Productopia | Hybrid Cars

So, yesterday Toyota officially unveiled the 2012 Camry. Given that it's the best-selling car in America several years running, and that Toyota has moved 15 million of them worldwide since its introduction in 1983, the likelihood is you either own a Camry, have owned a Camry, or know someone who fits one of those descriptions. While the current 2011 Camry is an eminently practical car, it's a bore to look at inside and out, and it's not exactly exciting to drive. It seems Toyota grew tired of being a piñata for car reviewers to smack around in the face of more stylish and equally, if not more capable newcomers like the Hyundai Sonata and Kia Optima. We know this because we got to drive the new Camry at Citi Field yesterday. It's impressive.

We just got back from test-driving the 2012 Toyota Prius V (the new, bigger Prius). You'll be able to read our first impressions on it later this week, but in the meantime, we picked up some news related to the forthcoming 2012 Toyota Prius PHV, the plug-in hybrid version that we recently drove in prototype trim. As we noted in that firsthand review, the plug-in Prius we drove is part of a test fleet. Toyota's collecting all kinds of data and feedback that will help it shape the final production car, which we learned will be unveiled to the public this September at an event in California. Look for it in showrooms sometime early next year.  In talking to the Toyota folks at today's Prius V event, we also learned of two crucial changes being made that should improve the Prius PHV's all-around usability and will likely tweak its fuel efficiency for the better.

Apparently, Porsche is sick of everyone stealing the supercar thunder, so it's going into production with the 918 Spyder, a plug-in hybrid sports car that was previewed as a concept at last year's Geneva Motor Show. Unlike other hyper-performance cars that boast the approximate power of the Millenium Falcon's hyperdrive and the approximate fuel economy of a 1971 Chrysler Imperial, the Porsche 918 Spyder will  be a have-your-cake-and-eat-it machine, with anticipated fuel economy numbers that will be as gaudy as its expected performance. At $845,000, however, that's a lot of cake.

If you've watched TV lately, you've probably seen an ad touting the 2011 Nissan Leaf, a 100% electric car that begins shipping to customers in selected markets in December. (Some higher-profile buyers have already gotten theirs.) This week in New York, Nissan invited members of the media to check out the car in person, so off I went to grab a quick turn behind the wheel. Now, I normally drive a V8 Ford Mustang that drinks premium unleaded, gets okay-at-best gas mileage and has a loud, often smelly exhaust. In a nutshell, it's the polar opposite of the Nissan Leaf, which plugs into the wall, emits nothing, and is essentially silent. Of course, there's a little more to it than that, so here's the skinny.