First Drive: 2011 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid

[svgallery name=”2011_Lincoln_MKZ_Hybrid”] Lincoln’s Zed-car goes green Ford premium brand’s shows Toyota’s premium brand how to do a “luxury hybrid” By John LeBlanc Washington, D.C. – Along with a variety of sins that would make ancient Rome’s ruling classes look like kindergarteners, feel free to blame Hollywood celebrities for the idea of the luxury hybrid. If […]

The Crank: Lincoln’s naming strategy missing its Mark

By John LeBlanc I recently got a chance to drive the new 2011 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid sedan and updated 2011 MKX midsize crossover (preview article coming forthwith). All in all, both are pretty solid pieces of kit. Not only is the MKZ Lincoln’s first hybrid, because its based on the excellent bones of the Ford […]

Preview: Porsche 918 Spyder Hybrid Concept

[svgallery name=”Porsche_918_Spyder_hirez”] Along came an electric Spyder On the road to production, Porsche previews its hybrid super sports By John LeBlanc CARMEL VALLEY, CALIF.—The idea of an electric-gasoline hybrid with supercar performance is the automobile industry’s version of man’s goal to reach the moon in the 1960s. Over the past year, Audi, Ferrari, Lotus, Mercedes-Benz […]

Road Test: 2010 Toyota Camry Hybrid

[svgallery name=”2010_Toyota_Camry_Hybrid”] Vanilla ice-cream, sans vanilla Are the Camry Hybrid’s gains in fuel economy worth the loses in the wallet and driving experience? By John LeBlanc If you want to tell the world you’re driving a gasoline-electric hybrid – and all that it speaks to, good or bad – then buy a Toyota Prius, the […]

The Crank: Honda ditches diesels for hybrids

By John LeBlanc So much for going its own way. A report has Japan’s Honda canceling plans to build a new minicar and diesel engine plant north of Tokyo. Apparently, the dreaded new fuel economy and tailpipe emissions regs, that will peak in 2016, have scared the Honda folks enough to go over to the […]

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