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Watch Evo pick its 2015 Car of the Year in this epic video

With just a few days left in 2015, it's the perfect time to check out Evo's annual Car of the Year test to determine the greatest performance vehicle of the last 12 months. The writers' picks for the 11 finalists spanned a breadth of engaging models and included: Peugeot 208 GTi by Peugeot Sport, Lamborghini Aventador SV, Seat Leon Cupra Sub8, McLaren 675LT, Porsche 991 GT3 RS, Porsche Cayman GT4, Honda Civic Type R, Ferrari 488 GTB, Chevrolet Camaro Z/28, Lotus Evora 400, and Mercedes-AMG GT S. For the venue to test the mettle of these performance machines, Evo stuck close to home this year and visited the twisting roads at the beautiful north coast of Scotland. Racing brothers Marino and Dario Franchitti also came along for the ride to provide two more voices in the competitive challenge to determine a winner. Evo's video explains why each model deserves to be among such rarified company but doesn't gloss over their faults either. There can be only one winner, though. We don't want to spoil it, so check out the clip for magnificent views of these performance machines through the Scottish countryside.

2021 Chevy Tahoe, GMC Yukon fuel economy and towing capacities go official

Most of the puzzle pieces have fallen into place with GM’s new full-size SUVs, but today we have fuel economy and towing to add to the picture. Numbers for the standard 5.3-liter V8 and upgrade 6.2-liter V8 are out, but GM has held back on the 3.0-liter turbodiesel inline-six for the time being. Those numbers are most likely not ready yet. Minor improvements and decreases are seen throughout the Tahoe/Suburban and Yukon/Yukon XL lineup. Because there are so many variants, weÂ’re going to just lay them out below for you. 5.3-liter V8 2021 Tahoe/Yukon 2WD: 16/20/18 2021 Tahoe/Yukon 4WD: 16/20/18 2021 Suburban/Yukon XL 2WD: 16/20/18 2021 Suburban/Yukon XL 4WD: 15/19/17 6.2-liter V8 2021 Tahoe/Yukon 2WD: 15/20/17 2021 Tahoe/Yukon 4WD: 14/19/16 2021 Suburban/Yukon XL 2WD: 15/20/17 2021 Suburban/Yukon XL 4WD: 14/19/16 As you can see, there isnÂ’t a whole lot of difference between two-wheel drive and four-wheel drive options. You can eke out an extra mpg here and there, but itÂ’s a penalty weÂ’d be happy to live with to have four-wheel traction. The biggest loser in all of this is highway mpg. Chevy has made the trucks bigger and added weight with the independent rear suspension, causing a decrease in fuel economy. For example, a 2020 Tahoe with the 6.2-liter V8 and four-wheel drive is rated at 14/22/17. The 2021 truck drops 3 mpg on the highway and 1 mpg in the combined rating. There are improvements to be found, though. A 2020 Suburban with the 5.3-liter V8 and four-wheel drive is rated 14/21/16. Fuel economy in the city goes up 1 mpg, but you lose 2 mpg on the highway and 1 mpg in the combined rating. ThereÂ’s a bit of give and take here, but at least a slight increase in city mpg has accompanied the greater loss in highway fuel economy. 2021-chevy-tahoe-chicago-01 View 12 Photos As for towing, the Tahoe/Yukon with the 5.3-liter V8 and two-wheel drive has a new 7,900-pound capacity, and the four-wheel drive model is rated at 7,700 pounds. Respectively, those are the best figures youÂ’ll get with the standard towing capacity. Opt for the maximum towing package, and the Tahoe/Yukon capacities go up to 8,400 pounds (two-wheel drive) and 8,200 pounds (four-wheel drive). The numbers all take slight cuts when you go for the 6.2-liter V8. Both the Suburban and Yukon XL offer similar or identical towing figures as their shorter counterparts do.

Here's how the EcoCAR 3 teams are going to green up their Camaros

Plug-in hybrids were probably not what the Dead Milkmen had in mind when they wrote their 1985 alt-punk classic Bitchin' Camaro (OK, we're not really sure what they had in mind), but we're certainly fans of the effort. The 16 college teams competing in the third version of the EcoCAR green-vehicle contest have declared which powertrains they will attempt to build for maximum environmental friendliness. They'll be working with 2016 Chevrolet Camaros that General Motors is donating to the competition. The US Department of Energy is also helping to fund the competition. Out of the 16, all but one will go with a plug-in hybrid powertrain which switches over from electric power to an engine powered by E85 (i.e., an 85-percent ethanol blend) when the juice runs out. Those schools include the University of Alabama, Arizona State, Mississippi State, Ohio State and Penn State. The lone dissenter is the team from the University of Tennessee, which is going with a hybrid vehicle powered by E10. This past spring, Ohio State was named winner of Year One of EcoCAR3, winning $10,000 in the process. THE Ohio State University (as students and alumni like to call it) also won the overall competition for EcoCAR 2 last year. The vehicle used in that project was a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu, and OSU also used a plug-in hybrid/E85 combo to take the big prize. Take a look at the list of schools and their powertrains of choice for EcoCAR 3 here. Related Video: