When looking at a signal car by itself, that call may look great. However, when you put two cars side by side one will stand out. The weakness of each are more easily seen.

A white car against a white background is blends in to the background. When you put a red car or a black car against that white background it is easy to see the cars.

This week we are going to look at two of the top gas/electric hybrids; the 2011 Chevy Volt and the 2011 Toyota Prius. In a effort to compare apples to apples and oranges to oranges we will be looking at the Chevy Volt’s base 4 door Hatchback and Toyota’s 4 door Hatchback.

Chevy launch the Volt in the later half of 2010. Since then it has quickly attracted shoppers. It wasn’t long before, in the public’s eye the Chevy Volt and the Toyota Prius were equals.

These two gas/electric hybrid cars are marketed to people who are concerned about their environment and want to save money on gas. So we are going to make a side by side comparison of the two.

This weeks Auto Recon is going to take a look at a new breed of car that is not on the streets. It is expected to be out next year or in 2011. Why am I doing a recon on something that is not currently available?

The Chevy Volt is Chevy’s offering in the changing face of the automotive world. I am talking about fuel efficient, energy efficient cars. In fact the Chevy Volt is marketed for you and me as our first practical electric car.

A $40,000 price tag is not bad for cutting edge technology. However, the Toyota Prius has got its’ third generation on the street at just over $22,000 retail. I expect to see the Volt’s price go down after some of the R&D costs are paid off, with sales.