Gas Mileage
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It's winter in the Northeast, and last week's Polar Vortex luckily came along just as our weekend test car was a 2014 Jeep Cherokee. This is the all-new compact crossover that replaces the old truck-like Jeep Liberty, going head-to-head with popular compact crossover utilities like the Chevy Equinox, Ford Escape, Honda CR-V, Hyundai Santa Fe Sport, and Toyota RAV4. MORE: 2014 Jeep Cherokee - full review After the Dodge Dart launched for 2013, it's the second new vehicle from Fiat Chrysler to use front-wheel-drive underpinnings adapted from Italian Fiat and Alfa Romeo models. Adding all-wheel...
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Five MORE Big Myths About Green Cars And Gas Mileage, Debunked
Yep, Big Oil is definitely scheming and plotting to destroy the electric car. Everyone knows that. Right? [sigh] Time for more mythbusting, it seems. The surprising success of our first debunking of five green-car myths led us to look at five more relatively common ideas and explain ... well, as...
John Voelcker -
Chrysler Hybrid Sedan And Minivan: Missing, Presumed Dead?
Pretty much every carmaker offers at least one hybrid model these days, even if they're notably unenthusiastic about it. (Have you ever seen an Audi Q5 Hybrid? Ahem.) But one carmaker is missing from a list that now numbers more than a dozen. And that maker is Chrysler-Fiat. Back in January 2011...
John Voelcker -
Five Big Myths About Green Cars And Gas Mileage, Debunked
Every now and then we get a reader question that reminds us how many myths about green cars are out there. In the interests of helping you actually save money by using less gasoline, here are five of our favorites--with explanations as to why they're myths. (1) Boosting gas mileage from 33 to 50...
John Voelcker -
Hybrids, Electrics Not Needed To Reach 54.5 MPG In 2025: Industry Exec
For some companies in the auto industry, building cars to hit a target of 54.5 mpg by 2025 may seem like a near-impossible task. But to others, the EPA's Corporate Average Fuel Economy targets agreed in 2011 aren't simply achievable by that date, but could be reached today--and with today's...
Antony Ingram -
2015 Ford F-150: Full Details, Live Photos & Video
Ford has released full details on the new 2015 F-150 pickup, and with a host of new technologies and engines, it may be the most advanced full-size truck ever. The company says it's tougher, smarter, and more capable than ever before--and looking at the styling, it's hard to argue on the first...
Antony Ingram -
A software glitch could cause Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups to overheat.
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2015 Ford F-150 Aluminum Body, Smaller Engines: Details Emerge
The 2015 Ford F-150 full-size pickup truck won't be unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show until tomorrow morning, but some details of its innovations to boost gas mileage have emerged already. Ford apparently gave exclusive details to The New York Times, which reports that the new truck will use an...
John Voelcker -
Will Mitsubishi Mirage Minicar Add Sedan Model For 2015?
A Mitsubishi Mirage sedan is expected to appear at the 2014 Montreal Auto Show.
Stephen Edelstein -
New-Car Average Fuel Economy Rose To 24.8 MPG In 2013
According to the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, sales-weighted new-car average fuel economy has steadily improved since October 2007.
Stephen Edelstein -
2014 Ford Fiesta 1.0-Liter EcoBoost Cars Now Being Delivered
The first 2014 Ford Fiesta 1.0-liter EcoBoost cars are making their way into customers' hands.
Stephen Edelstein -
Is The BulletTruck What Semis Will Look Like In The Future?
Recently, we attracted flak from some quarters of our readership for featuring pickup trucks. While not green by the standards of modern electric vehicles and hybrids, their push towards greater efficiency is equally important--because the biggest gains come from the most popular and...
Antony Ingram -
Mazda's Skyactiv fuel-efficient gasoline engines are already getting good real-world results, but the company isn't resting on its laurels. Instead, the Japanese automaker is already working on the next two generations of its Skyactiv engine line, ready to power its future vehicles. Set to debut in 2020, Automotive News reports the next-gen Skyactiv units will deliver a 30 percent improvement even in relation to today's gas-sipping units. That's quite a target, and suggests some seriously impressive gas mileage. Today's Skyactiv 2.0-liter gasoline unit returns 30 mpg in the city, 41 mpg...
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2014 Mazda CX-5 2.5-liter SkyActiv: Gas Mileage Drive Report
While hybrids are one way to get good gas mileage in a variety of cars, another way is to wring every last drop of efficiency out of new and highly-efficient gasoline engines and transmissions. That's the path Mazda's taken, and it seems to be working. Two overachievers Almost two years ago, we...
John Voelcker -
Green Car Reports Year In Reverse: Our Five Biggest Stories
At the end of every year, we look back at our traffic to identify the most popular stories we've published. Some of them may be evergreen topics that draw consistent traffic--three of the five were first published in 2012--while others are news or reviews that really took off and captured readers'...
John Voelcker -
Why Green Car Reports Writes About Full-Size Pickup Trucks
Once in a while, we're blind-sided by responses to an article we publish--and we learn something in the process. On December 23, we wrote about ways that the all-new 2015 Ford F-150 full-size pickup truck might get better gas mileage. We learned that at least some of our readers seem to resent the...
John Voelcker -
Chevrolet Malibu Buyers Appreciate Gas-Saving Stop-Start Tech
Stop-start engine technology is used widely in cars in Europe, but until recently very few automakers have applied it to vehicles sold in the U.S. For the most part, that's because the benefits aren't shown up in EPA testing. But a few automakers are also worried that customers may not be accepting...
Antony Ingram -
Hyundai, Kia To Pay Owners $395 Million For Overstating Gas Mileage
In recent years, Korean twins Hyundai and Kia have lain claim to some of the best average fuel efficiency figures in their respective sectors. That all changed in late 2012 when it was discovered that the two marques had been overstating the EPA mileage figures on a wide range of vehicles. Now...
Antony Ingram -
The Ford F-150 full-size pickup is the best-selling single nameplate in the U.S. market, so any changes to Ford's premier truck mean a lot. Buyers, dealers, and the whole industry are paying close attention to information about the next generation 2015 Ford F-150, the first all-new design of Ford's truck since the 2009 model. And fuel efficiency will be one of the most closely-watched specifications. MORE: 2014 Pickup Truck Gas Mileage: Ford vs Chevy vs Ram, Who's Best? This year, the new best combined gas-mileage for large pickup trucks is 20 mpg--achieved by versions of the 2014 Chevrolet...
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Ford: Predictive Logic Can Boost Cruise-Control MPG 5 Percent
Cruise control is an American driving staple. We use it on long road trips to reduce fatigue. And with the advent of adaptive cruise control systems, we're even using it on parts of our commutes, and during traffic-jammed holiday weekend slogs. For the most part, cruise control can save a lot of...
Bengt Halvorson -
2014 Ford Escape SE 1.6-Liter EcoBoost: Gas Mileage Drive Report
The Ford Escape, entirely redesigned for 2013, is one of the best-selling entries in the popular category of compact crossover utility vehicles. The real-world gas mileage of the latest Escapes, however, does not quite seem to equal those cars' combined EPA ratings. Ford has put a great deal of...
John Voelcker -
Average Vehicle Weight, Power Fell In 2012, Performance Unchanged: EPA
You might be forgiven for thinking that as cars get ever heavier, better equipped, safer, more practical, more powerful and faster, fuel economy would suffer. Thankfully, the EPA's latest set of statistics proves that isn't the case--and dispels other notions such as increasing weight and ever...
Antony Ingram -
2015 Ford Mustang: How High Will Its Gas-Mileage Ratings Go?
Almost four years ago, the Ford Mustang was the first car to offer both 300 horsepower and 30 miles per gallon in its an EPA highway rating. How much better will the new 2015 Ford Mustang do? The 2015 Mustang will offer a four-cylinder engine, the model's first since 1993--though the new 2.3-liter...
John Voelcker -
AWD Cars Increasingly Popular; How To Make Them Fuel-Efficient?
It wasn't so long ago that all-wheel drive was restricted to Jeeps, trucks, and the occasional esoteric supercar. Now, according to data from Polk cited in The Detroit News, it's fitted to almost one third of the vehicles sold in the United States. MORE: 2014 Jeep Cherokee: All The Details From NY...
John Voelcker