Gas Mileage
-
Detroit-area residents occasionally see camouflaged development prototypes from GM, Ford, and Chrysler testing on public roads. Similarly, Southern California residents often see Toyota, Honda, and Hyundai prototypes pass them clad in disguise. And so it was for a Cars Direct employee driving to work yesterday. DON'T MISS: 2016 Toyota Prius 'Coming Soon': 55-MPG Hybrid To Be Sportier He snapped a photo of what is pretty clearly the upcoming 2016 Toyota Prius hybrid on the road near the company's headquarters in Torrance. That car will likely be unveiled to the world at either the Tokyo Motor...
-
2016 Toyota Prius 'Coming Soon': 55-MPG Hybrid To Be Sportier
While Toyota remains coy about the launch date of its fourth-generation Prius hybrid, a company executive has confirmed that the car is coming "soon." Jim Lentz, CEO of Toyota North America, didn't release any specifications on the car when he mentioned it during the groundbreaking for an expansion...
John Voelcker -
Fossil Fuel Use Must Plummet By 2050, End By 2100: G7 Meeting
The leaders of the world's largest economies hope to gradually eliminate fossil fuels.
Stephen Edelstein -
2015 Ford Focus 1.0L EcoBoost: Gas Mileage Review
A popular compact sedan fitted with a tiny 1.0-liter three-cylinder engine may sound like an Eighties econobox all over again. But in fact the 2015 Ford Focus 1.0L EcoBoost is on sale today, though we suspect its lack of an automatic transmission will discourage nine out of 10 potential buyers. And...
John Voelcker -
Ford EcoSport Small SUV To Arrive In U.S. For 2017 From India?
The Ford EcoSport may be offered in the U.S. after an upcoming facelift.
Stephen Edelstein -
2015 Hyundai Sonata Eco: Gas Mileage Review
The 2015 Hyundai Sonata Eco is the Korean maker's most fuel-efficient mid-size sedan that doesn't use a hybrid powertrain. And it highlights the two parallel paths that automakers are taking as they work to boost gas mileage ratings to meet steadily rising corporate average fuel economy rules. The...
John Voelcker -
Mazda has taken its own road toward boosting the fuel economy of its vehicles, and its latest small SUV manages to break the critical 30-mpg combined rating barrier. The 2016 Mazda CX-3 subcompact crossover utility is rated at 31 mpg combined with front-wheel drive, and 29 mpg combined with optional all-wheel drive. DON'T MISS: 2016 Mazda CX-3: Full Review Those ratings are identical to the 31 mpg achieved by one front-wheel drive model of the 2016 Honda HR-V, another subcompact crossover introduced this year, and its 29 mpg for the all-wheel-drive version. Every Mazda CX-3 is powered by a...
-
2016 Mazda CX-5 Grand Touring: Gas Mileage Review Of Small SUV
The Mazda CX-5 has always been one of our favorite compact crossover utility vehicles, not only for its fuel efficiency but also for its capacious functionality and fun-to-drive nature. First launched as a 2013 model, the CX-5 has been lightly updated for 2016 with minor tweaks to styling...
John Voelcker -
2016 Chevrolet Cruze Teased Ahead Of June 24 Debut: UPDATE
The U.S.-spec 2016 Chevrolet Cruze will debut June 24.
Stephen Edelstein -
New Smaller Commercial Vans Do Well Due To Fuel Efficiency
You can save a lot of money by improving the fuel economy of larger and thirstier vehicles, especially if they cover lots of miles each year. That's why business owners are usually considered to be more rational vehicle buyers than retail customers: The fleet vehicles often consume twice the fuel...
John Voelcker -
Ford Fusion Or Toyota Prius: Environmentalist's Vacation Dilemma
Carbon guilt weighed heavily on my mind as I approached the car rental counter at the Salt Lake City Airport. The book I was reading on the plane (Sustainable Energy, by David JC Mackay) suggested that my portion of the energy for the round-trip plane ride from Boston and back would amount to...
John Briggs -
U.S. Drivers Covered Record High Number Of Miles So Far This Year
Miles driven in the first quarter of 2015 were at a record high for that period.
Stephen Edelstein -
Muscle-car fans pretty much set the Internet on fire this weekend as news and photos of the redesigned 2016 Chevrolet Camaro coupe emerged. The second generation of the reanimated Camaro pony car has tauter styling, more power, and less weight. All of that adds up to a car with tauter handling that should prove a formidable competitor to last year's all-new 2015 Ford Mustang. DON'T MISS: How A Chevy Camaro Gets Greener: Student Competition In EcoCar 3 But Chevrolet has also made the 2016 Camaro more fuel efficient, prodded by ever-rising corporate average fuel economy standards. Its base...
-
2016 Fiat 500X AWD: Quick Drive Report
The 2016 Fiat 500X drives more like a tall car than a shrunken SUV.
Stephen Edelstein -
Why Higher Gas Taxes Would Have Been Best Way To Save Fuel
It's now a widely-accepted tenet of today's U.S. political landscape: You just can't come out and advocate for higher taxes. For any purpose, under any circumstances, no matter what the end purposes. Any politician who does so will be punished by voters. DON'T MISS: Low Gas Price An Opportunity For...
John Voelcker -
2015 Ford Focus EcoBoost: Brief Drive Of 1.0-Liter Three-Cylinder Sedan
The 2015 Ford Focus EcoBoost may be the most European car Ford sells in the U.S. It's fun, but not fast. It handles well, and has a small engine that requires energetic use of the manual gearbox to keep up with traffic. That all means that very few U.S. buyers will ever consider it, since fewer...
John Voelcker -
Why BMW Boosting Its V-8 Twin-Turbo's Fuel Efficiency Kills Batteries
Turbocharger cooling demands overtax batteries in V-8 BMWs.
Stephen Edelstein -
2015 Chevrolet Trax: Gas Mileage Review Of Small SUV
Sport-utility vehicles are all about hauling stuff, so collecting a set of 40-year-old wheels seemed like the perfect road test for the new 2015 Chevrolet Trax. The subcompact SUV offered cargo space for the wheels--which, frankly, would have fit into a sedan--along with decent gas mileage on our...
John Voelcker -
The sales-weighted average fuel economy of new cars and trucks was 25.2 mpg for April 2015.
-
Will Fuel Economy Rules Require Future Cars To Use Premium Gas?
Premium gasoline offers potential fuel-economy benefits, but will consumers pay?
Stephen Edelstein -
2016 Honda HR-V Subcompact SUV Starts At $19,995, On Sale May 15
The 2016 Honda HR-V will start at just under $20,000.
Stephen Edelstein -
Third Row Seats, Good Gas Mileage: What Are Your Options?
If you need to fit more than five into your vehicle—even just sometimes—and the thought of getting less than 25 miles per gallon in daily driving repulses you, the pickings for U.S. vehicle shoppers are still surprisingly slim. Why are there no hybrid minivans at all, no three-row...
Bengt Halvorson -
Let's Be Clear: Real 2025 Gas-Mileage Goal Is 40 MPG--Or So--Not 54.5 MPG
The difference between unadjusted CAFE figures and window-sticker fuel economy.
Stephen Edelstein -
2016 Mazda Miata: At 30 MPG Combined, Gas Mileage 25 Percent Higher
Gas-mileage ratings for the 2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata are in.
Stephen Edelstein