We here at AutoblogGreen are big on technology that can lower environmental impact. Hybrids are widely touted as one way of doing that although some are much better at it than others. With over a million of the most popular hybrid, the iconic Prius, being sold there must be a noticeable decrease in the amount of gas being burned by Americans, right? Have you ever wondered how much gas would be saved if we all drove a Prius? About half, unless we all drive like Danika. OK, that's an unlikely scenario. How about if 10 percent of the car-driving public used some kind of hybrid? With 2.2 percent of the cars sold last year being hybrids it seems we are on our way to that small milestone.

After pulling out my slide rule (and then putting it away after I remembered I never did learn how to use it), calculator and a copy of the I Ching, I set out to solve this problem of the ages. According to the Department of Energy (DOE) we burned through 9,290,000 barrels (390 million gallons) of gas a day in 2007, which is about half of all finished petroleum used - so we're not even talking about diesel or aviation fuel. Using advanced algebraic formulae which required the participation of all of my fingers and toes, I've deduced we could save about 6,285,000,000 gallons each year (around 16 days worth of gas) if ten percent of us drove hybrids. A big number indeed but one I hope we can soon surpass.

[Source: Energy Information Administration]

Car buyers can be a fickle group. Put another way: we hate pumping gas, but we love chugging coffee while we drive more. General Motors reports that consumers say good fuel mileage is the third-most-important consideration, right there behind styling and value, for customers looking to purchase one of their vehicles.

That may be true, but are their customers willing to pay for high mpgs? All things being equal (which is rarely the case), the answer is usually no, if Mike J. Jackson from AutoNation is to be believed. He says that the only way to force consumers to choose fuel efficient vehicles is to price gasoline higher, which we agree would probably do the trick. Since that's not likely to happen, the government is forcing the automakers to build the types of cars that consumers may not want. According to Jackson, that could be a boon to the used car market at the expense of the newer more fuel efficient cars.

Related:

• Fuel economy slips in car-shopper priorities

[Source: Forbes via Wired Autopia]

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Did you know that going from a vehicle that's rated at 34/30 mpg to one that gets 21/22 mpg is helping to "fight global warming and reduce greenhouse gas emissions?" That's what Senator John Kerry's (D-MA) deputy chief of staff, David Wade, would have people believe. Since when is going to a vehicle with 34 percent worse mileage than the one you just had good for the environment? Apparently, Sen. Kerry has decided to get rid of his 2006 Ford Escape Hybrid in favor of the Green Car of the Year, the Chevy Tahoe Hybrid. Not to take anything away from the Tahoe, because the 2-Mode hybrid system is a technological marvel and provides shockingly good fuel economy for a vehicle of this size and capability, but this isn't a green switch.

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]

A massive lobbying effort is taking place in Washington as you read this. The issue at hand are modified CAFE standards. Executives from the automotive industry apparently are not powerful enough on their own accord, so they have asked dealers to join them in the battle. By bringing auto dealers into the picture, Senators are more apt to listen, as the dealers are part of the voting public from the states the Senators are representing.

Currently, there are two possible bills on the table that the Senate could vote on. One bill would raise the fuel mileage standards 40 percent by 2020 and 4 percent a year after that, while the other would raise standards by more than 30 percent by 2025. Automakers, the UAW and many dealers favor the lower standards, and the lobbying efforts are an attempt to convince Washington that the lower standards would be tough but possible, while the higher standards would absolutely cripple the industry.

Just last week, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) told the CEOs from the Big Three that the debate was over regarding CAFE standards. Perhaps that was a bit premature, as Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Illinois, has stated that the vote will be very close if the Senate were to vote today. This is getting very interesting, and we will certainly be following this story closely.

Related:

• Majority Leader Harry Reid: The debate on raising CAFE standards is over. It will happen.

[Source: Automotive News (sub. required) and Detroit News]

We all know that few people ever achieve the mileage displayed on their window sticker particularly if they drive a hybrid. The Toyota Prius is rated at 55mpg but a group of Japanese drivers have managed to get more, much more, than that. A Japanese man named Takashi Toya and his friends go for the max with their hybrids. The group calls themselves nenpimania or "mileage maniacs" modify both their cars and and driving styles to wring every last mile out of every drop of gasoline.

Toya has regularly managed to get 79mpg or more by blocking the grille openings, hacking the ECU and driving barefoot. In order to get maximum sensitivity in his throttle control, Toya presses the accelerator only with his big toe. He accelerates up to 29 mph and then glides down to 25 with the engine off. A woman from Akita prefecture has managed to squeeze 116mpg from her Prius.

[Source: Chicago Tribune via Engadget]

If you have been on the internets (see, I have... w00t! I M L33t :-) for any length of time, you know that pretty much anything you could ever want to know (or not know) is probably already there. Forums were developed for people with a common interest to get together with people that they don't know, and could be half across the world from, and talk about anything. For instance, say you would like to know what sort of mileage somebody gets with a particular car, fuel source, or driving technique. Maybe you want to brag about how good you mileage is, or isn't. Maybe you want to share some technique to help others out. Check the forum. Chances are, somebody out there can help you in some way or another.

This particular forum is pretty new, so there is not much there yet. But, that is the perfect chance to become a big helper in getting it off the ground. Then you can be one of those snobby Internet forumers who have been on a forum since, like, forever and have a bajillion posts under their name and love to let others know it. Oh, nevermind. Just check it out!

[Source: Daily Fuel Economy Tip forum via Hugg]

On the 5th May we asked you to tell us how fuel efficient your car was so that we could see what kind of returns our readers are getting in the real world. As we said, we know you read AutoblogGreen, but just how fuel efficient is your vehicle?

Well the results are in and after receiving 649 votes it looks like we've got almost a perfect bell curve from your responses with a little peak at the end where 5 percent said they eked out more than 50 mpg from their vehicles.

Analysis: Congratulations to everyone getting high mileage, I'm sure our poll average of 29.8 mpg / 7.9 L per 100 km is well ahead of the greater community. We'll be sure to run this poll again in the future so see if you can improve your score before then!

Be sure to vote in our next poll - What portion of your income do you spend on fuel?

Related:

• Direct Injection helps updated Cadillac V-6 get more power from less gas
• Nissan Skyline manages 38mpg in real world driving
• Six degrees of saving energy

Apparently there are only two 40+ mpg non-hybrid vehicles available on the U.S. market, but do you own one? We know you read AutoblogGreen, but just how fuel efficient is your vehicle?

Vote now.

Just how fuel efficient is your vehicle?
	10 mpg (23 L / 100 km)
	15 mpg (15.7 L / 100 km)
	20 mpg (11.8 L / 100 km)
	25 mpg (9.4 L / 100 km)
	30 mpg (7.8 L / 100 km)
	35 mpg (6.7 L / 100 km)
	40 mpg (5.9 L / 100 km)
	45 mpg (5.2 L / 100 km)
	50 mpg (4.7 L / 100 km)
	> 50 mpg
Free polls from Pollhost.com

In spite of rising gas prices in the United States, the number of cars capable of exceeding 40 mpg seems to be dropping. The Civil Society Institute will be releasing a report on February 14 indicating that although more and more high-mileage cars are becoming available in other markets, they aren't available here. According to a poll that they conducted, many Americans want higher mileage cars.

However, wanting higher mileage cars and buying them are two different things. American car-buyers seem to have a schizophrenic (and please don't bother to explain what schizophrenia really is because I know, I'm just using the word to make a point that people will understand) attitude. They want big, imposing cars and trucks with lots of power and high mileage, with the former taking priority. They don't seem to be willing to go with smaller, less powerful vehicles to get efficiency. This is of course a generalization since many people do buy smaller cars, but the majority still go big. So there just isn't enough demand (at least until gas prices go significantly higher) to support a larger supply of high mileage cars.

Another major issue in the drop in high mileage car availability is the temporary absence of the many of the diesel models that were previously available. This is of course due to changes in diesel emissions rules. The new engines that meet the new standards are becoming available in 2007, and more will be in the future. Over the next few years many more diesel vehicles will be available in the US along with plug-in hybrids and EVs. This should help to reverse the trend. Nonetheless, until American drivers start putting their money where their mouths are on mileage, it can only go so far.

[Source: TheAutoChannel]

Expect the mileage estimates published by the EPA to go down on 2008 model year vehicles, even if the vehicle itself has not changed. The percentage figures of the drops may be as high as 30 percent on some vehicles. The vehicles with the highest estimated mileage will be hit the hardest, including hybrid models such as the Toyota Prius.

The changes to mileage estimates are being made to appease buyers of vehicles who are unable to match the EPA's estimates. This has been quite a topic of conversation lately, due to the proliferation of hybrid models hitting the marketplace. Numerous web boards have discussions related to actual mileage numbers that users of the vehicles are returning.

It would be good to mention here that the mileage estimates by the EPA are not the same as the Corporate Average Fuel Economy numbers used by lawmakers to enforce mileage regulations on carmakers. Also, while it is possible for drivers to achieve drastically lower numbers than the EPA estimates, it is also possible to meet or exceed them. The numbers are being changed more to reflect drivers' habits than technology problems. The old numbers reported by the EPA were not "wrong", they were real figures which are completely achievable if the vehicle is driven under the same conditions as those the vehicle was tested under. Unfortunately, few drivers drove in a matter even remotely similar to the EPA tests. So, the new numbers are ultimately a good thing for consumers, even though they may make green cars seem a little less so.

Related:

• Your mileage will vary. On the new MPG estimates coming in 2008

[Source: msnbc.com]

When fuel prices are high it's especially important to make sure that your vehicles are properly maintained. For an engine to run efficiently, friction needs to be kept to a minimum. Changing your oil and filter is important to ensure that friction is minimized, and the internal parts don't wear excessively. Excess wear has environmental consequence because the engine will burn more fuel and also burn motor oil. Proper care of tires is also important. Under-inflated tires cause excessive roiling resistance, as do mis-aligned wheels.

In light of all of this Subaru has announced there support of Fall Car Care Month. Owners of Subaru cars can bring their cars into local dealerships for free inspections with particular focus on areas that minimize fuel consumption. Even if you don't have a Subaru, now is good time to have your car checked out and make sure that regular maintenance is being done. Full press release is after the jump.

[Source: Subaru]

It seems like all summer as we watched gas prices rise, we also saw countless reports on how American auto consumers were moving towards more fuel-efficient vehicles. J.D. Power and Associates has another report to add to the list called the 2006 Escaped Shopper Study with a few more insights.

Their study says that for new vehicle shoppers, gas mileage is increasingly being cited as a reason to not purchase a particular vehicle or model. It's at 17 percent, the third most cited reason, up from 13 percent in 2002. The first two reasons in order are "total price too high" and "total monthly payment too high."

Jeff Zupancic, director of retail research at J.D. Power, says that shoppers who reject one type of vehicle will typically purchase a smaller vehicle that is similar in configuration. As an example he states that about 50 percent of auto consumers who would have considered a compact sport utility vehicle with an average fuel economy of 18 mpg end up purchasing a compact crossover which on average will get 24 mpg.

One particularly interesting note from the study reveals that premium vehicle shoppers are just as likely to reject a car because of high cost. J.D. Power's press release doesn't extrapolate as to whether the same is true between premium consumers and the rest of us when it comes to rejecting a vehicle for low gas mileage. Though, one might imagine there is a correlation between the two.

Zupancic offers a bit of advice for the automakers and says that, "In the long term, vehicle models that offer a choice of engines, such as fuel efficient four-cylinders for those more sensitive to fuel prices, as well as more powerful six-cylinder engines for those seeking power, will have a distinct advantage in the market place."

One thing to keep in mind is that the study was conducted in May and July when gas prices were on the upswing, and as they say, what was true then, may not hold firm now. Although, now that the seed of high fuel prices has been planted in consumers' minds, we may very well see a continued concern for high mileage vehicles.

[Source: J.D. Power and Associates]

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its 2006 annual report this week and, to no one's surprise, it shows that the average fuel economy of vehicles hasn't changed since last year. Currently 2006 models are averaging 21 miles per gallon.

Reasons include consumer demand for SUV and pickups. Interestingly, passenger vehicles show a drop in average miles per gallon from 25 mpg in 2005 to 24.6 mpg this year. SUVs and trucks, on the other hand, rose slightly with SUV increasing 0.2 mpg while trucks rose 0.1 mpg.

The all-time mpg high was 22.1 mpg back in 1987-1988.

[Source: Associated Press via Washington Post]

I was talking to my neighbor yesterday and he told me he's getting ready to trade in his 9-mpg truck for a more economical car. He spends about $120 a week on gas as he commutes to work and he's had it. Turns out, he's not alone.

The Detroit Free Press had a story yesterday about a shift in consumer wants when it comes to fuel economy in their vehicles is leading to more people turning down trucks and SUVs in favor of fuel-efficient cars. The Free Press, always concerned with how the hometown companies will react to automotive trends, says this shift could hurt the Big Three and many autoworkers.

Consumer reports recently listed 23 vehicles it claims have good fuel economy. Detroit was responsible for just two of them, the Pontiac Vibe and the Ford Focus Wagon. The Freep even found a Detroit resident (pictured) whose grandfather worked for Henry Ford but was on the lot buying a Honda Civic because it had a good mileage rating and other top scores from Consumer Reports.

[Source: Detroit Free Press via Clean MPG]