Airstream motor coach not quite car reviewer's style

Reviewing a Bugatti Veyron, Mercedes-Benz sedan or any of the new influx of green vehicles — the Toyota Prius to Tesla Roadster — is what Dan Neil does weekly with his column in the Wall Street Journal called “Rumble Seat.” But Neil is an essayist more than a straight-forward reviewer. The facts are all there and Neil has vast automotive knowledge. But the journalist who won a Pulitzer Prize for commentary recently left the his routine reviews that detail performance and comparison shopping among car manufacturers and took on the RV industry. With his family along for the ride, Neil reviewed

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Toyota Camry Hybrid, 2012: More car, less money

The 2012 Toyota Camry Hybrid will feature a slightly larger engine and, depending on the model, will be priced $800-$1,000 cheaper than the 2011 versions. The base model 2012 Camry Hybrid will be priced $25,900, approximately $1,000 less than the 2011 model. The premium will be priced at $27,400, a decrease of $800 from last year’s model. Equipped with the company’s Hybrid Synergy Drive powertrain, the new Camry features a four-cylinder, 2.5 liter engine that can produce 200 horsepower. It has a combined fuel economy of 41 mpg. During the Green Drive Expo, a recent media brand launch in Richmond,

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Nissan Versa, 2012: Budget concious buyers don't have to settle for less

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The redesigned 2012 Nissan Versa sedan is small on the outside, big on the inside. Basically, the new Versa sedan is a no-frills, all-business mode of transportation priced between $10,990 for the S model and $15,560 for the SL model. Utilizing a "clean sheet" ground-up design, Nissan approached the Versa redesign with maximizing usable volume space and increasing fuel efficiency. The goal was to create a totally new global platform and drivetrain, reducing the size of engine and transmission, reducing the number of component parts and reducing platform weight. I drove the middle-child of the model range which was the

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Chevrolet dominates 2012 safest small cars list

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Advanced design, safety features more stringent seatbelt and DUI laws have resulted decreased traffic fatalities in recent years. But nearly 33,000 people died in traffic accident in the United States in 2010, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The NHTSA further details the yearly death vehicular accidents mean a fatality occurs once every 16 minutes and that vehicle collisions remain the leading cause of death for individuals between the ages of three and 34. As such, with an increase in the purchase of small cars because of better fuel efficiency, safety or lack of safety are omnipresent

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2013 Ford C-Max: hybrid, plug-in hybrid offer vast mpg, car-like rides

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The 2013 Ford C-Max is a five-door hatchback available as a hybrid and just released plug-in hybrid Energi the manufacturer hopes will infiltrate the dominance of the Toyota Prius in the green car market. Ford touts the C-Max as the most “car-like” of three top green car offerings the carmaker compared during a recent media briefing and brief drive in San Francisco. John Davis, a Ford spokesman, said during the debut presentation: “We want to people to feel like they are driving a normal car.” Davis compared the C-Max to the Toyota Prius and Chevrolet Volt with specifics —  the

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Toyota woes continue, 2.8 million Prius, Corolla models recalled

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Toyota‘s ever-evolving, several-year run of recalls has two new chapters. Most notable is a steering problem that affects 670,000 Prius and Corolla models in the United States and 2.8 million units worldwide built between July 2001 and March 2009. Additionally, a separate recall, including 350,000 vehicles in the U.S. will fix water pump issues in hybrid vehicles. The faulty part issue may cause a knocking or rattling from the steering column intermediate extension shafts, and could cause a reduction in steering response. Toyota reported a handful of cases have been reported no accidents of fatalities have been reported. The carmaker

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Toyota faces $1.1 billion settlement in runaway car lawsuit

The strange, twisting and lingering litigation against Toyota has been settled with the Japanese automaker agreeing to pay more than $1 billion to settle U.S. litigation via claims its vehicles suddenly and unintentionally accelerated. According to court documents the deal, pending California federal judge approval, includes direct payments to customers as well as installation of a brake override system in about 3.25 million vehicles. The terms include a $250 million fund for former Toyota owners who sold who sold or turned in their leased vehicles between September 2009 and December 2010 at reduced prices because of bad publicity. And there’s

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Electric car wars heat up, Chevrolet Volt $5,000 less in 2014

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The electric and green car wars between Chevrolet and Nissan continue to heat up in the carmakers’ pursuit of a bigger market share in their competition against the dominating Toyota Prius family. The latest move involves Chevrolet reducing the starting price of the 2014 Volt by around $5,000 for its fourth year on the market. The Volt will now have a starting price of $34,995 (*including $810 for destination), but when the 2014 model will be available is unknown. Nissan previously announced it had lowered the starting price of the Leaf by $6,400. The Chevrolet Volt can now potentially cost

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Toyota gets top-2 spots in Consumer Reports’ reliability

Toyota has again ranked at the top of the 2014 reliability rankings of Consumer Reports, the independent testing organization. The Lexus ES 300h Hybrid is the top-ranked vehicle, followed by the Toyota Prius. Consumer Reports uses surveys returned by their subscribers and compiles reliability histories on vehicles and predicts how new cars currently on sale will hold up. Lexus is Toyota’s luxury brand. The ES 300h is reliable and safe. The hybrid earned the highest ratings in each of the government’s crash evaluations, including overall driver safety, frontal crashes and overall side impacts. Here’s the list of the top-seven most

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2013 Ford C-Max/C-Max Energi: Clever crossover

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Get past their odd names and you may find that the 2013 Ford C-Max and its sister C-Max Energi are surprisingly good hybrid crossover vehicles. New for 2013, the C-Max/C-Max Energi front-drive, four-door compact hatchbacks are virtually unchanged for 2014. They’re designed to directly compete with the top-selling Toyota Prius and seat five, although the center of the rear seat of the C-Max Energi I tested is too stiff for longer trips. The C-Max and C-Max Energi use a two-liter four-cylinder gas engine and electric motor. Both have a combined 188-horsepower rating, which gives them lively acceleration and good highway

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2014 Ford Fusion Energi: Euro-styled hybrid surprises

Now slightly more than a year old, the Ford Fusion Energi, a gas plug-in electric hybrid, further adds to the Fusion hybrid lineup. The family debuted in the spring of 2009 as 2010 models for Ford and Mercury. The latter brand is gone, but the Fusion hybrid is now available in eight trims. The 2014 Fusion Energi can travel 21 miles in pure-electric mode and as far as 620 miles total before the battery needs recharging or the gas tank filled. Recharging is estimated at seven hours with 120-volt outlet or 2 1/2 hours with 240 volts. The Weekly Driver

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2014 Lexus CT 200h: Great economy, utility, refinement

If an average hybrid gas/electric auto seems worthwhile, you might want to try an upper-class one. The 2014 Lexus CT 200h gas/electric hybrid is the lowest list-priced Lexus. But it’s still a Lexus so don’t expect a cut-rate model. This refined compact front-drive hatchback sedan has typical Lexus amenities and delivers a noteworthy, estimated 43 miles per gallon in the city and 40 on highways. The CT 200h uses the same proven hybrid powertrain as the Toyota Prius. Unlike the Prius, it’s rather exclusive because it’s not sold in large numbers. Many Americans still keep their distance from hatchbacks and

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Toyota unveils Fuel Cell Vehicle in Colorado

Seventeen years after the Toyota Prius became the first mass-produced hybrid car, Toyota is leading automotive innovation again. Its zero-emission hydrogen fuel cell electric car will makes it North American debut June 27 at the Aspen Idea Festival. With previous exterior details of the car, currently named the FCV, announced recently in Japan, the North American unveiling is the precursor to the car’s mainstream release. Interior features, along with the vehicle’s name, volume, and full specifications will be released later. Toyota has also announced the FCV will go on sale in the Japan domestic market before April 2015. It will

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Mercedes-Benz debuts AA battery-powered sedan (video)

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The ever-evolving electric car industry is ripe with impressive innovative. Tesla is leading the way with its industry-changing sports cars and Elon Musk’s imagination and bravado. The recently announced reservation plan for Tesla’s $35,000 new model, envisioned for delivery in late 2017, has nearly one-half million reservation deposits of $1,000 each. The new Tesla, if delivered to the public at large, could change the automotive industry. Mercedes-Benz charges industry The Toyota Prius family is the most successful “green” vehicle to date since its debut in the United States in 2000. But its plug-in electric option is far from a big

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Leonardo DiCaprio: green car, issue advocate chided

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Leonardo DiCaprio is a well-known proponent of global warming issues. But the Academy Award winner is being criticized for his approach to hosting his Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation Annual Gala To Fund Climate and Biodiversity Projects. The occasion will be held July 20 at the Bertaud Belieu Vineyards on the French Riviera. The actor is flying is top celebrity guests from around the world. Critics of DiCaprio, including the Daily Mirror newspaper in England, report guests’ travel will result in substantial overload of carbon dioxide greenhouse gas emissions. The reception list includes: actors Kate Hudson, Charlize Theron, Cate Blanchett, Marion Cotillard,

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2017 Toyota Avalon Hybrid: Stylishly efficient

When your older sibling is the most popular hybrid vehicle in history, the pressure is on. Could the Toyota Avalon Hybrid hold its own while its ever-expanding Prius family members thrive? The answer is a resounding yes. Introduced in late 2012, the 2017 Toyota Avalon Hybrid further separates current hybrids from their debut more than 15 years ago. Once awkward-looking and awkward-functioning sedans comparable to futuristic vehicles featured in movies and television programs, hybrids are now mainstream. Their superior gas mileage is equaled by overall attractive styling, performance and functionality. The 2017 Toyota Avalon Hybrid is an exemplary example. It’s

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