Hybrids
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Yesterday we listed the nominees for Green Car Reports' Best Car To Buy 2014 award: two battery-electric vehicles, one hybrid, one diesel, and one very fuel-efficient gasoline car. But what do our nominees say about the state of green-car design this year? Overall, they highlight four trends to keep in mind as you shop for your next car. (1) Electric cars are getting more efficient. The 2014 Chevrolet Spark EV has the highest EPA combined efficiency rating of any plug-in electric car sold in the U.S. today: 119 MPGe, or miles-per-gallon-equivalent. (MPGe is a rating that looks at how far an...
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Five 40-MPG Mid-Size Sedans You Can Buy Today
Imagine it's 2025 and the full impact of tougher gas-mileage regulations has taken effect. That year, it's easy to buy a mid-size sedan--perhaps even something a bit larger--that returns 40 mpg in regular use. Here's the thing, though: For 2013, there are already a handful of sedans that do that...
John Voelcker -
2013 Ford C-Max Hybrid Owners Get Cash As Ford Lowers MPG Rating
For Ford, it's all about "customer satisfaction"--a phrase it's repeated hundreds of times over the past nine months. During that time, it's grappled with the realization that not only did its 2013 Ford C-Max Hybrid not achieve anywhere close to its 47-mpg EPA rating, but the shortfall had made...
John Voelcker -
Hybrid Repair Costs Drop, Especially In The Northeast
We have good news and bad news for hybrid car owners. First the bad news: basic car repairs are more expensive than they used to be. According to a CarMD survey of repair costs across the U.S., problems associated with the "check engine" light cost $367.84 to repair in 2012. That's 10% higher than...
Richard Read -
Is The 2001-2003 Toyota Prius A Good Used Car Buy?
It was small, unassuming, almost a shrinking violet, really. The first-generation Toyota Prius hybrid -- launched in the U.S. in 2001 -- was the first five-seat family car to offer hybrid-electric drive and unimaginably high gas mileage. Twelve years after its initial launch, the Prius family has...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Buick eAssist, Chevy Eco Hybrid Recall For Control Module Check
General Motors announced today that it will recall more than 38,000 Buick and Chevrolet sedans fitted with its eAssist mild-hybrid system, to check for a possibly defective electronic component. The vehicles, from both the 2012 and 2013 model years, are the Buick LaCrosse and Buick Regal sedans...
John Voelcker -
The second of two large seven-seat hybrid crossovers at this year's New York Auto Show, the 2014 Infiniti QX60 Hybrid is the glamorpuss of the pair. Known for the first year of its existence as the Infiniti JX, and now redubbed QX60 in a complete shakeup of the model names for Infiniti's high-end brand, the luxury hybrid crossover uses the same powertrain as the 2014 Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid launched at the same show. That is to say, the standard 260-hp 3.5-liter V-6 is gently and lovingly removed from the gleaming engine bay and a smaller supercharged 2.5-liter four-cylinder powertrain...
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2014 Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid: Video From New York Auto Show
Last week's New York Auto Show had a number of green vehicles, but there were relatively few new production models there that truly qualified as green. So a new hybrid model of Nissan's seven-seat crossover Pathfinder comes as close as we can get. It's likely to be considered by a number of...
John Voelcker -
Can Electric Cars & Hybrids Interfere With Pacemakers?
The first internal pacemakers were developed in the 1950s. Heart patients were naturally skeptical: How does it run? Will the battery die? Can I be electrocuted? Just two decades later, the devices had become commonplace. The Six-Million Dollar Man went prime time, and humanity was making its first...
Richard Read -
Yep, Car Buyers Rate Fuel Economy Number One, But...
There's good news and bad news for green car fans in the latest J.D. Power and Associates Avoider Study. For a decade, that study has interviewed recent car buyers, asking detailed questions about their purchase decisions. As you might guess from the title of the survey, Power focuses not only on...
Richard Read -
Sales Of Hybrids & Electric Cars Surge 73% In 2012
Eco-minded shoppers have seen environmental issues take up more space in the news, and they've known that it was simply a matter of time before those concerns began affecting the sorts of vehicles we drive. Now, mainstream consumers are beginning to see the light. The change hasn't come overnight...
Richard Read -
2013 Ford C-Max Hybrid: Is It The Ideal Modern Family Car?
If you’re a parent, the chances are you’ve had to make the painful choice between everyday practicality and gas mileage when looking at new cars. In fact, if your family consists of the archetypal two kids, two adults, a dog, and a whole lot of luggage, the chances are you’ve...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
At the start of this year, at the 2012 Detroit Auto Show, Honda’s luxury arm Acura wooed the crowds with the world premiere of its NSX hybrid supercar concept. At the time, Acura promised its new flagship car would be on the roads for 2015 and ran a Super Bowl ad so popular, it crashed Acura’s website. Now it looks as if Acura has moved its production schedule forward, with plans to premiere the production-ready re-imagining of its iconic supercar at the 2013 Detroit Auto Show in January. As Auto Express reports, the cat was let out of the proverbial bag by one of Honda’s...
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Kepler Hybrid Supercar Does 0-60 MPH in 2.5 Secs (Video)
What does a hybrid car need to be sexy? Speed? Good looks? Impressive gas mileage? Kepler Motors thinks its first supercar, the Motion Hybrid, has it all. Announced back in 2009, Kepler Motors has been quietly working on its super lightweight Motion hybrid for nearly three years. Now the company...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Hybrid Battery Inventor Stanford Ovshinsky Dies At 89
Unless you’re deeply into the history of electric and hybrid electric vehicle technology, the chances are you might not recognize the name of Stanford Ovshinsky. But if you’ve ever driven a Toyota Prius Hybrid, or any number of all-electric cars with nickel-metal hydride battery packs...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Have Hybrid Cars Finally Moved Beyond Stereotypes?
There was a time when anyone who drove a hybrid car--especially a Toyota Prius--was viewed with distain by the majority of other road users. They were seen as aloof, over-privileged, and perhaps, thanks to a certain episode of South Park, smug about their car buying decision. But with more hybrids...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
2013 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid Gets EPA Rated At 45 MPG All-Round
At one time, if you wanted a green, luxury sedan with great gas mileage, you only had a handful of cars to choose from from automakers like Lexus, Infiniti, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz. Now there’s another car to add to your list: the 45 MPG combined, 2013 LIncoln MKZ. Fresh from its official EPA...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Ferrari Shares Chassis Secrets Of New Hybrid Supercar
In the world of high gas prices and tough gas mileage standards, even exotic supercar manufacturers are having to think about ways to make their cars leaner, meaner, and greener. Which is why one exhibit on the Ferrari stand at the 2012 Paris Auto Show--the carbon fibre tub which will form the...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
For the past decade, Toyota has unquestionably been the champion of the hybrid electric car, thanks to its Prius family of hybrids. But with a tough new ad campaign about to launch for the all-new 2013 Ford C-Max Hybrid, Detroit’s blue oval wants to steal that hybrid crown. The gloves are off. But who will win? In its new ad campaign, Ford has nominated to directly compare itself with the established Prius, using a series of comically-drawn shorts. As USA Today reports, one of the first C-Max Hybrid ads to air shows Mr. Linea, a classic, Italian line-drawn character from the 1970s...
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2013 Honda CR-Z Hybrid Gets Better Acceleration, Boost Mode
The Honda CR-Z mild-hybrid sports coupe will get some evolutionary, not revolutionary, changes for the 2013 model year, the automaker has announced at the 2012 Paris Auto Show. From a distance, the 2013 CR-Z looks very similar to the 2012 model, but on closer inspection the redesigned fascia...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
2013 Ford Fusion Hybrid Gets EPA-Approved 47MPG All-Round
After taking part in a rather unusual fuel-economy test for its non-hybrid 2013 Fusion EcoBoost, Ford has announced its 2013 Fusion Hybrid has just been awarded its official gas mileage ratings by the EPA. Just like the 2013 C-Max Hybrid, the 2013 Fusion Hybrid has been rated at 47 mpg highway, 47...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Making The Transition To A Hybrid Car? Here’s What To Expect
Over the past decade, hybrid electric cars have gone from being niche market vehicles for movie stars and green thinkers to everyday vehicles that can save you big money on your gas bill. In fact, with more hybrid cars to choose from than ever before, there’s never a better time to make the...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Will 2014 VW Golf Electric, Hybrid, Share Carbon GTi's Lightweight Construction?
Thanks to several hundred pounds of additional weight from a battery pack, pure electric and plug-in hybrids often weigh more than their gasoline counterparts. But according to AutoCar, Volkswagen’s upcoming all-electric and hybrid variants of the seventh-generation Golf hatchback will...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Pennsylvania Parking Lot Opens For Green Cars, Carpoolers Only
If you drive a plug-in electric or hybrid car, you may have encountered the reserved ‘green car only’ parking spaces that some towns, cities and businesses put in parking lots to reward you for choosing a green car. We’ve even heard of parking garages where owners of plug-in cars...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield