• Editors of Kelley Blue Book’s kbb.com today named the 2009 Ford Escape Hybrid one of its “2009 Best New Family Vehicles.”

• Kbb.com editors praised the 2009 Escape Hybrid’s improved - more powerful and more efficient - gas-electric powertrain and its fuel economy rating of 34 mpg in the city.

• In addition to five-passenger seating and plenty of cargo storage, the 2009 Escape Hybrid offers families a host of safe, smart and green technologies.

DEARBORN, Mich., Feb. 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Editors of Kelley Blue Book’s kbb.com today named the 2009 Ford Escape Hybrid one of its “2009 Best New Family Vehicles.”"After undergoing a major overhaul for the 2008 model year, the Ford Escape Hybrid is improved again for 2009 with a more powerful and more efficient gas-electric powertrain,” said Jack R. Nerad, executive editorial director and executive market analyst for Kelley Blue Book and kbb.com. “Its fuel economy rating of 34 miles per gallon in the city is even better than that of the Toyota Camry Hybrid.” (more…)

DUBLIN, Ireland–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Research and Markets has announced the addition of the “Global Market Review of Automotive Electric Motors - Forecasts to 2014″ report to their offering.

While electric DC motors have long since raised the comfort levels for front seat passengers, there are signs that such motors are appearing in the rear seats too. Imtiyaz Syed, vice president, engineering, Intier Automotive Seating, told us: “Power is definitely coming to the rear seats as well. For example, rear seat heating systems are fairly common in premium cars. There are also powered stow systems in the third row whereby just pressing a button, the whole articulation takes places so that the seat folds and stows into the floor automatically. We have also developed the ability to power removable seats. With our design, the seat is automatically connected and powered when installed in the vehicle and disconnected when removed without the consumer having to [physically] disconnect the seat before removing it.” (more…)

SANTA MONICA, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–For the automotive industry, 2008 will be a year to forget. Due to the collapse of the financial industry, car sales plummeted to levels not seen since the early 1990s, when the country’s population was 50 million people fewer.

Edmunds.com, the premier resource for automotive information, also noted the following trends during 2008*:

Used Cars Fared Better Than New Cars – Used car sales were down only 8 percent compared to 2007, and Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) sales were flat. During the same period, new car sales fell by more than 16 percent. (more…)

LOS ANGELES, CA–(Marketwire - December 9, 2008) - With the recent drop in the price of oil, new doubts have been cast over the future of hybrid and electric vehicles. Many manufacturers and designers of electric vehicles have faced technical and financial challenges in the past few months. Such challenges combined with large capital investments in research and development necessary for these cars, have prompted some analysts to predict a reversal of the trend towards green vehicles. (more…)