Hybrid
Toyota takes first World Endurance win with TS030 supercapacitor hybrid
The battle of the hybrid racing cars in World Endurance Racing took an interesting turn this weekend when Toyota's TS030 Hybrid won the fifth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The TS030 Hybrid uses a THS-R (Toyota Hybrid System - Racing) comprising a gasoline-burning 3.4 liter V8 engine and a 500 kJ Nisshinbo supercapacitor energy recovery unit which supplies power to the rear wheels. The Audi uses a turbocharged 3.7 liter V6 diesel engine with a 500 kJ electric flywheel accumulator to store recovered energy and feed it to the front wheels to create four-wheel-drive. It seems Audi has a worthy adversary in Toyota and the remainder of the season will be worth watching. Read More
2014 Honda Accord PHEV features electric-only mode
Scheduled to go on sale in early 2013, the new Honda Accord Plug-in Hybrid (PHEV) sedan represents Honda's first two-motor hybrid system. It has the ability to travel up to 15 miles (24 km) on electrics only and boasts a total driving range of more than 500 miles (800 km). Read More
Love them or hate them, bendy buses are impressive. You see one coming around a corner looking like an ordinary bus, then comes the articulated bit and then more bus. Now the unveiling in Dresden, Germany of the AutoTram Extra Grand raises the bar with a bendy bus that’s more like a bendy train. With three sections, measuring over 30 meters (100 ft) long and a passenger capacity of 256, it’s the world’s longest bus. Read More
HP unveils three Windows 8 machines (and yes, there's a hybrid)
It's been over a year since Microsoft first previewed the next generation of its Windows operating system, the touch-optimized Windows 8. As we draw closer to release, it's now the turn of hardware manufacturers to reveal exactly what they imagine we'll be using to make the most of the rather impressive new operating environment. IFA 2012 provided the perfect platform and we managed to spend a little time getting to know the latest tablet, ultrabook, AIO and hybrid tablet/notebook offerings from Samsung, Toshiba, Lenovo and Acer. We've saved the biggest PC manufacturer until last and managed to jostle our way through the crowds of media and public to get up close to HP's first wave of Windows 8 machines. Read More
By any yardstick, Samsung is having a good IFA. With its trio of product announcements, the Galaxy Note II smartphonetabletthingie, the Galaxy Camera, and its range of Ativ Windows 8 devices (not to mention throwing the biggest party in town with its Unpacked event) it's an enormous understatement to say that Samsung made its presence felt in Berlin this year. The Galaxy Note II may be the headline act (more on which very soon), but in our opinion the Galaxy Camera, the EK-GC100, is the most interesting of Samsung's newly-announced gizmos. Having had more than one opportunity to give the thing a try, here are our initial thoughts. Read More
Hands on with Toshiba's brand new U920t ultrabook hybrid
Toshiba today unveiled its new hybrid laptop/tablet, the U920t, at IFA 2012. One of these (as it turns out, one that wasn't bolted to the table) found its way into the soft, delicate hands of the Gizmag team, and we decided to take it for a spin. Here are our hands on impressions. Read More
Five Samsung Windows 8 "Ativ" devices break cover
With Windows 8 due to be officially launched in October, Samsung has pulled back the curtain on their ATIV suite of devices based on Microsoft's OS, including two hybrid tablets, at the IFA trade show in Berlin. The Smart PC and Smart PC Pro hybrid tablet/laptops, the Tab tablet, and the S smartphone were all shown off, with the fifth, a Windows 8-flavored refresh of the Notebook Series 9, also getting some air time. Read More
"The camera is reborn." That's how Samsung's President of IT and Mobile Communications Division JK Shin describes the company's new smartphone/camera hybrid announced today at IFA in Berlin. Basically a compact camera with a smartphone-type touchscreen on the back, the Android-powered GALAXY Camera is designed to deliver superior photo-taking capabilities without missing out on the instant sharing and web browsing options afforded by wireless network connectivity. Read More
Volkswagen has announced that its 2013 Jetta Hybrid became the fastest hybrid production-based car in the world during Southern California Timing Association’s (SCTA) annual Speed Week. Motor Trend Associate Road Test Editor Carlos Lago was in the driver's seat of the specially-modified compact sedan when it set the new hybrid speed record of 185.394 mph (298.363 km/h) at the Bonneville Salt Flats, near Wendover, Nevada last week. Read More
Ford definitely appears to have Toyota in its sights with its 2013 C-MAX line. Having already revealed the C-MAX Hybrid will be cheaper than Toyota’s Prius v, the U.S. automaker is now boasting that its hybrid utility vehicle beats the Prius v in the fuel economy stakes by up to 7 mpg (33.6 liters/100 km). It is also the first vehicle to offer the same fuel economy rating in both city and highway driving. Read More
