Hybrids

The history of the auto industry is littered with the carcasses of the cars and companies that didn't make it. Modern hybrid-electric vehicles were first commercialized by Toyota, with its 1997 Prius (sold in the U.S. starting in 2000). But many concepts, development vehicles, one-offs, and other...

The Honda Civic Hybrid was only the third hybrid model sold in the U.S., starting way back in 2003, and it was the brand's first mainstream hybrid. It's been a solid member of Honda's Civic lineup ever since, consistently returning the best gas mileage of any Civic model. Now in its third...

We first saw it at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show but this time it’s making its North American debut, where else but at this week’s 2011 New York Auto Show. We’re talking about, of course, the 2012 Porsche Panamera S Hybrid, which was put up on display next to a new high-performance...

The Toyota Prius is the best-selling hybrid vehicle of all time and recently passed three million sales globally and a million in the U.S., over more than a decade. And when fuel prices rise, so has demand for the Prius and other high-mileage vehicles. So then, why hasn't it for the Honda Insight?...

Did you hear? Last night, Porsche showed a series hybrid vehicle (analagous to the Chevy Volt) with a radically different design from any of its latest line of hybrids. Its pair of 1.7-liter single-cylinder engines powers a generator that flows electric power to a pair of front wheel motors, each...

As of the middle of April, gasoline is approaching $4.00 per gallon across the United States and oil is surging past $110 per barrel. More and more energy observers are talking about "$5 per gallon fuel" here in the U.S. So how do you minimize your gasoline costs and maximize your mileage? What...

It will come as a horrible shock to the driver of the pale green Infiniti QX56, but the 2-ton-plus full-size sport utility vehicle is not actually a hybrid. Nor, for that matter, is a Volkswagen Passat TDI--though it at least has a diesel engine, which gives higher gas mileage than the QX56's...

With gas prices barreling toward $4 per gallon, there's lots of talk on the evening news about consumers shopping for fuel-efficient cars. In fact, many theorists see $4 as the tipping point at which car buyers prioritize fuel economy above all other criteria. But a new survey indicates that people...

Audi is currently working on a new generation of its A3, a preview of which we got at last month’s 2011 Geneva Motor Show in the form of the Audi A3 Sedan concept. Since then we’ve received these official sketches showing the design of the production version due early next year. While...

Last week they teased it; this week, they took the covers off it. In this case, "it" is the Lexus LF-Gh Hybrid Concept car that will be the centerpiece of the Lexus display at next week's New York Auto Show. The LF-Gh concept car is a styling exercise that "sets out to redefine the premium grand...

Say "hybrid" and most U.S. buyers think Toyota, if not Toyota Prius. Indeed, the company just sold its millionth Prius in the United States, where roughly half of the 2 million Priuses it had built as of last fall have found homes since 2000. But Toyota's luxury marque Lexus also has hybrid models...

BMW has taken the wraps off a new plug-in hybrid prototype based on its long-wheelbase 5-Series sedan, which it will be showcasing in just a few weeks at the 2011 Shanghai Auto Show. Built in collaboration with its Chinese alliance partner Brilliance Auto, development of the new prototype is the...

Toyota announced today that it's sold more than one million of its Toyota Prius hybrid vehicles. The Prius went on sale in the U.S. market nearly eleven years ago, and while it wasn't the first hybrid on sale here—that title would go to the original Honda Insight two-seater—it has...

A three-mile, highly publicized test drive of Mikhail Prokhorov's ë-mobile (say, "yo-mobile") natural-gas hybrid car is the big car news out of Russia this week. Given Putin's previous spin in a Renault F1 car, hopping behind the wheel of the funky-looking economy car is a definite change of...

Big plans are afoot for Chevrolet, which GM plans to take global to face off against Ford. With spring auto-show season upon us, Chevy is showing not only its 2013 Malibu LTZ Concept but also, halfway around the world, its idea of a "muscle car of the future." But hold onto your small-blocks, guys...

Audi has taken the wraps off a sophisticated plug-in hybrid prototype that combines a number of leading green car technologies all in a single platform. Utilizing the shell of the luxurious A5 Coupe, Audi’s new A5 e-tron quattro prototype not only features a conventional power-split hybrid...

Mercedes-Benz just took the wraps off its facelifted C-Class range, which enters the market as a 2012 model and comes with a host of modifications to make it more fuel efficient. Namely, the introduction of a 1.8-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine, the first four the C-Class has been available...

When the Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid goes on sale about this time next year, it will be the first mass-production vehicle from Toyota that plugs in. Yet, despite that, the Plug-In feels more like a value-added version of the Prius than a model that will be itself iconic or radically new. It's...

We’ve known for some time that Porsche’s 918 Spyder plug-in hybrid concept from the 2010 Geneva Motor Show would eventually enter production but today, more than two years out from its debut, Porsche has announced that the order books have officially opened. We can confirm that the...

Gas prices are rising, so you'd think that the 2011 Toyota Prius hybrid would be the car of the moment. But with car production halted in Japan following the earthquake and tsunami, Prius supplies are already growing tight. And Toyota is hardly helping the thriftiest buyers, those who want only a...