There has certainly been enough on the news here of late about driving while texting to bring driver inattentiveness to the forefront of my thoughts. It’s now illegal in Texas to talk on a cell phone while in a school zone and I am making myself use my bluetooth headset while in the car and studiously ignore texts. I’ve rarely been guilty of texting while moving, but I have been known to do it at lights. I remind myself every time I get behind the wheel that no text message is worth my life or — worse yet — someone else’s.

By the end of the article, however, the authors ask an interesting question, “Will these kinds of technologies actually make drivers pay less attention behind the wheel?” They are essentially exploring the extent to which we’re evolving toward a kind of automotive auto-pilot that may instill a false sense of confidence in the driver that the car itself is taking care of them and paying attention — thus absolving the driver of the need to do so.

Essentially the same thing was said about cruise control when it first became an available option — and I have to admit, I’ve never made extensive use of cruise control on any car I’ve driven where the system was present. I’m one of those people who has to have the radio going to stay awake and I actually like having to stay alert and pay attention. Probably of all the emerging technologies, I’m most intrigued by night vision systems and that’s just a consequence of being in middle-age and wearing bifocals.

Will the cars of tomorrow offer more of a “cockpit” like experience and give the driver autopilot capability? Is that even a good idea? Or is it an inevitable evolution of the driving experience? Good food for thought as well as a nice tech read. Highly recommended article.

One bright spot on the alternative fuel front is the fact that Mazda has commenced commercial leasing of its Premacy Hydrogen RE Hybrid. Local governments and energy-related companies will start getting the cars this year. The Premacy has a series-type hybrid drivetrain that works in concert with a hydrogen rotary engine with an electric motor. Total range? 200 kilometers. (Full story on Engadget.)

Also, look for the 2010 Ford Fusion hybrid sedan in showrooms this month at a price of $27,270. It’s expected to be the most fuel-efficient mid-size car in America, knocking off 39 mpg city and 37 on the highway. For a full report, from the Atlanta Journal Constitution (via the San Antonio Express News), click here.

Toyota has already come back on the heels of the Insight debut with promises of a hybrid Yaris — smaller and less expensive — and maybe on showroom floors by 2011. There’s also a rumor that they’ll keep the current Prius selling side-by-side with the new model. Maybe at a lower price? Right now word is the concurrent sales will only take place in Japan, but don’t be surprised if that’s not extended to the U.S.

Sure, Toyota kicked General Motors off their 77-year-old throne as world’s largest automaker, but they only did it by about 620,000 units. Their sales for March are going to be flat at best and potentially worse than the February numbers. Production will be kept low through June so they don’t get into a situation of inventory glut again.

Basically, if Toyota wants to stay on top, they need to work with what they have. The popularity of the Prius is undisputed and if they offer it in two flavors — kind of Prius and Prius-light — the public appeal would be undeniable coupled with the new Yaris offering.

That’s the one thing about getting to the top boys, there’s always someone nipping at your heels.

As an inducement, the Michigan Economic Development Corp. is recommending that the Michigan Economic Growth Authority board approve a 100 percent employment tax credit. That could result in $9.9 million in company investment over five years.

Currently the 2010 Mercedes-Benz S400 Hybrid is the forerunner of the company’s planned future hybrid line. Although its other specs are unimpressive as hybrids go, it is the first production hybrid in the world to use lithium ion cells. Equipped with both a 3.5-liter V6 and a 15 kW electric motor, the S400 has 275 horsepower combines. Although not yet priced for the U.S. market, this one could go for $88,000.

Hopefully one of the things they’ll be working on in Ann Arbor is the price tag.

Production on the engine was to have started this coming fall at the plant in Tonawanda, New York. The cylinder heads on the unit actually eliminate the need for the intake and exhaust manifolds and the lightweight block has advanced castings for crankshaft-bearing journals and the oil-circulation system. It’s reputedly as smooth and quiet as any gasoline engine on the market.

Intended for the Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra, the diesel engine would produce a highly fuel-efficient truck at a price far under that of the current heavy duty diesels. It’s a low blow as GM faces a decision by the U.S auto task force in three weeks as to whether or not it will get an additional $16.6 billion from the government on top of the $13.4 billion already doled out.

It’s possible that GM will sell the rights on the diesel engine to another company, but at this point, if GM hangs on to the project and reactivates it, consumers won’t see the unit for at least a year.

One of the more interesting tidbits to come out of the Geneva Auto Show is the news that Ford’s iosis Max concept could actually be headed for our fair shores and I must say, it’s a tasty intro to the carmaker’s new global design.

Make no mistake, the isosis is futuristic but functional with a low, trapezoid grill and the overall profile of a coupe. Those swept-back front headlights with the attractive wing-like hint add a touch of sport to this MPV (multi purpose vehicle) and you can’t complain about visiblity with a windshield that sweeps backward over the passenger compartment.

This current version is the third concept iteration to be shown in Europe since 2005. You’re looking at a four-seat hatchback powered by a 1.6-liter, 4-cylinder Ecoboost powerplant (177 bhp). Powershift dual-clutch transmission, stop-start, intelligent alternator, emissions measured at 125g/km of CO2.

(For a larger gallery of images, check out 4wheelsnews.)

The public is demanding smaller and more efficient vehicles and Toyota has proved with the Prius that those two requirements don’t necessitate ugly and cramped. Ford could be on to something nice with this one.

I was all set to look up the particulars about the actually invention, but Fox News conveniently beat me to it. (Big shock there that their fact checkers were Johnny on the Spot.)

The credit for internal combustion engines generally is given to German engineer, Karl Benz, who designed and built the world’s first practical automobile in 1885. A steam-powered car was invented in 1769 by French inventor Nicolas Cugnot. Americans, on the other hand, are given credit for the mass production of cars.

Still, gaffe notwithstanding, the President did make it clear that he’s committed to seeing the American auto industry survive. He also made it clear he’s committed to alternative energy and reversing global warming. The convergence of the two goals is where I expect to see interesting things happen.

So where’s the current financial scorecard for the Big Three? General Motors and Chrysler have received $17 billion and want another $21.6 billion. Ford is still operating under its own power and hasn’t asked for government bucks yet. Henry may not have invented the automobile, but his company, though hanging on by its fingernails, is hanging on. With economic pundits saying there will be no real recovery until 2010, we’ll wait and see what we have to say on that subject after Obama’s first “real” State of the Union address.

Now, bear in mind, I wasn’t chanting incantations for Tesla’s failure, but when I read that they have been unable to come up with the funding to build a new factory and headquarters in San Jose, I confess I chuckled a little bit. I did not chuckle, however, when I discovered they now plan to go to the government (why not, everyone else is doing it) and get $400 million from the Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing Program.

In a a word — well, three words — aw, hell no! The only way I want to see Tesla getting tax payer dollars is if they are compelled to develop cars real people can afford. I have no desire to bail out the rich and trendy of California by paying for their Roadster development. The plug-in Prius, currently in testing, is racking up 65 mpg and the 2010 Prius that made its debut at the Detroit Auto Show is offering optional solar panels to assist with climate control. These are innovative, workable applications that will be on the road and within reach of a much larger number of consumers than the Tesla ever would. Get behind that with my federal tax dollars and let the rich fend for themselves.

Of course Ford isn’t the only company showing its wares in Detroit this week with the goal of being greener, more efficient, and more electrified than the guy in the next booth over. Most are counting on aid to be forthcoming from the soon-to-be inaugurated President Obama to jump-start the public toward buying their cars — and in so doing to kindle a reconceptualization of how the average American drives. Most of these cars have a limited range and require several hours to charge up. Studies tell us most folks drive less than 40 miles a day — a figure you’ll have to stick to if you’re behind the wheel of a vehicle you can’t just fill up. In the past most families have had two cars. Will they be willing to let the second one be a limited, around-town errand runner? Ford isn’t betting the farm, planning a production run of just 10,000 for its first plug-in offerings.

But if we are indeed in a climate of change, someone has to step out there and get the ball rolling, and lets face facts. Millions of Americans have never driven anything but American. Some have never driven anything but Ford. I was one of them until I purchased a Honda Odyssey five years ago. In order to break into those traditional markets, the House of Henry just may have to lead the way. Yes, there’s a lot of competition — a plug-in Prius, a plug-in Mini — offerings from Mitsubishi, Chrysler, General Motors (the much talked about Chevrolet Volt.)

But there’s just something really substantial about the company that put America on wheels getting into the all-electric game. From 1908 to 1927 the Ford Motor Company built 15 million Model Ts. And it’s instructive, at what may be a pivotal moment in the history of personal transportation, to remember what Henry Ford said about his venerable Tin Lizzie:

I will build a car for the great multitude. It will be large enough for the family, but small enough for the individual to run and care for. It will be constructed of the best materials, by the best men to be hired, after the simplest designs that modern engineering can devise. But it will be low in price that no man making a good salary will be unable to own one – and enjoy with his family the blessing of hours of pleasure in God’s great open spaces.

When gas was $4 and above, everyone was an “environmentalist” and the word “hybrid” and the phrase “alternative fuel” were on everyone’s lips. Now, however, with car loans all but dried up, the economy in the gutter, two of the Detroit Big Three on the brink of collapse — well, we’re all perfectly happy to drive our gas guzzlers especially if they’re paid for. And frankly, I’m in that boat. I paid off my Honda Odyssey in November and I have every intention of driving it until the wheels fall off.

So then, what lies in the future for the hybrid technology that I admittedly love but cannot afford? The answer would seem to be the two words on everyone’s lips these days — Barak Obama. If the new president can successfully tie programs for economic recovery to innovations in green technology, he may just be able to jump start the environmental ethos that has so quickly evaporated in the face of falling oil prices.

If GM and Chrysler go under, consumers may be forced to turn to brands they would not have previously considered. I’m 46-years-old and never drove a foreign car until I was 41. Every set of wheels before the Honda was a Ford. What I did of my own free will may, however, become a matter of necessity as the automotive horizon seems to be narrowing.

Will the Prius disappear from the American roadway? Hardly. But Toyota’s decision confirms that consumers have pulled back on all levels and, like GM and Chrysler, are waiting to see what comes next. And if I had a crystal ball, I’d tell you what that is.