Fuel Efficiency

Back in the early 1970s, Volkswagen hit something of a milestone: It had sold over 15 million examples of its evergreen Beetle compact car. At 14 million and counting, it isn't hard to see VW's Polo subcompact breaking that barrier in the coming years, and maybe even eclipsing the Beetle's...

With increasing energy efficiency in cars, homes, and industry, plus a surge in domestic natural-gas production, U.S. demand for oil is widely said to have tapered off and in fact begun a structural decline. Except that, as it turns out, last year it seems U.S. demand for oil actually rose by...

Want the looks of an SUV but not the size or running costs? You're probably in the market for one of the new, ever-expanding breed of subcompact and compact crossovers. Hot on the heels of Ford's announcement that it could bring the new EcoSport to U.S. shores, Land Rover has trademarked a new name...

Compared to Europe and Asia, the U.S. market for subcompacts and minicars is tiny, with dozens of models available elsewhere that will never hit U.S. shores. One of those is the Nissan Micra, slotting below the Versa Note in Nissan's range. Versions of the Micra have sold for decades in other...

Ford has taken a little while to get to the subcompact crossover party. Its EcoSport, launched at the end of 2013, is hitting the European market a full three to four years after rivals like the Nissan Juke, and drops into a now highly-competitive market segment. Better late than never, as they...

For some companies in the auto industry, building cars to hit a target of 54.5 mpg by 2025 may seem like a near-impossible task. But to others, the EPA's Corporate Average Fuel Economy targets agreed in 2011 aren't simply achievable by that date, but could be reached today--and with today's...

Audi has announced pricing for the first two variants of its all-new 2015 A3 sedan, on sale soon. With the base engine, a 1.8-liter, four-cylinder turbocharged unit badged TFSI, you'll pay $29,900--while the more powerful 2.0 TFSI, also a turbocharged gasoline model, begins at $32,900. To each of...

Honda is mulling an Acura-badged version of the Vezel compact crossover.

This year, 2014, is going to be the big test for diesel engines in U.S. passenger vehicles. It's the first full year in which two popular cars--the Chevrolet Cruze compact sedan and the Jeep Grand Cherokee--are offered with diesel engines as optional equipment, complete with higher EPA fuel...

Few transport methods are truly green, requiring the input of fuel at some point in the process to generate the energy required to move. Flying is often derided as one of the worst, given the spectacular amounts of fuel aircraft can burn through. But are they any worse than cars? Indeed, could they...

Cars described as "ahead of their time" are usually regarded fondly, but often commercially unsuccessful--the resulting vehicles often too unusual for many consumers. Daimler's Smart brand and the Fortwo minicar fits that bill and could well be described as ahead of its time, but company boss...

The 2015 Ford F-150 full-size pickup truck won't be unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show until tomorrow morning, but some details of its innovations to boost gas mileage have emerged already. Ford apparently gave exclusive details to The New York Times, which reports that the new truck will use an...

China surpassed 20 million new-car sales in 2013, but analysts believe those numbers will decline as air pollution becomes unbearable.

Bad news for fans of diesel passenger cars, it seems. Mazda said today that the launch of its new SkyActiv-D diesel engine would be delayed past the previous date of sometime this spring. A terse press release attributed the delay to the time required for "further development...to deliver the right...

A Mitsubishi Mirage sedan is expected to appear at the 2014 Montreal Auto Show.

According to the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, sales-weighted new-car average fuel economy has steadily improved since October 2007.

Diesel engines are now offered in a growing number of passenger vehicles on sale this year and next, especially crossovers and sport utilities. The 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee EcoDiesel is one of two popular models this year that offer a good test of how attractive buyers find today's modern diesels...

The first 2014 Ford Fiesta 1.0-liter EcoBoost cars are making their way into customers' hands.

Recently, we attracted flak from some quarters of our readership for featuring pickup trucks. While not green by the standards of modern electric vehicles and hybrids, their push towards greater efficiency is equally important--because the biggest gains come from the most popular and...

For drivers whose travel include long stretches of high-speed highways, diesel cars offer a fuel-efficient alternative to gasoline vehicles. For many years, the biggest seller of diesel vehicles in the U.S. has been Volkswagen--more recently joined by its corporate siblings Audi and Porsche. MORE...