Hybrids

For 2012, Honda is planning to revise the Insight hatchback to address several of the criticisms levied against its smallest four-seat hybrid. Now, it's released a few details of the revised 2012 Insight before it officially unveils the updated model at the Frankfurt Motor Show, which opens...

Las Vegas is better known for its excess than its frugality, but city bosses are turning that image around by trialling a fleet of electric cars, the first of which is GM's range-extended electric vehicle, the 2011 Chevrolet Volt. The trial will make the city the only government agency in the state...

If any brand has emerged from the bottom of the market into awareness lately, it's Kia. The Korean brand is halfway through introducing an entirely refreshed line of smart, stylish, and inexpensive vehicles that are getting noticed--and selling well. The 2011 Kia Optima Hybrid we recently...

Four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Jeff Gordon and five-time champ Jimmie Johnson might earn their living in gas-guzzling V8 Chevy Impalas, but on the roads it's a different story. In contrast to the champions' high-octane lifestyles, on a day off you're more likely to see them cruising around...

While Lexus unveiled its all-new 2013 GS 350 sports sedan at the recent Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, it showed off only the gasoline GS 350 model. Details of the future hybrid version, the 2013 Lexus GS 450h, remain under cover until the company launches the car officially at next month's...

Historically, German automakers were slow to move into hybrid-electric vehicles, relying exclusively on diesel engines to boost fuel efficiency. That's in the past, though, and the Volkswagen Group is aggressively spreading its hybrid powertrain across models from many of its brands. But while VW...

The reviews of the 2012 Toyota Camry mid-size sedan are in now, and the consensus is that it's a competitively priced mild refresh with unadventurous styling. Which may be exactly what Camry buyers are looking for. But on one metric--gas mileage--the 2012 Camry line shines. The 2012 Toyota Camry...

The all-new 2012 Camry Hybrid gets excellent gas mileage, of up to 43 mpg city, 39 highway

Ford has been building hybrid-electric vehicles for seven years now, and the company has constantly refined and improved its hybrid system over that time. But it was only this year that Lincoln acquired its own hybrid sedan, the 2011 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid. That vehicle effectively replaced the Milan...

In a startling announcement, Ford and Toyota announced this morning that the two companies would jointly develop a hybrid system for rear-wheel-drive light trucks and sport utility vehicles. The system would be roughly competitive with the General Motors Two-Mode Hybrid system now used in...

While Mazda prepares to unveil its new CX-5 crossover and launch its new SkyActiv engine and transmission technology, it's also quietly developing a hybrid model as well. In March 2010, Japan's small but scrappy maker of "Zoom Zoom" cars signed a deal to license Toyota's Hybrid Synergy Drive...

The venerable Toyota Prius has been around for over a decade now, first as an awkward but fuel-efficient sedan, then a geeky hatchback and soon a platform in its own right. But while Toyota is now putting the Hybrid Synergy Drive technology from the Prius into a whole range of vehicles from tiny...

A new Lincoln MKZ and MKZ Hybrid will be launched next year, and the 2013 MKZ Concept will debut at next year's Detroit Auto Show.

You may or may not be happy to know that the new 2012 Lexus CT 200h compact hybrid hatchback will come with a new feature not found on the 2011 model. It will make more noise. For 2012, in addition to an optional F Sport package and a new color (Nebula Gray Pearl replaces Smoky Granite Mica, if...

We get some of our most interesting topics from reader questions. Past questions include how emergency responders should react to hybrid and electric cars, and whether towing a Prius behind a motorhome is a good idea. Today, we have a query about green cars (not trucks) that offer all-wheel drive...

Despite lack of an official confirmation from Audi of America, we'd bet significant money on the arrival of the Audi A6 Hybrid in the U.S. market. Why? Because the U.S. has the highest hybrid penetration of any market in the world except Japan, and "hybrid" means "high gas mileage" to a large...

BMW revealed two new electric, hybrid, and range-extended models--the BMW i3 electric car and the BMW i8 plug-in hybrid

Sometimes, you find information in the strangest places. Take the YouTube video, "Georgetown Plant on the 2012 Camry," apparently posted by Toyota of the Black Hills, a dealer in Rapid City, South Dakota. It's got some shots of the newly redesigned 2012 Toyota Camry moving down the production line...

Ford has issued data showing remarkable reliability among the battery packs and electric motors in its hybrid vehicles, not the least of them the ones used in grueling taxi service in cities like New York and San Francisco.

Toyota may have started the hybrid revolution with its original Prius, the first mass-produced gasoline-electric hybrid car and the vehicle which quickly became the eco badge of honor for celebrities and city dwellers alike. But ten years after the first Prius rolled into the U.S., Toyota is now...