miles per gallon
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Sometime next month, the EPA and NHTSA will release final draft rules that increase corporate average fuel economy standards to 54.5 mpg by 2025. Most--although not all--carmakers have signed off on the standards, but opposition has hardly died down. The latest group to take up the fight against higher gas mileage is the National Auto Dealers Association, which Reuters reports is supporting a variety of measures to kill, delay, or defund the new requirements and the agencies developing them. NADA is listed as one of the most powerful "heavy hitters" in campaign donations by the Center for...
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Auto Dealers Lobby Against Obama's Higher Gas-Mileage Rules
Yesterday, auto dealers met with their members of Congress to try to delay new rules that would stiffen the gas-mileage requirements for cars sold in model years 2017 to 2025. The National Auto Dealers Association made the rounds to pitch a proposal that would amend spending legislation for the...
John Voelcker -
Want To Buy A 173-MPG Honda? You Have One Day Left To Bid
Reading eBay auction listings, it's important to look at the disclaimers. Such as ... This is a non-running experimental vehicle being sold AS-IS / WHERE-IS. and Proof of the "Documented 173 [Miles Per Gallon!]" has yet to be found. and The exact origins of this vehicle are unknown. OK, so now that...
John Voelcker -
2012 Chevrolet Sonic Hits Magic Mark: 40-MPG Highway Rating
It's not always true that the smallest cars get the best gas mileage. In many cases, compact cars get mileage equal to or better mileage than their shorter, stubbier subcompact brethren. The new 2012 Chevrolet Sonic subcompact has managed to crack the magic 40-mpg highway mark, though. Estimates...
John Voelcker -
Toyota's Green Autumn: 2012 Yaris, New Camry Hybrid, Prius V Wagon
While Toyota is still struggling to get itself entirely back to normal after the devastating March 11 earthquake and resulting tsunami, the company has a number of new green cars coming along this autumn. It is pulling forward the launch for the redesigned 2012 version of its best-selling Camry...
John Voelcker -
2012 Chrysler 300 To Get 31 MPG Highway, Thanks To 8-Speed Automatic
Half a century ago, automatic transmissions had two or three speeds, and progress has come slowly since then. Today, many cars are still sold with four-speed automatics, though five- and six-speeds are the new normal. Next year, Chrysler will introduce eight-speed automatics on its full-size...
John Voelcker -
Starting with the 2013 model year, you will see a new and more informative gas-mileage sticker on the window of new cars for sale. There are several changes, both graphic and informational, that are meant to provide consumers with more information so they can make more informed choices among different new-car alternatives. One we applaud is the larger "combined mileage" number, which is a more realistic estimate of the overall gas mileage that any car will return over time in mixed use. The earlier design had a small combined number, almost hidden, and much larger City and Highway ratings...
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2012 Toyota Camry Hybrid MPGs Beat Ford Fusion, Hyundai Sonata
The reviews of the 2012 Toyota Camry mid-size sedan are in now, and the consensus is that it's a competitively priced mild refresh with unadventurous styling. Which may be exactly what Camry buyers are looking for. But on one metric--gas mileage--the 2012 Camry line shines. The 2012 Toyota Camry...
John Voelcker -
Our MPGs Vs Consumer Reports: Volt, Civic Hybrid, Jetta TDI, Lexus CT 200h, Fiat 500
The good folks over at Consumer Reports are the ultimate rationalists when it comes to testing and buying cars. They don't use media-fleet cars, but buy their test vehicles anonymously. Their rigorous assessments make hard-nosed fleet buyers look like flighty schoolgirls in comparison. In the...
John Voelcker -
Japan Follows Obama's Lead, Will Tighten Gas-Mileage Rules
With agreement among the White House, the EPA and NHTSA, and most major automakers (though not all), the U.S. looks to be well on its way to a corporate average fuel-economy requirement of 54.5 mpg by model year 2025. That translates to 40 to 45 mpg in real-world gas mileage, but it's still a...
John Voelcker -
Outdated Tests Skew CAFE Gas Mileage Ratings: 48-MPH Freeways?
It's widely accepted in the auto industry that all manufacturers game the test cycles used to establish emissions and gas-mileage ratings. Ask auto engineers about the topic, and they tend to get a faraway look and go silent. But the test cycles established in 1978 and used ever since are far from...
John Voelcker -
Shocker: Car Buyers Want Higher MPGs, Don't Want To Pay For It
Reading the news reports, it looks like the White House and automakers may be closing in on an agreement to raise corporate average fuel economy standards to 54.5 mpg. Consumers are all in favor of raising gas mileage requirements for new cars, according to a new online poll of 1,100 U.S. drivers...
John Voelcker -
An automotive trade association has resumed fear-based radio ads critical of the Obama administration's proposed fuel economy standards for 2017 - 2025.
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Consumer Reports On 56.2-MPG Gas-Mileage Goal: Meh, Can Do Better
Much debate will occur--and that's putting it politely--over the next round of gas-mileage standards, which the EPA hopes to finalize next year for 2017-2025 vehicles. Earlier this week, news reports from Washington indicated that the Obama Administration and EPA are pushing for 56.2 mpg as the...
John Voelcker -
MPG Ratings More Important To Car Buyers: For Cost, Or Green Living?
The new car buying process can be quite the task in today’s market. This is especially true with the growing numbers of hybrid and electric cars added to the pool of choices. While hybrids and electrics don’t make up a large percentage of the market, miles-per-gallon (mpg) ratings are...
Jonathan McGrew -
How To Drive Badly & Lower Your Gas Mileage In The Real World
With gas-mileage standards through 2016 now in place, the EPA and NHTSA are turning their sights toward rules for 2017 through 2025. Proposals are floating around for CAFE standards of up to 62 mpg (which means the vehicles you might buy would average about 50 mpg in actual use). Ah, the hell with...
John Voelcker -
Should Detroit Dial Down The Doom & Gloom Over High-Mileage Rules?
We've heard this script before. Some agency of the Federal Government proposes a new rule that will affect the design and performance of cars in some way, sometime in the future. Instinctively, reflexively, automatically, viscerally, the industry lashes out. Horror, catastrophe, misery, bankruptcy!...
John Voelcker -
All-New 2013 Ford Fusion Hybrid To Get 47-48 City MPG: Report
The all-new, entirely redesigned 2013 Ford Fusion Hybrid sedan may be rated by the EPA as high as 47 or 48 mpg on the city cycle, according to reports on a website that follows Ford news. The redesigned Ford Fusion sedan will be largely identical to the next Ford Mondeo sedan for Europe under the...
John Voelcker -
It happens every time. Gas prices go up sharply, and new car buyers suddenly decide that gas mileage is important--and shop accordingly. With gas around $4 a gallon in many parts of the country, what would you trade for higher miles per gallon? Would you pay more? Would you buy a smaller car than your current one? How about giving up features you'd hoped to have? And what about safety? Everyone wants more mileage Six weeks ago, Consumer Reports surveyed 1,750 car owners. Although their cars were now eight years old on average, less than one-fifth of them planned to buy a car in the next year...
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2012 Buick Lacrosse eAssist 37-MPG Sedan Priced At $30,820 (With Destination)
Buick announced today that it would price the four-cylinder version of its 2012 Lacrosse large sedan at $29,960. That sneaks the advertised price neatly under the $30,000 mark, although a mandatory $860 destination charge means buyers will see a sticker of at least $30,820 before they start adding...
John Voelcker -
Hyundai Elantra Gas Mileage
Unlike other compact cars, the gas-mileage story for the 2011 Hyundai Elantra is simple. There's a single engine, a choice of two transmissions--six-speed automatic or six-speed manual--and any Elantra you order will have the same EPA-rated gas mileage. The figures are 29 mpg city, 40 mpg highway...
John Voelcker -
Gas Prices Rising: Driving Tips, Simple Repairs Boost Mileage (Infographic)
We have to admit, we're fond of infographics. This one has three simple parts. It looks at gas prices--which recently rose to an average of $4 a gallon before ebbing slightly--showing national average prices for both three grades of gasoline and for diesel fuel. Then it suggests some driving tips...
John Voelcker -
Chevrolet Cruze Gas Mileage
With two models--one all about gas mileage, with two transmission options, plus the other one, which has two engines and two transmissions--the 2011 Chevrolet Cruze may take some sorting out if you're looking to maximize your fuel economy. At least there's only one body style for the new 2011...
John Voelcker -
Honda Civic Gas Mileage
With a redesigned range of Civic sedan and coupe models, and no fewer than five separate variants, the new 2012 Honda Civic makes an aggressive effort to position Honda at the forefront of gas mileage. Unlike models from other makers, if you order a standard 2012 Civic with the 1.8-liter engine...
John Voelcker