Hybrids
-
The 2010 Honda Insight was eagerly awaited before its launch, but reviews have been mixed. Some laud it for overachieving on the fuel economy front, while others (most notably the influential Consumer Reports) have slammed it. Our half-hour drive in a new Insight left us with mixed impressions. But one thing we're clear on: The 2010 Honda Insight may look somewhat like a 2010 Toyota Prius, but they're two very different cars. Appearance Our electric-blue 2010 Insight looked good, and much less "otherworldly" than either the outgoing or the new Prius. It has elements of Honda's FCX Clarity...
-
Driving Green Becomes a Game, Now On Your iPhoneEven if you're not in a 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid, you too can grow green leaves on your dash display when you save fuel by driving with a light foot. Except in this case, the leaves appear on your iPhone 3G or 3G S, courtesy of Bliss Trek. It's the first eco-driving app for Apple's cult favorite...
John Voelcker -
Fisker Stays On Schedule; Plug-In Hybrid Deliveries Start Next MayWhen you think of startup companies planning to build luxury sedans with advanced electric powertrains, one name springs instantly to mind: Tesla Motors. Among the executive battles, government loans, and launch hoopla around the electric 2012 Tesla Model S sports sedan, the company gets rafts of...
John Voelcker -
2010 Toyota Prius Technology: Bidding Bye-Bye to the BladderReading the reams of coverage pouring out on the 2010 Toyota Prius, we realized we hadn't covered one new feature that corrects an irritating problem with its predecessor, the 2004-2009 Prius hybrid. That was the earlier car's fuel "bladder" gas tank, a flexible membrane that expanded and...
John Voelcker -
2010 Lexus HS250h: Your Reference GuideAs we've said before, we cover the 2010 Lexus HS250h hybrid sedan more than any other car on this site--except, of course, the new 2010 Toyota Prius. We've now put up our review of the Lexus HS over on GreenCarReports.com, but we wanted to bring together for our AllAboutPrius.com users everything...
John Voelcker -
Review: 2010 Lexus HS250hWhen we first drove the 2010 Lexus HS250h, we were puzzled by it. Neither fish nor fowl, it seemed an uneasy marriage of Lexus lines and luxury with a Toyota Prius-like dedicated hybrid shape and powertrain. We've just spent a four-day weekend with a glossy black 2010 HS250h, the Premium model with...
John Voelcker -
The Nikkei Business Daily has reported that Toyota plans to produce between 20,000 and 30,000 plug-in hybrids in 2012. The Japanese automaker has already committed to leasing 500 plug-ins for government and corporate use by the end of this year. The plan is hardly a surprise. While traditional hybrids continue to gain popularity, plug-ins are viewed as the next technological advancement towards cleaner, more efficient vehicles offering the same range and convenience of today's gas powered cars. Pricing is still an obstacle for the average consumer though. Toyota says they plan to offer their...
-
North Carolina McDonald's To Offer Charging Station For Plug-In Hybrids and EVsRic Richards is the independent owner of a McDonald's restaurant in Cary, North Carolina. He's about to be the first McDonald's owner to offer a dedicated parking space to charge plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles. In that way, he's an environmental pioneer. In addition to the ChargePoint...
Robert Scardino -
Japan Considers Adding Noise To Hybrid VehiclesOne of the knocks on hybrid vehicles comes from the vision-impaired community. Many hybrids disengage their internal combustion engines at slow speeds. When a driver slows to a stop or accelerates from a controlled intersection, the vehicle often uses only battery power. If you can't see it, and...
Robert Scardino -
Fisker Distinguishes His Company From Tesla, ChevyIn the world of electric performance cars, there are two names to know: Fisker and Tesla. The man behind the upcoming $87,900 Fisker Karma plug-in hybrid sports sedan wants you to know the difference. Seasoned auto designer and CEO of Fisker Coachbuild, Henrik Fisker has an enviable résumé for...
Robert Scardino -
VW Going Electric By 2013Volkswagen will unveil its first electric car by 2013, said CEO Martin Winterkorn on Friday. Winterkorn espouses the electric car movement, but has previously mentioned that he thinks it will take 15 to 20 years before EVs comprise a significant fraction of the market. That won't stop VW from...
Robert Scardino -
2009 Toyota Prius: Preparing to Say 'Goodbye'Let us pay tribute to the car that defined not only defined 'hybrid' but paved Toyota's path toward world domination
John Voelcker -
June is about to exit, so once again it's time for the five most popular posts for the month on AllAboutPrius.com. # 1: 30 Days of the 2010 Toyota Prius: Your Reference Guide. Hanging onto its perennial top ranking, this one remains by far our most popular content page. We meant it to offer an easy way to find all the basics on the 2010 Toyota Prius, and it seems to be working. Bottom Line: Start here for all the info you need on the 2010 Toyota Prius! # 2: 2010 Toyota Prius: Overview. This one stays in the silver-medal position it regained last month after a fall to # 5 for May. Bottom Line...
-
Persistent Rumors: Toyota To Give GM A Version Of The PriusAccording to a report in Bloomberg today, Toyota may give General Motors a version of their iconic Prius hybrid. This news broke even as General Motors announced that their joint venture with the Japanese automaker at the Fremont, California based NUMMI (New United Motor Manufacturing Incorporated)...
Robert Scardino -
Five Questions To Ask About Those DoE Advanced-Tech LoansOn Tuesday, we covered the news that Ford, Nissan, and Tesla had been granted a total of $8 billion in low-interest loans by the US Department of Energy to retool for advanced automotive technologies. With a few days under our belt, we've considered the story and have a few questions for you to...
John Voelcker -
First Drive Impressions: 2010 Lexus HS250hWe've devoted more space on AllAboutPrius.com to the 2010 Lexus HS250h hybrid than to most other cars. That's because it can be considered a half-brother to the 2010 Toyota Prius: A fancier, pricier, more powerful sedan sibling to the practical, plain-Jane Prius. Lexus still hasn't released pricing...
John Voelcker -
Drive Report: 2010 Lexus HS250hSetting aside our questions about whether the 2010 Lexus HS250h can create a new "luxury hybrid" niche, we spent much of Wednesday driving two of them through the rolling suburban hills of Westchester County, New York. Overall, we think the HS is a bit of a puzzlement, neither fish nor fowl. We're...
John Voelcker -
Our Latest Feature: Live Tweets About Toyota PriusAs if life couldn't get any more digital and fragmentary, you may have heard about Twitter: short messages you can broadcast to a list of friends, each one no more than 140 characters long. The service has been in the news lately as one tool used by Iranians protesting election irregularities, but...
John Voelcker -
We've just returned from driving the 2010 Lexus HS250h through the manicured suburbs of New York's Westchester County. We'll post our full impressions tomorrow, following up the first drive of the Lexus HS by our colleague Bengt Halvorson. But at the end of the day, we're left just slightly scratching our heads, trying to decide quite what we think of the HS. New category: dedicated luxury hybrid On the one hand, it pioneers a new automotive category: the dedicated luxury hybrid, one that shares no body panels with a gasoline-only car. (A 2010 Toyota Prius is a dedicated hybrid; the 2010...
-
A Toyota Prius To Die For: The High-Mileage Hybrid HearseSometimes all we can say is that it's a privilege to write for AllAboutPrius.com. It's just never, ever dull around here. Today, for your delight, we bring you the world's highest-mileage hearse, which also happens to have the lowest carbon footprint of any casket-transport device short of the...
John Voelcker -
Advanced Auto-Tech Loans Go To Tesla, Ford, and NissanUS Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced the first three loans to be granted under the government's Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing program. The lucky winners, totaling $8 billion worth of low-interest loans from the US Department of Energy: Ford, Nissan, and Tesla. FORD Amount...
John Voelcker -
GM To License Toyota's Hybrid Synergy Drive? Nope.In a live webchat on Friday, our illustrious Editor-In-Chief, Lyle Dennis, posed a question to GM North America President, Troy Clarke, regarding collaboration with Toyota, given the American automaker's failed economic state.Dennis: What are some possible options under consideration for GM’s...
Robert Scardino -
Fisker Dealership Coming to South FloridaIf you live in South Florida, your Fisker dealership is on its way. Car selling veteran, Warren Henry Zinn, plans to open a Fisker Chic showroom in North Dade County by the fourth quarter of 2009. The new facility will showcase Fisker's $87,900 plug-in hybrid Karma sports sedan. Zinn's current...
Robert Scardino -
California HOV-Lane Stickers For Hybrids: Worth $1,200 To $1,500Imagine a special sticker that let you use those high-occupancy vehicle lanes, zipping past stop-and-go rush hour traffic, blissfully alone in your car. If you live in California and were one of 85,000 lucky hybrid owners, you know exactly what I'm talking about. In 2005, California decided to open...
John Voelcker