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Automobiles articles

Reinventing the Wheel
New hybrid cars and alternative fuels could make our love affair with the car a little less dirty. With gas prices soaring, oil reserves shrinking, and our climate heating up, we all need ways to cut consumption and clean up our act.

Fuel for Thought
It can be made out of food crops or the oil that cooked your lunch. It can power cars and cut pollution, and no one has to go to war to get it. It’s called “biofuel.” Compared to gasoline or pure diesel, biofuels produce less carbon dioxide, the main chemical responsible for global warming.

Rude Crude
We know that engine oil depletes fossil fuels and, if disposed of improperly, kills wildlife and pollutes water. Both synthetic and regular oil are petroleum products derived from fossil fuel. Both have to be drained, disposed of, and replaced. How do we evaluate oil companies’ claims that we could cause less pollution if we switched from regular engine oil to synthetic oil?

Going Carless
The love of my life is the 1969 Toyota Corolla that I bought in high school and have driven ever since. For 16 years Putt-Putt has served me faithfully through life’s triumphs and disappointments. Finally, though, he needs a serious fix-up and we’re facing a sobering question.