Ford Explorer Rear Seat Cupholder on 2040-parts.com

EcoBoost four-cylinder Ford Taurus certified at 32 mpg highway

For the first time since the 1980s, and let's face it, 1991 was the '80s, Ford will stash a four-cylinder engine in the Taurus sedan. With the four pot underhood, the Taurus will get 32 mpg on the highway. Gas mileage has also improved across the rest of the 2013 Taurus line, with the base car and the SHO model certified at 25 mpg or better on the highway.

Vauxhall ADAM with new 1.0 ECOTEC 3-Cylinder engine will debut at Geneva

The Vauxhall ADAM (pictured) gets the new 1.0 litre 3-pot ECOTEC engine At the Frankfurt Motor Show last year, Vauxhall announced they would be offering the Vauxhall Adam with their new 1.0 litre 3-cylinder ECOTEC engine in 2014, and we now know it will debut at the Geneva Motor Show next month before going on sale in the spring. The new 1.0 ECOTEC 3-Cylinder engine is Vauxhall’s answer to Ford’s 1.0 litre EcoBoost proliferating across Ford’s range, and if it’s half as good as Ford’s unit it should make the 3-pot Adam a fun and appealing option. Available in two states of tune – 89bhp or 113bhp – with both delivering 122lb/ft of torque and with a new 6-speed manual ‘box that’s 30 per cent lighter, the new engine delivers 30 per cent more torque than Vauxhall’s 1.6 litre petrol but can manage 62mpg and emissions of 99g/km for the 89bhp version.

Diesel joins Porsche Panamera lineup

Porsche has put forward some eye-catching fuel-economy figures for the Panamera diesel--although we may never see the car in the United States. Set to go on sale across Europe in August, the four-door is claimed to return a combined city/highway driving fuel economy of 36.2 mpg in standard guise under European testing procedures. When fitted with optional low-rolling-resistance tires, the fuel economy climbs to 37.3 mpg on the European test--a figure that gives the Panamera diesel a theoretical range of 800 miles on its 21-gallon fuel tank.