Fuel Economy

The U.S. launch of the 2011 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid has slipped a month, just enough to preclude buyers from taking advantage of a $1,300 Federal tax credit that expires December 31. According to Hyundai, the first cars will now reach dealers in January or perhaps later, rather than in early or mid...

One of the main reasons buyers steered away from the old Ford Explorer sport utility vehicle, according to Ford itself, was its fuel economy. So gas mileage had to be a major selling point for the all-new 2011 Ford Explorer. Like so many new cars and crossovers, the latest model does indeed get...

Just a month ago, we suggested that 40 miles per gallon is the new bragging threshold for subcompact and even compact cars. Now, Hyundai has dropped the gloves (or thrown down the gauntlet) with a clever marketing campaign to contrast it with other makers: It will start breaking out the sales of...

For many years, Honda was routinely awarded the title of greenest carmaker in the U.S. market. But its most recent green cars have stumbled, and a dark-horse competitor is rising fast toward taking the coveted title, conferred every few years by the Union of Concerned Scientists. It's not Nissan...

The shenanigans continue. Just this week the Nissan LEAF was rated at 99 mpg-equivalent by the EPA, raising the ire of our own John Voelcker--and justifiably so. Today, the Volt gets similar treatment and a similar rating, but only in EV mode. Add in the gas-only mode's 37 mpg rating and the...

So it's come down to this, has it? The U.S. car-buying public is apparently so stupid that the Environmental Protection Agency has to rate the efficiency of an all-electric car that burns no gasoline in ... miles per gallon. [facepalm] That's the only possible reaction to the news this afternoon...

GM has managed to deliver on its promise of segment-leading fuel economy for its new 2011 Chevrolet Cruze Eco model, with the EPA announcing this week that the fuel efficient sedan will return 28 mpg in the city and up to 42 mpg on the highway when equipped with a manual transmission. The numbers...

If you're reading this site, there's a good chance that you're interested in driving green: saving fuel, perhaps reducing the overall impact of your transportation choices on the planet. Or maybe not. Maybe, like the vast majority of U.S. buyers, you're interested in better fuel economy not for...

To achieve ambitious 2016 Federal fuel-economy goals, carmakers are working hard to make their engines smaller and more efficient. That's not news. But it's increasingly looking like we'll have a new target for compact cars over the next few years: a rating of 40 miles per gallon highway, from an...

We've all driven through--or waited a long time at--intersections that have car-sensing traffic lights. Now Denso has modeled the next iterations of a "smart traffic light" system. It would use messaging between vehicles and the traffic-light controller to let the light make better decisions about...

Well, now we know the numbers. And there are a lot of them. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Transportation jointly proposed cutting greenhouse-gas emissions from medium and heavy duty trucks by 10 to 20 percent, starting in 2014 and extending through 2018. (The actual...

Tightening fuel efficiency and emissions regulations all around the world are pushing automakers to find ways they can improve their respective fleet's figures, with almost no element of the car being left untouched. Concepts that have worked quite successfully in the past include reducing weight...

No, it's not pronounced "hell" ... although that word was heard from many Modena fans when news first broke that Ferrari was planning a hybrid-electric drivetrain in some models. The first fruits of Ferrari's wide-ranging quest to improve the fuel efficiency of its models was unveiled at the Paris...

After many months of testing, qualifying, and mechanical challenges--not to mention reams of press releases--today the Progressive Automotive X-Prize announced the winners of its three categories, who will split $10 million in prize money. Both winners in the "alternative" classes for two-passenger...

Reading the news in our automotive world never fails to surprise and delight. Take, for example, our discovery of the soliticitousness exhibited by automakers who care deeply about the delicate and fragile feelings of car buyers. Yes, those same car buyers from whom an independent dealer's job is...

Sometimes, you'd think that hybrid-electric vehicles were the most important development in the automotive world, if not the entire geopolitical sphere, in the last 15 years. They're not. More than a decade after they launched into the U.S. market, their market share hovers just south of 3 percent...

Want to know the fuel economy ratings of a new car you're considering? You probably already know to look at the gas-mileage window sticker. Now, for the first time in 30 years, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are planning a...

It was so much easier just a few short years ago. Luxury cars wafted and sports machines roared, with nary a thought to gasoline consumed. Hybrids were for weenies, and everyone knew their place. But now? A hybrid Ferrari, a hybrid Porsche race car, an electric BMW ... what is the world coming to?...

It's Friday, so we're straying slightly afield from covering cars. In this case, we're turning our green lens toward jetliners to look at fuel economy in the sky. Anyone who travels on a jet more than once has likely more than doubled their non-flying carbon footprint, and there are unlikely to be...

America loves to complain about gas mileage and the cost of gasoline.  As it turns out, part of the problem is us. A study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found a 1.1 percent increase in self-reported obesity, which translates into extra weight that your vehicle has to haul...