Hollywood's Hybrid

2012 Fisker Karma EVer

Attention Hollywood! That includes you, Cameron Diaz! Still trying to save the world with your Toyota Prius? Well, you're missing out on all the awesome luxury that petrol cars provide. Luckily, help is at hand, because if you want a car that's green, expensive, and luxurious at the same time, Fisker has come to the rescue. Introducing their new, sexy Karma EVer (Electric Vehicle with Extended Range). As you can see, it is a bit of a looker, but what's astonishing is how Fisker pieced luxury and electricity together in perfect harmony. Under the hood is a 2.0-liter 255 horsepower GM Ecotec turbo-4 engine, which doesn't sound like a lot. But, this engine feeds power to a 315-cell 606 lb. 20 kW lithium-ion battery pack, which then sends power to two 201 horsepower electric motors. Which means that the petrol engine actually doesn't do any work on the wheels. Altogether, you have yourself the most powerful hybrid ever created with 657 horsepower and a whopping 981 lb.-ft. of torque. 0 to 60 is done in just 5.9 seconds on its way to a limited top speed of 126 MPH. When it comes to fuel economy, there are two modes that this car can be in. In sport mode, the maximum range of the tank is 300 miles, about as much as my Range Rover in normal mode. In stealth mode, which is like normal mode, Fisker says that you'll be averaging about 100+ miles to the gallon. The tank only holds 9.5 gallons, so this is astonishing. But, what is more astonishing is what's hiding in the interior of this car.

Interior View

Look at that! That is just the business! This is luxury beyond any field really. Now, because this is somewhat of an expensive luxury sedan, there are only four seats. So, that middle console stretches all the way into the back, as you can see here.

Rear Seats

But, nonetheless, I think this car is supremely luxurious for any EV. As a driver's car, this can be as comfortable and as hard as it can be. In the corners, it is well balanced. Since the engine is in the front-middle of the car and the electric motors are in the rear, this car delivers perfect weight distribution allowing you to take corners with ease and feel comfortable while doing this. This is astonishingly good for a rear-wheel drive car. Now, here comes the best part: the price. You would imagine that a car with this much power, this much luxury, and absolutely brilliant handling would cost as much as the ridiculous Lexus LFA, since it took these guys about 6 years into making it. In reality though, it isn't. Prices start at $96,850 and go all the way up to $108,000, which is pretty good value for a car that's from the future and actually works. So, there you are Hollywood Movie Stars and Cameron Diaz. You can kiss your ugly Prius goodbye. Cuz once you buy this, you'll never want to see your Prius again.

Thanks a Million

2012 Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid Facebook Edition

If you've been on Porsche's fan page on Facebook lately, you will have seen that they've reached over 1 Million fans. To celebrate this milestone, Porsche has created this commemorative 911 GT3 R Hybrid as a thank you to all their fans. From here, it doesn't look like they've done much. But if you look closely, you can see that the entire body of the car has been littered with 27,000 Facebook signatures of their many worthy fans. They couldn't fit 1,000,000. I don't know if my name's on their, but it would be cool if it were.

Facebook Signatures

This car might be hitting the track soon, but for now, it stays in their museum in Stuttgart, Germany. If you're in the area, go check it out and see if you're name wounded up on the car.

The Evolution of Reasonable

2012 Honda Civic Si

Civic lovers rejoice! This is the all new 2012 Honda Civic. As you can see, they've only made a few cosmetic changes to the lights and bumpers, but as for overall shape, I don't really see a change here. It looks people like the new shape introduced in 2008. Anyway, the new Civic gets more fuel efficiency and more power for use on the road. The model you see above you is the Civic Si, which now has 200 horsepower, about as much as a VW Golf GTI. But even though it's powerful, you should get 31 MPG on this. That's pretty impressive for a powerful coupe. There are also other models beside this including the GX, the Hybrid, and the all new HF (High Efficiency). The standard motor is a 1.8-liter four cylinder one in the standard model which will get you 39 MPG. The HF, however, has the same motor, but aerodynamic tweaks allow it to have 2 more MPGs for driving. The Hybrid uses a 1.5-liter i-VTEC engine and a small electric motor powered by lithium ion batteries and not nickel (Well done Honda!). We don't know how much power this produces, but it is supposed to produce an estimated 45 MPG, 4 more than the original hybrid. Prices have not been announced yet, but they will be soon as the car is set to hit the showrooms this Summer.
The alphabetic synthesis passes the constituent behind the assuming ace.

Geneva Rovers

2012 Land Rover Range_E Sport Plug-in Diesel Hybrid

It seems Land Rover's gonna leave it to the Range Rovers to wow the crowd at Geneva this year. They'll be bringing out some very exciting new models including this Plug-in Diesel Hybrid Rover. Land Rover promises that this car will get 700 miles in one tank with just 20 miles on electricity. This is all thanks to a 3.0-liter Turbodiesel V6 engine mated to a new 8-speed automatic ZF gearbox, along with an electric motor.

2012 Land Rover Range Rover Autobiography Ultimate

Then, there's this rather stunning Range Rover Autobiography for those who think that the Rover couldn't get anymore luxurious. The cost: $170,000. For that, you get luxury yacht-like interior including, expensive leather seats, teak flooring, drinks-globe luxury all around, iPads for entertainment, and 510 horsepower for your driver. So, for those wealthy businessmen or women out there who love the Range Rover and want a taste of the good life, you can now blow off $200k on an SUV that you can actually enjoy some expensive wine in.

Nope, it's Still Ugly

2012 Porsche Panamera S Hybrid

Even with a green hybrid engine, this car is still ugly from ever single angle. This is the all new Porsche Panamera S Hybrid. It has the same engine as its SUV counterpart, the Cayenne S Hybrid: a 3.0-liter 333 horsepower Supercharged V6 engine combined with a 47 horsepower electric motor, bringing the total horses to 380. 0 to 60 is done in just 6 seconds on its way to a top speed of 168 MPH. Besides being fast, it is rather fuel efficient. Porsche says it will do 34.5 MPG in the U.S. Prices start at $95,000, which seems like a lot and is totally ridiculous. It might save you money at the pump, but it's still ugly.

A Prius-Alternative

2011 Honda CR-Z Sport Hybrid

I know that there are a lot of people reading my blog now who own a Toyota Prius. I would now like to take this time and ask a very important question to you owners: WHY? Why did you buy a Prius? Wouldn't it be better to save money on a car that's actually saving the earth rather than ruining it? Now there are a lot of cars that can do the job, but let's say you're the hybrid type of person. You believe in low emissions and fuel saving vehicles. If you fit this description, you might end up with the Prius. But, let's say you're also the fast and sporty type of person. You believe in putting your foot down and really pushing a car to its limits. If you still had your heart set on the Prius, then it's time for you to forget about it. That car will not cut the mustard for you, but there is a car that can, and it's from the company that you least expected. That's right! The Honda CR-Z is the perfect car if you're a mixture of green & sport. It's the first hybrid with a proper 6-speed manual gearbox. It's one of the first hybrids that actually looks really nice. It's the first hybrid with a real sport button.

Sport Button

It's also the first hybrid ever to actually be tunable, as proven here...

2011 Honda CR-Z Mugen

and here...

2011 Spoon Sports CR-Z

and also here.

2011 Honda CR-Z Hybrid R Concept

And, the most astonishing part is that if you do tune your CR-Z, you should still average about 40 MPG, making it very good. Now, I understand that the Prius can do more than that, but you won't have as much fun in the corners driving than this car. It's also quite affordable, too, with prices starting at under $20,000. So, if you've been looking for a hybrid that's fuel efficient and also has a dark side, then turn no further to Honda. They've done the CR-Z perfectly.

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Hybrid Racer #2

2013 Porsche 918 RSR Race Car

This, ladies and gentlemen, is the hidden Porsche. The 918 RSR was unveiled today at the NAIAS in Detroit. This is no concept car. Porsche will actually be using this car in some Le Mans races. It's powered by an all new 6.2-liter V8 producing 563 horsepower (Mercedes SLS power). That engine is combined with two electric motors, both producing 75 kW of power each, for a grand total of 150 kW (201 horsepower) of power. So, combining the electric motors with the massive V8 engine, this car produces a grand total of 767 horsepower, making it the most powerful Hybrid in the world. And that's not the best part. Porsche went mad with this engine and managed to make rev up to 10,300 RPMs. That's about the same that you get in a Formula One. The idea for this powerful Hybrid racer was taken from one of their own actually: the 911 GT3 R Hybrid. That car won a sizable amount of ALMS (American Le Mans Series) races in its time. So, Porsche thought they would bring in a much more powerful, and yet fuel efficient competitor. Even as a race car, this is one of the best looking Porsche's I've seen in a very long time. Check out its unveiling below.



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The Darker Side of Green

2011 Lexus CT 200h

If you hate your ugly Toyota Prius, my advice would be to take it back and get a Tesla. The problem is that Tesla's are expensive. So, what do you do? Turn to Lexus. Their Prius doesn't ruin the earth and is much cooler looking. This is the 2011 Lexus CT 200h, Lexus's 5th hybrid on the market. It's also Lexus's most sporty hybrid on the market. Under the hood is a 134 horsepower hybrid engine with 98 horsepower coming from a 1.8-liter 4-cylinder engine and 80 horsepower coming from an electric motor. This green engine is connected to ECVT (Electronically controlled Continuously Variable Transmission). As a result, 0 to 60 is reached in 9.8 seconds on its way to a top speed of 112 MPH. Doesn't sound like much, does it? How about I tell you that this car gets an EPA estimated 42 MPG? What's also interesting is that, like the Honda CR-Z, this hybrid comes with a sport button. So, you can do some fantastic sporty driving, while saving some green, saving the earth, and saving your pocket. And, since it's a Lexus, expect this car to be available with the best when it comes to luxury, entertainment, and detail. The cost of all this: $29,120, which in my opinion is actually good value for a car that looks, handles, and feels better than an ugly Prius.