March 9, 2010 Toyota officials last week confirmed that the Lexus CT 200h, a premium hybrid hatchback, is coming to the United States, according to a report in Automotive News. The Lexus CT 200h would be Lexus’s first compact car, and the first compact hybrid sold by Toyota in the US.
March 8, 2010 In a few weeks, Ford will become the third auto company to see federal incentives for its hybrid gas-electric cars completely vanish. Tax credits for Honda hybrids bit the dust at the beginning of last year, and Toyota hybrid credits completely phased out in late 2007. With hybrids remaining below 3 percent of the new car market, green car analysts and advocates are wondering if the hybrid tax credits have vanished too soon.
March 5, 2010 Nissan unveiled the Infiniti M35 Hybrid at this week's 2010 Geneva Motor Show. The hybrid gas-electric version of the luxury sedan will go on sale in Europe in 2011. It will likely be sold in the United States as well, although no date has been set for North American distribution. According to Infiniti, the M35 Hybrid is “electrically powered for more of the time, and at higher speeds, than conventional hybrids.”
March 4, 2010 Earlier this week at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show, Volkswagen promised to lift hybrids out of its niche status and to produce electric cars. Audi, Volkswagen’s luxury brand, echoed the sentiment, making a commitment to full hybrids, plug-in hybrids, and electric cars. Rupert Stadler, Audi AG's chairman of the board of management, said, “We shall offer electric power in the best possible forms for a wide range of mobility needs. The hybrid driveline will be followed by all-electric vehicles."
March 3, 2010 The Coda all-electric sedan, due late this year, is the underdog in the race for an affordable mass-market pure electric car. Fans of electric vehicles, and supporters of good old-fashioned American entrepreneurialism, might celebrate Coda’s rugged and independent approach—but that’s being undermined by questions about the manufacturing origins of the Coda sedan.
