Hybrids

Toyota plans to service approximately 650,000 of the more than 2 million Prius hybrids it has built to date, to correct a potential flaw in a cooling pump that could cause overheating. About 390,000 of the affected models are in the U.S. While the company hasn't yet released details on what it...

It looks like carmakers are going to make their quiet, electrically powered cars a lot noisier. And that's going to happen regardless of whether there's any actual data to support the notion that electric cars are so silent they pose a hazard to blind pedestrians. As of now, three different...

Normally it’s Toyota that’s in the headlines whenever ‘unintended acceleration’ is concerned, however, this time ‘round it’s close rival Honda that’s in the spotlight. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has announced that it is...

Mitsubishi rolled out the tiny "i" electric minicar (nee i-MiEV) during last week’s 2010 Los Angeles Auto Show, confirming its eventual sale in the fall of 2011. But all-electric vehicles are just one avenue the Japanese automaker is investigating as it attempts to curb emissions and end the...

Sometimes even well-informed industry analysts get it wrong. Or miss the forest for the trees. A recent posting by Pike Research, entlted "Europe Leads, U.S. Lags In Start-Stop Hybrids," correctly notes that adoption of start-stop systems is well advanced in Europe, but lags behind in the U.S. But...

Kia has been on a roll lately. The younger, lower-priced sibling of Korean car colossus Hyundai has received rave reviews for the styling, features, and general competence of its its new 2011 Optima midsize sedan. Now Kia has iced the cake by adding a hybrid-electric model of the Optima to the...

The 2011 Chevrolet Volt has gotten all the attention lately, including a narrow second-place finish in our GreenCarReports 2011 Best Car To Buy award, but General Motors also has a significant hybrid-electric vehicle program. While its full-size Two-Mode Hybrid trucks have had mixed success, the...

It's the nominee we know the least about, and in some ways the one we're most curious about. The 2011 Lexus CT 200h is a non-traditional car for Lexus, which has never before offered a compact hatchback. And after the underwhelming HS 250h sedan, it's one we didn't have high hopes for. That was...

As we first reported more than a year ago, a beefier version of GM’s mild hybrid system, the kind that was on the previous Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid, is coming next year. Set to debut on the 2012 Buick LaCrosse, GM’s new “eAssist” mild hybrid system is said to improve fuel...

For its first-ever hybrid-electric vehicle, Hyundai has blazed a new path. Not only does the 2011 Sonata Hybrid carry gas-mileage ratings better than its competition, but it neatly splits the difference between the indistinguishable-from-standard styling of the Toyota Camry and Ford Fusion hybrids...

We talk quite a lot about how global regulations aimed at improving fuel efficiency and reducing carbon emissions will lead to much smaller, more powerful engines. Latest case in point? Would you believe a four-cylinder Mercedes-Benz S-Class? Just to be clear, this is the big Benz. The one beloved...

Audi has aggressively pushed its clean diesel models in the U.S., including the Audi Q7 TDI luxury sport-utility vehicle. But even the company that wins Le Mans Series races with its turbodiesel race cars is hedging its bets with hybrids. Today Audi released the first video of its upcoming 2012...

One of the joys of the huge, splashy, raucous SEMA show in Las Vegas is seeing what manufacturers toss up in the air to show off. Kia brought several customized cars, one of which falls into the green category: a propane-fueled mild hybrid version of its new, and well-received, Forte compact sedan...

If you're reading this site, there's a good chance that you're interested in driving green: saving fuel, perhaps reducing the overall impact of your transportation choices on the planet. Or maybe not. Maybe, like the vast majority of U.S. buyers, you're interested in better fuel economy not for...

Volkswagen is intent on becoming the world’s leading automaker by 2018 and that means being the top dog in every segment, including hybrid and electric vehicles. Recently the automaker announced plans to start building its own electric powertrains, as well as confirming plans to expand its...

Russia. Onion domes, remnants of Communism, enormous natural-gas reserves, and a fierce love of Vodka. These elements have now somehow combined to convince Mikhail Prokhorov--reportedly Russia's wealthiest man, new owner of the New Jersey Nets basketball team, newly-minted publisher of the New...

Five finalists were announced today for the 2011 Green Car of the Year Award, which will be presented next month at the 2010 Los Angeles Aut o Show. The five contenders span two plug-in cars, two hybrid-electric vehicles, and one high-efficiency subcompact gasoline car: 2011 Chevrolet Volt 2011...

Electric cars may run clean. But how green is the battery? Hi, this is Steven Cherry for IEEE Spectrum's "This Week in Technology." With governments around the world investing heavily in electric and hybrid cars, the demand for the batteries that power these vehicles is on the rise. The United...

Like us, you may eagerly have been awaiting the arrival of the 2011 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid. You may even be planning to buy one. One of the reasons may be the tax credit for purchase of a hybrid vehicle that you can claim when you file your taxes. The 2011 Sonata Hybrid will qualify you for a credit...

OnStar is already one of the handiest features you can get in a GM vehicle but for Chevrolet Volt owners the connectivity and security feature will be even more helpful. Earlier this year we reported that OnStar, together with Google, was developing a number of new mobile apps that would allow Volt...