Hybrids are becoming hot rods – well, some hybrids. Luxury hybrids. They kind of have to, when you stop to think about it. After all, what person with say $40k to spend on a car wants to spend that on a slow car? Being “green” only goes so far . . . after a...
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The Toyota Prius hybrid gets all the press – and a lot of the dealer mark-up, too. You might check out the new Camry hybrid to get something very similar – and nicer, in a number of ways – for about the same money. Probably less, actually – since you should be able to...
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Hybrid math is hard to calculate because the variables are still in flux and very subjective. Consider the 2012 Kia Optima hybrid. The base price of this car is $25,700 vs. $19,500 for the base non-hybrid Optima. That’s a difference of $6,200 – a very large difference, up front. But the hybrid Optima gets...
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Hybrids are getting interesting. How about this 2012 M35 hybrid? Infiniti says it’s got V-8 muscle and delivers four-cylinder fuel economy. Well, the first part is true blue. This thing hauls tail. Zero to 60 in about 5 seconds. Long legs on top. And the second part? Well, V-6 economy at least. (40 MPG...
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Kia is not fooling around. Korea’s other automaker has a surprise on deck for 2012 that should make econo-compact buyers smile – and will definitely make competitors sweat. Two surprises, actually… . WHAT IT IS The Forte is Kia’s entry-level compact car. It’s available in regular sedan, hatchback sedan and coupe (which Kia spells...
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Here’s the thing: Everyone makes good cars now, so “reliability” and “safety” aren’t the selling points they used to be. They’re givens. That puts the name-brand Japanese brands – Honda and Toyota – in a new and much tougher environment. And it has given a leg up to ambitious Korean brands like Kia, which...
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Now hybrids are too quiet, apparently. It’s not enough that they’re too expensive, too taxpayer subsidized – and usually, too slow. Now Congress is complaining that they’re too quiet. The blind are at risk, you see. They may not be able to hear the subtly silent hybrid car until they’re road pizza. So Congress...
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Will plug-in hybrids save us from $3 per gallon fill-ups – or at least, ease the pain a little? The hype about these vehicles – which differ from the current crop of gas-electric hybrids in that they can run on pure battery power for longer and, when their batteries run down, can draw power...
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Last year, Honda brought out the Insight hybrid to compete against the well-established, best-selling Toyota Prius hybrid. The 40-43 MPG Insight didn’t quite match the 50-plus MPG fuel efficiency of the Prius, but it was priced much more aggressively: $19,800 for the 2010 Insight vs. $22,000 for the 2010 Prius. That put $2,200 back...
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American car companies lost market share in the ’70s and ’80s to a great extent because they lost consumer confidence. Hit or miss quality control – an endless conga line of embarrassing recalls. Buyers came to believe that American cars were second-rate. It’s happening all over again – only this time, it’s the Japanese...
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