Even in times as financially bleak as these, Ford seems to be moving from strength to strength, at least on the product front. They are able to stand on their own, financially speaking, and have not been propped up by the government, as has GM and Chrysler. The cars they have been turning out have been getting good review and very positive feedback from consumers. And now it’s looking like Ford hybrids are going to own a serious chunk of the green market.
The Lexus LF-Ch Compact Hybrid is an odd little car. Or, to be more exact, it’s odd that Toyota would badge a car like this as a Lexus. The hybrid part makes sense, but making a small hatchback as a Lexus, even if Toyota is calling it a “Premium Compact”, seems to run counter to what Lexus has been marketed as up to this point. The fact that Toyota will be showing the Lexus LF-Ch Compact Hybrid at the 2009 Los Angeles Auto Show this coming December points out that the company is pretty seriously considering offering the car in North America.
A Lexus LF-Ch Premium Compact Hybrid … will Americans go for that?
It looks like Mercedes Benz is really going ahead with its plans to have hybrids and eco-friendly cars across its entire product range. And here’s a prime example of that: the Mercedes S500 Vision Plug-in Hybrid. Yup, that would be a top of the line S-Class that’s not just a hybrid, but a plug in hybrid at that. Rolled out at this years Frankfurt Auto Show, the S500 Vision Plug-in Hybrid aims to let you have the green-cred of a hybrid, along with all the luxury of a Mercedes S-Class.
Have you ever seen the South Park episode “Smug Alert,” in which the whole town of South Park buys hybrid cars? Despite the car’s zero emissions, the hybrid owners are so smug about their cars, they end up spewing out tons of emissions in the form of “self-satisfied garbage” which rivals that of San Francisco. This seems to be the general consensus of non-hybrid owners. Hybrid owners are cocky, smug, and slow drivers that think they’re better than everyone else on the road - I’ve heard it a hundred times.
Here’s the thing - in the past, there’s always been some truth to that. The original Honda Insight and Toyota Prius were too small, too unlike “regular cars,” had little versatility, and didn’t get fuel economy that was any better than driving a small diesel-powered car economically. Celebrities and many others bought the car for the trendy green image, so it looked like they cared about the environment, and this is where the smug-factor began.
As Toyota and Honda are making their hybrids better, however, this image may start to dissipate. Why you ask? Because as the hybrids get better, they become more like your regular cars. Other than the overall lack of power, there is no longer a sacrifice to buying a hybrid - they will have just as much room (or more) than their gasoline-only counterparts, the transition between electric and gas engine becomes less noticeable, and their everyday drivability will rival that of a gas-powered car. In short, they’re becoming more like the cars that we’re accustomed to, and less about the image. Does the all-new 2010 Toyota Prius accomplish this? Toyota worked hard on making the new Prius better in every way. We drive the new Prius for a week to find out. Continue Reading…
Dear God, is GM serious? 230 MPG for the upcoming Volt in city mileage? Yes, I know, figuring out the miles per “gallon” for a hybrid, especially in the hotly debated “city cycle” portion of its operating realm is tricky. And it’s even trickier for the Volt, due to the drivetrain layout, but … shoot, even if GM is half right about this, the equivalent of 115 around town will be impressive enough … but 230? Talk about throwing down the gauntlet.
Mercedes, logically, slowly and methodically, is getting into the green game more and more. Check out the latest example, the S-Class S 400 Hybrid. The boys from Stuttgart aren’t doing things half way, they’re not trying things out on lower range models, and then moving things up the corporate food chain. Nope, Mercedes is starting right at the top, with the S-Class.
