With the arrival of the 2008 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Americans can take an occasional break from the nonstop news coverage of the presidential primaries, and turn instead to non-stop coverage of cars and trucks.

The big news at the auto show: Hybrids, which combine gasoline engines with electric motors to produce powerful cars with outstanding fuel efficiency. Another notable trend will be crossovers, which blend the roominess and ride of minivans with the rugged styling and all-wheel-drive capability of sport-utility vehicles.

A close inspection of the offerings at the car show will also reveal special hybrids and crossovers for the political season. Here are a few of the most prominent:

The Hillarius

This hybrid combines the head of Hillary Clinton with the platform of a Toyota Prius. The Hillarius can switch back and forth between gasoline and electric power with ease, so no one can tell exactly what it's running on at any given moment. But the great strength of the Hillarius is its fierce dedication to power from any source.

This car, with its special appeal for women, got off to a very fast start. It was marketed as having a proven design, and initially its dominance was regarded as inevitable. Upstarts have recently emerged to test the Hillarius's racing prowess, but this model has proven capable of mounting surprising comebacks.

The Barackade

This crossover has the brain of Barack Obama and the body of a Cadillac Escalade. Powered by platitudes and marketed as having a formidable ability to stop front-runners in their tracks, the Barackade is a special favorite of sports stars and celebrities.

The most popular color for this vehicle is black, but the Barackade has been selling surprisingly well in white and assorted other colors. The Barackade's drawback is that since it's fairly new to the market, its long-term reliability can't be assessed.

The Huckster

This merges the unique qualities of Governor Mike Huckabee with the attributes of a classic British roadster. The steering wheel, like those on all British cars, is on the right. The Huckster, a niche car with a small but devoted following, got off to a surprisingly fast start in the current racing season. The new, slimmed-down auto is much faster than the bloated version of a few years ago, but it remains far from clear as to whether or not the Huckster has enough balance to prevail in a long race.