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i feel gassy

Reasons For Buying A Hybrid: The Good, The Bad And The Moronic

Leave it to The Car Connection's Marty Padgett to dream up a list including seven good reasons for buying a hybrid — we were surprised to see that many. Being professional cynics, we're far more interested in, and familiar with, the six bad reasons he detailed in a piece for PR Newswire. But with the super-exciting hybrid wars on the way at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show, we suppose it's about time to bone up on the rationale for hooking up with the hybrid clan. Brief summaries of the points after the jump. More »

11:20 AM on Tue Aug 19 2008
By Ben Wojdyla
4,059 views, 70 comments

Latest by Boter: @smalleyxb122: "If you live in a community that idealizes the green movement, and all of your neighbors have hybrids..." Then I'll stick with my Saturn. Pushing 40MPG with DOHC. Closer, once I do a manual transmission swap (and, uh, learn to drive stick). more »

industry news

Hybrid Owners More Brand Loyal Than Other Buyers, We Make Zero Smug Jokes

An industry group we've never heard of called "Experian Automotive" is reporting this morning nearly half of hybrid vehicle owners will buy a vehicle of the same brand when they buy another one, making them some of the most loyal customers in the industry. Of course, they may not be buying a hybrid again because they're apparently not the most segment-loyal. Who is? You guessed it, pickup truck owners. The specifics, and why this could be good for GM and Ford below the jump. More »

8:45 AM on Tue Aug 12 2008
By Andrew Stoy
719 views, 12 comments

Latest by DetroitBandit: Experian Automotive knows a heck of a lot about the industry. Thier "AutoCheck" vehicle history report product saved me from buying a bad used car before. I'm not 100% certain, but I think they also do a lot of industry trend reporting for the Big 3 and probably other manufacturers. Anyway, more »

2009 ford escape

2009 Ford Escape: First Drive

While we're not quite willing to call this a full review, we did get some seat time with a couple of spankin' new 2009 Ford Escape models yesterday. We managed to get back-to-back seat time with both the 2008 and 2009 V6 4x4 Limited as well as the Hybrid for direct comparison on the same 20-mile circuit. When Hardigree reviewed the Escape's platform pal, the 2008 Mercury Mariner Hybrid, it was fairly obvious our impression was one of disconnectedness. The brakes felt funny, the handling was blah, and the steering felt numb. Ford apparently heard these complaints from its customers as well. More »

Feature

12:00 PM on Thu May 15 2008
By Ben Wojdyla
11,439 views, 39 comments

Latest by skulldriveshaft: Starting to look like a Jimmy / Denali? As long as it sucks less gas, and doesn't malfunction as much as the previous versions, it's alright. Plenty of people will have a hard time noticing the differences when the badge is not visible. Those that are locked into ford products because of more »

news

Canadian Cabinet Members Forced To Give Back Vehicles, Thanks To One Teenage Hoon

The cabinet ministers in Nova Scotia will no longer be allowed to cruise around in government-paid vehicles after one teenage son of a cabinet minister crashed a 2008 Ford Escape hybrid likely doing something very un-green-like. It turned into a bit of a messy he-said she-said as the cabinet member, Judy Streatch, said she was given verbal permission to allow her son to drive the vehicle, but not written permission, which was previously required by the cabinet. More »

3:40 PM on Thu May 8 2008
By Travis Hudson
2,364 views, 19 comments

Latest by LandofMinos,Top Gear Australia sucked, 2 out of 3 hosts MUST DIE: Awe poor politicians. Now they only get free fuel. more »

jalopnik reviews

2008 Mercury Mariner Hybrid, Part Three

Why you should buy this car:
You want a luxury SUV that isn't blinged out or foreign. Your expectation of what luxury entails is fairly low. You don't like driving but you're too lazy to ride a bicycle. You give money to groups that support eco-friendly candidates but you don't actually vote.

Why you shouldn't buy this car:
You live by the motto "between here and there is better than either here or there." You spent $30,000 on your last five cars, combined. You're holding out for a diesel version. You realize it ain't this easy being green; making a meaningful reduction in your own environmental impact requires the kind of sacrifice and commitment that can't be achieved by driving a luxury SUV. You couldn't give a damn about the previous sentence.

More »

Feature

12:00 PM on Fri Apr 11 2008
By Matt Hardigree
3,472 views, 39 comments

Latest by trjarvis01: Definitely Chicago. You got your Dinkels on Lincoln, the CB2 up the street, and a Treasure Island from... Broadway, maybe? I hear Bill C. has one, with a fridge in the back. But no astroturf. more »

jalopnik reviews

2008 Mercury Mariner Hybrid, Part Two

Exterior Design:***
Whereas the platform buddy Ford Escape never manages to look tough enough and the other derivative, the Mazda Tribute, looks like a child with some sort of neurological condition, the Mercury Mariner Hybrid appears exactly as it should. By far the best looking of the trio, the conservative looks fare well next to luxury SUV offerings from Toyota and Acura.

Interior Design:**
Compared to the previous generation, the interior of the Mariner is smart and luxurious. The stone-colored leather seats are comfortable, though more side bolstering would be nice. The rear bench is roomy enough for two passengers joining you and your wife for a night of gallery hopping, and if you ditch them, the rear seats fold forward far enough to hold just a touch over 66 square feet of trendy crap.

More »

Feature

12:00 PM on Thu Apr 10 2008
By Matt Hardigree
2,791 views, 41 comments

Latest by Charles_Barrett - Now with Variable-Valve Timing: @Matt Hardigree: "...as I cruised for Etruscan pottery." Matt, please tell me you aren't planning to take the Etruscan stuff to "the Paint Your Own Pottery place off Lincoln Ave..." I doubt you can improve on their work... more »

jalopnik reviews

2008 Mercury Mariner Hybrid, Part One

The full title of this review is "2008 Mercury Mariner Hybrid, Part One or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love my Yuppie Ass" but the kicker wouldn't look good on the page. I do my best to pass myself off as anything-but-a-yuppie. Preferring to rock cheap chinos, a hoody and an Astros cap over J. Crew sweater vests and flat front Banana Republic slacks, but something about the Mariner Hybrid makes me suddenly think about how fly I'd look with the sleeves of my dress shirt exposed while driving through Lincoln Park listening to The Best Of Tuvan Throat Singing Vol. 2.

More »

Feature

12:00 PM on Wed Apr 9 2008
By Matt Hardigree
3,315 views, 119 comments

Latest by leighzbohns: on topic: The many hybrids I see are prius. Basically, the D-Bs who want a SUV jut buy one with the full climate change, and the folks who want a wagon buy a wagon, and all the wannabe Gs jut drive around in POS big 'merican cars. Off topic: I've always more »

offbeat news

IRS Gives Biggest Tax Credit To New Ford Hybrids

Now that the tax incentives to on the Toyota Prius have run out, the new king of the road for deductions are the hybrid offerings from Ford — the Hybrid Ford Escape and Hybrid Mercury Mariner two wheel drive. The taxman will be giving buyers of the twin hybrids up to $3,000 in deductions in an effort to offset the additional cost associated with purchase. Of course, if and when Ford ever manages to build 60,000 hybrids, those incentives will evaporate just as they have for the Prius. [IRS.gov]

12:45 PM on Fri Mar 28 2008
By Ben Wojdyla
1,353 views, 33 comments

Latest by westfieldind: @stuntpuppy: Me look at fueleconomy.gov. No car that seat 5 except hybrid Prius, hybrid Civic, and hybrid Altima get 34 mpg city. Drive Hybrid Ford Escape and maybe see you in HOV lane with dino power Yaris or Fit. Yaris or Fit give off twice more smog than more »

alternative energy

Ford Delivers Plug-In Hybrid to SoCal Electric Company

Ford has gone through on its promise to lead on technology that other automakers have already developed, delivering the first of 20 Plug-In Escapes to Southern California Edison. The Plug-In Escape achieves 120 mpg when the lithium-ion batteries are full charged (for the first 30 miles at least). The little hybrid gets the Ford advanced technology livery, which sort of flies in the face of the "I didn't feel the need to talk about hybrids" theme in their commercials. All things considered, this is a step forward, if only a small one. Press release below the jump: More »

11:00 AM on Tue Dec 4 2007
By Matt Hardigree
488 views, 19 comments

Latest by skierpage: Neat, shame it's a relatively heavy SUV with poor aerodynamics. * Regular Escape FWD AT 3,256 lbs * Hybrid Escape FWD 3,638 lbs * This PHEV Escape with advanced Li-on batteries sufficient to run 30 miles... 3,800 lbs? (The Prius is 2,932 lbs.) If you have a modest commute, leave the gas engine out and more »

ad watch

Ford Tweaks The Marketing Of Hybrids In New Commercial, Explains "Hybrid Gap"


Ford has hybrids? Who knew? If the Toyota Prius "cows farting" ad was the antithesis of all that is honest about automotive advertising, then this new ad for the hybrid Ford Explorer Escape cheekily mocks the advertising and marketing madness that is the cult of hybrid. Of course it's also an explanation of why the US automakers have a hybrid marketing gap as big as the feared space exploration gap when a man named Yuri was shot up into space in a capsule way back when and why they totally missed the boat on the Prius. All we know is that this commercial's as funny as the Toyota one from earlier this week — only in a diametrically opposite way.

8:30 AM on Fri Nov 9 2007
By Ray Wert
2,582 views, 28 comments

Latest by jfalksvo: @MR42HH: MR42HH - This is an old post but... Is it really fair to compare a set of vehicles tested by the EU's fuel economy test procedures vs. completely different vehicles tested by the US EPA fuel economy test procedures? The test methodology makes a HUGE difference in the results. more »