Well for 2012 Toyota knew they had to completely redesign the Camry Hybrid. Their knowledge and expertise shines with this newly released car. The Gas Mileage figures are outstanding as the Camry Hybrid now gets 43 MPG in the City and 39 MPG on the Highway. The combined fuel economy rating is 41 MPG which is enough to make the 2012 Toyota Camry Hybrid one of the Top 5 BEST MPG Cars for 2012.

But why the big jump in fuel economy over the previous model Camry Hybrid? In fact the 2012 Toyota Camry Hybrid gets 38% better gas mileage than the old model. These better ratings are due to a handful on revisions most notably the updating of the Hybrid Synergy Drive. As technology gets better so too does the efficiency of an automobile. The power delivery and Toyota’s Hybrid Synergy System Software has been recalibrated to help the Camry Hybrid be more fuel efficient. The 2.5 Liter 4 cylinder engine has better intake and exhaust manifolds to help the car breathe better. The engine is also beltless meaning there are no accessories like the power steering or air conditioning that run off the engine. Instead these accessories are all electrically driven.

Besides the engine and Hybrid Synergy Drive the 2012 Toyota Camry Hybrid got a weight reduction of over 200 lbs. The lighter a car the better gas mileage it will get. Another cool fact about the new Camry Hybrid is that it is more powerful than the outbound model. The 2012 car produces 200 horsepower as compared to the 2011 Camry’s 189 horsepower. With a base price of $25,900 the 2012 Toyota Camry is cheaper, more powerful, and more fuel efficient than last year’s car. The 2012 Toyota Camry Hybrid gas mileage is 43 MPG in the city and 39 MPG on the highway. With a combined total of 41 MPG the Camry Hybrid is in a very select group of cars.

Buick Lacrosse eAssist Hybrid

The Buick Lacrosse uses a Belt Alternator Starter Hybrid System like the short lived Malibu Hybrid. Regenerative brakes charge the batteries and a start-stop system turns off the motor when the car is idle. All these features stack up to create a luxury hybrid that has a relatively cheap price for the amount of luxury you get.

Image via http://www.sandyblogs.com/techconnect/index.html

The Lexus CT 200h thankfully skips the ugly wedge shape design that is common with the Toyota Prius and Honda Insight hybrid cars. Instead the Lexus CT 200h is a hatchback and still musters an ultra low drag coefficient of 0.29 which is necessary to get good gas mileage numbers. For comparison the current Toyota Prius has a drag coefficient rating of 0.25. Pretty similar and definitely not enough of a difference to explain the gap in MPG numbers.

Both the Lexus CT 200h and the 2011 Toyota Prius are powered by the same 1.8 Liter 4-cylinder Atkinson Cycle Engine. This engine is ultra efficient and makes 98 horsepower and 105 lb-ft. of torque. What makes the Lexus CT 200h a hybrid is the electric motor and battery assist. This electric motor adds more horsepower and torque bringing the total up to 134 HP. The Lexus CT 200h also has the same CVT transmission as the Prius which allows for optimum gear selection. And being a parallel hybrid, the Lexus CT 200h can drive on gas, electric, or a combination of both.

Another great feature about the Lexus CT 200h is the fact that the battery pack is placed with cargo space in mind. The battery pack is a 38-module Nickel Metal Hydride unit weighing only 118 lbs. And do not worry about the longjevity of the battery pack as all new Lexus CT 200h hybrid cars come with a 8-year 100k mile warranty on the batteries.

Regenerative Braking is pretty common and the Lexus CT 200h uses this method to recharge the batteries. When you stop, the braking energy is converted into electricity. This efficient system also powers the electric water pump and the electric power steering components. Since these units are not driven by belts on the engine, the Lexus CT 200h sees gas mileage improvements.

The Hybrid Synergy Drive on the Lexus CT 200h allows the driver to choose between 4 modes: EV, ECO, Normal, and Sport.

• EV Mode – EV stands for electric vehicle and the Lexus CT 200h is equipped to run up to 25 MPH on pure electricity alone. This is great for stop and go traffic and really helps with the gas mileage. Also while in EV mode the car produces Zero emissions
• ECO Mode – With the Lexus CT 200h in ECO mode you can expect the best gas mileage but you also get the worst performance in terms of acceleration.
• Normal Mode – This mode increases throttle response and is good for normal driving situations.
• Sport Mode – Sport offers the best acceleration and adjust the steering, traction, and stability control settings. You also get the worst gas mileage while in Sport mode.

So in conclusion the Lexus CT 200h has all the same operating systems as the Toyota Prius yet net a far lower fuel economy rating. The Lexus CT 200h Gas Mileage is 43 MPG city, 40 MPG highway, and 42 MPG combined. While the Prius enjoys 51 MPG city, 48 MPG highway, and 50 MPG combined. Drag coefficient cannot be the cause of the variation in gas mileage and the Lexus CT 200h only weighs 100 more lbs. than the Prius. And both cars sport low rolling resistance tires. What Gives?

Photo Credits : http://www.lexus.com/models/CTh/

Hyundai took a different road when designing the Sonata Hybrid.  Where most hybrid cars are currently based off the same system or technology, the engineers at Hyundai have gone a different route.  A study by the Society of Automotive Engineers found that hybrid owners use their car for highway driving mostly.  And most hybrid cars have a CVT transmission to help with gas mileage in the city.  Well the Hyundai Sonata uses a regular 6-speed automatic transmission which is more efficient on the highway thus the Sonata Hybrid gets better gas mileage.

Hyundai engineers have also made the Sonata Hybrid more aerodynamic and they also employ systems to help reduce wind resistance at higher speeds.  The Sonata Hybrid is powered by a 2.4 liter 4-cylinder engine that produces 169 horsepower.  There is a 40 HP electric motor on hand for the extra umph!  The Sonata Hybrid also has a polymer battery pack which further reduces the curb weight.  Look for the Hyundai to be about 300 lbs. lighter than the Fusion Hybrid.

The base price should also be much less than its competitors.  So the 2011 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid not only gets great gas mileage, it weighs less, and should be cheaper than any of its competitors.  What is not to like about that!

What make the Chevrolet Volt a cool car is that it can run totally on battery power for up to 40 miles.  This satisfies the normal daily commute of most of us.  After 40 miles a gas engine kicks in to get you to your destination.  So really even though this is a hybrid car; the Volt can be considered an electric car for short daily trips.  Bummer is you would have to plug in this car in order to recharge it…which is actually true to form of an electric car.  The Volt will have regenerative breaking, and once the batteries are recharged to a preset level; the gas engine will shut off and the electric engine will again resume.  There are still many factors yet to be set in stone regarding emission of fuel consumption.  But odds are these numbers will be low for emissions and high at least above 50 Miles per gallon when the gas engine is running.   The Volt platform will be the basis

The New Honda Insight starts at right around $20k and gets 43 MPG in the City and 40 MPG on the highway, for a combine fuel economy score of 41.  What makes the Insight so fuel efficient is the small 1.3 gas engine and the integrated motor assist electric engine.  These two engine can run at the same time which is a problem other hybrids manufacturers avoid.  A continuois variable transmission put power down while the sleek shape reduces drag when speeds get a bit faster.  And when you slow down, regenerative braking recharges the batteries. The Honda Insight has secured its place in the hybid automotive world.

Source:http://automobiles.honda.com/insight-hybrid/exterior-photos.aspx

The little engine that could is a 1.4L, 3-cylinder, direct injected, turbo-diesel. This bad boy pumps out a staggering 79-hp. But when combined with LRR tires, special aerodynamics, and a manual transmission; the Polo can easily obtain the 60 MPG advertised, eat that hybrids. And the little 12-gallon tank will take you well over 700 miles. Sounds good to me!

Since Space the Final Frontier has been conquered…might as well solve the gas crisis.  Damn….why did I skip Auto Shop Class!  I could be rich…..maybe not….you can bet that the big auto makers are already on the case.  The Announcement was made at the New York International Auto Show a few months back.  And even the Mayor Bloomberg gave his 2 cents on the prize:  “Development of a super-efficient car would be a major step forward in the fight against global warming – and it would help us reach our goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions in New York City by 30 percent by 2030.” Please…..by 2030 we are going to be oil free.

It always seems like America is a little behind the times.  Why shoot for 100 MPG….that seems easily within reach.  I mean we already have Electric cars, Vegetable Oil powered cars, and so on running around.  And a plug in Hybrid can already achieve close to those numbers.  Gas is a thing of the past!  In 2009 a cross-country race will determine the winner of the Progressive Automotive X Prize.  Check out their website for more info. http://www.xprize.org/x-prizes/automotive-x-prize

Ford officially released the Fusion Hybrid recently at the Los Angeles Auto Show late in 2008.  The new Ford Fusion receives some of the best in-town gas mileage, that only a hybrid can get.  Beating out the Toyota Camry by a large margin, and the economical Civic Hybrid by a hair; the Fusion Hybrid is ranked at 41 MPG in town driving.  Thanks to an electric motor, the Ford can go up to 47 miles per hour.  A bunch of Car Publications have used this method to get greater fuel economy than the EPA estimates.

The Fusion can help teach the driver which style of driving gets the best fuel economy.  They have created an ingenious system which is built into the instrument cluster called the SmartGauge.  A couple of different info categories are displayed on two screens next to the gauge cluster.  The first monitor will indicate just how much gas is left and also how much energy is left in the battery pack.  The second gauge tells which mode the car is in; electric or hybrid, and it also shows the RPM’s.  This third gauge displays the output energy of the batteries and the engine.  Additional power consumption and power to the wheels are shown in the last data screen.   All data screens show fuel economy, fuel consumption history, an odometer, trip data, and coolant temperatures.  Best fuel economy can be gauged through real time MPG information showing the driver which driving style is most efficient.

The nav screen shows the Hybrid Energy Flow data.  This display will track the 5 modes of the Fusion’s Hybrid Powertrain which are the; electric drive, hybrid drive, electric boost, idle charging, and regenerative breaking.

Ford not only equipped the Fusion with an environmentally friendly drivetrain; they also used post-industrial yarns which are recycled into the seats of the Fusion Hybrid.  The Prius and the Civic Hybrid are two of the most popular cars out today, its about time Ford designed a hybrid car.

Back in August of 2008 Infiniti got the Automotive Faithful all hot and bothered with news they were working on a g35 hybrid car. Well here we are in 2009 and the G35 isn’t even part of the Infiniti line-up anymore.

Lexus has been ruling the hybrid market now for years.  The RX 400h SUV starts at more than $40k and gets a pitiful 25 MPG.  The GS 450h costs $55k large and gets even worse gas mileage.   Finally the Lexus 600hL costs a mere $100k and…well I won’t repeat the EPA estimated MPG, but lets say it is stunningly low!

So does that mean we will be getting a G37 hybrid?  By the time Infiniti gets around to making a hybrid car, electric vehicles will be all the rage.  So while Infiniti sits on their thumbs, Lexus will gladly rake in all the cash from the luxury hybrid car segment!