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Ownership costs of traditional versus alternative fuel vehicles

As gas prices remain high, and an increasing number of automakers roll out plug-in hybrid cars and full-electric vehicles, it's becoming easier to be tantalized with the idea of driving right past the gas station and simply "plugging in." The debate ensues when it comes to cost: These alternative fuel vehicles mean a larger outlay of cash at the onset, but the long-term fuel savings could make the purchase worthwhile. To help straighten out this numbers game, we use the Department of Energy's Vehicle Cost Calculator to compare alternative fuel vehicles with their gasoline-only counterparts. For each scenario, we assumed that our hypothetical owner was able to get the full $7,500 federal tax credit and a $2,500 state tax credit, such as is available in California.

Tesla sues Top Gear. Oh, dear. +video

Jeremy, Tesla and Lotus Just over two years ago Top Gear took a Tesla Roadster to Dunsfold and played. And Tesla got the arse because Top Gear ‘staged’ the Tesla running out of juice. Jeremy Clarkson subsequently defended what they did – pushing the Tesla in to a garage – to demonstrate the biggest drawbacks of an electric car, like lousy range and refuelling measured in hours rather than minutes.

Renault Twingo Gordini RS (2010) first pictures

This is the new Renault Twingo Gordini Renaultsport, an upmarket version of the brilliant Renaultsport Twingo. And if you’re confused, let’s start at the beginning. Renault make the Twingo, but its tuning arm Renaultsport also tweak the city car to give us the excellent Renaultsport Twingo.