Waiting lists are so long that many customers are paying extra just to move ahead in line. Others are paying full sticker price for a used hybrid -- a practice rarely seen outside the trade of Ferraris and other super sports cars.

While automakers rely on cash rebates to prod sales, some car dealers are marking up the price of hybrids, or simply turning customers away.

Toyota already has 12,000 U.S. orders -- a six-month backlog -- for the hybrid Highlander sport utility vehicle, although the model will not hit showrooms until June.

The Japanese automaker has curtailed advertising for its new Lexus RX 400h hybrid to trim the order backlog. It now stands at 9,000.

Mitsubishi Motors' brand image will be distinguished by the contemporary, edgy look put forward in the new campaign, which incorporates subtle elements of Asian influence in U.S. pop culture, often referred to as "Japanese cool," or "J.Cool." As real as the British invasion of the 1960s, the J.Cool cultural phenomena is popping up everywhere -- from Gwen Stefani's smash hit "Harajuku Girls," to Quentin Tarantino's "Kill Bill" film series, to Japanese anime cartoons and "Hello Kitty," to the Academy Award-winning film "Lost in Translation." A modern mix of Japanese influences with a distinctly current spin, J.Cool provides a wonderfully distinct flavor and complimentary backdrop to Mitsubishi's "Driven to Thrill" brand message.

Bosses have already hinted at the rebirth of the Eighties' Lambo LM002 with a new SUV. But now they've said they could follow that with a front-engined 2+2 GT to rival the Aston Martin DB9. A small two-seater is viewed as the perfect addition to the family -- especially as Ferrari has ruled out a car to fit beneath the F430.

The Mini Cooper S convertible features a supercharged engine and a smooth six-speed manual. Extremely agile handling makes it enjoyable to drive. Operating the convertible top is as easy as pushing a button, and the top features a halfway-open setting that acts as a large sunroof. The Mini Cooper S ($29,820 as tested) is equipped with a supercharged, 168-hp, four-cylinder engine that delivers spirited performance and returns 25 mpg overall, the best in this test group. The six-speed manual transmission shifts accurately. Overall braking performance is excellent. But its ride is choppy, and the view through the small rear window is obscured by the rear seats. The 50/50 rear-split seats fold down to expand the minuscule trunk.

The Camry Solara is as practical as a convertible gets. Based on the Camry sedan, the Solara carries over the comfort and quietness of its sibling. The convertible top is well-insulated and the interior fit and finish is impeccable. But, like many convertibles, the vehicle suffers from body quiver. The Solara SLE ($31,147 as tested) comes with a 225-hp, 3.3-liter V6 engine that delivers ample performance and 21 mpg. The five-speed automatic transmission is slick and responsive. Overall braking performance is very good. The Solara’s trunk was the largest among the six convertibles in this group.

The Cayman S's muscular 3.4-liter, flat-six cylinder engine propels the car from 0 to 60 mph in a quick 5.1 seconds and to a top track speed of an impressive 171 mph. The engine is equipped with the same VarioCam Plus variable valve timing system as found on the 2005 911 Carrera. It allows the engine to produce its maximum torque of 255 ft. lbs. between 4,200 and 6,000 rpm.

This engine power is transmitted through the Boxster S's standard six- speed manual transmission that has been enhanced for the Cayman S with shortened and more precise shift travel. Offered as an option, the five-speed Tiptronic S automatic transmission system has been tuned specifically for the new model, incorporating unique electronic and hydraulic control maps.

Toyota said it plans a US$10 million investment in the Georgetown plant, but said it expects capacity and employment to stay the same. The plant 12 miles north of Lexington, Ky. employs about 7,000 workers and can build up to 500,000 vehicles per year.

Despite years of warnings that the car industry was becoming too reliant on sport utility vehicles and pickup sales; that Detroit in particular was ignoring its passenger car divisions at its peril while chasing easy profits; that Japanese carmakers were continuing to build more fuel-efficient attractive cars and light trucks, the recent implosion of demand for these SUVs and pickups still comes as a shock. But it should not. It has been coming for a long time and, like war, a change of season or a lunar eclipse, it now has an aura of inevitability about it.

Covered in the recall, aimed at fixing front-suspension ball joints that could wear faster than they should, are the Tacoma and Tundra pickup trucks and Sequoia, Landcruiser Prado and 4Runner/Hilux Surf SUVs built between May 2001 and December 2003. Of the total, 789,000 units are in North America.

The Maybach Exelero high-performance show car unveiled to the world for the first time this week is a remarkable car with an even more remarkable story behind it. The 700-hp V-12 biturbo two-seater is a unique custom model produced for tyre manufacturer Fulda Reifenwerke, which is using the Maybach Exelero as a reference vehicle for a newly developed generation of wide tyres. The German manufacturer of luxury cars built the unique model as a modern interpretation of its legendary streamlined sports car from the 1930s, thereby forging a link with the historical predecessor, which at that time was likewise based on a powerful Maybach automobile (SW 38) and used by Fulda for tyre tests.

The only question is-which Bush are we going to get on this issue? The "let's not and say we did" Bush who provides lip service to alternative fuels while signing an energy bill-like the current one pushed by House leaders-that commits 94% of its funds to the oil and gas industries, or the resolute cowboy Bush who can embrace new ideas so crazy they just might work.

Congestion delayed travelers 79 million more hours and wasted 69 million more gallons of fuel in 2003 than in 2002, the Texas Transportation Institute’s 2005 Urban Mobility Report said.

Overall in 2003, there were 3.7 billion hours of travel delay and 2.3 billion gallons of wasted fuel for a total cost of more than $63 billion.

S and P said it was cutting its ratings for GM's long-term debt to "BB" from an investment-grade "BBB," and Ford's to "BB plus" from "BBB." Both GM and Ford have been suffering from mounting competition and disappointing sales of their aging sports-utility vehicle (SUV) product lines, at a time when US petrol prices are at all-time highs.

On GM, S and P said: "The downgrade to non-investment grade reflects our conclusion that management's strategies may be ineffective in addressing GM's competitive disadvantages."

The credit risk agency had a similar message for Ford.

What looked like a Mazda Miata that floats turns out to be a big anchor for the company that wanted to sell them for $285,000 a piece. No buyers have come forward to buy the car even now that Gibbs has slashed the price to $142,000. The company now says they are looking to sell the technology since they can’t sell the car. If Springfield couldn't make it big with the Amphicar, there must not be a big market for sea-faring cars.

The newest Lamborghini, Murciélago is named for a Spanish bull that was spared for its valor by the famed matador Rafael Molina "Lagartijo". That was in 1879, when Murciélago was put to stud, fathering a line of fighting bulls that extends to the present. The bull’s namesake, Lamborghini Murciélago, runs fast and reaches a top speed exceeding 205 mph. It is all-wheel drive, with a mid-mounted, 571-horsepower, 12-cylinder engine and six-speed manual transmission. A two-seater, with dramatic gull-wing doors, Murciélago features a carbon fiber body, with steel door panels and roof. You can also buy a convertible version, called a roadster.

"It used to be that you had to do a geometry exercise to navigate a plane," said Lance Neibauer, the founder of Lancair Co. of Bend, one of a handful of airplane manufacturers helping to transform the way Americans use private planes.

Today's small planes, however, have a "glass cockpit," the system of computerized displays and controls that makes pilots' lives much easier.

Gates and Bill Ford Jr., Ford's chairman and chief executive, said high-definition screens, speech recognition technology, cameras, digital calendars and navigation equipment with directions and road conditions will set car companies apart from their competitors.

Eventually, Gates said, there could be a car that wouldn't let itself crash.

"That absolutely should be the goal,'' Gates told several hundred participants of the Microsoft Global Automotive Summit at the automaker's suburban Detroit campus. "The embrace of technology will be the key for the leaders of the industry.''