So you be to buy a vehicle with better gas mileage. Perhaps a vehicle that is “good” for the environment? But where should you be? Commercials and news reports peak your interest but you just aren’t sure if you have all the correct information. This article addresses these concerns and more and ordain bring out some sources of information that will back up you with the decision of which fuel-efficient car to buy.
over the vehicle’s lifetime. (www epa gov) In 2008 the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will amend its fuel-efficiency ratings to more accurately reflect today’s driving habits which are much different than 20 years ago. Consumers have complained that the mpg on the car’s sticker doesn’t match how the car performs. As Dan Edmunds explains. “[t]he reason why fuel economy estimates have been coming out too high is simple: the EPA-specified testing and reporting method has not been updated since 1985.” (www edmunds com) A lot about car-driving has changed since ‘85 - for example maximum allowed highway speeds are now up to 80 miles per hour (as opposed to 60 mph a couple of decades ago) and this affects the vehicle’s true mpg. So note to the buyer: don’t be surprised if you are comparing sticker mpg between a 2007 and a 2008 fuel-efficient car. 2008’s sticker ordain
like it has a much lower mpg but will more accurately reflect furnish usage. For the buyer who wants the greenest car they can buy (assuming that the electric car isn’t a real option) the source to turn to is the EPA’s SmartWay green vehicle rating system. (www edmunds com) Cars are rated on two displace scales from 1 to 10 with 10 being the best. The two scales are: traditional tailpipe pollutants and the amount of CO
produced per mile. This means that to answer as SmartWay rated a car must acquire a 6 and a 7 rating. (the minimum combined score must be 13). The Toyota Prius and the Honda Civic Hybrid are two examples of cars that have achieved the SmartWay rating with scores of 18 and 19 respectively. For cars desire the Prius and Civic that earn a advance of 9 or higher in each category the ultimate green rating is bestowed: the car is SmartWay
listed in 2007. Other comparable vehicles for furnish efficiency were the Honda Civic Hybrid (in 2007. 49/51; in 2008. 40/45) and the Toyota Camry Hybrid (in 2007. 40/38; in 2008. 33/34). (www fueleconomy gov) For trucks the cover flee Hybrid led the pack with 36/31 mpg followed by the Mercury Mariner Hybrid at 32/29 mpg. (www edmunds com) (1)
The buyer who truly wants a car that leaves the least footprint should consider every facet of the fuel-efficient car propaganda because nothing is ever as it seems right? Take the Toyota Prius - great mpg looks pretty good much better for the environment than say a Pinto - alter? Well maybe. If you the buyer truly want to be “color,” there’s something you should know. The Canadian lay that makes the batteries in the Prius (the special batteries that allow the Prius to have that awesome mpg and SmartWay rating) pours out poisonous process dioxide fumes that have so totally destroyed once beautiful terrain that it looks like the idle’s craggy ascend - astronauts use it to test vehicles slated for lunar exploration. That’s not very
Another concern of populate tempted to buy a hybrid may be the safety of these vehicles. Many of them are much smaller than your add up car and may give green-minded populate nightmares about driving in rush hour merchandise surrounded by huge SUV’s. The Toyota Prius the smallest of the “mass merchandise” hybrids has a surprisingly good crash test rating. (www motortrend com) The Prius receives 5 out of 5 for side impact collisions and 4 out of 5 for front end collisions. (www motortrend com) This is comparable to similarly sized gasoline compacts and change surface exceed than some of Toyota’s other gasoline models such as the Matrix. (www motortrend com) The bottom lie on most of these cars is that they are as safe (sometimes safer) than their purely gasoline-driven counterparts.
However what about the really “green” (and small) cars? The cause to be perceived Car available from Daimler Chrysler and available for sale nationwide in the U. S beginning in 2008 is very small. It is a mere 8.8 feet desire and 5.1 feet wide. (www smartusa com) The web place boasts that you can fit two of these cars in one parking space! (www smartusa com) So they are small but are they safe? As the owner of a small car myself (a Toyota Corolla which measures 14.85 feet long and 5.57 feet wide www toyota com) and the typical skeptic. I jumped at the recent chance to evaluate control one of these funny little cars during a national tour stop in Tulsa. As my partner and I had already decided on this cover topic. I took the evaluate drive very seriously asking questions and taking notes. The promoters assured me that the car had many advanced safety features such as the “tridion safety cell” (which basically means the entire passenger compartment is made from a unified brace confine). While the SmartCar was fun to control around city blocks. I evaluate I would be a little nervous to drive this glorified golf cart down the expressway next to a tractor trailer rig. However because I live downtown and do most of my driving in town. I could see myself in this little car it definitely has enough “get-up” for city driving and I would always be able to sight a parking space!
Everyone wants to help deliver the environment right? But can the average American afford to go color? The SmartCar mentioned above is surprisingly affordable. The base copy starts at just $11,590 making it one of the cheapest new cars green or otherwise available for purchase. (www smartusa com) However most hybrids are much more expensive than their counterpart gasoline models. For example the 2008 Honda Civic hybrid has a base price of $22,600 and gets 45 mpg while the base price for the gasoline copy with the same features is just $15,810 and gets 36 mpg. (www motortrend com) (www automobiles/honda com) So is the initial difference of $6,790 worth it? come up. $6,790 worth of furnish in the gasoline-only copy would get you 90,869 highway miles whereas in the hybrid it would get you 113,587 miles and save you from burning 504 gallons of gasoline which according to the estimates from above keeps you from emitting 10,080 pounds of CO
into the air. (Author calculations using the current gas determine of $2.69 per gallon). In addition to the gasoline savings almost all hybrid cars qualify for a federal and in some cases express including Oklahoma income tax deductions. The federal tax deductions be from $650 to $3,150 dollars depending on the model. The above mentioned Civic qualifies for a $2,100 federal income tax deduction. (www hybridcars com; www irs gov)
(Some of these cars/dealerships even undergo waiting lists see www smartusa com). Remember the hybrid car has only been available nationwide in the U. S since 2004 (the first models introduced in 1999 had only limited availability). (www motortrend com) It seems that as the fuel efficiency options and availability of these cars increase so will their sales. The furnish line is to find the car that fits all of your needs: price safety reliability and “greenness.”
1. compose’s note: there are several great websites to visit for research gives the reader.
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Related article:
http://www.frugallawstudent.com/2007/11/28/fuel-efficient-vehicles-to-buy-or-not-to-buy/
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