Everyone from Ford to GM to Toyota is betting on plug-in hybrids, with models like the Ford Escape, Chevrolet Volt and Toyota Prius promising to offer the technology in the next couple of years. The promise of all-electric operation, and the equivalent of 100 mpg, is hard to ignore. Yet there are many hurdles to overcome, like lithium-ion battery technology, heat management and warranty concerns. But an even bigger quesiton remains: How will utility companies react to this new drain on the power grid?

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Last Friday's blog entry discussed the crash-and-burn status of large truck and SUV sales. Basically, if it's big and it's truck-based, it ain't sellin' (with rare exception). At the same time, Ford's archaic Ranger is up for the year, and anecdotel evidence suggests new and used Rangers, along with older Toyota and Nissan compact trucks, are quite popular with truck buyers in 2008.

This is basically a repeat of what happned with American cars in the 1970s. For decades they'd grown larger and larger, then a fuel crisis hit and everyone (car buyers and car makers) stopped, took a critical look at the size of their vehicles, and basically said, "What the #@&* are we doing?! Nobody actually needs vehicles this big, we're just caught up in a 'Size Arms Race' with the rest of the industry. Now our vehicles are just stupid-big -- and they guzzle a lot of gas!"

This epiphany had every carmaker immediately downsizing their offerings as a result, and while cars have grown in recent years we've still never approached the behemoths being sold in 1974.

There's an undeniable trend that just keeps repeating this auto show season. It started in Tokyo last October, though at that show you expect to see a bizarre combination of performance (Nissan GT-R) and environmental responsibility (Honda Puyo). But the same themes have appeared at Los Angeles, Detroit, Chicago and Geneva.

You've got car companies committed to vehicles like the Dodge Challenger and and Corvette ZR-1 because they had their genesis back when fuel was $2 a gallon and the Prius was still a punchline in late night monologues. At the same time every automaker is scrambling to produce an earth-friendly, Al Gore-approved form of transportation as quickly as possible.

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You've heard my predictions on the 1 Series (expect success), the Lancer Evolution (fabulous, despite taunts of "selling out") and the new Dodge Challenger (ummm...). But there are dozens of new models about to hit showroom (G8, M3, Sequoia, F Series, etc) and, frankly, I can't drive them all. Well...maybe I can, but that doesn't mean you should simply take my word on the future success or failure of these models.

Edmunds just launched a new feature on Inside Line called Car Stock Exchange, and as the name implies, it allows you to trade "stock" on new models by predicting how well a given model will sell. As with other virtual stock exchanges, this one uses play money, but the initial stock prices are based on an estimate of vehicle sales during a model's first six months on the market, and the final stock valuation is tied to the real-world sales numbers. The game launched last week, it's free to play, and there are 25 models currently available to invest your starting amount of one million CSX dollars. A new vehicle is added every week (next up, the BMW X6) and prizes like a Nintendo Wii will be awarded based on portfolio performance at regular intervals.

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The 2008 Dodge Challenger stands poised to upstage the Chicago Auto Show this week, and as an avowed Mopar freak I should be fully enthralled by this car's return. Yup, I should be.

But I'm not. While I see the Challenger's return as an excellent opprotunity to cash in on Chrysler's muscle car heritage (and I love the production grille, fuel-filler door and other styling cues) I also see some major problems with the car's launch plan. As I stated last week in my Dodge Charger R/T post, the LX chassis is pretty hefty for a "sporty coupe" -- even one with a muscle car heritage. But there are additional issues that have me concerned, most of them centered around first impressions this car will make on potential buyers.

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By now you've probably seen the news regarding Tesla's launch date for its all-electric roadster. The day that will live in infamy (or not) is March 17th.

I'm heartened by this news, as I (along with many others) had been moving from cautiously optimistic to downright skeptical regarding the Tesla's real-world chances. Does this date mean I'm no longer skeptical? Nope. Beyond the slipping launch date the car's technical specifications keep slipping, too. What started as a 250-mile range car with zero-to-60 in 4.0 seconds and an MSRP of $92,000 has shifted to 200 miles, zero-to-60 in 5.7 seconds and $98,000.

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Our 2008 Detroit Auto Show preview is up, and among the world premiers is the most powerful Corvette ever, the next-generation Ford F-150 and the first redesign of Honda's highly-successful Pilot. I'm intrigued by the powerful Corvette and Cadillac CTS-V that will debut in Detroit, but I'm more impressed by what appears to be a serious green showing by Chrysler. Despite its access to the same two-mode hybrid transmission that GM is using in the Tahoe, Chrysler has the farthest to go in achieving real-world fuel-mileage gains.

Of course it wouldn't be a modern auto show without a crossover or six. Beyond the Pilot you can expect to see the next Subaru Forester, the all-new Mercedes-Benz GLK, the all-new Kia Borrego, the all-new Toyota Venza and the Land Rover LRX Concept.

All hail Nancy Pelosi and "the energy bill" -- as it means we'll finally be driving 35 mpg cars in just 12 years, right?

WRONG! I'm not sure if any of you caught this recent Newsweek article, but it points out an interesting disconnect between CAFE and EPA mileage testing. Our own technical wizard, Dan Edmunds, is quoted in the article, and he notes that even today a car rated for 21 mpg by the EPA gets 27.5 mpg according to CAFE standards. This is because CAFE still uses the same testing standards it established in 1975, while the EPA has updated its procedures twice. First it lowerd its results by 10 percent city and 22 percent highway across the board in 1984 to address widespread complaints of inaccurate mileage numbers. And then the EPA altered its testing procudures for 2008 to further improve accuracy.

Well guys, I made it to both meals, despite the urge to simply kick it in the Lexus LS 600's massaging rear seat on the show floor instead. I must get more comfortable "fancy" shoes for these damn auto shows.

The Ed Peper/Chevrolet lunch was great. There were only about 12 journalists, so each writer had plenty of time to ask his questions. Here's what I learned:

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Alright guys, I've done this before and it's proven surprisingly successful, so I'm once again asking: Given the opportunity, what would say to the top guys at a major automaker?

Today I'll be having lunch with Ed Peper, General Manager of GM's Chevrolet division. I'll follow that up tonight by dining with BMW USA Chairman and CEO, Tom Purves.

I've got a few items to cover with these folks (listed below), but I'm always happy to hear more suggestions.

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