New hybrids on the way from BMW, Toyota

Lotus designs an engine for hybrids
Lotus Engineering comes up with a design for a range extender engine for series hybrid cars.

Toyota unveils a new hybrid for Europe
Toyota shows off a hybrid version of the Auris hatchback at the 2009 Frankfurt auto show.

Toyota: Electric cars 'too expensive' for mainstream
Despite all the attention to electric vehicles based on lithium-ion batteries, Toyota is sticking with nickel-based batteries for most of its hybrids to address the mass market.

New hybrids proclaim their German engineering
New BMW cars that will be on display at the 2009 Frankfurt auto show reveal two possible futures for hybrid drivetrains in Europe and around the world.

Photos: Top-rated reviews of the week
CNET Reviews checks out the 2009 BMW Z4 sDrive35i, the Motorola Karma QA1, a portable DVD player from Toshiba, and more.