The fun to drive "non-Prius-like" Toyota Prius
At least according to some early Prius C reviews
After more than 10 years on the market, hybrid cars have sadly achieved very little in terms of real world impact. At less than 3 percent marketshare of total US auto sales, hybrids are still just scratching the surface of change. Ultimately, prices have to come down.
That makes the sub-$19,000 smaller Toyota Prius C interesting, but now comes word that the Prius C isn’t even very Prius-like, except in terms of fuel economy. Instead, the new Prius C is “taut, sporty and, yes, even fun.”
Did someone just say Prius and fun? Read more…
Pistons are so last century
An easy hybrid revolution
In a few months Toyota promises to offer a new smaller Prius that will achieve 50 mpg and cost just under $19,000, a pretty compelling offering, right. Well, imagine if that new Prius instead cost $14,000 and achieved 65 mpg.
That’s the potential of the wave disk generator according to its backers. Read more…
V - Best new wagon and best resale value in class
They weren’t tops in their class, but these hybrids still scored
While only 1 hybrid car, the Lexus RX 450h, took best in class according to Kipplinger’s 2012 ratings, a few hybrid cars were picked as best new models in their class. Likewise, many hybrids achieved the best fuel economy in their class, but that’s not much of a surprise.
So, we’ll focus on the best new hybrid models for 2012. Read more…
Top Dog in the Midsize/Large Crossover segment
Only hybrid or plug-in to make the list
Kipplingers has released its Best New Car Values list for 2012 and one hybrid made the list, the Lexus RX 450h, a regular favorite of Kipplingers according to the magazine.
With “top notch safety” and “luxury”, the RX450h took the midsize and large crossover category. Read more…
Another plug-in from BMW.
Reliance upon batteries critical to luxury maker survival?
Most luxury automakers rarely cause me much excitement. Tesla pumps up my heart rate a bit, and I really like the Lexus CT 200h — if only the Prius C could have borrowed that body. Overall, however, it’s doubtful that luxury auto companies are going to be the key to changing the powertrain paradigm in the world, although they do still have an important role to play.
But when it comes to conventional luxury car companies, BMW is setting a course for a pretty impressive hybrid and plug-in future. Read more…
Cheaper hybrid price + gov incentives = Japanese Prius success
Tax incentives and cheaper hybrid costs working in the land of the rising sun
As the American press continues to sell the decline of hybrid sales in 2011, apparently unable to deduce that a massive earthquake and tsunami almost wiped out hybrid supplies coming out of Japan — the bulk of all hybrids made in the world — hybrid sales are exploding in places like Japan and Malaysia.
And already the new Toyota Prius C, or Aqua in Japan, is having a major imprint on the hybrid sale’s story. Read more…
Leaving a lot of foreign oil fighting potential on the table
It’s time to get real about the costs of US foreign oil dependence
In my opinion, ending foreign oil dependence — at least achieving North American independence — is far easier than many might imagine. Ironically, today independence appears even significantly more within reach compared to just a few years ago.
But, it takes real vision to grasp this energy independence potential, but it’s not the seer-like kind of vision that can foresee the technological future some might expect. Rather it takes the vision to simply seize the opportunities available today. Carpe diem! Read more…
C-Max: Two hybrid steps forward?
C-Max hybrid versus the Prius and the Ford Escape hybrid
For many years now, Ford has done quite a bit of hybrid talking, but Ford’s hybrid results have never matched up to the rhetoric. Even when the Ford Fusion hybrid topped Toyota Camry hybrid fuel economy, the buzz fell short. Not only did the Fusion hybrid cost a good chunk more for this extra fuel economy compared to the Camry hybrid, but real world testing often found little difference in fuel economy between these two hybrid rivals, making the extra costs even harder to swallow
And while Ford’s next big hybrid move, the C-Max, seems like a great hybrid step forward, the fact that Ford is discontinuing the Escape hybrid is a bit of, I hate to say it, a step backward. Read more…
Chevy Volt sales will spike in 2012.
HOV lane access will trump non-existent fire worries
Everyone that follows Chevy Volt and plug-in news closely knows that the fire concerns around the Volt’s battery pack have been blown out of proportion. I think even the politicians leading the charge in the Congressional investigation into the Volt know the Volt is safe. This is about politics and the NHTSA’s handling of its Volt crash testing.
Still, the Volt’s image has been tarnished and it is affecting sales in some areas, but 2012 will be a much better year for Volt sales than was 2011. Read more…
Toyota's Le Man's race hybrid car
Using pop culture to sell fuel efficiency
As I was web-surfing earlier today I was stopped dead in my tracks by a few images on the AutoWeek home page regarding NASCAR and Le Mans. Emblazoned upon the 2013 Ford Fusion NASCAR Sprint Cup car, in big and bold letters, was EcoBoost. The other image was one of Toyota’s Le Mans race cars, a hybrid.
When auto race fans become a good consumer segment to sell fuel efficiency technology to, then it’s safe to say cupholders will never again be more important than fuel economy to car buyers. Read more…
