· USA
· New Cars
· Used Cars
· Auto Research
Buying Guides
Go Green
Help Me Choose
Comparison Tools
Specific Models
Manufacturers
Price Guides
Magazines
Used Car Histories
Vintage
Trucks

· Auto Services
· Accessories

 

| HOME | US | GO GREEN |

US Go Green

Have you considered fuel efficiency? What about those new hybrid cars?

Clean Cities Vehicle Buyer's Guide For Consumers
http://www1.eere.energy.gov/vehiclesandfuels/

This helpful site has great information on alternative fuel vehicles as well as other vehicle choices that can help you lessen your impact on the environment (and your wallet). The site also includes information on locating alternative fuel stations, incentives available and laws in your state regarding alternative fuel vehicles.

Pros:
There are vehicle buyer's guides for both consumers and fleet buyers. You can search the database of vehicles by fuel type, manufacturer or vehicle class (sedan, van). Links are provided to dealer locators so you can find a dealer in your area that sells the vehicle you have discovered via the search function.

Cons:
It would be nice if the Vehicle Buyer's Guide was available as a PDF so that you could download the whole thing and review it at your leisure.

How to:

• Find 'green' vehicle information
  From this link you can search the database of vehicles using fuel type, manufacturer or vehicle class as your criteria.
  
  

Fuel Economy
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/

This site from the EPA allows you to quickly and easily compare the fuel economy, emissions and more for new and used vehicles.

Pros:
You can use this site to compare vehicles back to 1985 in terms of fuel economy, emissions, safety ratings and more. The site also has fascinating data on each vehicle like the cost to drive 25 miles and a new feature is 'Fuel Economy Estimates From Drivers Like You' which is gathering actual fuel economy numbers from REAL drivers. You can also search by miles per gallon which is a very neat way of creating a list of possible vehicles to look at if you are buying a new car or truck.

The entire fuel economy guide is available as a PDF that you can download and print.

Cons:
The Best and Worst MPG chart is interesting but does have what I consider a really silly drawback - the least fuel efficient cars are Lamborghinis, Bentleys, Maseratis and the like. Wouldn't it have been better to cut these ultra luxury vehicles (Lamborghinis start at $291,000) out of the list?

How to:

• Find 'green' vehicle information
  Search for information on a specific vehicle by year, class or make.
  
  

greenercars.org : ACEEE's Green Book
http://www.greenercars.org/greenbook.htm

This site is pushing the pay access to its information which is fine - at $8.95 for a 30-day subscription it is hardly a deal breaker. There is also a lot of good information available for free.

Pros:
Using this site you can learn which vehicles have the lowest impact on the environment from a variety of aspects. There are also some helpful article on how to drive 'greener' as well as a helpful page of links.

Cons:
Full information is only available if you pay ($8.95 for a 30-day subscription and $19.95 for an annual subscription).

How to:

• Find 'green' vehicle information
  Use this page to look at the greenest vehicles of 2008 (as well as the meanest) as well as for information on how to use the site to "select the vehicle that is most friendly to the planet while meeting your transportation needs" (guide to green heading on the left).
  
  

The Clean Car Campaign
http://www.cleancarcampaign.org/

This site isn't so much for use while shopping for a vehicle as it is as a tool for anyone who wants to learn about the impact of the gasoline or diesel powered automobile on our planet and humanity. This site looks not only at emissions but at the environmental and human health cost of automobile production and destruction (scrapping).

Pros:
Although the site does not provide a searchable database of vehicles so that you can pick the 'greenest' there are numerous resources that will help you find a less environmentally harmful vehicle the next time you're shopping for a new or used vehicle. The guides to greener vehicles link in the left-hand column will take you to a page of links to other sites where you'll find useful tools for assessing the 'greenness' of vehicles.

Cons:
Overall the site is a bit hard to navigate and read - links in the left-hand column are not particularly explanatory and the text on individual pages is very dense and could use more links and white space to improve readability and comprehension.

The CarSharing Network: Car Sharing in your city
http://www.carsharing.net/

Again - not a site to help the car buyer as such but a creative alternative to individual car ownership that helps to lessen the impact of the vehicle on our planet and on humanity's health. Use the site to learn more about car sharing and find out whether there is a carsharing network in your area.

SEARCH the Web:

· News
· Driversions!
· FREE eBook
· FREE Newsletter
· Books
· Tell A Friend

· The Ratings
· Privacy Policy
· Editorial Reviews
· Suggestions
· Contacts
· Who We Are
· Link to Us
· FAQs
· Site Map
· Investors
· Advertising
· Media Kit

See this page for:
· the UK
· Canada