A past Toyota hybrid coupe concept For years now Toyota has brought up the possibility of expanding the Prius brand, and one such possibility that has been tossed around is a hybrid sports coupe. Toyota even showed off a hybrid coupe concept at the North American Auto Show in 2007. According to rumors , however, …

Where’s an American competitor? Perhaps you’ve seen the recent Chevy commercial where Howie Long wonders why Asian automakers have a fuel efficient reputation when GM sells some similar vehicles with better highway fuel economy? Why? Well, because they have better fleet fuel economy. This year Honda came in first at 23.6 mpg. Hyundai was second at 23.4, while Toyota was third at 23. 2 mpg according to the EPA . Ford, as …

The tire for hybrids The GoodYear Assurance Fuel Max tire will become the standard tire of the 2010 Toyota Prius . Additionally, reports indicate the Assurance will also be the tire of the Chevy Volt .

A Prius being converted into a plug-in hybrid The Department of Energy has now logged more than 1 million testing miles with their fleet of plug-in hybrids , and they’ve collected some interesting data . First, driver behavior, charging frequency and environmental conditions have significant impact on plug-in hybrid efficiency. Second, driving patterns suggest per day driving range is much less than expected. Third, forgetting …

Plug-in adoption to be slow and gradual In the past week Nissan/Renault head, Carlos Ghosn has been on an EV publicity tour. Yesterday, however, Ghosn seemed to take a more tempered approach towards electric vehicles. “We’re not going to take the market by storm,” said Ghosn at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York . “Electricity is going to complement oil.” …

Dead before launch? Is Hyundai prepared to end its hybrid program? It’s a possibility according to Korean sources . Apparently, Hyundai isn’t confident about how the future of the automobile is going to evolve, and hybrid cars are a point of contention. Consequently, Hyundai is said to be considering an EV plan much more like that of Nissan/Renault…

The Mercury Mariner hybrid If you analyze the total automaker bailout, according to recent research , US taxpayers are contributing $12,200 for every vehicle GM sells, and $7,600 for every vehicle Chrysler sells. So the study asks, are we punishing ’smarter’ automakers while rewarding the bad decisions of other automakers? Certainly, Ford gained market share thanks to the fact that it …

Shorten the gas pedal? If you own a 2004-’09 Toyota Prius or a 2007-’10 Toyota Camry hybrid then you’ve probably received your floor mat recall notice already. Still, Toyota hasn’t fully figured out its long term plan for dealing with this issue and negotiations with NHTSA are ongoing. Nonetheless, it seems that the final fix will include shortening …

X6 Active Hybrid In December the BMW X6 Active hybrid will go on sale with a base price of $89,725 While the X6 hybrid hauls ass, going from 0 to 60 in 4.5 seconds, is that really what hybrid consumers are looking for in a hybrid? Sure it’s as loaded as can be, but $90,000 for …

Dependent upon government loans? The unique Aptera 2e might never be built. At least 10 workers have been laid off. One founder is gone. The other might come back some time next year – might – according to reports . Without doubt, production will not happen this year. Instead production has been pushed back into 2010, but without a cash infusion, it seems Aptera might be done. Thus, Apera’s future looks almost completely dependent upon whether…

Dependent upon government loans? The unique Aptera 2e might never be built. At least 10 workers have been laid off. One founder is gone. The other might come back some time next year – might – according to reports . Without doubt, production will not happen this year. Instead production has been pushed back into 2010, but without a cash infusion, it seems…

Safe and fuel efficient With Toyota scoring a big goose egg on the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s Top Safety Picks, hybrid cars were destined to rank poorly. Still, the Honda Civic hybrid , along with all Civics, except the SI, with stability control – now standard in the Civic hybrid – ranked as Top Picks in the small car category.