Gas Mileage

If you live in a large city, work in a 9-5 job, and drive to the office, it’s probable that you end up spending at least some of your daily commute stuck in traffic. Assuming you drive a regular gasoline car--one without stop-start technology or hybrid drivetrain--congested traffic can...

Gas mileage in hybrid vehicles can be a tricky thing. Depending on how they're designed--and at what speeds their electric motors kick in--their efficiency can vary considerably. When we tested the 2013 Ford C-Max Hybrid six weeks ago in Los Angeles, the real-world indicated gas mileage was 37 mpg...

There was a time when a turbocharger under the hood meant one thing and one thing only: that the car you were driving was a performance-oriented, sporty beast with that oh-so-addictive turbo whine. Today, the turbocharger has become the biggest thing in green car technology since the hybrid...

When compared with traditional gasoline cars, plug-in hybrids, like the 2012 Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid and the 2013 Chevrolet Volt are already capable of astonishing gas mileage figures. But how do you make plug-in hybrids even more efficient? One answer is to add a larger traction battery pack...

At one time, if you wanted a green, luxury sedan with great gas mileage, you only had a handful of cars to choose from from automakers like Lexus, Infiniti, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz. Now there’s another car to add to your list: the 45 MPG combined, 2013 LIncoln MKZ. Fresh from its official EPA...

It had been almost two years since we'd driven a Chevrolet Volt range-extended electric car, and the new 2013 model has been slightly modified to boost its electric range. We took a new 2013 Chevy Volt on our usual weekend test route, which covered 360 miles that included about two-thirds freeway...

Chevrolet is fielding a three-pronged gas mileage attack on the market with the 2013 Malibu, ditching V-6 options and concentrating on fuel-efficient fours instead. New to the range is a 2.0-liter turbo. While it develops a punchy 259-horsepower, highway mileage is a respectable 30 mpg. One rung...

It happens every time gas prices spike, and it's happening again: Small-car sales are soaring. In fact, the total of 2.1 million compact and subcompact cars sold over the nine-month period ending in September is up by fully 50 percent compared to the same period a year ago. That's the highest...

Cars might be getting lighter and ever more efficient in an attempt to reduce emissions and improve gas mileage, but according to Allstate insurance, there’s one factor which affects gas mileage which is heading the wrong way: occupant weight. According to the insurance firm, the rising tide...

In the world of high gas prices and tough gas mileage standards, even exotic supercar manufacturers are having to think about ways to make their cars leaner, meaner, and greener. Which is why one exhibit on the Ferrari stand at the 2012 Paris Auto Show--the carbon fibre tub which will form the...

In the automotive world, nothing says a car is more safe than a 5-Star crash test rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and a Top Safety Pick award from the insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) While the 2013 Dodge Dart, Chrysler’s first compact...

Last week, at the 2012 Paris Auto Show, Volkswagen unveiled its all-new 2014 Golf family, including the highly-efficient VW Golf BlueMotion diesel. A car, which as Volkswagen has already stated, the U.S. won’t be getting. That’s because Americans aren’t willing to pay extra for...

It’s been just under a month since Nissan quietly released gas mileage figures for its all-new 2013 Sentra compact sedan. Now Nissan has announced pricing for this redesigned sedan. Including a mandatory $780 handling and destination fee, the base-level 2013 Sentra S, with 1.8-liter...

At last week’s Paris Auto Show, BMW unveiled the Concept Active Tourer, a compact plug-in hybrid wagon powered by a combination of battery power and a 3-cylinder gasoline engine. At the moment, BMW’s new 1.5-liter, 3-cylinder engine, designed in part for use in its upcoming i8 plug-in...

When General Motors launched the Chevrolet Volt back in 2010, the plug-in hybrid increased GM’s market share by bringing customers to the brand who would have never before thought of purchasing a Chevy. Now it seems, the 2013 Spark is following in the Volt’s tire tracks. According to...

Back in July, the EPA released fuel economy figures for the Cadillac ATS compact luxury sedan, showing it was capable of returning up to 33 mpg highway and 22 mpg city when equipped with the base 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine. Now the EPA has released a new set of numbers on the Cadillac ATS, this...

As long as the auto industry has existed, various automated and non-automated processes have been developed to bond two or more pieces of metal together through the art of welding. Normally, how a car is welded together would be of little interest to the average car buyer. However, improvements in...

Politics is at best a messy and adversarial process. Add in a presidential election and the currently polarized political mood, and anything at all done by government is usually exploited for political gain--by one side or another, often by both from different stances. Which seems a good lens to...

Over the past few years, using the term ‘hybrid’ when describing a car makes it appear instantly greener to an increasingly gas-mileage obsessed public. In fact, in some situations, using that particular word can even make a high-performance luxury car seem more desirable, even sexier...

It’s fair bet that by now, we all know gas mileage depends on many factors, including how well-maintained a car is, the pressure of the tires, how full the car is, and the road and weather conditions at the time. How fast you drive also affects your gas mileage, with the energy required to...