Sedans
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The 2014 Honda Accord Hybrid received very positive reviews when it was launched almost a year ago. Its EPA fuel-efficiency rating of 47 mpg combined approaches that of the 50-mpg Toyota Prius, but the Accord is a more conventional looking mid-size sedan--a plus for many buyers. Yet sales have been remarkably low, and potential buyers routinely report that none are available at Honda dealers--fully 10 months after the first one went on sale last October. DON'T MISS: Green Car Reports' Best Car To Buy: 2014 Honda Accord Hybrid Honda had said Accord Hybrid supplies were "tight" the month after...
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2015 Hyundai Sonata: Gas Mileage Review Of New Mid-Size Sedan
The last Hyundai Sonata was a striking stylistic departure from usually bland mid-size sedan styling. The new one, not quite so much: To our eyes, there's very little aside from the badges that identifies it as a Hyundai. We spent a few days with a 2015 Hyundai Sonata Limited, a test car so new it...
John Voelcker -
Chevy Cruze Diesel Sales: Mediocre At Best, So Far
The 2014 Chevrolet Cruze Diesel went on sale almost a year ago, the first diesel passenger car sold by General Motors in 28 years. Hopes were high for the Cruze with the European turbodiesel engine, which effectively competed with the long-established Volkswagen Jetta TDI, the only other mainstream...
John Voelcker -
2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA 250: Gas Mileage Review Of Compact Luxury Sedan
We've finally had a chance to test out the fuel economy of the new and very popular smallest Mercedes-Benz, the 2014 CLA 250 sedan. The company has been struggling to meet global demand for the car, which is both the smallest Mercedes in many years and one of the least expensive. We wanted to see...
John Voelcker -
Infiniti LE Electric Luxury Sedan To Be Built After All, With Higher Range
Some vehicles have complex, protracted development histories--and it looks like the Infiniti LE electric luxury sedan may be one of them. Following a period in which its development was suspended by Infiniti's then-CEO Johan de Nysschen (who most recently heads Cadillac), the LE is now back on...
John Voelcker -
Hyundai Sonata Hybrid Carries Over, Eco Gets 32 MPG--But Where's That Plug-In?
The 2015 Hyundai Sonata is nearly entirely new--save for the steadily improving Hybrid edition. Hyundai says the Sonata Hybrid will stick with its existing gas-electric drivetrain and body style through the 2015 model year, while the rest of the range takes on a more subdued look and more refined...
Martin Padgett -
Chevy reveals the interior of the next-generation Cruze ahead of its launch in China.
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Acura Kills ILX Hybrid For 2015; Only Two Mild Hybrids Left
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...
John Voelcker -
Struggling Scion To Get Mazda2-Based Sedan, Auris-Based Hatchback, In Future?
Scion, the supposedly hip, youth-oriented brand established 10 years ago by Toyota, hasn't had a new volume model in seven years. Its overall sales fell last year even as the new-car market surged. Now, apparently, it's slated to get two new models--a subcompact hatchback based on the...
John Voelcker -
Rumor: Long-Wheelbase Tesla Model S Coming Later This Year?
The Tesla rumor mill is never quiet for long, and the latest one suggests that the company is developing a long-wheelbase version of its Model S sedan, specifically for the Chinese market. Tesla Motors just recently launched in China, obviously a key market for it and every other automaker, and one...
John Voelcker -
2015 Subaru Legacy Video Road Test: 30 MPG, All-Wheel-Drive Mid-Size Sedan
The new 2015 Subaru Legacy is a stealth car: Other drivers may not pay it much attention, but it's sneaking up on the high-volume vehicles in the ultra-competitive mid-size sedan segment. The latest Legacy, redesigned and re-equipped for 2015, is the most competitive Subaru sedan yet--and it also...
John Voelcker -
2015 Hyundai Sonata Prices Released, No Details On Hybrid Yet
The redesigned 2015 Hyundai Sonata midsize sedan goes on sale later this month.
Stephen Edelstein -
The first wave of electric cars and plug-in hybrids has been largely centered on smaller vehicles, mostly from mass-market brands (Tesla excepted). Four years later, German luxury makers are entering the fray--and the plug-in cars and utility vehicles they sell will markedly expand the offerings on the market. DON'T MISS: Mercedes-Benz S-Class Plug-In On Sale Early 2015, C-Class Hybrid Later We've now been able to tease out the company's schedule for its first three plug-in hybrid vehicles in the U.S. We'd already known about two of them--the plug-in hybrid S-Class and C-Class sedans--but now...
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2014 Honda Accord Hybrid: Video Road Test
Honda was the first car company to sell a hybrid in the U.S. by a few months, but it hasn't done nearly as well with its hybrids as Toyota has done with its Prius. Its first two-seat Insight wasn't close enough to the mainstream--and the first Honda Accord Hybrid in 2004 didn't post gas-mileage...
Joel Feder -
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...
John Voelcker -
2014 Dodge Dart Dumps Dual-Clutch Automatic, Except On Aero Model
The Dodge Dart compact sedan launched as a 2013 model hasn't sold as well as hoped. One thing that hurt its debut was the unfamiliar feel of its dual-clutch automatic gear gearbox, brought over from Europe to boost the fuel economy of versions fitted with the 160-horsepower turbocharged 1.4-liter...
John Voelcker -
2016 Chevrolet Cruze Sedan Unveiled At Beijing Auto Show
China's 2015 Chevrolet Cruze sedan will arrive in the U.S. as a 2016 model next year.
Stephen Edelstein -
2015 Ford Focus Updates: New Front Styling, 1.0-Liter Three-Cylinder Option - Live Photos
The 2015 Ford Focus gets familial Ford styling and an optional three-cylinder EcoBoost engine.
Stephen Edelstein -
Ten days ago, a website appeared from Wanxiang America, the new owners of Fisker Automotive, under the title of "The New Fisker." The site included a comprehensive timeline of the formerly bankrupt company's past, warts and all: from the lawsuit by Tesla Motors against Fisker through the May 2011 suspension of funds from its U.S. government loan through to cofounder Henrik Fisker's resignation and ensuing staff layoffs. MORE: 'New Fisker' Website Launches As Wanxiang Prepares To Restart Electric-Car Maker But while the timeline has many entries, it's not entirely complete. Or as one...
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Life With Tesla Model S: One Year And 15,000 Miles Later
Well, it's now been a year since I took delivery of my dark green 2013 Tesla Model S with the 60-kilowatt-hour battery. After almost four years of waiting, those first days after delivery were euphoric. As I recall, the words "greatest freaking car in the entire freaking Universe" (or thereabouts)...
David Noland -
Has U.S. Demand For The Tesla Model S Electric Car Stabilized?
Last month, Tesla Motors reported deliveries of a record 6,892 Model S vehicles during the fourth quarter of 2013. Giddy investors promptly sent Tesla shares zooming higher. But many of those cars--Tesla isn't saying how many--were delivered to Europe. And if you look closely, there are signs that...
David Noland -
Timeline For New Fisker Karmas: 'Within A Year'...Hopefully
The assets of the bankrupt Fisker Automotive are now in the process of being transferred to winning bidder Wanxiang America, but already the new owners have started to discuss their plans for the automaker. The latest news nugget is that Wanxiang hopes to restart production of the Karma...
John Voelcker -
2014 Toyota Corolla Eco LE: Gas Mileage Test Drive
The Toyota Corolla has long been the best-selling compact sedan in the U.S., and the all-new 2014 Corolla is a considerable advance over the aged, grim, unexciting model it replaced. We recently tested the most fuel-efficient model, the Corolla Eco, over our usual test route of about two-thirds...
John Voelcker -
Diesel Vs Electric Chevrolet: Cruze Diesel Vs Volt Sales In 2013
This year, 2014, is going to be the big test for diesel engines in U.S. passenger vehicles. It's the first full year in which two popular cars--the Chevrolet Cruze compact sedan and the Jeep Grand Cherokee--are offered with diesel engines as optional equipment, complete with higher EPA fuel...
John Voelcker