Mainstream NFL fans embracing fuel efficiency? Is energy efficiency starting to resonate in mainstream America? I didn’t watch any one NFL football game yesterday, but a few times throughout the day I planted myself on the couch for several minutes to watch whatever game was on and to get a few updates from around the league. Yet, even more interesting than the football action were the commercials aimed at fuel economy, even though I…

Nissan's next hybrid? New CVT, hybrid drive and fuel cells on deck I’ve always liked Toyota’s automotive game plan. To date, Toyota has sold millions of hybrid cars as it has procured 1000’s of patents — not just regarding gasoline electric hybrids, but fuel cell hybrids and battery electric vehicles as well. Early on Toyota tied the technological connections between these three different powertrains …

Shelve the C-Max if its not a legitimate Prius-contender Ford’s hybrid program has been too much talk not enough walk Over the years Ford has made quite a few big promises regarding its green intentions and desire to become a leader in hybrid cars . Of course most of this hype predates current CEO Alan Mulally. Under Mulally, fuel economy has still been a focus, but instead …

How many more oil wars before independence? Batteries have a role to play, but they can’t do it alone I’ve been tuned-in to the world of alternative powertrains for about a decade now. In the beginning, I thought today’s automotive landscape would be quite different than it is today. Of …

A step in the right direction. Why Tesla’s Elon Musk is wrong about plug-in cars Old, rich people are not the key to the plug-in car. That consumer cohort might be the key to sales and profits for niche automakers like Tesla Motors, but not for the sustainable, long term profits of a major automaker. The only path to sustainability goes through the millennial generation, and those even …

Increasing fuel economy with smart navigation Better fuel economy comes in interesting packages Thanks to hybrid cars , start/stop is becoming standard in many conventional vehicles — improving fleet fuel economy much more than just hybrids can provide. And thanks to hybrids like the BMW ActiveHybrid 5, navigation might one day make every car more …

Is the Yaris hybrid still alive? Geared towards women and younger drivers OK. We know for sure that Toyota is building at least one compact hybrid that uses the same hybrid drive as the current Toyota Prius . In the last year, for instance, Toyota has debuted the Prius C Concept as well…

The Urbee hybrid concept Can cheap, safe, and extremely fuel efficient — but very odd — hybrids sell? It took about 100 years for the world to achieve a fleet of 1 billion cars, but it will only take a couple of decades to add the next billion. Such production is going to be a squeeze on many resources, and the way we commute today simply won’t drive tomorrow. Things …

Prius family set for a big expansion in 2012 Could the Camry hybrid conquest Prius buyers? We all know that when it comes to hybrid cars, Toyota is the king of sales thanks to the Prius, which accounts for more than 50 percent of all hybrid sales. Yet, Toyota is anticipating a huge increase …

The T.27 going through crash tests. Gordon Murray joins Lotus board Out of the box thinking is probably the key to the future of the auto industry. Inevitably, the current model of mobile transportation is a resource intensive, energy guzzling dinosaur. And automotive “engineer, designer and entrepreneur” Gordon Murray, of McLaren F…

America needs to Focus on more than plug-ins Could the US achieve more sooner? The latest word coming out of China suggests that significant changes to tax policies for new energy vehicles are coming. Instead, of focusing on plug-ins, China is preparing to incentivize hybrid sales, and other fuel efficient technologies. Should the US consider a similar, and …

A great looking hybrid, but…… No wonder Hyundai believes ICE is the key to better fuel economy Boy did I have high hopes for Hyundai hybrid cars a few years ago. While Hyundai was slow to the hybrid game, as their hybrids moved closer and closer to reality, a few pretty bullish forecasts were teed up by a few South Korean executives. …