Fuel Efficiency

General Motors and PSA/Peugeot-Citroen have penned an agreement to merge their future European small car development program, as well as focusing efforts on building a fuel-efficient, high performance small-displacement gasoline engine. The brands have abandoned plans to jointly develop a midsize...

GM's full-size hybrid pickups, the Chevrolet Silverado Hybrid and GMC Sierra Hybrid, for much of the time they've been on sale, have offered the highest gas mileage of any full-size truck on the U.S. market. Yet these hybrid pickups, which were introduced for the 2009 model year, have been...

Korean automakers Hyundai and Kia have revealed details on reimbursement for the owners of 1.1 million vehicles affected by overstated EPA mileage. The EPA found the quoted gas mileage of 13 Hyundai and Kia vehicles to be greater than official testing could achieve. Hyundai models affected included...

Ford is now clearly worried about the mileage ratings of its new 2013 Ford C-Max Hybrid and 2013 Ford Fusion Hybrid. Company officials said on Friday that while they complied with all EPA test requirements, a driver's individual style is critical to achieving published fuel-efficiency numbers. Both...

There was exactly one gas-mileage number contained in a pair of press releases Ford issued this morning. It was the prediction that one version of its 2014 Ford Transit Connect small commercial van will achieve "up to" 30 mpg on the highway cycle. It's called counterprogramming: In the midst of...

2013 sees two significant Honda models subtly improved, the Civic sedan, and the CR-Z hybrid coupe. Both have come under criticism for different reasons, and a host of small updates and specification improvements should go some way to silencing the critics. 2013 Honda CR-Z Honda's small coupe has...

it's always nice when the big boys say, "You're right." We reported three weeks ago that Ford's new 2013 hybrids were not achieving their 47-mpg EPA gas mileage rating in real-world usage. Now Consumer Reports has confirmed that finding, based on its own testing, in videos and a blog post published...

Usually Ford and GM follow the same playbook for their pickup trucks. But in pursuit of higher fuel economy goals, the two may diverge in years to come. While Ford is fitting more fuel-efficient EcoBoost turbocharged V-6 engines to its pickup trucks, it has no plans to offer any pickup smaller than...

The past couple of years, auto industry headlines have focused on 2025 and its high benchmarks for corporate average fuel economy. But there's a nearer-term deadline that's fast approaching, and it comes with its own set of emissions and fuel-economy standards. The good news is that many cars on...

Concept cars used to be flights of fancy, vehicles designed solely to grab attention when a carmaker's regular products were lacking visual verve. In more recent times, they've been so much more than that. They still look extreme and showcase blue-sky technology, but concepts now give us a much...

Every auto journalist has biases; ours is a predisposition to Subarus, of which we've owned four. So we were eager to test the 2013 Subaru XV Crosstrek, a new model this year. It's essentially the Impreza compact five-door hatchback, with larger wheels and tires, higher ground clearance (8.7...

The auto industry gets plenty of attention for its environmental impact, but it's clear to see that fuel efficiency has made huge strides even in the last five years. It could be even better, though. Ultimately, a carmaker has to sell cars to survive--and it does that by creating products that...

Three-cylinder cars are increasing common in Europe, but aside from the Smart ForTwo, they’re a rarity in the U.S. That’ll change next fall, when the 2014 Ford Fiesta EcoBoost goes on sale here. Its 1.0-liter, turbocharged, three-cylinder engine puts out 123 horsepower (at a high 6,000...

Mazda is pushing ahead with its plans to offer a clean-diesel four-cylinder engine that could prove to be a strong rival to the TDI four in some Volkswagen and Audi products. While the 2014 Mazda6 will arrive in its lower-priced form with a 184-horsepower, 2.5-liter version of the four-cylinder...

As your only point of contact with the road, it's no surprise that tires are important. Not just for performance, handling and safety, but gas mileage too--and General Motors has invested $5 million into the National Tire Research Center in Virginia, to help develop the next generation of...

In mainland Europe, where gas mileage is measured in liters used per 100 kilometers (l/100km), a 'three liter car' doesn't usually refer to engine capacity. Instead, it means 3L/100km, or around 78 MPG. And now Audi wants to make a one-liter car--the equivalent of 235 MPG. Revealed by What Car, the...

Have you noticed how much poorly synchronized lights—or traffic that's trying to go faster than the lights permit—can add to congestion? A new system in the works from Honda aims to provide a simple interface for smoothing traffic flow, while increasing safety and gas mileage. The idea...

How small is too small, when it comes to engines? Those of the "no replacement for displacement" school of thought might be thinking more about performance than they are gas mileage, but at what point does downsizing actually start to harm gas mileage, rather than help it? As carmakers strive to...

This is starting to look not so good. It appears that two new hybrid cars from Ford--the 2013 C-Max Hybrid hatchback and the 2013 Fusion Hybrid sedan--may not deliver real-world gas mileage that's anywhere near their 47-mpg EPA ratings. Automotive journalists have been quietly discussing this for a...

While the Honda Civic is just about to enjoy a mid-cycle refresh, Toyota's Corolla is reaching the end of its current life, and new model is expected next year. Until then, the 2013 Toyota Corolla remains much the same as the 2012 car--so don't expect much excitement. For the 2013 model year, the...