Hybrids
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For the past few years, every time an automaker has launched a new plug-in hybrid or electric car, it’s been to a fanfare of sorts. But while Nissan, General Motors and Fisker have attracted the spotlight as more and more customers step up for their new cars, Press coverage of Toyota’s 2012 Prius Plug-in Hybrid has been small. Which leads us to the inevitable question: Is it the invisible plug-in car? Just another Prius In the past year, Toyota has launched three additional models to the Prius family: the 2012 Prius V Wagon, 2012 Prius C subcompact, and 2012 Prius Plug-in Hybrid...
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Is It A Hybrid Or Electric Car? In Massachusetts, Check The Plate
These days, unless you’re an ardent fan of hybrid or electric cars, it can be pretty hard to tell them apart from their gasoline equivalents. For the average motorist it isn’t an issue, but for first responders attending the scene of an accident, it’s important to know what a...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Audi Gives More Details On 2013 Q5 Hybrid Quattro SUV
Ever since Audi unveiled the A5 Hybrid Quattro SUV at the 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show, we have to admit to being a little excited about seeing it reach the U.S. market. Now, Audi has given us a little more insight into the model, due to hit the U.S. some time this year as a 2013 year model...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Ferrari Reveals Latest HY-KERS V-12 Hybrid Drivetrain
There was a time when hybrid drivetrains were only used in ultra-green cars like the venerable Toyota Prius. In recent years however, even automakers like Ferrari have embraced the concept of hybrid drivetrains in an attempt to build cars that satisfy ever-tougher emissions and gas-mileage...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
EBay Goes Green, Launches Green Driving eBay Motors Spinoff
Once upon a time, if you wanted to buy a used car, the place to start your search was the local used car dealer or newspaper listings. Over the past decade however, searching for a used car has become a lot easier thanks to Internet auction site eBay and its eBay Motors listings. Listing everything...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Russian Yo Natural-Gas Hybrid SUV: Production By End Of Year
In the years since Soviet rule ended in Russia, the number of cars on its roads have steadily increased, driving pollution and congestion to unimaginable levels. Now Yo-Auto, the same Russian company responsible for the Yo-Mobile Hybrid Electric Car -- a vehicle already as synonymous in Russia for...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Thirty years ago, bedrooms all over the world were adorned with pictures of supercars like the Ferrari 288 GTO, Ferrari Testarossa, Porsche 959 and Lamborghini Countach. At that time, very few of us worried about gas mileage, fuel economy or oil prices. All we wanted was a fast, sexy sportscar, even if it only managed a few miles per gallon. In today’s automotive world where gas mileage is king, can we ever return to those heady days of supercar adoration on bedroom walls? Enter the Acura NSX and Infiniti Emerg-E, two cars that promise supercar performance while also returning...
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Toyota FT-Bh Concept: Geneva Motor Show Live Gallery
Prior to today's Geneva Motor Show, Toyota had teased a selection of images of its hybrid small car concept, the FT-Bh. Unveiled today, we can now bring you live images of Toyota's baby, sure to influence the design of subsequent hybrids in Toyota's range. It was clear from the teaser images that...
Antony Ingram -
2013 Lexus RX 450h Live Gallery: 2012 Geneva Motor Show
This morning at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show, Lexus unveiled the 2013 RX 450h hybrid SUV, essentially a minor revision to its popular crossover SUV hybrid. Outside, the new RX 450h wears a new set of bumpers, complete with redesigned grille, LED daytime running lights and a reshaped headlamp. At the...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Toyota Takes You On Safari To Prius Kingdom, Binoculars Essential
Over the past few years, Toyota has run some pretty unusual ad campaigns for its range of Prius Hybrids, from the cute Harmony TV spot through to the mildly disturbing People Person creation and the downright hilarious Cleaner Than-A-Sheep print ad. Now the Japanese automaker wants you to don...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
San Francisco: Twice As Many Taxis Burn Half As Much Gas; Here's How
In the past 15 years, the city of San Francisco has doubled the numbers of taxi cabs on its streets, up from 750 vehicles in 1997 to 1,500 this year. But thanks to incentives designed to get taxi operators behind the wheel of greener cars, 92 percent of San Francisco’s taxi fleet are either...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
2012 Toyota Prius C So Popular In Japan, Toyota Ups Production
Toyota’s all-new compact hybrid -- the 2012 Prius C -- isn’t due to go on sale for another few months, but that hasn’t stopped it from being an instant hit in its native Japan. Known as the 2012 Toyota Aqua in Japan, the gas-sipping hybrid has proved so popular that Toyota has...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Just ten years ago, cars like the 2002 Toyota Prius traded performance for unbelievably-high gas mileage, bringing the concept of eco-friendly gasoline electric hybrid cars to the masses. Recently however, automakers like BMW have used full hybrid technology to give high performance luxury cars like the 5-Series a gas mileage boost without compromising on performance. But with an expected gas mileage of around 31 mpg combined -- and some reports citing it as low as 26 mpg at best -- is the ActiveHybrid 5 really a green car, or is it time that we realized that Hybrid drivetrains aren’t...
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Toyota Beats 2011 Volt Sales In 10 Weeks With Prius V Hybrid
It may have only gone on sale at the end of October 2011, but Toyota has just announced it managed to sell 8,399 Toyota Prius V Wagons before the start of 2012. In other words, it sold 668 more 2012 Prius V wagons in 2011 than Chevrolet sold Volts, but 1,335 less than the Nissan Leaf. Starting at...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Honda Civic Hybrid Gas-Mileage Case: What Factors Are At Play?
At the start of January, we told you about the owner of a 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid who was taking the Japanese automaker to the small claims court. Heather Peters, alongside other owners who are filing similar class-action lawsuits against Honda, all claim that their Honda Civic Hybrids cannot...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Acura NSX Concept Hybrid Supercar To Be Built In U.S.
Yesterday, we told you about Acura’s NSX Hybrid Concept Car, unveiled at the 2012 Detroit Auto Show. Then a few hours later, we treated you to our own photo gallery of the NSX unveiling live from the show floor, along with the news that it would reach production in 2015. Yesterday, we...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Mercedes-Benz Unveils E300 BlueTec Hybrid, E400 Hybrid At Detroit Auto Show
Big luxury cars can be green too. That’s the message from Mercedes-Benz as it launches two new hybrid E-Class cars at the 2012 Detroit Auto Show. The Mercedes-Benz E300 BlueTec Hybrid and Mercedes-Benz E400 Hybrid were first announced back in December, and essentially cater to different...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Toyota Prius, Honda CR-Z Rumored To Take Part In GT300 Racing Series
Think of Japan’s Super GT Series, and you probably think of highly-tuned race car versions of rear-wheel drive production cars. But in in the 2012 GT300 class, the traditional image of GT race cars could be challenged by not one, but two hybrid cars. As MotorAuthority reported yesterday...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
For over ten years now, Toyota has given car owners the chance to drive an ultra-efficient, high gas-mileage hybrid car. But while the 2012 Toyota Prius might give great gas milage, it just isn’t rugged enough for a large proportion of pickup-loving Americans. For them, driving a Toyota Prius would just be too much of an insult to their constitutional rights. In some areas, driving a hybrid could lead others to question your sexuality. Currently, if you want a hybrid pickup truck, the only two vehicles on the market are the 2012 Chevrolet Silverado Hybrid, and is General Motors'...
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2012 Toyota Prius C Compact Hybrid: 2011 Tokyo Motor Show Debut Live Gallery
Among the concept cars and pre-production prototypes being unveiled at the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show this week, there were a handful of production-ready cars quietly making their public debut. Among them was Toyota’s 2012 Prius C hybrid hatchback. Smaller than the 2012 Prius, the 2012 Prius C...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Honda Announces ‘Earth Dreams’ Range Of Eco-Friendly Engines, Transmissions
Ask any advertising executive how you make a product sound more environmentally friendly, and they’ll suggest you give it a name that evokes the natural world. Enter Honda, and its Earth Dreams Technology range. Announced today at the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show, Honda claims the Earth Dreams...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Where Do Hybrid, Electric Cars Sell Best? We Find Out
While hybrid and electric cars are becoming more popular throughout the U.S., it isn’t a secret that buyers in some areas are more keen to buy a hybrid or electric car than others. Now NPR has published an interactive map detailing just where electric and hybrid cars have proved popular this...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Long Drive Today? Try Our Thanksgiving Recipe For Green-Car Spotting Games
If you’re a parent preparing for that long-distance Thanksgiving trip with your kids, you’re probably dreading the fights, arguments and general boredom that accompanies a road trip. But while you’re probably packing enough electronic gadgetry and Disney films into your car to...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Robotic Toyota Prius To Offer Test Rides, Not Drives, At Tokyo Motor Show
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...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield