Hybrids
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The Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Transportation have unveiled their updated fuel economy labels. There's some new information aimed squarely to inform consumers looking to buy a hybrid vehicle, plug-in hybrid, or electric car. First and foremost are the MPG or MPGe ratings, stating just how far the car's batteries or tanks will get it, how much electricity or fuel will be used to drive 100 miles, and how long it will take a plug-in vehicle to fully charge. Overall, the labels look much clearer, with 1-to-10 rating bars showing how fuel-efficient or smog-contributing a...
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Why Haven't Hybrid Sales Been Higher, And Should They Be?
Hybrid cars seem to bring out strong beliefs among car buyers, both pro and con. On the pro side, they get better gas mileage, offer some small degree of all-electric running, and let buyers display (to varying degrees) their green credentials. On the con side, they're usually pricier than...
John Voelcker -
Flywheel KERS Boosts Gas Mileage By 20 Percent, Volvo Says
It's interesting to see the variations among green technologies as automakers, both in production cars and motorsports, strive for greater fuel efficiency and reduced emissions. The most common means for automakers to boost gas mileage thus far have been hybrid-electric technology and turbodiesel...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Next Mazda Sports Car Rumored To Be Hybrid; Fans Wail, Moan, Gnash Teeth
Oh, the horror, the horror. Once again, the world is coming to an end. No, not tsunamis, or earthquakes, or tornadoes, or plagues. Not even locusts. Nope, it's the evil specter of hybrid technology that will conclusively decimate all of mankind, depriving it forever of driving fun, pleasure, and...
John Voelcker -
Less Than Half Of U.S. Shoppers Want EVs To Take Over: Discuss
If you plan to shop for a new car this year, there will be a range of plug-in hybrids and EVs competing for your attention. But according to a new survey, only about 30% of you feel comfortable considering them -- and some of you are downright offended by their presence. The news comes from...
Richard Read -
Behind The Wheel: 2012 Toyota Prius V Station Wagon (Video)
Sometimes we get nicely produced video, and sometimes we get our codriver to shoot it on the fly. For the 2012 Toyota Prius V station wagon we drove last week, it was very much a case of the latter--complete with a mutli-tone "bong" interruption from the Toyota Entune system. Our one-minute video...
John Voelcker -
Toyota executives will go to extraordinary, absurd lengths to avoid defining the body style of the new 2012 Toyota Prius V. Bob Carter, brand sales chief for Toyota Motors in the U.S., first responded with confusion over the question. Presented with a list of alternatives--sedan, hatchback, minivan, station wagon, sport utility vehicle?--he said, hesitantly, "Well, the government would define it as a station wagon." So let's get one thing straight: The 2012 Toyota Prius V is a station wagon. It's not a minivan (no sliding doors, no third row) and it's certainly not a sport utility vehicle or...
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Porsche Wants High-Performance Electric Cars, Testing Plug-In Panamera
Porsche recently took the wraps off its second hybrid model, the new 2012 Panamera S Hybrid, as well as confirming development of an electric sports car and the announcement that a number of zero-emission ‘Boxster E’ prototypes are already running around Germany. Add to that the...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Does The Toyota Prius Hybrid Hold Up? Consumer Reports: Yes
Gas prices are going up, smaller cars are better than ever, and once again, U.S. car buyers are turning their sights toward higher gas mileage. For that, there's nothing that beats the 2011 Toyota Prius, with its 50-mpg combined EPA rating. But will that Prius hold up? Will the battery pack and...
John Voelcker -
Hybrid Hot Rods: Lexus CT 200h 'Ring Racer, Mugen Honda CR-Z Hardly Dull
Hybrid cars, often defined in the public eye by the distinctive shape of the Toyota Prius, are frequently derided as dull and no fun to drive. While the Tesla Roadster smashed the stereotype of plug-in electric cars as slow and dorky, hybrids haven't been as lucky. So here are a couple of hybrid...
John Voelcker -
2012 Toyota Prius V Station Wagon/Minivan: Arrives This Fall
There's nothing like a story translated from overseas media, concerning a related but not-quite-the-same model of a new hybrid car, to get people all in an uproar. So here's the real deal on the 2012 Toyota Prius V station wagon/minivan: It will still arrive in U.S. dealerships this fall. That's...
John Voelcker -
The Ultimate Guide: Toyota Prius Battery Life, Cost, and Warranty
Like many articles, this one started with a reader question. Casey Krakowiecki wrote: I'm interested in buying a new Toyota Prius hybrid. I hope you can answer a couple of questions that will help me. (1) Are the rechargable batteries guaranteed for 8 years? If they fail at 7 years and 11 months...
John Voelcker -
"We have not yet fully accepted the fact that we need a new car. Some call it denial. But we do need one." That's how our friend Gordon Platt began a note asking our advice on what cars he should consider as he sets out to replace the family's aging 2003 Toyota Sienna minivan. "What are your suggestions for a car with a lot of space (need not be a mini van), good mileage (ideally, "greenish") and relatively affordable?" The first step was to ask Gordon a few standard questions about how the family really uses their car, plus any likes or dislikes. Our questions are in bold, his responses are...
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2011 Kia Optima Hybrid To Cost $26,500, Less Than Camry, Fusion Hybrids
Kia has announced that its 2011 Optima Hybrid midsize sedan will carry a starting price of $26,500 when it arrives at dealers in June. (That price does not include a mandatory $750 destination fee.) The car is the first-ever hybrid electric vehicle from the Korean carmaker, which is owned by...
John Voelcker -
2012 Honda Civic Hybrid: Multi-Day Drive Review
The 2012 Honda Civic range, launched at last month's New York Auto Show, includes two models devoted to wringing out as many miles as possible from every last drop of gasoline. The one with the highest gas mileage is the 2012 Civic Hybrid, rated by the EPA at 44 mpg on all three test cycles: city...
John Voelcker -
Will Japanese Power Problems Mean Fewer 2011 Toyota Prius Cars?
World supplies of the highly popular Toyota Prius hybrid could be further threatened by new electric power problems in Japan. The Japanese government requested on Friday, May 6, that the Hamaoka nuclear power plant system shut down all of its reactors, which supply to the central Japanese power...
George Parrott -
China Rigs Electric-Car Incentives Against Chevy Volt, Foreign Cars
Here in the U.S. the government, both at the federal and state level, offers an array of incentives for eco friendly vehicles such as clean diesels, plug-in hybrids and electric cars. However, the U.S. isn’t the only major automotive market with such incentive programs in place. Over in China...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2012 Honda Civic Hybrid: 44-MPG Compact's High Points (Video)
The largest single model launch at the New York Auto Show two weeks ago was the 2012 Honda Civic line, with five separate models, new styling, and better fuel economy. The highest gas mileage in the entire lineup comes from the 2012 Honda Civic Hybrid. Honda projects it will achieve 44 mpg for each...
John Voelcker -
You may recall a few weeks back we reported on police forces all around the nation downsizing their vehicle fleets from big and brawny V-8 sedans to a new-generation of V-6 sedans and SUVs. Turns out the federal government is following suit, switching its vehicle fleet from mostly full-size cars to more subcompacts and hybrids in an effort to curb its overall fuel consumption. In charge of the federal vehicle fleet is the General Services Administration (GSA), which is responsible for some 400,000 vehicles that make up the current fleet and overlooks the purchasing of an additional 60,000 to...
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Hybrid Lexus LS 600h Limousine Will Turn Royal Wedding Green
No, we’re not talking about the Prince William and Kate Middleton royal wedding that’s taking place this week. We’re talking about that other royal wedding, the one between Monaco’s Prince Albert II and his bride-to-be Charlene Wittstock scheduled for July 2 of this year...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
eBay Find: 1982 Lucas-Reliant Hybrid British Concept Car
The history of the auto industry is littered with the carcasses of the cars and companies that didn't make it. Modern hybrid-electric vehicles were first commercialized by Toyota, with its 1997 Prius (sold in the U.S. starting in 2000). But many concepts, development vehicles, one-offs, and other...
John Voelcker -
44-MPG 2012 Honda Civic Hybrid At NY Auto Show: Drive Review
The Honda Civic Hybrid was only the third hybrid model sold in the U.S., starting way back in 2003, and it was the brand's first mainstream hybrid. It's been a solid member of Honda's Civic lineup ever since, consistently returning the best gas mileage of any Civic model. Now in its third...
John Voelcker -
2012 Porsche Panamera S Hybrid: 2011 New York Auto Show Live Photos
We first saw it at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show but this time it’s making its North American debut, where else but at this week’s 2011 New York Auto Show. We’re talking about, of course, the 2012 Porsche Panamera S Hybrid, which was put up on display next to a new high-performance...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Will Surging Gas Prices Save The Honda Insight?
The Toyota Prius is the best-selling hybrid vehicle of all time and recently passed three million sales globally and a million in the U.S., over more than a decade. And when fuel prices rise, so has demand for the Prius and other high-mileage vehicles. So then, why hasn't it for the Honda Insight?...
Bengt Halvorson