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Chicago Auto Show Highlights Green Cars, Technology

It won’t take eye-popping horsepower to get noticed at the 2013 Chicago Auto Show. This year’s big McCormick Place breakout comes with a different set of specs.

Fuel-economy estimates should at least raise eyebrows when nearly 1,000 cars and trucks go on display Feb. 9 through 18.

At the Ford display, not far from the 662-horsepower Mustang Shelby GT500, show visitors will find the new C-Max Hybrid, with an EPA estimate of 47 mpg, and the C-Max Energi, a plug-in hybrid rated at 58 mpg.

Hybrids are auto-show standbys. They recharge their batteries while the vehicle is driven and operate on electric power for short spurts. But now there are plug-in hybrids, with additional batteries that operate for longer distances on electric power — up to 21 miles in the C-Max Energi — and are recharged by plugging into an electrical outlet.

Though early hybrids such as the Toyota Prius were all about fuel economy, recent additions have teamed economy with performance. Infiniti, the luxury division of Nissan, is showing off a hybrid version of its sporty new Q50 sedan, which will replace the G37.

To be sure, fuel efficiency hasn’t replaced engine muscle and sexy styling. The 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray debuted at the Detroit auto show in January to more media attention than the Cadillac ELR plug-in hybrid. But at the Chicago show Chevrolet is highlighting the Cruze Clean Turbo Diesel and Spark EV plug-in.

Read more: ChicagoTribune

 

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