Top 10 tech cars [hybrid electric vehicles]

A number of new hybrid electric vehicle owners have expressed their disappointment with their purchase because of poor mileage. Official ratings for fuel use, based on the outdated driving patterns of US government test, turned out to be a poor predictor for what typical buyers could expect. Still, though hybrids are hot, no single vehicle is likely to make as much of a splash this year as the revamped Prius did in 2004. The closest thing to a recurring theme in 2005 will be electronic stability control. Among concept cars, hybrid electrics are still going strong, and more of them are being built with lithium-ion batteries rather than the standard nickel-metal hydride. Lithium-ion, now used mostly in consumer electronics, offers close to twice the energy density of nickel-metal hydride. The widest lithium-ion vehicle so fat has to be the luxury-sedan concept Elica from Japan. This paper presents the top ten hybrid cars from different countries.