fuel cost
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Electric cars still cost significantly more to buy than gasoline-powered vehicles of the same size and capabilities. But cars that plug in are almost always cheaper to run per mile, often by a significant multiple. A study released Thursday has quantified those differences, comparing the cost-per-mile of gasoline versus electricity in different states. DON'T MISS: Buyers still think used electric cars cost more than gas cars; they're wrong Using state-by-state electricity-cost data from October and gas prices from late December, Michael Sivak and Brandon Schoettle at the University of...
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If electric semi tractors are real, their running-cost advantage could be huge
Emotions play a big role in purchases of passenger vehicles, but fleet decisions are generally driven by numbers, spreadsheets, and the almighty dollar. And it's in the equation of overall cost where early adopters of electric and other alternative-fuel semis could make a financial killing. Haulers...
Mark Stevenson -
Nissan Leaf electric vs Toyota Prius hybrid: which is lower on cost, emissions?
Sometimes, when tucking in for the evening, you can't help but wonder: did I really make the right choice? Could I have done better? Even now, could I still do better? This is the question I ask myself, each evening, when I park my 2015 Nissan Leaf in the garage next to my wife’s 2006 Toyota...
John Briggs -
New Metric For Car Efficiency: Miles Per Dollar Spent On Energy?
It's downright confusing trying to calculate how much it costs to run green cars, whether it's a 50-mpg Toyota Prius or a highly efficient electric car like the 124-MPGe BMW i3. One of the problems is how to use different efficiency ratings for various powertrains--gasoline, hybrid, electric--to...
John Voelcker -
California Urged To Stay The Course On Electric Cars, Help Owners Charge Cheaper
Gas prices are falling: Michigan has signs advertising regular at $1.99 per gallon. It's now below $3 a gallon even in California, which continues to be the focal point for electric-car adoption. Now an electric utility CEO has joined with an environmental advocate to urge that Californians stay...
John Voelcker -
Gas Prices To Plunge More After Oil Price Falls To 4-Year Low?
Oil prices are at their lowest levels in four years, and retail gasoline prices are likely to follow--more or less. Thursday, while the U.S. celebrated its Thanksgiving holiday, oil prices fell 7 percent after OPEC announced it would leave production levels unchanged, according to CNN. The price of...
John Voelcker -
I always knew electric cars were cheap to run, but this is ridiculous. After I bought the first set of replacement tires for my 2013 Tesla Model S (at 26,000 miles), I crunched the numbers and came to a startling conclusion: I've spent substantially less per mile for my electric "fuel" than I have for my tires. DON'T MISS: Life With Tesla Model S: At Last, Some Maintenance Needed (New Tires) The tires weren't cheap. The Michelin Primacy MXM4 all-season grand-touring tires set me back $250 apiece, plus mounting and balancing, for a total of $1,131. Over 26,277 miles, that works out to 4.3...
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Gasoline Prices Continue To Fall, Almost At Four-Year Low: Report
A new report finds gas prices are as low as they've been in four years.
Stephen Edelstein -
Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Cars: $50 For 300 Miles--Or Free To Fill Up?
Electric cars are far cheaper to run than gasoline cars on a per-mile basis--and depending on the assumptions, they can be cheaper over their entire life too. And gasoline and diesel vehicles will get steadily more fuel-efficient through 2025 under a variety of global regulations. But what about...
John Voelcker -
Where Do U.S. Electric Cars Save Money The Quickest?
Indiana drivers get the quickest returns on electric-car purchases, a new study says.
Stephen Edelstein -
Will Your Local Gas Prices Rise or Fall? Fuelcaster Knows (It Says)
A free app from Esurance claims to predict future gas prices.
Stephen Edelstein -
Five MORE Big Myths About Green Cars And Gas Mileage, Debunked
Yep, Big Oil is definitely scheming and plotting to destroy the electric car. Everyone knows that. Right? [sigh] Time for more mythbusting, it seems. The surprising success of our first debunking of five green-car myths led us to look at five more relatively common ideas and explain ... well, as...
John Voelcker -
Last month, Apple Stores in the United States began stocking the Automatic Link. And it might just point the way toward how to convince more car buyers that a plug-in electric car--or other alternatives, from hybrid to diesel to natural gas, for that matter--could make economic sense. The Automatic Link is a $99 device that connects to a car's OBD-II data port and feeds selected information to an app on the owner's iPhone, which becomes a "smart driving assistant" with a focus on fuel efficiency. Developed by Bay Area startup Automatic, the product monitors and summarizes the driver's routes...
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Five Things To Know About Gas Mileage That Will Save You Money
Gas mileage has gotten far more important in new-car choices over the last 10 years, and that's not likely to change. But not everyone really understands automobile efficiency--or how to maximize their mileage--and which tactics will really save them money. Here's our cheat sheet. (1) Your driving...
John Voelcker -
Energy Department Launches 'eGallon' To Explain Electric-Car Cost, Efficiency
It isn't easy to compare gasoline and electric vehicles. Sure, you can look at EPA stickers, sit in them and appreciate the way they drive, but comparing like-for-like on an economic basis is requires some thought. The U.S. Department of Energy has simplified the process with its new eGallon...
Antony Ingram -
Will Refinery Fire Cause Gas Prices To Soar In California?
A fire yesterday evening in a refinery critical to providing special California gasoline blends may boost gas prices in the state substantially. The blaze, first observed around 6:15 pm and brought under control five hours later, occurred in the Richmond refinery owned by Chevron [NYSE:CVX]. The...
John Voelcker -
Payback On Plug-Ins: Finance Commentator Misses The Point
We love data, and articles that analyze data. We love them a little less when their opening lines sneer at sites like this one by calling them the "sunshine, lollipops and rainbows electric car press." Still, there are far more interesting problems with a recent analysis on Seeking Alpha entitled...
John Voelcker -
Ford Offers Fleet Buyers Tool To Compare Total Emissions & Costs
Fleet managers are very, very rational people. Unlike many retail car buyers, they analyze vehicles without a shred of emotion, basing their decisions on lifetime ownership costs for vehicles that meet their needs. More and more, though, those fleet buyers are being asked to help reduce their...
John Voelcker -
Over the past week or so, we’ve seen the average price of gasoline hit $3.60 per gallon of regular, with some areas of the country -- like California -- reaching a heady $4 a gallon. But while the Syrian uprising and political tensions between Iran and the West over its nuclear program are playing a small part in increasing the price you pay at the pump, energy specialists say the biggest culprit lies closer to home. In short, the U.S. isn’t refining as much gasoline as it once was. During Wednesday’s All Things Considered on NPR, Fadel Gheit, senior energy analyst at...
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Drive a Solar-Charged Electric Car, Save $263,000 On Fuel Over 50 Years?
Critics of plug-in cars like the 2012 Nissan Leaf and 2012 Mitsubishi i often say their high sticker prices are just too expensive to make a sound economic case for making the switch from gasoline to electric. Not so, says electric car advocate and BMW ActiveE driver Peder Norby. In fact, Norby...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
How Much Did The Average American Household Spend On Gas This Year?
Filling your tank in the average car these days often runs north of $50, and for full-size pickup trucks, it can be a multiple of that number. But how much do you spend on gasoline a year? Do you actually know? Sure, you can back-figure: Divide the mileage covered for the year by each of your...
John Voelcker -
$9 A Gallon Too Much For Gas This Winter? Avoid Nome, Alaska
The rising cost of gas is one of life's inevitabilities, though how quickly the price rises depends on where you live. If you live in Nome, Alaska, then you're in for an inevitable and very expensive winter. According to Yahoo (via AutoBlogGreen), you could soon be paying $9 for every gallon of...
Antony Ingram -
Gas Prices Fall To $3.50 As Economic Stall Slams Crude-Oil Costs
Remember $4 gasoline? It was just last May that gasoline soared to an average price of $4 per gallon across all U.S. markets, with even the cheapest pumps showing prices of $3.50 or more. What a difference a few months makes. Gasoline has now fallen below $3 a gallon in a handful of areas...
John Voelcker -
Infographic: What's Behind The Gas Prices You Pay At The Pump?
We've said it before, and we'll likely say it again: We love a good infographic (here, here, and here, for instance). Today's example covers what makes up the price of each gallon of gasoline that you buy. Not surprisingly, it includes the cost of the actual refined hydrocarbon that originated as...
John Voelcker