People have always tried to guess how things would be different in the future. The future of the automobile has been a much loved topic of TV shows and cartoons for years. How did you imagine we would travel in the year 2010? The self-driven taxi from Total Recall? Hovering craft like in Star Wars? The sky was the limit, literally, for what cars would look like. Continue reading »

There has been a gaping hole in the mid-sized car segment from Ford with the loss of the Taurus a few years back.  Originally introduced in Ford’s 2006 line-up, the Fusion has new modications including the new Hybrid power plant.  What makes this Ford so special is the excellent in-town gas mileage that the hybrid can get.  The Environemetal Protection Agency gives the Fusion a rating of 41 Miles Per Gallon which is much better than the Toyota Camry, and even better than the fuel efficient Civic Hybrid; all this from a medium sized hybrid car.  The electric engine can get the Ford moving and can continue to power the car up to a limit of 47 mile per hour before the gas engine kicks in.  This system has been used by many to get better MPG than the EPA says is possible. Continue reading »

What’s better than a car that runs on hydrogen?  A car that can run on hydrogen and gasoline.
Alternative fuels are good for the environment and reduce our reliance on a scarce resource, but they’re not always practical. For a while now we’ve had the technology for hydrogen cars, electric cars, biodiesel cars and more. Why aren’t they in widespread use yet?  Because regular people can’t use these vehicles to meet their needs as efficiently as cars that run on Conventional fuels. Continue reading »

Top Pick Green Car

Toyota Prius was named the Top Green Car for 2009.  This is no big surprise, since the Prius has taken this award for the last five years.  With more hybrids coming onto the market, you’d think the Prius would have some serious competition, but so far no one has quite measured up.  (Although the Honda Civic Hybrid is pretty close.) The base model Prius gets 44 mpg, while the Touring gets 42 mpg. That’s especially important now that gas prices are on the rise again.

2009 Pruis Hybrid

Most Bang for the Buck

The Prius also got the top award in the new Most Bang for the Buck category.  For the first time, Consumer Reports has combined owner cost over the first five years with performance and reliability ratings to come up with a Bucks per Bang number.  Toyota Prius Touring Hybrid got $325 bucks per bang.  Compare that to $385 for the Mazda3 Hatchback and $455 for the Mitsubishi Outlander.

Owner Satisfaction

With almost 425,000 car owners weighing in, Toyota Prius takes top honors in the “Would You Buy Your Car if You Had it to Do All Over” test. That pretty much says it all.

2009 Toyota Prius

Price Isn’t Everything

The most cost effective cars are not always the cheapest cars. If a car isn’t well made, it’s going to cost you in repairs and down time. If it has a low resale value, it was more expensive in the long run.  The smart car buyer takes all of these costs into consideration before buying a car.

Source: Consumer Reports, April 2009