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Honda didn't bother with a press conference here in Detroit, they simply put the new Insight out on display. Honda acknowledges that the 2010 Insight is not meant to be a Prius Killer. It's a smaller car than the Prius and its EPA numbers don't match Toyota's icon. On the other hand, the Insight will likely be several thousand dollars cheaper plus it's a lot more fun to drive.

Take last year's Audi R10 V12 TDI and shrink it to some more reasonable proportions, give it a potentially affordable price and, boom, you have the Volkswagen Concept BlueSport. Stuff a 2.0L four cylinder diesel in the middle and you have a roadster that can get up to 54 mpg (US) in the ECO mode.

After showing the battery-powered second generation Smart ED at last year's Paris Show it came to the Detroit Show for the first time. Daimler will start leasing the cars in Europe later this year and in the US next year. At the show, Tesla CEO Elon Musk also announced that the California EV maker will be supplying battery packs and charging systems for the Smart.

Toyota showed us a concept version of its own plug-in electric mini car, the FT-EV. A production version of this battery-powered iQ is expected to arrive in 2012

The third generation of Toyota's pioneering hybrid had its coming out party in Detroit. Thanks to an improved powertrain and reduced aerodynamic drag, the new Prius is now rated at 50 mpg. The new styling is still Prius but we'll have to wait until about March to find out if it's any more fun to drive

Whether or not Lincoln ever builds a compact car like this one is an unanswered question at this point. The current Lincoln design language worked surprisingly well on this Focus-sized car. One thing that is real is the powertrain. The Concept C uses a 1.6L Ecoboost four cylinder putting out 180 hp and 180 lb-ft of torque driving through a new dual clutch 6-speed gearbox with auto start-stop. The end result? 43 mpg. The 1.6L Ecoboost goes into production later this year in the UK for European market Fords and will likely go into US Fords in a year or two.

The Converj is a compact coupe built on the Voltec (formerly known as E-Flex) platform of the Chevy Volt. It uses the same 16 kWh battery and range extender. There is a good possibility this one will appear in showrooms so that the Volt hardware can be sold at a premium price point, helping to build volume and offset the cost of the system for the Chevy models.

Chrysler surprised the crowd with a mid-sized sedan that proves they still have designers with functional eyes. The handsome sedan is powered by an extended range electric vehicle powertrain, like the Volt, and claims a 40-mile plug-in range.

Take one Fisker Karma and shrink the wheelbase, lose two doors and drop the top and you have the Sunset concept. There are still plenty of questions about how well the Karma's ER-EV powertrain will work and whether the company can be financially viable. One thing that is absolutely unquestioned is Henrik Fisker's eye for design.

Technically not a show car, the Focus EV development prototypes did not appear on the show floor in complete form. A cutaway showing the electric drivetrain did appear on the floor after Ford announced that it would build a battery-powered car beginning in 2011. A select group of media, including myself, got to take a drive in one of the powertrain development cars. Unlike some of the other recent EV programs, like the MINI E and Smart ED, Ford's upcoming car will actually be available for outright sale to real retail customers in Ford dealerships. That's enough right there to earn our top spot.