Peugeot Onyx Supercar Gets Scooter Concept Sibling, will Also Debut in Paris

The public outside of Europe may not generally know it, but Peugeot has a long history in the motorcycle segment having introduced its first bike back towards the end of the 1800s and continues to do so today offering 14 different models including scooters, multi-gear bikes and mopeds with engine capacities from 50cc to 500cc (0.5-liters).
At next week's 2012 Paris Motor Show, the French company will present a new prototype three-wheeler named the Onyx Concept Scooter, and yes, as you may have guessed already, it was inspired by the 680HP diesel-electric Onyx Hybrid Supercar Concept.
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Toyota Goes Into Depth with the All-New Auris and Auris Hybrid Compact Hatchbacks

About month ago, Toyota unveiled its brand-new 2013 MY Auris ahead of its Paris Auto Show world premiere on September 27.
Now, Japan’s biggest carmaker has shed more light on the latest iteration of what it claims to be the most popular C-segment model series (including the Corolla nameplate) in the world, having sold 39 million units in more than 140 countries since the introduction of the Corolla in 1966.
Toyota says that the second generation of the Auris was specifically designed for Europe, which will be its biggest market. It will be manufactured alongside the Avensis in Toyota’s UK plant in Burnaston, which this year celebrates its 20th anniversary.
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New Audi A3 Sportback Grows in Size, Shrinks in Weight [50 Photos and Video]

Audi will showcase a new addition to its redesigned A3 series at the 2012 Paris motor show from 27 September. The 2013 A3 Sportback is the more practical and versatile five-door version of Audi's premium compact model.
The evolutionary (according to Audi, stale according to others) styling language of the A3 can be found on the Sportback variant as well, with the five-door variant employing the use of three side windows and a sloping tailgate design. For a sportier look, buyers will be able to opt for Audi's S-Line package that adds different bumpers, spoilers and larger alloy wheels.
While the car's exterior dimensions at 4,310mm (169.7 inches) long, 1,780mm (70.1 inches) and 1,425mm (56.1 inches) tall are only slightly greater than on the previous Sportback, the new model now rides on a 2,636 millimeters (103.8 inches), an increase of 58 millimeters (2.28 in).
The five-door model is also 35 millimeters (1.38 in) longer between the axles than the three-door version, resulting in an increase in rear passenger legroom. The luggage compartment offers 380 liters (13.42 cu ft) of space in the basic configuration and can be expanded to 1,220 liters (43.08 cu ft) with the rear seats (60:40 split) folded down.
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Fisker Wraps Investigation of Karma Fires at New Jersey Port, Blames One Car's Vehicle Control Unit

Last week, Sandy's furious tempest resulted in 16 brand-new Fisker Karma sedans and three Toyota Prius hybrids going up in flames at a shipping facility in New Jersey after being submerged in seawater for many hours.
While we have yet to hear from Toyota, Fisker's engineers finished investigating the incident and have just released their findings through a press statement.
According to the manufacturer, the culprit turned out to be a low voltage Vehicle Control Unit in one Karma, which after being under salt water for several hours, short-circuited and caused a fire that then spread to the other 15 extended-range plug-in hybrid models parked nearby due to the strong winds blowing at the time.

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Three Toyota Prius Hybrid Models Also Caught Fire at New Jersey Port During Storm

As it turns out, the 16 Fisker Karma extended-range hybrids weren't the only new hybrid cars to catch fire in Port Newark, New Jersey last Monday on October 29, after being submerged in seawater during Hurricane Sandy.
In a completely separate incident during the storm, three Toyota Prius models, including a conventional hybrid and a plug-in hybrid, were also damaged by fire at Port Newark, according to a report from the LA Times.
Toyota confirmed the incident. "One Prius out and out burned, the others just kind of smoldered and got really hot," Cindy Knight, a Toyota spokeswoman told the New York Times (NYT), adding that the fire "likely started because saltwater got into the electrical system." The Prius that burned down completely was a plug-in hybrid model.

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Lexus' Global Hybrid Sales Cross Half-Million Milestone

Cumulative worldwide sales of Lexus hybrid vehicles broke the half a million mark at the end of November 2012, the company announced today. This milestone was reached seven years after the market introduction of the brand's first hybrid model, the RX 400h in 2005. Read more »

All-New 2014 Cadillac ELR Coupe to be Introduced in Production Guise at the Detroit Show

Adding to the many important world premieres that General Motors has planned for us at the upcoming 2013 North American International Auto Show in Detroit in January, and which include the new Chevrolet Silverado, GMC Sierra and Corvette C7, is the production version of the Cadillac ELR.

Cadillac's interpretation of the Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric vehicle project was previewed three years ago with the Converj Concept at the 2009 Detroit auto show.

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Jaguar C-X75 Hypercar is No More; British Brand Says it Axed the Project, but will Auction 3 Examples

Last year in May, Jaguar told the world of its intention to build a limited run production version of the striking C-X75 hypercar concept that was displayed at the 2010 Paris Motor Show.

At the time, Jaguar had said it would offer the car with an advanced hybrid powertrain instead of the concept's futuristic jet-powered setup limiting production to around 250 units.

Now we learn that the British carmaker has backtracked on the decision axing the project due to the current global economic crisis.

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Spy Shots: BMW's i8 Hybrid Coupe Shows its Revised Hofmeister kink.

We were hoping that by the end of this year, BMW engineers would have peeled off most of the camouflage covering their i8 coupe prototypes, but as you can see, that's not going to happen – unless, of course, Munich surprises us over the next couple of weeks.

What we do get from these fresh spy shots of the i8 that was captured once again during cold weather testing in Europe is a less obstructed view of the car's upper profile as the company's people removed some of the swirly wraps covering the side windows.

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EPA to Review Ford Fusion and C-MAX Hybrids After Consumer Reports’ MPG Findings

Ford has been making a lot of noise about the mileage of its Fusion and C-MAX hybrids, claiming that their 47 mpg city/highway/combined mileage easily beat rival Toyota Camry and Prius models.

When tested by Consumer Reports (CR) though, both Ford hybrids' MPGs were found overstated. Actually, that’s an understatement: the publication bashed the two Blue Oval hybrids saying that “these two vehicles have the largest discrepancy between our overall-mpg results and the estimates published by the EPA that we’ve seen among any current models.”

Ouch! That must have hurt…

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Consumer Reports Slams Ford for Overstating Fusion and C-MAX Hybrids 47MPG Fuel Economy

If you've been following our news stories, you will no doubt be aware of Ford's brazen mpg claims about the Fusion Hybrid sedan and the C-Max Hybrid minivan, and how both trump Toyota models.

To remind you, Ford states that both the new 2013 Fusion Hybrid and C-Max Hybrid deliver "47 city/47 highway/47 combined mpg".

Fueled [pun intended] by the recent discovery that Hyundai and Kia overstated the gas mileage on some 900,000 vehicles sold in the U.S. in the past couple of years, Consumer Reports (CR) put Ford's mpg claims to the test, and the results were far below the 47mpg mark.

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Volkswagen to Offer New Jetta Hybrid in Germany from Next Year

Only days after Volkswagen premiered the final production version of its new Jetta Hybrid at the LA Auto Show, the Wolfsburg carmaker announced that it will begin to take advance orders for the sedan model in its home market of Germany.

The new Jetta Hybrid will arrive in VW's German showrooms from mid of April 2013 with prices starting at €31,300 (US$40,600), which is significantly more than what VW is asking for the same car in the States at €19,900 (US$25,790) including destination but not tax.

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Chevrolet Volt November Sales Plunge by 50 Percent Due to Low Inventory

In September, Chevrolet delivered 2,961 units of its Volt plug-in extended-range hybrid. It was an all-time high, and it followed up from the 2,851 vehicles sold in October.

Then came November: one way to look at it is that Volt sales rose by 33 percent compared to the same month in 2011. That’s small consolation, though, for GM when total sales were just 1,519 cars – that’s nearly half the number of the preceding months.

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Ex-GM Engineer and Husband Convicted of Stealing Hybrid Tech Secrets to Sell to China's Chery

Last Friday, November 30, former General Motors engineer Shanshan Du and her husband Yu Qin were found by a jury of nine women and three men guilty of conspiring to steal the Detroit carmaker’s trade secrets.

The 53-year old Du was found guilty of conspiracy to possess trade secrets without authorization and two counts of trade secrets, and not guilty of three counts of wire fraud. Her 51-year old husband was found guilty on all six counts, as well as a seventh, that is obstruction of justice.

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2014 Honda Accord Plug-in Hybrid with 115MPGe Rating Priced from $39,780*

We've already seen the new Accord but at the Los Angeles Auto Show, Honda announced that the frugal, Plug-in Hybrid (PHEV) variant of the series will be available for retail sale and lease beginning January 15 in the states of California and New York, with an MSRP of $39,780, excluding a $790 destination (*) fee.

Whether or not it's worth paying close to double or about $18,000 more than the base $21,680 2013 Accord with a 185hp four-cylinder engine, or even a $10,000 premium over a fully equipped EX-L with Navigation, is something that buyers should seriously take into consideration.

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VW Launches Final Production Version of Jetta Hybrid in LA, Claims 45 MPG

The hybrid version of VW’s Jetta compact saloon was displayed as a concept in January’s Detroit Auto Show and it has already been announced that it will go on sale in the States before the end of the year as a 2013 model, with prices starting at US$24,995 excluding a destination charge of US$795.

It was about time, then, to introduce the final production version of the Jetta Hybrid to the U.S. market – and VW promptly did that at the LA Auto Show.

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2014 Mitsubishi Outlander Sheds 200 Pounds, Gains Hybrid Variant

The new Mitsubishi Outlander's world tour continues with its North American premiere at the Los Angeles Auto Show.

Designed from the ground up to be offered with an advanced hybrid powerplant, the seven-seater 2014 Outlander also underwent an intensive diet losing around 200 pounds (91 kg) compared to the outgoing model.

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Nissan Brings Hi-Cross Concept to LA, Says it Explores Future Crossover Design

If you're experiencing déjà vu looking at the pictures of the Nissan Hi-Cross Concept, it's because the Japanese carmaker displayed the study at the Geneva motor show in March this year to preview the next generation of the European market X-Trail SUV.

So, what's it doing on this side of the Atlantic and the Los Angeles Auto Show then? According to the Japanese carmaker, the concept "offers a bold design statement about the next-generation of Nissan crossovers".

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Toyota Prius Not a Car Thieves’ Favorite, Will Most Likely be Recovered Even if it’s Stolen

If you happen to own a Toyota Prius, you’ll be glad to learn that your car is not very popular with car thieves. On the contrary; compared to other models of the same age, Prius is less likely to be stolen.

At least that’s what the National Insurance Crime Bureau data reveals: as of the end of June, only one in 606 examples of the 2008-2010 MY Prius cars had been stolen compared to one in 78 of all other vehicles of the exact same model years.

California is the “capital” of stolen Prius cars with 1,062 thefts; Florida, New York, Washington and Texas followed with 127, 111, 92 and 89 cars respectively. NCIB data show that, despite the Prius not being completely immune to theft, it has a 96.7 percent recovery rate.

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General Electric to Buy 2,000 C-MAX Energi Plug-In Hybrids from Ford

Ford has just made its largest plug-in electrified vehicle fleet sale to date after General Electric (GE) agreed to purchase 2,000 examples of the Blue Oval's new C-MAX Energi minivan.

With the addition of the Ford vehicles, the number of alternative fuel vehicles in GE’s fleet will surpass the 5,000 mark. The company said that its goal is to have a global fleet of 25,000 units of such vehicles.

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