mpg

fuel efficiency trends

New cars and trucks are poised to set new records in fuel efficiency according to the latest Fuel Economy Trends report from the EPA. carbon pollution has also been reduced from new autos, dropping 13 percent.[read more]

Electric Car via Shutterstock

The EPA calculates CO2 emissions of plug-in hybrids by using a metric of mile per gallon equivalent values, based on 33.7 kWh per gallon of gasoline. The energy consumption of a vehicle is determined by the EPA's five standard drive cycle tests simulating varying driving conditions. But is this metric really the best way to calculate CO2 emissions and mileage efficiency?[read more]

This is Part 2 of a series on the new EPA-DOT vehicle greenhouse gas (GHG) and fuel economy standards. Part 1 took a first look on the goals of the standards.These days, most cars can go from 0 to 60 mph in a pretty short time – but can the nation’s car fleet go from 27.3 to 49.5 mpg in 15 years flat?As we mentioned in Part I, a 49.5 mpg...[read more]

A nice graphic comparing various passenger cars and alternative fuels. Two quibbles: - I don’t think the NASA crawler (used to transport the Space Shuttle) qualifies as a passenger car. - Why not include natural gas vehicles? [read more]

One of the first cars I drove was my dad’s Buick Regal. I was only 14, but my older brothers let me sit behind the wheel. After college, I moved to DC and was happy to have an old VW Rabbit to wedge into tight parking spaces. I have fond memories of both those cars—they brought me a taste of freedom—but they can’t hold a candle to today’...[read more]

During his most recent weekly address, President Obama stated that the U.S. can “out-innovate and out-compete” the rest of the world by investing in and adopting clean energy. The President can realize this vision and grow good jobs in the U.S. automotive industry by setting standards that reach 60 miles per gallon (mpg) by...[read more]

In this blog (Part 2 of 2),  I take a swing at describing ways that electric-drive vehicles can help reduce our pain at the gasoline pump, benefit our economy, and clean up our air. Yesterday, Secretary LaHood of the U.S. Department of Energy spoke at the Electric-Drive Transportation Association (EDTA) Conference and the progress...[read more]

I had an experience in the last few days that I thought highlighted some interesting and vexing aspects of our current public dialog about energy and climate issues. I would be interested in hearing what others do in such situations or what you think of my handling of it. To begin with, the situation was right out of a bad sitcom. The...[read more]

By Dave Rochlin - originally posted on care2.com I love the ambitious new automobile efficiency targets set by the EPA this week. This is long overdue. As the EPA pointed out, "transportation sources accounted for 28 percent of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in 2007, and have been the fastest-growing source of U.S. GHG emissions...[read more]

Even before the advent of partially- or fully-electric cars, it was becoming increasingly apparent that the old fuel economy metric of miles per gallon isn't as useful for measuring energy consumption in vehicles as when it was first codified in the original Corporate Average Fuel Economy standard in the 1970s. That is due in part to...[read more]