Going on a vacation this summer and driving to your destination?  Well if you are (I’m sorry I didn’t write this blog earlier for those of you that have already gone on a vacation and that includes me!) here is some helpful information to getting the most of your gas mileage according to the Federal Trade Commission. 

Here are there tips:

-Stay withing posted speed limit (that’s a tough one, but might be worth it because gas decreases rapidly at speeds above 60 mph.

-Avoid aggressive driving.  You can improve gas mileage up to 5% if you avoid “jackrabbit” starts and stops.” 

-Turn off the engine if you get stuck in traffic.

-Combine errands. Several short trips with turning the engine on and off can use twice as much gas as one trip covering the same distance.

-Remove excess weight from the trunk.  An extra 100 pounds in the trunk can reduce a typical car’s fuel economy by up to 2%.

 -Keep your roof clear.  If you load the roof rack or carrier you create wind resistance and can decrease fuel economy by 5%.

-Make sure your tires are properly inflated and aligned.  Your gas mileage can get increased by 3%. 

-Check and replace air filters regularly.  If you replace clogged filters you can increase your gas mileage by up to 10%.

So, those are your tips to getting the most of your gas. Hope it works for you and enjoy your vacations!

www.caranddriver.com

I just thought this was such a unique car that I should write about it. Caranddriver.com just featured this car on their website with alittle background of the person who custom built this.  A man, Chuck Miller, of Michigan designs and builds custom cars for a living. He bought the BMW Isetta many years ago for $1500. Miller had just seen the same kind at an auction sell for $41,000.  He then sat on this car for like 13 years not doing anything to it. He said that he thought the Isetta was one of the ugliest cars he’d ever seen, “so ugly it was kindof cute.”  Then Miller came up with the taxi idea for something fun to design and here we have the world’s smallest taxi, the 1957 BMW Isetta 300.  According to Miller, it gets great gas mileage, and is actually for sale, but you can’t really get a ride in it as a taxi. Too bad, I bet Miller would have a really good business in Michigan if he started a taxi service with the Isetta. I might use it, just to say that I was in the world’s smallest taxi! 

Anyone use the new “Cash for Clunkers” incentive and bought a new car?  For those of you that didn’t pay attnetion to this new program, I’ll give you a brief synopsis of who qualifies and what it is.  If you have a vehicle that is newer than 1984, must get 18 miles per gallon or less combined highway/city, driveable, insured, and licensed for at least 1 year.  The car must have the correct fuel efficiency requirements and the MSRP must be less than $45,000.  It must be a new vehicle.  How much can you get?  Well, that depends upon the car.  You can get $3500 for new SUVS, pickup trucks, minivans, and cars that get more than 2 miles per gallon or 4 miles per gallon (cars.)  You can get $4500 for getting at least 5 mpg more for the new trucks, SUVs, and minivans, and for cars you get the $4500 if the new one gets more than 10 mpg than the trade-in.  Here’s the kicker though. You can’t get the rebate plus the trade-in. In many cases, the trade-in value will be better than the rebate and therefore the Cash for Clunkers is worthless. 

The good news is that during the first weekend of the Cash for Clunkers program, dealerships around the country felt good about sales. They think that this incentive will definitely boost sales for them, but unfortunately the program ends October 31, 2009, so it could be short-lived. I like the idea of the Cash for Clunkers program, but you still need quite a bit of money to buy the new vehicle. That’s the problem. Yes, it will help get rid of the gas guzzlers and boost the economy, but the customer still needs money to buy the new vehicle, and there in lies a problem for some, actually a lot these days with the unemployment rate. I guess we’ll see how the program does. We can reevaluate in November.

www.smcgroup.wordpress.com

This very small car, the Ford Fiesta, has been making big waves in Europe and in a year, Ford is hoping it will be making big waves here in the United States as well.  The Ford Fiesta has been given awards from Top Gear, Car and Driver, and AutoWeek magazines.  Britain’s What Car? magazine named the Ford Fiesta 2009 Car of the Year.  This car was around in the late 1970s, but then was replaced in 1980 by the Ford Escort.  The new Fiesta is alittle longer than the Chevrolet Aveo5 and about a half a foot shorter than the Honda Fit.  It can fit 4 people and you can fold down the rear seats for more storage if needed.  In Europe you have a host of choices for the engine type, but in the U.S. it will be just one choice a 118-horsepower, 1.6-liter four cylinder engine.   The actual fuel economy has not been determined yet, but car should be in the range of 40 miles per gallon.  I’d take that!  The reviews all say that the ride is good and overall the Ford Fiesta is a quality vehicle.  I’ll guess we’ll wait a year and see if the Ford Fiesta can earn the Car of the Year in the U.S. as well.  We shall see. 

According to Consumer Reports and J.D. Power and Associates, the quality of American vehicles are just as good if not better than the Asian models. An article was written on msnbc.com by Dan Carney.  These top American cars were taken by Carney from Consumer Reports readers survey and J.D. Power and Associates Dependability Survey, which looks at problems of vehicles after three years. So, here they are (most are not surprising, but I think a couple of them are.)

In no particular order:

Chevrolet Malibu - won North American Car of the Year and earned Recommended ratings from Consumer Reports. The Malibu “siblings” Saturn Aura and Buick Lacrosse are good as well.

Ford Fusion (surprise for me!) - Recommended rating and ranked high on the Dependability Survey.

Ford F-150 or Chevy Silverado - Recommended rating and both tied for second in the Dependability Survey. F-150 named 2009 North American Truck of the Year.

Cadillac CTS - Recommended rating, Best Overall Safety, and second on the Dependability Survey.

Cadillac DTS or Buick Lucerne - both very similar getting Recommended ratings with Lucerne ranking second and DTS third in the Dependability Survey.

Ford Edge - nice crossover SUV gets Recommended ratings and first place in Initial Quality Survey by J.D. Powers.

Ford Taurus - too new to get recommended or see how it test in dependability, but it is a sharp car that seems to be worth looking at.

Chevrolet Tahoe - Recommended ranking and second place in Dependability.

Ford Expedition - Recommended ranking and third in Dependability.

Ford Mustang - not a big surprise for most.  This car has been around for a very long time.  It got a Recommended rating and third place in the Dependability Survey.  

So, there you have it. If you want to help the economy and possibly get a good deal on a new car, check out these American cars.

An article on msnbc.com, announces that according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, 2 door cars got good ratings in their crash tests recently.  The IIHS has said that it decided to test two-door vehicles, because they are asked frequently how the small cars perfrom in crash tests.  The overall results were “good news.”  The top vehicles were the Volvo C30 and the Ford Focus which received top scores for front-end, side, and rear crash tests.  The Chevrolet Cobalt and Honda Civic got top scores for front-end tests, and the second highest ratings for side tests.  The Scion tc got the second highest rating of acceptable for front and side crash tests, but the second lowest rating, marginal, for the rear tests.  The Scion tc is in the process of redesigning its model, which will have improved head rests and a stability control system.  The prices of these 2-door vehicles range from $15,305 to $23,800.  All the vehicles that were tested had side air bags that protect the motorist’s head.  The side test results were strong, “considering how demanding the side test is. It simulates being struck by a truck or SUV.”  Overall, I would say that these crash tests show good news for many people that are hesitant about buying a smaller car for fear that they are not as strong and durable if there was a crash.  

I thought I’d get everyone up to speed on the auto news from the last few days.

For starters, new details on the 2010 Rolls-Royce Ghost were released today.

www.lincah.com

The new Rolls-Royce Ghost that is due out the middle of next year is a nice looking vehicle.  It has unbelievable power with a 6.6-liter, turbocharged V-12 engine that puts out 563 horsepower and 575 lb ft torque.  The top speed is 155 miles per hour and the Rolls-Royce Ghost can get from 0 to 60 mph in 4.7 seconds.  This “smaller, entry-level model will share a platform with the new BMW 7 series.  It has an 8 speed automatic transmission.  The starting price will be somewhere in the low $300,000. A bargain!

More news.  Toyota has announced today that it is no longer profitable in the United States. Toyota has been extremely successful in the last several years in the U.S., but Toyota actually had a full year of operating loss. Not good for the auto industry. They are considering closing a warehouse in California.

The revival plans of the Aston Martin Lagonda, which was introduced at the Geneva Auto Show, have been put on hold and there is a good possibility that the project will be cancelled. 

Mercedes-Benz has done well with their fuel economy on their E-Class Sedans for Europe.  The diesels are getting 45 miles per gallon on average and the gas is getting 33 miles per gallon, which obviously is a lot less but has more power with 184 horsepower and a top speed of 144 mph, compared to the diesel of 136 horsepower and top speed of 130 mph.

And last but not least, General Motors has introduced “Remote Ignition Block” through OnStar.  A few years ago, GM introduced “Stolen Vehicle Slowdown” which would allow OnStar operators to remotely slow down the engine power of a stolen car at the request of police. Well, now they have outdone that with the Remote Ignition Block.  The OnStar operator can remotely access the vehicle’s computer and disable certain functions such as locking the vehicle’s ignition, so once the car is turned off it cannot be restarted.  This would help find stolen vehicles quicker, since the car cannot go anywhere after its turned off, and also hopefully help to prevent high speed chases.

So, there you have it. Alittle car information for your reading pleasure!

Have any of you heard about the new idea of pay-as-you-go car insurance that is being thrown around in California?  Well, it’s true. I found an article on autoweek.com that says that California is seriously considering doing this and as early as November.  What would happen would be that you could buy insurance coverage by the mile.  This way the consumer could just pay for the insurance that they use and save money.  Another thought of lawmakers is that people would drive less, therefore there would be less emissions, which equals healthier air, etc. 

So, how it works is that you can prepay for a specific number of miles. You could buy a blocks of miles for a certain amount of time, if you need more you can buy them.  There will be discounts available to you if you use this new insurance option.  Part of the plan can be that you report your miles to the insurance company and their insurance agent or repair shop will check your odometer. 

This pay-as-you-go insurance option is definitely not worthwhile for the commuter with a lengthy commute or people that drive a great deal one week and then not so much the next. It would be too hard for these consumers and probably cost them a lot more.  I guess it’s a good idea if it truly works out like California is hoping that it does. I don’t know if people will truly drive less to save some money.  I’m sure there are some people that will do that, but a great number of them?  I don’t know. I know I probably wouldn’t.  I don’t love to drive now, I do it when I have to, therefore nothing would change for me with this new pay-as-you-go insurance.  But that’s just me, I’ll be interested to see if it does begin in November, and how many people choose to go this route. 

www.nytimes.com

The new Audi TTS coupe is a faster version of the Audi TT. The Audi TTS was designed to compete with the Mercedes-Benz SLK350, the Porsche Cayman, and the BMW Z4 3.0si.  What really neat thing about this vehicle is that the magnetic ride suspension is constantly adjusting throughout your drive.  It “eats up bumps and smooths out the ride” according to detnews.com.  “It works by running electricity at different levels through the shocks, which instantly changes them.  There are different settings that allow you to pick how stiff you want the ride to be, the stiffer the ride, the faster you go.”  The wheels are bigger as well at 19 inches.  The Audi TTS has a 2.0-liter, 265 horsepower turbocharged incline four-cylinder engine.  It is an all-wheel drive engine.  The fuel economy is 21 miles per gallon in the city and 29 miles per gallon on the highway.  It starts at about $45,000.  I just like to give you guys choices….from the low priced brands and models to the upper end as well. 

www.mavel.com

A review of the new 2010 Kia Forte was written by autoweek.com with some good and some bad points about it. The Kia Forte is replacing the Kia Spectra in 2010.  The Forte is a compact sedan that is very similar to the Hyundai Elantra.  I think I’ll share the good points with you first then move on to the not-so-good points.  The good points - price only $14,390 to start with Bluetooth, iPod jack, and 3 months of Sirius Satellite radio.  That’s a definite plus!  There is also a 10 year/100.000 mile warranty. It offers both a manual and automatic engine.  Kia is looking to use this car to compete with the Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla, Mazda 3 and the Chevrolet Cobalt.  Tough competition and currently with the Spectra, it is getting killed with Toyota selling 5 times as many Corollas as Kia selling Spectras! 

Alright now for the not so good points of the Kia Forte, according to autoweek.  The automatic engine was noisy and not a smooth ride, and the manual had some clutch issues and was not smooth either. So, I guess you could say that maybe that’s preference depending upon the driver, but I don’t like to hear about the car not being a smooth ride. 

So, here are the specs for your information as well.

2.0 liter 156 horsepower V4 engine or a 2.4-liter 173 horsepower V4 engine.

0-60 mph in 8.5 seconds

Fuel economy 29 miles per gallon

So there you have it. I don’t know if after reading this review, I’d be rushing to go buy myself a Kia Forte, but then again I’m not sure I would choose this car over the competitors, even if the review was flawless.