Fuel Efficiency

Volkswagen has sold over 29 million Golfs since its original European launch in 1974. That gives you some idea of how important a new model is to the company--and the buying public. The all-new 2014 Volkswagen Golf will be launched at this month's Paris Auto Show, and though it looks little...

If a race car powered by a 1.0-liter, three-cylinder engine sounds like a cure for insomnia to you, then think again. When the tiny engine in question is Ford's high-tech 1.0-liter EcoBoost, and when the race car is a road-prepared Formula Ford single-seater--weighing under 1,100 lbs including the...

On Friday, just before the Labor Day weekend started, Nissan quietly released details of the much-needed update to its Sentra compact sedan. Last redesigned some six years ago, the new, leaner 2013 Sentra has undergone a complete redesign in the name of improving its gas mileage, and is essentially...

Yesterday, we revealed the news that the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards for 2025 have been confirmed after a long political battle. Essentially, the standards will require a carmaker's range of cars and trucks to meet an average of 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025. That sounds like a...

Mazda’s completely redesigned Mazda6 midsize sedan is set to make its official debut at this week’s Moscow Motor Show, but the Japanese automaker has released images and a few details ahead of the show’s opening. As expected, there will be no six-cylinder option for Mazda’s...

As most electric car fans will tell you, it’s much easier for automakers to build an all-electric car from scratch than it is to repurpose an existing gasoline model with an electric drivetrain. In the case of Toyota’s RAV4EV however, the Japanese automaker, with help from Californian...

It’s been a long time since it was unveiled at the 2011 Detroit Auto Show, but Chevrolet has finally detailed pricing on its 2013 Sonic RS. At $20,995, the sports-styled, hatchback-only version of the popular Sonic subcompact is Chevrolet’s attempt to make the car more appealing to...

People are expecting more and more from their performance cars these days, and that includes improved fuel efficiency. That's why, even with traditionally V-8 pony cars like the Ford Mustang, the next model will include a more efficient, four-cylinder variant. As well as more contemporary styling...

Yeah, we drove the pink one. The 2013 Chevrolet Spark, the first Chevrolet minicar in many, many years, comes in a remarkable array of pastel colors, including one called Techno Pink. One of two Sparks we tested yesterday came in that very distinctive shade; the other was Salsa (lime green). Other...

In the old days, choosing a transmission was pretty simple. With only manual and automatic options, choosing was simply a matter of deciding whether you wanted to stir your own gears, or slush along with zero effort, with the torque-converter option. Now, alongside the manual option, you can choose...

In coming years, every car company will make every vehicle it builds greener--meaning more fuel-efficient--courtesy of increasingly stringent gas mileage and carbon emissions rules around the world. That applies not only to smaller, simpler cars, but also large, heavy, fast, luxurious, and...

Fiat is introducing a new variant of the 500 retro minicar to sit between the base 1.4-liter model and the high-performance Abarth. The 2013 Fiat 500 Turbo sits between the two other 500s, offering 135 horsepower and 150 lb ft. of torque from its turbocharged 1.4-liter MulitAir gasoline engine. In...

There's a lot of focus--perhaps too much--on carmakers using smaller engines, hybrids, and plug-in cars to meet increasingly higher gas-mileage standards from now through 2025. But another, equally important method is reducing the amount of car that has to be moved around in the first place. That...

Politics is hardball, as every election season shows us. And getting very, very large and powerful auto companies to do something they really don't want to do is very, very hard. Even, that is, if you have a few useful levers, in the form of independent California regulators supported by a Supreme...

Volkswagen has long put faith in diesel technology as a way of offering both performance and economy to car buyers. In October, buyers will be granted a second option, however--with the launch of the 2013 Volkswagen Jetta Hybrid. Using a 1.4-liter, turbocharged and hybrid-assisted four-cylinder...

The 2012 Corolla may still be selling strong, outpacing the Honda Civic, but in terms of design and engineering it's now off the pace of its newer rivals. Next year's model will change that, says Toyota. According to WardsAuto, Toyota and Scion general manager Bill Fay has revealed that the next...

While all automakers realise the benefits of making their cars lighter, it's only been relatively recently that some models have actually weighed less than their predecessors. Demands for safety, equipment, larger engines, more comfort and more space have pushed vehicle weight up so far that some...

You might have noticed, driving through the summer months, that you're filling up the car a little less often than you would over winter. It's not your mind playing tricks on you, but a fairly common occurance for all drivers. Cars simply get better gas mileage during warm weather than they do when...

Under very few circumstances will the Lamborghini Aventador supercar ever count as a green car. But as the nuns used to say, "Everyone can do better. Everyone!" Indeed, even supercars can save fuel when they're not under full throttle. To that end, it appears that the next generation of Lambo's...

If you've driven a Toyota, Lexus or Honda hybrid, or any recent Nissan automatic, you'll be familiar with continuously-variable transmissions (CVT). You'll be familiar with the smoothness, the quiet running at low speeds, and the way the revs soar when you ask for a bit more power. But with CVT...