There's been much conjecture these last few months over whether or not sales of big, thirsty vehicles would pick back up after hitting the brick wall of high fuel prices last summer. Despite a modest uptick in pickup truck sales, the answer has mostly been no, but we won't know for sure how things will rebound until the economy picks back up and credit is once again available to more people to purchase new vehicles. At least one recent study indicates that fuel economy is still a top concern for new car shoppers.

According to the Consumer Federation of America, over three-quarters of those surveyed say that they are concerned about high gas prices and America's dependence on foreign oil. Fifty-five percent of respondents are also concerned about global warming. These numbers are not dramatically lower than those recorded from a similar survey conducted last April.

One more interesting point about the survey: The average new car shopper expects that their next vehicle will get about 30 miles per gallon, which they say is 5 mpg better than they get with their current vehicle. For a more detailed look at the findings, click here (.pdf link).

[Source: CFA (.pdf link) via TTAC]

Over the past two decades, the big German automakers have been continuously cranking up the power levels of their high performance cars to absolutely insane levels. It's gotten to the point where you must have a minimum of 500 hp or more just to get into the game; many cars approach 600hp. Mercedes-Benz's in-house performance brand AMG has now declared "ENOUGH!" Volker Mornhinweg, head of AMG told Autocar, "The horsepower war is over." The key to performance is a high power to weight ratio. Unfortunately, when you have a lot of weight, you need more power to maintain performance. That means bigger tires and brakes are also needed, leading to an escalating cycle.

As Lotus has clearly demonstrated with the Elise and its derivatives, a lightweight car can have tremendous performance even with modest power levels. Mornhinweg is taking that to heart and promises to reduce the mass of future AMG Mercedes models starting with the next-generation E63 that debuts later this year. The new E-Class is lighter than the outgoing model and a dual clutch gearbox will also be part of the package to help improve efficiency. Diesel, hybrid and four cylinder drivetrains are also in AMG's future product plans as the tuner brand tries to maintain performance while meeting the new environmental realities.

Related:

• In the Autoblog Garage: 2009 Mercedes Benz C63 AMG

[Source: Autocar]

Sure, there are plenty of things in the automotive world that are overrated. Enough, in fact, to compile a whole list of them, as seen here. Come on, join in... it's fun! For instance, in addition to the small SUVs that already made the list, why not add big SUVs too? Most buyers of the big behemoths rarely use the full capabilities of their rigs and could almost always use a smaller vehicle. What about those rare instances when a monster 'ute is necessary? Rent one. Remember, even if one more giant SUV was never made, there's an endless supply of perfectly good used ones to choose from.

Moving right along, what else is on this particlar overrated list? The Prius? Well, perhaps, since quite a number of people admit to choosing them simply to look like they care. The Tesla? Eh, fine. It's expensive and seats only two occupants. We're not sure overrated is the right word for these two vehicles, but whatever. Miles per gallon? Um, no, not overrated in the slightest bit. Why's it on the list? To quote the anonymous author, "In case you haven't noticed (and nobody has) gas is really cheap again." Ugh. Isn't this the attitude that got us into this mess in the first place?

[Source: Inside Line]

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the fleet of cars sold in the U.S. through the first half of the year averaged 26.8 mpg. That's a new record, and it is being pushed by the rapid move from larger cars, trucks and SUVs into smaller, more fuel efficient vehicles. For reference, last year's rating stood at 26.6 miles per gallon. While these numbers can be useful for tracking the overall average mileage of new cars in the States, these are actually the CAFE numbers that the government uses for keeping tabs on the automakers. As has been widely covered, these figures aren't really the most accurate numbers available as there are provisions for automakers to improve their scores through the use of alternative fuels. Some manufacturers also carry over credits from past years when they surpassed the CAFE requirements. Still, a fuel mileage improvement is a good thing, and it's likely to only get better as fuel prices remain high enough to impact purchasing decisions.

[Source: The Detroit News]

TMI. What does that mean? Well, it usually means 'Too Much Information,' but in the case of fuel mileage, there is truly no such thing. Everybody and their brother wants to know what kind of mileage they are likely to get out of their next new car purchase, so we'll take any information we can get. With that in mind, Cars.com has gone to the trouble of calculating the mileage statistics of all the major brands sold in the United States and has sorted them by average miles per gallon. While the list doesn't actually break down each manufacturer further by model, it is still helpful in some way.

As you may be aware, CAFE mileage statistics aren't actually representative of what a given manufacturer is likely to achieve, as they are adjusted for all sorts of reasons. Therefore, Cars.com chose to go by the EPA's mileage ratings to calculate its figures. For the same reason, the impending fuel mileage requirements being proposed by the Feds aren't quite as harsh as they might seem. For instance, CAFE's 2007 rating for Honda's domestic passenger-car fleet comes in at 33.5 mpg, while Cars.com estimates a much more realistic 24.9 mpg. So, the EPA's estimations are still useful for comparing individual car models, and Cars.com's TMI rating is useful for comparing the manufacturers themselves. Remember, though... your mileage may vary.

[Source: Cars.com]

Click above for more high-res shots of the 2007 Toyota Prius Touring

The numbers for last year's combined fleet fuel efficiency for all automakers in the United States has been tallied. The winner? Um, Lotus. But, they don't really count. Too small. For manufacturers that actually offer a full line of automobiles, Toyota with 29.69 mpg just barely edged out the likes of Honda, which posted 29.49, and Hyundai with 29.37. All those Prius hybrid sales surely helped push Toyota to the top this year. Not surprisingly, the Detroit 3 didn't even come close with 25.16 from GM and 25.15 from Ford. DaimlerChrysler propped up the rear with a dismal 23.97 average figure.

Toyota has no plans to give up the mileage crown. In fact, the Japanese giant will increase capacity of its upcoming third-gen Prius sedan by an astonishing 70-percent at the Tsutsumi factory in Japan, allowing for the production of 480,000 hybrid sedans per year. For 2010, Toyota plans to bring its Mississippi plant online, which will further serve to increase capacity. We have a feeling that it'll have little trouble selling every one it manufacturers.


[Sources: NHTSA (.pdf link), Automotive News - sub. req'd]

Yamaha is not the first manufacturer to tout the fuel efficiency of its line of scooters, but it is the first to go so far as to list the estimated fuel mileage on each of its website's product pages. Scooter riders will be happy to see that Yamaha is claiming 124 miles per gallon from its Zuma, though its two-stroke engine likely emits more pollutants than a comparable four-stroke. Thankfully, both the Vino Classic and C3 use four-strokers and still do better than 100 miles per gallon. If higher speeds are a necessity for you, perhaps the Vino 125 will do with its 96 mile per gallon rating and 50+ mile per hour top-speed. Moving up the line, the futuristic Morphous and its 250cc four-stroke engine manages 56 miles per gallon and is freeway capable. Yamaha's top-of-the-line Maxiscooter, the Majesty, offers a 400cc engine which still delivers over 50 miles per gallon.

The fuel efficiency of various scooter models has been under discussion as of late. Most outlets agree that 100 miles per gallon is only really possible on 50cc machines, but their larger brothers are still capable of figures which are well beyond what the average automobile is capable of. We'd expect other manufacturers to follow Yamaha's lead in making fuel efficiency a selling-point for scooters and small-bore motorcycles as gas prices continue to climb.

[Source: Yamaha]

Perhaps this story has more to do with the proliferation of the Internet than it does about green car trends, but here we go anyway. We all know that you can check fueleconomy.gov to find out what the fuel mileage of current and past cars is or was. Anybody who carries an internet-capable cell phone in their pockets also knows that navigating sites which are not optimized for mobile browsers is rather difficult from the average phone or internet tablet without a full browser. With that in mind, the government has seen fit to introduce a new mobile version of their fuel economy site, fueleconomy.gov/m. Easy enough, right? From the mobile site you will be able to see the mileage ratings from vehicles from 1985 through today.

We think that this service should prove rather useful as a tool for checking the mileage of used cars on dealers lots that don't have window stickers on them. Whatever works, we say. Also present on the mobile site are calculations for figuring how much you'll spend on gas each year and your resultant carbon footprint. Yay, technology!

[Source: Detroit News]

Episode 18 of the Autoblog Green Podcast sees us reminiscing about the North American International Auto Show, recently passed in Detroit. We start with the reconfigured Saturn Vue Hybrid from AFS - the "extreme hybrid" claiming a narrowly defined150 mpg. AFS's claims point up the need for a new way to accurately rate mpg for hybrid and plugin powertrains. We touch on the Chrysler green trio, and Saturn's own Vue Two-Mode - one of three versions of the Vue that will have a flavor of hybrid powertrains (two mode, li-ion/phev, mild).

Everyone in Detroit had a Diesel, too, many displacing 2.2 liters and having four cylinders. We also talk abit about Ford going mainstream with their EcoBoost engine technology rather than trotting out ever larger V8s - big power doesn't always mean big cubes, and EcoBoost is more than small motors with big compressors strapped onto the exhaust manifolds. We wrap up by touching on the news that the ALMS series will see a fleet of Corvettes running cellulosic E85. The rules of the series allow lots of different technologies to run wheel to wheel, so alternative powertrains could be the next area where we see racing improving the breed. 43 minutes, and we're done, thanks for listening!

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You may have noticed that Autoblog has added a new writer to their staff. John McElroy is the host of Autoline Detroit which you may have seen on television. In his latest posting, McElroy, speaking of CAFE standards says, "This whole debate has focused on how many miles per gallon our cars get. That's the wrong approach. It does not solve the problem. All CAFE does is kill us slower. What we really need to focus on is getting the kind of fuels that will really solve the problem, not trying to force the auto industry to come out with cars that burn this poison more efficiently."

This is not the first time that this argument has come up, and it probably won't be the last. While our readership on AutoblogGreen might appreciate the cleaner and more fuel efficient cars that CAFE standards may force, what does the average automotive enthusiast think? Read through some of the comments on McElroy's post, and you might be surprised by what some are saying.

In conclusion, CAFE standards are not the best way to reduce our consumption of oil. They do, however, serve the purpose of raising the fuel mileage of our fleet of cars. So, until real game-changing technology is implemented, the consumer might just be forced to work with what we have, and the automotive manufacturers might be forced to work with the laws that they are given.

[Source: John McElroy \ Autoblog]