"Referring to "plug-in" hybrids, David West, vice president of marketing for consortium co-founder Raser Technologies, said that "80 percent of cars would be able to drive five days per week without using their combustion engines." West said consumers would save money since the equivalent of one gallon of gasoline costs just 60 cents in electric power."

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Selling plug-in hybrids will also cause confusion with consumers and could hurt sales, Hermance said. Most people don't want the responsibility of recharging batteries every day. Plus, he said, manufacturers spent years convincing consumers that hybrids were not like the electric vehicles that failed to gain commercial acceptance.

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"Plug-in hybrids "are not viable with today's battery technology," Hermance said. He said the Prius' power-management system keeps the batteries charged at 60 percent, plus or minus 15 percent to extend their life. Running solely on electricity would discharge the batteries beyond their optimal range and burn them out after approximately 2,500 cycles, or about six years of use, he said."

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