Mileage Challenge 5.4: The Results

Our latest mileage challenge had editors logging more than 300 miles each in three hybrids and a diesel: the 2010 Honda Insight, 2010 Mercury Milan Hybrid, 2010 Toyota Prius and 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI. We tallied up all the numbers and corrected for a brief photography stint between Legs 2 and 3. (Angling cars around for the camera — complete with rapid stops, starts and idling — has a way of dinging your mileage, and it’s not representative of real-world driving.)

The results were striking.

Catching Up on the 2009 Tokyo Auto Show

Across the Pacific, the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show is in full swing. As usual there are dozens of elaborate concept cars with little chance of making it to market. We’ve already covered some of the most important vehicles slated for these shores and recap them below. The U.S. auto-show season roars to life the first week of December in Los Angeles, and Cars.com will be there reporting live.

Honda CR-Z Concept Gets Fleshed Out
Toyota FT-86 Sports Car Concept
Lexus LF-A: First Look

Mileage Challenge 5.3: Dizzying Displays

Most people think all of the advanced technology in today’s hybrid cars is under the hood. While automakers continue to enhance new engines, batteries and drivetrains, they’re also working on ways to wrangle the one factor they can’t control — the driver.

To gain maximum efficiency in a hybrid, a driver must be taught to drive properly so fill-ups are few and far between. In the crop of cars we tested on our mileage drive, there were a dazzling array of displays to teach people to drive as green as possible.

Toyota's Solar-Powered Cargo Ship

Keeping its brand halo the greenest in the business is hard work, so Toyota has added “solar-powered carrier” to its cred.

The Japanese automaker made its first shipment of Toyota, Scion and Lexus vehicles from Japan to the Port of Long Beach in California using the Auriga Leader. The car-carrier vessel is outfitted with 328 solar panels that can generate as much as 40 kilowatts, which — unlike similar ships — actually feeds the generator and helps power the ship. Other carriers simply use solar power for lighting.

Stretching 656 feet and weighing 60,000 tons, the Auriga Leader is operated by NYK Line and can transport up to 6,200 vehicles.

NYK Line has set an ambitious goal to reduce the energy consumption of its ships 50% by 2010. This involves not just solar power generation but improved ship operation, redesigned hull form, innovative propulsion systems that save energy, and improved cargo handling.

World’s First Solar-Powered Car Carrier (Behind the Wheels)

Mileage Challenge 5.2: Avenues and Interstates

Our latest mileage challenge took three hybrids — the Honda Insight, Mercury Milan Hybrid and Toyota Prius — and one diesel, the Volkswagen Jetta TDI, from Chicago to Fond du Lac, Wis., and back. The total distance came to just over 300 miles: The first 38 miles were in urban gridlock, the next 230 miles or so consisted of relatively open highway driving and the final 35 miles took place in afternoon interstate traffic.

As in our other mileage challenges, the ground rules remained largely the same: Four editors filled the tires to their recommended pressure, kept windows and sunroofs closed, drove as we normally would and switched cars at each leg to control for driving habits. But this being a challenge with hybrids there were some added things to look out for that could sway the results.

Mileage Challenge 5.1: Hybrid vs. Diesel

Despite gas prices averaging below $2.50 a gallon nationwide, hybrids and alternative-fuel vehicles are as popular as ever. The redesigned Toyota Prius is one of the country’s best-sellers, and Volkswagen’s TDI diesel was in short supply after it debuted at dealers earlier this year. With interest in these types of vehicles still high, we held another mileage challenge with the most popular of these cars and included both hybrids and VW’s most efficient diesel.

Toyota, Ford Are 2010 EPA Headliners

The Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy have released the updated 2010 Fuel Economy Guide, which is the final word on mileage numbers and estimated fuel costs for the 2010 model year.

The 2010 guide doesn’t have too many earth-shattering changes. The Toyota Prius remains the most fuel-efficient vehicle and has even added a few miles per gallon to its lead with 51/48 mpg city/highway. The big move comes from Ford: It has two vehicles — the Ford Fusion Hybrid and Mercury Milan Hybrid — tied in second place with ratings of 41/36 mpg for both vehicles.

Rounding out the top 10 are the Honda Civic Hybrid, Honda Insight, Lexus HS 250h, Nissan Altima Hybrid, Ford Escape Hybrid, Mazda Tribute Hybrid and Mercury Mariner Hybrid.

The guide’s vehicle listings also provide estimated annual fuel costs, which can help you determine how much gas your perspective new car will suck down, but it’s based on the national estimates for annual mileage and fuel prices — two fluctuating variables. Therefore, don’t expect that number to be spot-on.

You can also input local gas prices and your driving habits in to the guide’s online version to find a more personalized estimate of your yearly fuel costs.

2010 Toyota Prius Video

The story behind the 2010 Toyota Prius can be summed up in three words: efficiency, efficiency, efficiency. The best-selling hybrid in the world now has a combined EPA rating of 50 mpg — an impressive feat. In addition to its mileage numbers, Cars.com reviewer David Thomas reports that the redesigned Prius has suddenly become a great daily driver.

NHTSA Investigating Toyota Tundra Defects

A day after Toyota officially recalled 3.8 million vehicles because of floormat problems, the company is being investigated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration over possible defects in its 2000 and 2001 model year Tundra pickup trucks.

The NHTSA has received 20 complaints due to frame corrosion. While any metal will corrode over time, this degradation is severe enough and happening over a relatively short time frame that it’s causing issues like spare tire separation and brake system failure.

Pickuptrucks.com has been following the rust issue after complaints from its own readers. You can read more about it here.

Toyota FT-86 Sports Car Concept

• Looks like: A stubby sports car with big-boy aspirations
• Defining characteristics: Low-hung hood
• Ridiculous features: Audio controls embedded in dash fabric
• Chance of being mass-produced: Very likely

What you see here is the marriage of Toyota design and Subaru engine technology. This is the joint Toyota/Subaru compact sports car we’ve heard so much about for the past year. Still in concept form here, the production version might be further along than you think. Toyota hopes this is the dose of fun its car lineup needs, and from the looks of it, it might be.

The poorly named FT-86 — feel free to submit your own name ideas below — is only 163 inches long, nearly a foot shorter than the Scion tC and a few inches longer than a Hyundai Accent. The engine is a Subaru 2.0-liter boxer four-cylinder, which allows for a low placement in the engine bay; that’s why the profile looks a little funky. It’s also rear-wheel drive. This could be one nimble little car that also promises to be lightweight.

The overall design is aggressive, but we wonder what the price will be for such a performance-oriented small car. If it encroaches on the new Genesis coupe’s $20,000-plus price tag, it might be a hard sell for American shoppers. Otherwise, we give a thumbs up to anything that would liven up the Toyota brand. More photos below.