hybrids

LAS VEGAS--The last thing I expected to do on my arrival in the city for CES 2012 was to take a quick drive in the Fisker Karma.

But as I walked out of the hotel near the Las Vegas Convention Center, there was the car, in all of its curvaceous, green glory, parked at the curb. A quick talk with the Fisker rep on hand, and soon I was in the driver's seat of this new-series hybrid car, models of which are just beginning to roll off the production line.

Looking around the cabin, I was surprised at the lack of leather, a typical lining for the innards of any high-end luxury car. Instead, surfaces were covered in a variety of thick, soft fabrics. This model was in Eco Chic trim, which keeps the animal carcasses away from passengers. Even the bits of wood trim in the car come from reclaimed sources, the remnants of a wildfire in Southern California and salvaged from the bottom of Lake Michigan, according to the Fisker rep accompanying me.

A 10.3-inch touch screen filled the center dashboard, and the instrument cluster was an LCD panel showing virtual gauges. The drive selector was like none I've ever seen before, four buttons in a crystalline structure like something from "Doctor Who."… Read more

For those who have been craving a more affordable Samsung ultrabook, here's your savior: the Series 5 Ultra.

Last year, the Samsung Series 9 nearly stole the show as one of the must-have laptops at CES, but the thin 13-incher--an ultrabook before the name ultrabook was coined--cost more than a MacBook Air.

This year, the Series 9 survives, in an even sleeker yet still expensive iteration. The Series 5 Ultra, which comes in both 13 and 14-inch varieties, starts at $899. That's the price we've come to expect from a Windows ultrabook, and surprisingly enough, the Series 5 Ultra looks like it hasn't made too many concessions to get there.… Read more

LAS VEGAS--D-Link finally gets it right with its new hybrid router.

The company demoed today at CES 2012 the all-new Amplifi Wireless N PowerLine Gigabit Router (DHP-1565). This is part of the company's Cloud Services, which also includes a sub-$50 cloud router (DIR-605L) and the flagship DIR-857 that were also announced at the show.

In my opinion, the DHP-1565 is a much-needed upgrade to its first hybrid router, the DHP-1320 Wireless N PowerLine Router.

Nothing is wrong with the DHP-1320. In fact, it's a great router. The only problem is that it lacks both of what I consider "must-have" features for routers and a power-line device: Gigabit Ethernet and support for the latest 500Mbps Powerline AV standard.… Read more

The fate of ultrabooks is intimately linked to Windows 8, as CEO Paul Otellini has made clear in recent talks--and as he is expected to reiterate at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next week.

Ostensibly, CES for Intel and the PC crowd is about the crush of new Windows 7 ultrabooks hitting the market. But internally, Intel is keen on Windows 8 as a vehicle to close the yawning gap with Apple's mobile devices, particularly the iPad.

Otellini got a rude reminder of how important ultramobile devices are in 2012 and beyond when an analyst at a … Read more

Remember the Lenovo ThinkPad X1? Last year's uber-high-end semithin and semirugged business laptop has gotten a 2012 refresh with the ThinkPad X1 Hybrid, adding an idea that we definitely haven't seen before: this Intel Core i-series-powered computer has its own separate Qualcomm dual-core processor for viewing media in a battery life-saving mode called IMM, or Instant Media Mode.

The idea's not unlike a hybrid, so to speak, of ideas such as automatically switching discrete graphics and quick-launch OS environments that have gone out of fashion as of late in laptops. Lenovo's IMM claims to bump battery life to 10 hours when in that Qualcomm processor-powered Linux-based OS. A dedicated, separate 16GB SSD acts as storage in this mode.… Read more

Toyota yesterday opened the order books for its smallest hybrid to thousands of space-conscious, fuel-weary Japanese buyers.

More then 60,000 buyers have signed up to purchase the Aqua subcompact hybrid, which achieves 83 mpg under Japan's JC08 test cycle and is expected to retail for $22,000. Known as the Prius c to the rest of the world, the 1.5-liter hatchback is the same length and width as the pint-sized Yaris, but a little bit shorter to increase aerodynamics.

Its dimensions may sound diminutive to American buyers, but its elfin size and fuel-sipping ways are exactly what'… Read more

If you put the standard Prius hatchback next to the new Prius v, this model expansion might seem like a pointless exercise, as the Prius v doesn't seem much bigger.

But it is a different story inside the car, as the larger cargo area, higher roof, and some design touches lead to an unexpected spaciousness. A standalone console between the front seats and dual moonroofs makes the car seem like a minivan.… Read more

By cutting out gasoline altogether, Ford may be the first production car to break the 100 miles per gallon mark.

Ford today said it has started production of the 2012 Focus Electric at its Michigan Assembly Plant, a sedan the company expects to be rated at more than 100 miles per gallon equivalent.

The electric version of its five-seater will be available early next year for just under $40,000 before a $7,500 federal tax rebate. Ford is making the car available first in California and the New York/New Jersey area and then will make it available in … Read more

Volvo's V60 plug-in hybrid gets outstanding mileage but still has some spunk.

The company today said that the diesel electric "sport wagon" will be available early next year priced at 57,000 Euros, or $75,500 . It expects that 80 percent of the buyers will be companies, rather than individual consumers.

Volvo has taken a unique path in building a plug-in electric vehicle with a diesel engine. The car will drive about 30 miles in pure electric mode and then the 215 horsepower diesel engine, which powers the front wheels, will kick in.

The combination yields mileage … Read more