We don't really need hybrid vehicles in the near term!
I used to have a 1992 Honda Civic VX which got 50-60 mpg, using mostly mechanical technology. It had 3 valves per cylinder, with a main- and a pre- combustion chamber in each cylinder. It also shut off one of four cylinders whenever it could. Some people didn't like the slight hesitation or surge that this mode change would sometimes produce, so the car is no longer made.
BTW, it drove nicely, carried my four-person family and enough luggage to go camping, with only slightly reduced mileage.
I had to get rid of it in 2002 when Massachusetts made them illegal.. another story.
Jim