The Prius is the best-selling hybrid in the world because it not only has an alternative powertrain, but it has an alternative look. Most other hybrids look like any other car. Even if G.M. couldn't exactly carry over the styling of the show car, they should have made the actual design more exotic, because the people that buy them are not interested in making a subtle statement. They'll want everyone to know how green they are.
Executives from General Motors and the Ford Motor Company pressed their case on Tuesday for $25 billion in federal loans in a series of high-level meetings with lawmakers in Washington. The appearances by G.M.'s chairman, Rick Wagoner, and Ford's executive chairman, William C. Ford Jr., underscored how vital the industry considers the loans as it tries to meet tougher fuel-efficiency regulations.
The much-promoted Chevrolet Volt is intended to provide a jump-start for General Motors’ second century.
A proposed $25 billion federal loan program to help retool the auto industry would speed the development of alternative-fuel vehicles, a Chrysler executive said Wednesday.
Hybrid models of Detroit’s 5,500-pound S.U.V.’s get better mileage, but consumers have been slow to embrace them.
Some hybrid owners fear the magnetic fields inside their cars, but evidence is lacking.