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"  Nissan has been getting a lot of press on the Essence of late. It&amp;#039;s one of the most attractive show cars Nissan has ever produced, but I was more intrigued by the car&amp;#039;s powertrain. Underneath the curvaceous sheet metal is a slick 600-bhp hybrid system that consists of a GT-R-based 3.7-liter twin-turbo V-6 mated to an electric motor. What&amp;#039;s surprising about this is that CEO Carlos Ghosn has routinely avoided praising hybrid technology, championing clean-burning diesels instead. But let&amp;#039;s face it, the diesel engine is the mechanical equivalent of soccer \u2014 it may be the rage in Europe, but it&amp;#039;s just not for us Americans \u2014 leaving the hybrid powertrain as the chosen form of eco-propulsion until EVs are established.   Despite the intrigue surrounding EVs, namely the Tesla and the Nissan Leaf, hybrids are still &amp;quot;in,&amp;quot; and the next several years will probably see an onslaught of new hybrid cars from all over the world.   is still the standard by which all others are judged \u2014 the company&amp;#039;s Hybrid Synergy Drive (HSD) is the most popular hybrid system in the world, followed closely by Honda&amp;#039;s IMA (Integrated Motor Assist). But what&amp;#039;s interesting about is that a new version of the IMA will be featured in a compact 3-door hatchback, marking the first time a hybrid system will be fitted to a mass-produced sporty car. The car is dubbed the CR-Z, a spiritual successor to the immensely popular CR-X. Powering the CR-Z is a hybrid system that combines a 1.5-liter inline-4 and an electric motor. It&amp;#039;s expected to produce about 130 bhp, making the 2550-lb. car a genuine pocket rocket. Fuel economy should be about 40 mpg combined. Not bad for a car that&amp;#039;ll run to 60 mph in less than 8 seconds.   Rumors are swirling around that a couple of other Japanese makers plan on borrowing Toyota&amp;#039;s HSD technology. One of them is \u2014 no surprise here considering the close relationship of the two companies (Toyota owns a stake in Fuji Heavy Industries, the owners of Subaru) \u2014 with talk about an upcoming hybrid-powered Legacy. Also, it has been reported in a Japanese newspaper (but not confirmed at the time of this writing) that Mazda has purchased the rights to HSD for its cars. We hear that the company is seriously thinking of creating a hybrid Mazda3.   As for non-Japanese carmakers, Ford&amp;#039;s hybrid vehicles, including the , are getting rave reviews, and once General Motors releases the eagerly anticipated Volt, it will surely make a huge impact in the compact-car segment, whether it gets 230 mpg or not. And no car party is complete without the Germans. BMW will begin producing high-powered hybrid versions of its X6 and 7 Series for the 2010 model year, each with at least 450 combined bhp. Even Porsche has gotten into the act, with hybrid versions of the Cayenne and a probable hybrid-powered . There&amp;#039;s even talk about a gasoline-electric 911!   The word &amp;quot;hybrid&amp;quot; has traditionally elicited a collective yawn among enthusiasts, but if we&amp;#039;re talking about a comparison test between a 600-bhp hybrid-powered Infiniti GT-R (Essence) and an equally powerful hybrid-powered 911, with a CR-Z and a hybrid-powered on the undercard, you have my full, undivided attention. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a14950/get-ready-for-the-hybrid-wars/>