Archive for the ‘Prius’ 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...

Think that the design of the Volkswagen New Beetle is more hideous than iconic?

Apparently you're not alone. Business Week has posted its "Fifty Ugliest Cars of the Past 50 Years," including a number of models present and past, and the New Beetle is just one of the newer and still-produced models on the list. Others include the Cadillac Escalade, Chevrolet Avalanche, Chrysler PT Cruiser, Honda Element, Hummer H2, Jeep Compass, Nissan Cube, and Toyota Prius.

They're particularly tough on the Escalade, sounding more like SUV-haters than design critics: "The perfect car design if fuel, practicality, maneuverability, and class mean nothing...

Last week, author Michael Pollan (The Omnivore's Dilemma, etc.) made headlines when he said, "A vegan in a HUMMER has a lighter carbon footprint than beef-eater in a Prius". This week, predictably, Mr. Pollan is eating those words: although studies have shown that meat-eaters generate two tons more CO2 per year than their vegan neighbors, the HUMMER is possible for 4.76 tons more CO2 per year than the Toyota Prius. So Prius owners, we suppose you're free to eat all the factory-farmed hamburgers you want. On the other hand, eco-conscious HUMMER drivers (we know you're out there) might wanna opt for the broccoli. [HybridCars]