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The Obama administration has reached a compromise with automakers on a new fuel economy target for cars and trucks, ending months of negotiations on this pivotal mandate for the auto industry. Automakers' fleets will now have to average 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025, according to people familiar with the plan. Chief executives at the major automakers could sign off on the plan as early as Wednesday night, one of the people said. President Barack Obama will officially announce new guidelines on Friday, the White House said.

A new report says the Obama Admin.’s proposed 62 mpg (3.8 L/100 km) fuel-economy target for 2025 could kill hundreds of thousands of jobs, put a $55,000 sticker on an ordinary family car and deliver only minor savings to consumers. The study was produced by the Ann Arbor, MI-based Center for Automotive Research, which has been a darling of the White House in recent months.

Next year, Mazda will sell a car in Japan that gets 70.5 miles per gallon (mpg), or 30 kilometers per liter. The fuel economy rating won't be nearly this good in the United States because of differing requirements, but even so, the car will likely use about as little fuel as a hybrid such as the Toyota Prius--without that car's added costs for its electric motor and batteries. The Mazda, a subcompact called the Demio in Japan and the Mazda 2 elsewhere, will include a package of changes that improves fuel economy by about 30 percent over the current model....

Auto Safety: As a Toyota Prius with a stuck accelerator races down a California freeway, no one mourns the victims of the fuel economy standards imposed by Congress. Forced into smaller cars, thousands have died. We can barely imagine the panic felt by James Sikes, 61, as his Toyota Prius accelerated uncontrollably while he drove down Interstate 8 in San Diego County. We can imagine the continuation of the grandstanding by the owners of "government motors" as they further browbeat a competitor of government-run GM and Chrysler. We do not minimize the safety issues here that need to be addressed,...

Transonic Combustion, based in Camarillo, CA, has developed a gasoline fuel injection system that can improve the efficiency of gasoline engines by 50 to 75 percent, beating the fuel economy of hybrid vehicles. A test vehicle the size and weight of a Toyota Prius (but without hybrid propulsion) showed 64 miles per gallon for highway driving. The company says the system can work with existing engines, and costs about as much as existing high-end fuel injection.

WASHINGTON – Billed as a way for the government to put more fuel-efficient vehicles on highways, the popular $3 billion Cash for Clunkers program mostly involved swaps of old Ford or Chevrolet pickups for new ones that got only marginally better gas mileage, according to an analysis of new federal data by The Associated Press. The single most common swap — which occurred more than 8,200 times — involved Ford F150 pickup owners who took advantage of a government rebate to trade their old trucks for new Ford F150s

Conservation: The Chevy Volt is said to be able to get 230 miles per gallon. That's if it's continually plugged into a fragile and overburdened power grid. Where will you be when the lights go out? Since most U.S. electricity generation is not carbon-free, the Congressional Research Service agrees. The "widespread adoption of plug-in hybrid vehicles through 2030 may have only a small effect on, and might actually increase, carbon emissions," it observes. "If you are using coal-fired power plants and half the country's electricity comes from coal powered plants, are you just trading one greenhouse gas emitter for another?"...

Regulation: Ignoring the first rule of holes, a bankrupt state passing out IOUs welcomes an EPA waiver allowing it to further kill its economy. Too bad the state can't stop the air pollution imported from a growing China. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday granted California its long-standing request — denied by the Bush administration — for a waiver to allow it to impose even more stringent air pollution rules than currently required by the federal government.The way is now clear for implementation of a 2002 state law requiring new cars to increase their fuel economy 40% by 2016....

For those interested in such things. Freepers that have farm experience are aware of how efficient diesel tractors are. I put five gallons in mine and bush hog all summer. Here is a link to some guys that convert vehicles to tractor power and have gotten as much as 50mpg from a full size pickup! http://www.shadetreeconversions.com/

A radical twin-fuel engine from Ford, code-named “Bobcat,” that variably blends gasoline and ethanol on demand to realize diesel-like performance continues to make steady progress in its development, according to presentations made by the automaker to the Department of Energy and Society of Automotive Engineers in April. The presentations also provide a first look at the engine’s architecture and make some remarkable claims about “E85-optimized” engine efficiency versus size.

Two months ago I did what most environmentalists would consider unthinkable. I purchased my first 4X4 vehicle. Since I wasn't planning on using it as my primary vehicle, I wasn't willing to shell out the multiple thousands of dollars involved in purchasing new. The logical choice was to pick an early 1990's model which was still in good condition. I found one with electronic fuel injection, A/C, and power everything. Even though it's verging on its twenty year birthday, it is still a sharp looking vehicle in very good condition. So, imagine my surprise at the responses of my friends...

President Barack Obama will issue new vehicle emission standards and pair them with a broader goal of reducing pollution, marking the first time limits on greenhouse gases will be linked to federal standards for cars and trucks. The Wall Street Journal reported that the administration will raise fuel economy standards to 35 miles per gallon by 2016, four years earlier than federal law requires. Officials familiar with the administration's discussions say Obama will unveil the new standards on Tuesday. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the official announcement had not been made. California, 13 other states and the...

Politicians want you to pay more when you drive. They just won't admit it."We must ensure that the fuel-efficient cars of tomorrow are built right here in the United States of America," President Barack Obama declared yesterday. He also signed an order directing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to review the denial of California's request to set its automobile mileage standards higher than those adopted by the federal government. In 2007, Congress passed and President George Bush signed legislation aimed at increasing Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards to at least 35 miles per gallon (mpg) by 2020, up from...

The federal Environmental Protection Agency maintains a full laboratory where it will gladly test a miraculous fuel-saving device for $30,000. But so far, the biggest customer of the lab has been the Federal Trade Commission, which uses it to debunk false advertising claims. Such claims of astounding mileage gains have increased as gizmos promising gas savings — some newly hatched and others a fresh twist on old themes — have proliferated, draining the pockets of gullible drivers seeking relief from high gasoline prices. From clamp-on magnets to water sprays, from air spinners and vaporizers to fuel vibrators and gas tank...

< > Say you have the ability to trade in a 10 MPG SUV for a 20 MPG crossover, or a 25 MPG car for a 50 MPG hybrid. Which switch is better for the environment? As it turns out, the former, even though one might be tempted to say that the former only improves efficiency by 10 MPG while the latter improves it by 25. Assume a 100 mile trip. The SUV will consume 10 gallons versus 5 gallons for the crossover for a net savings of 5 gallons. The car will consume 4 gallongs versus 2 gallons for...

Sure you want to save gas, but there's a lot of bad advice on how to do it. Some of it makes no difference, and some of it can wind up costing you. With gasoline prices hitting record levels, it seems everyone has a tip on how to save fuel. Much of the advice is well-intentioned, but in the end, much of it won't lower your gas bill. Here's a look at a few misconceptions: #1. Fill Your Tank in the Morning You may have heard that it's best to fill your gas tank in the early morning while the...

When gas prices began to shoot up last summer, Millie Richardson became fed up with her minivan. So the Lawrenceville, N.J., mom traded in her Dodge Caravan for a $17,000 Nissan Versa, a subcompact that gets more than 30 miles per gallon. Richardson, 55, likes spending less at the pump, but she's most excited about how roomy her little car is. "My son is 6-foot-6, and he drove it," she marvels. "So it's small, but it's big—does that make sense?" What's even more appealing to Richardson, though, is a $2,500 car she's heard about that was introduced in India last...

WASHINGTON, (AP) -- After weeks of uncertainty, House Democrats have decided against a confrontation over automobile fuel economy when they take up energy legislation later this week.

Long-term, it seems certain that more of us will be driving small cars. The big question is whether manufacturers will build any of these vehicles in this country or whether plants in Korea, China, Eastern Europe and elsewhere will grab most of the business. The domestic manufacturers are already sourcing a large number of passenger cars from outside the U.S. Ford Motor (nyse: F) builds its Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan and Lincoln MKZ in a Mexican factory. Half of Ford's Focus output also comes from Mexico, while its Ford Crown Victoria and Mercury Grand Marquis come from a Canadian plant...

WASHINGTON - A plan to increase fuel efficiency standards to an average of 35 miles per gallon by 2020 won approval from a Senate panel Tuesday in a vote closely watched by automakers and environmental groups. The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee approved the measure, which would raise the nationwide fleet fuel economy average by about 40 percent from current levels of 25 mpg for cars and trucks. The bill, approved on a voice vote, would also increase standards by 4 percent a year from 2020 through 2030. "This is not a perfect bill, but I think we have...