Hybrids

If you're lucky you may already be on a waiting list for the 2011 Nissan Leaf. Or perhaps you've decided to get the 2011 Chevrolet Volt. If your next car is electric it could easily immunize you from fluctuating gas prices and ensure low running costs. But what will that shiny new electric car be...

The Two-Mode Hybrid system for large sport utilities and trucks hasn't exactly set the world on fire. In 2006, General Motors, Daimler and Chrysler (then a single company) announced a partnership, soon joined by BMW, to develop the Two-Mode Hybrid system for large rear-wheel drive vehicles. But...

One million gallons a day is a lot of oil. According to estimates late last week, that could be the daily rate of oil escaping from the Deepwater Horizon well in the Gulf of Mexico. To put that number in perspective, we decided to look at what it would take to compensate just for the lost gasoline...

Yes, you read that title correctly. Mitsubishi’s next-generation Lancer Evolution is reportedly getting a diesel-electric hybrid powertrain in order to make it as fuel efficient as possible--a key factor to ensuring it meets tightening economy and emissions regulations while maintaining...

Last year, General Motors sold about 7,200 of its full-size hybrid SUVs--but just 1,600 hybrid pickup trucks using the same system. So the company took the unusual step last Friday of issuing a press release to announce that it had sold 576 of Silverado Hybrid pickups in one fell swoop. The buyer...

The Challenge Bibendum brings the sustainable-mobility world together every year or so--though sometimes, the 2010 edition of the Bibendum didn't come together as quickly as planned. It's a long way from North America to South America, after all. On day one, our travel group was cleaved in half by...

We know that Prius owners love their cars. Sometimes they talk endlessly about them, their great fuel efficiency, how cool the all-electric mode is, and so forth. But could you get so enthusiastic about Prius that you'd let your own child starve to death? Good. We didn't think so. And, no, it's not...

So who are these strange people who might want something as unusual, as perplexing, as downright radical as an electric car? More specifically, an all-electric 2011 Nissan Leaf compact hatchback? Turns out they're the same people who wanted the last most radical type of family car: a...

The surprise partnership between Tesla Motors and Toyota announced two weeks ago generated a lot of head-scratching. The big question is, What does Toyota get out of the deal? It's easy to see what Tesla gets: more capital (Toyota will invest $50 million in Tesla just before its planned public...

Speculation about what models will join an expanded Toyota Prius lineup has run rampant since Toyota confirmed at January's Detroit Auto Show that it would add more body styles to the current five-door hatchback. One candidate: the Auris Hybrid, effectively a hybrid version of the Corolla hatchback...

Our reader Celeste wrote to ask us about available hybrid SUVs and crossovers, and we thought our answer might be useful for the site. At the moment, there are three main hybrid SUVs sold in the U.S. Each of them also has variations sold under other brands. All are likely to be durable, as their...

Running for the 2009 Virginia Democratic gubernational nomination, chairing the Democratic National Committee and importing cars isn't on everyone's resume, but former Chairman of Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign Terry McAuliffe has just added electric cars to his. Now 53 years old...

The Cayenne S Hybrid is an off-road capable model that can hold its own on the track and yet return well over 20 mpg on the street.

The list of cars offered to U.S. buyers in gasoline, diesel, and hybrid models is going to get longer. On the heels of its confirmation that the 2012 BMW 5-Series will be offered with a full hybrid system, the company has also confirmed it'll sell a clean diesel version of the new 5-Series in the...

You may recall that last month, we raised our eyebrows and scratched our head over the latest Lexus ad campaign, "The Darker Side of Green." The tagline, first unveiled at the 2010 New York Auto Show, turned out to be a teaser for the upcoming and unusual latest Lexus model, the 2011 CT 200h hybrid...

Its official! Honda doesn't trust EVs. A week after Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn reiterated the company's support for electric cars along with plans to bring four EV models to market, Honda remain uncommitted about the future of Honda EVs. Honda's president of research and development, Tomohiko Kawanabe...

Sales of the 2010 Toyota Prius are booming in the U.S., up more than 50 percent over last year during April alone. But they're way better yet in Japan, where the 2010 Prius has just completed a full year as the country's best-selling car. Toyota sold 26,482 Prius models in Japan during April...

Land Rovers have long been the definition of gas-guzzling SUVs that environmentalists love to hate--that may all be about to change, however. With the development of a hybrid vehicle, the automaker stands a good chance of becoming one of the greenest companies around. Land Rover’s pledge to...

Nissan Motor Company, the maker of the 2011 Leaf EV, posted today a net loss of $125 million for the first quarter of 2010 and a $45.8 million profit for the full fiscal year ending March 2010 -- a distinct improvement on the $2.9 billion loss for the financial year ending March 2009. With orders...

Ford has already confirmed that its boxy C-MAX will be arriving in the U.S. late next year and now the Blue Oval has revealed that hybrid and plug-in hybrid versions of the car are in the pipeline, although only European plans have been announced thus far. But with the U.S. being the world’s...