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Our reader Celeste wrote to ask us about available hybrid SUVs and crossovers, and we thought our answer might be useful for the site. At the moment, there are three main hybrid SUVs sold in the U.S. Each of them also has variations sold under other brands. All are likely to be durable, as their...

Governor Arnold Scharzenegger leaked earlier today that Tesla Motors will be partnering with Toyota to build a new electric vehicle. Now, a reliable source close to the deal confirms that this is true — but that Tesla will also be acquiring the recently-closed NUMMI automotive manufacturing plant...

The Cayenne S Hybrid is an off-road capable model that can hold its own on the track and yet return well over 20 mpg on the street.

Over the last year, the U.S. Department of Energy has granted almost $9 billion of low-interest loans to help automakers retool for more fuel-efficient cars. But until now, General Motors and Chrysler had been shut out while Ford, Nissan, and Tesla were awarded loans last June, joined by Fisker in...

The 2011 Ford Fiesta is officially the most fuel efficient model in its class, with the EPA announcing today that the ultra-funky hatchback and sedan rates in at 29 mpg in the city and 40 mpg on the highway when equipped with the smooth shifting six-speed PowerShift dual clutch transmission. To put...

We've been thinking a lot about the prototype 2012 Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid since our test drive of a prototype last month. And about the rest of the plug-in cars that will come to market over the next two years. To our surprise, we decided we don't think buyers will directly compare the Prius...

Adding more ethanol to gasoline may help the U.S. meet a Congressional mandate to use more of the renewable fuel, but it could damage many of the cars now on the road, say automakers. Last year, U.S. vehicle manufacturers went public with their alarm that the EPA might increase the permissible...

GM has been talking about the 2011 Chevrolet Volt for three and a half years now. After absorbing an enormous amount of Volt propaganda, we've learned that subtle shifts in message can be important. A conference call yesterday revealed what we suspect will become a main marketing message for the...

It must be something in the water. Yesterday, we learned that every 2011 Buick Regal will offer flex-fuel capability as standard. Now it's Ford's turn; the company announced today that it will have doubled the number of flex-fuel models it builds by the end of the year, fulfilling a 2006 pledge...

It's almost an article of faith in the auto industry that electric cars will require huge subsidies in their initial years. Certainly Toyota is widely assumed to have put tens of billions of dollars into its hybrid-electric vehicle program before it started to cover its costs. Never shy of taking a...

Everything old is new again. Or so goes the saying. While the 2011 Chevrolet Volt will be the first electric vehicle with a range-extending engine to be built in volume (the first pre-production Volt rolled off the line on March 31), it's hardly the first one ever. We'll ignore for a moment the...

Hyundai is working on a brand new generation of its Elantra sedan that’s due to go on sale later this year as a 2011 model, but we can already get a look at the new car thanks to the unveiling of its South Korean cousin, the Avante, at the 2010 Busan Auto Show this week. With sportier and even...

Last fall, Fisker Automotive was awarded $529 million in low-interest loans by the Department of Energy, and the company has continued to rake in cash since then. In January, for instance, Fisker raised an additional $115 million in private capital. Last week, the DoE and Fisker announced that the...

As New York City works aggressively to reduce its carbon footprint and cut exhaust emissions, it has encouraged large fleets to switch to hybrids. From utility ConEd to the fleets of yellow cabs, more and more hybrids are showing up on city streets. The latest large fleet to go greener is the New...

Going green on the road may involve smaller engines, electric cars, and clean diesels, but it also requires making all engines far more fuel efficient. To that end, General Motors will announce this morning that it will invest almost one billion dollars in five separate plants to build a new, far...

The U.S. buys more hybrids than any place else in the world except Japan. We have a handful of clean diesels, with sales slowly increasing. But the "other alt-fuel" for automobiles--natural gas--is barely a blip on the U.S. market. Nonetheless, Honda is plugging away (ahem) with its 2010 Honda...

Last Thursday was the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, and the CEO of one electric-car maker took the occasion to speak out on some of the popular myths around the manufacturing and use of electric vehicles. Richard Canny, who runs the recently refinanced Think, published a list of "top 10 EV myths...

  While it's not quite the thundering herd that lined up for the new 2010 Chevrolet Camaro--or even the Apple iPad--Nissan says it has a healthy crowd of people interested in owning the 2011 Nissan Leaf electric car. The 2011 Leaf will be the first mass-market electric car sold in America in the...

You've seen it all--Alpine hikers plummeting to their deaths, women losing tube tops and falling down spinning the big wheel, people losing their "stuff" when they bid exactly right on a Showcase Showdown. But have you ever seen one winner walk away with more than $112,000 on The Price is Right?...

Just a month after being turned down for low-interest loans by the U.S. Department of Energy, the reclusive V-Vehicle Co. has shown a drivable prototype of its affordable, green V-Car to Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal and members of the press in Baton Rouge. While no photos were allowed, many more...