Toyota

America’s long love affair with the SUV is officially dead, it seems.

This morning, Toyota announced that it’s dumping plans to produce the Highlander SUV at its brand-new plant in Mississippi. Instead, the factory will churn out the next generation of Prius Hybrids.

The decision reflects the exploding demand for hybrids and the plummeting market for SUVs and trucks, said Toyota.

Detroit’s Big 3 automakers may finally be gearing up for the auto efficiency age.

Too bad it took so friggin’ long.

Last week, international consulting firm Global Insight, predicted that the Big 3 will have to pay over twice as much as Japan’s top three automakers to meet America’s interim fuel economy standard of 31.6 mpg by 2015.

About $30.6 billion compared with $14.85 billion. And General Motors alone will have to spend $15 billion.

It’s obvious why.