Honda Clarity Electric, Plug-In Hybrid: first drives, impressions

Honda Clarity series with Green Car Reports editor John Voelcker at Honda R&D Center, Tochigi, JapanIn March, we spent most of a day with the Honda Clarity Fuel Cell, the first of three variants of the Clarity mid-size sedan to go on sale in the U.S. Leases of the hydrogen-powered Clarity will be limited for the foreseeable future to residents of those areas of California near to hydrogen fueling stations, but two more versions are on their way...

Toyota, Honda, Nissan, other Japan firms to fund hydrogen fueling

Hydrogen station in Ebina City, JapanEarlier this year in Europe, 13 companies joined forces to create the Hydrogen Council, a global initiative to discuss and promote the use of hydrogen as a renewable source of energy. In the United States, GM and Honda have partnered up to build a production plant in Michigan that will roll out next-generation propulsion systems for fuel-cell...

Electric-car range: why Japanese needs differ so radically from the U.S.

2016 Nissan Leaf SL fast-charging at NRG evGo Freedom Station, Hudson Valley, NY, Dec 2015It was one of the new battery-electric vehicles anticipated for this year, a mid-size sedan from a global maker that remains the second highest-volume hybrid maker in the world. Then the news hit earlier this week: the all-electric Honda Clarity EV would have a rated battery range around ... 80 miles. From the justifications they offered, we...

Toyota to launch fuel-cell buses next year for Olympics

Toyota FC Bus hydrogen fuel-cell busIt appears that Toyota's hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles plans encompass more than just passenger cars. The Japanese automaker plans to begin selling fuel-cell buses in its home country next year, with an eye toward deploying them at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. In a press release announcing the buses, Toyota said the Tokyo Metropolitan Government already...

Toyota Prius design, popular in Japan, not a hit in U.S.

2017 Toyota PriusWith the fourth-generation Prius hybrid, Toyota focused not only on improving efficiency, but on making its halo car more appealing to a wider range of consumers. Part of that strategy involved adopting a highly-stylized exterior that differed radically from that of previous models. But could the new styling of the fourth-generation Prius actually...

Toyota Prius design, popular in Japan, not a hit in U.S.

2017 Toyota PriusWith the fourth-generation Prius hybrid, Toyota focused not only on improving efficiency, but on making its halo car more appealing to a wider range of consumers. Part of that strategy involved adopting a highly-stylized exterior that differed radically from that of previous models. But could the new styling of the fourth-generation Prius actually...

Nissan Note hybrid leaked, but not likely for North America

Leaked image of Nissan Note e-Power hybrid (Japanese market version) published on Liveblog siteThe Nissan Versa Note has never been a particularly big seller in North America. Its sedan counterpart is one of the largest and most capacious vehicles in the subcompact segment, but the Note has always been more of a car for European and Asian markets. There, it does fairly well, in part due to a higher-quality interior than the one fitted to...