Sebastian Abbot of the Associated Press wrote a very informative article today about our oil supply and how much Saudi Arabia can help the oil supply and help the gas prices.  The article is called “Giant Saudi field is key to boosting oil output.”  What happens in Khurias Oil Field, which is the last underdeveloped giant oil field in Saudi Arabia in the next year will be the single largest expansion of oil production in history and it could help us, the drivers, to not have to pay as much at the pump in the future.  Saudi Arabia’s state owned oil company, Aramco, will be spending about $10 billion to build the oil field to pump 1.2 million barrels of oil per day. This should happen by next June, but there is a shortage of qualified workers, so this project could be delayed.  Currently, the Saudis produce about 11 million barrels of oil per day and after this project it will pump 12.5 million barrels per day by 2009. 

What is interesting is that many nations have tried to push Saudi Arabia to produce even more oil saying that they are not meeting the demand. Saudi Arabia disagrees, stating that ”financial speculators and the falling dollar are to blame for high oil prices, not a shortage of supply.”  Saudi Arabia also has stated that it could produce up to 15 million barrels of oil per day in the future if needed, but has no intention of doing so this currently.  I guess what we need to do if hope that the oil expansion is done by next June as planned so that a few more million barrels are produced daily to help relieve some stress of the demand.  Also, if everyone conserved just alittle bit of oil through smaller cars and so on, we could help the gas prices go down as well. Think Green!

I was reading MSNBC.com today and I found a blog written by Mark Mullen, a NBC News Correspondent.  He wrote this article on June 26, and I thought it was worth discussing. The title of his blog was “Demand Side of Oil Issue: 1.3 billion Chinese.”  Basically the article is about how the West, especially the United States is pointing its finger at China as the ”gas-guzzling energy hog responsible for driving up fuel costs worldwide and polluting the planet all at once.”  Even though the average Chinese uses about one-sixth of the energy consumption of an average American, we still keep pointing our finger at them.  How can this be?  Well, I guess it’s because there are 1.3 billion Chinese and every day 1000 new vehicles hit the streets in Beijing alone.  More and more Chinese are getting the opportunity to buy cars. 

I think that this idea by Mark Mullen is ridiculous. China might have more people than the United States, so obviously they would use more gas and energy, but if you look at the consumption on the average person, let me repeat this information again…..average Chinese use ONE-SIXTH of the energy that the average American does. That says it all. There is no way that we or anyone can blame China. Yes, their gas prices are relatively cheap compared to the international prices. This is due to the fact that China is trying to encourage economic growth, so the government is subsidizing fuel costs with government money. 

Many Americans do not think about the environment or even the gas or gas prices when they are driving their big SUVs and trucks, running their air conditioners non-stop, and everything else Americans do that do harm to the environment and continue to use astronmic levels of energy and gasoline.   The Chinese are more “green” according to one American who has been living in China for the last year. He says that they recycle better and he has not used a clothes dryer yet since he has been there. So, I guess the United States and anyone else trying to blame China for our oil issues, need to look right in their own backyard. Everyone is contributing to this problem, some more than others…..

One hand, Barack Obama is making some automakers happy with his potential funding for energy technology and then you have John McCain who is making automakers very unhappy with his thoughts and ideas of the way things should be going forward.   Detnew.com says that one idea of John McCain is that he approves the request by California and other states to set their own standards for greenhouse gases from cars.  Obama approved this idea as well. Automakers are up in arms over this because it will potentially cost them alot of money to have to make cars for each states’ own standards. The automakers, such as, Troy Clarke, GM’s president of North American Operations said that a single national standard would “be very helpful in our eyes.”  The problem is that California would likely require cars to get an average of 43 mpg by 2016, which would be very difficult to achieve as well as very much opposed by automakers.  Last year, Congress passed a law stating that automakers needed to have their cars get 35 mpg by 2020. According to Clarke, this will not be “a chip shot” and “difficult to reach.”

Also, John McCain has said that he will not “bail out”  American automakers that are struggling to stay afloat while they transition from trucks and SUVs to smaller cars.  Automakers around the country have struggled to stay out of the red and the stock market is showing this. Auto stocks have plunged in recent times with more problems still out there.  John McCain does not feel that the Federal Government would help out these companies or any company in America today.

The going is rough for U.S. automakers these days, and I certainly think that they feel as though they need government funding and help to get back on top, hoping that the new President, whomever it may be, will do just that and help them out. 

Good evening, I hope that everyone had a nice ”Drive your Corvette to work” day!  According to autoweek.com, Jim Mero, the development engineer of the new Corvette ZR1 had a nice, fast spin in a production spec of this new car.  According to General Motors,  Mero did a lap around the famous Nurburgring in Germany in 7 minutes, 26.4 seconds.   Mero felt that he could have even gone faster in a couple of places on the track. This ZR1 Corvette is powered by a supercharged 6.2-liter V8 rated at 638 hp.  This time around this track is 3 seconds faster than the time posted by the Nissan GT-R in April.  The GT-R is powered by a twin-turbo 3.8-liter V6 rated at 480 hp.  

The Corvette ZR1 will sell for a base price of $105,000 and a fully optioned price of $117,000 though the car will get a gas-guzzler tax of $1700 off the price.  The top speed on this car is 205 mph, making it the fastest Corvette ever!  This car will go from 0 to 60 mph in 3.4 seconds, and for those that may care, the gas mileage is 14 mpg in the city and 20 mpg on the highway. 

 Only 338 of the 3932 Chevrolet dealers in the U.S. will be able to sell these cars. There will only be 2000 for sale this year in the U.S.  Therefore, the price of the Corvetter ZR1 will be even higher with the demand as high as most dealers expect it to be.

So, for those of you that missed “Drive your Corvette to Work Today” because you didn’t have one, find a Chevy dealer near you and buy the new Corvette ZR1 before next year’s special Corvette day!

On the campaign trail for the Presidency, Barack Obama met with several U.S. automaker executives this week according to detnews.com.  Obama asked them “what would be the one or two things the federal government can do that would be most constructive in this race against time for U.S. autos?”  General Motors Chief Executive, Rick Wagoner, told Obama that “U.S. automakers need government aid in researching new energy technologies and making them affordable enough to market.”  Wagoner said that there needs to be money for research for biofuels, batteries, and other technology to take away from our dependence on gas.  He also feels that there needs to be incentives and aids given to us, the consumer, in order to make these cars more affordable, and that the government needs to help companies to retool their assembly lines.  The Ford CEO Alan Mulally was at this meeting as well.

One area that Obama and the executives disagree about is that Obama has argued in favor of allowing California and other states to impose greenhouse gas emission standards. The automakers say that this would cost the companies billions of dollars.  Obama also feels that there should be even higher fuel efficient standards than were put into place in the industry last year.  

Barack Obama has proposed $150 billion over 10 years for developing new energy technologies, but the breakdown of money has not been given, so the automakers do not know how much goes to them.  He feels strongly that with this funding, it could jumpstart the energy development and soon there will be even more energy efficient cars being made.

Since people are trying to buy smaller cars to be more fuel efficient, the discussion of whether the smallest cars are as safe as bigger cars arises.  According to detnews.com, smaller cars still aren’t as safe as bigger cars, but they are getting more safety features and becoming safer to drive.  Automakers are putting more safety features such as side air bags and reinforcing the sides with high-strength steel. 

Due to the better safety features on the smallest cars, the death rate has dropped in the last decade to 106 per million vehicles in 2006 from 165 10 years ago.  Now, these small cars are now considered safer than small pickup trucks, where there are 116 per million vehicle deaths.  Even though the small cars are fairing better than small pickup trucks, they are still significantly higher than the largest sedans, with 41 deaths per million cars and even higher against the biggest SUVs, with 33 deaths per million vehicles.  “There’s an advantage to being larger and heavier,” said Adrian Lund, president of Arlington, VA based Insurance Institute, an organization funded by auto insurers.  “Those are the laws of physics, and they still hold.”

Today, 14 of 17 top selling small cars are getting good frontal crash test ratings. In 1997, none of these cars received any good ratings.  You do not have to compromise and lose safety features and overall safety with going with a more fuel efficient smaller car.  Smaller cars have many and some all of the safety features of larger cars. You have to do your research, but you can find smaller cars with all the safety you want as well as good gas mileage too. 

Which should you buy????  The new 2009 Jetta Blue TDI or the Toyota Prius Hybrid. A big decision and I will give you some insight of each car to help you make your decision. 

First for the Jetta details…….According to gas2.org, the diesel-engined Jetta can get 60 mpg. Realistically in real world driving, the mileage is more like 38 city mpg and 44 highway mpg.  Either way, this car has great gas mileage and also is reducing it’s nitrogen oxide emissions by 90%.  According to the Volkswagen website, this Jetta runs on ultra-low sulfur diesel that has 97% less sulfur content and is “radically reducing emissions.”   Another spec of this car, is the ”T” in TDI stands for turbocharged, so this vehicle has the great gas mileage as well as power.   The horsepower is 170 hp per 5700 rpm.  This car is a 5 cylinder.  The base sticker price is $21,990….very affordable and worth it for the gas mileage and lack of emissions for the environment. 

Now on to the Toyota Prius Hybrid, this car gets 48 highway mpg and 45 city mpg.  The base price is $21,500.  The horsepower is 76 hp per 5000 rpm.  This car is a 4 cylinder.  This vehicle is an Advanced Technology Partial Zero Emission Vehicle, which means that it produces extremely low levels of hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxide. 

 So, here’s some information and the choice is yours.  Looks as though the Jetta has more power, but I guess it just depends on what you are looking for. Both have very similar specs.  Good luck with your decision!

I thought for something alittle different, I’d let you guys know about some car shows in the Northeast this weekend.  In Caldonia, NY, there will be a Classic car show put on by the Finger Lakes Classic Chevy Club .  You do not need to own a Classic Chevy to be a part of this group or the show. It looks like a good show from the photos from last year!

Another car show will be in Latham, NY put on by the Capital District Chevrolet Club. Yet again, most cars will be Chevys but there will be some Classic Pontiacs and Mustangs as well.

 Quakertown, PA will be having a show on saturday with the host being the First Pennsylvania Mustang Club.  This car show will give trophies and awards, as well as cash.  They will have entertainment with a band and lots of food. If you are in Quakertown or nearby, you might want to pop in to the car show!

In Buena, NJ, there will be a Mid-Summer’s Night Cruise sponsored by Burger King.  The cruise begins at 6 and the first 100 cruisers will get a free whopper from Burger King. 

There is a Motor Jamboree 2 day extravaganza at the Sussex County Fairgrounds in Augusta, NJ this weekend as well.  On saturday, bring your Hot Rods, Kustoms, and Bikes, and on sunday show off your classic or custom ride. There will be live entertainment and fun for children as well.

So, here are a couple of car shows to keep your weekend busy, so if you are in the area, check them out or find a car show in your area as well.

I know that I gave you several distributors and manufacturers yesterday to choose from if you want or need aftermarket rims, but Americanracing.com has many choices for you and one stop shopping!  Americanracing.com has many sponsored drivers such as Tony Schumacher, Ron Capps, Jeff Beckman, Erica Enders, and more.

American Racing has many brands and styles of wheels, but their top sellers are the following:

Torp Trust Pro Size 15, Fastlane Size 17, Trak Star Size 15, Qualifier Size 17, Trak Star (Spindle Mount) Size 17 & Size 15

Here are some fun facts about Americanracing.com wheels found on their website….

1. On May 25, 2005, American Racing wheels set a NHRA world record by going 336.15 MPH on a quarter mile track.

2. On October 1, 2005, American Racing wheels set a NHRA world elapsed time record of 4.37 seconds in the quarter mile.

Another fun feature of this website is that you can actually “try on” different wheels on your vehicle and see what they look like. You find your make, model, and color of your car and then click on the different wheels to see which ones will look the best.  So, when you are looking for those aftermarket rims, you can choose Americanracing.com or many other distributors as well to find your match!