fuel economy

VW’s Jetta BlueTDI: 60 MPG, 90% Emissions Reduction for NOx. VW’s ultra-low emission Jetta BlueTDI will be coming to the US mid-summer, according to an announcement made late last month at the Vienna Motor Symposium.This newer version of the Jetta will meet the strictest emissions standards in the world.

Clean Burning Natural Gas Vehicles (NGVs) are hot commodities in some parts of the country, where fuel can sell for as low as $0.63 per gallon. This Civic NGV is powered by the simplest and cleanest-burning hydrocarbon available, and though it looks like a standard passenger vehicle, its tailpipe emissions that are often cleaner than ambient air.

 While the price at the pump is not expected to ease anytime soon, experts at General Motors say there are ways drivers can ease the number of trips to the gas station. Adhering to the recommended speed limits is one way to conserve fuel says experts.

Just because the new proposed rule on fuel economy is better than expected from the Bush administration, don’t start dancing in the streets just yet.

The White House has outlined their plan to increase fuel efficiency standards to 35 MPG by 2020, a move that will save Americans an estimated $100 billion in fuel costs. The proposal gives a boost to the timeline by requiring the mileage of passenger vehicles to average 31.6 MPG by 2015. That’s up from today’s average of 25 MPG.

In looking at data from the last several summers, the price of gasoline has gone up, on average, over 15% from now through the summer's peak. Based on today's price of $3.53, this would put us above $4 gas this summer.

Today is Earth Day, and it’s a great day to remind ourselves why we’re interested in things like renewable fuels and green car technology. It’s also a day to think about the role each of us plays in local and international environmental issues, from air pollution to the increasing cost of food.

Residents of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho are outpacing the national average decline in gas consumption, according to a new report by the Sightline Instutute.In the last 8 years, residents of these states have cut back by about a gallon per week, for a total gas consumption reduction of 11%. In the Pacific Northwest, gas usage has fallen to its lowest level since 1966, while CO2 emissions from gasoline have fallen by six-tenths of a ton per capita since 1999.

Mercedes plans to release a diesel-hybrid SUV capable of 40 miles per gallon, with cleaner emissions than your standard car. Demo’d at the 2008 Geneva Auto show, the SUV is built on Mercedes’ relatively new BlueTec emissions control technology—a combination of catalytic converters and advanced chemical processing that scrubs out the worst pollutants produced by the diesel engine.

Make fewer left turns, save gas and tempers.

Back in 1908, America's best selling vehicle was the Model T, which got 17 MPG. In 2007, America's best selling vehicle was the F-150, which got 16 MPG. See a problem here?

On average, Americans consume about 386 million gallons of gasoline each day, so if each of us could consume 5% less gas each day, annually we'd save 7 billion gallons of gas, $22 billion, and keep 1.4 billion tons of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere.

As usual, Google is at the forefront of, well, everything. But this one is a little surprising: their philanthropic branch, Google.org, is putting $10 million into plug-in electric hybrid research and real-world testing.

  Teams from around the world are gearing up for the Automotive X Prize, a competition that will award part of $10 million to the team that builds the cleanest production-ready 100 MPGe (mile per gallon equivalent) vehicle.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory found that nighttime charging of plug-in hybrids would not increase electricity demand over baseline levels. But if owners charge their vehicles during the day, it could require the construction of 160 new power plants.