hybrids

GM set to make changes to the Volt in response to fires, Nissan moves ahead on wireless charging for EVs, so long Aptera, many young Americans prefer the Internet to a car, and we drive the new Camry with Entune.

You may or may not be a hybrid fan today, but by 2040 there's a one in two chance you'll be driving one.

ExxonMobil released its annual Outlook, which takes a look at the future of global energy demands and consumption, and forecasts that the global number of personal vehicles on the road will nearly double over the next few decades to to 1.6 billion cars. But to keep fuel demand and consumption in check, half of them will be hybrids.

Government fuel economy standards are the driving force that will make hybrids mainstream. Manufacturers are responding … Read more

In classic Japanese style, Honda calls its new drivetrain effort Earth Dreams Technology.

Once upon a time, Honda engineers came up with VTEC, a valve control system that made its engines the most advanced in the industry. But that was years ago, and other companies, notably BMW, have pushed the envelope with new valve control, direct-injection, and turbocharging technologies. With each model update it releases, I've been waiting for a similar advance from Honda.

The wait appears to be, mostly, over, as Honda announced a new set of engines, transmissions, hybrid system, and electric drive at the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show. Giving these new drive components the overall moniker of Earth Dreams Technology emphasizes the goal of greater efficiency and Honda's effort to reduce its vehicle's CO2 emissions 30 percent by 2020.… Read more

The Chevrolet Volt may be facing a lot of heat in the press due to the recent NHTSA investigation, but current owners have nothing but good things to say about their plug-in hybrids.

Consumer Reports says that the Chevrolet Volt scored the highest rating in their annual owner satisfaction survey, with 93 percent of buyers saying they would purchase the vehicle again. The four-seater plug-in hybrid with a 40-mile electric range edged out the Dodge Challenger and Porsche 911 to take the top spot on the list. Both sports cars boast a consumer satisfaction score of 91.

However, the product … Read more

If you've been contemplating getting an SSD for your laptop but can't justify the cost, the new 750GB Momentus XT hybrid drive is the answer.

Released just a few days ago, the second-generation hybrid drive from Seagate offers more storage space than the previous model, and its performance is even closer to that of an SSD. … Read more

IBM and Micron Technology are beginning to produce a new memory chip based on technology designed to boost memory speeds 15-fold.

The technology, the companies announced today, will be used to make a Hybrid Memory Cube chip that will be commercially manufactured by Micron, the largest manufacturer of memory chips in the United States and one of the largest in the world. IBM plans to manufacture and supply the "controller" silicon that will be used in the memory as well as in the 3D-chip technology.

The joint efforts are designed to result in memory chips that realize the … Read more

Seagate today announced that it's now shipping the second generation of its popular hybrid drive, the Momentus XT.

The new drive is the upgrade to the original Momentus XT, the first and only mass-produced hybrid drive on the market, which was released more than a year ago and has been widely adopted by OEM system builders.

Similar to the first generation, the new Momentus XT combines both traditional platter-based hard drive and solid-state storage. The new drive, however, now offers up to 750GB of storage space (as opposed to 500GB of the previous version), which includes twice the amount … Read more

Forty miles per gallon is the new 30mpg, and hybrids no longer get a pass just because they have batteries.

The Civic Hybrid is up against the Prius, which is enough to make any hybrid look bad. But Honda takes a different, less intense approach to hybrid cars that offers an alternative that's more than a direct competitor to Toyota. Brian Cooley takes you for a drive to check the tech.

Also, check out CNET's full review of the 2012 Honda Civic Hybrid.

The Prius family is about to get bigger and smaller at the same time.

Toyota continues its diversification of the Prius line of hybrid vehicles (which currently comprises the Prius v, the Prius Plug-in, and, of course, the standard Prius) with a new downsized model that the automaker thinks will be great for the tight-quarters driving of major metropolitan areas and as an entry point for young drivers interested in hybridization. We've known that this was coming--we've already seen the concept. Now, however, we finally know what the production model of the Prius c will look like when … Read more