Buyers having a hard time seeing the value in EVs

By John LeBlanc How does that saying go? You can lead a new car buyer to electric vehicles but you can’t make them buy? That seems to be the case with many government-mandated electric cars in the U.S., where demand is not keeping up with the quotas automakers have been forced to adhere to.

Toyota says next Prius will be “significantly” more fuel efficient, weigh less, drive better

Story by John LeBlanc YPSILANTI, MICH. — For Toyota, any discussion about the future of its hybrid vehicle strategy begins and ends with its iconic Prius. An all-new model is due in the next two years, and during the Japanese automaker’s Hybrid World Tour media event, plenty of hints and clues were dropped as to […]

Top 10s: The most fuel-efficient hybrids for 2013

Story by John LeBlanc When Natural Resources Canada announced its top fuel-efficient new 2013 models, there were a host of pure-electric vehicles that sip no fuel at all. But not all new car buyers can afford the limited driving range and inconvenience of plugging in these EVs. For the rest of us, here are the […]

The Crank: Toyota’s Prius no longer niche

By John LeBlanc Remember when the original Prius went on sale in the late 1990s? As one of the first, mass-produced gasoline-electric hybrid cars, the quirky Toyota was considered a cult car at best. Today, 15 years later, the Prius family—consisting now of four models, the original Prius hatchback, the Prius plug-in hybrid, the larger […]

Top 10s: Future New Fuel Sippers

[svgallery name=”2012 Fuel Sippers”] By John LeBlanc It’s déjà vu all over again for new car buyers. Just like in 2008, when gasoline peaked at nearly $1.50 per litre, buying an inexpensive and fuel-efficient small car is starting to look like a smart idea. So while we’re witnessing a bunch of new, small cars being […]

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