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2010 Prius: Nice fit and finish – for a handsome price
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?
[caption id="attachment_6121" align="alignleft" width="258" caption="2010 Prius"]  [/caption]
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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Tags: · 2010 model Prius, fuel economy, high mileage cars, Prius, Prius review, solar-powered electronics, Toyota Prius
Green Test Drive: The Yaris
September 14th, 2009 · No Comments
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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Tags: · economy cars, EPA fuel economy rating of 29 miles per gallon, greener cars, high mileage cars, subcompact cars, Toyota Yaris, Yaris 2009 liftback
Green Test Drive: BMW 335d
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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Tags: · BMW 335d, diesel engines, energy efficiency, Green Test Drive, high mileage cars
Green Test Drive: Honda Insight delivers hybrid technology with a lower price tag
By Clint Williams
Green Right Now
Gee-whiz technology always starts out expensive. Graying boomers can remember paying $400 for a VCR. That first DVD player probably set you back $600. Now you can buy one at a grocery store for less than $40.
 The 2010 Honda Insight is no $40 DVD player, but it proves the point: costly technology eventually becomes affordable. The starting sticker price of the Insight LX, the most basic of the three trim levels available, is $19,800. The MSRP for the top-of-the-line Insight EX with navigation system is $23,100 plus $670 destination and handling fees.
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Tags: · 5-seater, high mileage cars, Honda, Hybrids, Insight, plug-in gasoline engine, Prius, Toyota
A guide to ‘Cash for Clunkers’
By Clint Williams
Green Right Now
Desperate automobile dealers are slashing sticker prices, passing on rebates and offering zero percent financing to move metal, making this a good time to buy a new car. And the good times are about to get better thanks to the federal “Cash for Clunkers” program kicking off later this month.
The Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS) signed into law last month is designed to help car makers and the environment by providing vouchers of $3,500 to $4,500 toward the purchase of a new vehicle in exchange for a gas-guzzling clunker. The program essentially inflates the trade-in value of older cars and trucks, providing drivers an incentive to go ahead and buy a new, more fuel-efficient rig right now.
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Tags: · CARS vouchers, Cash for Clunkers, diesel cars, Fuel Efficiency, high mileage cars, Hybrids, minivans, sedans, SUVs, tax credits for cars
Cash for Clunkers greenlighted; rev up the car buying frenzy
By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now
Congress has approved what will be a big bonanza for car buyers — not to mention car dealers — with the “Cash for Clunkers” bill that cleared the Senate on Thursday.
Once signed by President Obama, who pushed for the law, car buyers will be able to get up to $4,500 toward more efficient new vehicles when they trade in their aging gas guzzlers (or even just their aging cars that get so-so mileage). Cars must pre-date 2002 but not be older than 1984 models.
Ironically, this generous program would not be available had it not been for the short-sighted American car manufacturers who made so many gas gulpers, their heedless American customers and also the torpid economy. None of those players gets chastened or overhauled or even pinched in this deal.
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Tags: · BarbaraKesslerBlog, car dealers, Cash for Clunkers, Gas-Guzzlers, gasoline, Greenhouse Gases, high mileage cars, low mileage cars, lower emissions
Green Test Drive: MINI Cooper S
By Clint Williams
Green Right Now
The MINI Cooper S proves fighting global warming can be fun.
 This distinctive, diminutive cult car is fuel efficient, getting an EPA estimated 34 miles per gallon in highway driving.
But people considering a MINI Cooper – especially the turbocharged S edition – aren’t primarily interested in mpg. They’re more concerned with gpg – grins per gallon. The Cooper S offers plenty.
The turbocharged 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine roars with 172 horsepower. Coupled with a clickity crisp six-speed stick shift, the tiny car is quick, quick, quick. The spec sheet says the 0-60 mph is 6.7 seconds, but it feels much faster because of the scale – just as 25 mph in a go-cart seems so much faster than the same speed in the family minivan.
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Tags: · Clint Williams, Green Test Drive, high mileage cars, Mini Cooper
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