Plug-In Hybrids
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Fisker has announced today that its Karma plug-in hybrid luxury sedan will be on display at next week’s 2010 Los Angeles Auto Show and in doing so has made a not so subtle jab at GM by describing its car as the “first and only true electric vehicle with extended range”. You may recall that GM received a ton of flak for revealing that the electric motor in its upcoming Chevrolet Volt also momentarily drives the wheels when it’s more efficient to do so. The Fisker Karma on display will be the same one that we saw back at the 2010 Paris Motor Show in late September. It is...
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Video: First Working Prototype Of BMW’s New Plug-In Hybrid Sports Car
Despite BMW not having built a true supercar for 30 years since its original, limited-edition M1 model, we have reported on a number of occasions that the automaker is trying to reinvent its performance image with a new 'green' sports car combining the best elements of two very important concept...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Build Your Own Fisker Karma With New Online Configurator
Fisker has launched a dedicated website for its new Karma plug-in hybrid luxury sedan that includes a number of interesting features to keep potential customers and the curious interested in the car until its arrival in showrooms early next year. The site showcases the design and engineering...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2010 Paris Auto Show Preview: First Factory-Built Fisker Karma
California’s Fisker Automotive has already unveiled the production version of its Karma plug-in hybrid but at the 2010 Paris Auto Show this month the niche automaker will debut the first factory-built version. This is an important milestone for Fisker and it’s also a sign that the car...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2010 Beijing Auto Show: Chevrolet Volt MPV5 Concept
From the earliest days of development of the Voltec plug-in hybrid system underpinning the upcoming 2011 Chevrolet Volt, GM has been insistent that the fuel saving drivetrain would appear in other vehicles including sedans and MPVs. One of the first segments GM hinted at as a possibility for the...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Cadillac Converj Well And Truly Dead
One of the most exciting cars from last 2009’s Detroit Auto Show was the Cadillac Converj Concept, which General Motors used to showcase its plug-in hybrid technology in a luxury platform. Despite the concept featuring one of the most striking designs we’ve seen in a while, GM’s...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
When General Motors shut down Saturn late last year, it lost more than a quarter of its sales of hybrid vehicles. Saturn, with no V-8 models, full-size SUVs or pickups, was GM’s most fuel-efficient brand and was second only to Chevrolet for overall hybrid sales with its Vue and Aura mild-hybrid models. Saturn also planned to launch a new Two-Mode hybrid version of the Vue last year, as well as an advanced plug-in hybrid version, but all those plans went south with the demise of the brand. While there were fears that the technology behind the vehicles would also dissipate, GM exec Tom...
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Mercedes-Benz Set For Electric Future, Doubles R&D Spending
Mercedes-Benz is keeping its bets open on what will be the dominant powertrain of the future by simultaneously developing competing technologies as the electrification of the car gets more widespread. Its latest F800 Style concept car that starred at last week’s 2010 Geneva Motor Show is the...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2010 Geneva Motor Show: Hyundai i-flow Concept
The Hyundai i-flow concept is a preview of the company's new D-segment car.
Nelson Ireson -
2010 Geneva Motor Show: Lotus Evora 414E Hybrid Concept
Despite being one of the most performance-oriented auto brands in the business, Lotus also happens to be a leader when it comes to fuel-saving hybrid technology. Having already established a hybrid and electric vehicle group years ago, as well as building several concept and engineering mules for...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Fisker Karma’s Advanced Aluminum Spaceframe Revealed In Geneva
Originally slated to go on sale last November, the all-new Fisker Karma plug-in hybrid luxury sedan will now go on sale in the third quarter of this year and in the lead up to its launch we will get our innermost look at the car yet. Making its reveal at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show this week is...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2010 Geneva Motor Show Preview: Opel Ampera Prototypes Start Testing
The first prototype of the upcoming Opel Ampera--Europe's version of the Chevrolet Volt--today received its initial charge of electricity from a newly installed recharging station at Opel’s headquarters in Rüsselsheim, Germany. The event is part of the lead-up to next week’s 2010...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Mercedes-Benz is in a process of reinventing its design language, going from the sharp edged and relatively boxy designs at present to a much more fluid form for its next-generation of cars. Last month Mercedes-Benz design chief Gordon Wagener revealed that the automaker was keen to raise the design credentials of its cars and to emphasize the point a "pure design concept” was unveiled in Detroit to preview the new look. Now, just weeks out from the 2010 Geneva Motor Show, Mercedes-Benz has gone a step further and unveiled a brand new concept car called the F800 Style. Showcasing the...
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2010 Chicago Auto Show Preview: Kia Ray Plug-In Hybrid Concept
With a stable full of fresh new production cars, Kia is planning a new design concept for the 2010 Chicago Auto Show, which kicks off next week. The Kia Ray plug-in hybrid concept offers a preview of how Kia will package its developing plug-in hybrid technology, and this second teaser gives us a...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Driven: 2011 Chevrolet Volt
Fans of the 2011 Chevrolet Volt have followed its development closely, and now that the car is in its final year of development the first near-complete prototypes are doing the rounds and we managed to get some seat time--one whole hour in fact--behind the wheel of one. Most readers will already...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2010 Detroit Auto Show: 2012 Cadillac XTS Plugs Into A Hybrid Future
Despite some models costing upwards of $100,000, the luxury flagship sedan segment is one of the most hotly contested in the industry and is currently dominated by five main players: the Lexus LS, BMW 7-Series, Jaguar XJ, Audi A8 and Mercedes-Benz S-Class. We’ll soon be able to add a sixth...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Cougarwatch: Susan Sarandon Hooks Up With Auto Entrepreneur's Son
Full disclosure: we love Susan Sarandon. Without her, Rocky Horror would've been short an ingenue, and The Hunger would've been missing its key behavioral scientist/vampire lesbian. And of course, how could anyone forget The Banger Sisters? Which, curiously, leads directly into the most recent news...
Richard Read -
BMW Goes Green At 2009 Los Angeles Auto Show
The 2009 Los Angeles Auto Show will be the site of three North American vehicle debuts for BMW.
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Aptera claims that it already has 4,000 deposits for the 2e.
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Fisker Picks Delaware Plant For New Hybrid Vehicle Production
Fisker’s next model, due in 2012, will be a $39,000 plug-in hybrid mid-size sedan.
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Report: Mitsubishi Lancer Evo XI May Get Plug-in Hybrid Tech
Due to financial constraints, development on the next-generation Evo has been stalled so any launch of a plug-in hybrid Evo is still years away.
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Volvo Will Bring Diesels And Plug-in Hybrids To U.S.
Volvo’s first plug-in hybrid vehicle will go on sale in Europe by 2012.
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Mitsubishi Presents Concept PX-MiEV Plug-in Hybrid
The 2009 Mitsubishi Concept PX-MiEV plug-in hybrid promises a fuel economy of 117.6 mpg.
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
First Look At Jaguar XJ 'Limo-Green' Plug-In Hybrid Concept
The Jaguar XJ Limo-Green has a claimed fuel economy for the combined cycle of 47 mpg.
Viknesh Vijayenthiran