Fuel Efficiency
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Times are tough for sedans in general, as buyers swarm into crossover utility vehicles and ignore the passenger cars sitting next to them on the showroom floor. Also, gasoline remains cheap. All of which may add up to tough times for the current Chevrolet Cruze Diesel, the compact sedan to be offered with a high-efficiency turbo diesel engine. DON'T MISS: 2017 Chevrolet Cruze Diesel first drive (Apr 2017) For the balance of August, Chevy is offering 20 percent off the sticker price of any Cruze Diesel. That means a base-model Cruze Diesel with a 6-speed manual transmission can be purchased...
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For pickup trucks, more than half all fuel savings come in 2022-2025 CAFE rules
Sometimes, when science and technology issues have economic or political consequences, incorrect or misleading information and analyses can be propagated through the media, leading both decision makers and the public astray. A piece published in April by Forbes, covering the effects of the 2022...
John Briggs -
Best deals on hybrid, electric, fuel-efficient cars for August 2017
As North America rounds out the final weeks of summer, plenty of discounts and deals remain on fuel-efficient, hybrid, and electric cars. The month of August sees a number of familiar nameplates remain as best buys, while a few newcomers arrive to represent excellent new values. Below are August's...
Sean Szymkowski -
2019 Mazda 3 to feature world-first HCCI engine for efficiency: report
It's a technology that's been a sort of Holy Grail in the auto industry for at least a couple of decades. Now Mazda, one of the smallest global automakers, plans to introduce it in a radical new engine to be used in a future Mazda vehicle in 2019. It's called homogeneous charge compression...
John Voelcker -
Smallest SUVs most popular in US Midwest, less so in west, south
The small SUV segment has ballooned into a hugely important market for many automakers, as consumers continue to shift from traditional sedans to crossovers and other utility vehicles. The smallest of the expanding array of SUVs on the market offers the flexibility of a hatchback or wagon, combined...
Sean Szymkowski -
Tesla Model 3 rated at 126 MPGe, third-best after Ioniq Electric and Prius Prime
Ten days ago, when the first 30 Tesla Model 3 electric cars were delivered to their owners at a much-publicized Handover Party, we didn't get full information on the latest Tesla model. The company didn't discuss battery capacity in kilowatt-hours, for instance, giving range in miles instead, nor...
John Voelcker -
Small Japanese automaker Mazda is in a tough spot. It's been on its own for most of a decade now, after Ford sold its shares in the company, and now Mazda must fund numerous new models all by itself. With global sales of just 1.5 million vehicles, it's one-seventh the size of Toyota or Volkswagen. DON'T MISS: Mazda to launch homogeneous-charge compression engine next year But as the saying goes, 'You dance with the girl that brought you" (or perhaps "Run what ya brung"?), so Mazda product strategists have doubled down on highly efficient gasoline and diesel engines. While the carmaker will...
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NHTSA to review gas-mileage rules: could freeze 2021 limits, even roll back (updated)
The U.S. Department of Transportation said yesterday the NHTSA is preparing to revise corporate average fuel economy requirements for model years 2022 through 2025. The proposed version of those regulations, which was issued by the Obama Administration in 2012, included steady increases for each of...
John Voelcker -
Next Mercedes-Benz small cars to get even tinier engines
Not so many years ago, a 1.2-liter engine would only have been found in the U.S. in the smallest and least impressive of subcompact cars. It might have been a 3-cylinder, and certainly wouldn't have had even 100 horsepower. But times change, and engines of that size will soon be found even in the...
John Voelcker -
Audi, Mercedes now updating European diesels for emissions; more to come?
Both Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler and Volkswagen Group have approved new plans to retrofit older diesel-powered vehicles with new software at no cost to owners. The largest number of such cars will be in Europe. The news comes amid the latest allegations surrounding German automakers and their...
Sean Szymkowski -
Jeep Wrangler Diesel already testing, before 2019 launch
The iconic Jeep Wrangler is a tough vehicle to make fuel-efficient. Its separate frame and body add weight, and it has all the wind-cheating grace of a small municipal hospital. The Wrangler SUV only gets redesigned every 10 years or so, so each new generation is a big deal to Jeep fans. DON'T...
John Voelcker -
2018 Chevy Equinox Diesel pricing to start just above $31,000
Every now and then, resourceful journalists dredge up automotive news before it emerges in a sanitized press release from the maker in question. So it is with the pricing on the 2018 Chevrolet Equinox Diesel, one of two diesel-powered compact crossover utility vehicles expected to hit the U.S...
John Voelcker -
The phrase "clean diesel" has largely fallen into ill repute after it was associated with Volkswagen's diesel emission deceit, but the latest diesel technology can honestly be described with such a phrase. Semi trucks using the latest-generation diesel technology have reached a new milestone—they now make up 30 percent of the United States' fleet of trucks, according to research conducted by Diesel Technology Forum. The benefits are substantial as older, dirtier semi trucks are retired for the latest technology which started to arrive around 2011. DON'T MISS: Diesel deception: more pain...
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Missing piece in global vehicle emission puzzle: heavy trucks
A global push to reduce vehicle emissions and create cleaner air for future generations has been underway for half a century now. However, while many governments around the world have introduced lower emission and higher fuel-efficiency standards for passenger cars, another large contributor to...
Sean Szymkowski -
Oregon passes electric-car purchase rebates up to $2,500; new EV fees delayed to 2020
It's taken a while, but Oregon will now have a state electric-car purchase incentive that largely matches those in its neighbor to the south, California. First discussed several years ago, the idea of a purchase rebate for cars that plug in hadn't made it through previous legislative sessions. This...
John Voelcker -
Are Eco settings on cabin ventilation systems a safety hazard?
As corporate average fuel economy requirements that started in 2012 continue to tighten, automakers have turned to an entire arsenal of tactics to reduce the fuel their vehicles burn. Downsized and turbocharged engines, transmissions with many more gears, lighter-weight structures, better...
John Voelcker -
Better electric motors can boost electric-car efficiency
One of the greatest challenges faced by modern electric cars is the vehicle's range, which is largely proportional to the energy capacity of the battery. Range anxiety often keeps buyers out of electric cars and in their fossil-fuel powered counterparts. Most of the attention given to solving the...
Sean Szymkowski -
2018 Honda Fit: new safety features, style, Sport model, smartphone connectivity added (update)
Honda's smallest of vehicles—the Fit hatchback—has received several updates for the new model year, its fourth for the current-generation version. The 2018 Honda Fit now has incremental styling modifications, additional safety features, a new optional audio system with Android Auto and...
Sean Szymkowski -
"I want a fuel-efficient car, but I live in a snowy area, and won't buy one without all-wheel drive; what's the best?" It's a question we hear often. Whether or not you agree that AWD is a must-have in wintry climes, the selection of cars with high fuel economy and AWD is limited. DON'T MISS: 2014 BMW 328d xDrive: 40-MPG Diesel Sport Wagon Reviewed Fuel prices may be cheap at the moment, but six years of steadily rising corporate average fuel economy rules have had an effect on EPA ratings for 2017 vehicles. For many years, the Subaru Impreza compact sedan and hatchback had the highest EPA...
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How to drive Ford C-Max Hybrid for best gas mileage? Owner video explains
Purchasing a hybrid vehicle makes for a slightly different ownership experience than a traditional gasoline-only car. There are always a few tips and tricks for owners to return the best mileage and range from electrified vehicles, and now a 2013 Ford C-Max Hybrid owner has shared his secrets...
Sean Szymkowski -
How much would relaxing U.S. fuel-economy rules matter? Poll results
One of the earliest acts of the Trump Administration was to announce that it would re-examine emission rules finalized by the EPA in the waning days of the Obama Administration. Making good on that promise, EPA administrator (and climate-science denier) Scott Pruitt reopened the commenting period...
John Voelcker -
Some crossover SUVs get easier fuel-economy rules, others don't
What's a truck? If you tell your average suburban family that they're hauling their kids to school and sports practices in a truck, many will push back. "It's an SUV," you'll likely hear, or perhaps, "it's called a crossover"—short for crossover utility vehicle, or a car-based SUV. DON'T...
John Voelcker -
Fuel-efficiency rules create jobs too, contrary to industry plaints
Fuel economy and emission standards have been a contentious issue in recent months as the auto industry and government officials clash over regulations and their potential benefits. Earlier this year, one of the largest pieces of evidence against more stringent fuel economy regulations came from...
Sean Szymkowski -
Bill to give more CAFE credits to light-truck makers introduced in Congress
Under the new administration of President Donald Trump, the EPA has reopened comments on its decision to finalize emission rules for 2022 through 2025 vehicles. Meanwhile, the NHTSA—which sets fuel-economy rules that have to correspond to EPA limits on carbon-dioxide emissions—hasn't...
John Voelcker