Well for 2012 Toyota knew they had to completely redesign the Camry Hybrid. Their knowledge and expertise shines with this newly released car. The Gas Mileage figures are outstanding as the Camry Hybrid now gets 43 MPG in the City and 39 MPG on the Highway. The combined fuel economy rating is 41 MPG which is enough to make the 2012 Toyota Camry Hybrid one of the Top 5 BEST MPG Cars for 2012.

But why the big jump in fuel economy over the previous model Camry Hybrid? In fact the 2012 Toyota Camry Hybrid gets 38% better gas mileage than the old model. These better ratings are due to a handful on revisions most notably the updating of the Hybrid Synergy Drive. As technology gets better so too does the efficiency of an automobile. The power delivery and Toyota’s Hybrid Synergy System Software has been recalibrated to help the Camry Hybrid be more fuel efficient. The 2.5 Liter 4 cylinder engine has better intake and exhaust manifolds to help the car breathe better. The engine is also beltless meaning there are no accessories like the power steering or air conditioning that run off the engine. Instead these accessories are all electrically driven.

Besides the engine and Hybrid Synergy Drive the 2012 Toyota Camry Hybrid got a weight reduction of over 200 lbs. The lighter a car the better gas mileage it will get. Another cool fact about the new Camry Hybrid is that it is more powerful than the outbound model. The 2012 car produces 200 horsepower as compared to the 2011 Camry’s 189 horsepower. With a base price of $25,900 the 2012 Toyota Camry is cheaper, more powerful, and more fuel efficient than last year’s car. The 2012 Toyota Camry Hybrid gas mileage is 43 MPG in the city and 39 MPG on the highway. With a combined total of 41 MPG the Camry Hybrid is in a very select group of cars.

Buick Lacrosse eAssist Hybrid

The Buick Lacrosse uses a Belt Alternator Starter Hybrid System like the short lived Malibu Hybrid. Regenerative brakes charge the batteries and a start-stop system turns off the motor when the car is idle. All these features stack up to create a luxury hybrid that has a relatively cheap price for the amount of luxury you get.

Image via http://www.sandyblogs.com/techconnect/index.html

Did you know that Toyota has sold over 1 million Prius hybrids here in the U.S. over the past decade?  Go ahead and up that number to 2 million worldwide.  So with such great success why not create a whole family of automobiles around the Prius.  There is still no match for the Prius when talking hybrid gas mileage figures.  Sure the Nissan Leaf and Chevrolet Volt are out there, but these cars not only cost thousands more, they are inconvenient for most of the population.  So the Prius remains the old standby and has grown larger with the release of the 2012 Prius V in an effort to attract more buyers.  But Gas Mileage has gone down from 50 MPG combined for the standard model to 42 MPG for the Prius V.

With 50% more cargo room than the standard Toyota Prius, the V stands for Versatile.  But while the PriusV has grown, the fuel economy has shrunk.  Earlier in the year when the Lexus CT 200h, I could not figure out why a car with the same drivetrain as the Prius gets much lower gas mileage.  It’s the same conundrum for the Toyota Prius V.  The car has the same shape and the exact same drivetrain as the standard Prius but the gas mileage is lower by 15%.  Let’s take a look into the reasons for the loss in fuel economy.

1. Weight – the Prius 5 weighs over 230 pounds more than the standard Prius.  This may not seem like much but coupled with the other changes; weight does play a role in Gas Mileage loss.
2. Size – the Prius V is 6 inches longer and 3 inches taller than the standard Prius.  The wheelbase is a tad longer and by stretching the Prius V out, much was changed in the Prius V suspension to make the car more like a nice sedan.
3. Drag Coefficient – the 2011 Toyota Prius has a Drag Coefficient of 0.25 while the changes to the exterior of the Prius V have caused the Drag Coefficient to drop to 0.29.

While these changes may seem minor, they reduce the gas mileage on the Prius 5 by 15%.  Estimated figures put the Prius V gas mileage figures at 44 on the Highway and 40 in the City.  The standard Prius gets 52/48 respectively.  This goes to show that the Prius is so perfectly engineered for getting the best fuel economy possible that even a few little tweaks can drastically reduce those figures.  Good news is the Prius V will only cost a bit more but will offer you 50% more cargo room and should be a great buy for those looking to increase gas mileage without losing utility.

I crunched the numbers and if you drive an average of 15,000 miles per year; it will only cost you $200 more to drive the Prius V over the standard Prius (with gas costing $3.50).  This actually seems like a drop in the bucket considering how much more interior space you get.

Below is a list of third row SUV gas mileage with current model year and price info.  This is a good list of SUV fuel economy to aid in the process of finding a good SUV!

Diesel cars have been running around town getting incredible gas mileage for over a decade.  These cars are not the over-polluters of yesteryear.   Today’s Diesel cars get low the emission seal of approval.

The Volkswagen Jetta TDI is one of these amazing diesel cars that breaks the mold and stereotype of diesels.  The TDI gets an estimated 41 miles to the gallon and was named “Green Car of the Year” by Green Car Journal at the Los Angeles Auto Show.  The Green Car of the year award given to the Jetta TDI makes it the first clean- diesel vehicle to win.  A diesel car finally getting the award gives people the signal that clean diesels have arrived and are effective.  It also shows that clean- diesels are an alternative to hybrids because it brings fuel consumption down and is environmentally friendly.

The Jetta TDI has a diesel turbocharged direct-injection engine that features a rail fuel injection system instead of the traditional mechanical system. While diesel vehicle have been widely popular in Europe for decades, they have been slow in the US market. Part of the popularity gap is due to tough emission requirements and typical diesel stereotypes of times past.

As for emissions in this diesel car, the TDI will be the first car to meet the world’s most stringent emission control standards in all 50 states.  The Jetta TDI uses NOx storage catalyst like a filter to temporarily hold noxious emissions until they can be burned off during an engine cycle.  This emission control permits higher injection pressures that atomize fuel and make it easier for pollution control.

The manufacturer’s suggested retail price for the new Jetta TDI is estimated at around $21,990 while a Sport Wagon package is available for about $23,590. The Jetta TDI is a top choice for economy conscious customers who don’t want to sacrifice premium performance.

The little engine that could is a 1.4L, 3-cylinder, direct injected, turbo-diesel. This bad boy pumps out a staggering 79-hp. But when combined with LRR tires, special aerodynamics, and a manual transmission; the Polo can easily obtain the 60 MPG advertised, eat that hybrids. And the little 12-gallon tank will take you well over 700 miles. Sounds good to me!

Idle Cars Kill MPG

A big part of the reason why hybrids like the Civic get such great MPG is because of the ability to run in electric mode and essentially shut-off while stopped, this feature is called auto-stop.  Bringing me to my point: you are getting 0 MPG while you’re idling.  That 10 minutes spent waiting for that monster seven-layer burrito, or all those minutes you spend waiting for your kid absolutely kill your MPG.  Feel free to turn off your car instead of idling next time.

Drive It Like You Stole It

There is nothing like racing the car next to you from stoplight to stoplight. Why accelerate slowly and save gas when you can punch it and blow the doors off of Grandma’s Cadillac? I’m a take no prisoners’ sort of guy….it makes no difference your gender, age, skin color.

Speed is Sexy

Driving the speed limit is for whimps! What really revs up the female libido is driving at a high rate of speed in the most un-aerodynamic vehicle possible. The drag coefficient of a car refers to its aerodynamic efficiency. While the Honda Insight cuts through air like a hot knife through butter; I prefer to drive my huge Hummer which is more like a giant lead brick with a parachute attached. And the faster I drive my Hummer, the worse my gas mileage becomes….but chic’s don’t care about MPG!

Summer Road Trip

Yeah many people have cut back on the summer road trips and car club cruises. But all this talk about saving gas only makes me want to get out there and see what’s what. Oh yeah and waste as much gas as possible.

Get Your Roll On

In an earlier post I talked a little bit about low-rolling resistance tires and how these can improve your gas mileage. Well partner….I go for the stickiest tires out there. Sure they lower your MPG; but the thrill of being able to make your dog puke pulling 4g’s around a corner far outweighs the savings at the pump!

Since Space the Final Frontier has been conquered…might as well solve the gas crisis.  Damn….why did I skip Auto Shop Class!  I could be rich…..maybe not….you can bet that the big auto makers are already on the case.  The Announcement was made at the New York International Auto Show a few months back.  And even the Mayor Bloomberg gave his 2 cents on the prize:  “Development of a super-efficient car would be a major step forward in the fight against global warming – and it would help us reach our goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions in New York City by 30 percent by 2030.” Please…..by 2030 we are going to be oil free.

It always seems like America is a little behind the times.  Why shoot for 100 MPG….that seems easily within reach.  I mean we already have Electric cars, Vegetable Oil powered cars, and so on running around.  And a plug in Hybrid can already achieve close to those numbers.  Gas is a thing of the past!  In 2009 a cross-country race will determine the winner of the Progressive Automotive X Prize.  Check out their website for more info. http://www.xprize.org/x-prizes/automotive-x-prize

Flex Fuel Cars Get Better Fuel Economy – Nope!
Gasoline has a lot of stored energy, but the Alcohol that is contained in Ethanol has less.  Since Flex Fuel is mostly Ethanol the result is less bank for the buck.  Car that use E85 get 10-15% less fuel economy than their regular brothern.  Take for example the GMC Yukon, the Flex Fuel gas mileage is much lower.  And I grabbed this from fueleconomy.gov!

At least E85 is cheaper Right?

Flex Fuel is cheaper yes, but you do get much worse fuel economy so you can go farther on a tank of regular gas than E85.  So at the end of the day you can hope to save $4 every 1000 miles.  Is that enough to sway you in the direction of flex fuel vehicles?

How about the Impact on Mother Earth?

The Environmental Protection Agency says E85gas does indeed lesses Green House gas emissions by over 15%.  According to a Smog Reyes study; Ethanol is the only thig that can be mixed with gasoline to help reduce smog pollutants.

That Corn Should Feed the Hungry Rather than Power your Car!

Ethanol is derived from a strain of corn that is used to feed livestock.  Well the animals need to eat too, and they do!  Ethoanol is made from starch found in the corn and all the byproduct that is left over can still be made into a healthy animal feed.

In conclusion, Flex Fuel Cars have become popular for a few reasons.

-Ethanol is a biofuel which is a renewable source of energy.  So when someday we may run out of oil; corn will continue to be grown….hopefully!

-Going Green has had a major influence in the way we think and if we can reduce smog and harmful pollutants through the use of Flex Fuels than this is a DAMN GOOD THING!

Resources:
http://getbettermpg.blogspot.com/2008/08/e85-gas-separating-fact-from-fiction.html