Can These Hybrid Cars Save Detroit?

Hybrid Sticker Shock

Keller said that there are plenty of enhancements that automakers could make to conventional vehicles to improve gas mileage without the cost of the hybrid.

After all, hybrids typically cost $4,000 more than a conventional vehicle, according to Stephen Spivey, senior auto industry analyst with Frost & Sullivan.

When gas prices were at $4 a gallon, that extra cost would be quickly recouped by city drivers. But for those primarily on the highway, the heavy weight of the battery and lack of braking -- which charges the battery -- didn't make the cars economical.

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Now that gas is below $2 a gallon -- although nobody is sure how long that will last -- hybrids don't make sense on price alone.

Spivey said hybrid sales track closely with the price of gas.

To see this in action, look no further than the Toyota Prius. In April, when gas was climbing fast, 21,757 of the popular hybrids were sold. But last month, after the return of cheap gas, only 8,660 of the cars sold.

So why are automakers centering their recovery plans, in part, around hybrids?

Spivey said there is a growing demand in Congress for better fuel economy and they are "sensitive to their audience."

Congress and the CEOs

To highlight their newly-expanded commitment to hybrids, Ford CEO Alan Mulally, General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner and Chrysler CEO Nardelli are all arriving in Washington in hybrids. The move also might help diffuse anger about the three taking individual private jets last time to ask for a taxpayer-funded bailout.

GM's Wagoner took three vehicles for the journey from Detroit, with most of the trip spent in the Chevy Malibu Hybrid. He also traveled in the Cobalt XFE, the highest fuel-economy car that GM sells, and the E-85 Buick Lucerne, which runs on ethanol. Wagoner also will drive a test version of the Chevy VOLT before testifying.

Ford's Mulally was reported driving a Ford Escape hybrid, and Chrysler's Nardelli took the Aspen.

Those three cars can be seen as prime examples of the challenges the automakers face.

For instance, a conventional Ford Escape starts at $20,100 and gets 22 miles per gallon in the city and 28 on the highway. The hybrid version of the Escape starts at $29,305 and gets 34 miles per gallon in the city and 31 on the highway.

That $9,000 sticker- price difference can be a major stumbling block for consumers. The Chevy Malibu has a $4,000 price difference between its conventional and hybrid models.