Hybrids

At the start of this year, at the 2012 Detroit Auto Show, Honda’s luxury arm Acura wooed the crowds with the world premiere of its NSX hybrid supercar concept. At the time, Acura promised its new flagship car would be on the roads for 2015 and ran a Super Bowl ad so popular, it crashed...

What does a hybrid car need to be sexy? Speed? Good looks? Impressive gas mileage? Kepler Motors thinks its first supercar, the Motion Hybrid, has it all. Announced back in 2009, Kepler Motors has been quietly working on its super lightweight Motion hybrid for nearly three years. Now the company...

Gas mileage in hybrid vehicles can be a tricky thing. Depending on how they're designed--and at what speeds their electric motors kick in--their efficiency can vary considerably. When we tested the 2013 Ford C-Max Hybrid six weeks ago in Los Angeles, the real-world indicated gas mileage was 37 mpg...

Ten years ago, even in green-car-loving California, the Toyota Prius hybrid was a rare sight on the roads. By the start of 2012, the Toyota Prius was far from rare, recording impressive sales figures in both March and May, to become the world’s third best-selling car line. Now, Toyota’s...

Every carmaker will soon have at least a handful of hybrid models, and Nissan is no exception. The company’s luxury brand, Infiniti, let reporters drive a prototype version of the Infiniti JX Hybrid it’s expected to launch in the U.S. market within a year or two. The 2013 Infiniti JX...

There was a time when anyone who drove a hybrid car--especially a Toyota Prius--was viewed with distain by the majority of other road users. They were seen as aloof, over-privileged, and perhaps, thanks to a certain episode of South Park, smug about their car buying decision. But with more hybrids...

The 2012 Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid is the second best-selling plug-in electric car in the U.S. today. It outsells the Nissan Leaf and is bested only by the Chevrolet Volt. But if you view it as an electric car, it’s an odd duck indeed. The car’s plug-in hybrid powertrain adds a...

At one time, if you wanted a green, luxury sedan with great gas mileage, you only had a handful of cars to choose from from automakers like Lexus, Infiniti, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz. Now there’s another car to add to your list: the 45 MPG combined, 2013 LIncoln MKZ. Fresh from its official EPA...

The 2013 Toyota Prius Liftback and 2013 Prius V wagon will cost buyers between $100 and $200 more than comparable 2012 models, Toyota announced yesterday. The pricing increase, which comes into effect immediately, means that those buying the 2013 Prius Liftback will find themselves paying $200 more...

One thing common to many hybrid cars is the twin-pronged benefit of refinement and silence. Just a brief drive in a hybrid is usually enough to confirm that, at low engine speeds at least, they don't produce a lot of noise. Even less when running in electric mode. Still, there are always...

Quick, name a Japanese carmaker that's sold 1 million hybrid cars. Yes, OK, Toyota is a right answer. But there's another one, too, as of the end of September Automaker Honda announced yesterday that its total sales of hybrid cars had crossed the 1 million mark--just a month shy of 13 years from...

Poor old Toyota. Over the past decade, the Japanese company has produced millions of Prius, making a contribution to saving gas as great as any other vehicle, but the one thing that the Prius can't seem to shake off is people calling it ugly. French carmaker Citroen has taken a different approach...

While gas prices in the state of California are finally dropping following last week’s Southern California peak of more than $5 per gallon, the financial and social implications of such high gas prices are still being felt by its residents. As The LA Times reported earlier this week...

It's often said that diesel cars are in their element at highway speeds, ticking over at low, constant revs, while hybrids are best-suited to cities--where the internal combustion engine can shut off regularly, saving gas. You might wonder then why so few carmakers have mixed the best of both...

If you thought no avenue had been left unexplored in the quest to promote automobiles, think again. Short of billboards on the moon and beaming adverts directly into your brain, most traditional media are already used--but Toyota has found one more, promoting its range of hybrid vehicles on the...

For 12 years, the Toyota Prius hybrid stood alone in the growing lineup of Toyota vehicles. Then, for 2012, the Prius model became a whole family of cars--four of them, in fact. So which of the new Prius family members is doing the best so far, and which kid is lagging and might benefit from some...

In the world of high gas prices and tough gas mileage standards, even exotic supercar manufacturers are having to think about ways to make their cars leaner, meaner, and greener. Which is why one exhibit on the Ferrari stand at the 2012 Paris Auto Show--the carbon fibre tub which will form the...

Ford could have a winner on its hands with the impressively frugal 2013 Ford Fusion Hybrid, but already Ford has announced a new range-topping model The Fusion Hybrid Titanium is set to top the range at $32,995, and loads on the luxury to justify the premium. Externally, front fog lamps, chrome...

For the past decade, Toyota has unquestionably been the champion of the hybrid electric car, thanks to its Prius family of hybrids. But with a tough new ad campaign about to launch for the all-new 2013 Ford C-Max Hybrid, Detroit’s blue oval wants to steal that hybrid crown. The gloves are...

Volkswagen of America has finally announced pricing for the 2013 Volkswagen Jetta Hybrid, set to be the most fuel-efficient Jetta in the line-up. Jetta Hybrids will start at $24,995, with the higher-specification SE models priced at $26,990. That means the Hybrid starts at $2,005 more than the...