Revealed! 2016 Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid: They’re Critical This Time

The final-generation Chevy Malibu hybrid was sort of an also-ran amongst H-labeled sedans: Greatest characterized as a “mild” hybrid method, the getup netted EPA ratings of just 26 mpg city and 34 highway. Not specifically a Prius fighter. But for 2016, as component of a complete Malibu redesign, Chevrolet ultimately saw fit to give the hybrid variant a gas-electric drivetrain to be taken seriously.

The new Malibu Hybrid draws on the lessons that Chevy discovered in generating the upcoming second-generation Volt plug-in hybrid. The new ’Bu can whisper along on electric-only power—something the final-generation automobile was incapable of—at speeds up to 55 mph. At time of writing, Chevrolet was not capable to provide exact estimates for electric-only variety or EPA-verified fuel economy, but the organization says it expects a combined fuel-economy rating exceeding 45 mpg.

Component of that newfound thriftiness comes from the new hybrid drivetrain. The petrol-powered half is an all-new 1.8-liter naturally aspirated 4-cylinder, a direct-injected unit that is larger and far more muscular than the 1.5-liter discovered in the 2016 Chevy Volt. The 1.8-liter is teamed with a 2-motor electric drivetrain that is largely related to the new Volt’s.

With both the gasoline engine and the electric motors working in concert, the drivetrain puts out a total of 182 horsepower. When it’s time to hit the whoa pedal on all these ponies, a Volt-derived regenerative braking system recharges the 80-cell, 1.5-kWh lithium-ion battery pack stowed beneath the trunk floor.

The Malibu hybrid also functions a nifty Exhaust Gas Heat Recovery technique, scavenging thermal energy from the gas engine’s exhaust system to heat the cabin and speed engine warm-up in cold weather. Active grille shutters (which are also found on LS and LT nonhybrid models) and a slightly lowered ride height additional help fuel efficiency.

So, too, does the new car’s weight loss. Chevy says the 2016 Malibu is much more than 300 pounds lighter than the outgoing model. This is in spite of increasing in length, which sees the Malibu add some much-necessary rear legroom.

With the Volt-derived drivetrain, Chevy hopes to ideal the hybrid variants of the Ford Fusion, Toyota Camry, and Hyundai Sonata. The bogey to beat, nonetheless, is the Honda Accord hybrid, which tops the segment with an EPA combined rating of 47 mpg. We’ll have to wait on official word from the EPA—as properly as our own driving experience—before we take Chevy at its word on the “combined rating north of 45 mpg” claim. When the car goes on sale in the 4th quarter of this year, the challenge then for Chevrolet will be to get people to believe “Malibu” when they’re pondering “hybrid.”

Revealed! 2016 Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid: They’re Critical This Time

2016 Range Rover Evoque Convertible Spied: Wait, They’re In fact Constructing It!? – Future Automobiles

2016 Range Rover Evoque Convertible Spied: Wait, They’re In fact Constructing It!? – Future Automobiles

2016 Variety Rover Evoque Convertible Spied: Wait, They’re Actually Developing It!?

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Yep, an Evoque with a ragtop.

• CHRIS DOANE AUTOMOTIVE AND


• THE MANUFACTURER

What It Is: Possibly this year’s greatest automotive reason to scream “Aaaaaargh!” at the skies although emptying any handgun you happen to be holding into the uncaring heavens, just like in Point Break. That, and also a cabriolet version of the Range Rover Evoque.

Why It Matters: Land Rover has threatened to do this for some time. The organization brought an Evoque cabriolet notion to the Geneva motor show back in 2012, and we’d heard in the summer season of 2013 that production had been approved. But then issues went silent. Most of us figured that the great folks in Coventry had been taking as well a lot of drugs, or possibly not fairly sufficient, and that like most such clearly ludicrous suggestions it had been quietly dropped.

These shots are confirmation that didn’t take place, with the convertible version seemingly set for launch later this year as portion of the Evoque’s midcycle refresh (which, Land Rover lately announced, will include full-LED headlamps). As such, it truly will be boldly going exactly where only Nissan and AMC have gone ahead of. There have been a lot of SUVs with removable roofs—think Jeep Wrangler or Land Rover’s personal icon, the Defender—but this will join only the wonderfully dumb Murano CrossCabriolet and the early 1980s AMC Eagle Sundancer among those that can be regarded as complete-fledged convertibles. Which means that Land Rover is either effectively ahead of the curve or set to be laughed out of court.

Platform: It’s an Evoque without a roof, and though the decapitation will give Land Rover’s engineers some structural concerns to resolve, it shouldn’t be also challenging for them to integrate some underbody reinforcement. Yet another question, albeit one that’s most likely to be asked only really seldom by the sort of people who buy it, is how the Evoque cabriolet will cope if asked to carry out any half-severe off-roading—with its roof up or down.

Powertrain: We believe that all U.S.-destined Evoques are going to stick with the present 2.-liter turbocharged gasoline engine for the foreseeable future the newer “Ingenium” engines won’t be coming onstream for a although yet. The cabrio will also use the current 9-speed automatic gearbox, and it will most likely have the torque-vectoring system that has been common on U.S. Evoques because the 2014 model year.

Competition: Nothing at all, unless you count utilised CrossCabriolets or the trillion-times-far more-manly Wrangler.

Estimated Arrival and Cost: Expect this mutant to leave Charles Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters for the 2016 model year at a base price of about $ 55,000, or roughly 20 percent far more than the 2-door hardtop Evoque.

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Hot Wheels Launching Line of Star Wars Characters as Cars—Predictably, They’re Great

July 22, 2014 at 5:55 pm by Alex Nunez | Photography by Mattel, Mattel via Jedi News

The new Hot Wheels Star Wars lineup hits store shelves in October. The vehicles themselves make their debut at the 2014 San Diego Comic-Con Hot Wheels booth. Here’s what your favored characters look like when they’re prepped for orange track.

Image: Mattel

Chewbacca: Han Solo’s trusted Wookiee companion really would make a hell of a workhorse. Hot Wheels reimagines him as a large, brawny, Unimog-style flatbed. Which, incidentally, is carrying the Falcon.

Image: Mattel

R2-D2: R2-D2 goes all American Graffiti in Hot Wheels form. He’s not a poor option for a hot rod, actually. R2 is always the a single known as upon to fix issues, so he’d primarily be a upkeep-free of charge Astromech T-bucket.

Image: Mattel

Luke Skywalker (X-Wing Pilot): Count on several variations for Luke considering that he sported several various appears all through the original trilogy. Modeling a sports automobile right after his flight suit and helmet is a good start off. The giant intercooler tends to make a statement, but don’;t forget: Don’t get cocky, Kid.

Image: Mattel

Yoda: Think about an original Fiat 500 Abarth, only blown and modeled right after a frail-seeking small green alien who’s not almost as helpless as he appears, and you’ve got the new Yoda automobile.

Image: Mattel

Darth Vader: He’s sleek. He’s black. He’s menacing. He’s Darth Vader. Duh.

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501st Clone Trooper: The 501^st Legion is the greatest, most organized group of Star Wars cosplayers in the . . . properly, in the galaxy, almost certainly. They’ve gotten love in the previous (nods in the Clone Wars cartoon, a Hasbro action figure, and so forth.), and Hot Wheels pays tribute once again here with this SUV modeled right after a Clone Trooper.

This story initially appeared on roadandtrack.com

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Hot Wheels Launching Line of Star Wars Characters as Cars—Predictably, They’re Great

Pothole Fever: Much more Americans Support Higher Gas Taxes With no Understanding What They’re Genuinely Paying For

Half of American drivers want to pay greater federal gas taxes although assuming the government will use all of that further income to repair the country’s neglected roads and bridges.

In a new poll by AAA that interviewed more than 2000 drivers final month, 52 % said they were prepared to spend much more per month for “better roads, bridges, and mass-transit systems.” More than 2-thirds of drivers mentioned the federal government needed to spend much more money on transportation, and 21 % stated they’d have no issue shelling out one more $ 10 or much more each and every month to help. (To illustrate the wide swing in final results, in a Gallup poll last year asking similar concerns on raising state gas taxes, 2-thirds of Americans were against the concept.)

At concern is the Highway Trust Fund, established in 1956 to preserve our then-revolutionary interstate highway method founded by President Eisenhower. The fund is completely paid for by fuel excise taxes that haven’t been raised since 1993. They’re at present set at 18.4 cents per gallon for gasoline and 24.4 cents for diesel, and due to the increasing fuel efficiency of new vehicles, inflation, and ever a lot more miles traveled, the fund is in trouble. By late August, the Division of Transportation estimates that the roughly $ 77 billion balance will drop to zero unless Congress bails it out when a lot more, which is what usually takes place. AAA is lobbying Congress to assistance a gas-tax hike, which is what Representative Earl Blumenauer (D-Oregon) has been trying to get passed because December. By 2016, Blumenauer desires to set gasoline taxes at 33.3 cents and diesel taxes at 39.3 cents. The bill is sitting in a committee.

But regardless of whether out of naiveté or ignorance to what the Highway Trust Fund actually funds, absolutely everyone hoping for all of a sudden improved roads and freshly painted bridges from a big cash infusion is mistaken. Considering that 1970, the fund has been split in 2 to pay for mass-transit programs and has because been ransacked for unrelated projects that haven’t and will not do something to fix federal highways and bridges. Beyond money for subways, bus depots, and bike lanes, the Highway Trust Fund is a one-stop shop for government billboard PSAs and media buys, all-critical $ 1 million studies on why headlight glare bothers our eyes, and racial-profile instruction for police officers that alone cost $ 7.5 million per year from 2005 to 2009.

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That’s not counting the $ 566.5 million guaranteed to the DOT this year for motorcycle safety campaigns, driver’s ed applications, and the National Driver Register that lets police track your infractions anyplace in the nation. Then there’s bonus cash passed to states for seat-belt and youngster-seat usage, plus far more cash for ferries, fuel-cell-powered buses, public transport on Indian reservations, and so forth. Whilst all these applications almost certainly help in some way, they don’t directly maintain or increase the physical condition of our federal highways and bridges—the really core argument of these in favor of greater gas taxes.

Does the Highway Trust Fund want much more funds? Positive, it does—and frankly, so do we. AAA says larger gas taxes will “prevent extreme upkeep delays” if they’re “spent wisely.” But with hundreds if not thousands of non-highway projects siphoning off the account, that promise is not an innocent assumption, it’s misleading.

Pothole Fever: Much more Americans Support Higher Gas Taxes With no Understanding What They’re Genuinely Paying For