Fuel Efficiency

It would be the first federal hike in gas taxes since 1993.

The summer road trip season is here, and according to AAA, we can expect gas prices to soar. Barring natural disasters or geopolitical problems, consumers can expect to see prices to hover around last summer's high of $3.55 and $3.70 per gallon. How can you have your fun in the sun while avoiding pain at the pump?

Mercedes-Benz says it reduced its fleetwide vehicle emissions by 4.3 percent last year. Of course, the German automaker has another 29 percent to go to meet the European Commission's 2020 mandate. But who's counting?

Zoom-Zoom, indeed. Toyota may be the world's biggest maker of hybrids and Nissan may be making big strides on the plug-in front with increased sales of its Nissan Leaf electric vehicle, but it's Japanese automaker Mazda that has once again topped the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) list of most fuel-efficient automakers selling vehicles in the US, increasing its Model Year 2012 average by half a mile per gallon compared to MY2011.

Getting drivers to change their behavioral patterns is quite difficult, but the fuel economy payoff can be huge. Consumer Reports has been informing passenger car drivers about the consequences of hitting the gas pedal, and now the Volvo Group is participating in a project to improve commercial truck driver behavior.

The most fuel efficient and aerodynamic production car ever built, the Volkswagen XL1, tore up the streets of New York this week while on its three city tour of the U.S., according to The New York Daily News.

Turbocharging isn't really Toyota's specialty, and the Japanese automaker isn't being shy about acknowledging it. Koei Saga, a senior managing officer in charge of drivetrain research and development, says that eschewing turbos and increasing displacement of engines using the Atkinson cycle can produce better power gains without sacrificing fuel economy, Automotive News reports.

The EPA is featuring a new tool online to help sell used cars. The agency teamed up with the Energy Department to create a tool that will generate fuel economy information for used cars that mimics the ones required on all new cars.

Compared with the rest of the world, the U.S. has long been known as the gas guzzler country--the nation of the widest roads, largest vehicles and the least amount of reliable mass transit for the geography. That image could be changing, according to a new study that says driving in the U.S. has already peaked and will decline.

Manufacturers are making more efficient cars and trucks; we've known that to be true for some time. Nearly every new car has some sort of trick to eke a few extra miles out of every gallon of fuel. Whether that be turbocharging, active aerodynamics or hybrid technology/electrified powertrains, the fact is that our vehicles are more efficient than ever before.

A new study shows you don't have to sacrifice legroom for fuel economy.

Could all of the work some automakers are doing to increase diesel engine adoption in the US be going up in a cloud of smoke? Maybe so, as torquier and more fuel-efficient gasoline engines and cheapening hybrid technology are cutting into what had been perceived as the advantages of diesel drivetrains, the Detroit News says.

Cars on American roads have improved their fuel economy. The people who drive them? Not so much.

Readers of a certain age might remember those bumper stickers with Yosemite Sam toting two six-shooters and yelling "Back Off!" He wasn't yelling "So you can burn more fuel!" but researchers are looking at how tailgating could save gas, and, in this case, are working with big rigs.

After revealing they had exaggerated fuel-economy claims on approximately 900,000 vehicles in November, Hyundai and Kia rolled out a gift-card program to compensate customers for their extra gas expenses.

When you watch the Zipcar video "How to Zip: Fill 'er Up" (embedded below) you'll see a Zipcar customer finding out he needs to stop at a gas station. There's a Zipcar co-pilot in the backseat who gives him friendly, detailed instructions on how to get reimbursed for filling up the gas tank.

General Motors has a couple of problems to deal with: a glut of pickups on dealer lots and the inability to claim best-in-class fuel economy for its usually strong-selling Chevrolet Silverado pickup. In light of the situation, GM's marketing message has transmuted into something else: "hey, at least they're cheap to own."

Factory fuel economy packages, the special trims or option groups bundled with efficiency improving items such as low-rolling-resistance tires, aerodynamic tweaks and electric power steering, cost the consumer a few hundred dollars (or more) at the time of purchase but don't seem to add any resale value down the road, says a recent report from Cars.com.

For October and November, the all-new Ford C-Max sold 8,030 units, making it the highest-selling hybrid vehicle ever in the first two months. The sales significantly surpassed the 7,300 Camry Hybrids that Toyota sold in that car's first two months on the market, back in May and June of 2006. Ford also calculates that C-Max sales are moving three times faster than combined results from the first hybrids on the US market – the Toyota Prius and Honda Insight – which were launched in 200