LOS ANGELES ??” Toyota is launching the first public tests of its plug-in hybrid cars, joining Detroit??™s automakers in developing the technology.

Toyota??™s first U.S. effort will be modest: two converted Prius hybrids that will be tested at the University of California campuses in Irvine and Berkeley. They will only run about 7 miles on an overnight electrical charge before the gasoline engine kicks in.

That??™s puny performance compared with what other automakers have indicated is possible with new lithium-ion batteries instead of the Prius test cars??™ nickel metal hydride. General Motors is aiming for 40 miles of electric-powered travel for the Volt concept it showed off in Detroit earlier this year.

Still, Toyota had to start somewhere, say advocates for smog-cutting cars.

???Toyota is the biggest in hybrids, and for them to say they??™re putting a plug-in on the road is significant,??? says Sherry Boschert, author of ???Plug-In Hybrids: The Cars that will Recharge America.???

The plug-in Prius will have battery packs that are twice the size of the current model and displace the spare tire. Although the cars won??™t get far on a single charge, ???It??™s the range at which we don??™t have to compromise the entire trunk,??? says Jaycie Chitwood, Toyota??™s senior strategic planner for advanced technologies in the United States. Eight others will be tested in Japan.

As much as the industry desires more advanced batteries, ???Development has not happened as fast as we hoped,??? Chitwood said.

Besides Toyota, other automakers developing plug-ins include:

??” GM. Development of the Volt plug-in has become a major research project, with hopes of a production version within a decade.

??” Ford Motor. The automaker announced earlier this month that it will give 20 Escape Hybrid SUVs modified as plug-ins to utility Southern California Edison for consumer testing.

??” Chrysler Group. Several Sprinter delivery vans have been modified as plug-ins, including one being used for newspaper delivery.

???Plug-in hybrids are the most promising technology we have??? for saving fuel and cutting pollution, says Lester Lave, an economics professor at Carnegie Mellon University. But it??™s yet to be seen how soon plug-ins are ready for market.

???Until I can put one in my driveway, I??™m guardedly optimistic,??? says Chelsea ***ton, executive director of the advocacy group Plug-In America.

Source: [url=http://www.delmarvanow.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070725/NEWS01/70725082/1002]Delmarva Daily Times[/url]