it comes as no surprise that the headline I just read was "plug-in hybrid Jeeps haven’t been able to engage the electric-only driving mode at all this winter."

 well, no shit. New tech isn't vetted and researched long enough to work out the bugs on the 1st year of a new vehicle production.... we've known that for decades

And batteries aren't made for shit and still don't work well in the deep freeze, that too, we've known for decades

https://www.thedrive.com/news/jeep-wrangler-4xe-owners-are-mad-over-ev-mode-that-wont-work-in-the-cold

I bet a regular Jeep with an internal combustion engine was unaffected by such bush league techy bullshit.

The Glacier National Park Red Bus Fleet, on duty at the popular Montana tourist attraction since 1936, will be converted to a more environmentally friendly hybrid as part of a total overhaul.

One of the most recognizable modes of public transportation in America is set to be refreshed in the beginning of 2019.

In 2013 the National Park Service put the Glacier’s concessions contract up for bid, to restore a minimum of 15 Red Buses before 2025 and replace the remaining 18 by 2029.

 During the first half of the 20th century, the White Motor Company constructed Model 706 tour buses for use on the roads in national parks all across the West. Yellowstone buses were painted yellow. Today, only the Glacier fleet remains and 33 Red Buses are operational in 2013.

35 tour buses were sent to Glacier National Park between 1936 and 1939. Glacier Park Inc. owned the buses until 1999, when they were donated to the National Park Service after Ford rebuilt the entire fleet at a cost of nearly $7 million.

The fleet was last updated between around 1999 via a collaboration with Ford, which included the automaker adapting the bus bodies to E-series Van chassis and propane systems. Since then, each bus has logged between 130,000 and 150,000 miles, averaging 10,000 each year.

Legacy Classic Trucks, Driggs Idaho, will restore and update each bus in the fleet during the park’s off-season months. Every bus will get a new Ford chassis and Ford 6.2L V-8 engine. The powertrain will be bolstered by a pass-through hybrid electrical system that will increase fuel economy and lower emissions by up to 25%, the wheels will be upgraded to 19.5-inch-tall wheels to replicate the original 1930s’ units, and retro-looking gauges will be added to give the buses a period-correct appearance. Bus bodies will undergo rust-repair and be re-painted on an as-needed basis.

https://flatheadbeacon.com/2013/01/31/glacier-says-it-will-retain-red-bus-fleet/
https://www.legacyclassictrucks.com/

51 mpg city? You have my attention Honda... now, can you make it not look ugh? Meh? Blah?

Nope, that is a Camry, Corrolla, Taurus, boring looking car if I ever seen one.

51 Mpg? Nice. Of course, cars HAVE been doing that for decades, like the GEO Metro.

Not that cars until now had 8 airbags, bluetooth, back up cameras, and XM radio... with AC, heated seats, and a big AV screen

On the other hand... a 2011 Chevy Cruze Eco,  gets 42 freeway, with a turbo, and overdrive.

Why get a new Honda then, that only get 45 freeway, no turbo?

The way I see it, cars should get 50 mpg freeway, or 60... with turbo, and overdrive, 2 door. They should look a bit exciting, be more fun to drive than a Prius, and cost less than 25k.

But no one makes a basic commuter, 2 door, that's great at mpg, and is good looking, and a bit fun to drive (the acceleration of a turbo is a fun feeling, even if it takes a while in exchange for 5 times the gas mileage of a v8, at 1/4 the size engine displacement)

Why didn't the CR-Z (2010 -2016) get better than 36-39? It was even a stick shift!

The original 1988 CRX was 41-49mpg

the era of the new electric gas hybrid London taxi begins.

I hadn't heard that a London Taxi had standards to meet, but there are.

London taxi rules dictate a maximum width, as well as a famous 8.5-metre turning circle. The front tires have a 60 degree arc of movement to achieve that turning circle, instead of a typical SUV's 38 degrees

This new standard taxi is an electric hybrid with a 1.5 liter gas engine, will run for 80 miles on the battery, and compared to the last taxi running on diesel, will be far quieter, and emit less pollution. No doubt London will benefit from the reduction of both diesel exhaust and noise. Total range, 400 miles

The TX costs £55,559 (including a £7500 grant), but most cab drivers are likely to lease theirs at a set price of £177 per week over five years. That's a £10 increase on the lease price of the TX4, but the average driver could save £100 per week in fuel costs. Not to mention that service intervals are every 25,000 miles, rather than 12,000. It might be a compelling business case for cab drivers seeking an upgrade.

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/first-drive-levc-tx-taxi-streets-london  (Thanks Steve!)

1918 15-ton Couple-Gear gas-electric powered tractor-truck by the Couple-Gear Freight Wheel Company of Grand Rapids.

the middle guy above, seems to be in the drivers seat below

From 1918 to at least 1922 Fageol designed trucks to replace the mule trains that were then hauling ore out of the mines of the American Manganese Products Company in California. They experimented with different combinations of axles and drivetrains, including the Couple-Gear chassis, which appears to have been the largest. In the end they settled on a Fageol designed six-wheel-drive 10-ton truck towing two 5-ton trailers, built by the obscure Rogers-Unit Drive Corporation.

http://www.shorpy.com/node/20990  and   http://www.shorpy.com/node/21034
thanks Steve

a taxi in Austria is a featured car in the Toyota Prius world hall of fame, it's now accomplished 600,000 miles on the original battery pack, and without a break down

Found on http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1099135_toyota-prius-taxi-logs-more-than-600000-miles-batteries-last-apparently-video?fbfanpage

just another day in San Diego rush hour (during a Charger game) traffic (10 mph moving parking lot)

A Tesla Roadster Sport with eye catching car pool lane stickers (which I thought were obsolete) http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2011/08/starting-july-1st-solo-drivers-of.html

Starting July 1st, solo drivers of hybrid cars in California will see their special pass to the car pool lane disappear.

85,000 were issued to hybrids. Prius and Honda Civic and others.

Since 2004, hybrid owners with a special permit were allowed entry into California’s High-Occupancy-Vehicle (HOV) lanes even when driving alone. 

The special yellow key-shaped decals that denoted access quickly became a must-have for traffic-weary hybrid owners, and added up to $1,500 to the resale value of the hybrid that sported one against its more mundane siblings.

read the whole story at

http://www.thecarconnection.com/news/1062439_california-hybrid-drivers-lose-car-pool-lane-privileges

The first 4 wheel drive... was a Porsche. It was also the first hybrid. It was over 110 years ago as well

Jacob Lohner & Co in Vienna, Austria produced electric cars from 1898 to 1906.
Ferdinand Porsche, one of Lohner´s employees developed a drive system based on fitting an electric motor to each front wheel without transmissions (hub mounted).
Vehicles of this type were known as Lohner-Porsches

Lohner produced a number of hybrid petrol- electric cars. That is, with a gasoline US engine driving a generator to produce the electricity to drive the electric motors.

While the Lohner-Porsche technology was reliable, it was not competitive with conventional petrol-engined cars. Production costs where higher.
Production of Hybrid cars seized in 1906 although Lohner produced Lohner-Stoll trolley buses for several years on.


Above is a recreation, and is named "Semper Vivus" and is currently on display at the Porshe museum in Stuttgart http://www.porsche.com/usa/aboutporsche/pressreleases/pcna/?lang=none&pool=international-de&id=2011-04-26 between May 10 2011 and June 13 2011

Here below is a picture of a racing version of the front wheel driven, petrol-electric Lohner "Porsche". This vehicle was entered in the 1900 "Semmering" race and is driven by Dr. Porsche himself.

read more about it http://www.marque1.com/marque1/2011/03/yes-its-a-porsche-the-worlds-first-hybrid-car.html

Above image is Mr. Porsche at the wheel http://asaucerfulofwheels.tumblr.com/image/58325709217
Ferdinand Porsche/Lohner-Porsche Mixte/1903

Hybrid car gas ratings finally forced to prove the nonsense claims

http://www.attuworld.com/cars/hybrid_cars_fantasy_mileage_ratings_drive_into_the_sunset