Momentus XT hybrid drive causing headaches, Seagate working to fix

All's not well in hybrid solid state storage land, as owners of Seagate's Momentus XT are facing serious issues with their drives -- despite glowing initial reviews, a number of long-term users claim that the drives chirp, crash, stutter, and freeze with alarming regularity, particularly when installed in a Mac. Seagate forumgoers speculate these are symptoms of the XT's magnetic platters spinning down inappropriately, due to an overzealous power management scheme. That's the bad news -- and it sounds pretty bad -- but the good news is this: Seagate's owning up to the issues, and is actively involved in getting them fixed. So far, a pair of new firmware updates have addressed some symptoms, a third is on the way, and a Seagate engineer known only as STX_NB is proactively chatting with affected customers about possible fixes. That's what we call technical support -- take notes, tech companies.

Imperia plug-in hybrid does 0 - 60 in four seconds, looks classy while doing it

If you're tired of hybrids like the Prius or Volt, cars that could easily get lost in a Hertz parking lot, check out the GP. It's the first and only product from resurrected Belgian auto maker Imperia, which previously operated in the early 20th century, but other than the pronounced front grille offers little resemblance to its forbears either above or below that pronounced bonnet. It has an inline four cylinder turbo engine offering 212hp that's paired with a 134hp electric engine, itself backed by a Li-polymer battery pack. It'll do about 45 miles on batteries alone but, more importantly, will roll the 0 - 60mph sprint in under four seconds. Or, at least, it will if it ever hits production. A concept of the car was unveiled at the Brussels Auto Show, but it's anyone's guess when it might actually hit the road for reals.

Imperia GP

Land Rover develops Range_e hybrid, will show it off at the Geneva Motor Show

You know electric cars are in the ascendancy when even the fearsome 4x4s start looking to add an extra little spark to their energy production and storage. Land Rover has just announced it'll demo one -- there are multiple working versions -- of its development prototypes at the Geneva Motor Show next month, treating us to an exhibition of what a diesel engine can do when augmented with some electric firepower. The Range_e's design is based on the Range Rover Sport and its 3.0-liter TDV6 core, however the new vehicle is capable of going a full 20 miles purely on its electric charge and touts a whopping 690-mile range altogether. Let's hope Geneva shows enough interest in the Range_e to compel Land Rover to turn it into a commercial reality.