Over the lifetime of a car, small things can make a big difference. When it comes to fuel economy, just 1 or 2 mpg can add up to hundreds of dollars left in owners’ pockets. That may not mean much to luxury buyers, but for compact sedans that start at less than $20,000 and their owners, every dime, dollar, and drop saved counts. Our... Is the 2019 Volkswagen Jetta the most fuel-efficient small car?
Over the lifetime of a car, small things can make a big difference. When it comes to fuel economy, just 1 or 2 mpg can add up to hundreds of dollars left in owners’ pockets. That may not mean much to luxury buyers, but for compact sedans that start at less than $20,000 and their owners, every dime, dollar, and drop saved counts. Our...
While plug-in electric cars are steadily growing in sales, they still pale in comparison to the hundreds of thousands of compact crossover utility vehicles sold each year by virtually every major carmaker. In 2017, Toyota's most popular vehicle became the RAV4 small SUV, supplanting the Camry mid-size sedan that had occupied that slot for two...
As promised, the Trump administration has embarked on regulatory rollbacks across many fronts, some immediate and others taking longer. It remains unclear whether the EPA's plan to loosen carbon-dioxide emission limits for 2022 through 2025 vehicles will survive inevitable court challenges. However, despite shrill rhetoric from environmental...
These are not good times for the makers or owners of diesel cars, particularly in their European stronghold, where on average half of all new vehicles had been sold with diesel engines. Strict new real-world emission tests have proven hard to meet, consumers are starting to shy away from buying new diesels, and the values of used cars with diesel...
Two years ago this month, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles essentially threw in the towel on the "automobiles" part of its name. Canceling the compact Dodge Dart and the mid-size Chrysler 200 sedans, the company doubled down on the pickup trucks and utility vehicles that had long been its profit centers. Now that decision has become a trend, spurred on...
Along with the 250-mile 2019 Kona Electric hatchback it launched Wednesday at the New York Auto Show, Hyundai unveiled an entirely redesigned version of a much higher-volume vehicle. That's the 2018 Hyundai Santa Fe mid-size crossover utility vehicle, which gains size, features, and considerably more upright and SUV-like styling. The company also...
Last Tuesday, EPA administrator Scott Pruitt said the agency does not intend to let California set the agenda for national emission limits on vehicles. He suggested to Bloomberg the EPA plans to cut emission rules aggressively to respond to carmakers' pleas for easing of the corporate average fuel economy rules for 2022 through 2025 that they had...
While plug-in electric cars get lots of media attention, they remained just 1 percent of U.S. vehicle sales last year. And while the Trump Administration appears dead-set on rolling back emission limits and fuel-economy requirements established years ago, that effort will undoubtedly face lengthy court challenges as to the scientific basis...
Not a lot has changed since last month: Buyers continue to move from passenger sedans to crossovers and trucks, and gasoline remains relatively cheap. That means you can pick up some bargains fuel-efficient and electrified vehicles. DON'T MISS: Lexus lowers hybrid prices a lot to cut premium over gasoline Our list of deals for March, courtesy of...
Cars with plugs may be the cleaner and greener future, but at the moment, they make up only about 1 percent of global sales approaching 100 million vehicles a year. That means that automakers continue to work ceaselessly on more efficient gasoline engines and lighter vehicles to put them in. Last week, Toyota summarized its plans in that arena and...
Gas is cheap in the U.S. and has been for years. Hybrids are no longer a cutting-edge or cool technology; they're just another powertrain. The result is that hybrids have been quietly ebbing as a proportion of total vehicle sales. DON'T MISS: 2018 Lexus RX 450hL hybrid three-row SUV priced from $51,600 At their peak about five years ago, hybrids...
Early in 2014, Toyota filed a voluntary recall notice with the NHTSA to fix a defect in roughly 800,000 third-generation Prius Liftback hybrids sold in the U.S. from 2010 through 2014. The company said it would make unspecified changes to software that controlled the vehicle's inverter, which varies the voltage in the vehicle's hybrid system...
Electric cars may be all the rage, but for now, all but a tiny fraction of the 250 million vehicles on U.S. roads burn gasoline or diesel fuel. One of the ways that new vehicles are boosting fuel efficiency is the use of what are called "start-stop" systems, which switch off the engine while the car is stopped. Now, as the Department of Energy...
With the release of proposed new and lower fuel-economy rules expected from the NHTSA by March 30, many eyes have turned to the powerful California Air Resources Board. The state's pioneering role in reducing emissions and cutting air pollution predates even the existence of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. That agency, now run by Scott...
The Toyota Prius hybrid has been its maker's "halo car" and an example of its most advanced technology for two decades. Launched from an early-1990s project to halve the fuel consumption of a small car, its hybrid-electric powertrain pioneered mass electrification of passenger cars. But the sales arc of what has grown to be a family of Prius...
With gasoline cheap and buyers continuing to shun passenger cars for crossovers and trucks, there are bargains to be had in fuel-efficient and electrified vehicles. This month's deals, courtesy of CarsDirect, includes cheap leases, low financing rates, and money off sticker prices. They cover a variety of vehicle types, with hybrids among the...