Hybrids

As you've probably discovered when hunting in the classified adverts for a used fuel-efficient vehicle, the latest batch of hybrids and small cars holds its value quite well. With high gas prices and limited supply, that's not much of a surprise. But the situation is getting better, and it's thanks...

For several years, Toyota had the hybrid market pretty much sewn up with its Prius. Okay, so it never reached the heady economy highs of the original Honda Insight, but it was far more practical and electric running made it the hybrid of choice in city driving. That's until the Ford C-Max Hybrid...

Hybrid supercars are officially in fashion. We've been positively inundated by the things over the last year or so, from BMW's upcoming i8 plug-in hybrid, to the exotic Ferrari LaFerrari, Porsche 918 and McLaren P1 trio, to this: The Acura NSX. Like its historical namesake, it's the Acura destined...

With Teslas and BMW i3s dominating the green car headlines, it's easy to forget that plenty of other automakers are creating their own low-emission vehicles. In Russia, that company is Yo-Avto. The automaker has promised a natural gas hybrid vehicle for some time--and that time could now be 2015...

Sometimes the most significant divorces are handled in the most minimalist way. So it was with a brief press statement from Toyota today, noting that after completing a "feasibility study" that took almost two years, the two companies have chosen not to pursue a collaboration on hybrid powertrains...

Back in 2010, we asked why so few of today's cars were among the most fuel efficient ever. Look down the list of the most fuel-efficient vehicles sold in the U.S, and only a small handful had been built in the previous decade--cars such as the familiar Prius, and the all-too-brief but brilliant...

Electrically-powered vehicles that match regular combustion cars for performance are no longer a surprise, many of those barriers eroded thanks to companies like Tesla Motors. Now it's the turn of the performance plug-in hybrid, with Mitsubishi's next Evolution model expected to deliver a...

With hybrid sales growing all the time, no hybrid-touting manufacturer can afford to be left without stock. That's why Ford has announced it's to increase production of the 2014 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid by double for the new model year. Announced by Ford's group vice president of global product...

That noise you heard yesterday afternoon? That was the sound of the other shoe dropping. Ford said yesterday that it will "enhance the on-road fuel economy performance" of the 77,000 2013 hybrid models it's sold over the last year, in an effort to "improve customer satisfaction." The announcement...

If you ever had any doubt that hybrids were durable--and many people do--here's a case study to set your mind at ease. A white base-model 2008 Ford Escape Hybrid has just crossed 500,000 miles, which possibly makes it the highest-mileage Escape Hybrid on the road. That's much higher than the Escape...

If any carmaker should already have had a hybrid in its lineup, it's Subaru. We've said that before, and before the end of the year, we'll know much more about the 2014 Subaru XV Crosstrek Hybrid that was unveiled at last spring's New York Auto Show. But it turns out that Subaru now has two...

Back in May, General Motors announced the recall of more than 38,000 Buick and Chevrolet mild hybrid sedans to check for a potentially defective electronic component. Now, following a fire in a vehicle apparently repaired under the recall, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is...

By now, you've probably seen it: the new ad for the Toyota Auris Hybrid. But on the off chance you haven't, here's the Cliffs Notes version: Sometime in the future, a man and woman awake in their stylish apartment. It's got enough bells and whistles and Roombas to give Michio Kaku a heart attack...

Is BMW planning an ActiveHybrid X5 model for the next-generation X5 crossover, due to launch this fall as a 2014 model? That's what it appears from one reader's sighting of a camouflaged prototype in San Francisco. Yesterday, Alister Oliver wrote: I'm currently at Hawk Hill in San Francisco...

Mercedes-Benz is set to launch a plug-in hybrid version of its flagship S Class at this September's Frankfurt Auto Show. Previously available with hybrid and diesel variants in selected markets, the new plug-in hybrid--called the S 500 Plug-In Hybrid--will be the greenest S Class yet. Autocar...

Porsche isn't the first name in hybrids, or even in green cars. But the company is leveraging its depth of engineering knowledge to move forward in the field rather quicker than a small company should. Examples of this include the 918 Spyder supercar and the new 2014 Panamera S E-Hybrid. The 918's...

Not to be outdone by Ferrari, Porsche and McLaren, Jaguar and the Williams F1 team spent the last few years working behind the scenes on their own hybrid supercar, showing that going green could also be exciting. Originally planned with jet turbine range-extending engines, it was then downgraded to...

It's easy enough to find a hybrid these days, with plenty of automakers offering cars that blend gasoline engines and electric propulsion to one degree or another. More difficult is finding a hybrid vehicle suitable for more active families, those with greater need for space and practicality. Where...

Anyone in the market for a fuel-efficient sedan with sporty dynamics and a bit of luxury now has a new option: the 2014 Infiniti Q50 Hybrid. The Q50 is essentially Infiniti’s replacement for the G37, and it goes on sale this July with a starting price of $37,605, including a $905 destination...

There's a fairly good chance that, over the next decade or so, an increasing proportion of cars will use micro and mild hybrid technology. That means sourcing batteries with good energy density, lifespan and potential for recycling will become ever more important--and a battery consortium aims to...