Acura will get performance hybrids

Honda wants to save the fuel economy race for the Insight and Civic and give Acura a performance boost much like it did for the Accord. A hybrid will most likely be mated to an all-wheel drive Acura and give the car 4-clyinder fuel economy with power that equals many of Acura competitor's V-8s. "The primary focus will be on performance," Tom Elliot, executive vice president-American Honda, says. Honda also plans to offer AWD on more models including the TL. And even Honda gets miffed over the constant media-gushing for Toyota. Elliot makes note that Honda has three hybrids on sale to Toyota's one though Toyota gets all the press for the Prius. Toyota will even up the odds with the RX400h and Highlander later this year.