The Toyota Avalon hybrid has won the best green car award at the 2013 Atlanta International Auto Show. The Avalon’s hybrid synergy drive uses a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine that employs the Atkinson cycle to postpone closure of the intake valves and delay the compression cycle, helping reduce intake and exhaust energy losses to improve fuel efficiency. Reduced weight, aerodynamics and an efficient hybrid drivetrain combine to give the sedan a combined 40 mpg EPA-rating. Toyota says the Avalon Hybrid can offer a range of more than 600 miles per tank.

The Department of Energy has announced more than $50 million in funding for new projects that will accelerate the development of advanced plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) technologies to improve vehicle fuel economy and performance. This new funding supports the DoE’s EV Everywhere Grand Challenge, which aims to make PEVs as affordable to own and operate as today’s gasoline-powered vehicles within the next 10 years. The DoE will select research projects that focus on lowering the cost and increasing the efficiency of PEV components and develop models and tools to predict these vehicles’ performance and help improve fuel economy. Through the Advanced Vehicle Power Technology Alliance between the DoE and the US Army, the Army is contributing $3.5 million in co-funding.