On the other side of the electric-hybrid coin, Honda has announced that it has no plans to jump in on the plug-in electric vehicle craze. Manufacturers like Chevrolet, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Tesla and Toyota have all displayed some sort of plug-in electric vehicle, be it a hybrid or battery-only, along with plans to release them to the general public. Honda researcher Masaaki Kato says that the battery technology available today simply isn’t good enough to offer a viable alternative to internal combustion. Kato says that consumers have come to expect a certain level of mobility from their personal transportation, and as battery technology stands today, a plug-in hybrid can’t deliver.

So why the hubbub about cars like Chevrolet’s Volt and Toyota’s Prius plug-in? Are automakers simply planning to cash in on another hot topic (think the SUV craze). Maybe. Then again, massive interest in electric vehicles will fuel research into better, more efficient batteries. For now, though, Honda is sticking with gasoline-electric hybrids like its Insight and Civic hybrid. [MotorAuthority]