Hybrids' Unlikely Rival: Plain Old Cars - Businessweek

When Doug Hacker decided he needed a car that was light on gas, he figured a Toyota Prius hybrid was the way to go. Many of his co-workers at Procter & Gamble’s soap research lab in Cincinnati drove Priuses and bragged about getting more than 50 miles per gallon. After a little research of his own, Hacker made a surprising discovery: While more costly hybrids still win the mileage competition, he could save more money by buying a Ford Fiesta powered by a technology that’s been around for 151 years—the internal combustion engine. That’s because the efficiency of conventional engines has improved so much that the mpg gap is closing, making it harder to justify paying more for gas-electric hybrids.