September 3rd, 2010 | Tags:
Experts claim that summer deals are almost over and might never return? Is Labor Day your last chance for your best deal on a hybrid car?

No more deals after Labor Day?

No more deals after summer?
“This may be as good as it gets, and get used to it,” Jeff Schuster, the executive director of forecasting for J.D. Power and Associates, recently told the AP about summer car deals.
In the past automakers have used August to unload excess inventories in preparation for [...]

September 3rd, 2010 | Tags: ,

Quantum Baixa

September 3rd, 2010 | Tags:
The Lexus CT 200h will enable drives to shift through various modes of fuel economy. Is this the future of hybrid cars?

Shifting into fuel economy

Hybrid fuel economy or hybrid performance?
When the Lexus CT 200h hybrid hits dealers it will offer 4 different driving modes – Normal, Eco, Sport and EV – that will provide a nice element of control that might be demanded from Lexus drivers.
While control is a nice option, is a focus on fuel [...]

September 3rd, 2010 | Tags:
The Ford Fusion hybrid and the Toyota Prius hybrid are hated by mechanics because they don

Too reliable for a mechanic to make a living.

Reliable hybrid cars
Click and Clack the Tappet Brothers have picked the ten cars they hate the most for being too reliable. “Yes, the cars we hate most, as mechanics,” claim the brothers, “are the cars that provide us with the fewest repair dollars.”
The list is mostly Japanese [...]

September 2nd, 2010 | Tags:
Another study claims that too much focus is being place on hydrogen and plug-in vehicles when it would be easier and more cost-effective to use today

GM's 'revolutionary' HCCI engine

Embracing efficient and cost-effective change
A new study claims that by 2035 US light duty fleet fuel economy could be tripled to 74 mpg without plug-in or hydrogen technology, at a much cheaper cost than achieving the same goal through plug-in or or hydrogen technologies.
So, have plug-ins become an excuse – dare I [...]

September 2nd, 2010 | Tags:
What

Good for just 70 mpg?

An extra 20 mpg
What’s it like to drive a Toyota Prius plug-in hybrid? What kind of fuel economy does it achieve? What’s the EV range? Time to charge, etc?
MotorTrend answers those questions today in a great article on the plug-in Prius and, well, the plug-in Prius drives pretty much like a [...]

September 1st, 2010 | Tags:
Rare earth metals and rare earth oxide shortage could become a crisis.

US dependent upon on China for 17 critical rare earths

Can rare earth activities in US catch up in time?
For a few years now worries about a rare earth metal shortage have been growing. Several times this topic has been covered on this blog regarding rare earths and hybrid cars, most recently in:  Just how important [...]

September 1st, 2010 | Tags:
American trucks posted gains in August despite sales declines

Except the hybrid versions.

As red, white and blue as it gets
Essentially, every foreign brand saw their sales get hammered in August, and while US automakers also experienced declining sales, sales of pickup trucks continue to post gains.
Without big gas guzzling pickup trucks, the Big 3 would be seeing a lot of red.
Cars.com has put together [...]

September 1st, 2010 | Tags:
Sales of Toyota hybrid cars dropped from July to August despite great summer deals.

Camry hybrid just can't compete

Camry sales, but not the hybrid, lead way
Sales of Toyota hybrid cars dropped from 17,504 hybrids in July to 15,444 hybrids in August, as the Toyota Prius dropped from 14,102 sales in July, to 11,799 sales in August.
Despite some of the best lease deals ever on the Toyota Prius, hybrid sales [...]

September 1st, 2010 | Tags:
In hot markets the Nissan Leaf could experience dealer markups atop of MSRP

Will demand outstrip supply?

Final pricing rests with the dealer
Nissan has been taking reservations on the Nissan Leaf for a while now, but the automaker is just about ready to turn those reservations into orders according to Straightline.
However, final pricing needs to be negotiated with the dealer. Thus, are dealer markups a possibility?
A few weeks ago [...]

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