Plug-in


Toyota officially launches plug-in Prius program, retail sales in 2011

In Japan today, Toyota officially launched its Prius Plug-in Hybrid (PHEV) lease program. Over the next six months, Toyota will be building and deploying 600 examples of the plug-in Prius for testing primarilly in Japan, United States and Europe. The Japanese market will get 230 units, with 150 coming to the States and 200 going to Europe. The cars will be leased to government, commercial, and university fleets for field testing that help to gather more data on how PHEVs are used in the real world. To accommodate plug-in charging the ... Read more →

LA 2009: Toyota debuts its plug-in Prius for North America Frank Filipponio

Toyota rather unceremoniously parked their plug-in Prius hybrid prototype at its North American market debut during the LA Auto Show, while their new Sienna minivan got a royal welcome at its ...

Buick Regal likely to be launch platform for next GM hybrid system Sam Abuelsamid

Last night, General Motors publicly unveiled the 2011 Buick Regal that goes on sale in North America in the first half of next year. The Regal will be Buick's new mid-sized sedan entry and is ...

GM's Lauckner wishes for bigger incentives to get drivers out of gas-powered vehicles Sam Abuelsamid

At this point, it's no secret that the Chevy Volt and other plug-in vehicles are not going to come cheap. About the least pricey full-speed electric vehicle may very well be the Nissan Leaf, which ...

Frankfurt Preview: More on Toyota's new lithium-ion Plug-in Prius Sam Abuelsamid

Toyota's new generation plug-in hybrid Prius will be shown for the first time next week at the Frankfurt Motor Show, and now we've got some new images and details. As expected, the PHEV Prius will ...

BREAKING: GM cancels Buick crossover before birth, will add PHEV drivetrain to another vehicle 3 months ago on Autoblog

Surprising news comes by way of General Motors today as the automaker has already canceled its recently announced Buick crossover, which in reality was little more than an ex-Saturn Vue emblazoned with Buick's trademark chrome waterfall grille. And therein lies the rub. As confirmed to Autoblog ...

REPORT: Hyundai planning Blue-Will based sporty plug-in hybrid by 2012 5 months ago on Autoblog

Hyundai's first-ever hybrid automobile for the U.S. market will be based on the redesigned 2011 Sonata midsize sedan, but it certainly isn't the only fuel-saver the Korean automaker has in store. According to Automotive News, Yang Woong-chul, president of R&D for Hyundai-Kia Motors, has ...

REPORT: 115 Plug-in Toyota Prius test cars fail to crack 50 mpg average in year-long test 6 months ago on Autoblog

When Consumer Reports tested out the Hymotion L5 plug-in Toyota Prius conversion earlier this year, they weren't overwhelmed with the results. Sure, the mileage they observed was boosted to about 67 mpg over the first 35 miles of the drive, but that didn't match the claims of 100 mpg (or more) that ...

GM lobbies for electric car plug standardization 7 months ago on Autoblog

Anyone with a cell phone, laptop or just about any other electronic device knows that battery chargers seldom work among different models – even when they are from the same brand.The SAE J1772™ Task Force is working to ensure that a similar scenario doesn't play out for electric cars. ...

Early Chevy Volt mule drives reveal surprisingly good stuff in Cruze bodies [w/VIDEO] 8 months ago on Autoblog

General Motors has begun doling out test drives of its Chevrolet Volt prototypes to the salivating media. AutoblogGreen is scheduled for some time behind the wheel in short order, but some bigger names have already written up their first impressions of the car. CNN's short version: Promising, ...

Good Karma: Fisker investors reportedly bring in $85 million in capital 8 months ago on Autoblog

Hybrid propulsion or not, wunder-designer Henrik Fisker couldn't have picked a worse time be to starting a new car company...especially in the United States. Fisker has been adamant that his company will get off the ground and begin production of its much-hyped Karma electric sedan and S ...

REPORT: Hyundai to offer plug-in hybrid in U.S. for 2012 8 months ago on Autoblog

Hyundai reportedly plans to put a plug-in hybrid into production for the U.S. by late 2012 that will be based on the oddly-styled BLUE-WILL concept that's currently being shown off at the Seoul Motor Show. We're not sure if features like the rooftop solar panels and headlamp bezels made from ...

Fisker Automotive signs up 32 dealers in 17 states 8 months ago on Autoblog

Running television ads. Taking orders. And now, setting up a network of dealerships. Fisker Automotive is starting to act like a real car company. The company announced today that it has signed up its first group of 32 retailers. These outlets will be located in 17 states – Alabama, ...

GM rebuts Carnegie Mellon Chevrolet Volt slight 9 months ago on Autoblog

Time to get out the popcorn and sit back for a good argument. Remember Carnegie Mellon's recent study on the merits of plug-in hybrids like the Chevy Volt? According to the University, a PHEV with a 3kWh battery pack would provide the best compromise between price, performance and environmental ...

Carnegie Mellon study says Chevy Volt may not be such a hot value 9 months ago on Autoblog

A new study by Carnegie Mellon University has found that the cost to create an automotive battery pack capable of providing a range of 40 miles per charge is prohibitively expensive. Coincidentally (or not), that's exactly the range that General Motors is aiming for with its upcoming Chevy Volt ...

Mitsubishi focuses development on 'green' cars, plug-in hybrid coming in 2013 10 months ago on Autoblog

When the average enthusiast thinks of Mitsubishi, the first thing that jumps to mind is likely the Evolution, but the Japanese automaker's bread is buttered by the sales of large SUVs. This means that profits are pretty tough to come by these days as anything that guzzles gas has rapidly seen ...

Toyota Prius plug-in tops 65 mpg 10 months ago on Autoblog

Toyota says that plug-in hybrid versions of its Prius hatchback are averaging 65 miles per gallon in real-world testing. For those keeping track, that's a 15 mpg improvement over the upcoming 2010 Prius. As with today's hybrids, the actual mileage figure is highly dependent on the driver's right ...

Detroit 2009: Production Fisker Karma debuts for 2010 [w/VIDEO] 11 months ago on Autoblog

It's been a scant 12 months since Henrik Fisker debuted the curvaceous Karma concept that bears his name, and today the former PAG design star returned to Detroit with a very similar looking production model and a business plan. It's been a busy year for the upstart luxury manufacturer, and in ...

Report: BYD plans two more electric cars in 2009 11 months ago on Autoblog

BYD, which stands for Build Your Dreams, is a Chinese company with huge ambition to become the world's largest automaker. If there's any chance of making that monumental task a reality, the company will need some amazing products, a stage to present them to the world and a little luck. At least one ...

Fisker offers up front view of production Karma PHEV 1 year ago on Autoblog

Fisker has just sent us a few more shots of the production-ready Karma plug-in so that we can get a better look at the car's newly revised face. The front intake has been mildly revised in order to let the GM-sourced 260-horsepower Ecotec engine breath a bit more fresh air. It's a subtle ...

Toyota launches plug-in Prius hybrid in UK 1 year ago on Autoblog

Toyota has been testing plug-in versions of its Prius hybrid sedan on public roads in Japan for quite some time and the models have made it Stateside for testing, as well. Now Toyota has begun testing its PHEV in the U.K. Along with EDF Energy, the Japanese automotive giant and undisputed ...

Toyota throws hat into all-electric ring 1 year ago on Autoblog

Toyota is the undisputed leader in the hybrid space, and the Japanese automaker is looking to expand its kingdom by adding an all-electric vehicle to the mix. While there are few details available, Toyota has said the EV would likely be an urban city-type vehicle that will be available in the ...

Rumormill: Fisker planning four hybrid models 1 year ago on Autoblog

Click above for high-res gallery of the Fisker Karma Fisker Automotive is going to have its work cut out for it when it comes to meeting its self-imposed deadline of bring the Karma sedan to market by the fourth-quarter of 2009. To complicate matters even further, the automaker is now rumored to be ...

GM tells the Feds that the Volt and plug-ins aren't going to help with CAFE 1 year ago on Autoblog

With the Feds eager to keep raising the bar on CAFE standards, and apparently doing so based on proposed future technologies, General Motors Corp. bluntly told federal regulators not to count on the Chevrolet Volt, or other planned plug-in hybrids, when proposing new rules. GM is maintaining the ...

Ask and you shall receive (a little): DOE giving automakers $30mil for PHEV development 1 year ago on Autoblog

Click above for more shots of the Ford Escape PHEV In what seems like a convenient answer to Mark Fields' request just yesterday for government assistance for the development of plug-in hybrids, the Department of Energy has just announced that it will be granting up to $30 million for just this ...

Ford's Mark Fields calls plug-in hybrids a "national priority" 1 year ago on Autoblog

In these days of nearly nonexistent profits for every one of Detroit's Big Three automakers, R&D funds must be allocated very carefully. In contrast, Japanese manufacturers such as Toyota and Honda have been earning profits on a yearly basis. Not long ago, a mild spat arose regarding whether or ...

Next-gen Prius coming in January with more power, efficiency 1 year ago on Autoblog

The current Prius is baked from a refined recipe that results in a roomy, practical and efficient vehicle lurking under an eco-statement exterior, or at least we thought so. Five years on, it's still the most popular way to conspicuously consume under the guise of saving the planet. Toyota hasn't ...

LA 2007 VIDEO: Alan Mulally delivers keynote 2 years ago on Autoblog

A little over a year ago, Alan Mulally's time was spent managing Boeing, and here in LA just 14 months later he's the keynote speaker for at an international auto show. He's a year older, and he also knows a heck of a lot more about cars than he did when he took the helm at Ford Motor Company. In ...

Re-Volting: Ford considerig plug-in hybrid 2 years ago on Autoblog

Last week Ford unveiled the Airstream concept at the Detroit Auto Show, which marked its first public attempt at a plug-in hybrid. Like the Chevy Volt, it's primarily battery-powered with an auxiliary power unit to charge the battery on the go. The Airstream, howver, differs from the Volt in that ...

Lotus designs personal commuter for Chinese urban dwellers 2 years ago on Autoblog

UPDATE: The designer of the Camper Lotus, Patty Yuan, has contacted us with some corrections to our original post on her urban commuter. The design is actually her senior thesis project, and is simply a proposal to suggest what such a commuter vehicle might look like if it were designed by the ...

Toyota pursuing plug-in hybrids and FFVs 3 years ago on Autoblog

Remember a long time ago when we reported that Toyota would not be developing a plug-in version of its popular hybrid vehicles, specifically a plug-in Toyota "King of Kilowatts" Prius? Well, power to the people! Jim Press stated today at the National Press Club that Toyota is indeed "pursuing" ...

Turbocharged Prius planned? 3 years ago on Autoblog

British car mag Auto Express is confirming that Toyota is working on a successor to the Prius that upgrades it hardware not only with a better Lithium Ion battery pack that recharge faster and hold more power for longer, but also adds a lean-burning 1.8L turbocharged engine. The next Prius will be ...

Jerry Flint takes on the issue of plug-in hybrids 3 years ago on Autoblog

The lovable curmudgeon Jerry Flint directs his keen analytical eye towards plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) and why the market shouldn't expect them any time soon. The concern seems to mainly revolve around battery technology, or rather the lack there of. If one simply looks at the current ...

Ford plug-in hybrid first to hit market? 3 years ago on Autoblog

Buried within a GreenCarCongress article on Ford’s attendance at the recent Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability conference are some comments made by Niel Golightly, Ford’s Director of Sustainable Business Strategies, about plug-in hybrids. Golightly admits that Ford is investigating ...

Saab's BioPower 9-3 hybrid secretly a plug-in? 3 years ago on Autoblog

The fine folks at Aftonbladet and TrollhattenSaab.net may have stumbled on more than an interesting detail regarding the Saab 9-3 BioPower Hybrid concept shown at the Stockholm Autoshow. The Swedish prototype has been touted as the first hybrid to return nearly zero fossil fuel emissions, but it's ...

Plug-in push on for hybrids 3 years ago on Autoblog

Hybrid automakers such as Toyota, Honda, and Ford spent millions educating consumers that hybrid vehicles don't need to be plugged to an outlet to be charged. But among a growing number of hybrid enthusiasts, there is a burgeoning movement for such technology to be incorporated in future hybrid ...






Autoblog Podcast #157: Mike Levine trucks along with us.

Mike Levine from PickupTrucks.com joins Chris, Sam, and Dan this week and gets a chance to talk about cars, too! 

 
 

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