This past Saturday I had the pleasure of attending the 27th Annual NC Auto Expo at the NC State Fairgrounds in Raleigh. I went with the intention of checking out the latest and the greatest in alternate transportation...
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Bring on the Hybrids
I was impressed by the following hybrids at the show...looks, miles per gallon/charge/range
Chevy Volt (My Best in Show)
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| Chevy Volt |
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| View from Driver's Seat |
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| Volt Plug In |
According to the Volt brochure, current Volt owners average 900 miles between fill-ups. Wow! It estimates daily charging costs to be $1.60. With a full charge and a full tank, the Volt has a range of up to 380 miles. Running on gas alone, the vehicle gets 35 miles per gallon (MPG) city and 40 MPG highway.
More information can be found at chevrolet.com/volt
Toyota Prius (Toyota Best Car Company in Show, Most Hybrids)
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| View from Driver's Seat |
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| Toyota Avalon Hybrid |
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| Toyota Avalon Hybrid |
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| Toyota Avalon View from Drivers Seat |
Toyota Avalon Hybrid
Style and great gas mileage. Avalon Hybrid gets 40 MPG City / 39 MPG Highway.
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| Toyota Camry Hybrid |
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| Toyota Camry Hybrid Driver's View |
Toyota Camry Hybrid
Camry Hybrid gets 43 MPG City / 39 MPG Highway.
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| Lincoln MKZ Hybrid |
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| Lincoln MKZ Hybrid Rear View |
Lincoln MKZ Hybrid
The Lincoln MKZ Hybrid is very cool looking. It's pricing starts at the same as it's gas powered equivalent. The Lincoln MKZ gets 45 MPG City and 45 MPG Highway.
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| Ford C-MAX |
Ford C-MAX
C-MAX gets 45 MPG City and 40 MPG Highway with a starting price of $25,170.
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| Suburu XV Crosstrek Hybrid |
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| Suburu XV Crosstrek Hybrid Driver's View |
Suburu XV Crosstrek Hybrid
According to Suburu's brochure, the Crosstrek Hybrid is built in a zero-landfill plant where 100 percent of the waste is recycled or turned into electricity. It gets 31 miles per gallon.
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Wishing You Were Here
Missing from the Auto Expo were the Electric Cars and Alternate Fuel Vehicles.
No Nissan Leaf, Prius Plug-In, Ford Focus Electric or C-Max Energi, Cadallac ELR, Rav4 Electric, Tesla, Fiat 500E, Hyundai Tucson Fuel Cell or Scion EV-iQ. Additionally, Honda did not participate in the expo and all the concept cars where absent due to severe winter weather prior to the event. Several of the car companies there mentioned they had something in the works (Volvo in the next 12 months) or only available in California (Fiat 500e and Hyundai Tucson Fuel Cell) or you needed to be a special organization to be able to purchase them (Scion EV-iQ).
Here's what I could find online
Nissan Leaf Info
Prius Plug-In
Ford Focus Electric Info
Ford C-MAX Energi
Cadillac ELR
RAV4 Electric
Tesla Motors
Hyundai Tuscon Fuel Cell (California Only)
Fiat 500e
Scion EV-IQ
Only being brought to US for testing purposes at the point.
Other website you should check out
Green Car Reports
Edmunds.com Hybrids and Electric Cars
Government Fuel Economy Reports
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Rather than be disappointed, I took the opportunity to test drive the Fiat 500L Turbo. Wow, what a fun ride with lots of room (I'm 6'2" and need the space). The car handled nicely and the Fiat 500L is rated 25 MPG City / 33 MPG Highway. Many thanks to Fernando my guide and official photographer.
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| Test Driving the Fiat 500L |
I hope to do a more thorough report on Nissan Leaf and Chevy Volt in future blogs. Is there another alternate vehicle I should check out? Let me know by leaving a comment below.
Thanks for checking out my blog as well as my advertisers.
Green Living is the Life For Me!
Rick Gardner
apexgardner@gmail.com
@apexgardner (Twitter)
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