'Cash for Clunkers' Plan Hits Skids With Auto Experts

Conventional cars are giving hybrids a run for their money

(NEWSER) - Hybrids are gas-sipping wonders, and electric cars may be the green wave of the future, but oil-addicted America's best hope may be ... the conventional gasoline engine, reports the Washington Post . GM, Ford, and Hyundai are now selling cars with conventional engines that get 40mpg or better on the highway, and getting there wasn't that hard: Chevy shaved 200 hundred pounds off its Cruze Eco, tightened the aerodynamics, upgraded the engine, and is now squeezing 50mpg out of the car. More»

You'll save money, and local businesses get a boost

(NEWSER) - Think of it as the "bicycle economy," writes Elly Blue in Grist . Ditching your car for a bike not only saves you thousands of dollars every year, it boosts local businesses. "It's amazing how much money can stay in your community when it isn't being pumped into the gas tank, big insurance, and the auto market," she writes. It's not about bike shops—it's about all those other businesses and restaurants that a thriving community of bicyclists supports within about a 5-mile radius. More»

VW Beetles, small SUVs most popular for women

(NEWSER) - Women seem to agree on the cars they want to drive—just nine vehicle models have more female registrants than male, according to a survey of vehicle records. The top pick for women is the Volkswagen Beetle, and after that, a strong preference for small sport-utility vehicles emerges, the LA Times reports. The top 9:

1. Volkswagen Beetle
2. Nissan Rogue
3. Hyundai Tucson

Most common trade was old pickup (15-17 mpg) for new (1-3 better)

(NEWSER) - Think most who traded in a clunker under the government’s fuel-efficiency incentive program are now driving a hybrid? Guess again: The most common swap was an old, gas-guzzling pickup for a new, just-slightly-less-gas-guzzling pickup, AP analysis finds. Ford’s F150 is a prime example—it gets 1-3 mpg more than the 15-17 of older models, and those who traded ‘em in were 17 times more likely to get a new F150 than a Toyota Prius. More»

(NEWSER) - Some cars’ gas mileage is good enough to make them ineligible for the cash-for-clunkers program—but that’s not the only reason David Holahan doesn’t want to turn in his old rides. “I’m all for stimulating the economy, cleaning air, and improving fuel economy,” he writes in the Christian Science Monitor. “But there are better ways to achieve all that than throwing away perfectly serviceable vehicles as though they were disposable razors.” More»