Fuel

Gasoline is one of the driving forces that make the world go round. It’s been so for the past century, and until we will all be driving around in electric cars and internal combustion engines will live on in museums, gasoline is going to be an integral part of the car world and the way we get from point A to point B.

Before we get to answer the question that’s formulated in the headline, it’s essential to understand what is gasoline, how it is made, and what types of gasoline are there, as well as what people mean exactly by “best gasoline.” So, here we go.

Fuel economy might not be on the top of your priority list if you’re considering a large luxury SUV like the 2021 Cadillac Escalade, Infiniti QX80, or the Lincoln Navigator. With gas prices relatively low this year, fuel economy gets pushed even further toward the bottom of the priority list. Be that as it may, you should probably know that the 2021 Cadillac Escalade comes in second place of the worst fuel economy competition, being beat out by only the Infiniti QX80 by just one mpg. So what kind of fuel economy does the Escalade deliver? 14 mpg in the city, 19 mpg on the highway, and 16 mpg combined.

General Motors was already in talks with Rivian, but it seems that agreement has fallen through and another American automotive giant, Ford, has secured a deal with the EV maker for use of its skateboard platform and the joint-development of a future Blue Oval EV. Ford will sink $500 million into Rivian as part of a much bigger investment in EVs, estimated at $11 billion that includes models like the all-electric Mustang-like crossover or the all-electric F-150 pickup.

Honda is testing an all-new Jazz subcompact hatchback, also known as the Fit in some markets. It’s the fourth generation for the nameplate and it looks like it will retain the wedge-nosed one-box design of its predecessors, albeit with a slightly sportier design twist.

The camouflaged prototype spotted by our spies reveals quite a lot about the car, which is slated for a reveal no earlier than 2020, since the refreshed version of the current model only came out last year. Aside from the completely new and slightly more rakish-looking body, changes will be made to its powerplant lineup and interior. The hybrid version may share its powertrain with the new Insight.

Update 04/4/2019: The 2021 Honda Jazz was caught out in the wild again and, while it hasn’t dropped a lot of camo, we can make out a few subtle differences. Check out what we know in the Spy Shots section below!

Hispano Suiza Cars is back after more than 70 years and it will bring its latest creation to the 2019 Geneva Motor Show. The Carmen has been described as the "next-generation electric hyperlux grand tourer” and was teased with a few pictures of its silhouette. This electric wunderkind will wear the interiors of a uber-luxurious car and pack the engine of a hypercar. For starters, it’s offered with a thousand ponies under the hood!

Currently, there’s the shell of Tesla Model X that burned to a crisp sitting on a frozen lake in Vermont. That’s a sentence I never imagined I’d write. The situation certainly is odd. It raises a lot of questions. What sparked the fire? Why didn’t it melt through the ice? What was the car doing on the lake in the first place?

The introduction of the Toyota Corolla GR Sport days before its live debut at the Geneva International Motor Show gives us a first glimpse of what the hypothetical (and probable) Corolla GRMN might be.

The Toyota Corolla GR Sport is the closest in execution to semi-sports hatches like the Ford Focus ST-Line, the Hyundai i30 N-Line, and the Renault Megane GT-Line. As such, the Toyota Corolla GR Sport features a comprehensive set of sporty style additions without any performance upgrades. The Gazoo Racing Sport pack is available for both the base engine and top-trim.

The first semi-hot Toyota hatchback in decades came only weeks after Gazoo Racing trickled out the stunning new Supra. It delivers on the promise Aikido Toyoda, Toyota CEO, gave two years ago - “no more boring cars.” Moreover, with the new Toyota RAV4 TRD, the new Toyota GR Supra, the incredible Toyota Yaris GR, and the announcement of the new Toyota GT86, we live in a time when the world’s favorite manufacturer is again in the business of awesome cars.

President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that he urged the EPA to increase the sales of corn-based ethanol which would allow the year-round sale of E15 gas, which up by 5 percent over the blends that are now being sold in the U.S. Currently, the Clean Air Act restricts the sale of E15 gas during the months of summer. E15 gas is a mix of fuel that contains 85% gas and 15% ethanol.

FCA is one of the slowest groups to move towards electrification. Currently, it has got just 3 cars under its umbrella which are anywhere close to electrification. Nevertheless, FCA announced the production of a Jeep Renegade Plug-in hybrid. It will be built alongside the regular Renegade and its Fiat 500X platform mate in FCA’s factory in Melfi, Italy. Jeep will start building pre-production units in 2019, and launch it in the market in early 2020.

After all the mumbo jumbo surrounding the i3’s existence, the automaker has finally confirmed that the little electric hatchback will continue to live on. When the i4 was announced at the Paris Motor Show, it looked like a legit replacement for the i3; also because BMW did not address the i3. Now, however, BMW has confirmed that it has got future plans for the i3, according to The Drive.

Mercedes-AMG has confirmed that its V-12 engine is nearing its end, and the V-8s will be the taking over the duties. Mercedes-AMG boss, Tobias Moers, said that the V-12 engines will be retired once the production of the current S65 ends. The V-8s will be the new torch-bearers, thanks to electrification.

A new report issued on Monday by the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warns of a grim future that could materialize as early as 2040 if the world doesn’t cut its output of greenhouse gases massively.

An important element of this seemingly impossible turnover is the swift move towards complete electrification of our means of transport. The report, which was commisioned by the members of the Paris agreement, offers a much more dreary view on the near future of our planet and of our species unless we take action and drastically change our ways at a never-before-seen rate.

Tesla keeps on improving its Autopilot system and the new version is now able to overtake other cars in traffic with the "Navigate with Autopilot" function. It features a "Mad Max" mode for more assured passes.

Tesla cars have been driving themselves around and about for quite a while now, but passing hasn’t been anywhere near second nature for the American EVs. To initiate an overtake when navigating with the Autopilot system turned on, you had to toggle the turn signals yourself. Now, with version 9 of the system being available, this is no longer the case.

Renault is previewing its future mini electric crossover with the K-ZE concept revealed at the 2018 Paris Motor Show. Taking a closer look at the K-ZE, it becomes immediately apparent that it is, in fact, just a dressed up Kwid (which Renault already sells in emerging markets) which has had its internal combustion powertrain swapped out for a full-electric one.

The future electric crossover will look much closer to this concept, than it will to the current Kwid, although it will maintain its basic body shape. What will set it apart visually more significantly are the new, redesigned front and rear fascias, as well as various details around the exterior. It also promises to offer “class leading” range for a vehicle in its size-bracket.

Osaka-based car manufacturer Aspark exhibited its Owl EV Hypercar at the Paris Motor Show. While the car in the City Of Light was actually only a show model without a propulsion system or even a fully sorted interior, Aspark announced that it is opening preorders for the hypercar. How much do you need to deposit? Try a cool 1 million euros ($1.15 million)! That is just the deposit, mind you. Once the car is ready for delivery by mid-2020, you will have to churn out a few more million, rounding up the price to $3.6 million. Yup, crazy!

Meet the world’s first full-scale hyperloop capsule, called Quintero One (quintero in Spanish means “fifth”), a 32-meter/105-foot plane without wings or windows, for lack of a better comparison. It’s expected to be “optimized and ready for passengers” in 2019, and its makers are touting it as possibly the safest form of transportation in the world.

Renault premiered the grand stage with an all-electric crossover concept called K-ZE. It will eventually head to the production line and reach the masses next year. The concept looks funky, and the production version may not be very different from the concept. Given the segment Renault has slotted it in, the car will most likely fetch big sales numbers.

Toyota brought the new RAV4 to the Paris Motor Show, and while there will be a regular gasoline-burning model on offer, the automaker mainly focused on the new hybrid version.

Apparently, Volvo thinks that axing its diesel engines is evidence of its “commitment to a long-term future beyond the traditional combustion engine.” Reading a line like that, you would think the lineup would be magically shifting electric-only propulsion, but that’s not the case. Starting with the 2019 Volvo S60, all new Volvos will only be offered as mild hybrids, plug-in hybrids, or all-electric. So, despite that commitment, gasoline-powered engines still have a home at Volvo – they just need some kind of hybridization to piggyback on.

The Toyota Sequoia has undergone a mild refresh for 2018, bringing a slightly different front fascia, a slightly revised dash, and the Toyota Safety Sense-P as standard equipment. But unfortunately, the rest of this full-size SUV dates back to 2008. Yep, that’s a full decade without change. That includes the 5.7-liter V-8, six-speed automatic transmission, and the optional part-time 4WD system.

Now, the 5.7-liter isn’t a bad engine. Its dual overhead camshafts use variable valve timing on both the intake and exhaust sides to offer better low-speed efficiency with high-end power. The engine generates 381 horsepower at 5,600 rpm and 401 pound-feet of torque at 3,600 rpm. And like all good V-8s, the engine makes plenty of torque down low; Toyota says the 5.7-liter makes 90 percent of peak torque at just 2,200 rpm. That certainly helps with off-the-line power and allowing the six-speed automatic to up-shift sooner and hold gears longer.

Nevertheless, the V-8 does not have modern features like cylinder deactivation or direct fuel injection. And these days, eight- and 10-speed automatic transmissions continue to squeeze more and more from a gallon of gas.

The Sequoia, on the other hand, is EPA-estimated to only achieve 13 mpg city, 17 mpg highway, and 14 mpg combined. Over the last few days of mixed driving, I’m only averaging 13.3 mpg. Ouch.

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