Syndicate
-
There's nothing like a story translated from overseas media, concerning a related but not-quite-the-same model of a new hybrid car, to get people all in an uproar. So here's the real deal on the 2012 Toyota Prius V station wagon/minivan: It will still arrive in U.S. dealerships this fall. That's the official word from Toyota Motor Sales, which issued the following statement late yesterday afternoon: Following Toyota Motor Corporation’s (TMC) announcement in Japan today that delivery of the Prius alpha will be delayed, Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. (TMS) announced that the Prius v is...
-
Exclusive: Hey Top Gear, You Have To Fill Up Electric Cars Too, Duh!Have you ever been on those roads in North Dakota where you pass a sign that says “No gas for next 80 miles"? Or perhaps you’ve traveled through the frozen wastelands of Northern Canada or Alaska and learned that the gas station you just passed was the last one for more than 100 miles...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Survey: Consumers Growing Greener -- And They'll Shell Out The Green To Prove ItWith gas prices barreling toward $4 per gallon, there's lots of talk on the evening news about consumers shopping for fuel-efficient cars. In fact, many theorists see $4 as the tipping point at which car buyers prioritize fuel economy above all other criteria. But a new survey indicates that people...
Richard Read -
Forget Hydrogen: Here They Are, The Two Fuels of The FutureForget hydrogen. You can mostly ignore natural gas. Even diesel may not grow much. The two fuels that will largely power us for the next 20, maybe 30, years are already here. They are gasoline (with some ethanol in it), and electricity. That's it. That's all she wrote. First, gasoline Those...
John Voelcker -
Toyota: No Plans For Quick Charging In RAV4 EVWhen the RAV4 EV reaches its Phase One stage next year, and a limited-production vehicle goes on sale, it will have one key difference versus the Phase Zero prototype we drove in the San Diego area this past week. While the RAV4 EV prototypes have a proprietary charge connector from Tesla Motors...
Bengt Halvorson -
2012 Honda Civic: What Do You Want To Know About The Redesign?The Honda Civic is one of the best-known and best-selling compact cars in the U.S. market. And it's just been entirely redesigned. For all the details, you'll have to wait until Wedneday, April 20, when the full line of 2012 Honda Civic models will be unveiled at the New York Auto Show. But we're...
John Voelcker -
Believe it or not, most of what you watch on television is scripted. What you may not know is that some shows which appear unscripted, like the BBC’s infamous Top Gear, are also scripted word for word. Everything from the banter between its three middle-aged hosts to its madcap challenges and car reviews has been meticulously planned, before any filming takes place. Two years ago, Tesla Motors found out what that really meant when its duo of 2008 Tesla Roadsters were doomed to a biased and unrealistic depiction on screen before the film crew even unpacked their equipment or TopGear...
-
2011 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid Sells Better Than Expected, Ford SaysWhen Lincoln launched its 2011 MKZ Hybrid model at the New York Auto Show last spring, the car was less remarkable than its price of $35,180. The number was a surprise because it was the same price as the only other engine option for the MKZ, a 3.5-liter V-6. So what do we know about the two...
John Voelcker -
One-Third Of 2011 Ford F-150 Pickups Sold With V-6MPGs matter, it turns out, even to pickup buyers. Or, perhaps especially to pickup truck buyers. Just four months after Ford added an EcoBoost engine option to its top-selling F-150 pickup truck, the company reports that fully 35 percent of the 2011 model's sales are fitted with either that...
John Voelcker -
2012 Toyota Prius Plug-In: DrivenWhen the Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid goes on sale about this time next year, it will be the first mass-production vehicle from Toyota that plugs in. Yet, despite that, the Plug-In feels more like a value-added version of the Prius than a model that will be itself iconic or radically new. It's...
Bengt Halvorson -
2012 Toyota Prius Plug-In: By The Numbers, Would It Work For You?Over six days of driving—limited to around-town trips—we put about 103 miles on a fleet-test Toyota Prius Plug-In, averaging 90.8 miles per gallon. In that time, we gave the Prius Plug-In five full charges and two partial ones, and according to the trip computer, we covered 77.7 miles...
Bengt Halvorson -
High-MPG 2012 Ford Fiesta: More Style With New Customization PacksTo keep interest in its 40 mpg capable Fiesta bubbling along into the 2012 model year, Ford is introducing a trio of new customization packs for both the exterior and cabin of the already stylish minicar. The new packs should prove popular as around 40 percent of buyers of the 2011 model have opted...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Gas mileage is on absolutely everyone's mind these days. Strife in oil-producing nations, and the associated rising gasoline prices, have already led to a surge of interest in any vehicle's MPG ratings. Now production in Japan (source of most of the world's hybrids) is shut down, at least temporarily. That means most car buyers are going to go that extra distance to get better gas mileage in their next purchase. After testing the six-speed 2011 Chevrolet Cruze Eco--Chevy's halo car for gas mileage, rated at at 28 mpg city, 42 mpg highway--we got 34.2 mpg, which is slightly better than the EPA...
-
Electric Car Factory: Think Sets Up Shop In Indiana, RV-LandQuick, name the electric cars currently on sale. Nissan Leaf, Chevy Volt, and ... ummmm ... oh, yeah, Smart Electric Drive. Now name the ones built in the States. Hmmmm. Volt, right? Think about it Yes, but you've missed out on one--in both categories. It's the Think City, which is now being...
John Voelcker -
VIDEO: 2011 Chevrolet Cruze Eco, Two-Minute Drive ReviewThe EPA rates the 2011 Chevrolet Cruze Eco at 28 mpg city, 42 mpg highway, when it's fitted with the six-speed manual transmission. But can the Cruze Eco really reach beyond that magic 40-mpg number, which is highway mileage only? VIDEO: 2011 Chevrolet Cruze Eco, Our Real-World Gas Mileage On our...
John Voelcker -
Screw Gas, Drive A Drill-Powered Electric Suicide TrikeWe're all familiar with alternative lifestyles, but the EX electric tricycle looks like an attempt at an alternative deathstyle. Concocted in the mind of Nils Ferber and realized with the aid of a pair of Bosch drill/drivers, this is an EV for the motorist with a Rube Goldberg fetish and a death...
Nelson Ireson -
High Gas Prices May Soon Turn Your Lovely Suburb Into A SlumAmericans rarely think much about zoning, but it governs almost every facet of how we live our lives. And unintended consequences of 50-year-old zoning codes may be about to turn some of our loveliest and quietest suburbs into the next slums. Why? Simply because they've been built too far away from...
John Voelcker -
Elusive Cheapest Toyota Prius I Model Remains UnavailableGas prices are rising, so you'd think that the 2011 Toyota Prius hybrid would be the car of the moment. But with car production halted in Japan following the earthquake and tsunami, Prius supplies are already growing tight. And Toyota is hardly helping the thriftiest buyers, those who want only a...
John Voelcker -
For every new vehicle that gets sold in the United States, four used cars change hands. Those new cars have nice, big window stickers showing their EPA-rated gas mileage figures. Used cars? All you get is the seller mumbling something like, "Oh, yeah, it always gets, ummmmm, at least 25 miles a gallon." Until now. A neat new feature has quietly launched on FuelEconomy.gov, the Federal government site that offers gas-mileage ratings for all cars sold in the U.S. since 1984. It lets used-car sellers print out a big, tidy window sticker showing the car's EPA ratings (with all the latest...
-
Pay Attention This Summer When You Gas Up: It Might Be E15While the legal status of E15 gasoline is in doubt, the Environmental Protection Agency is moving forward with plans for it to roll out before this summer's driving season. That means that drivers will have to pay attention to the labels on their gas pumps, making sure that E15 is only used for...
John Voelcker -
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: Saturn Vue Returns As Chevy CaptivaThe shuttered Saturn brand is quickly fading from memory, but now GM plans to bring back one former Saturn model to live on in a new incarnation. But even if you're a Saturn fan, you won't be able to buy one--unless you're a business. Vue redux The compact crossover that sold for only two years as...
John Voelcker -
You'll Pay $700 More For Gasoline This Year (If You're Average)According to the Department of Energy, the average U.S. household will pay $700 more for gasoline this year than it did in 2010. In a weekly review of the oil market, the department's Energy Information Administration noted that prices will rise at least 10 cents more over the current national...
John Voelcker -
2011 Chevy Cruze Eco Gas Mileage: We Get 34 MPG--Which Is FineWith political uncertainty in oil-producing states, and the rising gas prices that brings, you can expect to see a lot more headlines saying "40 MPG!" We just did a quick overnight road test of a 2011 Chevrolet Cruze Eco with the six-speed manual transmission, which the EPA rates at 28 mpg city and...
John Voelcker -
New Fisker Karma Based Plug-In Hybrid Set For 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show?The last we heard of the Fisker Karma was that the plug-in hybrid luxury sedan was still on track for delivery, either this month or in April, but with an increased starting price of $95,900, up from the original price of $80,000 announced back in 2008. While we’re not holding our breath for...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran