#Hybrid

While the majority of Americans have long since decamped in favor of crossovers and SUVs, there remains a dedicated cadre of buyers committed to the family minivan. For 2024, Chrysler is rewarding them with a smattering of updates to its Pacifica.

Toyota has released the second generation of the C-HR subcompact crossover and looks to have made numerous improvements to the vehicle. But it doesn’t sound like we’ll be seeing it on our market after the original model failed to resonate with North American consumers.

We also have the Toyota Corolla Cross available for purchase, resulting in some troublesome overlap. While still extremely slow in its base configuration, the Cross ended up being significantly quicker than the C-HR and offered improved utility for a little less money. However, with the new generation having addressed some of the discontinued model’s shortcomings, one wonders if the new C-HR would have a better chance were it to be shipped stateside.

Conversation icebreakers and clickbait listicles often start with a similar conceit - a hypothetical question meant to get you thinking and talking. The listicle, of course, answers these questions in a way alternately designed to enrage the reader or to promote whatever crap is being sold by the shady owners of the website that week, but it’s a great method of encouraging conversation.

Come this summer, there will be a new contender in town for the choice of Default Car. Gifted a comfortingly familiar name, standard all-wheel drive, and a price tag south of thirty grand, it is all but assured Toyota will be able to quickly sell every single Corolla Cross Hybrid they can produce.

Just when you thought it was impossible for Hyundai illumination to get any thinner, along comes the new Kona. Unveiled today in Korea, this subcompact crossover will seek to build upon the successes of its predecessor – a model which sold over 90,000 units in America even during the topsy-turvy 2021 calendar year. 

Mazda has confirmed that the upcoming CX-90 three-row SUV will be the first of its U.S. products to utilize a plug-in-hybrid powertrain. Leading up to the formal debut, scheduled for next month, the automaker released a teaser of the crossover's back hatch – showcasing an "e-Skyactiv PHEV" badge with some blue accenting. 

Despite having gone into production in 2009, Nissan’s GT-R remains a blisteringly fast performance car that basically exists to embarrass more expensive automobiles. But it’s also exceptionally old for an automobile and has managed to stay relevant thanks to Nissan issuing meaningful performance upgrades every few years and Nismo releasing track-focused variants of an already very track-friendly GT car.

Attention, future Barrett-Jackson bidders: The final Acura NSX Type S was completed today at the brand’s Performance Manufacturing Center in Ohio. Billed as the last production NSX, the Gotham Gray coupe – number 350 of 350 – was allegedly shilled off to a private collection.

Believe it or not, the Ford Escape has been around for over two decades. It is currently in its fourth generation, with the current suppository-like styling first blighting landscapes in 2019. Now, the Blue Oval has gifted it a midcycle refresh, installing new engines and a face that no longer looks like a rolling tribute to the noble lungfish.

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it – or at least that’s the tack Subaru of America seems to be taking with their popular Crosstrek. Forging ahead for the 2023 model year, the little tall wagon crossover sees a microscopic bump in price and the addition of different paint options. There’s also a new trim level for those of you who play ridiculously detailed games of Car Bingo.

If the Venn Diagram of your friends has an overlap of people who like all-terrain tires and hybrid powertrains (you may need a magnifying glass to find that sliver), then Toyota has a solution. Enter the RAV4 Hybrid Woodland, an all-wheel-drive machine featuring TRD-tuned suspenders and an efficient four-banger hybrid engine.

Those of you with checkered shirts in yer closet and a few pogs still kicking around may recall it was the original Lexus RX from the late ‘90s which arguably kicked off the “tall wagon” car-based luxury crossover craze. Sure, the first Ford Explorer put us all on a path to what we see in suburban driveways today, but it was the RX which placed them in the hands of moneyed types.

Lexus introduced a new RX yesterday near its home base in Texas, expanding the number of powertrains and (finally) dumping the ill-advised three-row model. And, oh yeah – we need to have a conversation about that grille.

Following an abundance of rumor and conjecture (plus a bit of trying to wring the grapevine for news), top brass at General Motors have confirmed an electrified Corvette will prowl the streets and tracks of America as soon as next year. Even more interesting? An all-electric Corvette, based on The General’s new Ultium EV architecture, will also show up in due course.

It will surprise exactly no one that this year’s L.A. Auto Show has been home to several reveals of various and sundry electrified vehicles. Some, like the Kia Sportage Hybrid, are existing rigs with some electrons infused into their body. Others, such as this K9 Concept, are built from the ground up as an all-electric vehicle.

Automakers Toyota and Stellantis separately announced plans to construct lithium-ion battery plants in North America on Monday. With regulatory pressures mounting, the industry has been shifting its eggs between baskets to avoid trouble. But the ultimate goal for most brands is to transition toward selling EVs, requiring meaningful action and financial expenditures on the part of manufacturers.

We’ve already seen General Motors and Ford Motor Co. squabbling over who will nestle the biggest battery facilities between America’s Frost and Sun Belts. It’s only fitting that the remnants of the Chrysler Corporation contained in Stellantis walk the path of electrification, especially now that it’s absolutely riddled with European influence. Meanwhile, Toyota is predictably exercising a bit of caution as it similarly navigates how to modernize itself via upcoming lithium-ion plants.