No Ford hybrid has ever been sold in Europe, and the Lexus HS isn't available either, but here's one hybrid Americans won't be driving: the Volvo V60 diesel plug-in hybrid. All German brands sell diesels in America, and there's no reason why Volvo shouldn't either. Europeans see it as the best of both worlds: the most fuel-efficient ICE, and a green plug-in hybrid.

We're doing our best to track the growing list of federal and state-based incentives for purchasing an electric car or plug-in hybrid. See how much you can save to get behind the wheel of an electric-drive plug-in vehicle.

General Motors might give its best-selling compact sedan, the Chevrolet Cruze, the plug-in hybrid treatment soon. According to Jim Federico, a plug-in hybrid Cruze wouldn’t make the Chevy Volt redundant because the Cruze will feature a more conventional hybrid powertrain, rather than the Volt's extended-range system.

The Volt isn't a vertically integrated GM package--components big and small come from at least 60 suppliers. Here's a look at some of them.

Nearly a year ago, Infiniti announced that it was working on an electric sedan that will offer seating for five and be based on the revolutionary Nissan LEAF. Now, Infiniti has revealed that it's working on a plug-in hybrid, too. The Japanese automaker released a pair of teaser images of its plug-in hybrid sports car concept, a vehicle that will make its world debut at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show in March.

The plug-in hybrid Bright IDEA commercial van will be built at the AM General production facility in Indiana—former site of production for the gas-chugging Hummer H2. Bright Automotive says it could bring the plug-in van to market as early as 2014, but that its plan are contingent on an application for a federal government loan of “less than $400 million,” according to Reuben Munger, Bright’s chairman and chief executive officer.

Recently, at the EV 2011 VE conference in Toronto, I had the opportunity to drive the new plug-in Toyota Prius and the Chevrolet Volt back to back. The differences in the electric-drive behavior of the two vehicles have the potential to catch people off guard as they weigh their EV choices.

Weight is the enemy of fuel economy, and the Karma tops the scales at 5,300 pounds—SUV territory. The best hope for putting the Karma on a diet rests with the battery pack. But Fisker says most drivers will stay within the car's 32-mile electric range, with the equivalent of 52 mpg.

Now that Toyota’s Prius Plug-in Hybrid has been officially announced, we can begin the comparisons with the other plug-in electric vehicle with an extended driving range, the Chevrolet Volt.  The underlying question is which is more important to consumers: electric driving range, or total vehicle fuel efficiency?