Electric cars, plug-in hybrids, Toyota Prius-like hybrids 鈥� they're all clean and in the case of the Prius, extraordinarily reliable. But electrification comes at a price.

Call it the "green" premium that no politician wants to discuss.

Which explains why at last week's Geneva International Motor Show, internal combustion engines were all the rage as the world's carmakers touted their latest new solutions to lower CO2 emissions and improve fuel economy.

Peugeot, for instance, bragged over new 1.0-litre and 1.2-litre three-cylinder powerplants. The new Ford B-Max will be offered with a three-cylinder, a 1.0-litre EcoBoost turbo gas engine that is both responsive and efficient. Honda? It showed a new 1.6-litre diesel for its CR-V that should be for sale in Canada but isn't and won't be as long as Americans down in the U.S. continue to shun diesels as one of the routes to a more fuel-efficient fleet.

If there was a lesson from Geneva, it's that gas engines are back -- if they ever went away -- and diesels could offer a mid-term solution to improve fleet-wide fuel economy, too.

Now it's about at this point the Toyota public relations people start tapping out a note to me, a reminder that as an environmental transportation play, hybrids beat diesels hands-down 鈥� even the cleanest of clean diesels, in fact. If saving the planet from greenhouse gas emissions and all the rest matters most to you, get a hybrid. Don't even ponder the question. Get a hybrid.

Apparently mainstream love of Mother Earth goes only as far as the family budget allows. Hybrids accounted for less than 1.0 per cent of all new vehicle sales in Canada last year and even sales of fuel efficient cars were flat.

Toyota, to be sure, has sold more than three million Priuses around the world, but no other automaker comes even close to matching that level of success. Hybrids for today are a niche product, though the upcoming, $22,950 Prius c subcompact may make inroads with buyers never before seen with the ordinary Prius hatchback and the Prius v wagon.

Nonetheless, a long list of car company executives in Geneva talked about the enormous potential of internal combustion engines to cut emissions and save fuel. In the race to deliver fleets of vehicles that meet fuel economy standards, car companies are attacking places where the most energy is lost from burning fuel. According to research from Honda:

  • 60 per cent of energy is lost to engine and exhaust heat
  • 15-25 per cent is lost to deceleration and idling
  • 10-15 per cent is lost to traction or rolling resistance
  • 5-10 per cent is used for the drivetrain and accessories

The result: car companies are getting more fuel efficient by adopting stop-start systems and electric steering and electrically-driven accessories, even as they work with tire companies to reduce rolling resistance where the rubber meets the road. The best short-term solution for meeting fuel economy rules is to wring every possible efficiency out of the traditional internal combustion engine 鈥� and then move to pairing internal combustion engines with hybrids and plug-in hybrids.

Automakers also stand to gain by shedding weight. Mazda Motor's SKYACTIV technology has made weight loss the centerpiece of a suite of fuel-saving technologies that by 2015 aims to boost average fleet fuel economy by 30 percent above 2008 levels. By trimming about 100 kg from the next generation of each model, Mazda plans to see a five per cent increase in fuel economy for each new car.

General Motors has gone a similar route with the most fuel thrifty version of its Chevrolet Cruze compact, the Eco model. Chevy engineers focused on aerodynamic performance, mass optimization and powertrain enhancements.

As the 2016 CAFé deadline approaches, look for every car company to explore and exploit every possible approach to maximizing fuel economy and lowering emissions. Cars and light trucks will get smaller and weigh less. Also, more and better gasoline-electric hybrids will arrive on the scene, from the latest version of the Toyota Camry Hybrid, to the upcoming new 2013 Ford Fusion Hybrid and Acura's ILX compact hybrid. Plug-in hybrids are coming in a big way, too 鈥� including a Toyota Prius plug-in and a plug-in version of the Fusion.

The point is, the internal combustion engine (ICE) is not going away. Twenty years from now the ICE will remain dominant in the car business.

That was the biggest takeaway from Geneva.