Bikes & Cars...

Chrysler Co. announced that its 2009 Chrysler Aspen and Dodge Durango Hemis will be available as hybrids, the first fuel-saving vehicles the manufacturer has offered. The "two-mode" hybrid technology Chrysler uses should, they say, get 25% better mileage than the standard Aspen and Durango.

The EPA estimates that the 2008 Aspen gets 13/17, so a 25% increase over that would be 16/21. The Durango's fuel economy would go from 14/19 for the two-wheel-drive version to 17/24 in the hybrid. Both SUVs will keep their eight-cylinder V8 Hemi engines, so they should have the same towing capacity for slightly better gas mileage.

Chrysler execs say they'll have a hybrid Dodge Ram pickup in showrooms by 2010, and the new Chrysler Journey, another SUV, could get a hybrid version, too.

By way of comparison, the 2008 Ford Escape Hybrid, a model that's been around the block a few times, gets 34 miles to the gallon in the city and 38 on the highway. Toyota's 2008 Highlander hybrid is slightly less effiecient at 27 city, 25 highway, but those numbers still rank higher than anything Chrysler's got.

It looks like Ford and Toyota showed up early to the hybrid party and brought beer, while Chrysler came late with an open bag of Cheetos.