Cheap Gas Car Blog

GM Volt to Debut by 2010

General Motors want to unveil plug-in hybrid by 2010, and sell as many as Toyota’s Prius.

After releasing a couple new photos of their highly anticipated plug-in hybrid car, GM says this will be it’s first real foray into extended range electric vehicle driving.

GM reports that the plug-in Volt will drive up to 40 miles on battery power alone, before requiring it’s gasoline engine to kick in.  GM has been testing the Volt’s powertrain and plug-in battery system for the last several months, in several different body types, but has not yet publicly released production photo’s of the Volt to the public yet.  The design for the new Volt is done, it just hasn’t been released.  This new electric plug-in vehicle, the Chevy Voly, is supposed to hit the showrooms in 2010.

More Fuel Efficient Vehicles

A continuation of the best gas mising cars available on the market today.

Nissan Altima Hybrids are a little hard to find right now, so get your hands on one if there happens to be a dealer nearby that has it in stock.  This car gets 34 miles per gallon, and is a very nice car, and does not look anything like a hybrid.  The hybrid technology in the Altima is shared with the Toyota Camry Hybrid, although this Altima’s tech has been adjusted to give the drivers even better in the city mileage, but that is made possible by making highway mileage not as great.  however, a great car.

The Smart ForTwo is compact, sporty, and you can literally park it just about anywhere!  It averages 36 miles per gallon, and at a starting price of only $11500, you simply cant go wrong!  Though the car takes very little fuel, it only sports a 1 liter threee cylinder motor, making it able to drive a long way between fill ups.

Ford’s Escape Hybrid averages 32 miles per gallon, which is very good for a sport utility vehicle.  Although this figure is for the front wheel drive only, it is the most fuel efficient sport utility that you can buy.  If you’re into these things still, I mean, it’s up to you.

Last, but not least, Toyota’s Yaris.  This car averages 32 miles per gallon. this is a budget entry car, priced just above $11000, and is a great car if you’re looking to save some gas.  Isn’t that what all these cars are about?  The Yaris is a sporty youthful car, not as luxurious as th Nissan Altima or Camry Hybrids, however, at this price you can’t go wrong.

Top Fuel Efficient Vehicles

Four of the best gas misers available on the Market, each of which can stand on their own merit.

If you are looking into buying a new car, there are so many options for you to choose from right now. The hybrids of course are out there, but there are still a few other models that will save you lots of cash at the gas pump, and still be sporty enough to drive without giving up the luxury you’ve become accustomed to.

First up, the Honda Civic GX.  This car gets an overall fuel rating of 28 miles per gallon, making it a contender in this article.  However, this Honda does not run on gas, it runs on compressed natural gas, which will save you even more money.  Honda also provides a kit that lets you tap into your home’s natural gas supply, in case you don’t have a natral gas dealer station nearby.

Next up, the Toyota Prius.  We all have heard of the Prius, as it’s the first car that comes to mind when talking about Hybrids.  It gets an average of 46 miles per gallon, and costs around $21000 to buy from a dealer.  You can NOT go wrong with a toyota prius, our favorite car here at cheap-gas-cars.

The Honda Civic Hybrid gets a decent 42 miles per gallon,  while using electric motors to recharge a battery pack that helps out the little 1.3 liter motor.  The best part about the Civic Hybrid, it qualifies for a federal tax credit in the sum of $2100.

Next up, the Toyota Camry Hybrid.  Averaging 34 miles per gallon, this is a very nice car that doesn’t scream “hybrid!”.   While driving, your instrument gauges, mainly the speedometer and fuel economy ones, will glow brighter as your fuel economy increases, according to your driving habits.  This is a very cool features that should be highlighted on the other vehicles.

I’ll present some more fuel efficient vehicles in tomorrows edition of cheap gas cars.

California Company Rents Hybrids

New company will rent you a Prius, Camry Hybrid, as well as other electric hybrid vehicles.

The company, named EQO, has gotten into the car rental game, with a twist.  It will only rent electric hybrid vehicles.

They are targeting more affluent customers, inlcuding celebrities, eco-conscious groups, and concept car afficionados.  The vehicles they plan to carry in their rental line-up include the Toyota Prius, Toyota Camry Hybrid, Ford Escape Hybrid, Lexus LS 600h L, GMC Yukon, Chevy Taho, Nissan Altima, and Toyota Highlander Hybrids.  It will cost you fifty nine dollars for the Prius, and climb all the way up to six hundred and fifty dollars for the Lexus. 

They have stated to have plans to broaden their electric vehicle line-up to include hybrids such as the Chevy Volt, Cadillac Escalade, Smart car, and Porsche hybrids.  This new company plans to expand into more high-end hybrids as well.  This would be a great way for peple who have never driven a hybrid to get out there and spend the day in one before they make a plunge to buy.

Nissan’s New FR Hybrid Gives Prius Run For Money

Nissans new electric vehicle will go further on a tank that Toyota’s Prius electric vehicle.

Nissan’s test vehicle is based on their current Skyline car, and it packs a Li-ion battery system, with the transmission integrated with the electric motor and two clutches, and is slated to be mass-produced, though not in the skyline offering, by the year 2010.

The new hybrid has a specially manufactured electric motor-integrated transmission, allowing the car to become a pure electric when using only the electric motor, and also using energy that was recouped from the braking system as well.

The gas engine can be used to recharge the battery packs, even when the vehicle isn’t in motion.  Once the gas engine is engaged, it will run in the leanest most fuel-efficient manner possible.

Overall, it seems as thouh the motor will provide a charge comparable if not further than the charge given by the Toyota Prius, while maintaining the energy in the battery packs for a longer distance and time.  If true, it seems this could be a great hybrid once it hits the market in 2010.

Ten Best Ways to Increase Fuel Mileage

Get the best mileage for your car, and follow these easy to use tips to save money.

Accelerate Slowly

You use alot less fuel when you go easy on your gas pedal.  Each time you floor it, your throttle opens up and unneeded fuel is being burned off, so accelerate slowly, and you’ll increase your fuel mileage.

Keep a Constant Speed

Constantly changing your speed eats alot of extra fuel.  Make sure to use your Cruise Control if you have that option, except on a long hill.  Try not to use too much fuel to get to the top of a hill, and once you’re over the crest, use any downhill sections to save you from using the gas pedal.

Brake Less

Each time you use your brake, your fuel mileage will go down once you accelerate again.  Use your brakes only when you need to, and plan your drive so that if you see a red light ahead, let the vehicles rolling resisitance and drag slow your vehicle down instead of your brakes. 

Watch Tire pressures

If your tires are underinflated, you increase the drag put on your vehicle, causing more fuel to be burned than neccessary.  Always check to make sure your tires are properly inflated.

Don’t use A/C

Your air conditioner uses extra fuel to keep you cool.  If you are driving within the city, it’s more fuel-efficient to unroll your windoes to keep cool.  Once at highways speeds, the drag caused by the windows being unrolled is more than using the A/C, so you need to decide what to do.  Secondly, turn your A/C off a minute or two before your destination.  Why keep your car cool when you won’t be in it?

Don’t Idle

Idleing burns more fuel than starting your engine again.  So don’t sit in fast food lineups, park your car and walk in.  Or turn your engine off while you are waiting, the fuel savings will add up.

Don’t Carry Unneeded Weight

Every extra pound of weight you carry in your car causes your engine to work harder and burn more fuel for every mile you drive.  Get rid of any extra weight you are carrying around and you’ll save some gas money.

Perform Regular Maintenance

Make sure your transmission fluid is topped up, and same with your engine oil.  Failing spark plugs are a major fuel abuser, so make sure your motor is constantly in good running order and perform maintenance according to your cars vehicle service guide.

Slow Down

Keep your car at a constant speed whenever possible, as this avoids the ‘ gas / brake / gas / brake ‘ cycle that eats most of your fuel.  Keep a great awareness of the route ahead of you and try to not use your brakes and not to accelerate suddenly, and you’ll keep your vehicle at a constant speed and your fuel won’t leave you as fast either.

Use Overdrive

Whenever it’s possible at the higher speeds, using your car’s overdrive feature will help use less fuel and increase your mileage as well.  Again, referring to an earlier tip, make sure you perform regular maintenance on your transmission and keep it running in tip top shape.

Once you’ve followed these tips, you should be able to significantly increase your gas mileage.  Some of these tips are referred to as Hypermiling,  and this keeps every extra drop of gasoline in your gas tank, rather than out in the atmosphere.

Compressed Air Car May Be Reality

New York company will build compressed air car for under $18,000 by 2010

Compressed air could would be the first mass produced vehicle of it’s kind, acheiving up to 106 miles per gallon.  The car is expected to be ready by 2010, and at a price tag of $18,000.  It would be a six seat model, and reach speeds up to 90 miles per hour, with a fuel range of more than 800 miles due to its dual energy engine.  The motor will be a fuel compressed air combination, with one or more storage tanks of compressed air as well as a tank of fuel wich would be atleast 8 gallons in size.    The car will run on compressed air at speeds under 35 miles per hour, and any speed above that, an external combustion engine that runs on a combination of gas, biofuel, or vegetable oil would be used.

An onborad air compressor would refill the tank while the car is runnin, or the cars owner could plug it into an electrical source and have it refilled within 4 hours.

Nissan to Unveil New Electric Hybrid

5 Door hatchback model to be first of four new electric hybrid models over four years.

Look out for the 2008 Paris Auto Show, as this is when Nissan plans to show off a prototype of it’s new electric hybrid car, priced at from under $20,000.

Nissan wants to make electric hybrids a major part of it’s sales line, dedicating 10 percent of all sales to these cars.  They want to do this by unveiling four different electric hybrid models between now and 2012, boosting sales of their electric hybrid vehicles to five hundred thousand per year.

The new Nissan electric hybrid, which is still unnamed, will appear in final production form at the Detroit Auto Show in January 2009, and watch for it to be priced around $19,000.  This is along with the fact that the car is expected to get an average of sixty miles per gallon!

Nissan Shows New Electric Vehicle On Wednesday.

Nissan’s New Electric uses Lithium-Ion Batteries, not nickel-hydride like the Prius.

Nissan would like to start selling their new car by 2010 in Japan and the USA, and by 2012 worldwide.  They are betting on using lithium-ion batteries, and making the vehicle purely electric.

The only problem with lithium-ion batteries is that they tend to fail after 2 or so years, whether they are in use or not.  Also, these batteries lose thier charge fairly quickly, causing the engineers to creat protection circuits to fail the batteries from doing so.

If Nissan can pull this off, i’d be nervous holding Toyota stock.

Toyota Launches Prius in India

Toyota Prius will help combat pollution and be an answer to soaring fuel prices.

Though Toyota has no set timeline, they expect to bring the Prius to India before the end of 2008, depending on the ability of the company to train their dealerships about the new technology, as well as stock their parts stores with the appropriate supplies.  Being the first mass-produced electric fuel hybrid, the Toyota Prius sold more than one million units worldwide in April 2008, including more than 590,000 units within the US.