China clearly sees EVs as a major player in the future auto industry.  To achieve widespread adoption within their country, the government has kicked off several new incentive programs and has begun to increase manufacturing capacity and build new R&D facilities. In December the cities of Denver, Colorado and Chongqing, China along with the help [...]

A decade ago when Toyota introduced its first hybrid Prius, buyers were not too accepting of the funky looking vehicle.  It slowly won over the hearts of environmentally conscious buyers, but took years to gain widespread acceptance.  Toyota was alright with that, they saw a bright future ahead for the Prius and were willing to [...]

The future of plug-in electric cars boils down to their adoption by drivers. As we have reported, car buyers are leery about EVs and concerned about charging their vehicles in public areas.  A public charging infrastructure is virtually non-existent in the U.S. at this point. Automakers are working with utility companies, local governments, and municipalities to [...]

Mercedes-Benz today released a sneak preview of its ESF 2009 S400 Hybrid experimental Safety Vehicle as part of a preview at its Stuttgart headquarters. The new ESF model revives a long-lapsed tradition of high-tech safety prototypes. The last time Mercedes outfitted an ESF – the German acronym for Experimental Safety Vehicle – prototype was 1974. [...]

A couple of weeks ago as we got our first drive of the upcoming 2010 Lexus HS 250h—and a first up-close look at its many tech-savvy features—Lexus officials were still guarded about pricing. It makes sense that even just before launch the company is cautious about pricing for this accessible hybrid that, by some accounts, [...]

In 2008, Toyota reported its first losses in decades.  After years of record profits, even Toyota was affected by the downfall in the economy.  According to Toyota, 2009 will likely be another year of losses for the company.  But Toyota is not going to back down their funding of advanced power train technologies. Even with [...]

Amidst bankruptcy, many are concerned whether or not Chrysler’s electric vehicle and hybrid program will continue on.  The latest news indicates that Chrysler’s EV future may still be intact. Though Fiat is expected to bring several small cars to market in the U.S. in the next few years, there may still be a market for [...]

Augustin Barbot’s Opel Darwin 2049 Beauty in abundance — There’s another Mercedes-Benz SL 300 Gullwing replica on the market. “What’s that”, you say? “Why do we need two?” Which makes us think you’re off your freakin’ rocker, because we could live in a world of these. Seriously. [MotorAuthority] Tomorrowland — GM is looking toward the [...]