prius

The Toyota Prius has nabbed the top spot once again on the U.S. government's guide to fuel efficient cars.

Earning a rating of 51 miles per gallon for city driving and 48 mpg on the highway, the 2011 Toyota Prius was named the most fuel efficient vehicle by the Fuel Economy Guide 2011, which is produced jointly by the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Agency.

The Ford Fusion Hybrid, the Mercury Milan Hybrid, and the Lincoln MKZ Hybrid tied for second place with all of them getting a fuel efficiency rating of 41 city mpg and 36 … Read more

Someone at the Conversions and Accessories group at Toyota Motor in Japan must have spent way too long staring into the maw of the Lamborghini Reventon, because the C&A Prius concept debuted at the 2010 SEMA Show looks like the twisted offspring of the supercar and Toyota's powder blue hybrid sedan.

Built to minimize weight and aerodynamic drag, the better to maximize efficiency, the C&A Prius features a carbon fiber hood, rear hatch, side skirts, rear bumper, front fender flares, and rear spoiler. Speaking of the spoiler, this one is a low drag-style rear faring, … Read more

Not so long after hearing of Toyota's plans to expand its hybrid offerings, we find a Toyota billboard teasing a new member of what will be its expanded line of hybrid vehicles. Displayed at a 10th-anniversary gathering of the Toyota Prius, this ad shows a new larger member of what will become a Prius subbrand.

Dubbed the Prius MPV by the denizens of the Internet, this new model will be both slightly longer and slightly taller than the standard Prius--expect a sort of tiny minivan à la Mazda Mazda5. Its roofline drops off much less aggressively, presumably to create … Read more

Japan's three largest automakers are making a push to extend their alternative-fuel power train offerings in the next two years.

Toyota Motor will bring two electric and six hybrid-electric models to market in the next 24 months, including a plug-in Toyota Prius. Lexus will move into entry-luxury with the CT 200h hybrid hatchback in 2011.

Nissan Motor will launch the all-electric Nissan Leaf sedan in five markets in December. Infiniti will introduce the M35h hybrid next spring and an all-electric four-seater in late 2012 or early 2013.

Honda Motor engineers are working on a hybrid platform for such large … Read more

You know how the accusation begins: "You're just the sort of person who..."

This is followed by a judgment that you're just sort of person who, for example, buys a Corvette, the inference being that it's because you're balding, divorced, and have a regular Cialis prescription.

Two scientists got together to decide whether there really are "sorts of people" who choose to buy, say, hybrid cars.

Perhaps you might agree that the sorts of people who buy such lumbering golf carts are sanctimonious, guilty, and desperate to emulate Leonardo DiCaprio. However, Itamar … Read more

Most consumers want a car that's quiet on the road. But Toyota's Prius is too quiet at times, and a new, optional speaker system will help give the car some of the noise it's lacking.

According to the Associated Press, Toyota will start selling a $148 speaker system in Japan on August 30 that will play sounds under the hood to help it achieve the "same noise level as a regular car engine."

For now, Toyota will only be selling the speaker system in Japan, and the purchase is voluntary. But a Toyota rep told … Read more

Early findings by the U.S. Department of Transportation indicate that drivers were to blame in some sudden-acceleration accidents, according to a Wall Street Journal report citing people familiar with the results.

Preliminary results show some cases of driver error, the Journal reported Wednesday. "The early results suggest that some drivers who said their Toyotas and Lexuses surged out of control were mistakenly flooring the accelerator when they intended to jam on the brakes," the Journal said.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has yet to release the findings and it declined to comment about them, the Journal … Read more

TOYOTA CITY, Japan--Toyota plans to introduce three new-to-market green vehicles in 2012, a company source says.

An electric vehicle, a plug-in version of the Prius hybrid and an as-yet-unveiled variant of the Prius will arrive in U.S. dealerships in the first half of 2012, said the source, who spoke last week on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the plans.

The second Prius vehicle will begin the creation of an ongoing family of vehicles that will carry Prius badging but will not be a separate brand. The electric vehicle probably will be … Read more

In Monday's video, we got to check out the 2010 Lexus HS250h, which is a fine representative of the current hybrid vehicles that this luxury brand has to offer. A few weeks back, Lexus presented a new car to add to its hybrid legacy at the 2010 New York Auto Show--the CT200h--and this video has got the scoop on the next generation of Lexus hybrids.

In this clip, Consumer Reports reviews the production-ready version of the CT200h that was initially unveiled at the 2010 Geneva Auto Show and will only be sold as a hybrid vehicle much like the … Read more