Hatchbacks

  • Mazda SKYACTIV technologies

    The U.S. is just getting its first taste of the funky Mazda2, a car that has helped rewrite the rulebook on affordable hatchbacks by showing that cheap doesn’t have to mean drab and boring to drive. However, the next-generation of Mazda’s global small car is currently in the works and is set for debut in Japan as early as the first half of next year. There’s no word on when this version of the Mazda2 will finally reach the U.S. but when it does we can reveal that it will return a fuel economy of 70 mpg--without the aid of any electric motors. This is because the car will...

  • 2011 Lexus CT 200h
    Lexus CT 200h May Spawn Plug-In Hybrid Version

    The all-new 2011 Lexus CT 200h is scheduled to hit showrooms early next year complete with a 134 horsepower hybrid drivetrain and a very reasonable--for a luxury car--EPA combined fuel economy rating of 42 mpg. However, this is just the initial setup that Lexus engineers have planned for the CT...

  • Fiesta iPad App
    Surprise, Surprise: Yes, Young Buyers Will Pay More For Less

    If you listen to conventional wisdom coming out of Detroit, you'd think that every single U.S. car buyer secretly wants a Suburban. Call it the bigger-longer-badder-better principle: Everyone wants the largest car they can afford. Often that's true. But not always. Sometimes people want the most...

  • 2011 Toyota iQ
    2010 Paris Auto Show: 2011 Toyota iQ

    Toyota has already confirmed that it’s bringing its iQ minicar to the U.S. next March badged as a Scion and this latest version of the car, set to be unveiled tomorrow at the 2010 Paris Auto Show, may just be the one that we will see in showrooms next year. The major changes introduced on...

  • Teaser for Infiniti luxury EV due in 2013
    Infiniti Offers First Glimpse Of Electric Vehicle Due In 2013

    The growing push towards smaller and more fuel efficient vehicles is leading the charge for changing consumer perceptions of what defines a luxury car--with size no longer the differentiator but rather technology, quality and design. We’ve already seen most of the major luxury brands release...

  • 2011 Ford Fiesta
    Are Hatchbacks Back? Five-Doors Are Two-Thirds of Ford Fiesta Sales

    The term "hatchback" has long been considered poison in Detroit, an indicator of a slow, cheap, tinny, undesirable econobox. (And when's the last time you heard "econobox," for that matter?) No one wants 'em, says the conventional wisdom. But conventional wisdom may be getting knocked upside the...

  • Leaked 2011 Lexus CT 200h images

    Whether it's the rather bland styling or the underwhelming stats, the 2011 Lexus CT 200h hasn't achieved much in creating buzz in the headlines. In fairness, hybrid power, low emissions and claims of high fuel efficiency don’t mean much without the all important EPA-rated fuel economy figures but today we can confirm that the 2011 Lexus CT 200h will come onto the market with a combined fuel economy of 42 mpg. While the figures appear only marginally better than modern diesels like the Volkswagen Jetta TDI, which achieves figures of 30 mpg in the city and 42 mpg on the highway...

  • 2008 Mercedes-Benz A-Class
    Mercedes-Benz A-Class E-Cell Set For 2010 Paris Auto Show Debut

    As reported earlier, Mercedes-Benz will be launching a new all-electric version of its entry-level A-Class model dubbed the A-Class E-Cell. This limited production model is being developed together with Tesla and will reportedly make its world debut next month at the 2010 Paris Auto Show. Daimler...

  • Honda Fit Hybrid
    Honda Fit Hybrid: First Look

    As the European brands chase the benefits of diesel in smaller cars--though they're sticking their toes in the hybrid/electric waters as well--the Japanese automakers continue to push forward with their established hybrid systems. The latest is Honda, which has revealed a new hybrid version of its...

  • 2011 Lexus CT 200h
    2011 Lexus CT 200h Shows Hybrids Can Be Sporty Too

    The 2011 Honda CR-Z was meant to be the car that showed hybrids could be sporty as well as green, but sadly, its lowly 122 horsepower and dismal 0-60 times meant it was never going to be taken seriously in performance circles. Fortunately, there’s another hybrid vehicle on the horizon that may...

  • 2011 Chevrolet Volt
    The 2011 Chevy Volt: Made Alongside GM's Gas-Guzzling V8s

    Think of the 2011 Chevrolet Volt and very little seems conventional about it. With a range of 40 miles per charge and a range-extending gasoline engine used to provide extra power when the battery pack is depleted, Chevrolet is keen to push the car’s green credentials. Built at the Hamtramck...

  • 2012 Ford Focus
    Report: All-Wheel Drive Hybrid Hard Hitter To Join Ford Focus Lineup

    Hot hatches. The Europeans love them, we--as a whole--apparently hate them, and consequently miss out on some amazing cars that our cousins across the Atlantic have been enjoying for years. But that’s all about to change thanks to stylish newcomers like the 2011 Ford Fiesta and upcoming 2012...

  • 2011 MINI Countryman

    MINI’s ambitious plans to launch a slew of new models shows no signs of slowing. Not only are there new coupe and roadster models planned for the Cooper platform, but a new-generation ‘Moke’ off-roader previewed by the recent Beachcomber concept is also reportedly in the works. Now there are reports coming out claiming that a new sub-Cooper model as well as a three-door version of the Countryman crossover are also planned. The new sub-Cooper model is expected to revive the Minor name and a concept version of the car could even appear at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show. It will likely be...

  • MINI Clubman S Hybrid prototype spy shots
    MINI Clubman S Hybrid Prototype Spied

    We’ve already been treated to an all-electric version of the MINI in the form of the MINI E experimental vehicle, which from our initial drive we determined is far from ready for production, but a hybrid variant could be a much more viable option for the immediate future. BMW appears to have the...

  • 2011 Suzuki Swift
    First Look At U.S.-Bound 2011 Suzuki Swift

    The small-car band wagon is piling high with automakers, including those from Detroit, with vehicles like the 2011 Ford Fiesta, 2011 Mazda2, and 2011 Chevrolet Aveo either in showrooms already or on their way. Suzuki has recently moved the other way, introducing what many consider to be its first...

  • 2011 Nissan Leaf spied -- via Nissan-LEAF.net
    Spy Shots: Nissan Leaf Caught On The Street

    The 2011 Nissan Leaf is out and about testing, and some intrepid fans have caught it in the wild.

  • 2011 Volkswagen Polo Sedan unveiled in Russia
    2011 Volkswagen Polo Sedan Unveiled, Likely Headed For U.S.

    It's been more than a year since Volkswagen confirmed it would sell its Polo subcompact in the U.S. But the company also said it would modify the Polo to make it more suitable for the U.S. market, which prefers sedans to hatchbacks. Now, the other shoe has dropped: VW has just unveiled the Polo...

  • 2011 Toyota Auris Hybrid - European model
    So, IS This the Next Toyota Prius Model? Should It Be?

    Toyota's plans to expand its Prius hybrid into an entire line of vehicles still aren't completely clear. Rumored new models have included a coupe version and a tall station wagon or "people mover" small minivan. Now a road test of the Europe-only 2011 Toyota Auris Hybrid raises the question: Will...

  • 2011 Lexus CT 200h

    You may recall that last month, we raised our eyebrows and scratched our head over the latest Lexus ad campaign, "The Darker Side of Green." The tagline, first unveiled at the 2010 New York Auto Show, turned out to be a teaser for the upcoming and unusual latest Lexus model, the 2011 CT 200h hybrid hatchback. That vaguely ominous message was the tagline for an interactive web video, Lexus Dark Ride. Last week, it was released in full, to somewhat less-than-stellar reviews. Social Car News, a new site in our growing High Gear Media family, says the video includes "one high-energy car-chase...

  • 2011 Ford Fiesta
    2011 Ford Fiesta Gets 40 MPG Rating

    The 2011 Ford Fiesta is officially the most fuel efficient model in its class, with the EPA announcing today that the ultra-funky hatchback and sedan rates in at 29 mpg in the city and 40 mpg on the highway when equipped with the smooth shifting six-speed PowerShift dual clutch transmission. To put...

  • 2011 Ford C-Max
    Hybrid And Plug-In Hybrid Ford C-MAX Planned For 2013, U.S. Sales Likely

    Ford has already confirmed that its boxy C-MAX will be arriving in the U.S. late next year and now the Blue Oval has revealed that hybrid and plug-in hybrid versions of the car are in the pipeline, although only European plans have been announced thus far. But with the U.S. being the world’s...

  • Volkswagen Golf blue-e-motion
    Volkswagen Golf Blue-E-Motion Previews Future EV

    Volkswagen is intent on becoming the world’s leading automaker by 2018 and that means being the top dog in every segment, including hybrid and electric vehicles. Recently the automaker announced plans to start building its own electric powertrains, and now it has unveiled the all-new Golf...

  • 2011 Nissan Leaf
    2011 Nissan Leaf: We Order Ours, And Show You How

    When the 2011 Nissan Leaf goes on sale later this year, a lucky handful of buyers in eight areas around the country will be among the first to own and drive the first mass-market electric car sold by an automaker in the modern era. I'm hoping I'll be one of them. As of a few moments ago, I'm in the...

  • The Dark Side of Green
    NY Auto Show Puzzler: 'Darker Side of Green' = New Lexus Hybrid ??

    Hmmmmmm. First Sarah Silverman, now "The Darker Side of Green." What exactly is going on with Lexus these days? The ominous message is the tagline for an interactive web video called, logically enough, Lexus Dark Ride. It'll be released May 13. "Young, energetic, tech-savvy" It's meant to attract...

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