Fuel Economy

The Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Transportation have unveiled their updated fuel economy labels. There's some new information aimed squarely to inform consumers looking to buy a hybrid vehicle, plug-in hybrid, or electric car. First and foremost are the MPG or MPGe ratings...

The 2011 Toyota Prius hybrid gets the best gas mileage rating of any car for sale in the U.S. market today. It's rated at 51 mpg city, 48 mpg highway, for a combined rating of 50 mpg--and that's a number no other car can match. At least, no other car that doesn't plug into the wall for some (2011...

The 2011 Toyota Corolla is one of the best-selling compact sedans in the U.S. market. But its gas mileage isn't necessarily anything to write home about. The most fuel-efficient model is the one fitted with the 132-horsepower, 1.8-liter engine and a five-speed manual gearbox, a transmission many...

Good occupant safety can come in small packages—even those that get 40 mpg or more. That's one of the themes of the latest round of crash-test results and safety ratings released by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). Overall, there are now ten small-car and minicar models in...

There's more than a 3-to-1 chance that your gas price fell last week. The price itself depends largely on what state you live in, but the average price of a gallon of gasoline rose in just 12 states, staying the same or falling in the other 38, according to the average pricing on GasBuddy. But...

Even if some of us suspect that cheap gasoline may never come back for good ... well, we can dream, right? In the face of national gas prices averaging $4 a gallon, and fillups that can cost three figures, several hundred lucky drivers in Los Angeles hit the jackpot yesterday morning: They paid...

With gas prices above $4 a gallon (at least this week), we've entered a familiar cycle. Man-on-the-street interviews feature wailing and moaning about how politicians "should do something" about gas prices. Drivers start to combine their trips, and make sure to use their most fuel-efficient...

"We have not yet fully accepted the fact that we need a new car. Some call it denial. But we do need one." That's how our friend Gordon Platt began a note asking our advice on what cars he should consider as he sets out to replace the family's aging 2003 Toyota Sienna minivan. "What are your...

Two days ago, the NHTSA said that it would require annual gas-mileage improvements of somewhere between 2 and 7 percent each year between 2017 and 2025. Corporate average fuel economy requirements have already been set through 2016, an action facilitated by the Obama Administration soon after...

As well as the "What kind of car should I buy?" questions, we're suddenly getting a lot of questions about driving techniques to save gas. Shouldn't be surprising; the average cost of a gallon of gasoline passed $4 this week. But one of the most confusing areas of gas saving turns out to be speed...

Well, it's official. Despite news last week of a sudden drop in the wholesale price of oil, the average price of a gallon of gasoline in the U.S. rose to precisely $4 a gallon, according to the respected Lundberg Report. That's 12 cents higher than just two weeks ago. Your price will likely be...

We tend to get a lot of "What car should we buy?" questions at GreenCarReports, and we'll usually respond with a list of questions to narrow down the choices. Recently, though, our high-school friend Sarah Sette in Baltimore sent the following note: We are car shopping, seriously this time. The...

Of the five separate 2012 Honda Civic models featured at last month's New York Auto Show, the Civic HF sedan is probably the most affordable tradeoff between gas mileage and purchase price. Its base price is $19,455. It's EPA-rated at 29 mpg city, 41 mpg highway, toward the top of the 2012 Civic...

If you've been paying any attention at all, you'll see new-car ads touting the magical "40 mpg highway" number in big print. You'll see a whole lot of car ads, in fact, for vehicles that include the 2011 Ford Fiesta SFE, 2011 Chevrolet Cruze Eco (with six-speed manual), 2011 Hyundai Elantra (all...

First came the news that the 2013 Chevrolet Malibu would have only four-cylinder engines, following the path set by the 2011 Hyundai Sonata and other midsize entries. Then came the official unveiling of the line at last week's New York Auto Show, complete with projected gas mileage numbers. The...

It's springtime, which means tornadoes for some of us, showers and muggy weather for others. It also means putting the roof down on convertibles after the long winter hiatus. Which led us to wonder: What's the best gas mileage you can get in a new drop-top car with four seats (or at least four...

During the first quarter of 2011, small car sales accounted for 19.4 percent of all vehicles sold. That is a sudden increase in popularity--up 2.8 percent from the last quarter of 2010--and it helped propel the average fuel economy of vehicles sold in the U.S. during January, February, and March to...

Finally, here's our last video in the series we did on the new 2011 Hyundai Elantra. Since we tested that car a few weeks ago, the compact segment has only heated up. There's a new 2012 Honda Civic, an entirely redesigned all-wheel-drive 2012 Subaru Impreza, and the highly competitive 2011 Chevy...

The Toyota Prius is the best-selling hybrid vehicle of all time and recently passed three million sales globally and a million in the U.S., over more than a decade. And when fuel prices rise, so has demand for the Prius and other high-mileage vehicles. So then, why hasn't it for the Honda Insight?...

As of the middle of April, gasoline is approaching $4.00 per gallon across the United States and oil is surging past $110 per barrel. More and more energy observers are talking about "$5 per gallon fuel" here in the U.S. So how do you minimize your gasoline costs and maximize your mileage? What...