Hybrids
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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is set to look into claims that two Ford hybrids don't meet their official fuel economy ratings in real world driving. We reported back in November that the 2013 Ford C-Max Hybrid and Fusion Hybrid struggled to attain their official ratings, even driven with fuel-efficient techniques. Since then, Consumer Reports has run its own tests on the vehicles and found them to be out by a full 20 percent, both cars topping the charts for vehicles unable to meet the EPA figures. The EPA will study Consumer Reports' data, says the L.A. Times, to seek more...
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Jaguar's Hybrid C-X75 Hypercar Cancelled: ReportBritish luxury automaker Jaguar has cancelled plans to build a hybrid supercar, the company said today. The C-X75 plug-in hybrid supercar was originally set for launch in late 2013, following on from a concept car which used jet turbines as a range-extending powerplant. According to Autocar, those...
Antony Ingram -
Green Car Reports 2013 Best Car To Buy: Volkswagen Jetta Hybrid, Honorable MentionVolkswagen has sold small numbers of its Touareg Hybrid crossover utility vehicle for two years now, but it's never had a mass-market hybrid entry. That will be the role of the 2013 Volkswagen Jetta Hybrid, a new entry this year that complements VW's long-established line of fuel-efficient TDI...
John Voelcker -
Toyota Announces 2013 Pricing For Prius C, Camry HybridToyota has revealed pricing details for a large selection of its 2013 model year vehicles. Among pricing for many of its SUVs and trucks, the 2013 Toyota Camry Hybrid and 2013 Toyota Prius C see small price increases. The Camry Hybrid now ranges from $26,140 for the LE grade, to $27,670 for XLE...
Antony Ingram -
Consumer Reports: New Ford Hybrids Don't Meet Mileage Ratingsit's always nice when the big boys say, "You're right." We reported three weeks ago that Ford's new 2013 hybrids were not achieving their 47-mpg EPA gas mileage rating in real-world usage. Now Consumer Reports has confirmed that finding, based on its own testing, in videos and a blog post published...
John Voelcker -
Top 10 Green Concept Cars Of 2012Concept cars used to be flights of fancy, vehicles designed solely to grab attention when a carmaker's regular products were lacking visual verve. In more recent times, they've been so much more than that. They still look extreme and showcase blue-sky technology, but concepts now give us a much...
Antony Ingram -
No longer is Volkswagen's Jetta sedan all about diesel engines--it's the hybrid which now wears that car's high-mileage crown. German dealers have just started taking orders for the car, and American dealers should also now be taking deposits, with the Hybrid set to arrive in U.S. dealers in the last week of December. With an EPA-rated 45 mpg combined, the 2013 Volkswagen Jetta Hybrid offers comfortably better gas mileage than the diesel, at 34 combined. Even the diesel's strongest suit, highway economy, is 6 mpg below that of the 48 mpg hybrid. Volkswagen has been careful to ensure the Jetta...
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Green Car Reports 2013 Best Car To Buy Nominee: Ford FusionThe new 2013 Ford Fusion is stunning on the street; it may well be the best-looking mid-size sedan on the market. And it comes with no fewer than five different powertrains, all of them as or more fuel efficient as those in the previous Fusion sedan. The first Fusion in 2005 started to re-establish...
John Voelcker -
2014 Lexus IS 300h Adds Hybrid Model To Smallest Luxury SedanLexus has confirmed that its 2014 IS sedan will debut at the 2013 Detroit Auto Show next month. Continuing the marque's trend towards hybrid models, the range will also tout a hybrid--though it hasn't yet been confirmed whether such a model will hit the U.S. market. Automobile Magazine (via Motor...
Antony Ingram -
Green Car Reports 2013 Best Car To Buy Nominee: Ford C-MaxThe 2013 Ford C-Max is the first car from any U.S. manufacturer to take aim directly at the legendary Toyota Prius hybrid. Derived from a small "people carrier" of the sort that are common in Europe, it's Ford's first-ever dedicated hybrid--a vehicle sold with no gasoline-only equivalent (at least...
John Voelcker -
New Toyota RAV4 Hybrid Is Likely On The Way, And Soon TooToday, if you want a crossover utility vehicle that gets good fuel economy, you can have a hybrid or a diesel--but only in a mid-size vehicle. There are no hybrid compact crossovers sold today, but Toyota may be about to change that. A hybrid version of the new 2013 Toyota RAV4 crossover "would not...
John Voelcker -
Lexus LF-CC Hybrid Coupe Confirmed For Production: ReportLexus is set to start development on a production version of the LF-CC hybrid coupe concept, according to reports. Autocar has revealed that Lexus has assigned a senior engineer to the project, and that work will begin in early 2013. The LF-CC concept was first unveiled at the 2012 Paris Auto Show...
Antony Ingram -
Progressive Prius drivers looking for the next step towards going green aren't just moving into Nissan Leafs and Chevy Volts--Ford is benefitting too. The company reports it expects November to be its best-ever month for hybrid sales, with over 6,000 units--beating July 2009's high of 5,353 cars. It's partly thanks to the 2013 Ford C-Max Hybrid, which sold well last month too--beating its closest rival, the Toyota Prius V, with 3,182 cars to 2,769. November is also the first full month of Ford Fusion Hybrid sales, as well as the 2013 Ford C-Max Energi--Ford's first plug-in hybrid challenger...
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2014 Honda Accord Plug-In Hybrid Priced Sub-$41K, 115 MPGeHonda has revealed pricing for its upcoming Accord plug-in hybrid at the 2012 Los Angeles Auto Show. The car will be priced from $39,780 when it goes on sale January 15 in California and New York. That's just a little higher than the recently-announced price for the 2013 Ford Fusion Energi at...
Antony Ingram -
2013 VW Jetta Hybrid: EPA Rating Of 45 MPGVolkswagen has finally revealed estimated EPA numbers for the 2013 Jetta Hybrid. The latest, greenest addition to the Jetta range achieves a combined 45 mpg in EPA testing. That puts its combined rating 11 mpg above that of the 2013 Volkswagen Jetta TDI, the previous economy champ in the range...
Antony Ingram -
Buy A Toyota Prius Plug-In, Get Up To $5,000 In Cash IncentivesToyota is offering up to $5,000 in bonus financing cash for buyers of the 2013 Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid. Until December 3, buyers can get $5,000 bonus financing cash on the Plug-In Prius Advanced model (offer #1239), and $4,000 on the regular Plug-In Prius (#1235). The deals also include 0% APR...
Antony Ingram -
Audi Planning Diesel Hybrid Supercar With Le Mans TechAudi is said to be interested in developing a diesel-electric hypercar to compete with upcoming rivals from McLaren, Porsche and Ferrari. The new model would sit above the current R8 supercar in Audi's range, giving the company a road-going platform on which to extol the virtues of its Le...
Antony Ingram -
Hybrid Resale-Value Leaders: Toyota Prius C, Ford Fusion HybridIt's good news for many owners of hybrid vehicles, who are not only enjoying great fuel efficiency but could find their vehicles worth more when they come to sell. The Ford Fusion Hybrid, Toyota Prius C and Chevrolet Volt all ranked highest in their respective categories for resale value, in two...
Antony Ingram -
General Electric is adding a large fleet of 2013 Ford C-Max Energi plug-in hybrids to its growing fleet of plug-in and electric vehicles. The 2,000 Energi models will join GE's existing fleet of Chevrolet Volts and other plug-ins. The deal is Ford's largest delivery of plug-in vehicles so far. For GE, it now means that 10 percent of its fleet, or around 5,000 vehicles, is now made up of alternative-fuel vehicles. That goes some way to reaching GE's initiative to convert half of its global fleet to alternative fuel vehicles, a scheme which it dubs "ecomagination". Ford's C-Max Energi is...
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2013 Volvo V60 Diesel Plug-In Hybrid Enters ProductionDiesel hybrids are now no longer a new concept--even if none are sold in the U.S.--but Swedish carmaker Volvo is the only company offering a diesel plug-in hybrid. That car, the Volvo V60 Plug-In Hybrid, is now in full production at the maker's Torslanda plant in Gothenburg, Sweden. Volvo V60...
Antony Ingram -
Ford Hybrids' Fuel Economy Failing To Live Up To EPA Ratings?This is starting to look not so good. It appears that two new hybrid cars from Ford--the 2013 C-Max Hybrid hatchback and the 2013 Fusion Hybrid sedan--may not deliver real-world gas mileage that's anywhere near their 47-mpg EPA ratings. Automotive journalists have been quietly discussing this for a...
John Voelcker -
2013 Los Angeles Auto Show: Green Car PreviewWith the 2012 Los Angeles Auto Show just around the corner, the world's carmakers are gearing up to show off the latest and greatest green vehicles. And in common with several recent motor shows, L.A. will have some significant launches and unveilings, whether you're interested in regular efficient...
Antony Ingram -
2013 Honda CR-Z Hybrid Coupe: More Power, New Battery, Updated StylePoor Honda. It creates the CR-Z, theoretically the perfect mix of fun and fuel efficiency, but ends up alienating both gearheads and green buyers by building something that struggles to satisfy either party. The 2013 Honda CR-Z should fix some of the car's issues, by improving both performance and...
Antony Ingram -
2013 Ford C-Max Energi Plug-In Hybrid: First DriveThe 2013 Ford C-Max Energi is the first plug-in hybrid from Ford to hit the road, and the company sold 144 of them in October even before letting journalists drive the car. It’s the pricier and more capable of the two C-Max models, and Ford compares it directly to the Toyota Prius Plug-In...
John Voelcker