Chalk up another win for Ford as they take home the Green Car Journal Green Car Vision award for the second year in a row at the Washington Auto Show. The Ford C-Max Energi has indeed been turning many heads and other still are awaiting the 2013 Ford C-Max Hybrid that will become available this fall. However, how “Green” can a company be for developing vehicles that are not on the road yet?

Building hybrids with style is on the mind of many, but what about non-hybrids that are purely electric with zero emissions? While the Ford Focus electric is also a zero emission vehicle as opposed to the Hybrid C-Max, one tends to wonder how the C-Max Energi was able to win the award in the first place. Don’t get me wrong, Ford has done an amazing job with these two vehicles. The C-Max gets 40 miles to the gallon versus cars like the Tesla Model S getting 300 miles per charge. The C-Max has a greater range after fill-up, but you are still paying those high gasoline prices. Is it more cost effective to get the greater range? Perhaps on long road trips it could be, but for in town or perhaps the casual drive it could cost more as opposed to a completely electric vehicle. However, 40 MPG is a lot better than what most of us drive and depending on sticker prices, I might consider one.

The design of the C-Max is akin to a minivan without the size. It easily can fit several people with leg room for a comfortable drive. With a sleek, aerodynamic, and sexy design, I wouldn’t be surprised if these wind up being very popular. I can see the C-Max being perfect for family vacations, or families that travel around town together.

At any rate, with the variety of hybrids and electric cars available now, anyone can find something to help the environment and prolong our use of oil byproducts. By going to Ford’s website, you can reserve your Ford Focus electric car for 2012 and view the full specifications for the 2013 C-Max Energi.

2012 buyers of the Chevy Volt, a hybrid-electric vehicle introduced in 2010, will now be allowed to drive in the high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane in the state of California. Previously sold Chevy Volts did not qualify to receive the sticker required for this privilege. Recent adaptations made for the 2012 model will now allow new buyers to apply for one of these highly coveted spots.

Chevy dealers hope that this will further entice buyers to try out this new technology which, while energy efficient, is also expensive. Having an additional carrot to draw in customers is key, especially in a state such as California which tends to be more willing to adopt new green technology before the rest of the country or world. Even without access to the high occupancy vehicle lane, almost one fourth of all Chevy Volts sold last year were sold in the state of California.

As a car designed for commuting, access to the high occupancy vehicle lanes fits in well with the Chevy Volt’s market objectives. The car is designed to provide drivers with the ability to make it to and from work using electricity saved in batteries without requiring the back up gasoline engine to kick in at all. The goal is to provide users with the ability to use the car on a daily basis without ever having to refill the gas tank. Hopefully, the extra effort made by General Motors to get the Volt qualified for the high occupancy vehicle lanes will pay off as environmentally conscious commuters and carpoolers will have even more reason to give this new technology a chance. The Volt could prove to be part of the solution to the United State’s continuing reliance on both foreign and domestic sources of oil and it is fair to allow it this added incentive.

In Ottawa, Canada, a Mike Nemat is fighting with his condominium complex about charging his electric car, a Chevy Volt. The residents of the complex split the electric bill for the whole complex, so they do not want all the owners to have to pay for his car. He is arguing that charging the car only costs around $1 a night to charge. In addition to that, many of the other condo owners do not care if he charges his car. Most of them are pleased to have an environmentally friendly car at their condo complex.

The problem that condos, or for that matter most places, are having with people plugging in their electric vehicles is they do not know how much it actually costs to charge an all-electric vehicle. In the case of the condo association, they are asking that the owner of the Volt pay to install a meter outlet for his vehicle. This will cost around $3000, which does not make much financial sense for the Volt owner. There are many other cases where people are traveling, and they cannot find a place that will allow them to plug in their car.

The reality is that a hybrid-electric car, such as a Chevy Volt, will cost between $20 – $30 per month in electricity charges. Condo managers, as well as the general public, need to find out the true costs of charging these vehicles before they declare it is not allowed. Electric cars are much better for our environment than gas cars, but unfortunately, buying one is very expensive. People who purchase electric cars should be allowed to charge them, instead they are faced with ignorance. Therefore, people who purchase electric vehicles need to do their homework before they make the purchase. They need to make certain they will have a place to plug the car in.

Checkout this CBC article to see a video with Mike explaining the details.

Ford and Toyota have just announced that they are teaming up to develop a new hybrid system for trucks and SUVs. The two car companies are hoping to complete their work on the new gas-electric hybrid system before the end of the decade, so you might not want to hold off on that new truck just for this.

The models that will run on the new hybrid power train haven’t been announced yet but we do know that they will be light trucks and SUVs with RWD hybrids that are designed specifically to have high efficiency without compromising the capabilities of these types of vehicles.

Leonardi DiCaprio is known for environmental bent which is highlighted by his recent purchase of a $100,000 2012 Fisker Karma Hybrid Supercar.

Proving that going green doesn’t necessarily mean losing power, the new Fisker Karma packs twin 201 HP electric motors that can be augmented by an onboard gas-engine generator giving it a top speed of 125 MPH. And don’t worry about range anxiety in the Karma as it boasts an awesome range of 300 miles.

So the Karma is technically a hybrid vehicle, DiCaprio’s new ride doesn’t share much in common with a Toyora Prius. The engine never actually powers the car like it does in a Prius, but just addes extra juice to the electric motor when you switch the Karma into “Sport” mode.

The Karma boasts plenty of luxury features as you might expect from a car valued in the six digit range. It has a solar glass roof that adds extra charge to the battery pack.

Toyota is getting set to start taking orders for the Toyota Prius Plug-in that will be available in Q1 of 2012. Here are a few key details to wet your Hybrid appetitive and give you something to think about as November approaches when orders start getting accepted.

The Prius Plug-ins will be offered in two trim levels, be come in five different colors, will have additional accessories and options available and we can expect to see them start getting delivered in March or April of next year.

What about the cost you ask? It looks like the Prius Plug-ins will start at less than $30,000. So, who is interested?

Wards’s Auto is reporting that Mitsubishi will be bringing in a plug-in hybrid version of its Outlander Sport SUV to the U.S. by 2013.

The eco-friendly SUV boasts a four-cylinder, 1.6 liter, gas-powered engine along with an electrified powertrain backed by a litium-ion battery pack.

Proceeding the launch of the Outlander Sport Hybrid will be Mitsubishi’s 2012 i hatchback which will hit U.S. car lots early next year. Following these two models, Mitsubishi plans to launch six other electrified vehicles globally before 2016.

As gas prices rise and fuel economy grows ever more important in the minds of U.S. car buyers, Ford engineers have been hard at work trying to reduce the gas consumption of their popular Ford Fusion Hybrid.

Ford Inside News recently reported that the next-gen version of the Fusion Hybrid drive train will get its mileage as high as 47 – 48 MPG in the city which makes for a significant jump from 2011 Fusion’s 41 MPG city rating.

Expect to see this next-gen Ford Fusion in the first quarter of next year along with the Lincoln MKZ Hybrid which will use the same drive train and likely get the same mileage.

While next year’s Prius V hybrid wagon has been steeling a lot of eco-friendly vehicle headlines, there’s another Prius that might be coming to the U.S. which could garner just as much attention. Toyota announced that it is considering a seven-seat Prius minivan hybrid for the U.S. market.

Although a seven-seat Prius already exists in Japan and is sold as the Prius Alpha, the hybrid minivan being considered for the U.S. market would be substantially different.

While there are no immediate official plans for the American Prius minivan, Toyota is planning on rolling out ten brand new hybrid redesigns over the next 20 months so stay tuned as they come out. Remember, the easiest way to check for updates on this story is to click the Prius minivan tab.

Want to celebrate Earth Day by putting yourself down for a Toyota Prius plug-in Hybrid capable of 83 – 87 miles per gallon? Well this Friday you’ll have the chance to do just that.

You will be able to use the Priority Registration Web Site for the Prius Plug-In in a couple days. As the name indicates it’s a first come first serve situation and there will be limited cars available to reserve. Getting on this list doesn’t actually get you a plug-in Prius reservation. No, it’s just the first step to this glorious moment as it will grant you first access to the online order system when it gets put up later this year.

The plug-in Prius will only be available in 15 states at launch time in spring of 2012: Arizona, California, Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Hawaii although you can’t use the online system for Hawaii for some reason.