Goodbye Prius, Hello Volt

Newsweek has a story that's worth reading on why first-generation, Prius-style hybrids may be the first victims of a shift to plug-in hybrids. Why dump these relatively new cars? Because the market will need to make room for their much more efficient younger brothers and sisters. Of course, Prius maker Toyota disagrees:

"The fact that the Prius has been around for 10 years does not mean it is old news or obsolete. In fact, it keeps getting better and better," says John Hanson, a company spokesman ... Hanson says Toyota is doing research on lithium-ion batteries, and plans a plug-in hybrid prototype for next year. But he insists that for now its tried-and-true batteries are best, and that lithium ion isn't ready for prime time. "Battery science is not where it needs to be," he says.

Recently, we've seen a bit of news on the hybrid in the school bus industry. Next generation buses may be far from some district's economic reach now, but with more hybrids coming to market, the school bus industry will soon have its own similar questions to answer.