Our Focus
hybrid-crew.com was founded as the Internet’s premier Web site dedicated to hybrid gas-electric vehicles and the full range of consumer information and tools about cars, energy, and the environment.
Since begun with a focus on hybrids – thus the name, hybrid-crew.com – we soon realized other “green” technologies deserved coverage too. These included “clean diesel,” E85 ethanol, ultra fuel-efficient “gas misers,” and as the new generation of battery electric, plug-in hybrids, and fuel cell vehicles began to be developed, particularly after 2005-onward, we covered them as well.
hybrid-crew.com is therefore now an all-of-the-above green car site. Our editorial focus is not to take sides, but to attempt coverage of all technologies as consumers, industry and policymakers adopt solutions to improve fuel economy, reduce emissions, and improve energy security. We think these are interesting times as society recognizes the clock is ticking on exclusively petroleum-based transportation. Worldwide, automakers are working on all technologies, and it is a live experiment happening on the largest possible scale to see what technologies will dominate.
Obviously, sustainable and cost-effective technologies are what we favor, as we do care about the environment, and think clean and green is also long-term practical, and can be made more so as more people invest in it, and economies of scale grow, and technologies are improved. That said, as trained journalists, we keep our personal biases out of coverage, as we think objectivity is more credible than openly biased advocacy, and thus better serves everyone’s interests. We also realize this endeavor to lead away from petroleum is ongoing, and it is in a sense a case of “may the best technology win.” Presently many powertrain and related technologies are competing, and it appears this will be the case for years if not indefinitely, as each technology’s respective percentage of market share adjusts along the way.
Whether you’re a car person, technology buff, or just like a good drama, these are actually exciting times in the history of society which for over a 100 years has developed a whole world on petroleum. We stay mindful of these aspects too, and try to give you a front-row seat.
Car reviews, interactive tools, news, and user forums are designed to help car shoppers make informed purchase decisions. hybrid-crew.com works closely with R. L. Polk to produce its Hybrid Market Dashboard, and with academic institutions and industry analysts to conduct research related to the emerging market for hybrid, alternative fuel, and electric cars.
Team
Jeff Cobb has his B.A. in Journalism from Temple University, Philadelphia, where he now resides. He has been a car, motorcycle, and bicycle fan, project car modifier, occasional racer (motorcycle roadracing, autocross) for many moons now. Affiliations with the business since the mid-80s include work in several capacities at motorcycle and automotive dealerships. Post-college he authored over a dozen Chilton Total Car Care manuals. He’s also been a full-time correspondent, news editor, and managing editor for regional and major metro newspapers. His work with hybrid-crew.com’s publisher, VerticalScope, began in 2008 with assignments for Motorcycle.com. Late in 2009 he was asked to move to California for a stint as a senior editor, motorcycle road tester, and part time photographer. He took on the task of covering the emerging electric motorcycle side in 2010 as well as conventional technologies. After VerticalScope acquired GM-Volt.com, and hybrid-crew.com, he was asked in early 2011 to head up these publications.
Larry E. Hall is an Olympia, Wash.-based freelance journalist and founder of Northwest Auto News Service. His interest and passion for automobiles began at age 7, cleaning engine parts for his father. He has written about cars and the automotive industry for more than 20 years, with a focus on alternative fuels and vehicles. He drove the first Prius brought to the U.S. at EVS 14 in 1997 and was honored to be the second person outside of General Motors to drive the Hy-Wire fuel cell vehicle in France. His articles have been published by Microsoft’s MSNBC.com and MSN Autos, as their alternative fuels correspondent, as well as numerous newspapers, trade journals and business publications.
Philippe Crowe. Cars was his first word and his friends are convinced he has motor oil flowing in his veins … Philippe has been involved professionally with cars since the mid-nineties, leading business-to-business as well as consumer-oriented automotive publications. He knows both the automotive business and the cars themselves.
Based out of Toronto, Canada, this French-Canadian has been trained as a photographer and as a journalist. His hobbies all revolve around cars, either wrenching on the many found on his driveway or racing them as he did during Targa Newfoundland in 2004.
Be they old fashion antiques or green and filled with new technologies, Philippe Crowe will gravitate towards them and be fascinated by them as long as they have wheels and can be driven.
Media Coverage
Partial list of publications and media organizations that have quoted hybrid-crew.com:
| ABC News AIADA.com – American Int’l Automobile Dealers Automotive News Albuquerque Journal Associated Press Newswires BBC World Business Report (Radio) BBC World Business Report (Television) Business Journal (New York) Canadian Geographic CBS Evening News CBS Morning News CBC Radio CBS Radio (National) Chicago Daily Herald Chicago Tribune Christian Science Monitor Congressional Quarterly Review CBC Radio CNBC "On The Money" (Live Primetime) Contra Costa Times (California) Democracy Now (Pacifica Radio) Houston Chronicle Energy Security (Institute for the  Analysis of Global Security) The Joe Scarborough Show Home Power Magazine Kansas City Star (Missouri) L’usine Nouvelle (French business magazine) |
Organic Style Magazine Miami Herald Michigan Public Radio Money Magazine Mother Earth News MSN.com National Geographic New Haven Register (Connecticut) New York Times Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Philadelphia Inquirer (Pennsylvania) Quartier Libre (Montreal) Radio Singapore Record Journal (Connecticut) Red Herring Reuters San Antonio Express San Jose Mercury News Smart Money Star-Ledger (New Jersey) Tennessean Time Magazine TreeHugger TV U-Wire (University Wire) Virginian-Pilot & Ledger-Star |
Editorial Policy, Credits, and Interview Requests
Journalists and students can reference content on this site by crediting (and, if possible, linking to) hybrid-crew.com. Unless otherwise noted, the author should be listed as stated in the byline, hybrid-crew.com. We usually accept interview requests from the media; requests should be submitted via email.
We are not employees or agents of any carmaker or car company. We maintain a strict policy of editorial independence. We welcome the possibility of site sponsorships, with the provision that sponsors will in no way influence the truthful and candid presentation of the facts about hybrid cars.
While we believe strongly that hybrid cars are the way to go, we do not hesitate to present information that is critical of any particular product, service, or technology. Our goal is to combine solid research and factual information with some candid opinion — all free of marketing “hoo-ha” and presented in the cleanest, most accessible web format.