Tomorrow's muscle cars may include technologies from today's gasoline-electric hybrids to meet environmental standards while still remaining a blast to drive on the open road.

That was the consensus of a Friday morning panel discussion, "High Mileage Muscle," atop a downtown Birmingham parking structure, presented by WWJ Newsradio 950 and the Michigan Economic Development Corp. Well over 100 people attended.

None of the panelists -- representing Chrysler LLC, Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp. -- believe gasoline prices at $4 or more per gallon will kill the high performance car.

"Regardless of where gas prices go, these are niche vehicles, they are low volume vehicles, and I think there will always be a market for them," said Tom McCarthy, senior manager of SRT vehicle development at Chrysler. "We look at these cars as opportunities to showcase technologies."

Thomas F. Wallace, vehicle line executive of performance cars for GM North America, also pointed out that many of those technologies flow downmarket into high-volume vehicles, from advanced lighter materials, better tires and more.

And Hermann Salenbauch, director of Ford's Special Vehicle Team, pointed out that in his native Germany, gas is $8 a gallon, and while "they do not drive a lot of 600-horsepower vehicles, but they still drive very fast and they still have a lot of fun."

Salenbauch said that by 2012, 80 percent of Ford's lineup will offer the EcoBoost turbocharged direct-injection engine as an option.

Technologies like EcoBoost allow auto designers to do more with a smaller engine, and boost low-end torque, a major ingredient in a car being fun to drive. But Wallace also said that as long as he's in charge, the Chevrolet Corvette will always have a V8.

There's still room for improvement in gasoline engines without going into electrics and hybrids. McCarthy said the 2008 Viper's huge 600-hp engine has 90 more horsepower and 20 percent better fuel economy than earlier versions, using high-tech lessons learned from racing.

View video from the event at this link: http://www.wwj.com/pages/2795489.php

The event also touted the Detroit Grand Prix on Labor Day Weekend, where every race will be based on alternative fuels.

McCarthy said he didn't believe the technology was quite there yet for a true electric performance car. But Salenbauch predicted sports cars of the future would have mild hybrid electric engines allowing them to drive in all-electric mode in cities, along with high-tech touches like wheel hub electric motors taking the place of brakes.

Wallace said that overall, "this is a great time for engineers. You can wake up in the morning and think, 'I can help the environment and I can help my company.'"