It was hard not to be surprised by the recent Green Car Book ranking of the Chevrolet Volt, which placed it just 13th in a list of most environmentally friendly vehicles. The Volt, after all, has a 60-mpg combined EPA sticker rating.

The list, compiled by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), a non-profit group funded by foundations, electric utilities and government agencies, “doesn’t add up,” according to GM spokesman Rob Peterson.

The Green Car Book ranked the Volt so poorly because of its 37-mpg average once the initial electric charge has been depleted. But within the 25 to 50 mile range that the charge allows, the Volt gets an EPA-estimated 93-mpg.

Peterson insists that the Green Car Book doesn’t take into account “how the car is actually used” noting that many owners will almost never run out of electric charge.

The Volt’s big rival, the Nissan Leaf, placed second in the Green Car Book‘s ranking. It gets an EPA-rated 99-mpg, but with a limited range of 73 miles. The winner? The natural gas-powered Honda Civic GX.

[Source: Forbes]

The Fiat 500 just missed the now coveted 40 mpg mark, returning 30 mpg in the city and 38 mpg highway with the 5-speed manual, while automatic versions will net 27 mpg in town and 34 mpg while cruising. While the numbers are nothing to frown about, expectations were higher considering the car’s 1.4L four-cylinder engine and compact packaging.

The Hyundai Elantra, Chevrolet Cruze and Ford Focus will all offer 40 mpg capability with more practicality, but we doubt they’ll be as fun to drive. With that said, the $15,995 price point is fairly close to the three compacts, and we expect the lines to be drawn according to those who desire an all-purpose, efficient car versus something stylish and sporty.

Check out Autoguide’s review of the 2012 Fiat 500 here

Ford has finally released the official EPA fuel economy stats for the new 2011 Explorer, carrying through on a promise to be an mpg leader with every new vehicle it rolls out.

That being said, the new Ford Explorer gets a rating of 17-mpg city and 25-mpg highway, a solid 2-mpg getter than any of its competitors – among which Ford includes the Honda Pilot, Toyota 4Runner and Jeep Grand Cherokee. AWD models are rated at 17/23-mpg.

In total, the Explorer is now 25 percent more fuel efficient than the outgoing 2010 V6 model and 32 percent more efficient than the V8 – despite being just 2-hp down on the old V8.

Ford credits numerous advancements for the fuel savings, notably a new V6 engine with twin independent variable camshaft timing (Ti-VCT), a six-speed automatic transmission, improved aerodynamics and electric power steering.

GALLERY: 2011 Ford Explorer

Stay tuned for AutoGuide’s review of the new 2011 Ford Explorer when the embargo lifts this Monday.

Ford is claiming that the new 2011 F-150 will get best in class fuel economy despite no EPA verified mileage figures. Ford states that the 3.7L V6 model will return 16 mpg in town and 23 mpg on the highway. By comparison a 2011 Ram with a 3.7L V6 will get 14 mpg in the city and 20 mpg on the highway.

According to Ford, the company is touting the F-Series’ fuel economy because “70 percent of F-150 customers said better fuel economy is what they’d like improved most in their truck.” What Ford did mention is that their numbers aren’t worth much until they’re independently verified.

[Source: Inside Line]

Everybody stop what you’re doing. The 2011 Toyota Camry has received a slight fuel economy bump for 2011, with the V6 model  20 mpg in the city and 29 mpg on the highway, up from 19 and 28 mpg from last year’s model.

New low-rolling-resistance tires help with the fuel economy raise, and for those that want more, the 4-cylinder (22 and 32 mpg respectively) and Hybrid (31/35 mpg) are much more sensible alternatives.

Hit the jump to find out more about one of America’s most utilitarian cars, and its 2011 updates.

[Source: Toyota]

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Ward’s Auto is reporting via their Twitter feed that Hyundai North America President and CEO John Krafcik told reporters that their North American arm will have a fleet average fuel economy rating of 50 mpg by 2025.

Hyundai is currently planning the launch of their first hybrid, the Sonata Hybrid, for this fall, with more models to follow. The upcoming Veloster is rumored to be able to achieve 40 mpg. However, a 50 mpg fleet average is an extremely ambitious target and will almost certainly take some kind of radical developments in the field of internal combustion engines, as well as plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles to achieve. Hyundai’s new Sonata, available only with four-cylinder engines, is selling briskly and is able to return better fuel economy ratings than the competition thanks to a focus on reducing curb weight. Hyundai seems to be one of the few manufacturers committed to this strategy, one that should give them an advantage going forward.

[Source: Wards Auto]

Yesterday President Obama announced a new proposal being put forward to increase fuel-economy standards across the board. If enacted, the legislation would see the fleet average for passenger vehicles rise to 35.5 mpg by 2016.

Currently automakers are facing an 8 percent increase in fuel-economy standards that would see fleet averages for light-vehicles (cars and trucks) at 27.3 mpg for 2011. Cars would have to achieve a fleet average of 30.2 mpg by that date.

The new legislation would see increases of 5 percent annually after that, with a fleet average of 35.5 mpg by 2016.

President Obama made the announcement at the White House yesterday and was joined by representatives of 10 supporting automakers and the UAW.  In attendance were GM CEO Fritz Henderson, Ford’s Alan Mullaly, Chrysler’s Bob Nardelli, Toyota’s Jim Lentz, Honda’s John Mendel, BMW’s Friedrich Eichiner, Nissan’s Dominique Thormann, Daimler’s Dieter Zetsche, Mazda’s Jim O’Sullivan, Volkswagen’s Stefan Jacoby and the UAW’s Ron Gettelfinger.

If enacted the proposal would reduce America’s fuel-consumption by 1.8 billion barrels of oil.

The agreement was arrived at with the consent of California, which will cease to have its own fuel-economy standards.

The cost of achieving the new fuel-economy standard is expected to be roughly $600 per vehicle, a tab that will no doubt be passed along to the consumer.

[Source: Automotive News]

The EPA has just released its fuel mileage results after testing Ford’s new Fusion Hybrid and it’s official – the Fusion Hybrid is the most efficient mid-size car on the market. It beats the Toyota Camry by 2 mpg on the highway and an astounding 8 mpg in the city. According to Ford, this equates to 700 miles per tank of fuel.

The Fusion Hybrid is so incredibly efficient, says Ford, because of its newly developed hybrid powertrain. The new system uses a new 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine (that makes 155hp and 136 ft-lbs of torque) combined with a smaller, lighter and 20 percent more powerful nickel-metal hydride battery, which is mated to a continuously variable transmission.

Ford says it even improved the chemistry of the battery allowing it to run at higher temperatures and be cooled using air from the cabin.

One key reason for the high level of fuel-efficiency in the city is that Ford’s new Hybrid system allows the Fusion to accelerate to 47 mph on just electric power.

Other reasons for the incredible fuel economy include advancements in the electronic throttle control system and an improved climate control system that uses an electric air conditioning compressor and a heater that only comes on when it has to (to reduce the time the gasoline engine comes on). The Fusion Hybrid also uses a regenerative braking system.

Official release after the jump:

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