Green's been in the air of late, and this year's North American International Auto Show was no exception. While the usual hyped sports cars and solid trucks weren't exactly in short supply, nearly every concept car toed the eco line. Fuel cells, biodiesel and batteries powered most. Ethanol was popular despite continual rumors of a looming corn shortage (probably less of a problem in the "conceptual" realm). Even Hummer promised a FlexFuel system for its HX concept. Of course, none of this means power will be sacrificed.

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At the 2004 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Mitsubishi showed an audacious concept car that heralded the arrival of the next-generation Eclipse. The Concept E, as it was called, was an all-wheel-drive hybrid with a completely unique powertrain arrangement: a 270hp V6 drove the front wheels, while a 200hp electric motor powered the rear ones. Everyone drooled.

A year later, the automotive press was all set to drool again, but the debut of the production Eclipse left our mouths a bit drier than expected.

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