Tag Archives | hybrid

Subaru To Show XV Crosstrek Hybrid In New York

Next week’s New York International Auto Show will mark a first for Japanese automaker Subaru – it will show the company’s first gasoline-electric hybrid.  Though we don’t know many details yet, the XV Crosstrek Hybrid will use hybrid technology provided by Subaru’s partner Toyota.

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Rental Car Lottery: Fleets Full of Fords

While I haven’t had the chance to devote time to writing for Autosavant lately, I have had the opportunity to spend plenty of time in airplanes, airports, hotels, and rental cars. Sadly, I’ve been covering way more miles lately on commercial airline flights than behind the wheel – the latter of which I would prefer.

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Volkswagen Showcases 261 MPG 2013 XL1 Diesel Hybrid

Volkswagen has lifted the curtain off of the production version of the revolutionary 2013 XL1 diesel hybrid car which promises to bring world class efficiency and fuel savings in a diesel powered wrapper when it makes its official debut at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show in March.

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Review: 2013 Lexus GS 450h

I’ve commented elsewhere on the fact that Japanese cars, even the finest of them, have always suffered from a certain blandness, not to say lack of character, so that you could be driving your Acura, Infiniti, or Lexus along a thoroughfare teeming with car lovers (an unlikely scenario, admittedly) and not a single head would turn, whereas the driver of, say, an aging Jaguar S-Type would draw the gaze of the most jaded. (I know whereof I speak, being that driver.) Face it: Jags have character and Toyotas don’t.

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Review: 2013 Lexus RX 450h FWD

Once upon a time there was a French hatchback, and a very nice hatchback it was. It was called the Renault 16, and it caused a revolution in automotive design and functionality whose reverberations can still be felt. It wasn’t the first hatchback—the Kaiser Traveler and Renault’s own 4L came before—but it was the first mass-market, middle-class hatchback to sell in large numbers: over 1,845,959 R16s were produced during the car’s 15-year lifespan.

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First Drive: 2013 Volkswagen Jetta Hybrid

This week in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Volkswagen officials offered some new details and information about the the brand’s upcoming 2013 Volkswagen Jetta Hybrid.  The car is expected to be a leader in achieving the brand’s goal of efficient motoring alongside the diesel powered TDI model and also serve as the last piece in the Jetta lineup which now offers customers five different versions of Jetta to choose from.

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Review: 2012 Toyota Camry Hybrid XLE

Believe it or not, there are some people in the world who do not care for chocolate.  This never ceases to stun us when we witness it, but our children often choose a starburst mint over a small chocolate bar.  Even as a card-carrying fan of chocolate, when I am presented with a choice between chocolate or vanilla birthday cake, sometimes I’ll choose vanilla.  (Birthday cake is all about the icing, anyway).  For those who lean toward the vanilla side of the spectrum more often than not, your dream car is here:  the 2012 Toyota Camry Hybrid XLE.

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Ford Releases Pricing and Mileage Estimates For 2013 Ford C-MAX Hybrid

Ford has officially unveiled the final pricing and official mileage estimates for the upcoming 2013 Ford C-Max Hybrid MPV which, along with the Focus EV, is the company’s response to Toyota’s successful family of Prius models.

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First Drive: 2013 Lexus ES 350 and ES 300h Hybrid

The Lexus ES, the brand’s popular entry-level luxury sedan since its introduction nearly 23 years ago, is all-new for the 2013 model year, following the introduction of the latest Toyota Camry last year.  Equally as important for the sixth-generation ES is the introduction of a hybrid option for the first time: the ES 300h.  For Lexus, the brand that made the hybrid luxury vehicle a green commodity, some of its recent efforts (see: the recent fate of the HS250h) did not bear copious fruit. Is the market clamoring for an ES hybrid? Lexus recently invited Autosavant to sample both models at a regional event in northern New Jersey. Continue Reading →

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What Improvements Does the Chevrolet Volt Need?

Yesterday, we posted a review of the 2012 Chevrolet Volt, a car that is controversial for a number of reasons, from GM’s bailout, to the huge expectations heaped on the car, to the giant pre-release hype that GM built for it.  I thought it might be interesting to look at what the Volt might need in order to be more successful in the marketplace. Continue Reading →

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