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Toyota Prius Retains Fuel Economy Crown
Despite a slew of new hybrids joining the market this past year, the Toyota Prius retains the top spot as the most fuel efficient vehicle in the U.S. There is a catch, however, with no electric vehicles (like the Nissan Leaf or Chevy Volt) being included in this year’s round of testing – yet. With…
BMW Officially Confirms Vision Efficient Dynamics Concept for Production
BMW has confirmed it will build a production model based on the Vision EfficientDynamics (VED) concept, which it first revealed at the Frankfurt Auto Show last year. The news comes as little surprise, with the concept having been incredibly well received my the media and public, while winning several awards for both design and technology….
SEMA 2010: Best In Show, Part 2
Our second installment of the Best In Show series profiles the cars that made SEMA what it is – sport compacts. Yes, some of these cars push the boundaries of taste, but others are fairly creative and actually enhance the looks of the stock car. The dominant cars this year seemed to be the Mitsubishi…
Honda Unveils Mugen CR-Z, Hybrid R Concept
Although we brought you some of the first pics of the Honda CR-Z racer, we had to wait another 12 hours to see Honda‘s other two concepts, also based on the CR-Z. The first, a CR-Z equipped with Mugen accessories, will actually be available as a series of dealer installed parts sold as one kit….
SEMA 2010: Toyota Prius C&A Custom Concept Gets Full Carbon Fiber Body
It may look a little a lot over the top, but beneath all that wild bodywork the C&A Custom Concept Toyota Prius is actually pretty cool. That may be hard to believe, but what if we told you almost the entire body of the car (excluding the doors) was crafted of light weight carbon fiber….
SEMA 2010: Kia Forte Hybrid Concept Revealed in Las Vegas
At the SEMA Show it’s no surprise to see high horsepower street and race cars. It’s far less common to see a modified hybrid. And while there are a few tuned Priuses and CR-Zs, over at the Kia booth is the world’s first Forte Hybrid. This is not a conventional tuner car, but a one…
SEMA 2010: Lexus CT200h, HS250h Break Cover
One wouldn’t normally think of the Lexus hybrid compacts as “tuner cars”, but if there’s one thing that SEMA proves, it’s that you can make anything a “modified vehicle” by throwing wheels and other bolt-on modifications onto a car. We highlighted the Lexus SEMA lineup earlier, but since we all know how much you love…
Eibach Honda CR-Z Revealed Ahead of SEMA
Knowing that they potentially have a huge hit on their hands, Honda has really leveraged this year’s SEMA show to hand some of the aftermarket’s most brilliant minds their new CR-Z. Eibach Springs is one of these companies, and having received the car in July, they went straight to work researching and developing new products…
Lexus to Showcase Hybrid Tuning at 2010 SEMA Show
If the SEMA Show stands for anything, it’s that the aftermarket industry is as much about style as it is about performance. That being said, Lexus has decided to showcase its lineup of hybrid models at the world’s largest aftermarket expo next week. Several tuners will will take part, including Fox Marketing, EST Styling and…
2011 Volkswagen Touraeg Hybrid Priced At $60,565
The People’s Hybrid, Volkswagen‘s 2011 Touraeg Hybrid, will start at a lofty $60,565, more than $15,000 above the base car’s price of $44,450. The Touraeg Hybrid shares its mechanical bits with Porsche’s Cayenne Hybrid, which costs $67,700, making the Touraeg Hybrid a fairly weak proposition. Buyers with that much money to spend will likely gravitate towards…
Honda Insight Gets Tweaked Stop-Start System, Revised MPG Numbers
Honda has made some improvements to the stop-start system on their Insight hybrid car, allowing drivers to keep the engine off for up to 3 times as long as previous years. Insights before 2011 could keep the engine stopped for up to 30 seconds, but new improvements for this coming model year allow for the…
Citroen Metropolis Heads For Production, Will Spearhead Luxury Push Into China
Citroen is going to enter the large luxury car market with a production version of the Metropolis concept car. The Metropolis will likely be badged as a DS9, and be positioned as a flagship to the company’s DS range, which currently markets a line of premium hatchbacks in Europe. The Metropolis is unique in that…
Honda To Unveil Plug-In Hybrid, EV Concept At Los Angeles Auto Show
Despite pioneering the technology behind hydrogen fuel cells, Honda is lagging far behind arch-rival Toyota in the hybrid and electric vehicle segment. With the Toyota commanding over 70% of hybrid market share, and Honda’s Civic, Accord and Insight hybrid models all falling flat, the big H must do something quickly to avoid losing the segment…
Fortune Motorsports and Tjin Edition Honda CR-Z Revealed Ahead of SEMA
With SEMA just a week away, cars are being teased and sneak previewed left and right. Back in August, we got sight of the Fortune Motorsports / Tjin Edition Tour Honda CR-Z under wraps, literally. Now the cover’s been blown off the rendering and put on the finished product. The full rendering reveals what the…
Green Car Of The Year Award Finalists Announced
Green Car Journal has announced its candidates for its Green Car Of The Year award, with the five car field being composed of some pretty serious competition, Naturally, the Chevrolet Volt and Nissan Leaf are the leading contenders, with the Lincoln MKZ Hybrid, Hyundai Sonata Hybrid rounding out the field, and the Ford Fiesta being…
2011 Green Car of The Year Finalists Include Chevy Volt, Nissan Leaf
The finalists for the 2011 Green Car of the Year award have been announced and unlike in years past there’s a lot of competition, not to mention a lot at stake. Some serious heavyweights are on the list for 2011 including the Nissan Leaf and the Chevy Volt. Other finalists include the Lincoln MKZ Hybrid…
Nissan To Display Plug-In Sedan At Los Angeles Auto Show
Nissan has released information about a new plug-in sedan set to debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show, a vehicle known as the Ellure. No details or photos have been released, but a nice bit of marketing fluff states that “Nissan’s dramatic new-value sedan exploration, the Nissan Ellure, is designed to bring a higher level…
BMW, PSA Peugeot Citroen Announce Partnership on Front-Drive Hybrid Vehicles
BMW and French automaker PSA Peugeot Citroen have officially announced plans to partner on development of hybrid components for front-drive vehicles. Currently the two automakers already share engines, between the Peugeot, Citroen and MINI brands. It’s expected that the new hybrid drivetrains will be shared with models from those ranges (including the next-generation MINI Cooper)…
Report: Porsche Planning Hybrids Across Entire Model Range
A report in trade publication Automotive News suggests that Porsche is planning a hybrid variant of every model in its lineup. Porsche’s Cayenne Hybrid is the first Cayenne sold to the public, while the 911 GT3.R has successfully campaigned in high level sports car racing in Europe. Next up is a Panamera Hybrid, as well…
Chevrolet Volt Production Numbers Get A Bump
General Motors is increasing Chevrolet Volt production numbers in 2012, from 30,000 to 45,000 to a maximum output of 60,000 units. The increase in production to maximum capacity will conincide with the nationwide rollout of the Volt. Doug Parks, vehicle line director in charge of the Volt, said that “Starting in ‘12, we’ll be at…
MBtech Reporter – The Future of Pickup Trucks?
What’s very interesting is that besides working together, each power source can also operate independently – the 70 kW electric motor driving the wheels, while the 1.2-liter natural gas unit powers the fronts.
Lexus CT200h F-Sport Debuts at Australian International Auto Show
Lexus has just revealed a new F-Sport performance version of its new CT200h hybrid hatchback. The CT200h F-Sport gets more aggressive front and rear styling, light-weight alloy wheels, plus an F-sport suspension that includes lowering springs and sway bars. Inside the car also gets some extra toys, like an F-Sport steering wheel, sport pedals, scuff…
Prius MPV to Debut at Detroit Auto Show
Toyota seems to be catching on to this whole social media thing. Last week the automaker teased us with the Prius MPV on its Facebook page and now the folks in the PR department have used Twitter to announce that the second Prius model will debut at the Detroit Auto Show this January. The vehicle…
2011 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid Qualifies For $1,300 Tax Credit
Hyundai‘s Sonata Hybrid just had its launch in San Diego, and while driving impressions are embargoed until next Monday, we do have a bit of good news to report. According to Dave Thomas of Kicking Tires, the Sonata Hybrid will be eligible for a $1,300 tax credit from the federal government. The tax credit is…
