With $1 billion in taxpayer money poured into the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles in the 1990s, Detroit's Big Three developed a trio of hybrid vehicles (with both gasoline and electric dri-vetrains for maximum fuel economy). The resulting prototypes were shown off at auto shows, but the domestic automakers were steadfast in their refusal to actually produce these consumer-subsidized eco-cars. Why? No market for them, they said. Too expensive to build and no chance of making a profit, they added.
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