Here's a great resource:

fueleconomy.gov, the government’s official site for fuel economy information, has just released the new fuel economy estimates for 2012 model year vehicles. Please see the attached article for full details. The site has also published its list of “all-time” fuel economy top ten vehicles for model years 1984 to the present (go to http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/topten.jsp and click the “EPA Rated - All Years” for details). What’s new this year is that half the vehicles on the all-time list are 2012 model year vehicles currently available for purchase. Older, low-tech vehicles are being replaced by newer, high-tech models.

GirlDriver, USA Wins Popularity Contest

You know you're hot when teenage boys stare at you in awe. I had their attention several days ago, driving the 2012 2LT Camaro Convertible, white with an orange stripe down its torso. It also looks foxy in silver (see photo). I had come from our auto writers big yearly event, which we call Test Days. The auto manufacturers bring their new cars, line them up along the road leading to the track, the keys in the ignitions. We auto writers are let us loose on them around the Monticello Race Track in New York. At dinner the night before track day, we celebrate a new model year with the automakers and the next morning we hit the track for a day of serious driving. The folks at GM gave me a Camaro to drive away. I left the track and hit the highway. Almost immediately, I was stopped by two pimple-faced cops--they couldn't have been more than 19. They had a little blockade set up. Whatever they were looking for I couldn't have fit the profile even remotely. And, I was on the nose with the posted speed. But I got stopped anyway. "I knew you'd stop me," I said. I mean they were so young, they wouldn't have had the guts to arrest me. Seriously. "What's with this car?," the tall one said. I explained my job, as they looked at me quizzically. I showed them around the car and then the short one said, "I'd like this car for the weekend." "Can't help you," I shrugged. But would my tune change if I were facing a $200 speeding ticket? Hmmmm, well, no. It's not my car, remember. I did allow a car nut friend to take it out for a spin. A spin? We drove 100 miles. Top down, gray sky, cool breeze, September--there are moments when you just say, Hey, this convertible, horsepower, muscle thing? It's alright. The thing about the Camaro? It's pure Detroit. No accents. Detroit steel--no question about it. Jerry and I were driving a muscle car once and, looking misty-eyed, he said, "It's like driving yesterday." The rear drive Camaro come with a 3.6 liter, V6 engine paired with a 6-speed manual or automatic transmission. The tame model puts out 312 horsepower and 278 lb-ft of torque. Anyone who is interested in this vehicle wants its 0-60 credentials. The Camaro, according to the guys who test for this, is 5.7 seconds. It gets faster with the ZL1 that delivers 550 horsepower and 500 lb-ft of torque. Remember those 19-year-old cops? GM calls the interior color Inferno Orange. I call it red. Anyway, its paired with the white exterior interrupted by the orange paint strip. You won't go unnoticed. Gas mileage, at 18 city/29 highway, isn't bad for a muscle car . My vehicle as equipped including destination charge was $38,530. This was with the RS package that includes high intensity headlamps with an LED halo ring, 20" aluminum wheels, the 6-speed automatic transmission with tap shift and remote vehicle start and the orange stripe down the center of the vehicle. The rear view mirror had a back up camera in it--very cool to see it in the rear view mirror. And the car had head-up display. I wish more cars had it. It's so much easier to keep your eyes on the road. The Camaro was very well equipped--you want for nothing. Nice job, GM. I would have a hard time deciding between this and the Mustang Boss, which I drove a few weeks ago out in Detroit. I guess I'd just have to have both of them.

Mazda RX8 Grand Touring--Be Mine

Have you ever had this experience? A tone invades the cabin of your car. It's coming from the engine but it sounds like a choir of aliens. But, wait! It t is so integral to your existence you become one with the universe? No? Well, then, I guess you have not heard the engine of a Mazda RX8. That is a sound that makes you whole. I step into the Mazda RX8. The car is flawless. It's roomy in the cabin. The seats are very comfortable on a couple of long rides--and, to boot, they are heated. I did get all my stuff into the trunk though it was a bit of a squeeze. I let a friend drive it and he was so taken with the car, he convinced himself that it was a family car. "No," I heard him say, "this could be a family car." That's how bad this car gets to you. It is rear wheel drive, equipped with a 1.3 liter Rotary engine that doles out 232 horsepower and 159 lb.-ft. of torque. The engine is paired with a 6-speed manual transmission, and power assist 4-wheel ventilated disc brakes. My car was tarted up with a sparkling red called Velocity Red MC that complimented the 18-inch aluminum wheels quite nicely. There was only one choice for the interior color of this car--black leather. I would not term this vehicle a family car, but it has suicide doors and those two back seats will fit adults okay. Anyway, if you're the owner of this car, you're really not going to worry that much about the comfort of back seat passengers. I like the way the eyebrow headlamps work within the fluid design of the car, but at night in the country on those deer-infested roads, I yearned for more light to spot them. It's just fun to have an open moon roof in a car like RX-8 on a beautiful night. The only thing that I didn't care for is that gas mileage isn't great--16 city/22 highway and since it requires premium fuel and I could not stop driving the car, I spent a few pesos on gasoline over the weekend. My vehicle was a 2011 and as optioned it cost $33,055 including destination. I returned the car Sunday night, as I usually do, and I wept. I owned a Miata and when people ask me what my favorite vehicle is, I always say that Miata. With all its flaws--not that many--it was to me the car most in sync with my motor personality. I will add the RX8 to my conversations from here on out. What was Ford thinking when it divorced itself from Mazda? This company makes such great cars.

2012 Camry Hybrid Cranking at a higher FE

I drove the 2011 Toyota Camry Hybrid for a week recently. I logged 641.6 comfortable miles and averaged 37.4 mpg. I was quite happy with the functions in the car and the mileage, (EPA rating is 31 city/35 highway, combined 33). Like all of us, I wince when I put those fill-ups on my credit card. But, the whole trip cost only around $65 in gas, not a big blip on the monthly statement.

The story gets better with the 2012 model. Much of the hybrid powertrain is new--including the engine. The new hybrid system has a 2.5-liter four-cylinder that delivers 200 horsepower. Toyota has also reduced the weight of the hybrid by 220 pounds. The improvements give you better fuel economy, fewer emissions and also faster acceleration--7.6 seconds from 0-60. Fuel economy jumps to 43 city/41 highway, the best mileage of any midsize sedan available today, with a range of 650 miles.

Along with improvements, the Camry Hybrid LE will cost less. Toyota has reduced the price $1,150 to an MSRP of $25,900. The premium Camry Hybrid XLE model is $800 less with an upgrade package at an MSRP of $27,400. As equipped, the 2011 vehicle I drove cost $29,420. The hybrids arrive at dealerships in November; the gas-powered Camrys arrive October 3rd.

The 2012 Camry, with three powertrains, including the hybrid was introduced on August 23. The Camry. which debuted in the U.S. in 1983, has been a big success story for Toyota. Globally the car has sold 15 million since its introduction. It has been the best selling midsize sedan for nine years running and 13 out of the last 14 years. The earthquake and tsunami, Toyota's unintended acceleration nightmare, as well as increased competition contributed to a 31 percent decline is Camry sales from its best sales year 2007. It is still the best selling mid-size sedan with total sales last year of 327,804.

Serious competition from competitors is one problem that isn't going to go away. Hyundai sells a Sonata hybrid. Volkswagen has a Passat hybrid coming in 2013. And these days, those two companies seem to be the ones to worry about. Toyota, which faced criticism for not making a bolder new design with the 2012, defends its evolutionary approach. Bob Carter, Carter Group Vice President and General Manager, Toyota Division was quoted saying, "Styling like the Sonata's is not a quick way to get to 400,000 sales."

Toyota's reputation has been battered over the last year. But I wonder how many of its competitors could have held up as well under the pressure. Years of steadfast reliability have helped the company. I would worry about the coming competition, not only from VW and Hyundai, but from other manufacturers like Kia, GM, Nissan and Honda. Still Toyota is a strong company. And the Camry, with so many loyal owners, will survive. It may not have the record sales of 2007, but it will be strong.

Andy Pilgrim Shows Parents "Driving Skills That Kill" in His New PSAs

I met Andy Pilgrim at the Oregon Raceway over a year ago. Andy has won 5 Championships and 61 races so far in his professional racing career, has also been in the role of a factory driver racing BMWs and Porsches. He has raced for GM in Corvettes, Pontiacs (remember Pontiac?) and Cadillacs and is currently part of the Cadillace team for SCCA Pro Racing with the CTS-V Coupe.

When I got to the Oregon Raceway, a new and technical course, I was tired from the day-before travel from the East Coast and that day's all-day drive. I drove the Volvo S60 on the track, did one lap and handed over my keys. I knew in my gut I shouldn't be out on the track, but I didn't want to give in. At dinner that night I confessed my self-disappointment to Andy that I couldn't burn some rubber. If I wasn't 100 percent, I shouldn't be out there, he told me and then confessed he doesn't go on the track when he's tired either. Well, that put my little trauma in perspective.

Driving is serious business not business as usual. Our attention should be on the road 100%. Andy has a foundation whose mission is to teach new drivers good driving skills. Young drivers, not surprisingly, learn a lot of their driving habits from parents--parents who put on make up, talk on the phone, get into heated discussions and succumb to other distractions while driving. Parents: your kids are watching.

Andy has just completed three PSAs that are available for download at his foundation website, http://www.thedrivingzone2.com/psa/. They are designed to help parents. Check them out and drive carefully and attentively.

New Technology For Keeping Tires Inflated On Its Way

So many people don't know how much fuel economy they lose from under-inflated tires. Seriously, how many friends do you have who check their tires religiously?

But the estimates for a decrease in fuel economy run from 2.5 percent to 3.3 percent per mile for underinflated tires. A vehicle that gets 40 miles per gallon would get less than 39 miles per gallon at 3.3 percent. That translates to about 12 cents per gallon at today's prices.

But when you stop for gas, do you really feel like checking the PSI in your tires? Do you even think of it? Do you have time? It's one of those things that's so easy to put off.

Goodyear has a new technology under development that could help to make underinflated tires a thing of the past. It's working on something called Air Maintenance Technology (AMT). Miniaturized pumps, that will keep tires inflated to their correct PSI at all times, will be fully contained within the tires eliminating the need for external pumps and electronics. I once asked a GM engineer to name the worst technology in recent years and without hesitation she said, "the tire pressure monitoring system."

So presumably with Goodyear's AMT system, all those annoying warnings about your tire pressure that are both scary and inaccurate would go away. That alone is good news. But if we calculate the elimination of "low" tires relative to fuel savings, this could have a substantial impact on CO2.

No doubt these tires will be expensive, but would there be a case--like the argument that diesel eventually pays for the frontloaded cost by saving fuel and lasting longer--that you will make up the difference in fuel cost savings? We won't know until the technology is in the market.

Goodyear is speeding up its research in light of new government mandates for higher fuel economy. They don't say when the technology will be available. But the U.S. Department of Energy and the government of Luxembourg have given Goodyear grants to pursue the development.

Goodyear is also working, along with many other tire companies, on developing lower rolling resistance tires.

Can boxy be cool? 2011 Scion xB

I was feeling the need to connect to my inner twenty-something, which is buried beneath a few extra years, so I borrowed the Scion xB from Toyota. Certainly, this car, in a color named sizzling crimson (my people call it burgundy), intended to appeal to a younger generation, would dig into my psyche and pull out that wild and crazy girl I really am.

To be honest, I was expecting not to like it, but you know, this boxy little brat is kinda cute. In a boxy, little car kind of way.

It's got a 2.4 liter 4-cylinder engine that puts out 158 horsepower. Mine was paired with a 4-speed automatic transmission (a 5-speed manual is standard). With the technology built into the powertrain and transmission, the ride is satisfying and pugnacious, though it can be a little shy of go. Driving position is upright--something I've always found comfortable. All my stuff--a lot--packed neatly into the roomy interior, so there I was booking up the Taconic singing over a fair amount of road and wind noise, along to the XM Broadway channel, my constant companion.

The centrally placed gauges--speedo, fuel, tach--pop up out of the dash. I like the pop because it keeps your eyes closer to the road and eyes on the road is a major key to safe driving. The central location of the the gauges is not ideal. The large round heating and AC controls are joy to operate. The radio, less so, though it is not thoroughly mind boggling the way some are.

My vehicle, with premium sound and upgraded alloy wheels came in at $22,213 including destination charge. The base model is very well equipped for a small car and for the enthusiasts, there are hundreds of after market add ons. (The Scion is that kind of car--it has fans who want to add and add.) Fuel economy is listed at 22 city/28 highway, not the 30 or even 40 claimed by other small vehicles. I'm not sure why the fuel economy is so lackluster, but these days when the government is going for a corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) of 54.5 by 2025, this small car isn't doing us or Toyota any favors. (In car development years that's not a long time.)

To be brief, I did touch base with my inner twenty-something and over all I do recommend at least giving this burgundy brat a drive around if you are considering a new vehicle. You might think, uh-uh, at first glance, but look again. It comes in other colors, too.