Toyota says it will launch as many as 10 new hybrid gas-electric models within the next four years IF the economic downturn doesn’t prevent them and IF there is renewed consumer demand.

When gas was $4+ gallon (US) consumers didn’t mind paying an extra $3-5,000. They seem to mind now that gas is half that price.

Toyota has a fleet of 500 plug-in Priuses that it will unleash next year. A new redesigned Prius and Lexus luxury sedan will be unveiled in Detroit.

Toyota will also unveil a concept car – a battery-electric vehicle for city use that the company hopes to put into production by 2012. Sales were down by half in December.

How soon we forget! Save gas when it is expensive. Gulp it down when it is not. Now is the time to save on gas, BEFORE the next oil crisis comes.

Edmunds.com, an online car research service, estimates that, as a result of the drop in gas prices, a Prius owner must now wait more than eight years to recoup the extra cost of the vehicle in fuel savings, compared with 3.5 years when the gas price climbed above $4 a gallon last spring.

Meanwhile, Honda’s “Prius-Fighter” the Insight Hybrid is coming, GM’s Volt is on its way – sometime in late 2010, while Cadillac has the Converj which is expected in 2012. I wonder if that will turn out to be true, or not …

Source: Nikkei (sub req)

The 2009 Detroit Auto Show just opened gates to press and there’s good stuff for eco-minded people. GM just officially unveiled their beautifully styled, sleek, and clearly aerodynamic Cadillac Converj.

It’s a two-door front-wheel-drive coupe extended range electric concept that uses E-Flex technology – now known as Voltec, that is expected to deliver a 40-mile range from a set of lithium ion batteries (16-kWh T-shaped battery that takes less than 3 hours at 240V/8 hours at 120V to charge) and a four-cylinder gasoline engine-generator.

As for how powerful it is, consider 120 kW and a 273 lb-ft torque. There’s no word on production yet, but our guess is it won’t hit the streets before 2012.

Hit the jump for a big gallery with the new Cadillac Converj, and the press release.

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