SEMA 2009 – Interview with Tire Rack’s VP, Matt Edmonds

2010 Audi A3 TDI Pricing – Prius MPGs in a real car

It is still beyond me why anyone in their right mind would drive a hybrid. VW and Audi have been showing the world that diesel technology is far superior in not only driving enjoyment, but even in mileage. When you factor in all the environmental badness that goes into building battery packs and electric motors, the only reason you associate a Prius with green is from envy.

Audi has just announced pricing for their second North American entry into the diesel market. The A3 has always been one of our favorite cars, we love hatchbacks. The car is based on the same platform as VW’s brilliant GTI, but improved even further.

Chevy Volt: triple-digit mpg?

General Motors, fresh out of bankruptcy (that didn’t seem to hurt, did it?), has grabbed the headlines by stating that the Chevy Volt, due out late 2010, will get an EPA rating of 230 mpg in the city. Is this the result of someone being ingenious or disingenuous?

Sadly, it looks like the latter. Neither GM nor the EPA have come up with a clear methodology to arrive at this figure, that’s because it’s still being developed, but the general argument is that if a Volt driver does less than 40 miles a day (the range of the battery pack without the internal combustion engine having to kick in) and recharges each night, then zero gasoline will be used.

Goodyear Fuel Max – Burn More Rubber With Less Gas

We will admit that our main concern when buying tires is performance. That performance usually relates to maximum grip to get the lowest possible lap times. In street tires we prefer predictable behavior at the limit but still expect loads of grip. Ride, noise and tire life are all things we are willing to look past in the name of performance. We do however realize that some people have different measures of performance than we do. The average person looks at tires and just sees another consumable product on their car. They aren’t concerned with maximum grip or if it works well sliding around at the limit. Believe it or not, some people care about things like tread life, ride quality and even efficiency.