Fuel Economy

This year's full-size pickup truck sales are surging, driven at least in part by increased U.S. oil production, according to Ford chief economist Emily Kolinski Morris. Ironic, eh? But new pickups sold today are far more fuel-efficient than those offered even a couple of years ago--and the highest...

The auto industry came very near to the precipice in 2009, and it agreed to significant new regulations to enable it to step back from the brink. Now, it turns out that it's not only meeting, but actually beating, the required reductions in emissions. That means that, according to the U.S...

Various details have already been released about the radical new 2015 Ford F-150 pickup truck, the first-ever to use an all-aluminum body to reduce weight and improve fuel efficiency. Now another piece of information has leaked out: Ford will offer an F-150 SFE model, a special option package that...

We've finally had a chance to test out the fuel economy of the new and very popular smallest Mercedes-Benz, the 2014 CLA 250 sedan. The company has been struggling to meet global demand for the car, which is both the smallest Mercedes in many years and one of the least expensive. We wanted to see...

Electric turbocharging will debut on a sporty version of Audi's next-generation Q7 SUV.

Several automakers have come under fire in recent years over reported EPA gas mileage figures that prove unattainable in the real world. According to the Wall Street Journal, the EPA plans to require car manufacturers to road-test new cars to confirm gas-mileage ratings based on laboratory tests...

We drive a Nissan Frontier midsize pickup truck equipped with a Cummins four-cylinder turbodiesel engine.

Whether you call them fuel-economy standards or carbon-emission limits, new vehicles sold in North America, Europe, China, and elsewhere are subject to regulations that will require them to get more energy-efficient. Now, another country is discussing new regulations that would require both new and...

Start-stop will be standard on certain 2015 Chrysler 200 and Jeep Cherokee models.

There are some pretty efficient cars on sale these days, but it's fair to say that to benefit from the technology, you often have to spend a little more to start with. What if you want to spend as little as possible on fuel, but spend as little as possible on the car itself too? That's where...

Audi's "e-boost" electric turbocharger could debut on the next Q7 SUV.

The number of light-duty vehicles on U.S. roads is at a record high/

The news yesterday was simple: Ford has lowered the gas-mileage and efficiency ratings for six of its 2013 and 2014 models. Three are hybrids from Ford and Lincoln, two are Ford plug-in hybrids, and the last is the 2014 Ford Fiesta, newly updated, which has revised ratings for four different engine...

Lots of people want practical vehicles to haul families and their goods around, and increasingly small and fuel-efficient diesel engines are an option--albeit often an expensive one. We've tested several diesel SUVs and crossover utility vehicles lately. But last weekend, we got a chance to test...

You read a lot about hybrids and electric cars these days, but fuel-efficient diesel engines will be coming in certain classes of cars this year and in the future. The most recent crop of diesel launches has been in the crossover utility vehicle class, of which we've now driven three different...

Honda has long had the reputation of offering fuel-efficient, relatively green vehicles--but this year, it has lost the "Greenest Automaker" laurels that it's held since 1998 to an upstart: Hyundai-Kia. The latest award, detailed in a report that's now been issued six times by the Union of...

Bamboo is light and strong, but also renewable and more environmentally-friendly than carbon fiber.

New information on updates for 2015 to the Chevrolet Impala full-size sedan range note that a start-stop system will be fitted to the four-cylinder model as standard equipment. So the 2015 Chevy Impala LS model with the base 196-horsepower 2.5-liter four-cylinder will now switch off its engine when...

Ford may dissuade buyers from choosing the base 3.7-liter V-6 engine of the new 2.3-liter turbocharged four.

Tougher fuel economy standards may make mild hybrids and small turbocharged engines more common in China.