Just as the entire auto industry is preparing a wholesale shift to full-electric vehicles, Honda is doing likewise. In the meantime, the company is planning to introduce a series of hybrid electric vehicles ahead of the transition. Specifically, Honda is building on its decades of gas-electric experience to outfit several … Read more
Regenerative braking is one of numerous efficiency systems installed on all manners of electric vehicles worldwide. Simply put, they tap the vehicle’s inertia to use the electric motors as generators, thus stopping the automobile via the motor’s mechanical resistance and recharging the batteries in the process. The system has been … Read more
Toyota Motor Corporation announced this week that the company is investing $70 billion to move the automaker toward an electrified future. The pivot includes both its Toyota and Lexus brands, with the latter slated to become electric only. Kicking off the effort for the luxury marque is the Lexus RZ … Read more
Pictured: The chassis of Mazda large gasoline engine vehicles with a PHEV. Mazda outlines its plans for an electric future with Zoom Zoom. Earlier this month, we learned that Mazda will drop a pair of models from its U.S. portfolio this year. Both the small CX-3 crossover and the midsize … Read more
The race is on! Automotive manufacturers the world over are transitioning to electric vehicles. Or at least that is the current plan. Mark “2021” as the year when automakers saw the light, by committing billions to support their electrification efforts. Almost daily, we are hearing new commitments from manufacturers that … Read more
Ford’s PHEV is surprisingly reasonably priced. Three model years passed by and I finally got behind the wheel again of a Ford Fusion. Just like the last time, this model was the Fusion Energi, a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle based on Ford’s popular midsize car. Now in its fifth model … Read more
GM will have at least a year advantage to make a case for the Chevrolet Bolt. Will it be enough to convince EV fans? The big automotive news since the beginning of this month has been all about the Tesla Model 3, the next vehicle coming from America’s electric car … Read more
What are the most fuel-efficient vehicles of 2016? Our list excludes electric and plug-in electric hybrid vehicles, and features 10 models each averaging a combined 40 mpg. With gas prices at or near the lowest levels we have seen this century, fuel efficiency concerns have been placed on a back … Read more
Rapidly falling gas prices will squeeze Camry Hybrid sales. Through 2014, the Toyota Camry has been the best-selling car model in America, outpacing the likes of the Honda Accord, Nissan Altima and its own compact sibling, the Toyota Corolla. Sales of the standard-bearer Camry routinely top 400,000 units per year, … Read more
Green Car of the Year award now in its eleventh year. The Audi A3 is a Green Car of the Year finalist. Think “green car” and your thoughts might turn to a variety of battery electric vehicles, including the Tesla Model S, the Ford Focus Electric and the Nissan Leaf. … Read more
Automotive executives have enough worries to keep them awake at night. Recalls. Upgraded IIHS crash standards. Federal fuel requirements. Persnickety consumers, especially young people that seem disinterested in buying a new car. Deloitte Survey and Report A recently released Deloitte LLP report will be carefully studied by these same executives … Read more
Start-stop technology is one of the newest engineering features that automakers are employing in a bid to squeeze more mpg out of every model sold. What start-stop does is to shut down the engine when idle, such as at a traffic light or at a railroad stop, then automatically restarts … Read more
Lexus does not offer diesel engines in the US, instead it follows a hybrid strategy to provides a family of five fuel efficient models ranging from its base CT Hybrid up to its $120,060 LS Hybrid. 2014 Lexus CT 200h The CT Hybrid (CT 200h) five-door hatchback has received a freshened look … Read more
Hyundai has successfully made the transition from a substandard purveyor of rehashed automotive products to a world-class car manufacturer. Yes, the argument can be made that Hyundai is not on par with Rolls-Royce, Daimler or certain exotic brands, but as a mass producer of the types of vehicles that most … Read more
The Ford Motor Company has long operated as an also-ran to Toyota’s dominance of the hybrid electric vehicle market. Ford entered the hybrid market in 2006 with its Escape and Mercury Mariner hybrids, the first hybrid SUVs from a domestic manufacturer. Ford Hybrids Ford later expanded its hybrid offerings to … Read more
Toyota Hybrid Sales Pass a Milestone Say what you want about hybrid electric vehicles, but there is one thing you cannot deny: Toyota’s leadership in this emerging segment. Indeed, Toyota sells more hybrids than all other competitors combined, just this week passing the 5 million HEV mark. Of those, nearly … Read more