Hybrid vehicles like the Prius are more popular than ever, but Honda's been hot on Toyota's trail with radical vehicles like their hydrogen fuel cell-powered FCX Clarity. If the widely cited news story from the Mainichi Daily News is true, Honda will be bringing hybrid technology to motorcycles as soon as "the mid-2010s," and they'll produce small electric motorcycles by 2011.

The significance of Honda's rumored hybrid and electric plans are vast, and if true, could dramatically alter the motorcycle landscape; though ambitious concepts from ENV, Yamaha, andSuzuki promise a bright future (and some boutique companies like Zero already sell electric bikes), it looks Honda might actually deliver a hybrid product on a mainstream scale.