Consumer Reports isn't giving all-electric cars and climate change a lot of attention

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Honda will be the next automaker to market an all-electric car as Toyota continues to sit on the sidelines. -- HACKENSACK, N.J. By VICTOR E. SASSON EDITOR Consumer Reports seems to have a blind spot for all-electric cars. The magazine's annual Auto Issue, just out, picks the 10 best new cars for 2017, but all of them use gasoline. For a full report, see: Consumer Reports smells (of gasoline)

Did Toyota ruin one of the most distinctive designs since the Volkswagen Beetle?

These views of the 2016 Toyota Prius gas-electric hybrid, from Consumer Reports, show the designers didn't completely abandon cues from the 2010-15 Prius, one of the most recognizable shapes on the road.
This three-quarter rear view of the 2016 Prius is especially evocative of the old model.

The 2016 Prius now bears a strong family resemblance to Toyota's Mirai hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle. Many Prius owners are disappointed Toyota didn't develop an all-electric version of the world's best-selling hybrid or a completely new EV. 
The 2010-15 Toyota Prius looks fresh six years after the wraps came off. We still have a red 2010 Prius, one of four Toyota hybrids we bought starting with a burgundy 2004. 

The futuristic, second-generation 2004-09 Toyota Prius in silver, the most popular color. The 2004 model -- as groundbreaking as the air-cooled, rear-engine VW Beetle -- introduced the hatchback design that continues in the 2016 Prius. 
Toyota brought the first Prius to the United States in 2000, one year after Honda imported the Insight, a two-seater with rear fender skirts. But unlike the Insight, the Prius was a full hybrid and could operate at times on its electric motor and battery.


-- VICTOR E. SASSON

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