Anybody ready for the $99.99 car?

A seemingly spaced out Wal-Mart Chief Executive Officer H. Lee Scott has discussed with automakers the possibility of selling gasoline-electric hybrid cars and plug-in automobiles at the retailer's stores. I guess they will have to expand the size of their return counters.

''Maybe there isn't room for Wal-Mart in this right now,'' Scott said in a speech to store managers and suppliers in Kansas City, Mo. ''But something tells me that there may be some role for us in the future.''

Scott didn't identify the carmakers, other than to say they were ''major'' companies. A Wal-Mart Nano perhaps? Nah.

Scott, who has been at Wal-Mart's helm for eight years, has staked his reputation on an environmental agenda that he said might save millions of barrels of oil annually and cut consumers' energy costs. I guess ruining the integrity of small towns by putting up hideous box stores is environmentally friendly.

The Arkansas-based retailer plans to work with suppliers to make products that are 25 percent more energy-efficient over the next three years.

''Wal-Mart has an opportunity to take a leading role in this environmental effort, especially within the retail sector,'' said David Abella, an analyst at Rochdale Investment Management in New York, with $2.5 billion in assets including Wal-Mart shares. He called the idea of selling hybrids at Wal-Marts ''a bit far-fetched.''