Here comes the hybrid Beetle.

Autocar reports that VW is planning a “radical design” for the next-generation bug, set to debut at next year’s Detroit auto show. The redesign will include a hybrid Beetle with a drivetrain resembling what was seen on the New Compact Coupe concept at this year’s Detroit show, a lithium-ion battery pack, 20 kilowatt electric motor with a li-ion battery pack, 177 horsepower, 110 pound-feet of torque, and an average of 45 miles per gallon.

The Beetle isn’t the only upcoming electric option from VW. Aside from the already-unveiled hybrid Touareg, VW plans to release a hybrid Jetta in 2012 as well as an all-electric Golf in 2013.

Every year, Ferrari fields a team in the Formula One championship, and dumps around $400 million into developing and racing the car. So you’d think that the steering wheel–perhaps the car’s most crucial point of contact, where a human turns all that R&D into championship trophies–would be a masterpiece of interface design. And you would be wrong. But don’t worry, there’s probably a switch or knob on the Ferrari F10 steering wheel that lets you correct your thinking.

Chinese automaker BYD plan to build its US headquarters in Los Angeles. This is the latest in a series of moves that are slowly turning California into the new electric vehicle hotspot.

BYD started selling its first plug-in hybrid (the F3DM) in China this week. The company also produces EV batteries and recently established a partnership with Daimler to build a four-door electric sedan. The Los Angeles headquarters may also lead to the creation of up to 2,000 jobs, according to Autobloggreen.

One Thing I have not talked about yet is Ford. I’m a Ford truck man, one hundred percent. So I’ll be talking more about Ford over the next few months. If you have a hybrid or EV, efficiency is easy enough to achieve, but otherwise it’s difficult to gauge (unless you’re a professional driver).

Ford’s MyFord Touch system, set to launch on the 2011 Ford Edge starting this summer and on the upcoming 2012 Ford Focus, offers a simple way to stay efficient: the Eco-Route. MyFord Touch uses historical and real-time traffic data to calculate the fastest, shortest, and most fuel-efficient ways to reach a destination.

With cool 4WDs and mini-vans we are all familiar with seat configurations that can swivel, but Renault attempts something different with their new Clio which will hit the European market soon, where it has the first original equipment swivel seat for the front passenger.

Ford’s classic old Crown Vic police car; will now be the new Police Interceptor. This is set to replace the aging model, so it’s bad news for criminals, although good news for everybody else. The Interceptor is 25% more fuel-efficient than its predecessor thanks to an Ecoboost-powered V6 engine. Sweet!

BYD is kind of a strange company. The Chinese automaker has $250 million from Warren Buffett plus a partnership with Daimler to build a four-door electric sedan, although it hasn’t yet produced an EV of its own. The company said that it put a plug-in hybrid the F3DM on sale in China this past December, but it hasn’t actually appeared in dealerships. BYD also had plans to put its electric e6 sedan in U.S showrooms by 2009–a plan that was recently deferred to late 2010. In February, a BYD spokesman denied any further delays with the e6.

Ferrari unveiled it’s cool hybrid electric car: the Ferrari 599. The bright green concept vehicle, was revealed at Geneva’s Auto Show. It’s based on Ferrari’s 599 GTB Fiorano. This is their first attempt at entering the hybrid market.

It was only a matter of time before Porsche jumped on board going green. The 918 Spyder Hybrid concept car, revealed this week at the Geneva Auto Show, supposedly goes 0 to 60 mph in 3.2 seconds, gets 78 miles per gallon, and can go 16 miles on an electric charge. The car weighs about 3,285 lbs (including batteries) thanks to carbon-reinforced plastic body panels and an aluminum and magnesium chassis.