Fuel economy en Espanol

The feds are setting up a Spanish-language version of their popular fuelconomy.gov website, which provides official government data on fuel economy and tailpipe emissions for thousands of vehicles.

The site, www.ahorremosgasolina.org (“Let’s save gas”), currently provides only a condensed rendering of the government’s key fuel economy data, which covers every car and light truck sold in the United States dating back to the 1884 model year. It also has a Spanish translation of the English-language site’s “Gas Mileage Tips” section.

More pages of the site will be translated into Spanish in the near future, according to a spokesman for the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, which maintains the site in partnership with the Environmental Protection Agency.

As it is currently set up, typing in the Spanish-language URL will take you to fueleconomy.gov. There is a link on the right side of the home page that takes you to the Spanish-language version. Oak Ridge is still trying to decide whether to configure the URL so that it would take a user directly to the Spanish-language site.

Fueleconomy.gov has proved popular with the public. It gets more than 100,000 visitors a day -- not bad for a site that isn’t selling books or music downloads.

-- Martin Zimmerman

Image: A Spanish-language page from Ahorremosgasolina.org with tips on saving gas. Credit: Department of Energy

Prius tops 2010 EPA fuel economy rankings

Love ‘em or hate ‘em, hybrids have gone mainstream.

Nine of the top 10 vehicles in government’s fuel economy rankings for the 2010 model year are hybrids. And they come from six different automakers and carry nine different nameplates.

“There’s now a hybrid for everyone,” the government said in releasing the latest findings. “It’s not either a (Toyota) Prius or a (Honda) Insight anymore.”

The Prius hybrid was once again the leader, with fuel economy of 51 miles per gallon in city driving and 48 mpg on the highway, according to the Environmental Protection Agency’s testing methodology. Other vehicles in the top 10 include the Ford Fusion hybrid and its Mercury Milan twin, the Civic and Insight hybrids from Honda and the Nissan Altima.

(To see the full top 10, as well as lists of the most fuel-efficient vehicles by category and the 10 biggest gas-guzzlers, check out this PDF: Download Highest Fuel Economy Models by Vehicle Class.)

The only non-hybrid at the top of the list was the tiny Smart For Two from Daimler, which clocked in at 33 mpg city/41 highway.

One car you won’t find on the list is the Tesla Roadster — or any of the electric cars now silently plying the nation’s roads in growing numbers. The EPA is still trying to figure out how to measure fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions in electric cars and plug-in hybrids in a way that will provide meaningful comparisons with traditional gasoline- and diesel-powered cars.

The bottom of the rankings were populated by expensive gas-burners from Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz, Bentley and the like — cars whose owners presumably can pay the extra cost at the pump without blinking.

The award for worst fuel economy goes to the Lamborghini Murcielago, which has a base MSRP of $392,400 and burns 34.3 barrels of oil a year, or $4,230 worth of gas, according to the EPA. The Prius, which carries a base sticker of $22,000, burns 6.9 barrels of oil annually, or $774 worth of gas.

To check out your vehicle’s fuel economy stats and compare them with other makes and models, go to fueleconomy.gov.

-- Martin Zimmerman

Photo: 2010 Ford Fusion hybrid

Photo credit: Ford Motor Co.

2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid -- an eco-driving game on wheels

Conventional wisdom says that video games are becoming more like real life, but maybe it's the other way around. Trying to navigate the various screens and digital readouts on the 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid was more of a challenge than navigating the twists and turns of Laurel Canyon. Like any new game, it took awhile to get used to all the buttons and readouts. Was I supposed to hit left, left, up, right? Did it have a Konami code? Where was the pause button?

Suddenly, on one of the car's multiple screens, a digital vine rewarded my efficient driving by growing a couple leaves. I wasn't sure what I was doing, but at least I was doing it well. Then I accelerated too fast with the 191-net-horsepower engine and a leaf fell off. I spent the rest of the drive obsessed with Ford's version of the Tamagotchi.

A keychain-bound digital pet wasn't my only late-90's flashback while sitting in the Fusion's drivers seat. Something about this midsized sedan reminded me of the fourth generation Nissan Maxima, a slightly larger car that completely outpaced expectations and delivered some serious bang-for-the-buck. Both of these comfortable vehicles looked pedestrian on the outside, but were a lot of fun behind the wheel. The Fusion, of course, achieves most of this with digital gadgetry that's sure to leave kids giddy and geezers confused. I'm closer to the kid generation, so I liked it.

Priced around $30,000, the Fusion isn't an entry-level hybrid, but you won't need a bailout to afford one. It's in that sweet spot between "Hey, look at me!" and "Psst, don't tell anybody about my good deal."

Insight vs. Prius battle heats up

 Head to the movies this summer and you’re going to see some battles.  Harry Potter vs. Lord Voldemort.  John Connor vs. angry motorcycles.  Mr. Spock vs. true fans.  But one more battle is shaping up to be a knock-down, drag-out slugfest:  the battle between Honda’s 2010 Insight and Toyota’s 2010 Prius.

Back in March, Honda struck first when it announced the pricing on its little eco-baby: $20,470.  It was a clear shot across the bow of Toyota, whose own green darling (the third-generation Prius) hits U.S. and Japanese dealers in a week or so, with a starting price of $22,750. 

Ostensibly, Honda’s bargain-bin pricing shook Toyota up a bit. 

New fuel economy rules spark debate

The Obama administration’s first stab at raising mileage standards for cars and light trucks is getting mixed reviews today.

The Department of Transportation set the combined fuel economy standard for the 2011 model year at 27.3 miles per gallon. That would be an increase of two miles per gallon from the 2010 industry average for cars and light trucks, which include pickups and sport utility vehicles, according to the government. (Read the 857-page rule here.)

It’s the first step toward implementing a 2007 law aimed at raising the Corporate Average Fuel Economy standard, or CAFE, to 35 miles per gallon by the 2020 model year. It was the first increase in CAFE standards for cars since the mid-1980s.

Much of the debate over the new CAFE requirements is focused on whether California will be allowed to impose its own emissions standards on the automakers — which have the effect of creating de facto mileage standards that could prove tougher to meet than the ones coming out of Washington.

Under the Bush administration, the Environmental Protection Agency denied California its long-held option to set its own, tougher air pollution targets independent of federal regulators. The Golden State rules had already been adopted by some other states, creating what auto companies have long complained is a patchwork quilt of state and federal regulations.

Honda's new hybrid is hot in Japan

The new Honda Insight hybrid, slated to go on sale in April in the U.S., is already big in Japan.

Reuters reported today that Honda has received almost triple the number of orders it expected for the car after it went on sale in its homeland on Feb 6.

“The response has been overwhelming,” Honda executive Hiroshi Kobayashi told reporters at a test-drive event in Tokyo. Demand has been such that the automaker intends to expand its production plans for the car, Kobayashi said, although he declined to specify by how much.

The Insight, he added,  is drawing interest from a broad range of vehicle owners, from mini-vehicles to sedans to minivans. There’s currently a 30-day wait to take delivery of a new Insight.

The strong response is occurring even as the Japanese auto market suffers through the same slump that is depressing auto sales around the globe. New vehicle sales were off 20% last month in Japan.

The Insight’s popularity could be due to its price — it starts at around 1.89 million yen (just under $20,000 at current exchange rates), almost 20% less than the rival Toyota Prius.

In Japan, Honda is also boasting fuel economy of around 61 miles per gallon for the Inisght. Based on U.S. mileage tests, the current-generation Prius gets 46 MPG in combined city/highway driving. The third-generation Prius, due in showrooms in the U.S. and Japan this spring, will get around 50 MPG combined, Toyota has said.

You may remember that the original Insight, a futuristic looking two-seat that hit these shores in December 1999 — actually beating the Prius to the U.S. market by more than six months. The Prius made up the lost ground, however, and became the purpose-built hybrid of choice for Americans. The original Insight was R.I.P. by 2006.

The new Insight is slated to go on sale in the U.S. in April. Officially unveiled at the Detroit auto show in January, it has been lampooned a bit for looking too much like, well, the Prius. But, as in Japan, it’s expected to cost less than the Toyota hybrid, which should be an important selling point in these economically challenged times.

-- Martin Zimmerman

Photo: The new Honda Insight hybrid is unveiled at the Prince Park Tower hotel in Tokyo on Feb. 5. Photo credit: Gianni Giosue / European Pressphoto Agency

Automotive X Prize deadline draws near

While big automakers struggle for survival, a bunch of small fry are keeping their eyes on the prize — as in the $10-million Progressive Automotive X Prize.

So far, about 40 vehicles have been entered in the competition, and the X Prize Foundation expects to have 50 entrants by the Feb. 28 sign-up deadline. (A partial list of entrants is available here.)

The goal is to develop clean, production-capable vehicles with fuel economy ratings of better than 100 miles per gallon (or, for electric and other alternative-powertrain vehicles, the equivalent thereof). To win, the vehicle must also win a stage race to be held in various U.S. cities next year.

In addition, the foundation announced today that it had enlisted Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports magazine, to evaluate the vehicles for safety and performance.

The $10-million prize — donated by sponsor Progressive Insurance — will be split 50-50 between the winners in the two main categories: Mainstream, which encompasses your basic four-wheel, four-passenger car; and Alternative, which includes electric motorcycles, bicycles, three-wheelers and the like.

What passes for “mainstream” in this event is, well, not exactly mainstream. For instance, Physics Lab of Lake Havasu is entering the Green Giant, a four-wheel drive SUV that runs on photovoltaics, steam/waste heat, weight exploiting hydraulics, hydrogen and electricity from rechargeable batteries.

Robert Luther, owner of Kinetix Motors of Santa Ana, is entering his sharp E4 Sport Hatch — a ground-up design that’s basically a diesel-electric hybrid that will also draw on solar and thermal energy for power.

Toyota thinks small

What to do when the car market gets smaller? Build smaller cars.

At least that’s what Toyota apparently has in mind as it tries to weather the global downturn in auto sales. According to the Associated Press, the Japanese automaker may bring its iQ ultra-compact car to the U.S. market, where it would vie for leadership in the fuel economy rankings and pose a challenge to Daimler’s Smart Fortwo two-seater.

“The Toyota iQ microcar being sold in Japan and Europe is another example of the world platform that we may want to adapt to the U.S. market,” Don Esmond, a senior VP at Toyota’s Torrance-based U.S. sales operation, told an industry conference in Detroit this week.

Esmond didn’t specify when the iQ, which went on sale in Japan and Europe last year, might be available in America.

Toyota refers to the two-door car, which the automaker says can seat three adults and a child, as an “urban commuter vehicle." At around 10 feet long, the iQ is about a foot longer than the Smart Fortwo, which is a shade under 9 feet in length, and it’s about 4 feet shorter than a Toyota Yaris.

But for MPG-conscious consumers, the most important number will be the one on the EPA sticker. Under Japanese standards, the car is rated at 54.1 miles per gallon. If it achieves similar results under the EPA's fuel economy standards, the iQ would get the best mileage of any car sold in America by a major manufacturer, including Toyota’s own Prius gasoline-electric hybrid. (The 2009 Smart Fortwo coupe has a combined city/highway EPA rating of 36 MPG.)

Daimler sold just under 25,000 Smart Fortwos in the U.S. last year, the first year it was widely available here. That was about the same number of Beetles sold by Volkswagen.

Rebecca Lindland, an analyst with IHS Global Insight, told AP that microcars appeal to some buyers but can be a tough sell to most American motorists.

“There’s a novelty aspect to these vehicles, and as long as the manufacturer understands that they’re going to get novelty car volumes, then fine,” she said.

-- Martin Zimmerman

Photo: Crowds check out the new Toyota iQ ultra compact in Japan last year. Credit: Associated Press

Ford's Fusion hybrid is a real gas-sipper

Ford has grabbed the fuel-economy crown in the nation’s largest car segment — just in time to see gasoline fall to its lowest price in five years.

Ford said today that its new 2010 Fusion hybrid has been certified by the EPA at 41 mpg/city and 36 mpg/highway, with a combined rating of 39 miles per gallon. That beats the hybrid versions of its competitors in the mid-sized sedan segment (at least based on their 2009 EPA ratings): the Toyota Camry (33 city/34 highway); Chevy Malibu (26/34); and the Nissan Altima (35/33).

In fact, based on the competition’s ’09 ratings for combined city and highway driving, the new Fusion hybrid beats every widely sold vehicle in America except the Toyota Prius hybrid (46 mpg combined) and the smaller Honda Civic hybrid (42 mpg combined).

The new Fusion -- which will go on sale in the spring-- also boasts a few nifty technology tweaks. The electric side of the car’s hybrid power train is powered by a smaller nickel-metal hydride battery that produces 20% more power than the one used in Ford’s previous hybrid system. The battery runs cooler than the old battery and can accelerate the car to 47 miles per hour before the gasoline engine kicks in.

With a suggested list price of about $27,000, however, the Fusion hybrid costs $1,500 more than the ’09 Chevy Malibu hybrid and $1,000 more than a Camry hybrid, based on retail price information from Edmunds.com. The federal hybrid tax credit should eliminate that gap with the Camry, which is no longer eligible for the credit.

A tougher sell may be convincing consumers to pay the $8,000 premium over a basic Fusion (20 MPG city/28 highway) at a time when gas prices are tumbling. The current price in California for a gallon of regular is $1.806, according to AAA. That’s down 60% from its high last summer. And in New York trading today, gasoline futures fell to December 2003 lows.

“Fuel economy will never go out of style,” Ford spokesman John Clinard said. “No matter what the price of gas is, people always want to save money at the pump.”

All those Hummers and Explorers plying area freeways may belie that statement. But there’s no denying that the Fusion hybrid — which is being be built in Mexico — arrives at a propitious time for U.S. automakers, which have been roundly criticized in Washington for failing to match their foreign competitors in the area of fuel economy technology.

-- Martin Zimmerman

Photo: 2010 Ford Fusion hybrid. Credit: Ford Motor Co.

A Big Three magic-carpet ride

The Big Three are going on a big road trip. One of them is driving a Ford, one a Chevy and one vaporware.

Last month, the chief executives of General Motors, Ford Motor and Chrysler ate a Chevy Suburban-size portion of humble pie after lawmakers discovered they had flown in private jets to Washington to ask for $25 billion in aid.

"There's a delicious irony in seeing private luxury jets flying into Washington, D.C., and people coming off of them with tin cups in their hands," said Rep. Gary L. Ackerman (D-N.Y.), not long before Congress sent the execs back to Detroit to come up with a better plan.

Now they're heading back to Washington, but this time they're driving. One report said that driving rather than flying private, once all the expenses are totted up, could save the automakers $15,000, which could help explain why the companies felt comfortable requesting $9 billion more this time around.

On Tuesday, Ford's CEO, Alan Mulally, began his drive in a Ford Escape hybrid, taking time to give ...