Rush Limbaugh's GM Pimpatorial
“Meanwhile, American business is taking seriously your concern about the cost of gasoline. General Motors is one of our sponsors. We are proud and hono…
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Honda Reveals New "Insight" Prius Killer
Or the concept version of it, at least. Honda says what you see here (and what they will show at the Paris auto show) is 90% of what we can expect when they…
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Greenwashing Masks Boston Cab Fare Hike
Our friends over at Autobloggreen fall straight into the Boston Police Department's PR trap: "Boston taxi fleet to be hybrid by 2015." While it is certainly…
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Hyundai Sonata Wades Into Hybrid Price War
Hyundai's U.S. niche is just below the the Toyondissan's offerings. Nowhere is that role more valuable than in the burgeoning hybrid segment. Considering the…
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Ask the Best and Brightest: Should States Assess Environmental Scores?
Starting with 2009 models, the California Air Resources Board will require all new vehicles sold in the Golden State to carry a sticker which shows a CARB-de…
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Toyota Prius Vs. Honda Civic Hybrid: "This One's Gonna Be Insane!"
First, this post dovetails nicely with the Ask the B&B question on homoerotic truck ads. I mean, if the testosterone-laden Torque.tv's announcer's tongue isn't firmly in his cheek, well… Anyway, the video also suggest a click on over to Paul Niedermeyer's excellent editorial on the coming showdown between the 2010 Prius and the 2010 Honda Hybrid. Personally, I find the producer's choice of cartoon clown xylophone background music a bit OTT. But I'm glad the torque team pointed out that a properly-flogged Prius can suck more unleaded than a 'Vette. It brings back fond memories of the time I tried to discover how much gas I could use in a Prius. I never got it below 17mpg. Guess I wasn't trying hard enough.
U.S. Car Market: All Hybrids All The Time By 2020?
The IBM Institute for Business Value polled some 125 automotive executives and "thought leaders." Their final report concludes that "sustainability concern…
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Volt Birth Watch 73: "Please Wait for the Next Available Car…"
GM may have a several thousand disappointed Voltophiles on their hands before this sad saga plays out. Automotive News reports Dennis Lyle from GM-Volt.com…
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Infiniti Hybrid: "We Need to Make Some Adjustments Before 2010"
It's never a good idea to let journalists loose on a prototype. Even the tamest of the breed feels obliged to point out the vehicle's deficiencies. In this c…
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Lexus: Performance Out, Hybrids In
ToMoCo's fears of "big company disease" seem most credible when looking at its non-Toyota brands. While Scion fails to capitalize on increased demand for sma…
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Volt Birth Watch 71: Olympian Hype
We aren't the only ones who question the viability of the Volt. U.S. News has jumped aboard the bandwagon, asking "What is the Chevy Volt, and Why is GM Adve…
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USA Today: Another MPD Chrysler Hybrid SUV Review
We reported earlier on the gold standard in this genre: Scott Burgess' Aspen Hybrid review. Clearly, USA Today car reviewer James R. Healey suffers from the…
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GM Prices Cadillac Escalade Hybrid at $71,685. Yes Way.
GM Car Czar Bob Lutz' infamous pre-Katrina remark, " Rich people don't care about gas," has once again come back to haunt him. This time it arrives in the fo…
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Daimler Sues Cobasys; Mercedes ML Hybrid Delayed or Cancelled
Information Week reports that Cobasys can't make shipments of NiMh batteries to Daimler. The battery firm, a joint venture between Chevron and Energy Conver…
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Nissan Hybrid, EV and FCV Systems "Previewed"
Nissan has decided that using Toyota powertrains in its Altima hybrid is a bit embarrassing. So they're working on one of their own. If CNet is to be believe…
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Lotus Develops Hybrid Hi-Fi
Inspired by the plight of blind and partially sighted pedestrians fearing hybrids running silently in EV mode, Lotus is set to replace the silent whoosh of a…
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Obama To Spend $4b of Your Tax Money for 1m Hybrids by 2015
The Detroit News reports that Senator Barack Obama wants to help Michigan et al. help him become president of the United States (surprise!). To that end, Ba…
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Volt Birth Watch 70 / Tesla Death Watch 14 / Karma Birth Watch 2: Toyota's Death Watch
Turns out TTAC isn't alone with its Tesla Death Watch and Volt Birth Watch series: Toyota has its own going. EV World's (sub) Bill Moore got this and a few o…
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Hybrid "Fad" Set to Hit 1m Global Sales by 2010
Much to GM Car Czar Bob Lutz' chagrin, hybrids are a bit more than the flash in the pan he predicted . A study from RCNOS titled "Global Hybrid Car Market…
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Meet The New Prius, Same As The Old Prius
Spy shots of what could credibly be a new Toyota Prius have finally surfaced. The next-generation of "America's Car" looks bigger than the previous iteration…
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Saturn Aura Hybrid $3k Price Bump. Huh?
With gas around $4.00 a gallon, hybrids are hotter than ever. Well, the Toyota Prius is. Saturn's Aura Green Line? A mere 30 were sold in June. No, that's no…
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GM's Other Complicated, Expensive PHEV
When it comes to alt power, The General's ADD ways continue. In addition to its BAS "mild" hybrids, two-mode hybrids and Volt plug-in hybrid, GM is working o…
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Land Rover Shows Diesel Hybrids
My local Land Rover dealer is the first car dealer in the country to buy carbon offsets for the first 50k miles of every new and used Landie they sell, in ho…
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Bolt-On DIY PHEV Conversion Coming?
The EV goldrush is on. Every frustrated inventor in the country is hyping his or her homemade EV kit. One of the most unconventional offerings recently featu…
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McCain OKs CA's EPA Trump Card
Looking for a campaign bounce before Obama sweeps the media away for his world tour, McCain is confronting the stagnant economy right at its rotten core. But…
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$3,200,000,000,000 for an Oil-Free Future
Well, you can't accuse either side of the political spectrum of hanging around while gas prices have opened-up the debate on America's energy policy, or lack thereof. While President Bush has removed the executive order against off-shore drilling (over to you congress), former Vice President Al Gore has asked Americans to help foot the bill for a ten-year, three trillion dollar "moon shot" effort to switch to "clean" electricity from solar, wind and geothermal power. While this is an extremely inconvenient solution for coal mining states that leaves pro-nuclear partisans in the cold, I mention Al's plan here because it's implicit that the transition would enable a nation of plug-in hybrids or pure EVs. Hey, what about hydrogen? Big Al made no mention of water vaporware. But The Boston Herald reports that a group of scientists have priced-out a U.S. switch to hydrogen-powered vehicles at $200b. No mention was made of the energy source for the fuel, but apparently the the Committee on Assessment of Resource Needs for Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Technologies have bigger fish to fry (deep freeze?). "The cost of platinum is approximately 57 percent of the fuel-cell stack costs and represents the greatest challenge to further cost reductions," the study said. "Future platinum supply is a critical issue in forward projections of fuel-cell costs." If it's not one thing, it's another.
Honda Prius-Fighter Caught Testing
Edmunds Inside Line has dropped some cash for spy photos for Honda's new Prius-fighting dedicated hybrid model. And it seems that IL and Honda are in the sa…
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Chrysler to Build Two-Mode Hybrid, Diesel Minivans
Why? Non-sales of GM's two-mode hybrid SUVs and pickup have thoroughly discredited the system as an expensive affectation. And although oil burners' adherent…
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Chrysler's "Volt" to Arrive In 3 to 5 Years. Or Not.
Chrysler set up its "ENVI" electric vehicle (EV) program last September to develop advanced propulsion technologies for the Pentastar brand. Ten months on, C…
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Volt Birth Watch 65: Damage Control
Automotive News reports that the plug-in electric – gas hybrid Volt will be sold as a Chevrolet in the U.S. only. When they go on sale in Europe in…
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NADA: Malibu Hybrid A Better Buy Than A Toyota Prius
Setting aside the fact that an indeterminate number people buy hybrids for reasons other than saving money (green props, emissions, etc.), what about Ye Olde…
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Toyota Shuffling U.S. Production to Make Room for Prius
America can't get enough of the Prius. To meet demand, Toyota will begin building the gas – electric four-door in the U.S. in late 2010 (yes, at the sa…
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Volt Birth Watch 64: NHTSA Calls GM's Bluff
In a move bound to raise howls of protest from the Chevy Volt's cheerleaders, GM (along with nine other manufacturers) has asked the National Highway Traffic…
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Hybrid SUVs Hamstrung by High Demand?
OK, Sharon we'll bite. What's the deal with the Ford Escape Hybrid? Is it true that The Blue Oval Boyz purposely restrict supply because they lose money on e…
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Volt Birth Watch 62: "GM Readies Volt Unveiling to Shift Focus From Crisis"
GM wants to have a production version of its plug-in electric – gas hybrid Chevrolet Volt ready in time for its centennial this September. Automotive N…
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Ferrari To Build Hybrid-Powered Sports Car by 2015
In an interview with German mag Welt am Sonntag, Ferrari's President has vowed to reduce the automaker's greenhouse gas emissions by nearly half. What's mo…
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Toyota Leapfrogging Volt
At the recent Toyota Environmental Forum, ToMoCo’s Executive Vice President outlined the company’s five-point plan for a “ sustainable mobi…
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TTAC Called It: Ford Calls PHEV Volt GM's "Hail Mary"
Credit Justin Berkowitz. On a recent podcast, Justin chastised Ford President Mark Fields for begging for bucks for hybrid batteries. "Stupid schmuck," Justi…
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Wagoner to Obama: D2.8's "relatively Weak Balance Sheets" Require Federal Assistance
Fresh from their closed door meeting– which included Ford CEO Alan Mulally– presidential hopeful Barack Obama and GM CEO Rick Wagoner took the st…
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Volt Birth Watch 59: Stretched Thin
The Atlantic boasts a lengthy article on the Chevy Volt containing some pretty eye-opening revelations from author Jonathan Rauch. "And how, I ask over co…
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25 X 25. What's in YOUR Wallet?
A widely touted goal of the environmental movement: increasing American's percentage of renewable energy use to 25 percent by 2025. According to a report by…
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Mazda Testing Hydrogen-Hybrid Premacy
Toyota's dominance in hybrid technology has other OEM's straining to leapfrog on to The Next Big Thing. While GM tries to beat ToMoCo to the PHEV punch, Mazd…
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New Induction System Bumps Efficiency By 10 MPG
We've argued for some time that OEMs should respond to high fuel prices by improving and lightening existing models and drivelines, rather than developing mo…
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Fuel Prices Hit Hybrid Sweet Spot in Canada
For the last two weeks, Canadian gas prices have hovered between $1.36/L and $1.47/L. In American terms, that's roughly $5.60/gallon. CTV News is reporting t…
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John McCain Offers Inventor $300m of Your Hard-Earned for New PHEV Battery
John McCain's initial proposal to alleviate pain at the pump: a summer gas tax holiday. With "option A" laughed off the table, the Wall Street Journal report…
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Volt Birth Watch 58: "Notional Targets"
Earlier this year, GM Car Czar Bob Lutz announced that his employer was set to build about 10k plug-in electric – gas hybrid Volts in the car's firs…
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The Great Mark Fields PHEV Beg-A-Thon
It's no secret that we treat GM's plug-in electric hybrid vehicle (PHEV) with a healthy dose deal of skepticism. But at least GM is actually trying to devel…
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Prius Plug-In Conversion Goes Boom
If you can't wait for Toyota to launch a plug-in electric hybrid vehicle (PHEV) Prius, there are several companies who will convert your hybrid to a PHEV. Su…
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Volt Birth Watch 57: $40k and a Jackass
In yet another Lutzie-worthy display, "Maximum" Bob Lutz tells the Seattle Times that even though first-gen Volts will retail for $40k and generate no profit…
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Chrysler Aims to Undercut Tahoe Hybrid Pricing
Coming soon to dealers nears you: The Hybrid SUV Price War! AP (via Yahoo! ) reports Chrysler's plans to release hybrid versions of the Durango and Aspen thi…
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Stay Together For The Hybrids
Mergers have not always treated the car industry well (hello DCX), but in the cutthroat EV/HEV/PHEV game, joint-venture hookups now appear to be the order of…
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Toyota Prius Shortage Explained
Remember when we told you Toyota would be dropping $673m on new battery facilities? In addition to expanding next-gen Li-ion production (and next-next-gen de…
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Volt Birth Watch 56: "I Would Say There's Almost No Reasonable Doubt in Our Minds Anymore That This is Going to Work"
Hmmm. Automotive News gives us insight into GM Car Czar Bob Lutz's confidence in his not-yet stillborn baby, the Chevy Volt. An odd choice of words to be s…
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Honda CEO Trash Talks Toyota Prius
The Wall Street Journal carries a rare interview with Honda CEO Takeo Fukui. Ever the cagey character, Fukui claims to be completely uninterested in the fact…
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Hybrid Schmaloney
Hybrid cars have had one of the biggest impacts on the automotive paradigm since front wheel-drive became popular. Sadly, not everyone can accept change grac…
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DOE Doles Out $30m for PHEV Research
Twenty-four hours after Ford's PR man Mark Fields declared battery research a "national priority," the US Department of Energy (DOE) announced it's giving $3…
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ToMoCo's "$35m Photo Opportunity for the [Australian] Prime Minister"
![ToMoCo's "$35m Photo Opportunity for the [Australian] Prime Minister"](https://cdn-fastly.thetruthaboutcars.com/media/2022/07/10/8983755/tomoco-s-35m-photo-opportunity-for-the-australian-prime-minister.jpg?size=720x845&nocrop=1)
Toyota recently declared that it would begin building Camry Hybrids in Melbourne, potentially reversing the industry's decades-long decline. The announcement…
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Tesla And Daimler Sitting In A Tree…
Tesla Chairman Elon Musk recently told Fox Business Network that the EV startup has inked a deal with Daimler. With its Roadster safely at "good-enough" st…
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Toyota PHEV: You Mileage May Vary
With the autoblogosphere going ape over Toyota's hybrid three-fer, ToMoCo reps are tamping down the hype. Advanced Technology Group guru Bill Reinert tells A…
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High Efficiency Digital Displacement Tranny to Double Mileage. Maybe.
The Scotts invented Free Masonery, Scotch and Golf. They then kicked back, cursed the English and watched their American cousins play with the world. Until n…
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