Love it or hate the venerable Toyota Camry is going to be offered in a fuel sipping hybrid version.

It will be the first North American production of a hybrid vehicle for Toyota, a world leader in the fuel-saving technology along with Honda Motor Co Ltd, which sells the Insight and hybrid versions of its Civic and Accord cars.

At a news conference in the United States Tuesday, officials of the Japanese automaker said they plan to make 48,000 hybrid-powered Camry models in the southern state of Kentucky next year.

Hybrids get much better gas mileage than conventional cars, and sales in the United States have been boosted recently by soaring fuel prices. The news from Toyota comes after rival carmaker GM closed a plant in Baltimore last Friday. That facility made minivans that have been selling slowly. Eleven-hundred GM workers lost their jobs as GM strives to streamline the company to deal with strong foreign competition.

Wake the hell up Detroit! Give the people what they wan’t. Sorry GM but you are about to get pwned by Toyota and lose your spot up on the podium.