Cheap Gas Car Blog

Toyota Suspends Plant Building in US

Toyota delays plans to open a new Prius Plant

Plans slated for a new plant to have the 2010 Toyota prius rolling off a US production line are being halted, as Toyota is feeling the pinch by the current recession in the US and falling gasoline prices.  The factory in Mississippi where the 2010 Prius was slated to be manufactured, is about ninety percent complete, and Toyota will finish the factory, but without installing the robotic equipment required to assemble the Toyota prius.  Toyota has said they will complete the factory and produce the Prius there, sometime in the future.

The $22,000 Prius will also see alot of competition next year as Honda rolls out it's $17,000 Insight Hybrid.

New Cadillac Escalade Hybrid

40 percent more fuel-efficient than the gas-guzzler.

Cadillac's new scalade is said to deliver 40% fuel savings over it's luxurious gas-breathing brother Escalade, however sales are falling due to the fall in gasoline prices.

The Escalade can run in full electric mode when launching or at low speeds, and work in hybrid mode in all other instances.  The 332 horsepower V8 can turn off half it's cylinders when they are not needed, also contributing to its fuel efficiency. 

Though this is one step in the green direction from cadillac, it seems ubsurd to pay close to $100,000 if they reasoning behind a hybrid is to save gas money.  Anyways, it's a luxury SUV that has gone green.

Ford Fusion Hybrid

43 Miles Per Gallon In Ford's Fusion hybrid

Toyota Camry's foe, the Ford Fusion, will be available as a hybrid for the 2010 calendar year. 

The Ford Fusion Hybrid motor is a modified 2.5-liter four cylinder engine alongside a revamped hybrid-electric motor system.  The hybrid system is based on the one used in the Ford Escape Hybrid, although this version has been tweaked for greater power output and fits into a smaller, more compact space.

These improvements to the drivetrain in addition to the ability to drive up to 47 MPH on battery power alone led Ford to proclaim that the Fusion Hybrid would achieve at least 38 MPG in the city -- 5 MPG better than the mid-size champ Toyota Camry Hybrid. Highway mileage is equally impressive at an estimated 37 MPG.

Although Ford expects the 38 MPG city rating to hold up once the official EPA numbers come down within the next few weeks, early testing by auto journalists shows that the Fusion Hybrid is already surpassing the 38 MPG figure. Gil Portalatin, Ford's Hybrid Applications Manager, was able to extract 46 MPG out of the Fusion Hybrid during a "mileage challenge" between Beverly Hills and Hollywood. Writers from Car and Driver and Autoblog were able to achieve 43.6 MPG and 43.1 MPG respectively for the city loop.

Although these are still early numbers from a pre-production model, the results are still impressive for a mid-size sedan. The Fusion Hybrid also gives Americans some hope that Detroit can build fuel efficient cars that are worthy of our dollars.

Ford's Fusion Hybrid will be priced from $27,270 -- Toyota's Camry Hybrid and Nissan's Altima Hybrid are priced from $26,150 and $25,480 respectively.