Hybrids

  • 2011 Honda AC-X Concept live photos

    Honda released some details of its Tokyo Motor Show concept cars three weeks ago, and now we can see what they look like in person. For U.S. buyers in particular, the most important of them is the Honda Advanced Cruiser-X (AC-X) Concept, a mid-size sedan that resembles nothing so much as a freshened version of Honda's low-production FCX Clarity hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle. Among all of Honda's concepts--and this being the Tokyo show, there were plenty of wacky ones to go round from almost every maker--the AC-X stands out because its technology previews a plug-in hybrid model of the next Honda...

  • 2011 Subaru Advanced Tourer Concept
    Subaru Mild-Hybrid System: With Tokyo Concept, New Details

    Subaru showed a potential direction for a next-generation C-segment (Impreza-sized) wagon in its Advanced Tourer Concept from the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show this week.

  • BMW ActiveHybrid 5 Concept
    Luxury Hybrid Sedan Face-Off: BMW 5 v Infiniti M v Lexus GS

    A battle is about to commence, and it could get messy. While Toyota's Prius dominates at the lower end of the hybrid market and is set to tighten its hold further with the Prius V and Prius C, Toyota subsidiary Lexus is set to field its GS 450h luxury hybrid sedan against the Infiniti M35h (a Green...

  • 2010 Nissan Altima Hybrid
    2013 Nissan Altima (Mild) Hybrid: High Gas Mileage, V-6 Power

    Likely starting with the 2013 Nissan Altima and extending to some of the automaker’s mid-size U.S. products, the automaker hopes to replace a rather large number of V-6 engines—potentially hundreds of thousands a year—with a more fuel-efficient four-cylinder mild-hybrid setup.

  • Honda CR-Z iCF by Mugen Euro
    Mugen CR-Z: Hybrid Honda Hot Rod Mixes MPG And MPH

    Honda's aim with its CR-Z hybrid sports coupe was to inject a bit of much-needed excitement into a market that viewed traditional hybrids as a bit dull, a bit vanilla. Unfortunately for some, the CR-Z was neither a tire-burning machine nor a particularly parsimonious runabout. Maybe vanilla was the...

  • The 2012 Toyota Prius. Image: Toyota
    Expecting A BMW-Engined Toyota Or BMWs With Toyota Hybrids? You Shouldn’t

    Earlier today, our sister site MotorAuthority covered a story detailing a new green-engine partnership between BMW and Toyota for European-built BMW and Toyota cars. But while the partnership will give Toyota full access to BMW’s range of clean diesel engines and give BMW the chance to use...

  • 2013 Lexus GS 450h live photos

    It's not yet in dealerships, but the 2013 Lexus GS 450h offers a big boost in gas mileage for buyers of mid-size sport sedans. The all-new GS 450h hybrid is expected to be rated at 29 mpg city, 34 mpg highway, for a combined rating of 31 mpg. In comparison, the 2012 Infiniti M35h hybrid sport sedan, also a mid-size entry, is rated at 27 mpg, 32 mpg highway, and 29 mpg combined. Infiniti has promoted the hybrid M sedan as the sole car offering both 350 horsepower and a highway rating above 30 mpg. The new Lexus GS hybrid model doesn't quite hit that mark, with a total combined power of 338 hp...

  • 2012 Toyota Prius V station wagon, Half Moon Bay, CA, May 2011
    2012 Toyota Prius: GreenCarReports' Best Car To Buy 2012

    The late-night arguments are over, the statistical comparisons and product specs are put away, and we've made our choice. The GreenCarReports Best Car To Buy Award for 2012 goes to a pair of cars: the 2012 Toyota Prius V wagon and the 2012 Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid. The two new 2012 entries...

  • Mazda i-ELOOP regenerative braking system with capacitor storage
    Mazda Improves Fuel-Saving Start-Stop System With Capacitors

    Mazda has supplemented i-Stop with a capacitor-based regenerative-braking system, called i-ELOOP, that should provide some of the benefits of a mild-hybrid system without added bulk.

  • 2011 Chevrolet Cruze and pre-production 2011 Chevrolet Volt
    GM Exec Confirms 2014 Chevrolet Cruze Plug-In Hybrid Model

    The Chevrolet Cruze compact sedan is an important car for General Motors. It's hugely outselling its lackluster predecessor, the Chevy Cobalt, and the EPA rates the special Cruze Eco model at 42 mpg in the highway cycle, giving it gas-mileage bragging rights. Plug-in hybrid to join diesel model But...

  • 2012 Toyota Prius V station wagon, Half Moon Bay, CA, May 2011
    2012 Toyota Prius V & Plug-In: Green Car Reports Best Car To Buy 2012 Nominees

    Ask pretty much any car buyer about green cars or hybrids and, chances are, that person will likely mention the Toyota Prius sooner or later. Until this year, though, the Prius has been a single model: a subcompact four-door sedan from 2000 through 2003, and then two generations of mid-size...

  • 2012 Honda Civic Hybrid, road test, Spring 2011
    2012 Honda Civic Hybrid: Green Car Reports Best Car To Buy 2012 Nominee

    Though always overshadowed by the more distinctive Toyota Prius, the hybrid model of the Honda Civic compact sedan has been a longstanding competitor in the field of high-mileage hybrid cars. First launched as a 2003 model, the Honda Civic Hybrid has been entirely redesigned for the 2012 model...

  • The 2012 Toyota Prius. Image: Toyota

    For years, Honda has been showcasing the advances made by its ASIMO humanoid robots at auto shows and press events around the world. But now close automotive rival Toyota is going one better for the Tokyo Motor Show by unveiling a Toyota Prius that can drive itself. One of many advanced technology vehicles on display on Toyota’s futuristic stand at next week’s show, the autonomous Prius is based upon the 2012 Toyota Prius Hybrid, and features what Toyota calls the Automatic Vehicle Operation System, or AVOS. Capable of reacting to road conditions to avoid obstacles and reach its...

  • 2012 Infiniti M35h
    Infiniti M35h: Green Car Reports Best Car To Buy 2012 Nominee

    It took awhile to arrive, after previews starting in the middle of 2010, but now the 2012 Infiniti M35h is on sale at dealers all over the country. It's Infiniti's first hybrid vehicle, the first car from the Nissan-Infiniti stable to use the company's own internally developed full hybrid system...

  • 2013 Lexus GS 450h live photos
    Lexus GS To Get Second, Lower Power Hybrid Model For Europe?

    If the Lexus CT200h wasn't evidence enough that the Japanese luxury car maker sees downsizing as an important brand strategy, then plans for a new small hybrid engine in the GS sedan could be further proof. The smaller hybrid would join the 2013 Lexus GS 450h hybrid that was revealed at the 2011...

  • 2012 Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid, production model
    Will Toyota Prius Hit Gas-Mileage Trifecta: 40, 50 & 60 MPG?

    With new corporate average fuel economy rules now taking us to 54.5 mpg by 2025, gas mileage will be the focus of new-car development for years to come. With its 15 years of experience in hybrid-electric vehicles, Toyota seems well positioned for steady improvements. Now, there's a chance that...

  • 2012 Honda Civic Hybrid
    Hybrid Cars Safer To Crash In, Worse If You're A Pedestrian

    There are many good reasons to drive a hybrid car, but did you know that one of them is improved safety levels? It's true - according to data gathered by the Highway Loss Data Institute (via Automotive News), crashing in hybrid vehicles like the Honda Accord Hybrid or Toyota Highlander Hybrid is...

  • 2012 Toyota Prius C, frame from 1-minute teaser video
    2012 Toyota Prius C: Video Shows Sporty Hybrid On The Road

    Earlier today, Toyota released the first images of its 2012 Prius C compact hybrid hatchback that will arrive at U.S. dealers next year. The 2012 Toyota Prius C will be the fourth member of the growing Prius family, joining the classic Prius five-door hatchback, the 2012 Prius V wagon, and the 2012...

  • Production Toyota Prius C

    Toyota is doubling down on its best-known model for gas mileage, the Prius hybrid. It's already added two models to sit beside the 2012 Prius five-door hatchback, and now, the last new addition to the Prius lineup has been revealed. The 2012 Toyota Prius C, the first compact Prius since the original 2000-2003 model, was unveiled today at the Tokyo Motor Show. It will make its formal U.S. debut at the 2012 Detroit Auto Show in January. Toyota variously calls the Prius C a compact and a subcompact, though with continuous "bracket creep" as smaller cars get larger, its dimensions appear to split...

  • 2012 Ford Fusion Hybrid
    Hybrid Car Sales Are Down Right Now, But Will Bounce Back

    This year has been particularly difficult for the auto industry -- with some types of car suffering more than others. And although there’s an unrelenting drive towards greener, more fuel efficient cars with better gas mileage, sales of hybrid cars haven’t been as great as perhaps they...

  • 2011 Future Car Challenge Participants
    Future Car Challenge Won By Gordon-Murray T27 Electric Car

    It may have just three seats, look like something from a science-fiction movie and have a forward-hinging front door, but the Gordon-Murray T27 Electric Car has just won the 2011 Future Car Challenge. Held the day before the vintage vehicle run open to pre-1906 cars that has taken place between...

  • 2011 Subaru Advanced Tourer Concept teaser
    Subaru Advanced Tourer Hybrid Concept: 2011 Tokyo Motor Show Preview

    Subaru might be better known for its world-rally-inspired gas-guzzling Impreza WRX and STI, but the Japanese automaker is just about to jump on the green bandwagon with an all-new hybrid wagon concept due to be unveiled later this month at the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show. At the moment, we’ve only...

  • Bright IDEA plug-in hybrid delivery van, prototype
    GM-Backed Bright Idea Plug-In Hybrid Van To Be Built By AM General

    How times change. Startup Bright Automotive announced last week that, once the company completes its funding, its advanced plug-in hybrid Idea delivery van would be assembled under contract by AM General. That's the outfit that built the Humvee and Hummer, and spawned the now-defunct HUMMER brand...

  • Opel Ampera
    Thank Hybrids, Electric Cars For Your Gasoline Car's Tech

    Electric cars and hybrid vehicles may still lag a little behind traditional gasoline cars when it comes to sales figures, but their impact is wider-reaching than you might think. Even if you're yet to go electric or drive a hybrid, there's a fair chance that the vehicle you're driving owes some of...

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