Top Affordable Fuel Efficient Cars Of 2013

With the rising prices of essential commodities, problems with distributor countries, and the imbalance between supply and demand, it becomes an inevitable experience for motorists to start considering the use of fuel efficient cars over popular, super-powered counterparts. If the automobile industry has anything to say about it, it is clearly that people should begin opening their minds to green options. The last five years have given way to the creation of hybrids, electric cars and smart cars for the new generation of responsible consumers. If you want to become part of the trend and help alleviate global warming, as well as lessen your normal gas expenditures, here are some of the most fuel efficient SUVs and cars of 2013 you can consider buying.

First on the list is the Hyundai Accent. This retails at $9,985 and entails a total cost of $11,464 on its first year of use, with the budget for gas already factored in. It has a fuel economy rating of 30 miles per gallon, and is considered the most affordable and low-maintenance car on the market as of today. It may not be as elegant as a Ferrari 360 Modena, but it certainly saves you a bundle on gas payments, since the latter can only run 11 miles per gallon.

Next up is the Kia Rio. At $12,295 per unit, this fuel efficient car offers more savings than the Accent running on 31 miles per gallon. The annual fuel costs for this machine reaches around $1,434. Even though it is less attractive, it is fully functional and will take you wherever you want to go.

Next, the Scion iQ. This is a smart car at only ten feet long, offering not only fuel efficiency, but also top-of-the-line safety features including 11 airbags. It gets 37 miles per gallon, with a 1.3 liter engine and has 94 horsepower, which is not at all bad for a car its size and a price of $15,995.

Fourth on the list, is the Toyota Prius. This is probably the most popular of all the fuel efficient cars released within 2011 and 2012, with a sticker price of $24,760 and a fuel economy of 51 miles per gallon. The best hybrid car so far, this midsize vehicle can accommodate a family of 5 and run with 134 net horsepower using a 1.8 liter engine.

Lastly, there is the Nissan Leaf SV. One of the latest fuel efficient SUVs released, this vehicle is actually the first mass-marketed electric one of its kind in the world. It has a fuel economy of 106 mpg that cuts about $700 off of the usual power expenses incurred for this type of machine. Like all 2012 models, it has high-tech navigation and connectivity specs. Although it is quite expensive with a $36,050 price tag, it does receive $7,500 federal tax credit.

Some of the high-end green cars that did not make this list are the Audi A6 2.0T Premium and the Infiniti M35h. Although they are competitively stylish, their price ranges of $40,000 to $60,000 do not justify their use. For one, they have less fuel economy ratings than a $10,000 car at 33 and 32 mpg, respectively. If you want to secure fuel efficiency and the best value for your money, you do not need to sacrifice a lot for an attractive mold.

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Acura - History Of Luxury With Honda

In March 2006, the Honda Motor Company celebrated an important milestone: the 20th anniversary of their luxury brand, Acura. Created to give Honda aficionados an opulent make that they could be proud of, Acura has successfully expanded the company's reach far beyond more prosaic models such as the Civic and the Accord. Today, Acura is a very different brand than the company that was birthed in 1986. Let's take a glimpse at Acura's past, their present line up, and what the next 20 years may bring for this esteemed Japanese automaker.

Back in 1981, Honda saw an opportunity opening up for itself that no one in Honda's headquarters wanted to miss out on: building and selling luxury cars to American consumers. Mercedes and BMW were both gaining traction in the U.S. as American luxury brands Cadillac and Lincoln sputtered and lost market share. Honda was already receiving widespread consumer acceptance and critical acclaim for the three models it was then selling in the U.S., so the decision to market more expensive and upscale cars was viewed as a strong possibility.

When Honda management decided to go with the upscale brand, they did this knowing that the cars would eventually have to stand apart from Honda in order to command the higher prices. Simply selling up market Hondas as Acuras would not work. Instead, each car was outfitted and retuned to compete directly against the leading luxury cars of that time.

The first two models to be sold as Acuras were the Legend, a V6 powered sedan and coupe, and the Integra, which was essentially a three door coupe based on a Honda Civic platform. Later, the NSX two seat roadster was brought out to battle Porsche and the Vigor sedan was introduced to fill the gap between the Integra and the Legend.

Over time, the various model names were dropped and replaced by vehicles with 2 or 3 letter designations. The Vigor became the TL, the Legend became the RL, and the Integra the RSX. Today, the MDX SUV, RSX sport compact, and TSX sedan, join the three other models to comprise the current Acura line up. A slightly smaller SUV, the RDX, will be joining Acura's line up later in 2006.

The future of Acura looks bright despite strong worldwide competition. Although Honda jumped into the market a few years before Nissan rolled out it Infiniti division and Toyota its Lexus line, Acura has trailed its Japanese competitors for over a decade now. Some critics have contended that this misstep has hurt Acura, while others see it as a typical conservative Honda decision to expand the Honda brand instead.

Future changes for Acura are sketchy, but model changes will likely include the introduction of diesel powered vehicles and more hybrid offerings. Some auto critics have suggested that Honda has the capacity of outflanking BMW and Mercedes by producing super luxury sedans and sports cars. Renowned Honda quality combined with European styling, luxury, and engineering have fueled Acura's success so far. An expansion of this theme to even larger and/or sportier models could vault Acura forward.

Truly, Acura has helped reshape the original perception that many motorists had about the Japanese brands, by delivering vehicles that are high in luxury, tops in engineering, and strong in refinement. If the last 20 years have proved anything it is that enthusiasts can expect much more from Acura over the next two decades. Kudos to the Honda Motor Company for developing a brand that has been so well received.

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Short History of Volvo - The Commercial Vehilce Builder From Sweden

An organization centered in Sweden, is included in the production of Business autos like buses, equipments utilized in constructions. Apart from these, it has its customers from the marine division, monetary & aerospace segments. Previously, from the 12 months 1915, it absolutely was a subsidiary of AB SKF, which was then a ball bearing company. The Latin that means of the word, Volvo is “I Roll”, which can be assumed for being originated from your attribute of your golf ball bearing. Its parent corporation obtained registered the word Volvo, possessing an notion to produce a diverse series of Ball bearing. It had been registered from the calendar year 1911. But as an alternative to making use of Volvo, SKF applied “SKF” as a name for that series of golf ball bearing.

At that time the roads ended up being not very good & received several potholes. So, within the twelve months 1924, an thought struck in the minds of Assar Gabrielsson, who was performing in SKF as being a income supervisor & an engineer from the exact same company, Gustav Larson, to manufacture automobiles which may be simply driven within the rough roads. And even now, the automobiles built by Volvo are created tough adequate to tolerate the jerks & potholes of tough terrain. The very first car or truck, to become rolled out from the corporate was named as Jakob (Volvo OV-4) & it took area on 14th of April, 1927. On this 12 months quite a smaller amount volume of vehicles ended up created. The factory was in Hisingen, Gothenburg.

It soon entered within the production of trucks & the very first truck was Series 1. Its vehicles ended up not that popular from the outer current market, as its vans ended up being & therefore huge variety of trucks was exported to overseas nations around the world. It truly is described that, initially some sort of developing problem was there within the autos of Volvo, because the engine was very near to Fuel tank, which led to the explosion. An additional milestone inside the history in the organization was the launching of Buses & the primary bus, bearing the organization brand, was B1. As the corporation was expanding by entering into different segments of engine automobiles, subsequently it also entered within the discipline of aircraft engines, development products & started out production them. Apart from expanding in unique segments, it also entered in other countries to determine its plants. The primary plant was set up in Canada.

The corporate was allowed to manufacture cars by staying inside SKF group. Within the 12 months 1935, firm identified itself, listed from the commodity swap of Stockholm. Inside the very same 12 months, SKF made a decision to offer the shares of Volvo. Although the company, which was outlined in NASDAQ, was taken off from your listing in the season 2007, but it can be even now existing inside the number of Stockholm investment swap. Following separating from SKF, Volvo made its personal vehicles & other motor vehicles, till 1999 when it marketed the car division to Ford Motor Business. Now beneath the organization, Volvo AB, accustomed to manufacture only commercial cars, although the Ford employed the Emblem on passenger automobiles. Someday after Ford realized that Volvo is just not doing adequate earnings & therefore it had been made the decision from the upper management to advertise out the Volvo auto division & at existing, Volvo is inside hands of Geely car, a Chinese language car or truck maker. A division of Renault was offered to Volvo & as for every the agreement Renault holds the highest volume of shares from the Swedish organization. Volvo at first took some of shares in Nissan diesel, from your Nissan motors but holding a vision, to broaden from the Asian industry, within the brain it completely owned the agency.

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A Brief History Of Toyota

In July of 2012, the Toyota Motor Company reported that they had manufactured their 200 millionth vehicle. They employ over 300,000 employees worldwide and are number eleven of the richest companies in the world. Toyota has come a long way from their humble origins as a loom company.

The Founding
In the year 1924, Sakichi Toyoda invented a model of automatic loom that operated on the principle of Jidoka. Jidoka is a system whereby if a problem is detected with the system, it shuts down automatically to prevent further failures or injuries. Five years later, in 1929, the patent for the loom was sold to gather funds for the company. Those funds were used another four years later, in 1933, to create an offshoot division of the Toyoda Automatic Loom Company that specialized in vehicles. The offshoot division split off into its own company in 1937, and the "Toyoda" company was born.

Issues over the name were immediate. A logo was created, but the characters that make up the name "Toyoda" were more complicated than those for "Toyota” were. Toyoda also had several negative connotations -- a literal meaning relating to farming, for one -- that made the change to Toyota more appealing. August of the year the company was founded, their name was cemented as Toyota.

World War II
World War II was hard on the newly created Toyota Motor Company. Materials were in short supply, so very few vehicles were produced. Many of the trucks that were produced, in fact, had plywood side panels rather than any form of metal. While the vehicles did play a part in the war, the company was not very successful.

Postwar
Toyota was able to resume their production of civilian vehicles at the end of 1946 and into 1947. They released small cars at first. These cars were built for two purposes -- first to handle the largely unpaved roads of Japan, and second for good fuel economy. These small vehicles were named the Toyopet line, and sold quite well in Japan.

Unfortunately, when both Nissan and Toyota debuted in America, neither company fared well. To the average American, a full-sized vehicle was far more appealing than the small cars that the foreign companies made. Toyota recorded under a thousand Toyopets sold in 1958, their debut year.

Advancing on America in the 1960s and 1970s
In 1964, Toyota gave America another try with the Corona, known in Japan as the crown. It sold for two thousand dollars, and was capable of a comfortable 90 miles per hour on the American road infrastructure. Also in 1964, however, America began adding high taxes on the import of foreign vehicles. One of these taxes reached up to a full 25 percent. In response, Toyota and many other foreign automakers began building domestic plants.

Toyota fought each step of the way with Volkswagen, a giant in the industry. In 1965, they sold a mere 6,400 vehicles. By three years later in 1968, those sales had risen to 71,000. Three years after that, in 1971, Toyota was selling as many as 300,000 cars a year. Even so, they were a very niche market. Muscle cars and powerful vehicles were in style, and economic small cars like the Toyota models were largely ignored in comparison.

In 1973 this began to change. The oil embargo went a long way towards driving American interest away from muscle cars and towards smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles. This came to a head in 1978, when fuel shortages forced people to examine these small sized cars. While American automakers considered small cars to be an introductory product and consequently built them with substandard quality, Toyota pushed out new models of the Corona, Corolla and Celica to compete.

The 1980s and 1990s
Many of the other import vehicles and domestic manufacturers suffered in the wake of America turning away from large, powerful cars. Toyota took advantage of this weakness by releasing their own larger luxury cars with their same level of quality. These cars are the Lexus line, which started life in 1989.

The 1990s saw a wide expansion in Toyota's lineup, always taking advantage of gaps in the market and reasonable American demand. By the end of the decade, Toyota was producing full-sized pickups like the Tundra, a variety of SUVs and even the sporty Scions aimed at a younger target audience. In 1997, the even created the best-selling hybrid in the world, the Prius.

The New Millennium
The Toyota Motor Company has taken several blows in the last decade, however. 2001 saw the beginning of a banking and financial crisis in Japan, and Toyota was heavily affected due to their current chairman being deeply involved. The company was listed as one of the few biggest losers in Japan in terms of money. Still, this did not stop them from collaborating with a French group to begin producing cars in France.

In 2005, Toyota was listed number 8 of the richest companies in the world. However, the steady decline of the world economy in general and the auto industry in particular hit them hard. Despite being number one in automobile sales in 2008, by 2011 they were number 55 on the same list of rich companies.

Toyota has recovered handily, as evidenced by their position in the top 15 richest companies in the world once again. While they are not yet in the top spots as they once were, they are positioned well to move into the future. They have a wide range of vehicles on offer, from small compacts and hybrids to full size trucks and SUVs, with arms in sports vehicles and even Formula One racing.

As the world's gas prices continue to rise, Toyota's history of producing high-quality and highly fuel efficient cars will serve them well. Their line of best-selling hybrids will undoubtedly take the forefront in coming years, as people shift away from the larger and less efficient vehicles as they did in the 1970s gas crises.

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2012 Top 4 Cars For Moms

Automobile producers consistently develop new cars for people from all parts of society. Vehicle creators normally have a vehicle for every type of person. You may find cars for wealthy folks, autos for youths, vehicles for qualified personnel, vehicles for females and so on. Together with these types of cars, you may also find vehicles which are particularly manufactured for moms. Just what tends to make an automobile nice for any mother? Well, a mommy's vehicle must have easy to handle options, superior fuel efficiency as well as affordability to please a mom. Below are some of the perfect car designs of 2012 a mom may possibly have.

The Mini Cooper Countryman

Probably the most stunning characteristic of the 2012 Mini Cooper is its quad entry doors. Initially, Mini Cooper drove quite a lot of women crazy, but did not provide many entry doors. Entrance doors are an imperative feature of any kind of “mom vehicle” considering that mums normally take a trip with their kids. The cost of the Mini Cooper Countryman is very affordable. For just $21,750, Mini Cooper provides twenty-seven mpg of city road gas mileage or thirty five mpg of highway gas fuel consumption rate. Thus, the 2012 Mini Cooper is really a great vehicle for mums out there.

The Kia Optima

The 2012 Kia Optima is another economical vehicle a mom would like to obtain. It is lot more than only beauty as it's also very functional. The Optima operates on a 2.4 liter four-cylinder engine with mileages of twenty four mpg and thirty-five mpg for city and highway roads respectively. This is the best alternative at $20,000 in case you cannot afford the Accord or the Nissan Altima but want their capabilities for a lower price.

2012 Camry Hybrid

Camry Hybrid has been altered this year and has become one of the most cost-effective alternatives for mums. It's lot more fuel efficient than its predecessor and is available for a lower price. The key to its success is the lowering of excess weight. Any kind of car that is much less heavy than its predecessor would have much better fuel consumption rate. Its motor is likewise revised. The ac and power steering now runs on battery. Mileage figures for your 2012 Toyota Camry Hybrid are forty three miles per gallon and thirty-nine miles per gallon for city and highway roads respectively. The beginning valuation on the Camry 2012 is twenty six thousand and nine hundred, which makes it the perfect automobile for mommies.

The Volkswagen Passat TDI

The VW Passat has various attractive features and one among these is its outstanding 43 miles per gallon highway mileage. This helps to make the car suitable for the traveling mum. The automobile is sold for $29,995 and is completely produced and assembled within the America. Other features of Passat include great back passenger space, 236 torque, and an assortment of attributes that mommies may take advantage of.

Price tag, energy efficiency and design features make the above mentioned cars suitable for mothers who need to look after their young children and need an inexpensive automobile to go somewhere with their young children. With many options available these days, moms may opt for a vehicle that fit their style as well as personal preference.

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2007 Nissan Pathfinder Strikes Right Balance

A couple weeks ago I ran a review of my 1987 Nissan Pathfinder, and somebody at Nissan must have suffered a case of the burning ears, because this week I was asked to review the all-new 2007 Nissan Pathfinder. It's a very different car, and a good car, but in very different ways. It's bigger, more deluxe, and a very different animal altogether.

To compare the two Pathfinders would be inappropriate, and not just because of the twenty-year gap in technology. The things that made the old Pathfinder a brilliant car no longer apply, since most cars are dependable and value-balanced in the way that made it a famous little workhorse.

Let's start with the size of the thing. Today's Pathfinder has a third-row of seating more comfortable than the Volvo XC90, though not as big as the Chrysler Aspen. It's a good balance, since smaller size equals fuel economy. It's also taller, wider and longer than previous incarnations of the model, but there's no problem getting in and out, even with kids. Even still, the standard 4.0 liter V6 delivers efficiency in the 20+ MPG range, which is appropriate even in this rising gas price era.

Every Pathfinder I've driven has been appropriately powerful, and the current 4.0 liter V6 delivers plenty of getup-and-go without being a five-thousand-pound race car, like many mid-sized SUVs. The 6,000-pound hauling capacity is enough to tow even a good sized boat. Not the sort of thing equipped to tear down a house or haul your monster truck to the arena, but if the mood really moved you thusly, I'd say give it a shot.

The comfort is appropriate for the class of cars, and exactly what I expected in the price range. The engine is a bit louder than I expected, but under normal driving conditions you won't notice it. Having reviewed a ton of cars, I'm pretty critical of all the little things. Off-road performance shocks are standard, but it doesn't make the ride the least bit uncomfortable. Also standard are skid-plates for the oil pan, transfer case and fuel tank, so if you do go off-road, you can expect your ride to survive it.

The safety features are too many to list, but the real value in the care comes from its life expectancy. I've never read or experienced anything to convince me the new Nissans won't endure the same beating as the old ones, and my 1987 Pathfinder has 244,000 miles on it and runs like a charm despite being almost old enough to drink. Even at $33,000, your twenty-years of lifespan would only cost you $137 a month, and if your experience is anything like mine, you'll still have life left in the rig to boot, so the price will keep dropping month-by-month. I've only owned one Pathfinder in my life, but my goodness the thing has served me well.

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4 Most Popular Tractor Brands According To Google

Tractors are an important staple of the average farm. Without one, farmers and field hands would have a much harder time getting their work done. In the U.S. and around the world, tractors have successfully replaced beasts of burden as the primary implement for planting and harvesting crops and for countless other farm-related tasks.

Tractor enthusiasts everywhere are always on the lookout for a new restoration project. Like farmers, collectors, farm history buffs and others in need of information on tractors, tractor enthusiasts use Google as a primary source for researching facts and data on tractors.

Many of these users tend to enter search keywords with a single brand of tractor featured. These people may be looking for the latest tractor lineup or replacement parts for their existing tractor make and model. These searches have produced data that's useful for gauging the popularity of certain tractor makes.

Here are 4 most popular tractor brands according to Google:

John Deere
John Deere tractors are the most well known in the world. With 368,000 global monthly searches, this U.S.-based company is the clear leader in Google searches. John Deere tractors are highly identifiable by their green tractor bodies and yellow wheels, a mainstay color scheme since the company began building tractors. Deere & Company, the entity behind the John Deere brand name, also produces a wide variety of mechanized farming implements, construction equipment and lawn care machinery.

The company also provides diesel engines, transmissions and other drivetrain components for use in heavy machinery. During its history, John Deere has produced over 450 different models of agricultural tractors.

Ford
Ford tractor is the second most popular tractor brand according to Google's search stats, with approximately 301,000 global monthly searches. Ford tractors, also sold under the name "Fordson," were produced by the well-known Ford Motor Company from 1917 until 1991, when the tractor division was sold to Italian automaker FIAT.

Well-known Ford tractor models include the Model F series and the later Ford 9N and 8N. These antique tractors are largely in the hands of collectors. Despite their age, many old Ford tractors remain in service on farms all over the world, thanks to their durability, basic design, and a ready supply of spare parts available from a small number of suppliers. In fact, it was estimated in 2001 that nearly half of the 700,000 N Series tractors built were still in regular service.

Case
With 110,000 global monthly searches on Google, Case tractors are the third most popular tractor brand researched on the search engine. Like Ford and John Deere, Case has a storied history under its belt. The company's namesake, J.I. Case, started building farming implements as early as 1842.

Most of these implements were steam-powered, but Case would later introduce gas-powered tractors and farm equipment by the early 1900s. While the company itself merged with New Holland to form a new division controlled by Fiat, the brand and its tractors continue to live on. Current Case tractors have the notable distinction of being able to run on "B5" biodiesel fuel and with some modification, 100% pure biodiesel.

Massey Ferguson
Last but not least is Massey Ferguson, with just 74,000 global monthly searches on Google. The company was formed as a merger between two existing farm equipment manufacturers in 1953, with the Massey Ferguson namesake being used in 1958. Nevertheless, the company can trace its heritage back to the original Massey Manufacturing Company that started back in 1847.

Despite currently being a subsidiary of farm equipment manufacturer AGCO, tractors and other implements are still being built under the Massey Ferguson name. Massey Ferguson offers ten separate tractor lines, ranging from sub-compact tractors for minor yard work to large, high-horsepower models for major agricultural tasks.

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