Americans Are Actually Buying More Fuel Efficient Cars

July's US auto sales were strong thanks to particularly robust demand for SUVs. That may lead some to wonder if Americans have forgotten about high gas prices.

But it turns out that new car buyers are still managing to buy more fuel efficient cars than ever before, according to new research that shows the average fuel economy of cars sold in July was the second highest since October 2007.

The Transportation Research Institute at the University of Michigan has been tracking the average fuel economy of new cars sold since 2007, and reported July's average fuel economy of 25.6 MPG was only bested in May this year, at 25.7 MPG.

The results were based on the EPA ratings on window stickers.

It doesn't hurt that the popular SUVs right now, such as the Chevy Tahoe and Toyota Highlander, all get noticeably higher fuel economy ratings than they did in 2007, and also rate in the ballpark of some popular cars. That'll ease the burden on fuel as more Americans fall in love with SUVs and cars dressed up like SUVs.

By Zac Estrada

Average Sales-Weighted MPG

CR Tries Finding the Fun in BMW's M3, But It's Not all Praise

Consumer Reports usually likes to deal with the more practical aspects of driving and ownership, but that approach is probably dictated by the usually practical cars they test. Yet, whenever they get their hands on something sporty (or tail-happy), they wring it right out.

The new BMW M3 is no exception, as you’d imagine, but the reviewers do manage to pick quite a few faults with it by the end of the video.

They praise it for its pulling power, ease of drifting, the interior, but feel somewhat let down by the steering, the fact that it isn’t a V8 anymore and the clunky gearbox which only works well on a track – the manual is recommended for city cruising smoothness…

Overall, though, you can’t argue with the complete package promise offered by the M3, and neither can CR. Check out the full review below!

You Just Missed This Brand New 1985 Honda Civic with 0 KM for $7,000

You know the saying that if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is?

Well, that’s the first thing that comes to mind when one hears of a brand new 1985 Honda Civic with 0 kilometers on the odometer that is also the 500,000th Civic ever made (hence the stickers).

The story goes that, the car spent the last 29 years parked in the showroom as a show piece and was sold when the store had no room left for it after redecorating – at least that’s what the seller said.

The Civic was listed on Kijiji, an eBay-affiliated Canadian classifieds website, on August 2, but the ad has been removed after just three days, presumably because the car found itself a new owner.

If all of the above are true, then the C$7,900 (US$7,200) asking price was really a great deal, as 30-year-old cars in mint condition with 0 kilometers are almost impossible to find – not to mention the odds of getting such a car that also happens to be a production milestone vehicle.

I don’t know about you, but judging from the way the interior and the engine compartment look in the photos, the Honda Civic may have been the real deal.

Design Students Make a Slightly More Practical BMW X4

The BMW X4 sacrifices space and usability to a plunging roofline and aggressive looks, and BMW thinks there's a market for an SUV like that. However, Clemson University students have a better compromise.

Even though the Deep Orange 4 looks like a BMW X4, it actually started life as its mechanical twin, the X3. Students with Clemson's International Center for Automotive Research teamed with BMW for this design.

A team took an X3 and cut the back of it off to make a fast roofline not unlike the X4's. But instead of that car's liftback, Deep Orange 4 has a sliding rear window that glides over the roof of the vehicle. And then powered split barn doors pop open to reveal the loading area.

The look when all of this is open is not unlike the GMC Envoy XUV of the early 2000s, and the Studebaker Wagonaire before that – both of which had sliding roofs over the cargo area so they'd be able to transport tall items vertically. Like, um, big clocks.

Now the X4 is ridiculous, but in a good way.

You Won't Believe How This Angry Driver Made Space for his Truck

Have you ever felt frustrated while attempting to park in a tight spot? I'm sure you have, but this driver took his anger to a whole new level.

He was trying to squeeze his pickup truck next to the Hyundai that was stepping over the yellow lines – not because the Sonata's Azera's driver was a pinhole, but most likely to leave some space to open the car's door.

From the security camera's timestamp, we see that the driver of the truck first attempted to back in at 9:43 PM and apparently kept at it for nearly 30 minutes, up until 10:12 PM, when he had enough, and decided to take…drastic measures.

Unbelievably, he rammed into the Azera crashing it onto the wall. He then parked and walked away as if nothing had happened!

Skoda Details All-New Fabia's Engine Lineup

When the all-new Skoda Fabia debuts at the Paris Auto Show, it will be the most fuel-efficient Fabia ever, with improvements of up to 17 percent.

That’s part because it will be lighter, part because the new supermini will feature an all-new engine lineup, consisting of four petrol and three diesel engines, all compliant with the Euro 6 emissions standard.

The petrol engines available are new 3- and 4-cylinder units based on MQB technology. The 1.0 MPI three-cylinders have indirect injection, while the four-cylinders are turbocharged with stratified injection (TSI) and have an engine size of 1.2 liters. Power outputs range between 60PS (59hp) and 110PS (108 hp).

The lineup of diesel engines includes the 3-cylinder 1.4-liter common-rail with an aluminum alloy block, available in three states of tune - from 75PS (74hp) to 105PS (104hp). All engines will be fitted as standard with start-stop system and kinetic energy recuperation, with transmissions options including a manual or a DSG double-clutch gearbox.

In late 2015, Skoda will launch the most fuel-efficient model of the range, the GreenLine version with a 75PS (74hp) 1.4 TDI engine, a start-stop system, kinetic energy recuperation, tyres optimized for low rolling resistance and improvements to the car’s aerodynamics. All the modifications result in a combined fuel consumption of just 3.1 l/100 km (75.9 mpg US), equivalent to CO2 emissions of just 82 g/km. Unsurprisingly, the new Fabia’s engines are also available on the refreshed VW Polo.

Skoda adds that the all-new Fabia will be up to 65 kg (143 lbs) lighter than the current generation, with the base 1.0 MPI model having a dry weight of 980 kg (2,160 lbs), without driver.

2015 Cadillac CTS Ditches Laurel Wreath, Gains New Features

Just like the 2015 ATS sedan, the 2015 Cadillac CTS has received a revised grille featuring the new Cadillac crest, replacing the old laurel wreath logo.

The updated model also gets new available technologies including the Cadillac DockSpot wireless phone charging and OnStar with 4G LTE and standard built-in Wi-Fi hotspot (offered with a 3GB or three-month trial).

Additionally, the perpendicular parking feature has been added to available automatic parking assist, while the Driver Awareness package gets the lane keep assist and lane change alert safety features. Finally, the Cadillac CUE infotainment system gets integrated Text Message Alerts.

Other changes for the 2015 Cadillac CTS include the addition of two new exterior colors (Crystal White Tricoat and Dark Adriatic Blue Metallic), with the interior getting revised color and trim combinations.

As before, the CTS is offered with three powertrains: a standard 272hp 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder, an available 321hp 3.6-liter naturally-aspirated V6 and a twin-turbocharged 3.6-liter with 420hp offered exclusively in the high-performance Vsport model with an eight-speed automatic transmission. The CTS Vsport sprints from 0 to 60 mph (96 km/h) in 4.4 seconds and reaches a top speed of 172 mph (277 km/h).

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