The 15 Most Fuel Efficient Cars

Prius owners stay a little bit truer

(NEWSER) - America's love affair with hybrids has turned out to be more of a fling for many owners: A new study finds that when they go to trade in, about 65% of hybrid owners pass on getting another hybrid. The numbers, based on 2011 data, do fluctuate based on the model: Prius owners were slightly more likely to stick with a gas-electric ride, with 41% selecting another hybrid; for Honda hybrid owners, that number sunk to less than 20%, reports MSNBC . More»

Except for a few models, hybrids and electric cars take years to pay off

(NEWSER) - Thinking of buying a hybrid or electric vehicle to ease the pain at the pump? You may want to think again: A TrueCar.com study commissioned by the New York Times shows that, except in three cases, fuel-efficient technology is so expensive that these types of cars take years to pay off at today's gas prices—and that remains true even if gas were to hit $5 per gallon. In some cases, the average driver would take more than a decade to see savings over comparable conventional vehicles, which is a problem since the average person owns a car just six years. Most fuel-efficient cars will be more expensive to purchase and to drive for five years, at minimum. More»

(NEWSER) - Toyota plans to keep its lead in the environmentally friendly vehicle market with a new car to be released in 2011, Bloomberg reports. The vehicle, to be based on the company's Vitz compact, will be around 5% more fuel-efficient than its Prius and will sell for around $15,600, according to reports in Japanese media. The company plans to market the car in Japan, the US, and Europe. More»

Environmentally-conscious motorists also drive more, study says

(NEWSER) - Owners of hybrid vehicles tend to drive more, have higher repair bills, and get more tickets than their gas-guzzling counterparts, the Car Connection reports. A study of the behavior of 360,000 motorists found insurers pay 17% more for comprehensive coverage of hybrid owners compared to owners of conventional models. Toyota Prius owners specifically committed 0.38 violations per 100,000 miles driven, compared to an average of 0.23. More»

Even top exec fears hybrid will fail to herald new start for automaker

(NEWSER) - Success has many fathers, and for the forthcoming Chevrolet Volt, paternity claims could stretch from Detroit to Washington. But if the GM hybrid turns out to be an orphan, it could be because many of its backers, including a top GM exec, are ambivalent about its potential to rejigger the company’s gas-guzzling image, Michael Leahy writes for the Washington Post. More»