mild hybrid

  • 2013 Acura ILX Hybrid, New York City, July 2012

    Another one bites the dust. Following the cancellation of the Honda Insight after the 2014 model year, Honda's upmarket Acura brand has eliminated the hybrid model from its entry-luxury ILX compact sedan lineup for 2015. The 2015 Acura ILX will be offered with two of the previous three powertrains: a 150-horsepower 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine, paired with a five-speed automatic transmission, and a 201-hp 2.4-liter four powering the front wheels through a six-speed manual gearbox. DON'T MISS: 2013 Acura ILX Hybrid: Weekend Test Of Acura's First Hybrid (July 2012) Acura's public relations...

  • Echo Automotive's EchoDrive bolt-on plug-in hybrid kit
    Will 'Bolt-On' Plug-In Hybrid Package Succeed For Fleets Where Bright Failed?

    "Green is a tough sell if it doesn't actually save money." Those are the words of Echo Automotive chairman Jason Plotke, whose company aims to make bolt-on hybrid solutions for existing commercial vehicles a reality. Speaking to Charged EVs, Plotke says he's explaining very clearly the advantages...

  • 2015 Chevrolet Impala
    2015 Chevrolet Impala Gets Start-Stop, But Hybrid 'Eco' Gone

    New information on updates for 2015 to the Chevrolet Impala full-size sedan range note that a start-stop system will be fitted to the four-cylinder model as standard equipment. So the 2015 Chevy Impala LS model with the base 196-horsepower 2.5-liter four-cylinder will now switch off its engine when...

  • China
    China Push For Lower Emissions: Smaller, More Efficient Engines, Mild Hybrids

    Tougher fuel economy standards may make mild hybrids and small turbocharged engines more common in China.

  • 2015 Jeep Renegade, 2014 Geneva Motor Show
    Chrysler: Mild Hybrids Coming, Says Electric Cars 'Overblown By Media'

    Yesterday's multi-hour presentation of the five-year plan for the combined Fiat Chrysler Automobiles was called "Chryslerpalooza" by local Detroit reporters who sat through it. The first green news was that Chrysler will build small numbers of plug-in hybrid minivans and large SUVs to meet emission...

  • 2014 Honda Accord Hybrid
    Honda: Hybrids For Bigger Cars Now That Insight Is Going Away

    Scrambling to do a bit of damage control after news broke last month that production of its Insight hybrid will end this year, Honda issued a press release touting its renewed commitment to hybrid technology. The death of the Insight model begged the question, what about the tiny two-seat CR-Z...

  • 2014 Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid, Irvine, CA, Aug 2013

    Last year, we drove a prototype Infiniti JX Hybrid, as it was then called (it's now in production as the 2014 Infiniti QX60 Hybrid). At that point, we wondered whether its mild-hybrid system would be "hybrid enough" to compete against the Lexus RX 450h that spawned the hybrid crossover segment two generations ago. Now we've driven the 2014 Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid, which uses the same system, and the question is even stronger in our minds: Is it hybrid enough to matter? MORE: 2014 Nissan Pathfinder - review To recap, the new-for-2014 Pathfinder Hybrid replaces the standard 260-horsepower...

  • 2014 Chevrolet Malibu
    2014 Chevy Malibu Gas Mileage: Making Eco Mild Hybrid Irrelevant, Again?

    The 2014 Chevrolet Malibu gets a new base engine, and with it come new, higher fuel-efficiency ratings from the EPA. But does the improved gas mileage mean the Malibu Eco model no longer has a reason to exist? For the new model year, Chevy made a large number of changes to the year-old vehicle...

  • 2012 Buick Regal with eAssist
    'Micro Hybrids' The Next Big Thing, Less Costly Than Mild Hybrids?

    Not all hybrids are created equal. In fact, several different types are sold throughout the automotive industry, all offering varying economical benefits and priced at varying levels. Technology and innovation firm Johnson Controls Inc. suggests there's room for even more, and the next big thing in...

  • 2012 Buick Lacrosse with eAssist, Catskill Mountains, October 2011
    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...

  • 2012 Chevrolet Equinox LTZ
    2014 Chevrolet Equinox, GMC Terrain To Get eAssist Hybrid System

    Starting with its rollout in the 2012 Buick Lacrosse, GM has steadily added its eAssist mild-hybrid system to an expanding roster of vehicles. Next year, it will be offered as an option on the 2014 Chevrolet Equinox and the 2014 GMC Terrain, which will be the first crossover utility vehicles to...

  • 2013 Ford C-Max Hybrid, Los Angeles, August 2012
    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...

  • 2013 Chevrolet Malibu Eco

    When an existing car model gets redesigned for a new model year, automakers and dealers often offer big discounts and incentives to anyone willing to buy the outgoing model. Usually, some car buyers choose to buy the discounted outgoing model, while others opt for the newer model, but according to Automotive News (subscription required) discounts on the outgoing 2012 Chevrolet Malibu are so high that most customers are ignoring the 2013 Malibu Eco. Watch the 2013 Chevrolet Malibu Eco Video Tour Launched in March 2012, the all-new 2013 Malibu Eco was Chevrolet’s first 2013 Malibu model...

  • 2013 Chevrolet Malibu Eco
    2013 Chevrolet Malibu Eco Mild Hybrid: Loved, Or Loathed?

    Every year, there have to be winners and losers in the automotive world. Usually, winners and losers are picked by sales figures, but according to CNN, the 2013 Chevrolet Malibu Eco mild hybrid may be the least-liked car of the year so far. Not measured by sales, but by negative reviews. When The...

  • 2014 Chevrolet Impala
    New 2014 Chevrolet Impala Eco Model To Join Cruze, Malibu

    Buick has placed a major bet on its eAssist mild hybrid system, offering it as standard equipment on base versions of the 2012 Lacrosse and, more recently, the 2013 Regal as well. Now Chevrolet is planning to spread that same system--which the Bowtie Brand uses on the 2013 Chevy Malibu Eco on sale...

  • 2012 Buick Regal with eAssist
    2013 Buick Regal Gets eAssist Mild Hybrid As Base Engine To Boost MPG

    The eAssist system may have entered production less than a year ago, but General Motors is clearly making a big bet on the mild hybrid system to help its Buick brand meet rising fuel economy regulations. First offered on the base 2.4-liter engine in the 2012 Buick Lacrosse, the eAssist system was...

  • 2012 Buick Regal GS
    More Mild Hybrids: 2013 Buick Regal To Fit eAssist As Standard

    It takes a lot of money and time to develop and produce hybrid cars and electric vehicles, but that's not to say regular gasoline cars can't benefit from some of their technology. Mild hybrid technology is a cost-effective way of improving the gas mileage of a car using a fairly simple electric...

  • 2013 Ford Fusion Hybrid
    Variations On Cheaper Hybrid Tech To Help MPG, Efficiency

    The market for gasoline-electric hybrids and electric cars is expected to grow over the next few years, but they aren't the only energy-efficient vehicles expected to become more popular. Also looking at an increase in popularity are micro-hybrids and mild hybrids, according to a Lux Research...

  • 'Regeneration Road,' part of the Buick Fuel Efficiency Games app

    The Buick Fuel Efficiency Games App teaches players about mild hybrid systems, aerodynamics and maximizing fuel economy.

  • 2012 Acura ILX Concept
    2013 Acura ILX Compact Hybrid: Detroit Auto Show Preview

    Since the demise of the well-loved Integra compact many years ago, Acura has had no compact four-door sedan. That's about to change, with the arrival of a production car based on the 2013 Acura ILX Concept shown today at the Detroit Auto Show.. It's a compact four-door near-luxury sedan with one...

  • 2013 Honda Accord Coupe Concept teaser
    2013 Honda Accord Coupe Concept Previews Hybrid: Detroit Auto Show

    As teaser photos go, it's laughably minimal: two strips of white letters, on a black background, that spell "Accord Concept". Oooooooooohhhhhhhhh. Nonetheless, that's what Honda issued last Sunday with the news that it will show an Accord Coupe concept vehicle at the upcoming 2012 Detroit Auto...

  • 2012 Buick Lacrosse with eAssist, Catskill Mountains, October 2011
    2012 Buick Lacrosse With eAssist: Mild Hybrid Weekend Drive

    We drove the prototype, and liked it. Now we've driven the real thing. We still like it. In this case, "it" is the 2012 Buick Lacrosse with eAssist, the only four-cylinder model that Buick offers in its Lacrosse large luxury sedan. While large Buicks aren't known for their gas mileage, this one is...

  • 2010 Nissan Altima Hybrid
    2013 Nissan Altima (Mild) Hybrid: High Gas Mileage, V-6 Power

    Likely starting with the 2013 Nissan Altima and extending to some of the automaker’s mid-size U.S. products, the automaker hopes to replace a rather large number of V-6 engines—potentially hundreds of thousands a year—with a more fuel-efficient four-cylinder mild-hybrid setup.

  • 2013 Chevrolet Malibu ECO
    2013 Chevy Malibu Eco Starts At $26,000, Rated 38 MPG Highway

    Chevy's Malibu Eco mild hybrid will deliver near-hybrid highway fuel economy from a starting price of $26,000.

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