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The Detroit Auto Show is all abuzz about the newest hybrid vehicles. Toyota (TM), long the leader in this automotive area, is seeing Honda (HMC) and General Motors (GM), not to mention Ford (F), coming up behind them with their new hybrid vehicles.

GM introduced its Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid concept amid news that Honda has revealed they are developing an all-new small hybrid car, a five-passenger version of their slower selling two-passenger Insight. The new verision should be available within the next two to three years, according to this Newsweek.com article.

The Toyota Prius is a hot-selling hybrid, controlling more than half the market for hybrids in the U.S. Interestingly, the Insight was the first hybrid introduced here in America, in 1998 but it is cramped and the larger five-seat Accord hybrid model didn't get the gas mileage that hybrid buyers have come to expect, especially with Toyota's offering.

With gas prices starting to go back down so are the sales of hybrid vehicles. Although Honda won't say what they will be pricing their new hybrid at the article deduces that it will be about the size of Honda's Fit model, which is positioned right behind the subcompact Civic in size and price. With the Fit starting under $14,000 you add the $3,000 or $4,000 premium you pay for a hybrid and you are talking about a price below $20,000. That could make it the least expensive hybrind out there.

I have had my eye on the hybrids for some time, wanting to see how they performed and what the resale value and maintenance costs would be over time. I can safely say that at under $20,000 the "Global Small Hybrid," as Honda has code named their new hybrid, is looking pretty good.