What is 230?
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Almost a year ago, General Motors launched a little marketing campaign connecting its 2011 Chevrolet Volt range-extended electric car to the figure "230 mpg." As we pointed out at the time, they were basing that projection on a proposed formula for fuel usage patterns that made a lot of assumptions about the driving cycles that would be used. Frankly, we think the whole exercise sowed confusion. But it sure got the Volt a lot of attention for awhile. Which was, clearly, the goal. Now, the Environmental Protection Agency has decided not to use the formula GM based its 230-mpg number on. The...
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How To Get 85 MPG In a 2010 Lexus HS 250h Hybrid: Go DownhillYou have to give corporate PR guys some credit when they publish an article on the astoundingly high mileage their car got in a road test, and then dismiss the whole thing as "silly and totally unscientific." That's what Lexus magazine auto editor Clark Heideger did. When a coworker got 47.4 miles...
John Voelcker -
Frankfurt Auto Show: Plug-In Hybrid Mercedes S-Class Concept
Every other year, Mercedes-Benz unveils a "Vision" concept car at the Frankfurt Motor Show that points the way to cars it will launch in future years. This year's concept car looks just like a standard 2010 Mercedes-Benz S-Class. Instead, it's the mechanical parts that are remarkable: It's a...
John Voelcker -
Want To Go Even Greener? Power Your Prius on...Algae ?!?!?
There's something about the Toyota Prius that makes people want to modify it. Maybe it's the Hybrid Synergy Drive system, maybe it's the electric running, maybe it's even the car's shape. We're not quite sure. Now, joining the growing parade of Prius plug-in conversions (whether professional or...
John Voelcker -
August's Most Popular Green Car Posts: What About That 230 MPG?
We usually recap our five most popular posts on GreenCarReports.com at the end of every month. We're a bit late for August but, hey, we had a long Labor Day too ... now we're back in business. We replaced most of July's most popular posts, with three new winners in our Top Five. Here goes: # 1: How...
John Voelcker
