Fuel Efficiency

Diesel prices are at their highest level in nearly four years, topping $4 a gallon, but trucking company executive Fred Johring is taking it in stride. Johring's Golden State Express has bought low-emission, fuel-efficient diesel and natural gas rigs to comply with a clean-truck mandate at Southern California's twin ports — with the fortunate side effect of easing the pain of high-priced diesel. "We went from having one of the oldest local fleets to one of the newest," said Johring, whose Rancho Dominguez company sends trucks mainly on short-haul trips to and from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

BEIJING — Fuel-efficient vehicles are the rage in the United States, but in China gas-guzzling SUVs are looming large. Automakers including Ford Motor Co., Chrysler Group, Daimler and Land Rover are seizing on soaring popularity for the vehicles here, tailoring new models for Chinese consumers, and in some cases shifting manufacturing to China. Chinese drivers purchased about 2.1 million SUVs last year, according to LMC Automotive, a figure that's expected to double by 2014.

The recipe for Subaru's compact Impreza is getting a rewrite for 2012. Previously, it was like a bag of trail mix that skimped on the M&Ms. The Impreza was a hearty, go-anywhere offering that was long on nutrition but short on a key ingredient to sweeten the concoction and broaden its appeal. That ingredient was fuel economy, and for 2012, Subaru added it by the handful. The company now brags that this new model, available as a sedan and a hatchback, is the most fuel-efficient all-wheel-drive vehicle in the U.S. Throw in a touch of new styling and the acclaimed Subaru constitution of an ice-fishing nudist and the 2012 model is impressive indeed.

In a turnabout once unthinkable, Ford Motor Co. is bragging about how it now makes some of the smallest car engines in the industry. This is coming from a company whose trademark was selling big, powerful trucks, SUVs and the Mustang muscle car. Ford's race to smaller engines actually represents an industry shift as all automakers are wooing fuel-conscious consumers and working to meet increasingly stringent fuel economy standards, said Jesse Toprak,...

The Obama administration plans to raise fuel efficiency standards by two miles per gallon to a 27.3 average mpg for new cars and trucks in the 2011 model year, marking the first increase in passenger car standards in more than two decades. Under the changes, which are slightly less stringent than those proposed by the George W. Bush administration, new passenger cars will need to meet 30.2 mpg for the 2011 model year; and pickup trucks, SUVs and minivans will need to reach 24.

With national gasoline prices averaging about $3.80 a gallon and the fuel above $4 in many states, consumer auto information sites are taking a new look at the fuel economy of vehicles and making recommendations. Edmunds.com has an interesting report about the vehicles that have made the biggest leaps in fuel efficiency and the gains are pretty startling. It's obvious that the automakers know that gas prices are top of mind with consumers. Edmunds looked at the fuel economy of vehicles in the 2008 model year and again this year.  The industry has increased average fuel economy by 16%.  The Audi A3 had the biggest jump of any vehicle.

With national gasoline prices averaging about $3.80 a gallon and above $4 in many states, consumer auto information sites are taking a new look at the fuel economy of vehicles and making recommendations. Edmunds.com has a report about the vehicles that have made the biggest leaps in fuel efficiency, and the gains are pretty startling. It's obvious the automakers know that gas prices are top of mind with consumers. Edmunds looked at the fuel economy of vehicles in the 2008 model year and again this year.

The White House is preparing to slightly soften its proposal on new fuel-efficiency standards for cars and trucks, after weeks of talks with automakers lobbying for lower standards out of concern for the impact on their business. The Obama administration's initial suggestion was that automakers steadily increase fuel economy between 2017 and 2025 to a fleetwide average of 56.2 miles per gallon, although environmental activists have complained that a series of exemptions and credits would make the actual mileage substantially lower than that.

The Obama administration announced new rules Monday to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants by requiring greater fuel efficiency for big trucks, buses and other heavy-duty vehicles starting with 2014 models. The regulations, the first of their kind, call for a 20% reduction in heavy-vehicle emissions by 2018, which would require boosting fuel efficiency to an average of 8 miles per gallon, compared with 6 mpg now, experts estimate. Trucks and other heavy vehicles make up only 4% of the U.S. vehicle fleet, but given the distance they travel, the time they spend idling and their low fuel efficiency, they consume 20% of all vehicle fuel, said Don Anair, a senior analyst with the Union of Concerned Scientists' clean vehicles program.

I applaud The Times' article describing the complexities of the government's Strategic Petroleum Reserve ("Saving Oil for a Rainy Day," Dec. 13). I would point out, however, that SPR is neither the least expensive nor the lowest-risk option for enhancing America's energy security. This point was forcefully articulated in the 1981 energy security study done for the Defense Department's Civil Defense Preparedness Agency. SPR incurs not only a purchase cost, but storage costs and carrying charges as well.

Diesel prices are at their highest level in nearly four years, topping $4 a gallon, but trucking company executive Fred Johring is taking it in stride. Johring's Golden State Express has bought low-emission, fuel-efficient diesel and natural gas rigs to comply with a clean-truck mandate at Southern California's twin ports — with the fortunate side effect of easing the pain of high-priced diesel. "We went from having one of the oldest local fleets to one of the newest," said Johring, whose Rancho Dominguez company sends trucks mainly on short-haul trips to and from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

Look to General Motors Co.'s March sales numbers to see how Americans are adjusting to higher gas prices. The once truck-centric Detroit automaker said that combined sales of its 12 vehicles that achieve an estimated 30 miles per gallon or better on the highway, under U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standards, topped 100,000 last month, the highest total in company history. "Three years ago, about 16% of the vehicles GM sold achieved at least 30 mpg on the highway. Today, that number is about 40%," said Mark Reuss, president of GM North America.

Automakers posted the best monthly sales in almost five years, selling about 1.4 million vehicles in March as more confident consumers surged into showrooms looking to replace older vehicles and find more fuel-efficient ones. The sales total was 12.7% ahead of the same month last year and amounted to an annual sales pace of 14.4 million vehicles, after seasonal adjustments, according to industry research firm Autodata Corp. The March total was the best since the industry sold 1.47 million vehicles in August 2007.

Toyota Motor Corp. is raising prices on six models starting with vehicles produced in May. Depending on the model, the increase of $90 to $250 represents a hike of 0.3% to 1.5%. The models receiving price increases include the 2012 Toyota Prius v, Camry and Camry Hybrid, Highlander Hybrid, Tacoma pickup truck and the 2013 Scion tC. They are all fuel-efficient vehicles, which so far this year have been the hottest segment of the U.S. auto market, a reflection of how higher gas prices have shifted consumer preferences.

Just as in past gas spikes, the prices for used compact cars and hybrids are starting to rise quickly, according to auto information company Kelley Blue Book. While the average price of used fuel-efficient compacts at auction rose just a modest 0.4% in February, the values jumped 1.3% in the last week of the month. Hybrid prices rose by 3.6% in the last week, Kelley Blue Book said. “The 2010 Toyota Prius led in gains, increasing in value $1,370 through the month of February,” said Alec Gutierrez, an analyst at Kelley Blue Book.  “Dealers have been aggressively bidding on fuel-efficient vehicles at auction as consumer demand increases in response to rising gas prices.

With national gasoline prices averaging about $3.80 a gallon and above $4 in many states, consumer auto information sites are taking a new look at the fuel economy of vehicles and making recommendations. Edmunds.com has a report about the vehicles that have made the biggest leaps in fuel efficiency, and the gains are pretty startling. It's obvious the automakers know that gas prices are top of mind with consumers. Edmunds looked at the fuel economy of vehicles in the 2008 model year and again this year.

Americans are buying cars at a faster rate than they have in four years as rising gas prices and easier-to-get financing are driving more buyers to dealership showrooms. Bolstered by a surge in sales of fuel-efficient vehicles, automakers sold cars at an annualized sales rate of 15.1 million in February, which coincidently marked the industry's best performance since the February of the last leap year in 2008. They are selling to buyers such as recent college graduate Lindsey Roberts, an Atlanta resident who went shopping earlier this month to replace her 12-year-old Chrysler that got less than 20 miles per gallon.

By deciding to set the first fuel efficiency standards for big-rig trucks, President Obama on Friday handed environmentalists a victory, but one that the vehicle industry said it was happy to embrace. At a televised Rose Garden ceremony at the White House, Obama signed a memorandum ordering federal agencies to prepare plans for the fuel efficiency standards. The president argued that the standards were needed to ease the United States' dependency on foreign oil and help reduce greenhouse gases and pollutants.

With national gasoline prices averaging about $3.80 a gallon and the fuel above $4 in many states, consumer auto information sites are taking a new look at the fuel economy of vehicles and making recommendations. Edmunds.com has an interesting report about the vehicles that have made the biggest leaps in fuel efficiency and the gains are pretty startling. It's obvious that the automakers know that gas prices are top of mind with consumers. Edmunds looked at the fuel economy of vehicles in the 2008 model year and again this year.  The industry has increased average fuel economy by 16%.  The Audi A3 had the biggest jump of any vehicle.