Hybrids

It seems like the Toyota Prius has been zipping around our roads forever, but in reality the first examples only hit U.S. soil just over a decade ago, with the Japanese market getting the car a few years before that. The premise remains the same--a mass-market hybrid vehicle that offers the best...

“It’s better to burn out, than to fade away,” once penned songwriter Neil Young, addressing the hazards of a life lived in the spotlight. If you were a fan of the Lexus HS 250h hybrid, you’ll be saddened to learn that fading away is exactly the fate of Lexus’ compact...

Toyota, take note: as Lord Eddard Stark of Winterfell from HBO's popular Game Of Thrones might say, “Ford Is Coming.” Pop culture references aside, Ford announced yesterday that it has begun to accept orders for its 2013 C-Max Hybrid hatchback, a car it hopes will steal Toyota’s...

It’s no secret that Los Angeles has some of the worst air pollution of any city in the U.S., especially around its ports, where long lines of trucks wait idling to fill up with cargo from docking ships. But a new project from German electronics company Siemens could see that change forever...

In the quest for efficient mobility, there are three major players currently battling for top spot. The 2012 Nissan Leaf, 2012 Chevrolet Volt and 2012 Toyota Prius Plug-In all have one main aim--efficiency--but all go about reaching that aim in different ways, which also means that each has its own...

Prejudice is a strange thing. Not only does it shape our opinion of the world around us, but it influences everything from the food we eat to the car we buy, either consciously or subconsciously. In the automotive world however, it seems that brand prejudice can be overcome with a little marketing...

Following in the tire-tracks of its older, larger and wagon-variant siblings,the 2012 Toyota Prius C has been awarded the coveted Top Safety Pick Award by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). A separate set of crash tests from those carried out by the National Highway Traffic Safety...

Back in the late 1990s, Volkswagen embarked upon the development of its first "three liter" car. That number didn't refer to engine capacity, but a European fuel measurement of three liters per 100 kilometers--or 78 miles per gallon. That car was the Volkswagen Lupo 3L, a high-tech, lightweight...

It now looks almost certain that Ferrari will use hybrid technology for the next iteration of its range-topping supercar line, according to reports. Following the iconic 288 GTO, F40, F50 and Enzo hypercars, the next model--dubbed by some as F70--looks set to use Ferrari's HY-KERS hybrid system...

For years, we’ve covered California’s High-Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lane access perks for drivers of ultra-low or zero-emissions cars. Reasonably simple to understand, with a few exceptions, California’s HOV lane rules allows drivers of qualifying vehicles fitted with official HOV...

We already know that April was a great month for Toyota Prius hybrid sales, but it turns out that the first quarter of the year produced stellar sales numbers for hybrids in general, as well as plug-in electric cars. More than 100,000 hybrids and plug-in cars--113,457--were sold in January...

Chrysler has completed the roll-out of its small fleet of Town & Country plug-in hybrids, after delivering the first vehicles at the beginning of April. Only 25 of the plug-in minivans have been produced, as part of a two-year test suitability and public reaction to the vehicles. The first four...

With the F1, NASCAR and IndyCar seasons in full swing, the Le Mans 24 Hour race just around the corner and grassroots series taking place all over the globe, the warmer months are heaven for those with gasoline in their veins. So intoxicated are they by the sounds, smells and sights, many are...

News of a new Toyota Supra will be music to the ears of fans of Japanese sports cars, but the next generation of the car may please those of a greener disposition too. While the previous Supras have been dominated by brutish good looks and embraced by the tuning scene, the next model will be...

For U.S. armed forces, green is mostly seen these days as accents in beige battlefield camo. But reducing the cost and risk of delivering very expensive diesel fuel in vulnerable military convoys has long been a Pentagon goal, and one way to do that is to make all military vehicles more fuel...

Yesterday, we told you electric-car sales were down slightly in April--even as overall car sales continued to recover. But while the plug-in sales will likely stay low for awhile, both ebbing and flowing, one green model benefited greatly in April: the ur-hybrid Toyota Prius. Now that all four...

The Ford Escape Hybrid occupies a special place in green-car history. It was the first hybrid built in the U.S., the first one from a U.S. carmaker, and the first hybrid crossover utility. That makes it one of our five best used green cars. A pet project of then-CEO Bill Ford, the Escape Hybrid was...

Buying a hybrid used to be so simple. You'd go to your local Toyota or Honda dealer, and buy a Prius or a Civic Hybrid/Insight (delete as appropriate). Now, everything is going hybrid--and that includes luxury cars and supercars. You won't find us complaining: if manufacturers are making some of...

The Toyota Prius is the world's highest-selling hybrid vehicle and the third best-selling Toyota car in the U.S. Now, after one failed attempt, it appears that Prius production will come to North America--but not until 2015 or thereabouts, as Toyota first acknowledged back in July 2010. Koie Saga...

Always carry a camera; you never know what you'll see parked on the street. That's how our contributor, Thomas Bey, shot these exclusive spy shots of an engineering prototype for what may be a future hybrid Jeep or Dodge model to be based on the same running gear as the 2013 Dodge Dart compact...