Toyota officially expanded the Prius family to four models: 2011 Prius – world’s best selling hybrid, 2012 Prius v –midsized wagon with 40 mpg goes on sale Summer 2011, 2012 Prius c Concept – city car hybrid goes on sale by Summer 2012, 2012 Prius Plug-in Hybrid – best mileage of any Prius goes on sale by Summer 2012. My test drive of the Prius Plug-in felt just like driving the best selling Prius.
We finally have great fuel economy in roomy 5-seat crossovers with the new Ford C-MAX Hybrid and the breakthrough C-MAX Energi plug-in hybrid. With its comfortable crossover design and potential lower price, the C-MAX Energi is likely to compete well with plugin hybrids like the Chevrolet Volt. The C-MAX Energi is likely to offer more range than the Toyota Prius Plug-in.
This Lincoln MKZ is delivering the most smooth and silent drive I’ve experienced. In stop-go LA traffic, I quietly move forward only using the two electric motors, with the gasoline engine off. When I accelerate around slow traffic the electric motors and gasoline engine blend power so smoothly that it would happen unnoticed unless you are doing a test drive. The Lincoln MKZ is the premium hybrid car with the best fuel economy on the road. No other luxury or premium car gets the Lincoln MKZ’s 41 highway, 36 city, and 39 mpg combined fuel efficiency.
Toyota plans to introduce 11 hybrids by the end of 2012, consisting of all-new models and redesigned models. A new compact will deliver a jaw-dropping 94 mpg. Lexus offers five premium hybrids including the CT200h with 42 mpg. Toyota demonstrates a big electric future with 600 Prius Plug-ins now on the road, and trials to start for the new all-electric SUV – the Toyota RAV4 EV Powered by Tesla.
When you go shopping for a new car it is useful to see a quick summary of fuel economy, how much you might save in fuel over 5 years, and the price. Now that people are web surfing faster, moving with purpose through auto shows, and scanning car lots with speed, the EPA is proposing adding grades “A” to “D” on window stickers. Pure battery-electric cars would get an “A+.” In my day, I had to work for every “A,” there were no incompletes, and I had to walk 5 miles daily to school in the snow. The idea of no “F” means that no gas guzzler will be left behind.
March 2009 I asked myself: Why Toyota and Honda dislike lithium? My short answer to that question was: Because it was in their interest. Both created the conditions for a very profitable niche market, the hybrid electric vehicle market. So they had much to gain from delaying the arrival of the real electric car revolution since this would help them make more profits out of a rather obsolete but still commercially viable battery technology until the new emerging battery technology is finally introduced into the market.
Honda expands on all fronts with Hybrids, Plug-in Hybrids, and Electric Car. In 2011 Honda will introduce a new Civic Hybrid using a new lithium-ion battery from Blue Energy, a joint venture company between GS Yuasa and Honda. The Honda Fit Hybrid will be introduced. New battery-electric car and plug-in starts U.S. trails this year with fleets such as Google and Stanford University.
The new Lincoln MKZ Hybrid will be the first luxury hybrid to beat 40 miles per gallon in city driving, topping the current luxury hybrid leader from Lexus. Last week I wrote about my test drive of the Lexus HS 250h which achieves 35 mpg city. The 2011 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid uses Ford’s second-generation hybrid technology – the 2.5-liter Atkinson-cycle I-4 hybrid engine, named one of Ward’s 2010 “10 Best Engines” and electric battery-driven motors to deliver optimal performance and fuel economy. The combined gasoline engine and electric motor provide 191 net horsepower.
Since Toyota and Lexus have been getting some bad press for acceleration and braking problems, I had to discover the truth. I put on my helmut and accelerated the Lexus HS 250h on to the track at the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. The Lexus hybrid has four modes – Eco, Normal, EV, and Power. If you are into Eco or if you’re Normal, don’t get on a racetrack with thirty other auto journalists loaded with caffeine and pumped with adrenaline. Being not quite normal, I touched the Power button.
By John Addison (updated 3/31/10; original 3/26/10) Summary Luxury car buyers now longer need to sacrifice mileage. The Lexus HS250h gives you the image of … Read more