Hybrid Vehicles

With gas prices continuing a steady upward climb, you may be headed to the dealer in search of something less thirsty at the pump. But which cars' sticker price gives you the most bang for your buck? We asked Edmunds.com to look at the vehicles with the lowest sticker price per fuel-economy rating. The math was simple: divide the car's base price by its EPA rating for combined fuel economy. The result gives a look at how much each mile per gallon will cost you. Photos: Top 10 cars with lowest cost per mpg Topping the list is Ford's C-Max Energi.

Since introducing the first Prius in Japan back in 1997, Toyota Motor Corp. has sold 5 million hybrids worldwide, including 2 million in the U.S., the automaker said Wednesday. Toyota said the owners of its hybrids have saved more than 3 billion gallons of gasoline compared with vehicles powered by gasoline only. According to Department of Energy estimates, the hybrid vehicles on the road today save nearly 500 million gallons of petroleum annually in the U.S. "Toyota not only created the hybrid segment, they have consistently dominated it since launching the Prius in the U.S. back in 2000," said Alec Gutierrez, senior analyst at Kelley Blue Book.

Sales of electric vehicles won't take off until automakers lower prices and demonstrate the economic benefits to consumers, according to a J.D. Power and Associates study of electric vehicle ownership. Almost two years after automakers started selling battery-powered rechargeable cars in the U.S., the segment is an almost immeasurable portion of auto sales.  Nissan has sold less than 6,800 Leaf electric cars this year through October, and that's down 16% from the same period last year.  Honda has leased just 48 of the electric version of the Fit this year.

Easing gas prices haven't put a dent in hybrid sales. Through the first quarter of this year, sales of hybrids rose 19% over the same period a year ago, according to Autodata Corp. The data include both conventional hybrid models and plug-ins, such as the Chevrolet Volt, which are rechargeable and can travel on electricity only for some distance before a gas engine kicks in and extends the car's range. The growth came when sales of all types of autos rose a little more than 6% during the same period.

The City Council voted Wednesday to instruct City Atty. Rocky Delgadillo to draft a law allowing any car with a state- issued alternative fuel decal to park for free next to a city meter. The move is designed to make it easier for parking enforcement officers to carry out an 18-month-old program that gives four hybrid vehicles -- Honda Civic Hybrid, Honda Insight and Ford Escape Hybrid and Toyota Prius -- free parking at meters. -- David Zahniser

Re "Hybrids in Carpool Lanes: a Nonstarter," Commentary, April 14: How can Robert Poole be so sure the carpool lanes will be clogged with hybrids? There are very few in the state. The carpool lanes are far from crowded, as any commuter will tell you. Why not give it a trial and see what happens? Or is that too simple? Poole is concerned that there will be a plethora of hybrids. Just think, if most of us drove them we'd have clean air, lower fuel prices and OPEC would feel our wrath.

Toyota Motor Corp. and Ford Motor Co. are producing the best hybrid vehicles, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists. In its annual review of vehicles that run on gasoline and electricity, the organization ranked the Toyota Prius, Ford Fusion hybrid and Honda Civic hybrid as the top vehicles in the non-luxury segment of the market. The nonprofit group rated the Lincoln MKZ hybrid, built by Ford, and the Lexus CT 200h, a Toyota product, as the top luxury models. The rankings are based on a combination of fuel economy, greenhouse gas emissions and the number of so-called options that buyers are forced to purchase when buying a hybrid version of a vehicle as opposed to how the standard gasoline model is sold.

While the choice of fuel-efficient hybrid vehicles for sale in the U.S. continues to grow, more buyers than not are deciding against the technology when they go to buy another car. Only 35% of hybrid vehicle owners chose to purchase a hybrid again when they returned to the market in 2011, according to auto information company R.L. Polk & Co. If you factor out the super-loyal Toyota Prius buyers, the repurchase rate drops to under 25%. ...

Since introducing the first Prius in Japan back in 1997, Toyota Motor Corp. has sold 5 million hybrids worldwide, including 2 million in the U.S., the automaker said Wednesday. Toyota said the owners of its hybrids have saved more than 3 billion gallons of gasoline compared with vehicles powered by gasoline only. According to Department of Energy estimates, the hybrid vehicles on the road today save nearly 500 million gallons of petroleum annually in the U.S. "Toyota not only created the hybrid segment, they have consistently dominated it since launching the Prius in the U.S. back in 2000," said Alec Gutierrez, senior analyst at Kelley Blue Book.

Diesel prices are at their highest level in nearly four years, topping $4 a gallon, but trucking company executive Fred Johring is taking it in stride. Johring's Golden State Express has bought low-emission, fuel-efficient diesel and natural gas rigs to comply with a clean-truck mandate at Southern California's twin ports — with the fortunate side effect of easing the pain of high-priced diesel. "We went from having one of the oldest local fleets to one of the newest," said Johring, whose Rancho Dominguez company sends trucks mainly on short-haul trips to and from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

When Ferrari's biggest and baddest supercar is a hybrid, you know the world has changed. Once considered the province of techies and the eco-friendly, hybrids are catching on in almost every vehicle segment. Hybrid sales were up 32% in the first two months of this year compared with the same period last year, according to research firm Autodata Corp. That's driven by a combination of trends, including upward-creeping gas prices, a growing track record for reliability and the wider selection of hybrid offerings - everything from the entry-level Toyota Prius C to the spacious Ford Fusion sedan to the LaFerrari, a 949-horsepower, million-dollar monster.

Henrik Fisker, the founder of Fisker Automotive Inc., resigned from the troubled maker of expensive hybrid vehicles Wednesday. Fisker, the executive chairman of the Anaheim company, said he left after disagreeing with the management team on the direction of the company. The automaker, which makes the $110,000 Karma plug-in hybrid sports car, has said it needs about $500 million to launch a second, less expensive model that would be made at a factory in Wilmington, Del.  It is negotiating with oversees investors and potential partners to raise the funds and says the talks are ongoing but that no agreement has been reached.

With gas prices continuing a steady upward climb, you may be headed to the dealer in search of something less thirsty at the pump. But which cars' sticker price gives you the most bang for your buck? We asked Edmunds.com to look at the vehicles with the lowest sticker price per fuel-economy rating. The math was simple: divide the car's base price by its EPA rating for combined fuel economy. The result gives a look at how much each mile per gallon will cost you. Photos: Top 10 cars with lowest cost per mpg Topping the list is Ford's C-Max Energi.

With the presidential election and Superstorm Sandy behind them, car shoppers headed for dealer lots last month in the biggest numbers since early 2008. Multiple brands, including Honda, Nissan, Hyundai and BMW, had their best Novembers ever last month. The import nameplates generally reported stronger gains than the domestic brands, helped by new products such as the new-generation Honda Accord and a new Nissan Pathfinder sport utility vehicle. Automakers sold more than 1.1 million vehicles last month, a 15% gain over November 2011.

Ladies and gentlemen, prepare to start your transponders. Or not. Los Angeles County's first toll lanes opened shortly after 10 p.m. Saturday on an 11-mile stretch of the 110 Freeway amid hopes of faster commutes and early grumblings from some unhappy motorists. The express lanes run between Adams Boulevard just south of downtown and the Harbor Gateway Transit Center near Torrance and the 91 Freeway. Officials aim to keep the lanes moving at 45 mph or faster. Solo drivers will pay an average of $4 to $7 per trip - and as much as $15.40 - depending on congestion and toll-lane demand.

Sales of electric vehicles won't take off until automakers lower prices and demonstrate the economic benefits to consumers, according to a J.D. Power and Associates study of electric vehicle ownership. Almost two years after automakers started selling battery-powered rechargeable cars in the U.S., the segment is an almost immeasurable portion of auto sales.  Nissan has sold less than 6,800 Leaf electric cars this year through October, and that's down 16% from the same period last year.  Honda has leased just 48 of the electric version of the Fit this year.

More nonsense. Put big money into road repair (Feb. 19). Open diamond lanes to hybrid vehicles (Commentary, Feb. 19). Why does Southern California have the most congested and poorest freeways and roads? Not because the roads are not kept up! Not because diamond lanes are not open to single-driver hybrid vehicles. I've never seen diamond lanes that are not fully congested when the main road is also fully congested. The answer is a no-brainer. Mass transit? Sure, but that would cost hundreds of billions of dollars for quality light rail and subways.

Grab any electrical engineer off the street and they'll tell you salt water conducts electricity. So when super storm Sandy pushed seawater into parking lots at New Jersey's Port of Newark, significant damage to recently imported vehicles was inevitable. Fisker and Toyota learned this first-hand. Fisker fell victim to the most dramatic damage. Sixteen of its Karma vehicles caught fire and burned shortly after this week's storm. These luxury plug-in hybrid vehicles cost at least $95,000 each and count Justin Bieber and Leonardo DiCaprio among its celebrity owners.

SACRAMENTO - State lawmakers sent two road-related proposals to the governor Tuesday, one that would hike fines for Californians who use a cellphone while driving and another that would exempt hybrid drivers from toll charges in car-pool lanes. The cellphone bill, SB 1310 by state Sen. Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto), would increase the current fine for driving while using a hands-on phone or text messaging from $20 to $30 for a first offense, and from $50 to $60 for a subsequent offense.