You might believe that a high-tech hybrid might cost you an arm and a leg, but the Prius c may surprise you.

Toyota has officially announced the pricing and trim levels of the new Prius c. There will be four versions available, each called grades. Each grade will come with the same hybrid power train, and safety features.

The ticket to 50mpg costs $18,950 for the first grade.  If you want more in your Prius c, you can opt for one of the other grades, each offering more options than the next. Grade two costs $19,900 and offers convenience features like intermittent wipers, fold down rear seats, cruise control, better speakers and center console with armrest and storage.

To get your geek on, you’ll have to pay $21,635 and go for grade three, which has Toyota’s Entune infotainment system. The Entune system has a 6.1-inch touch-screen with navigation and premium audio services that connect to your iPod. Entune also packs in real-time traffic and weather information, and can even help you find a place to eat, using the Bing, and OpenTable integration. Grade Three also comes with bluetooth hands-free phone, and voice commands and door handles which can be locked, or unlocked with one touch.

Lastly there is Grade four, which has everything grade three has to offer, as well as 15-inch alloys, foglights, heated seats and power outside mirrors. Grade four will cost $23,230.

Extra optional equipment is only available for the Grade Three and Four models.

Buyers can expect the Prius c in dealerships as soon as March. For more information on the 2012 Toyota Prius c check out our review.

Audi is out to steal Toyota‘s thunder in the World Endurance Championship this year.

The German automaker announced today that it will run two hybrid LMP1 cars for the first time in their team of four during the 24 hours of Le Mans.

Details were scarce in the release, but we know that the cars will be officially released at the end of the month. Their first race debut will follow on May 5 at the 6 hours of Spa-Francorchamps.

Despite running the hybrid cars, Audi isn’t relying on them. Instead the R18 TDI that raced last year will remain the staple.

“The first test results are very encouraging and we are intrigued to see just how this technology performs in combination with our ultra lightweight technology on the race track at Le Mans. As before, we still, however, see potential with the conventional drive – just as our colleagues do in production development,” head of Audi Motorsport Wolfgang Ullrich said.

It seems that the engineers at Audi are putting some stock in Toyota’s strategy because developing and running those cars is no small feat.

“To develop the hybrid technology for Le Mans is at least as ambitious and challenging as our diesel project was in its early stages,” Ullrich said.

Audi won 10 of the total Le Mans races since 2000, so the fact that they’re putting money into a hybrid LMP1 means there’s probably something significant to be gained.

Folks once scoffed at the idea of a hybrid race car, but with Toyota announcing its TS030 Hybrid car for the 24 Hours of Le Mans and Porsche already well on the hybrid race car bandwagon, it might not be too much of a stretch to believe these rumors that the Ferrari-powered, Pininfarina-designed P4/5 Competizione is going green.

Reports from Europe are coming in that the GT prototype is looking to make a return to the Nürburgring VLN series with a hybrid powertrain. It appears that the hybrid system will be provided by Magneti Marelli and will be similar to the Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) that was developed for Scuderia Ferrari in F1.

We’re sure the primary source of power will still come from the 4.0L V8 powerplant, but the addition of an electric motor will definitely help the P4/5 Competizione compete on the Nürburgring where reliability is sometimes more important than power.

[Source: Autoblog.nl]

Efficiency is important these days. The government is cracking down on gas guzzlers and imposing strict regulations that force automakers into saving more fuel than ever before.

That’s why it might come as a surprise that Audi of America is opting not to offer their most efficient diesel engine in the upcoming 2013 Q5. That’s right, the German luxury brand sees fit to package the same diesel 3.0-liter V6 that they currently offer American consumers in the Q7.

Why, you might ask? The answer is simple, though less than logical. Audi is afraid of selling a 2.0 turbo diesel Q5 because it gets better milage than the hybrid-electric powertrain they are offering in the same vehicle.

In other words, the diesel engine is too efficient for the discerning U.S. palette. Now, there may be some merit to the theory, considering diesel fuel is more expensive than gasoline. People can be quick to judge at the pump and diesels still carry a somewhat sordid name among American consumers, even today.

On the other hand Hybrids evoke green imagery and environmentally friendly thoughts, which is even funnier when you realize that Europeans have been driving diesels to save fuel for decades.

Regardless of the reasoning, Audi is doing a good job of pandering to consumer egos, saying they chose to offer a more performance oriented diesel and an efficient hybrid.

Speaking of performance-oriented diesels, the company will also be offering Americans the same engine in the A8 later this year. The same logic that spoiled the chances for a 2.0-liter diesel Q5 is also keeping the hybrid A8 out of reach.

“Our current A8 with the 4.2L gasoline V-8 gets the same fuel economy as hybrids from BMW, Lexus and Mercedes” due to its emphasis on weight-saving aluminum construction, Audi of America President Johan de Nysschen said to Ward’s Auto. “Imagine now what happens when you put a diesel in the car. You have all the driveability and driving enjoyment with even better fuel economy.”

In fact, 41% of Q7 and 55% of A3 sales in the U.S. were diesel models, though the fact that Audi still ships from Germany probably restricted supply, so it makes sense that they would be rolling more models out with the oil-burning option.

GALLERY: Audi Q5 Hybrid

[Source: Wards Auto]

Pump up your tires and pump up your tank, there’s a new kind of fuel in town thanks to the Dearman Engine Company.

Well, that’s not totally true. The fuel is actually air in liquid form, so it isn’t actually new, but the London-based company that formed just under a year ago has managed to develop an engine that runs on it.

The system works by storing air at -256 degrees Fahrenheit in a tank before pumping it into a cylinder with what Dearman calls a heat exchange fluid. Once inside the chamber, the liquid air rapidly expands to propel the piston in the same fashion as a traditional internal combustion engine. The coolest part is that the system’s exhaust only emits air.

Tech stories about revolutionary new systems aren’t all that rare and they usually end by essentially saying “it’s really cool, but don’t expect it to ever be mainstream” and while that’s probably still the case here, Dearman is quick to point out that their motor relies solely on existing materials.

Truth be told, the air is actually just an energy catalyst. That means automotive applications would require a secondary power source to keep the tank chilled. It also seems that liquid air used as fuel would slowly disappear from cars that sat for a long time.

The system is currently being tested for real-world feasibility, but if it proves to be a workable system we speculate that it could play into a new gasoline or electric hybrid drivetrain somewhere in the future. If it ever happens, you could be “gassing up” with an air compressor while you check tire pressure. Watch the video after the jump to learn more.

[Source: CNET]

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You might be familiar with the sound a Le Mans car makes while whipping around the track, but this year Toyota is going to change all that.

For the first time in more than a decade, the Japanese giant is entering in the 24 Hours of Le Mans race, set to start this June. Yesterday we reported a story revealing some of the mechanical details behind the TS030 hybrid, Toyota’s strategic play to work back into the Le Mans good books.

The hybrid, they hope, will trump the diesel competition this year. Their car will feature a 3.4-liter naturally-aspirated V8 paired with Toyota’s hybrid drivetrain, which will take advantage of a capacitor system instead of the lithium ion batteries found in production cars.

Until today we had only seen still photos and ready specs, but thanks to a fresh post on YouTube, we get a chance to hear what the car sounds like on the road. You don’t see or hear anything interesting for the first 30 seconds of the video, but it ends with the TS030 Hybrid turning onto the track and launching. As you probably imagine, the difference between the electric motors and the V8 is striking. You can watch the video below.

GALLERY: Toyota TS030 Hybrid

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Toyota spilled more details on Tuesday of its plan to run a hybrid at the 2012 24 Hours of Le Mans in June.

Last week we reported that the Japanese automaker would be entering such a vehicle, but there were no details on the powertrain or the plan surrounding the car itself. That changed when the company issued a release detailing their plans to run not one, but two of their hybrid contenders in the Le Mans for the first time in more than a decade.

The first of the two cars will make its race debut at the Six Hours of Spa race in May. Perhaps the most interesting information to come from Toyota today are the details behind their hybrid LMP1 entry.

It will sport a 3.4-liter normally-aspirated V8, paired with a capacitor system instead of batteries, which will store energy through the car’s regenerative braking system. Essentially, that means the hybrid will store power while slowing down and use it for a significant acceleration boost while returning to speed.

The car will also benefit from a new carbon fiber LMP1 chassis that was developed and assembled at Toyota Motorsport GmbH (TMG) in Cologne, Germany.

Toyota will not, however, compete in all the FIA races. Instead, they want to use those they participate in to build up a strong racing platform for the future.

“Of course we would love to win Le Mans; that is the dream for all competitors in this race. But we are realistic and we know we need to develop and to learn in order to compete with some very strong competition. Our target this year is to show the performance level of our car and particularly the THS-R powertrain,” Yoshiaki Kinoshita, racing team president, said.

The decision hasn’t been made about who will man the second car, but we do know that the first car’s team includes 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Alex Wurz, last year’s 12 Hour of Sebring winner Nicolas Lapierre and former F1 driver Kazuki Nakajima.

GALLERY: TS030 Hybrid

It’s amazing to think that it’s been 12 years since Honda introduced its first hybrid vehicle – the first generation Insight – to the world. Back in November 1999, the Insight was a peculiar hybrid but still boasted the world’s highest fuel economy among all gasoline-powered vehicles.

And despite Toyota clearly surpassing Honda in hybrid development (and sales), the Japanese automaker is still proud to announce that it has surpassed 800,000 hybrid vehicle sales worldwide.

Currently, Honda sells seven hybrid models in approximately 50 different countries around the world. The Acura ILX, which will launch in the North American market in spring 2012, will bring that total to eight.

Honda’s hybrid sales have increased steadily over the last couple of years. In 2005, with just the Civic Hybrid, Accord Hybrid and first-generation Insight on the market, Honda hit 100,000 units. May 2007 saw the achievement of 200,000 units, but it wasn’t until August of 2009, when the second-generation Insight came to the market, that Honda topped the 400,000 mark. In 2010, Honda introduced the CR-Z and the Fit Hybrid and by the end of the year has surpassed the 600,000 unit landmark. A year later in December of 2011, Honda was happy to have surpassed 800,000 hybrid vehicles total.

While Honda continues to be one of the biggest names in hybrid technology and sales, it’s well off the pace of Toyota which to date has sold well over three million gas-electric vehicles.

Hyundai appears to be strengthening its position in the hybrid marketplace, announcing that the Sonata Hybrid will get a lifetime warranty on its battery pack.

Hyundai hopes that by offering a lifetime warranty on the Sonata Hybrid’s battery that it’ll persuade buyers still skeptical about the long-term life of a hybrid battery. Hyundai CEO John Krafcik recently told Car and Driver that they “can afford the program because the failure rate is so low.”

Through some rigorous testing, Hyundai has seen “minimal degradation of its output or duration of operation” of its Sonata Hybrid’s battery pack, even after 300,000-miles of use.

Those were the only details that the Korean automaker announced, so it’s unsure whether or not the coverage will extend to other hybrid components. Either way, it’s a big step up from Toyota, which only offers an eight-year/100,000-mile warranty on its hybrid batteries.

[Source: Car&Driver]

Read AutoGuide’s 2011 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid Review Here

The U.S. could have a plug-in hybrid from Volkswagen in the relatively near future. The company already has a hybrid Jetta on the way for the 2013 model year, but this version of the car would take electrical implementation to the next level.

We’ve known about the possibility of a plug-in hybrid for quite some time, but details have been sketchy at best. Watching each automaker deal with the growing demand for fuel efficiency has been interesting to say the least, but for the most part Volkswagen remained firmly in the diesel segment. That’s all set to change with the 2013 model year marking the hybrid Jetta’s release, but that isn’t the end of the story according to Car and Driver.

An article they published suggests that the fabled plug-in hybrid we reported briefly back in May of last year is relatively close to release. They report that the car will feature the same 1.4-liter turbocharged inline four cylinder making 150 hp. Of course, the plug-in will have, well, a place to put a charging cable meant to replenish the larger battery paired to the car’s electric motor.

Though it isn’t clear which car will surface with the plug-in setup, a Volkswagen executive told Car and Driver that it will be in a mass market segment: in other words one of their top sellers. That means something along the lines of the Jetta, Passat or Beetle, though we don’t know which yet.

[Source: Car and Driver]