Looking for a cool car?  Well, Kelley Blue Book has come up with a list of the best budget rides that are cool to drive.

Ford Fiesta - $13,320-$17,120 gas mileage 29 city/38 highway. KBB says that the Fiesta is “better looking, nicer inside, and even more fun” than the Honda Fit, which is a KBB favorite.

Honda Fit - $14,900-$16,410 gas mileage 27 city/33 highway.  KBB loves the navigation and iPod integration options available, and its “fun to drive character.”

Honda Civic - $15,455-$25,340 gas mileage 26 city/34 highway.  Not cool per say but it has great style and options.

Hyundai Elantra Touring - $15,995-$18,995 gas mileage 23 city/31 highway.  “Technology rich”

Kia Soul - $13,300-$17,195 26 city/31 highway.  KBB says it has “confident styling” and great technology.

Mazda3 - $15,345-$22,145 25 city/33 highway.  KBB says its the “hat trick of cool.”

If you were looking to buy something cool for a pretty good price, check out these cars. My favorite…..none honestly.  I guess I would choose the Honda Civic, but that’s not very cool, actually boring. But hey it’s a good car nonetheless!

I read numerous articles and websites to find the car tidbits from the past week or so that were the most interesting/newsworthy for you.

GM is giving a year’s supply of diapers and other baby supplies to a Minnesota woman who gave birth to a baby while driving (yes I said driving) a 2005 Chevy Cobalt.  The woman was on her way to the hospital and the father was riding shotgun because he suffers from seizures.  After the baby was born, she turned the heat up in the car, held the baby, and let the father “steer them to the hospital.”  Everyone is fine, and actually they lucked out with GM’s presents. I guess maybe we should buy GM vehicles, just in case this ever happens to any of us!

Consumer Reports did a telephone survey recently asking people what factors in when they are buying a new car.  Well, brand loyalty is number 1.  People like to buy cars that they are comfortable with, though brand loyalty varies quite a bit between men and women and age groups.  Also, people are most likely to switch brands for higher quality and better fuel economy. Lower prices, better safety records, and more standard equipment play a factor in purchasing as well.  Nothing we didn’t already know.

This is funny.  A reporter for KTLA tv in Los Angeles is doing a live report in a parking lot about the best road trip cars to buy.  While a man is describing each car and its road trip advantages, a police officer is writing parking tickets for each car and handing them to the reporter as she is doing the LIVE segment. She says on air that she had paid for parking, but the officer could care less and just keeps on writing tickets and handing them to her.  Funny.  Check out youtube to see the segment.

In case you missed it,  Dario Franchitti won the Indy 500.  There was a serious crash and one car flew through the air and slammed into the fence and exploded into pieces. Luckily, the driver was extracted and looks as though he broke his leg but escaped without further problems.

There’s your car tidbits for the week.  Some pointless information, but interesting nonetheless.

We need to find ways to save gas and make out vehicles get better gas mileage. The automakers will work to make the vehicles better, but we can do things to help our gas mileage as well. There are 6 gas myths that I thought I would share with you from yahoo.com.  Some I knew and some I didn’t.

1.  It takes more fuel to start a vehicle than it does to let it idle. - Idling uses a 1/4 to 1/2 gallon of fuel an hour (which costs about 1-2 cents per minute.)  Don’t let your car stay running for more than a few minutes if you are stopped.  It doesn’t take more fuel to restart it than be idle.

2.   Vehicles need to be warmed up before they are driven. - Old wives tale. You can drive off in your car as soon as you start it.

3.  As a vehicle ages, its fuel economy decreases significantly. Not true. If you maintain your car as you should every so often, the gas mileage should be the same on a car that is 10-15 years old as a new car.  You just need to make sure you get your tune-ups.

4.  Replacing your air filter helps your car run efficiently. Modern fuel-injection engines do not get economy benefits from a clean air filter, so therefore this is false.

5.  Aftermarket additives and devices can dramatically improve your fuel economy. False. No one thinks that there is anything out there to drastically improve your fuel economy.  It will just cost you a lot for the aftermarket device/additive.

6.  Using premium fuel improves fuel economy. You should only use premium gas if your car says that you specifically need to.

So, if there are someone who believed any of these myths before, I hope that you are now feeling better about yourself that you learned something new. We just need to wait for the automakers to find ways to improve our gas mileage.  Until then…..

When you think of fast cars, you think of the price tag, right?  I do. Ferrari, Porsche, Aston Martin, etc. You know the fast cars that I mean.  Anyways, there are several fast cars under $50,000 that might be more up your alley for price.  Actually I’m sure it’s a better price for most Americans.  Hannah Elliott from Forbesautos.com came up with this list.

Nissan 370Z, Ford Mustang GT500, and Infiniti G37 are all under $50,000 and get from 0 to 60 mph in less than 6 seconds. That’s fast, right?  BMW made the list for several cars….the BMW Z4, which is $46,000, BMW 335i for $40,600, and the BMW 135i for $36,050, and all under 6 seconds as well.  The fastest ones for cheap are the Mustang $48,645 in 4.3 seconds, Dodge Challenger SRT8 $41,230 in 4.9 seconds, and Chevy Camaro SS $30,945 (cheap!) 4.6 seconds.

So, if you have some money in your sock drawer and are looking for a fast car, here are some choices that are a fairly responsible price, at least for fast car standards!

Now this doesn’t seem like a good statistic because these are only reported accidents (and there are many more accidents that just don’t get reported,) but Insurance.com compiled a list of cities with the most accidents, according to autoweek.com.  Probably at first you might think you can name the cities (the biggest ones, right?) well that’s not necessarily true. I know I did.  Why wouldn’t it be New York City and Los Angeles, etc.?  Well with this study, Massachusetts, Alaska, Hawaii, and New York were not included, so who knows where on the list NYC would have been.  The way insurance.com got this information was by keeping track of everyone that was getting a car quote. You have to state if you have been in an accident previously, and then by percentage, the cities with the most accidents were determined.

Most dangerous cities (aka most accidents):

1. Baltimore, MD 36.5% (drivers claiming to have been in a previous accident)

2.  Johnstown, PA 34.5%

3.  Portland, Maine 33.4%\

4.  Des Moines, Iowa 33.2%

5.  Erie, PA 33.1%

116. Los Angeles, CA  26.3%

122.  Chicago, IL 26.1%

Best Cities (with least accidents)

1.  Yuma, Az 17.2%

2.  Flint, Michigan 18.2%

3.  Traverse City, Michigan 18.9%

4.  Detroit, Michigan 18.9%

5.  Grand Rapids, Michigan 20.7%

As I said earlier, I’m not sold on insurance.com’s surveying system. First of all, how many people don’t report that they’ve been in an accident to a potential insurance company?  If there previous insurance wasn’t involved, they might not tell.  Also, the states that weren’t included could have definitely had some cities on these lists.  It’s just interesting to read, but I don’t think we should take these results as the bible….not that we ever really do!

So caranddriver.com came up with a list, which I’m sure it’s 100% accurate, but a good idea nonetheless.  I’m not going to give you all of them, just the top 5.  Car and Driver determined these cheapest cars by combining MSRP, 3 years of ownership, cost of fuel (estimation of 12,000,) and cost of insurance (yet again another estimation, but you get the idea.)

Nissan Versa 1.6 Base - MSRP $10,710, Mileage 29 mpg, 3 year fuel cost $3194, 3 year insurance cost $3602, Total 3 year cost $17,506

Hyundai Accent Three-Door Hatchback - MSRP $10,690, mileage 31 mpg, 3 year fuel cost $2988, 3 year insurance cost $4351, total 3 year cost $18,029

Smart Fortwo Coupe - MSRP $12,635, mileage 36 mpg, 3 year fuel cost $2573, 3 year insurance cost $3279, total 3 year cost $18,487

Chevrolet Aveo Sedan - MSRP $12.685, mileage 30 mpg, 3 year fuel cost $3088, 3 year insurance cost $3536, total 3 year cost $19,309

Kia Rio Sedan - MSRP $12,390, mileage 31 mpg, 3 year fuel cost $2988, 3 year insurance cost $4000, total 3 year cost $19,378

Obviously, all of these cars are small, they would have to be for these prices, but still it’s nice to know that there are cheap choices out there for people!

Getting ready to soak in the summer rays?  Well, MSNBC.com has come up with the top summer cruising cars for all your needs, whether it’s towing a boat, or really enjoying the summer sun.  Maybe you already have a summer car that you are about to take the cover off and clean for the first time this year.  It’s an exciting time. I on the other hand, don’t yet have a summer cruising car, so maybe I’ll get one of these.

Chevrolet Suburban - for all your boat towing needs this summer.  Not only can you tow a boat but carry the entire family and all the “stuff” needed for summer vacations!

Chrysler Town & Country - yet again for all the stuff and kids when you go all the family vacations.

Ford Mustang Convertible - great convertible car….enough said

Honda Element - a lot of people think this is an ugly car, but it is perfect for pet owners that travel a lot with their animals.  There is a cargo area kennel in the back of this car.

Jeep Wrangler - for all your off-roading and beach party needs.

Mazda MX-5 Miata - another great convertible that screams summer cruisin’!

There are a few more in the article, but these are the ones that I think will be the best for your summer cruising needs.  I might need to pick myself up one of these for my summer needs!

In case you missed this craziness, a Canadian woman brought her 2004 Mazda to a dealership in Ontario, Canada to have her tires replaced and was convinced by a saleman to buy a 2010 Mazda6 that was a demo with 3700 miles on it.  How this happened is disputable, but what happens after is worse I think.  The Mazda6 had a final price tag of $66,000 CAD with taxes and added options.  This is a 60% markup.  Supposedly the salesman convinced the woman that in addition she needed stain guard, rust protection, and window etching for extra of course.  The MSRP is $39,969 CAD, the dealership priced this car at $45,846 CAD!  Holy cow!  Then add the extras, taxes, and finance charges, you get to $66,000.  AND then (if you can believe there is more!) the dealership approves her for a loan unemployed, on a fixed income of under $2000 CAD/month.  The loan was for 8 years, adding $16,000 to the price.

This is a crazy story yes, but a sick story truly.  What bank robbery.  The Better Business Bureau has given this dealership a D+ rating, but I think that someone needs to make sure that this never happens again. I would assume that this dealership will lose customers, but what a disgrace.  If you live or visit Ontario, make sure you don’t go to the Mazda dealership in Orangeville.  If anyone learns something from this, you really need to do quite a bit of homework and research before you go to any dealership to buy a car.  You need to know exactly what you are doing in order to never have a situation like this happen to you.  All of us have been at the dealership with a sneaky salesman telling you that you NEED this option and that option. Hold your ground and know the MSRP!

Chrysler is extending its’ zero-percent financing for 60 months through June 1 to continue to attract customers and compete with Toyota, who has the same zero-percent financing through June 1.  You can also get low lease rates and up to $4000 cash back.  Sounds good, right?  Must be to some of us, because Chrysler’s sales were up 25% in April.  They were also one of the few automakers that saw gains in the sales between March and April.

The problem is that these incentives put a dent in profits and can hurt brand images as well.  Automakers are trying not to use incentives, but companies like Chrysler and Toyota have no choice but to use incentives to try to get some customers back.  Edmunds says that Chrysler had the highest incentives in the industry in April at $3374 per vehicle, down $1000 from last April.  Toyota spent $2498 per vehicle, which is up $1634 from last April. Interesting what a year makes!

I think that even though incentives hurt profits and such, automakers need to use them.  There is still such problems in the auto industry that companies need to find ways to lure in customers.  Sales were good in March, but decent at best for April.  The recession is still hurting the auto industry and maybe one way to help the automakers is to use incentives. I’ll definitely take one!

So how many of you guys are having problems with allergies these days?  I know I am.  This is the worst time of the year for me.  The pollen is awful.  Well, I just read an article and I guess I should own a Volvo.  Volvo has come up with a micro-filtration system in several of its models to “capture the particles that cause seasonal allergies.”  There is an automatic ventilation system in the following models;  S80, XC60, V70, XC70, and S60.  Volvo is also putting hypo-allergenic interior materials like chromium free leather in their cars.

The good news is that you might not have itchy eyes or runny noses in your Volvo, but the bad news is that you don’t live in your car, therefore you will have to find an alternative way to deal with your allergies when you aren’t driving. On a serious note though, for people with long commutes, having the automatic ventilation system in their car to break down the allergies it is great for them.  When I’m driving in my car, it’s a short distance and constant getting out and then back in. I feel like for me, the system would have to work extra hard to clean the air, then a commuter driver.  It might be worth a try. Volvos are good, nice-looking cars as well.  A bonus there.