Posts Tagged ‘Hybrid Cars’

Cash back and financing deals on some hybrid cars now

Save thousands on a BMW hybrid now.

Looking to save some money on a hybrid?

The 4th of July and after is often the best time of year to buy a car. New models are arriving and old models are being discounted.

Unfortunately, when you watch the car commercials, there’s always an * hybrid model not included when it comes to the best deals.

However, according to Forbes, there are several hybrid cars available with offers of cash back or special financing. Read more…

Mild hybrid cars: Mainstreaming is the only option, now

If mild hybrids don’t make sense now, will they ever?

Where do mild hybrids fit in?

Conventional hybrid cars like the Toyota Prius and the Ford Fusion hybrid are great rides, but the extra upfront costs of these hybrids scare many consumers away. Even if these cars are more cost-effective than their conventional offerings after a few years, most consumers simply can’t overcome that higher MSRP barrier.

And that’s why mild hybrid cars could make a lot of sense. Read more…

Better residual value: Hybrid cars versus plug-in cars

c hybrid offers best residual value compared to all hybrids and plug-ins

How does plug-in depreciation compare to hybrids?

Obviously, no one wants to buy a new car and then drive off the lot and suddenly realize its worth drastically less than what was paid. Unfortunately, all new cars lose value as soon as the dealer hands you the keys, which is why savvy financial folks, such as Warren Buffett, only buy slightly used cars.

And residual value after 5 years is an even scarier number.

So do hybrid or electric cars hold their value better? Read more…

Prius v not yet a sale’s challenger in the crossover segment

Too Prius-like to challenge the crossover segment

Just a larger Prius, not really a crossover?

I haven’t been the biggest fan of the Toyota Prius v, although I could have easily been one of its biggest advocates. All Toyota needed to do was add a third row of seating, and I would have been all over this hybrid.

Certainly, a third seat would have been a tight squeeze, but it might have also given the larger Prius v a real shot to contend in the crossover segment. Read more…

Hybrid pickup trucks starting to make more sense

The Silverado hybrid hasn’t been successful, yet

At least in terms of PR and marketing

In my opinion, if one really wanted to change the auto industry, there would be one simple focus: pickup trucks. As go pick up trucks, so go US automakers and US fleet fuel economy.

Of course, that’s no easy nut to crack. Pickup profits are critical to US auto industry survival. Thus, the only way to push the auto industry towards hybrid pickup trucks, for instance, is a massive tax incentive program — far too big to pass any level of government these days.

Still, hybrid pickups make more sense today than ever. Read more…

Toyota Camry: The most American hybrid

Most American family car?

The best hybrid to buy this 4th of July?

For the fourth year in a row the Toyota Camry took the top spot in Cars.com’s American-Made Index, just barely beating out the Ford F150 pickup truck.

Like the conventional Camry, the Camry hybrid is also built at Toyota’s Georgetown, Kentucky plant according to the latest data I could find. So does that make the Toyota Camry hybrid the most American hybrid? Read more…

Toyota Prius c leads list of hardest to find hybrid cars

Supplies of this hybrid are below a c

Toyota dominates list of scarce hybrids

With the July 4th holiday quickly approaching, many Americans are preparing to go car shopping. Unfortunately, some hybrid shoppers might have a hard time finding their preferred hybrid.

For instance, there is only a 9 day supply of the Toyota Prius c according to the latest research compiled by Forbes, making the c hybrid the hardest to find hybrid car. Read more…

Crazy weather car advantage: Hybrids versus electric cars

Best car for crazy weather?

What’s the best car to own in a power outage?

With the lights still out in many parts of the Eastern US, many aren’t just having a hard time due to a lack of power, but also a lack of gasoline. So, what’s the best kind of car to own in these situations?

Of course, I’m only considering hybrid and electric cars, each of which has unique advantages compared to conventional gas-guzzlers in many scenarios. Read more…

Electric! Weaving Toyota, BMW together in a fiber of carbon

Is carbon fiber the key to electrification?

New Toyota and BMW collaboration could be more than a light duty partnership

What do fuel cells, electrification and carbon fiber have to do with each other? Combined they result in almost perfectly efficient automotive harmony. And that makes the tie up between Toyota and BMW a pretty serious knot to untie.

OK. And there’s also a sport’s car, but that’s mostly to just throw everyone off the scent of what’s really going on. Read more…

2010 Lexus RX 450h hybrid floor mat recall

Keep on eye on that floor mat.

Potentially affecting 22,200 Lexus 450h hybrid SUVs

Starting in August Lexus will be sending out recall notices to 2010 Lexus RX 450h hybrid owners to prevent any interference between the accelerator pedal and the floor mat.

According to Lexus, the company will be replacing or modifying accelerator pedals in addition to replacing floor mats. Read more…