Buy Smart: Fuel-Efficiency Ratings

With the sharp spike in gasoline prices, doing your homework on fuel efficient vehicles prior to purchasing your next car is essential and will mean big annual savings at the pumps. Fortunately, the U.S. Department of Energy provides a well-organized, must-visit resource with fuel-efficiency ratings and side-by-side comparison tools for each make and model dating back to 1985 at FuelEconomy.gov. The site goes beyond the basic MPG stats with detailed information on each vehicle’s average annual fuel costs, real cost of driving each vehicle 25 miles, carbon footprint of each model, EPA Air Pollution Score, and much more.

Links to convenient search options and model comparisons follow:

Most and Least Fuel-Efficient Cars by Class

Compare Models Side-by-Side

Fuel-Efficiency by Vehicle Class

Vehicles by MPG

Fuel-Efficiency by Make, Model and Year

The site also provides a variety of information and articles on gas-saving tips, local gas prices, information on available tax incentives for Hybrid Vehicles, and links to useful articles on fuel-efficient vehicles and saving at the pump from across the web.