The Truth About Cars » Hybrid

Now How Much Would You Pay?: Mercedes ML Hybrid Offered As Lease-Only

Edward Niedermeyer — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:19:02 +0000

The “Two-Mode” hybrid system jointly developed by GM, Chrysler, Daimler and BMW is turning out to be quite the albatross. Chrysler’s Two-mode Durango and Aspen were discontinued before Bob Nardelli had the chance to drive one to last year’s bailout hearings. GM’s hybrid Escalade has been dead in the water, and BMW and Mercedes have [...]

Buick Regal To Get Doubly Hybridized

Paul Niedermeyer — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 19:41:14 +0000

Crank up production of the big green Hybrid stickers, ’cause the Regal is going to sport some serious hybrid regalia. No less then two of GM’s raft of hybrid systems may find their way into the Opel/Buick. gm-volt.com cites a report in Ward’s Auto [subscription] that GM will start production of an updated version of [...]

NHTSA: Pedestrian and Cyclists Crash Rates Higher For Hybrids

Edward Niedermeyer — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:37:49 +0000

An NHTSA report [PDF] on the “Incidence of Pedestrian and Bicyclist Crashes by Hybrid Electric Passenger Vehicles,” concludes that hybrid-electrics (HEVs) have a higher incidence rate of pedestrian and bicyclist crashes than do internal combustion-only (ICE) vehicles in certain scenarios. And based on the report’s conclusions, it looks like the relative silence of hybrids running [...]

Fiat/Chrysler Walk Away From Electrification And Hybrids

Edward Niedermeyer — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:58:00 +0000

As we noted in our rundown of the New New Chrysler’s powertrain plans, the Pentastar’s ENVI electrification task force wasn’t mentioned once during seven hours of presentation. Well, by name anyway. Weirdly though, as the slide above shows, Fiat is making Chrysler the focal point for the alliance’s hybrid and electric technology development. Wouldn’t that [...]

Fisker: Leonardo DiCaprio’s Prius Was the Inspiration to Start Company

Paul Niedermeyer — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 16:09:59 +0000

Never underestimate the impact of your choice of car, especially if you’re Leonardo DiCaprio, who I’m sure doesn’t. The high-profile early Prius adopter can now take credit for inspiring the creation of Fisker Motors. That comes straight from Henrik Fisker’s mouth. The former designer of gas-guzzling Aston Martins and BMWs told the Reuters Auto Summit [...]

Ram 1500: Diesel Option Dead?

Edward Niedermeyer — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 20:35:22 +0000

Fans of oil-burners, brace yourselves. Dodge is confirming [via Detroit News] that a hybrid Hemi version of its light-duty Ram pickup is in the works. A diesel option, however, is still being reviewed. And its prospects aren’t looking good. When Chrysler senior vice president of engineering Scott Kunselman confirmed that the hybrid would be a [...]

Ask the Best and Brightest: Can Mazda Catch Up on Hybrid Tech?

Edward Niedermeyer — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 22:56:42 +0000

It’s not an academic question: if your answer is yes, Mazda has a $1.1B share offering it wants you to participate in. Now that Ford has reduced its stake in Mazda, the Japanese automaker is finding itself short on all kinds of hybrid and EV development. In fact, Mazda’s planned offering will dilute Ford’s share [...]

Greek Editorial: Hybrids Fundamentally Unsafe

Robert Farago — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 04:41:44 +0000

Thanks to the laws regarding “fair use,” TTAC can blog on your behalf. Obviously, we don’t cut and paste entire articles. Except when we do. This is one of those cases where a misleading headline deserves the full monty [via ekathimerini.com]. Or, as the Greek sage/storyteller Aesop said, “We hang the petty thieves and appoint [...]

GreenTech Automotive Reveals Prototypes

Edward Niedermeyer — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 16:11:54 +0000

Greentech Automotive is the hybrid vehicle firm founded by the former CEO of Brilliance with plans to build a plant in Mississippi with funds raised through the EB-5 visa program. Not to be comfused with Hybrid Kinetic Motors, the hybrid vehicle firm founded by the former Chairman of Brilliance with plans to build a plant [...]

Honda CR-Z Version 2.0: Advanced Sensual Bullet

Edward Niedermeyer — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 20:17:37 +0000

Honda is showing a new, near-production version of its forthcoming CR-Z hybrid sports coupe at the Tokyo Auto Show. According to this video, Honda is calling its design language “Advanced Sensual Bullet.” You feeling it? If not, research is already underway on modifications to make the neo-CRX look more like the ur-CRX. And styling aside, [...]

Toyota Hybrids Facing US-Market Ban?

Edward Niedermeyer — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 19:52:03 +0000

Bloomberg reports that the US International Trade Commission has launched a probe of alleged patent violations which could result in the banning of all Toyota hybrids from the US market. Paice LLC won a 2005 civil suit against Toyota, in which Paice’s founder Alex Severinsky sought a court order banning the sale of Toyota’s Prius, [...]

What’s Wrong With This Picture: Rebadging The Rebadge Edition

Edward Niedermeyer — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 14:26:43 +0000

We thought the Lexus HS250h would be a cynical rebadge of the Prius with a little more power. We were wrong. The HS was marginally unique enough, but then ToMoCo went and cynically reabdged it as a Toyota and called it the Sai. Sigh. It hasn’t been confirmed for the US yet, but if it [...]

Quote Of The Day II: 230 MPG “May Be Overly Optimistic?” Edition

Edward Niedermeyer — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 22:58:24 +0000

Official fuel economy testing for all vehicles is conducted on chassis dynamometers, which are basically treadmills for cars and trucks. One subtlety of chassis dynamometer testing is that vehicle fuel economy measurements using decades-old standard speed profiles may be overly optimistic compared to today’s average on-road fuel use. Official methods exist to adjust the test [...]

Ask the Best and Brightest: Is Hybrid Kinetic Motors’ Powerplant Based on BMW’s KERS?

Edward Niedermeyer — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 16:37:41 +0000

Let’s assume for a moment that Hybrid Kinetic Motors and its planned Alabama assembly plant are not just a visa scam. Say, for example, it’s a visa scam that will actually build cars at some point. Can anyone make sense of the limited powertrain specs we have to work with? We’re told the vehicles will [...]

Alabama Rolls the Hybrid Kinetic Dice

Edward Niedermeyer — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 00:34:09 +0000

Hybrid Kinetic (HK) Motors and its chairman, former Brilliance chairman Yung Yeung, have announced plans to build a massive car plant in Baldwin County, Alabama in order to begin production of its fuel efficient vehicles by 2013. The $1.5b plant will produce 300,000 units per year and employ 5,000 Alabamans when it comes online with [...]

Quote of the Day: Got to Find a Love that Lasts Edition

Edward Niedermeyer — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 23:26:53 +0000

We will only do a hybrid if that is what is required to maintain the vehicle. I think we have a pretty good plan right now that probably will not require a hybrid in the near term . . . I don’t believe that we need to do a six-cylinder engine in a Corvette at [...]

Toyota to Stretch Prius Brand

Robert Farago — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 22:42:59 +0000

A brand is a promise to the consumer. It’s the umbrella under which all products must shelter. All the people responsible for a brand must ensure that it meets that promise. The Toyota Prius is a promise of reliable transportation that achieve high-mileage with low emissions. So it’s no wonder that Toyota has decided to [...]

Ask the Best and Brightest: Would a Fit Hybrid Rescue Honda’s Insight Fail?

Edward Niedermeyer — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 18:32:09 +0000

To put it simply, Honda’s Insight sold 4,226 units last month while the Prius sold 18,886. Through August, Toyota sold 93,810 Priora while the Insight motivated only 14,045 buyers. Honda has tacitly admitted that the Insight is not up to snuff. But upgrades could take years. Honda could just as easily have the long-rumored Fit [...]

Vuick Mule Test-Driven

Edward Niedermeyer — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 17:45:30 +0000

GM-volt.com’s Lyle Dennis got a test drive of GM’s two-mode plugin CUV at GM’s recent PR event. First planned as a Saturn Vue (canceled due to the Saturn spin-off), then planned as a Buick rebadge (only to be murdered by Twitter), the two-mode plugin is currently homeless. Will it ever see the showroom floor? Which [...]

Prius Needs Power

Edward Niedermeyer — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 23:20:52 +0000

Not selling power, mind you. In fact demand is so high for the new Prius that Toyota would like to increase production past its 500k/year projections. Too bad its battery supplier, Panasonic, can’t keep up. “Battery bottleneck,” howls Automotive News [sub], before admitting that Toyota has been building towards a million battery per year capacity. [...]

Volt Birth Watch 152: Born To Lose

Edward Niedermeyer — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 17:50:02 +0000

Honda Agrees: Insight Not Good Enough

Edward Niedermeyer — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 22:03:49 +0000

BMW and Benz Walking Away from Two-Mode Technology

Edward Niedermeyer — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 17:34:07 +0000

Well how do you like that? My very first editorial for TTAC took GM to task for spending (at least) a quarter of a billion bucks on its overly complex Two-Mode hybrid drivetrain. Way back in February 2008, I noted that “the chances increase daily that BMW will join Mercedes in washing its hands of [...]

Hybrid Stereotypes Challenged

Edward Niedermeyer — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 19:20:52 +0000

If car nuts have learned anything over the last decade, it’s that few categories are easier to stereotype than the hybrid car driver (thanks, South Park!). But how accurate are these images we carry of hybrid drivers as left lane-clogging, smug eco-weenies? A couple of recent reports indicate that we still have much to learn [...]

Toyota Angry At Ontario’s “Disguised” Chevy Volt Subsidy

Robert Farago — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 14:41:32 +0000

America and Canada have spent tens of billions in taxpayer money “saving” Chrysler and GM. During this Year of Living Parasitically, Toyota hasn’t said boo to a proverbial goose. This despite the fact that a non-governmental ChryCo Old GM Chapter 11/7 would have eliminated most of the North American market’s production over-capacity, setting the stage [...]