The Moment I've Long Been Waiting For!

Top Gear drives the Tesla!



Hybrids are crap... even the "good" ones. They're over-priced, over-weight, under-performing, and are basically a futile exercise as far as I'm concerned. They don't get particularly great fuel mileage when you consider the cost, and as I've mentioned before, they don't do anything to wean us off our dependency on fossil fuels. It always irks me when people refer to them as "alternative vehicles", since there's no true "alternative" because they, like all other cars or trucks, still need to go to the gas station to fill up with the very same fuel that any other IC car/truck needs.

Bio-fuels and electric vehicles are truly viable alternatives... as the technology of each continues to progress they'll be the ones offering an honest alternative to filling up with with fossil fuels.

Top Gear Reviews the Ford Fiesta...

... as only Top Gear can!



I don't know about you, but capabilities like those would serve me well in a sub-compact hatchback. More than once I've found myself in a situation similar to those pictured and thought "if only my car could...."

Personally, I can't wait to see the Fiesta (as well as it's Mazda sibling, the Mazda2) here in North America. It's coming soon, and is a strong contender to be my next car in 2 years from now. The fuel prices we're seeing today won't last forever, and even though I drive a marginally efficient car now, my next one will be even more frugal, without sacrificing the joy of driving.

MPG Test: BMW M3 vs. Toyota Prius

I was going to call this post "Friday Eye Candy" but unfortunately there's a Prius in the video as well.

In any case... take one beautiful sport sedan, the 'bahn storming BMW M3 with it's 4.0L V8 pumping out 414 glorious horsepower and then pit it against every fuel misers darling, the supposedly economical Toyota Prius in a no-holds-barred Miles Per Gallon shootout!

The results:


Ignore the part in the intro where Clarkson mentions that the construction of the Prius is more enviromentally damaging than that of a Land Rover. While there is a certain amount of truth in what he says, it's not quite that simple. (If you want to know the whole story, you can read all about it HERE at thecarconnection.com.)

I'm sure that the Prius drivers of the UK were already several sentences into their hate-mail before the credits rolled, but the fact remains, as he said at the end, that how you drive can be more important than what you drive.

Supercar Miles per Gallon

Single digits, anyone?

(Warning: Not to be taken seriously. Please!)

Is 45mpg really as good as it sounds?

If all you've ever known is 20 (or less) MPG, then maybe...

But these guys aren't impressed.