What is the most green car I can buy in America?

Question

What is the second, third, etc. most green car?

How much do they cost?

How much less gas would they take than a regular car?

Would I save money on gas?

Answer 1

Contrary to popular belief, the Prius is not that good for the environment(http://clubs.ccsu.edu/recorder/editorial... Just about the best thing you can do is either buy a super mpg car like a Yaris, Scion, Aveo, Cobalt of Focus (I think the Aveo or Cobalt would be the best, but I am predisposed to liking Chevy). All of those cars get at least 29 or 30mpg EPA. You don't even need to buy a new car to save gas. Try to keep your RPMs low. coast whenever possible, don't floor it when you take off, avoid situations where heavy breaking would be nessecary (by coasting more). Using techniques like that, managed to get almost 25 mpgs city out of my 95 cirrus that gets 18mpg EPA city. My mom's Impala gets 29 highway and I managed to get almost 35mpg. It's not really what car you drive, but how you drive it.

Answer 2

the greenest car you can buy would be a late 60's to early 70's plymouth. most were painted green and green interiors. ok just kidding.

i would buy a flex fuel vehicle, not a hybrid. i would also by a fairly small car like a focus for example. cars these days are better on fuel economy than cars of even 10 years ago. but you have to balance that with what you can afford. for example my 76 el camino gets about 17 mpg, but to replace it with a car that gets 30mpg would be a mistake. why? my el camino cost me $3000 to buy, and it is paid in full. a new focus would run about $15000, and likely you would be financing it which means you would be paying interest on the car, as well as extra money on your car insurance for the required comprehensive and collision insurance. in the end that new focus would cost you about $35000 when all is said and done, where as my el camino is paid for. the $32000 difference in cost will buy a lot of gasoline. on top of that i wont have to head to the dealer every time my car needs any work done like tune ups and stuff because my car is simple to maintain. before you jump into a new car, look at what your situation is and if you can truly afford a new car. remember that you wil be making payments for the next 5 or so years.

Answer 3

VW diesel run on biodiesel or wvo.50 mpg.$29,000 new.If run on wvo @ $1.00 a gal.

Answer 4

If you charge your car with your own solar panels, then check out a few electric cars.  Aptera = $30,000, and the Tesla about $90,000.  Aptera claimed to get around 300mpg and the Tesla uses no fossil fuels assuming you're charging it with your solar panels.  You would save lots of gas money.  But if you really want something green, be a local shopping organic vegetarian and ride a bicycle to get around (That's what I do!).  

Here are links to the mentioned cars:

Answer 5

Right now the best is the Prius.  Base model costs $21k.  It gets about 50 mpg, so gas costs about 8 cents per mile (for $4/gallon gas).  In comparison, if you have a 30 mpg car, gas costs 13.3 cents per mile.  So if you drive 10,000 miles per year, you're saving $533 per year on gas.

Another option in the near future is fully electric cars.  The first affordable highway speed EV is about to come out in June '08 - the Green Vehicles Traic.

http://greenhome.huddler.com/products/gr...

It will be able to go 80 mph, 100 miles per charge, and cost $20k.  EVs cost about 2-3 cents per mile to recharge, so you're talking about saving over $1,000 per year on fuel.

More info on EVs here:

http://greenhome.huddler.com/products/ca...

Answer 6

VW TDI Jetta in a few months.  It should kill a Prius

Answer 7

saving money and protecting the environment aren't exactly compatible at the moment if you are after a car.  you can get a car that get 35+ mpg for 10-15k, or one that is 45+ mpg for 25k.    i think a cheaper conventional car would be the best bet if you main goal is to save $.  well, that or a moped or motorcycle that gets 50-70mpg.