Ford Fusion named 'Motor Trend' Car of the Year

2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid. Fusion is most fuel-efficient midsize sedan in U.S. for both hybrid and conventional gasoline models. Hybrid gets EPA 41 mpg rating city/36 mpg highway. Four-cylinder gas Fusion has best-in-class highway rating of 34 mpg. Fusion is now one of the ten best-selling vehicles in the USA and has been lauded by Consumer Reports for

Motor Trend's choice of the Ford Fusion as its 2010 Car of the Year isn't the most exciting choice, but it's further proof of how the Dearborn, Mich., maker can seem to do no wrong these days.

In brushing aside flashier cars, Motor Trend lauded Fusion as an "economical midsize sedan that doesn't cost much, yet won't bore you to tears." They liked the hybrid version and how Fords are coming packed with more electronic gadgets. They liked how the car comes in many different iterations -- an "impressive bandwidth." But consider the rivals:

The accomplishment becomes more impressive when measured against the competition -- namely, Toyota Camry and Honda Accord, two of the best-selling cars in history. One of the judges, Arthur St. Antoine, said the Fusion is "a compelling sweep across one of the market's most hotly contested segments."

Fusion has done well in the marketplace, moving up to become one of the 10 best-selling vehicles in the U.S. market. And Consumer Reports recommends it for reliability. But the magazine rated Subaru Legacy as a better family sedan than the Fusion in the current issue. Lately, Fusion has been eclipsed by the hoopla surrounding the launch of the Ford Taurus, a larger and plusher car.

GM's Electric Cars Seek To Make Some Noise

How quiet is too quiet when it comes to electric and hybrid cars?

General Motors will announce it's working with an advocacy group for blind people to answer that question, according to a USA Today report Wednesday. The move comes amid mounting concern that the growing number of environmentally friendly vehicles may pose a threat to pedestrians, particularly the vision impaired.

As the report notes, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration concluded in September that more pedestrians and cyclists are being struck by hybrid cars than by conventional vehicles.

Congress is currently considering a bill - the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act - that would mandate a solution to the problem.

GM will work on a technological fix with the National Federation of the Blind, seemingly getting a jump on their competition. Toyota and Nissan say they’re still studying the issue and Tesla isn't ready to give up on its noiseless running - an attribute they market to consumers.

GM plans to outfit the new Chevrolet Volt with a new pedestrian warning system - a short horn pulse comparable to a telephone ring that would go off as the driver operates the turn signal, according to the report.

Top 10 Best Hybrid Cars

Best hybrid cars

Hybrid cars were introduced by various automotive industries as a result of the need for more efficient and environmentally sound cars. Even though everyone has heard about hybrid cars, but there still exists confusion about how they operate and what are the components does it need to function properly.

Basically hybrid cars are operated by three main sources such as, a well performing battery, an electric motor and a gas engine. Each of the sources is very important for the performance of the car. The main benefit of using hybrid cars is that, it proves to lower the harmful emission and better the gas mileage. A lot of difference in their function exists between full hybrid cars and a mild hybrid car.

Based on the gas mileage and its performance, the top 10 best hybrid cars are taken and reviewed in detail.

2010 Honda Insight EX

2010 Honda Insight EX is considered as the best hybrid car because it offers an excellent fuel economy and is more fun to drive. Honda Insight’s styling closely resembles the Toyota Prius which adds an extra X factor in your personality. It comes with the best voice-command system equipped with Bluetooth connectivity. The user rating for this 2010 Honda Insight EX is found to be”excellent”.

2009 Nissan Altima Hybrid

2009 Nissan Altima Hybrid offers a best mileage over 30 mpg and it provides an exceptional performance. The Bluetooth system that comes with this Nissan Altima is found to be very basic and it doesn’t have iPod integration which is a setback but otherwise it includes safety features such as smart airbags, stability control antilock brakes and etc and the car rocks.

2009 Mercury Mariner Hybrid

2009 Mercury Mariner Hybrid, the hybrid system present with the car gives it very low emission which is considered as an added advantage. It is equipped with voice command, phone and MP3 player integration. The audio system present with the car is found to be very basic yet it’s still very stylish.

2009 Cadillac Escalade Hybrid

Though it seems to be a heavy vehicle, Cadillac Escalade is found to provide good in fuel economy with its hybrid power train without compromising its performance. The navigation system integrated with the car provides the traffic reporting and blind-spot detection is included with its driving aids. With very basic audio sources no facility for iPod integration Cadillac Escalade still holds its place n the race of style and economy.

2009 Ford Escape Hybrid Limited

Ford Escape comes with a best sync system and it provides an excellent fuel mileage. Sirius Travel Link offers the traffic data and other navigation options to the car. Highway driving is seems to be a difficult one with and is best suited for urban dwellers and not for freeway commuters because of its high speed.

2008 Toyota Prius

Toyota Prius offers an unbelievable fuel mileage and its emission rating is found to be very low without compromising its size. The shape of this car is mostly confused with other Priuses available at present.

2008 Lexus LS 600h

Hybrid system with the car offers a good fuel economy more than expected and its emission rating is also very low which gives a reputation for this 2008 Lexus LS 600h. Live traffic is handled by excellent navigation facility present with the car. Driving performance of the car is good and its stereo system seems to be wonderful.

2008 Lexus RX 400h

The user’s rating for Lexus RX 400h is “Good” and its smooth drive is delivered by its suspension. The car seems to be the best with its unbelievable fuel economy. The navigation system present with the car is pretty good and it lacks recognizing live traffic and iPod integration is missing.

2007 Honda Civic Hybrid

Some of the users have experienced the following with Honda Civic hybrid and it includes excellent gas mileage, very comfortable to drive, quite, exceptional voice command and climate control and etc. Trunk space is limited which seems to be the disadvantage with this car. Automatic Shut-off’s feature of the gas engine seems to be very bad and it makes difficult for stop-and-go driving.

2008 Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid

Though Chevrolet Malibu uses a mild hybrid train system, it is found to provide fuel savings ability to a great level. Look and feel of this Chevrolet Malibu seems to be good. It is designed in such a way that it attracts everyone and both the driver’s and passenger’s seat offers a great comfort zone.

2010 Hybrid Cars for Best Mileage and Lowest Carbon Footprint

Toyota Prius continues to lead hybrid cars in fuel economy and lowest lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions. This perennial favorite midsize 4-door hatchback delivers 50 miles per gallon (mpg) and is lowest on the list with 3.7 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent for the EPA annual driving cycle. Yes, 3.7 tons of CO2e is a lot; but many cars, light trucks, and SUVs create three times that emission; to get lower emissions you would need a plug-in car. The hatchback design allows for more cargo, especially if you drop part or all of the 60/40 back bench seat. This year, Toyota is also putting 500 plug-in Priuses into fleet tests of electric cars. Read the details in the 2010 Toyota Prius Review.

Honda Civic Hybrid is a good alternative for those who want a traditional looking sedan that seats 5. This front-wheel drive compact saves fuel at 42 mpg. At 4.4 annual tons of CO2e, this hybrid emits actually emits less greenhouse gases than its CNG cousin.

Honda Insight is a sporty four-door hatchback with an Ecological Drive Assist System. Although the Insight looks like the Prius, it is a bit smaller, lighter, and often $2,000 less than the Prius. The Insight will deliver 41 mpg combined, with annual emissions of about 4.5 tons of CO2e. Read about our 2010 Honda Insight Test Drive.

Ford Fusion Hybrid is appealing to those who want a made in America midsized sedan. This roomy 5-seater delivers 39 mpg and 4.7 tons of CO2e per year. The Fusion Hybrid and its first cousin the Mercury Milan Hybrid may travel up to 47 miles per hour in pure electric mode. The Advanced Intake Variable Cam Timing allows for more seamlessly transition between gas and electric modes, making for a smooth and quiet ride. The Mercury Milan Hybrid offers the same drive system and body, with upscale interior. Read about Clean Fleet Report’s Fusion Hybrid test drive.

Lexus HS 250h is a stylish compact 4-seat sedan that delivers 35 mpg and 5.3 tons of CO2e per year. The Lexus brand lets your friends know that are using less petroleum by choice; you can afford a bit of luxury.

Nissan Altima Hybrid also delivers good mileage for a midsize, benefiting from Nissan’s continuously variable transmission technology. The EPA rating is 5.4 tons of CO2e for the EPA annual driving cycle and a combined 34 mpg.

Toyota Camry Hybrid delivers good mileage for a midsize with an automatic transmission. The EPA rating is 5.4 tons of CO2e for the EPA annual driving cycle and a combined 34 mpg.

Ford Escape Hybrid comfortably carries 5 people and lots of cargo. This SUV achieves a combined 32 mpg and emissions of 5.7 tons of CO2e – double the mileage and half the emissions of many SUVs. The mileage is an impressive 29 mpg for the 4-wheel drive versions of this SUV. With a common drive system and chassis, the Mercury Mariner Hybrid delivers the same carbon footprint and mileage.

Lexus RX 450h with more acceleration and room than the others, costs more, starting at over $42,000. For a powerful SUV, it still conserves with 30 mpg and 6.1 tons of CO2e. Haul 5 people and lots of stuff without sacrificing quality and styling in the RX450h. The all wheel drive version has slightly better mileage than the Ford Escape Hybrid 4WD.

Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid looks and feels like the popular 5-seat Chevy Malibu, but you will go farther on a tank of gas. This mild hybrid gets 29 miles per gallon, with 6.3 tons of CO2e per year emissions.

Clean Fleet Report – Top 10 Hybrids for 2010

Your top 10 choices include hatchbacks that start at under $20,000 and stretch to roomy premium SUVs that cost over $40,000. If you are willing to settle for less fuel economy and often pay a high sticker, there are a number of other 2010 hybrid SUVs on the market including the Toyota Highlander, Chevrolet Silverado, GMC Sierra and Yukon, and the pricey and powerful Cadillac Escalade. The Silverado and Sierra are also available as hybrid pickup trucks.

Hybrid is no guarantee of saving at the pump. The Smart and the MiniCooper get double the mpg of some of the 2010 hybrid SUVs and pickup trucks.

The list includes only 2010 model year hybrids offered in the United States. For example, offered only in Japan, the new Toyota Sai will get better mileage than the Prius. Some of these 2010 models were announced early in 2009. Other 2010 models have yet to be announced. Major auto shows are coming so check back for the latest in hybrids that take away that pain at the pump and deliver a quiet ride.

This list was developed by first searching the U.S. EPA and DOE’s valuable fueleconomy.gov, with its extensive search capabilities. The EPA combined miles per gallon rating is based on 45% highway and 55% city driving. The carbon footprint is carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) based on 15,000 miles of driving, using the GREET 1.7 model.

New Prius comes with rooftop solar panels

Toyota just unveiled its new Toyota Prius, and it takes its eco-friendliness to the next level. Yes, it's still a hybrid that gets excellent gas mileage, but now it also comes with a giant solar panel on the roof to soak up the sun's rays and convert them into energy to power your stereo and air conditioner.

The great thing about these panels is that they work even when you aren't driving. That means that when you come out to your car after working all day, it's got a bunch of energy saved up from just sitting there in the sun. Pretty awesome stuff! The new Prius will be on sale in Japan soon for between $21,000 and $26,000.

Top 10 Most Environment Friendly Cars (Hybrid Cars)

A lot of the car manufacturers these days are advancing their work on making hybrid and environment friendly cars. Besides making environment friendly cars, they want to further fuel efficiency of the vehicles to fight rising gas prices. There are already a lot of environment friendly cars developed by a number of car manufacturers. These are Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Ford, Chevrolet, GMC and Lexus. They have multiple environment friendly cars developed.

The Toyota Prius is one of the most popular environment friendly cars. The Prius was the first mass produced gasoline electric hybrid cars. The Prius has a gas mileage of 44 miles per gallon. It has a very good ride and very stable handling. It has a very good price range.

Toyota has released its first Sub Urban Vehicle Hybrid, the Highlander Hybrid. Its debut was in 2006 and joined Toyota’s line of environment friendly cars. It was again a first in the industry as it was the first 7 passenger hybrid in the world. In 2008, it was redesigned to have an entirely new chassis with an upgraded synergy drive system. The Highlander has a very nice ride like a sedan with the capacity of an SUV.

The Toyota Camry was made into a hybrid model as well. It is under Toyota’s luxury line of vehicles and has been the biggest selling car in America for 10 years, next to the Toyota Corolla. The Honda Accord is one of the popular cars in the world because of its style and functionality. It is very comfortable and roomy due to its size increase. The new 2008 Honda Accord has three new specifications in North America.

They have applied a new variable cylinder management system, dual chambered airbags for the driver and the passenger and an interface dial controller. It has recently been available in a hybrid and has become one of the popular environment friendly cars in North America. The Honda Civic was first introduced back in 1972 as an inexpensive car while having a fuel efficient run. It has continued to give good fuel efficiency over the years.

A hybrid version was introduced in 2003 pleasing the numerous fans of the car. Japanese car companies are not the only ones that are making environment friendly cars these days. American car manufacturers are now making their own hybrid cars as well. Chevrolet was the first one to release the Tahoe Hybrid. It still retains its usual functionality but it is able to offer a better gas mileage.

The Chevrolet Tahoe is one of the popular SUV’s in the American market and they are happy that they are able to make their own hybrid engine. Chevrolet has also made one of their Pickup trucks a hybrid as well. The Silverado is the first hybrid Pickup to be made. It has become fuel efficient but can still put out power the same as before. Among these are also other vehicles from their main branch in GMC like the Yukon Hybrid.

It features a more advanced hybrid engine than the Tahoe or Silverado. Other hybrids include the Ford Escape Hybrid, Mercury Mariner, Dodge Durango and Nissan Altima.

2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid

Ford officially launched its 2010 Fusion Hybrid yesterday, promoting the new hybrid midsize sedan’s mileage as far better than the Toyota Camry Hybrid’s. The company’s top hybrid executive, Director of Sustainability Nancy Gioia, also revealed that all new Fords will be developed to allow a hybrid drive option.

Calling Ford “the Number One producer of hybrids in North America,” marketing head Jim Farley said at the Los Angeles Auto Show that the Fusion Hybrid would be the most fuel-efficient midsize sedan on sale. The car will return 39 miles per gallon on the EPA city cycle, said chief engineer J.D. Shanahan, and highway mileage “at least 6 miles a gallon better than Camry Hybrid”—which would be 40 mpg or higher. This beats the mileage for the 2008 Camry Hybrid, at 33/34 (city/highway). Other impressive statistics for the Fusion Hybrid include pure electric speeds as high as 47 miles per hour, up to 2 miles of continuous electric-only driving, and a range of 700 city miles on one tank of gasoline.

Reaffirming Ford’s commitment to hybrid-electric vehicles, the executive responsible for electrified vehicles said all its new products globally will permit hybrid versions. Gioia, a 26-year Ford veteran, told HybridCars.com that design standards have been changed to ensure future Ford “vehicle architectures” can accommodate gasoline, diesel, and hybrid powertrains. Not all vehicles will be offered as hybrids in all markets, she said, but Ford wants the option to add hybrid-electric drive with as little change as possible.

The 2010 Fusion Hybrid will enter production at the same time as other versions; the first cars are expected to reach dealers early in the spring of 2009. Pricing has not yet been announced.

Ford's Second Generation Hybrids

The Fusion Hybrid (and its twin, the Mercury Milan Hybrid) is the first vehicle to use Ford’s second generation hybrid system. The company says it has more than 200 distinct inventions and patents pending for the revised version. Its first generation of hybrids was launched in 2004 in the Escape Hybrid SUV (and, later, in its twins the Mercury Mariner HybridMazda Tribute Hybrid). The new version uses a nickel-metal-hydride battery with 20 percent more power, in a package that’s 30 percent smaller, meaning the Fusion Hybrid sacrifices only a negligible amount of trunk space compared to the standard version. and the

Hybrid-electric vehicle systems engineer Gil Portalatin told us that the control logic for the new hybrid system provides much tighter integration of engine operation and power delivery. The new logic goes as far as to vary the engine’s valve timing, fuel delivery, and spark timing to match the power delivered through the electric motor, permitting very aggressive fuel shutdown under light loads. The result is that the 2.5-liter engine shuts itself off twice as much as in the earlier Escape, as the electric system provides more power. In addition, new control logic for the regenerative brakes recaptures up to 94 percent of the braking energy and feeds it to the battery.

The new Fusions offer Ford’s popular Sync voice-activated digital entertainment and integrated mobile phone system. Other options include blind-spot information, cross-traffic alerts when reversing, and real-time traffic and weather through the Sirius Travel Link satellite radio system.

Toyota Prius 2010 Hybrid

Toyota Prius 2010 Hybrid

New Design on Honda INSIGHT Hybrid 2010

New Honda INSIGHT 2010 Hybrid
Compared with the first generation that his efficiency reached 70mpg, this second generation ‘more fuel consumption’ that is (40/43) mpg in the city/the toll. However the fall of efficiency in paid with tampilang more interesting, comfort, preoccupation drive and many another thing. Because of that Honda the sale optimist of this second generation will be far more better from that was first.