Gas Mileage
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How are fuel-efficient are some of today's smaller cars? It turns out that they now actually equal the fuel economy of larger motorcycles--which is pretty amazing for a four-seat vehicle weighing more than a ton. Especially since the motorcycles returning comparable gas-mileage figures weigh about one-fifth as much. DON'T MISS: Auto Industry Doing Fine In Meeting Gas-Mileage Goals, It Turns Out This interesting factoid came to light in an article in industry trade journal Ward's Auto that considers the landscape of modern plug-in electric cars almost five years after they first hit the...
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2016 Honda Pilot Seven-Seat SUV Rated At 22 Or 23 MPG CombinedThe 2016 Honda Pilot gets a slight bump in fuel efficiency as part of a ground-up redesign. The new Pilot was unveiled back in February at the 2015 Chicago Auto Show, and we now know that it will achieve an EPA-rated 23 mpg combined (20 mpg city, 27 mpg highway) with front-wheel drive and the...
Stephen Edelstein -
Adding Ethanol To Gasoline May Boost Global Oil Use: StudyEthanol use doesn't automatically limit gasoline consumption.
Stephen Edelstein -
2016 Toyota Prius Hybrid: Clearer Spy Shot Of High-Tailed RearDetroit-area residents occasionally see camouflaged development prototypes from GM, Ford, and Chrysler testing on public roads. Similarly, Southern California residents often see Toyota, Honda, and Hyundai prototypes pass them clad in disguise. And so it was for a Cars Direct employee driving to...
John Voelcker -
2016 Toyota Prius 'Coming Soon': 55-MPG Hybrid To Be SportierWhile Toyota remains coy about the launch date of its fourth-generation Prius hybrid, a company executive has confirmed that the car is coming "soon." Jim Lentz, CEO of Toyota North America, didn't release any specifications on the car when he mentioned it during the groundbreaking for an expansion...
John Voelcker -
Fossil Fuel Use Must Plummet By 2050, End By 2100: G7 MeetingThe leaders of the world's largest economies hope to gradually eliminate fossil fuels.
Stephen Edelstein -
A popular compact sedan fitted with a tiny 1.0-liter three-cylinder engine may sound like an Eighties econobox all over again. But in fact the 2015 Ford Focus 1.0L EcoBoost is on sale today, though we suspect its lack of an automatic transmission will discourage nine out of 10 potential buyers. And that's a shame, because those drivers willing to shift their own gears will likely find this to be by far the most fuel-efficient Focus they can buy. DON'T MISS: 2015 Ford Focus - full review We had a brief test drive in the Focus EcoBoost last month, and it left us eager to test the car over a...
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Ford EcoSport Small SUV To Arrive In U.S. For 2017 From India?The Ford EcoSport may be offered in the U.S. after an upcoming facelift.
Stephen Edelstein -
2015 Hyundai Sonata Eco: Gas Mileage ReviewThe 2015 Hyundai Sonata Eco is the Korean maker's most fuel-efficient mid-size sedan that doesn't use a hybrid powertrain. And it highlights the two parallel paths that automakers are taking as they work to boost gas mileage ratings to meet steadily rising corporate average fuel economy rules. The...
John Voelcker -
2016 Mazda CX-3 Gas Mileage: Subcompact SUV Rated At 31 MPG CombinedMazda has taken its own road toward boosting the fuel economy of its vehicles, and its latest small SUV manages to break the critical 30-mpg combined rating barrier. The 2016 Mazda CX-3 subcompact crossover utility is rated at 31 mpg combined with front-wheel drive, and 29 mpg combined with...
John Voelcker -
2016 Mazda CX-5 Grand Touring: Gas Mileage Review Of Small SUVThe Mazda CX-5 has always been one of our favorite compact crossover utility vehicles, not only for its fuel efficiency but also for its capacious functionality and fun-to-drive nature. First launched as a 2013 model, the CX-5 has been lightly updated for 2016 with minor tweaks to styling...
John Voelcker -
2016 Chevrolet Cruze Teased Ahead Of June 24 Debut: UPDATEThe U.S.-spec 2016 Chevrolet Cruze will debut June 24.
Stephen Edelstein -
You can save a lot of money by improving the fuel economy of larger and thirstier vehicles, especially if they cover lots of miles each year. That's why business owners are usually considered to be more rational vehicle buyers than retail customers: The fleet vehicles often consume twice the fuel or more of an average family vehicle. DON'T MISS: 2015 Ram ProMaster City Small Van To Compete With Ford Transit Connect Yet for a long time, even as hybrids grew to 3 percent of the U.S. market and corporate average fuel economy standards took effect for 2012 vehicles, one segment persisted with...
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Ford Fusion Or Toyota Prius: Environmentalist's Vacation DilemmaCarbon guilt weighed heavily on my mind as I approached the car rental counter at the Salt Lake City Airport. The book I was reading on the plane (Sustainable Energy, by David JC Mackay) suggested that my portion of the energy for the round-trip plane ride from Boston and back would amount to...
John Briggs -
U.S. Drivers Covered Record High Number Of Miles So Far This YearMiles driven in the first quarter of 2015 were at a record high for that period.
Stephen Edelstein -
2016 Chevrolet Camaro Loses Weight, Adds Turbo Four For Fuel EconomyMuscle-car fans pretty much set the Internet on fire this weekend as news and photos of the redesigned 2016 Chevrolet Camaro coupe emerged. The second generation of the reanimated Camaro pony car has tauter styling, more power, and less weight. All of that adds up to a car with tauter handling that...
John Voelcker -
2016 Fiat 500X AWD: Quick Drive ReportThe 2016 Fiat 500X drives more like a tall car than a shrunken SUV.
Stephen Edelstein -
Why Higher Gas Taxes Would Have Been Best Way To Save FuelIt's now a widely-accepted tenet of today's U.S. political landscape: You just can't come out and advocate for higher taxes. For any purpose, under any circumstances, no matter what the end purposes. Any politician who does so will be punished by voters. DON'T MISS: Low Gas Price An Opportunity For...
John Voelcker -
The 2015 Ford Focus EcoBoost may be the most European car Ford sells in the U.S. It's fun, but not fast. It handles well, and has a small engine that requires energetic use of the manual gearbox to keep up with traffic. That all means that very few U.S. buyers will ever consider it, since fewer than one in 10 vehicles are now sold with a manual transmission. DON'T MISS: 2015 Ford Focus - full review And that's a shame, because once you learn how to drive it, the Focus compact sedan with the little 1.0-liter turbocharged three-cylinder engine is fun--and probably quite fuel-efficient. We hope...
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Why BMW Boosting Its V-8 Twin-Turbo's Fuel Efficiency Kills BatteriesTurbocharger cooling demands overtax batteries in V-8 BMWs.
Stephen Edelstein -
2015 Chevrolet Trax: Gas Mileage Review Of Small SUVSport-utility vehicles are all about hauling stuff, so collecting a set of 40-year-old wheels seemed like the perfect road test for the new 2015 Chevrolet Trax. The subcompact SUV offered cargo space for the wheels--which, frankly, would have fit into a sedan--along with decent gas mileage on our...
John Voelcker -
New Vehicle Fuel-Economy Fell In April, Likely Due To SUV SalesThe sales-weighted average fuel economy of new cars and trucks was 25.2 mpg for April 2015.
Stephen Edelstein -
Will Fuel Economy Rules Require Future Cars To Use Premium Gas?Premium gasoline offers potential fuel-economy benefits, but will consumers pay?
Stephen Edelstein -
2016 Honda HR-V Subcompact SUV Starts At $19,995, On Sale May 15The 2016 Honda HR-V will start at just under $20,000.
Stephen Edelstein