April 2nd, 2012

Cars that are fun to drive typically come with a catch. There is, it seems, always a but…
The Jaguar XK is fun to drive but the starting MSRP is $84,500.
The Chevrolet Corvette is a blast to drive but there is only room for two.

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March 12th, 2012

You can’t really say the Toyota Camry is exciting, but this may get your pulse racing – 38.8 miles per gallon.

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January 27th, 2012

You reach a certain age when it seems the only surprises are bad surprises. The 2012 Kia Optima Hybrid is a rare happy surprise. The rise of Korean automobile makers is an oft-told tale – cheap lemons to top-notch serious competition for the likes of Toyota and Honda. The 2012 Kia Optima isn’t your father’s Kia. Heck, it isn’t even your big brother’s Kia.

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November 29th, 2011

The high-mileage Toyota Prius is the best-selling hybrid on the road, but it’s not a car for everybody. It can fit four in reasonable comfort, as long as they travel light. While that makes it a great second car for long commutes or the principal ride of eco-conscious empty-nesters, it’s not really a family car – unless your family consists of a couple of dogs smaller than a football.
The 2012 Prius v, however, offers a mash-up of hybrid technology and station wagon roominess to serve as the family’s primary vehicle. Unless you’re Kate Gosselin.

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November 3rd, 2011

The 2012 Toyota Yaris is better than the car it replaces – evidence that increasing competition in the small car market benefits drivers.

The redesigned Yaris looks less cute – and that is a good thing. Earlier versions of the Yaris looked like a big bubble. The more aggressively styled (relatively speaking) 2012 Yaris is longer and lower. The wheelbase is now 98.8 inches, two inches longer, while the overall length of the car is nearly three inches longer at 153.5 inches.

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May 10th, 2011

Let’s face it, some of what passes as green living feels like self-deprivation – tinkering with the thermostat so that you’re uncomfortable no matter the season, taking cold showers, riding the buses that fail to connect.

Lexus CT 200h, better than 40 mpg, and many perks.

Happily, the 2011 Lexus CT 200h turns that notion on its head. This odd-looking hatchback offers stunning fuel efficiency with a modicum of luxury. It’s a comfortable way to reduce your carbon footprint.

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February 11th, 2011

The Scion xB is a funky, frugal urban utility vehicle with remarkable interior roominess and quirky charm. But this automotive trendsetter – it was the first starkly boxy compact, paving the way for the Nissan Cube and others – could use some updates beyond the minor changes found in the 2011 Scion xB.

A 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine that generates 158 horsepower powers the Scion xB. The engine is mated to a four-speed automatic transmission. The combination provides serviceable uummph for daily driving but fuel economy isn’t what you might expect these days for a car this size. In an era when more efficient six-speed automatic transmissions or continuously variable transmission are common, use of the trailing edge technology costs you at the pump. The EPA estimates the fuel economy of the 2011 Scion xB to be 22 miles per gallon in city driving and 28 mpg in highway driving. We got just over 24 mpg in a mix of backroads cruising and stop-and-go shopping trips.

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March 25th, 2010

By Clint Williams
Green Right Now

The 2010 Volkswagen Golf TDI is a taut, tidy example of Teutonic car making. And the clean burning, turbo-charged diesel engine delivers impressive fuel economy that reduces your carbon footprint while still delivering plenty of what we like to call smiles per gallon.

VW Golf TDI 4-door

The Golf – once known as the Rabbit – has been redesigned for 2010 and sports a new front end design that includes a wider, double-bar grille. The look is sleeker, a bit more elegant, but it still looks like a Golf.

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March 11th, 2010

By Bill Sullivan
Green Right Now

The electric car is almost here. Hybrids abound. Diesel has cleaned up its act. Even conventional internal combustion engines can be tweaked to do a bit less harm to the environment.

A brighter, cleaner future is a mantra at the auto shows this year. Scratch beneath the surface, however, and a different sort of impression emerges: Change may be coming to the automobile industry, but progress is slow — even grudging — and the message can be murky.

Chevy Volt. Photo: Green Right Now

Chevy has been hyping the much-discussed Volt, for example. The manufacturer’s new electric car – due later this year – can go up to 40 miles on a single charge before a gasoline engine kicks in to keep passengers from becoming stranded.

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October 27th, 2009

By Clint Williams
Green Right Now

There is no question the 2010 Toyota Prius is a comfortable compact with enviable fuel economy – we got a smidgen over 50 mpg in a week of driving.

But can you call a $30,000 hybrid an economy car?

2010 Prius

The iconic gasoline-electric hybrid favored by movie stars is all-new for this model year and the third-generation Prius offers more room, more power and more miles per gallon than its predecessors. It’s a pretty neat trick.

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September 14th, 2009

By Clint Williams
Green Right Now

A small price tag and big fuel economy are the principal attractions of the Toyota Yaris, but the new-this-year five-door liftback version has other charms. Take, for example, not one, not two, but three glove boxes, including one behind the steering wheel.

The four-door hatchback joins a two-door hatchback and a four-door sedan among the versions of the subcompact Yaris. Also new this year for all three body styles are an anti-lock brake system, front seat-mounted side airbags and front and rear curtain side airbags as standard equipment.

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August 10th, 2009

By Clint Williams
Green Right Now

Cars that deliver 30 mph typically don’t deliver much else. Acceleration is, at best, peppy. You can buy fuel efficiency, but you can’t find a thrill.

The 2009 BMW 335d is a breakthrough automobile: great fuel economy coupled with great performance.

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