Fuel Efficiency

You've gotta hand it to automakers. However tight the noose of emissions regulations and MPG targets gets, the engineers always find a way to wriggle free with ever more impressive fuel economy figures. Mitsubishi's way of meeting ever tighter targets is to update its MIVEC variable valve timing...

When the EPA's official MPG figures were released for the 2012 Fisker Karma a few days ago, we can't have been the only ones a little disappointed with the 20 MPG figure on gasoline and 52 MPG equivalent in EV mode. There were even suggestions the low 20 MPG rating on gasoline could hurt the DoE...

If you're in the market for a new car and your top priority is fuel efficiency, what do you buy? With so much to choose from now including gasoline, diesel, natural gas and electric cars on the market as well as a range-extended electric vehicle and hybrids galore, the options are bewildering. If...

What can you say about driving a Mercedes-Benz S-Class? It's luxurious, smooth, powerful, packed with features, impressive on the road, and very, very large. Now you can add another adjective: green. While the S 400 Hybrid has been in the mix for two years, Mercedes-Benz is launching a clean-diesel...

"Bracket creep" is the phenomenon where each successive generation of a car gets slightly bigger. It's what allowed the Honda Civic to evolve from the 1973 model, which today we'd call a minicar, to the compact it is today. The 2012 Chevrolet Sonic, deemed a subcompact by GM, is a prime example of...

The 2012 Chevrolet Sonic is the first subcompact car built in the U.S. in a very long time, and one of several new Chevy models that aim to lift the carmaker's overall fuel efficiency. We'll be driving at least three separate 2012 Sonics within four weeks, so we're seeking your input. What do you...

Come up with a list of high MPG cars and we're willing to bet that a car powered by a Chevrolet LS3, 6.2-liter, 425-horsepower V8 wouldn't be present. However, just such a car has won one of the categories in the Fleet World MPG Marathon, bettering its quoted MPG figures by 50 percent. The car in...

It’s October, and for thousands of motorists in colder states that means only one thing: winter is on the way. But as the trees start to turn to golden reds, the winds start to blow and fall quickly turns to winter, here are five things you should do to help your car keep its gas mileage high...

Over a short test that mimicked commuter duty, our 2012 Hyundai Accent SE hatchback returned 33.4 mpg.

The mild-hybrid system that General Motors calls eAssist (on the 2012 Buick Lacrosse and Regal models) will also appear on the 2013 Chevrolet Malibu Eco version. But now it appears that the system will spread further across GM's product lines, with a report on GMInsideNews that it will appear on...

The most important car that will be unveiled at next January's Detroit Auto Show may be the new 2013 compact sedan from Dodge, the first all-new vehicle designed by the combined Chrysler-Fiat companies. This morning, spy shots have leaked out and GreenCarReports has a small nugget of information on...

It’s no secret that the state of California is home to some of the most congested roads in the country -- but it is also home to some of the greenest drivers according to a recent study by academics of the Transport Research Institute at the University of Michigan. Reported by The Los Angeles...

GM and BMW are said to be working on an agreement to share fuel-saving technologies. GM would benefit from BMW's gas and diesel engine design, while BMW would gain access to GM's series hybrid designs.

There are many unusual things about the BMW i3 Concept electric minicar revealed last month, including its glass doors and roof, not to mention BMW's first production battery-electric powertrain. But the BMW i3 is also at the leading edge of another efficiency trend: tall, narrow tires that reduce...

Engines might be getting smaller in the pursuit of saving fuel but transmissions are going the opposite direction. Over the last few years different carmakers have rapidly increased the number of ratios available to drivers, with Mercedes-Benz giving us 7-speed autos, Lexus developing an 8-speed...

You’re probably already familiar with the effect that a hybrid drivetrain has on fuel economy, but now one of the key concepts of a hybrid drivetrain -- the ability for the engine to turn off and on automatically at stoplights -- is being introduced in conventional gasoline-engined cars...

There's something about the Honda Brio, a sub-Fit minicar now on sale in the Indian market, that really grabs our attention. Maybe it's the funky styling with its sharp creases, unusual weight and money-saving all-glass hatchback, or maybe it's the promise of 52 mpg combined economy, but either way...

The onslaught of four-cylinder engines into vehicles that previously wouldn't have had anything lower than six cylinders continues. It's in the service of gas mileage, and the 2012 Mercedes-Benz C 250--with a 1.8-liter turbocharged and direct-injected four putting out 201 horsepower and 229...

Remember $4 gasoline? It was just last May that gasoline soared to an average price of $4 per gallon across all U.S. markets, with even the cheapest pumps showing prices of $3.50 or more. What a difference a few months makes. Gasoline has now fallen below $3 a gallon in a handful of areas...

Almost every day we hear of a shiny new car that gets a certain number of miles to the gallon, a number often greater than its predecessor. It sometimes seems like witchcraft - until significant steps towards high-tech materials are taken, rarely do cars lose weight from one model to the next (with...