Archive for the ‘fuel efficiency’ Category

We’ve been here before. The government mandates more fuel-efficient vehicles across the board, yet the American public continues to gravitate toward what’s big and powerful.

Barring this era of greater responsibility and restraint, which might pass like a fleeting fancy with the recession, why not pick the bigger or more powerful car, we say?

A lot of things are different this time around, though. Perhaps most remarkably, quite a few executives of automakers and major auto-supplier companies are voicing out in favor of higher fuel taxes—of more rigorous regulation of what types of vehicles can be built and sold—as a way of reducing our...

We've mentioned the FastSkinz applique a couple of times on TCC. It's a wrap for cars that's dimpled like a golf ball, and the manufacturer says it boosts fuel efficiency by 18% to 20%. According to what we've read, those claims are wildly inaccurate, but that didn't deter the Discovery Channel's Mythbusters team from running a similar experiment using a Ford Taurus, some modeling clay, and 1082 dimples. Their results? Mildly surprising. The whole episode is embedded below, but you can jump to the 40 minute mark if you're short on time.

[AutoblogGreen]

Most ordinary gasoline models look like guzzlers next to the hybrids—and a few compact diesel models—that dominate the upper echelon of this year's EPA fuel economy ratings. For instance, according to the EPA's Fuel Economy Guide information released last week, a 2010 Toyota Prius will cost less than half as much to keep fueled for a year's worth of driving than the seemingly fuel-efficient four-cylinder, all-wheel-drive 2010 Toyota RAV4. According to EPA estimates, the savings would rack up to $850; and that's with gas prices at a relatively low $2.58 a gallon.

At least you're not driving a 2010 Lamborghini Murcielago (8 mpg City) or a 2010...