Fuel Efficiency

Gasoline prices rise. Gasoline prices fall. And every time there's significant movement, it's a news story. Last week, for instance, CNBC (via The Car Connection) reported that a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline dropped to about $3.59 last Friday. That's almost 8 cents lower than the cost two...

With an increasing number of diesel passenger cars appearing in showrooms, car buyers have more options for fuel-efficient driving than they did only a few years ago. After a brief hiatus several years ago, when new and tougher emissions standards came into effect for diesel vehicles, the number...

Lackluster sales of cars like the Smart Fortwo have illustrated that the market for really tiny cars still doesn't really exist in the U.S, but elsewhere things are quite different. In some European or far-Eastern cities, size--or lack of it--is everything. Those are the markets the T25 and T27...

You might not be familiar with Sir Alec Issigonis, but his name has made as much impact on the motoring landscape, particularly in Britain, as anyone else in the history of the automobile. Issigonis was the man behind the Austin Seven and Morris Mini-Minor--the famous Mini. He died in 1988, but...

Just how close do cars get to their official EPA gas mileage figures? We expect it's a question many of our readers are familiar with--either in keeping an eye on their own car's gas mileage, or from friends asking about their next car. It's become all the more important in recent months, with...

The classic Mini wasn't the original gas-saving minicar, but it was certainly one of the most iconic, and modern owners BMW have turned the brand into a successful venture these days with a wide and not always endearing portfolio. It's still the basic hatchback which mirrors the original car...

Mercedes-Benz will slowly start rolling out a new nine-speed automatic across its range, starting with the E350 BlueTEC diesel-powered sedan and wagon. The new gearbox, dubbed the 9G-TRONIC, is yet to be announced for the U.S. market but Mercedes says it expects it to be offered as a standard...

Back in 2010, we asked why so few of today's cars were among the most fuel efficient ever. Look down the list of the most fuel-efficient vehicles sold in the U.S, and only a small handful had been built in the previous decade--cars such as the familiar Prius, and the all-too-brief but brilliant...

The Honda Fit today is the oldest subcompact sold in the U.S., but there's an all-new one on the way. Now Honda has released the first official photos of the entirely redesigned Fit for the Japanese market, though only so far in the form of the Fit Hybrid model not sold in the U.S. The images show...

It used to be so simple to tell which cars were coupes and which weren't. And not just because the word "Coupe" was emblazoned on your vinyl roof pillars in metallic script. Generally, if it was a little sleeker than the average car, had only two doors and a proper trunk, you had yourself a coupe...

That noise you heard yesterday afternoon? That was the sound of the other shoe dropping. Ford said yesterday that it will "enhance the on-road fuel economy performance" of the 77,000 2013 hybrid models it's sold over the last year, in an effort to "improve customer satisfaction." The announcement...

The first new Datsun of the 21st Century is here, though it may not be quite how you remember the brand from its heyday. Datsuns always represented good value, but this time around they're really banging the budget drum. The new Go, previewed a few weeks ago in sketches, will sell for well under...

Volkswagen is finally dropping its long-serving 2.5-liter gasoline engine from several models, in favor of a more efficient, downsized turbocharged 1.8-liter. The 1.8 turbocharged, direct-injection four-cylinder develops 170 horsepower, the same as the naturally-aspirated 2.5. However, its 184...

If you're one of the millions of Americans preparing for your summer vacation, you might also be readying the family's bicycles for some exercise while you're away. Chances are, this involves some kind of roof-mounted bicycle rack for your car. And this can have a dramatic effect on your gas...

Although we hate to say it here, for certain cars, sometimes gas mileage really just doesn't matter that much. That's our verdict on the 2013 Fiat 500c Abarth Cabrio, the new convertible version of the hot-hatch 500 Abarth minicar--the one whose television ad people are still talking about. Just in...

Volkswagen is best-known for its diesel vehicles for those associating the German automaker with fuel efficiency, but its future plans stretch well beyond endless TDI models. Speaking with Automotive News Europe, VW's development coordinator Ulrich Hackenberg says making cars lighter and greener is...

As automobile manufacturers strive for greater fuel efficiency, it's the low-hanging fruit proving most effective for immediate gains. That's why Nissan's new 2014 Versa Note--replacing the old 2012 Versa hatchback--has improved by a full 5 mpg on the old car's combined economy. The 2014 Nissan...

Mazda is on a roll at the moment. Its CX-5 crossover is among the most efficient in class, and the new 40 mpg highway Mazda 6 likewise. The 2014 Mazda 3 was also unveiled recently, and thanks to images leaked on the internet a few days ago, Mazda has now seen fit to reveal the 2014 Mazda 3 sedan in...

Look out, owners of 200-mph testosterone-supplement poster cars. If there ever was a real hypercar, it's the Volkswagen XL1. Although in recent years the term hypercar has been distorted—to include cars that are faster (and often even thirstier) than those supercars from Lamborghini, Ferrari...

The automobile market is no longer a stranger to cars achieving highway mileage of 40 mpg, but to see such a figure coming from a midsize car is quite an impressive feat. What's more, the midsize car in question--Mazda's 2014 Mazda6 sedan--has no diesel engine nor hybrid system to help it reach...