hybrid

The auto giant announced plans Monday to extend its start-stop technology -- a feature common to gas-electric hybrids -- to its conventional gasoline-powered passenger cars and SUVs as well.

When Toyota Motor reports quarterly earnings tomorrow it will give investors the latest snapshot of how big a toll massive recalls and tepid auto sales are taking on the company's bottom line.

Addressing recent reports that Ford is looking to pull out of its partnership with Mazda, the head of the Japanese carmaker said Wednesday that the alliance remains intact. "We have an agreement with Ford," Mazda CEO Takashi Yamanouchi said. "We are not considering alliances with others at all."

Tesla Motors has signed a $60 million contract with Toyota Motor to develop an all-electric version of the popular RAV4 compact sports-utility vehicle, Tesla said Wednesday.

General Motors is giving some 600,000 employees, retirees and dealers the chance to purchase stock in the resurgent company as the auto giant moves forward with its initial public offering, slated for next month.

General Motors is firing back at the automotive press after critics' assertions that the much-anticipated Chevrolet Volt isn't a true electric car -- rather merely another hybrid, and not particularly fuel-thrifty.

Honda unveiled its new hybrid Fit subcompact in Tokyo Friday. At a starting price of around $19,160, it is cheaper than any other hybrid vehicle in Japan -- including Toyota's popular Prius.

The recent winning bidder for a low-mileage 2008 Ford Escape hybrid may have gotten more than he or she bargained for -- especially if it's dark gray in color. It seems that matches the description of the vehicle President Barack Obama drove prior to his bid to become president of the United States.

Toyota is allegedly in talks to supply technology and key components for hybrid vehicles to Germany's Daimler, according to a report Thursday in the Nikkei Business Daily newspaper. If a deal is made, Daimler would become fourth automaker to use Toyota's gas-electric hybrid technology.

Toyota Motor (TM) is already the largest maker of hybrid vehicles, offering seven different models in the U.S. market. But the automaker's plans call for it introduce six new models by the end of 2012 and to offer two plug-in hybrid vehicles, including a version of its popular Prius to be marketed...