John Voelcker, Contributing Editor
Articles
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Sometimes we get nicely produced video, and sometimes we get our codriver to shoot it on the fly.
For the 2012 Toyota Prius V station wagon we drove last week, it was very much a case of the...
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2012 Toyota Prius V Station Wagon: First Drive ReviewToyota executives will go to extraordinary, absurd lengths to avoid defining the body style of the new 2012 Toyota Prius V. Bob Carter, brand sales chief for Toyota Motors in the U.S., first responded with confusion over the question. Presented with a list of alternatives--sedan, hatchback...
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High Gas Prices Changing Vacation Plans, Even House PurchasesThere's more than a 3-to-1 chance that your gas price fell last week. The price itself depends largely on what state you live in, but the average price of a gallon of gasoline rose in just 12 states, staying the same or falling in the other 38, according to the average pricing on GasBuddy. But...
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Advice: Better Gas Mileage, Used Small, All-Wheel-Drive SUV--UPDATEUPDATE: Well, we got a note from Denise: I bought a car today. It's a certified pre-owned 2005 Toyota RAV4, single owner, 41K miles. The only thing I need for it is an iPod adapter! It's really nice, fabulous condition, and I did fairly well on both the price and trade-in. What do you think of her...
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New Management, Structure, Cash For Electric-Car Maker Think?Back in January, we toured the Think electric-car assembly facility in Elkhart, Indiana, "the RV capital of the world." We got some striking photos of hundreds of the City electric two-seater cars that Think was gearing up to sell, assembled in the U.S. out of kits shipped from the manufacturing...
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Five Reasons Small Diesels Won't Dominate the U.S. Car MarketThere's nothing like a rant from an old friend to focus the mind. We recently read a profanity-laced note from a high school pal excoriating all the major automakers for not selling small, high-mileage diesel cars and trucks in the U.S. We referred him to an article about why we can't buy small...
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Gas prices are going up, smaller cars are better than ever, and once again, U.S. car buyers are turning their sights toward higher gas mileage.
For that, there's nothing that beats the 2011 Toyota...
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Recycling Used Oil Into Fresh, Clean Oil: Enterprise Signs OnOver the years, the norms around what to do with used oil have changed. Used to be you tossed it down the nearest drain. Then came recycling. As energy prices soared, using old oil as heating fuel in special-purpose space heaters arrived. Now, the loop has closed, and used oil can be considered...
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Hybrid Hot Rods: Lexus CT 200h 'Ring Racer, Mugen Honda CR-Z Hardly DullHybrid cars, often defined in the public eye by the distinctive shape of the Toyota Prius, are frequently derided as dull and no fun to drive. While the Tesla Roadster smashed the stereotype of plug-in electric cars as slow and dorky, hybrids haven't been as lucky. So here are a couple of hybrid...
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DoE's Chu Hopes Chrysler Can Play With Big Kids, Get Loans At LastWell, looks like Chrysler is getting closer to playing with the big kids at last. The back-from-bankruptcy third U.S. automaker, now effectively controlled by Italy's Fiat, is putting together a financial package that will allow it to pay off all the money invested in it by the Obama Administration...
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2012 Subaru Impreza: Video Walkaround Of New 36-MPG AWD CarThe list of compact cars offered with all-wheel-drive as an option is short. The list of compact cars that come with all-wheel-drive standard is even shorter: Subaru Impreza. For 2012, Subaru has restyled its Impreza compact sedan and hatchback, and fitted them with a new and more fuel-efficient...
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2012 Chevy Cruze 1.4-Liter Automatic Rated At 38 MPG HighwayIt shouldn't be a surprise, but for 2012, new car models--and revisions to existing models--are all about the gas mileage. Take Chevy, for instance. Yesterday it announced that the V-6 model of its 2012 Camaro two-door sports coupe (y'know, the one you can get with a really big, powerful V-8) would...
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Even if some of us suspect that cheap gasoline may never come back for good ... well, we can dream, right?
In the face of national gas prices averaging $4 a gallon, and fillups that can cost three...
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2012 Honda Civic Natural Gas: Video Of Alternative-Fuel CarOK, so gas prices are hovering around $4 a gallon, and dispensing with gasoline altogether is getting more and more attractive. But for whatever reasons, plug-in cars aren't for you. Maybe it's the limited range of battery electric vehicles, maybe it's the $41,000 cost before incentives of the 2011...
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2012 Toyota Prius V Station Wagon/Minivan: Arrives This FallThere'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...
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The Ultimate Guide: Toyota Prius Battery Life, Cost, and WarrantyLike many articles, this one started with a reader question. Casey Krakowiecki wrote: I'm interested in buying a new Toyota Prius hybrid. I hope you can answer a couple of questions that will help me. (1) Are the rechargable batteries guaranteed for 8 years? If they fail at 7 years and 11 months...
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Could Higher Gas Prices Help Obese Americans Lose Weight?With gas prices above $4 a gallon (at least this week), we've entered a familiar cycle. Man-on-the-street interviews feature wailing and moaning about how politicians "should do something" about gas prices. Drivers start to combine their trips, and make sure to use their most fuel-efficient...
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Guide: How To Get Good Gas Mileage AND Third Row Seats?"We have not yet fully accepted the fact that we need a new car. Some call it denial. But we do need one." That's how our friend Gordon Platt began a note asking our advice on what cars he should consider as he sets out to replace the family's aging 2003 Toyota Sienna minivan. "What are your...
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Uh oh, here we go again. Or not?
The crew of the British car show Top Gear have been spotted in the British town of Lincoln, traveling in a pair of electric cars, the 2011 Nissan Leaf and a Peugeot...
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Feds To Mandate Up To 62 MPG By 2025; What Does It Mean For You?Two days ago, the NHTSA said that it would require annual gas-mileage improvements of somewhere between 2 and 7 percent each year between 2017 and 2025. Corporate average fuel economy requirements have already been set through 2016, an action facilitated by the Obama Administration soon after...
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2012 Honda Civic: Two-Minute Video Review Of New SedanWith gas prices topping $4 a gallon and a slew of brand-new models on the market, the compact car class has never been more competitive. For several years, the highest-selling model to actual retail buyers (after you take out rental cars and other fleets) has been the well-known and much-loved...
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Saving Gas By Driving Slower: What You Need To KnowAs well as the "What kind of car should I buy?" questions, we're suddenly getting a lot of questions about driving techniques to save gas. Shouldn't be surprising; the average cost of a gallon of gasoline passed $4 this week. But one of the most confusing areas of gas saving turns out to be speed...
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2011 Kia Optima Hybrid To Cost $26,500, Less Than Camry, Fusion HybridsKia has announced that its 2011 Optima Hybrid midsize sedan will carry a starting price of $26,500 when it arrives at dealers in June. (That price does not include a mandatory $750 destination fee.) The car is the first-ever hybrid electric vehicle from the Korean carmaker, which is owned by...
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2012 Honda Civic Hybrid: Multi-Day Drive ReviewThe 2012 Honda Civic range, launched at last month's New York Auto Show, includes two models devoted to wringing out as many miles as possible from every last drop of gasoline. The one with the highest gas mileage is the 2012 Civic Hybrid, rated by the EPA at 44 mpg on all three test cycles: city...
John Voelcker