The one absolutely unassailable benefit about the hybrid revolution is that it has upset the homogeneity that has been pervading the automotive industry as of late. Take the uber-luxury sedan segment. In recent years, almost every manufacturer - BMW, Audi, Jaguar and Mercedes-Benz - followed the same strict formula: A mid-displacement V8 powered the entry-level model - if an $85,000-plus sedan can ever be called entry-level - upstaged by a seriously expensive 12-cylinder land yacht. It was a protocol that the BMW 7 Series, Mercedes-Benz S-Class, Jaguar XJ and Audi A8 followed without variation. That's until the green revolution and the Lexus LS 600hL threw a monkey wrench into the entire regimen.

Suddenly, the strict eight and 12-cylinder protocol was no longer universal since the LS hybrid stood atop the Lexus lineup where a V12 normally stood.