Hybrids
-
Building on the success of the 2010 Toyota Prius hybrid, which is close to sold out due to worldwide demand, Toyota is planning to add additional body styles to the Prius line. Now, the first details of those cars have emerged, and one new model will apparently be a two-door coupe that targets the upcoming 2011 Honda CR-Z hybrid sports coupe. An unsourced report in the British magazine Autocar says the new Prius coupe will use the same 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine and Hybrid Synergy Drive system as today's Prius hatchback. But it will offer even better aerodynamics than the five-door, whose...
-
Biden Blurts Out Fisker Nina Plug-In Hybrid Line: Sedan, Coupe, Crossover
There's nothing like a little old-fashioned reporter shoe leather, especially when few other automotive media outlets bother to make the trip. Our colleague Gary Gastelu of Fox News traveled down to Delaware yesterday, to cover the official announcement of Fisker Automotive's $18 million purchase...
John Voelcker -
Chrysler's Next Hybrid: 2011 Dodge Ram Hybrid Pickup Still On Track
While Chrysler was an original partner in development of the Two-Mode Hybrid system used in pickups and sport utilities by Chevrolet, GMC, Cadillac, as well as upcoming sport utilities from BMW and Mercedes-Benz, its hybrid history has not been happy. The company made fewer than 1,000 Dodge Durango...
John Voelcker -
Toyota Combats Prius Factory Emissions With Flower Power
Toyota City, Japan, smells pretty sweet these days according to a report by Richard Blackburn at drive.com.au. Japan's largest automaker has developed two new flower species to help offset CO2 emitted by the Prius factory there. The leaves of one of the flowers, based on the cherry sage, absorb...
Robert Scardino -
Mitsubishi Evo To Go Plug-In Hybrid? World's Tuners Feel Faint
We can't help it. Once in a while, we like to toss in big honkin' performance cars, like the Ford Mustang Shelby GT500. And even screaming smaller tuner sedans, like the 2010 Subaru STi WRC and Mitsubishi Lancer Evo. But now comes news to rock the world: The next generation of the Mitsubishi...
John Voelcker -
Here It Is: New 2012 Ford Escape, But Will There Be a Hybrid?
The Ford Escape compact sport utility, including its hybrid model, is now long in the tooth or beyond. It was first introduced as a 2001 model, and has been restyled twice. It still sells well, though, and Ford continues to update the hybrid model. Nonetheless, it's overdue for replacement. Now...
John Voelcker -
Nissan has made a bigger bet on electric cars than any other automaker, with plans to launch its 2012 Leaf electric car globally. But if electric cars are the future of green vehicles, hybrids are today's state of the art. And there, Nissan has lagged. It is developing its own hybrid system, but CEO Carlos Ghosn told Automotive News at the Tokyo Motor Show that Nissan will just add hybrid technology to existing models. No special bodies Translation: It does not plan to offer any "dedicated" hybrids, or vehicles that are sold solely as hybrids, without a plain gasoline equivalent (e.g. the...
-
Plug-In Advocates Target Toyota Over Climate Change, But Why?
Here at GreenCarReports.com, sometimes we get e-mails that make us scratch our heads. For instance, why would advocacy group Plug In America target Toyota, which offers the popular 2010 Prius? Why would it slam the world's undisputed leader in hybrid-car development, the company that made...
John Voelcker -
2010 Gas Mileage Ratings Released, Hybrids Take Top Slots
Gasoline may be averaging around $2.50 a gallon right now, but gas mileage remains an important factor in choosing a new car. Now the EPA has released 2010 fuel efficiency figures for all new cars and trucks sold in the U.S. Hybrids from Ford, Honda, Lexus, Mazda, Mercury, Nissan, and Toyota...
John Voelcker -
2010 Fusion Hybrid Takes Credit For 73-Percent Ford Hybrid Sales Rise
With record unemployment numbers and an active global recession, it's not news that vehicle sales have been lousy, falling by more than one-third from the record levels of a few years ago. But at least one maker's green cars are doing better than ever: Ford's U.S. sales of its hybrid-electric...
John Voelcker -
Ford Names Director of Global Electrification
If there was ever any doubt that Ford wants to be known for hybrids and electric vehicles, that was put to rest today, after the Dearborn, Michigan, based automaker named a "Director of Electrification." The newly created position will be filled by Nancy Gioia, who has served almost four years as...
Robert Scardino -
Prius Patent Problems? Trade Panel to Investigate Infringement Claim
A U.S. trade panel has agreed to investigate claims that Toyota infringed privately held patents in designing its hybrid electric vehicles. Toyota is widely acknowledged to be the industry leader in hybrids, having sold more than 2 million globally since 1997. If the allegations are upheld by the...
John Voelcker -
If Panasonic gets its way, your average laptop battery could be the electric vehicle power source of the future. The Japanese consumer electronics company announced Thursday that it has developed a method of binding standard lithium-ion batteries together (Tesla Motors style), for use in automotive applications. The company says the new technology should cut EV battery manufacturing costs in half, because it can take advantage of existing production facilities and know-how. Until now, battery packs in EVs have been specially designed and in some cases, assembled by hand, to meet the needs...
-
Infiniti Confirms 2012 M35 Hybrid Sedan, Its First
While Nissan goes full-bore into electric cars, including projected sales of 20,000 of its 2012 Nissan Leaf, the company's Infiniti luxury marque has neither electric cars nor hybrids in its 2010 lineup. But that will change next year, when it launches the redesigned 2011 Infiniti M luxury sedan...
John Voelcker -
Infiniti Preparing M35 Hybrid For Spring Of 2011
In March we told you that Nissan's luxury brand, Infiniti, planned to release a hybrid version of their M sedan. Today the Japanese automaker has confirmed that the new hybrid will be available in the spring of 2011 for the 2012 model year. This will be Infiniti's first offering in the luxury...
Robert Scardino -
Green Car of the Year Finalists: Three Hybrids, Two Diesels
The five finalists for the 2010 Green Car of the Year Award include three hybrid models--two Japanese hatchbacks and one U.S. sedan--and a pair of German clean-diesel cars. The nominations were announced today by Green Car Journal, which has presented the award at the Los Angeles Auto Show for five...
John Voelcker -
Video: Fox News Criticizes DOE Loans to Fisker and Tesla
While discussing two upstart electric car companies, contributors to the self proclaimed "fair and balanced" Fox News Channel (FNC) have proven that they are not smarter than a fifth grader. Jeff Foxworthy didn't even have to ask a single question. In reports criticizing recent Department of Energy...
Robert Scardino -
MPG Follies, Or, Why Electric Cars Can't Get 367 MPG. Sheesh.
One of our most popular posts in August was a piece that broke down how General Motors projected a fuel efficiency of 230 miles per gallon in the city for its 2011 Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric car. Soon after GM's elaborate press event, Nissan announced with a straight face that their...
John Voelcker -
While the 2010 Honda Insight is the company's big hybrid news for this year, it's far from the only new hybrid headed to us from Honda. As we've noted before, Honda will launch two more hybrids in 2010 as 2011 models. Now, Honda has released photos of its "CR-Z Concept 2009" show car, to be displayed at the Tokyo Motor Show, opening October 24. The 2011 Honda CR-Z two-seat sports coupe will go on sale in Japan next February, and should arrive in the U.S. next spring. Small, sporty two-seater The CR-Z is the spiritual successor to the 1983-1991 Honda Civic CR-X. That car delivered zippy...
-
Suzuki Swift Plug-In Hybrid Headed To Tokyo
Suzuki says that their cars are as much fun as their bikes. Now they're trying to make one model just as fuel efficient. The Japanese automaker plans to unveil a plug-in hybrid version of the Swift hatchback at the upcoming Tokyo Motor Show. Suzuki's subcompact already has a loyal following in...
Robert Scardino -
Will 2010 Toyota Prius Hatchback Get a 2011 Sedan Sidekick?
Two weeks ago, Toyota confirmed that it would offer more than one body style for its Prius hybrid-electric vehicle. Now, in Japan, the company has introduced a Toyota version of the car we know here as the 2010 Lexus HS250h. That car, the first "dedicated hybrid" from Lexus, was launched in Japan...
John Voelcker -
GM's Electric Car Guru Resigns
Bob Kruse, who formulated General Motors' long-term electric vehicle plans and whose team helped develop the Chevy Volt, has resigned, ending his 31-year career with the company. The 50-year-old Rochester Hills, Michigan, resident has served as GM's executive director of global vehicle engineering...
Robert Scardino -
World's First Plug-In Hybrid Sales? So Far, Not So Good
Late last year, a small Chinese company achieved a milestone: It offered the world's first mass-produced plug-in hybrid vehicle for sale. BYD Automotive, of Shenzhen, started selling its 2009 BYD F3DM (for "dual mode") compact sedan in December. So how's it been doing? Not too well. BYD said it...
John Voelcker -
Tommy Kaira Mods Toyota Prius
Japanese tuning firm, Tommy Kaira, has released a modified Toyota Prius that actually looks like it would be fun to drive. Unfortunately, it appears that the modifications are mostly visual, so if you were dreaming of a faster gas sipper, dream on. The pimped-out Prius certainly looks meaner, with...
Robert Scardino