by Zack McDonald HybridCars.com Toyota has upgraded its expectations for the 2012 Prius Plug-in’s official fuel economy rating, ahead of the vehicle’s March 2012 launch. According to Toyota Division Group vice-president, Bob Carter, the 2012 Prius Plug-in returns 95 miles-per-gallon-equivalent (MPGe) in electric-only mode, and 50 mpg in hybrid mode. That’s a decent bump over [...]
By Brad Berman Hybridcars.com The grueling 2012 Dakar Rally crossed 5,500 miles of rough terrain through the harshest conditions of South America. It’s hell on machines and drivers. The terrain is torturous and can strand even the most capable of vehicles. Since its inception in 1978, the Dakar Rally, which has taken place in Europe, [...]
by: Zach McDonald Hybridcars.com Toyota’s chief executive in the United States confirmed last week that electric versions of the Scion iQ and the Toyota RAV4 will enter the production cycle in 2012. The two electric vehicles have been promised for a couple of years, so hitting the delivery dates on time is good news. The [...]
By Laurent J. Masson PluginCars.com To some onlookers, the Volkswagen E-Bugster concept unveiled at the North American International Auto Show was a disappointment. As we say in French, this E-Bugster is déjà vu. We’ve seen it before. Really. Seven years ago, exactly at the same place, Volkswagen unveiled the Ragster concept, which looked pretty much [...]
By HybridCars.com The year 2011 was a landmark year for EVs. We witnessed regional launches of the Nissan LEAF and the Chevy Volt. These two plug-in cars were the start of a new era for electrified personal transportation. The current American car auto fleet, however, is enormous—and two models alone cannot create change on a [...]
By Jim Motavalli HybridCars.com Inductive EV charging—look, ma, no wires!—is gaining momentum, with Daimler testing concepts for the new battery version of the B-Class Mercedes and Nissan actively contemplating making it an option on the 2014 LEAF. Wireless charging leader Evatran will sell wireless kits for the LEAF and Chevy Volt next year, and it’s [...]
by Zack McDonald – HybridCars.com At last year’s Detroit Motor Show, Toyota vice president for U.S. sales, Bob Carter, offered a bold prediction for the direction his company plans to take in the United States over the next decade―and for the country’s vehicle market in general. “We will end the decade with Prius being the [...]
By Alysha Webb Volkswagen will use the same battery module design for all its electric vehicles globally across all its brands according to Dr. Tobias Giebel, head of the Volkswagen Research Lab in Shanghai. Those battery modules and the battery cells in them are likely to be sourced from China, he said. “You have to [...]
Zack McDonald from HybridCars.com contacted us and asked if he could be a guest blogger for LAcarGUY, we were happy to oblige! Remember the Volkswagen L1 that debuted at the Frankfurt Motor Show back in 2009? If not, here’s a brief refresher: The carbon-fiber bodied L1 concept was powered by a 0.8-liter two-cylinder diesel engine [...]
