Prius umbrella, but this is the first that I've heard of actually turning this model into a separate brand, much like Scion and Lexus.

Not sure how I feel about this. On one hand it's a clear indication how strongly Toyota feels about the future of hybrids, and that's good. On the other hand, by making the Prius a separate brand, will that hurt Toyota as a brand? As it stands, the term "hybrid" and "Toyota" are closely linked. That link could disappear, or at least become less clear, should the Prius go out on its own.

Pictured above is the Toyota 1/X carnon-fiber plug-in concept from last year's Tokyo Motor Show, of which the next Prius may be based off.

Full story here.

Katsuaki Watanabe, president of Toyota has stated that there will be a hybrid of some sort in all Toyota model lines, probably sometime in the 2020s. For cars, don't expect diesel hybrids, as Watanabe thinks they will likely be too expensive for that application. For trucks, however, that may not be the case. In fact Toyota already sells a diesel hybrid truck in Japan.

Hmmm... A diesel hybrid Tundra? Yeah, I could see that. Then again, maybe not...

Here's Green Car Advisor's take: Toyota Chief Still Wants Hybrids in Every Model Line, But Isn't Sold On Diesel-Hybrid Cars

GM is not going to let Toyota, or anyone else, take all the spoils to be garnered from hybrids. Nosiree! GM is getting serious about this hybrid stuff—and you can expect to see their next-generation hybrid system in 2010, and it's loaded with goodies.

As the graphic indicates, expect to see lithium ion batteries; more power; and of course, more economy. "We took the present system and put it on steroids," said Stephan Poulos,  GM's global chief engineer for hybrid systems.

For the specifics, check out what Green Car Advisor's has to say: Power, Fuel Economy Key To GM's Hybrids in 2010