Smart EV Wins Best Eco Car Award
ACEEE ranks the Top 10 environmental cars and finds smaller is better and small hybrids are best, although it found the smallest electric car sold in America as the best of the best.
Pickups Pick Up MPG
The definition of pickup truck utility is changing. Now fuel economy has become as important as towing capacity and the number of tie-downs in the bed. Automakers are scrambling to build trucks with better MPG and are locked in a battle to offer the best package that includes fuel efficiency as well as all-round capability.
My Top 10 Cars & Trucks for 2014
These are the 10 or more cars and trucks I’m looking forward to spending some time with in 2014. I hope they all make, but I probably should also have saved a spot or two on the list for some surprises. In 2013 we had a few of those and I’m expecting more in 2014.
Road Test: 2014 Chevrolet Impala LT
The 2014 Impala is so completely different from its predecessor that from this point forward let’s agree those previous versions did not even exist. The new Impala carries an air of sophistication, but not snobbiness, with a comfortable modern interior and clean contemporary styling. The 2014 Impala comes in three engine options: 2.5L 4-cylinder, 2.4L 4-cylinder with eAssist (GM’s mild hybrid system) and the 3.6L V6, which is what was powering the car we tested. The eAssist model delivers 35 MPG on the highway and 29 MPG combined, the tops in this class. It even beats the Audi A8 TDI and easily bests the Ford and Chrysler competitors.
Top 10 Best-Selling High-MPG Cars of 2013
The year 2013 is almost over and the auto industry is moving toward the best sales year in half a decade. High mileage electric cars, plug-in hybrids, hybrids and clean diesels are drafting along with the positive sales year and going beyond, with each segment besting the overall market as new models enter and draw attention. The expectation is for aggressive selling to continue through the rest of the year, but it’s a good time to regroup and declare the Top 10 winners for the year.
Road Test: 2014 Toyota RAV4
The 2014 RAV4 is a compact crossover that doesn’t waste a square inch of passenger or cargo room. It has surprising amounts of both in a body that has presence on the road without occupying too much of it. In addition to Toyota’s-brand quality and resale value, you get above-the-traffic ride height, comfortable seating for five, and just enough off-road capability to keep you out of trouble — or get you into it.
Hydrogen Fuel Cell Cars Go On Sale in 2014!
Electric cars running on hydrogen, creating their own electricity as they drive, are officially no longer the cars of the distant future. As Hyundai Motor America president and CEO John Frafcik said last week: “The future is much closer than you think.” Come spring, you can go to a select Southern California Hyundai dealer (one near the growing hydrogen station infrastructure), put down $2999 and drive away in a Tucson fuel cell car, a compact SUV with water as its only tailpipe emission, a 300-mile range on a tank of free (for the life of the $499/month loan) fuel, and free Concierge Service (like that offered with the Equus model). Honda and Toyota will soon follow with their own fuel cell models.
GM & Toyota Go Opposite Directions Pricing Their Plug-ins
This week saw two of the largest auto companies in the world going two different ways when it comes to pricing their showcase plug-in electric cars. General Motors announced that it would price its extended-range electric Cadillac ELR at $75,995 when it goes on sale in January 2014. In contrast, the same week Toyota announced that it was dropping the price on its 2014 Prius Plug-in, which it considers the epitome of its current offerings. Price drops ranged from $2,000 on the base model to $4,620 on the Advanced version. With the price reduction, the Prius Plug-in now has a starting price before government incentives just north of $30,000.
Top 10 Best-Selling High-MPG Cars in May 2013
May continues the trend of good sales for hybrids, electric cars, plug-in hybrids and clean diesels. Consumers are seeking out these cars and keeping their sales numbers high.
First Drive: 2013 Toyota RAV4 EV
Toyota’s 2013 RAV4 EV is the automaker’s second go round of converting its small gasoline powered sport utility to an electric vehicle. From 1997 to 2003, 1,484 RAV4 EVs were leased or sold. Of those, Toyota says approximately 449 are still on the road. This time around, rather than develop the electric RAV4 on its own, Toyota joined forces with upstart Silicon Valley electric carmaker Tesla Motors in a collaboration to develop and engineer the latest all-electric RAV4.