Bob Carter, general manager for Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A., made the projections in remarks to reporters at and industry conference yesterday. Going on to say that while he expects total full-size truck sales to drop to 1.45 million in 2008, from 2.14 million in 2007, he expects those sales to rebound.

"We are absolutely confident that the recovery will take place, it's just arguable when," Carter said. "We've reduced production. It's our intention to build to the market. But when that market comes back, the core buyer who uses the truck for employment, who uses it for work, whether it's the landscaping company or the contractor, can't substitute a Corolla or a Yaris."

But they could use a smaller, more fuel-efficient truck. Carter does expect to see a significant reduction in demand amongst recreational truck buyers — the kind of people who buy big trucks because they want them, not because they need them for work.

A new 2011 Toyota Prius is in the works, as is a new plant in Mississippi that will be capable of producing a significantly higher number of the hybrids. But until then, Carter says, "In the short term after having that kind of increase last year and a big increase the year before that we're restricted on capacity and components." But with a new Honda hybrid on the way, maybe priced as low as $18,000, and the Chevy Volt scheduled to arrive as early as 2010, that may not be enough — especially if fuel prices hit the $5-per-gallon figure earlier than Toyota is projecting. [Automotive News, Sub. Req.]

Click here for our rendering of the new Honda hybrid!

As far as a name, the one thing we're told it won't be is "Insight." As far as a sales target and strategy Honda plans to bring to market four new gas-electric models over the next four years, as part of a broad global strategy to boost hybrid sales to 500,000 units by 2012.

To overcome the Prius as the current hybrid champ, Honda has ditched the two-seat coupe format of the previous generation hybrid-only model and added a couple doors. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing — the added size gives increased passenger room front and rear, and interior volume similar to the current Civic Sedan.

The larger model also allows for a larger battery pack as this hybrid will likely use a battery system similar to GM’s Chevy Volt, with a small 1.3-liter gasoline (or alternative fuel — we're still not entirely clear on what other tricks may be up Honda's sleeves) engine — the same IMA engine from the Civic hybrid — to power the battery pack for extended range. We've also been told to expect said engine to be mated to a continuously variable transmission. We even expect Honda may have a trick or two to take advantage of the current PHEV trend as well, giving the “Insight” a short driving range on pure battery power. But that part is pure speculation.

Although the design of the new Honda hybrid sedan seems very similar to the current Toyota Prius, it’s most likely due to aero requirements and not a blatant copy/paste of the Toyota. As seen in the most recent photos, the headlights will be horizontal units that pull rearward into a feature line running the length of the car towards tightly wrapped tail lights. Due to the aerodynamically efficient raked roofline, the rear of the car will feature a similar treatment to the hatch of both the first-gen Insight and the Prius to allow for rear visibility. Overall, as you can see from the rendering, expect the next-gen hybrid to feature similar styling to Honda’s other alternative fuel lovechild, the FCX Clarity.

Another issue faced by the engineering team is that the new hybrid is expected to be a global hybrid — meaning, expect it to be designed in such a way as to have it built to meet sales requirements in many markets.

Honda’s new hybrid sedan will be marketed underneath the Civic Hybrid in their lineup and we're told will carry a price tag of around $18,500. We'll see it in person when it debuts at the 2008 Paris Motor Show. You'll see it on the streets in April of 2009.

Some say he has a tattoo of a Saleen S7 on his rear end. Others tell us he was born with a penchant for oil rather than his mum's milk. All we know is he's called the Auto Insider and he's always ready to provide the scoop from the other side of Eight Mile.

No matter how much they claim otherwise, hybrid buyers like to wear their green credentials on their sleeves. That's the beauty of the Prius: It can scream "green" without being covered with badging like the Tahoe Hybrid. It's smugness lies in its subtlety. So how can Honda rip off the Prius design while still producing a unique design? We're not sure, but if the artist's rendering on Hybrid Cars is anything remotely like the finished product, they apparently can't. [HybridCars.com]

Jalopnik Snap Judgment: Considering the Honda hybrid will be coming in a whopping $3,000 less than the base Prius and will wear the depreciation-proof Honda badge, we're betting the number one super-best automaker from the land of the rising sun will be redoubling efforts on its 2010 Toyota Prius. Within three years, we'll be looking at volume sales of high-mileage offerings from Toyota, Honda, Nissan, and GM, among others. A crowded market will mean good times for hybrid lovers (and lots of leftover 2010 Camaros for the rest of us). [NextEnergyNews]

We just caught Honda's hybrid-only model that's designed to take on the Toyota Prius. The shape and packaging of this prototype is clearly Prius-inspired, although the overall size looks larger than Toyota's hybrid favorite. The test group consisted of a Toyota Prius, Honda's facelifted Civic Hybrid, and this prototype, which is sure to be considered the top of Honda's hybrid vehicle range.

So, what do we think? Well, it looks a bit like a bulked-up Prius. Maybe the Honda's doing push-ups out there in the desert. However it's gotten that big, we're assuming because of the uncanny resemblance, it'll help sales.

Worst thing is, we don't even have a name for it, so feel free to tell us what you think they should call it in the comments below.