2003 Ford Taurus Front Center Lap Seat Belt Only Gray on 2040-parts.com

Ford Energi drivers use all-electric mode 60 percent of the time

Ford has noticed quite a few interesting things by researching how owners use their Ford plug-in hybrids. It appears that Ford owners are driving their hybrids in electric mode nearly 60 percent of the time, using their cars' 21 miles of gas-free all-electric range. This figure contrasts quite a bit with the 41 percent of all-electric drive time earlier in the year, demonstrating that winter driving patterns differ quite a bit from summer driving.

Apparently, the 2012 Honda Civic will be quiet & refined

2012 Honda Civic - it's quiet As we said on the last story we ran about the 2012 Honda Civic, Honda are taking its launch very seriously, And they’re doing the normal new car tease too, but in a very Honda way. Instead of being lazy and just divvying up a new arty photo of the new Civic once a week for a month, Honda are going the Jaguar XJ school of car teases (just in smaller numbers). Which means proper detail with each tease and some proper thought in the presentation.

Hyundai i30 3-Door looks good: Paris 2012

The public debut of the slightly racy looking Hyundai i30 3-Door at the Paris 2012 shows it to be a convincing looking car. Sleeker and more sporty looking than its five door sibling, the 3-door i30 (we’ve said it before, it should be i30 Coupe) offers all the well-built, well thought out and decent looks of the 5-door version, but with a bit more panache. What it’s crying out for, though, is something a bit more interesting under the bonnet and the option of some nice alloys and a few subtle body modifications; perhaps a small spoiler at the back, some subtly bigger sills, more butch bumpers and a small ride height drop?