Hybrids Taking Fewer Years to Pay Off

The Department of Energy recently announced that it expects gas prices to peak sometime in early June at a national average of $3.73 per gallon. This would be good news — at least drivers could see a light at the end of the tunnel — were it not May 12 with the national average already at $3.71 per gallon.

Given that the price of gas has risen a penny a day (35 cents total) over the past month, a peak of $3.73 sounds, shall we say, optimistic?

As the cost of fuel increases, the benefits of buying a hybrid vehicle become more immediate. It used to take as long as five years for a hybrid to pay for itself in fuel savings, but with the price of gas spiking, that time has been cut drastically. According to USA Today, versus similarly equipped gasoline models the higher cost of a Toyota Prius would now pay for itself in 2.6 years, while a Toyota Camry Hybrid would earn back the extra dough in just 1.7.

Other hybrids, like the Nissan Altima, Mercury Mariner and GMC Yukon, can take between three and five years to recoup their higher cost, while the extravagant Lexus LS 600h, with a sticker price just north of $100,000, would take 102 years.

Hybrids Recoup Higher Cost in Less Time (USA Today)

Tesla Dealership Opens With Nothing To Sell

Silicon-Valley electric car company Tesla opened its first dealership last week at one of the busiest intersections in Los Angeles. It’s too bad none of that foot traffic will turn into sales, at least for a while. The first 600 Tesla Roadsters have already been sold, but only four have actually been produced. A transmission glitch which forced the company to completely change the type of transmission used has led to a delay which will keep the first 300 cars from production until at least December.

With another 400 folks on the waiting list for the $109,000, all-electric sports car, we’re not sure why the company would waste the rent check on a 10,000 square-foot store that cost $2 million to build.

There is an interesting aspect to the store though. It is a company store, not a true dealership, and salesmen are employees of Tesla and don’t work on commission. The company says it’s basing all of its dealerships on Apple’s successful stores.

Tesla opens first dealership in Los Angeles (AutoWeek)

Family Vehicles Not Selling

With almost every automaker seeing sales dip in April, most readers won’t be surprised by the headline above. Even so, certain segments of cars did see significant sales increases in April, especially economy cars. Even a number of luxury brands faired well. Some companies, like Subaru, had a record month.

One group that was hit hard, however, was family vehicles, and I’m not talking about big, truck-based SUVs. Minivans and three-row crossovers saw huge drops. The numbers below illustrate just how much families are tightening their belts in these uncertain economic times.

Silly Stop Signs Banned

By using comical expressions in sub-signs, like the one shown here, the city of Oak Lawn, Ill., thought it could get more people to pay attention to those pesky red-octagon-adorned posts. It seems drivers don’t like to wear their brakes out for every intersection they come across in old Oak Lawn.

There’s just one little problem: The Illinois Department of Transportation says these accessory signs violate federal law. Oops. The mayor had to have the signs, which cost $1,700, removed. Not to worry, dear taxpayer, local company 3M paid for the signs.

Chicago Suburb Ends Humorous Stop Sign Campaign (Fox News)

Taxpayers Pick Up Congressional Rides

Carping about the government wasting taxpayer money is always an easy, satisfying endeavor, whether that carping is grounded in logic or not. People like to complain about high taxes while simultaneously bemoaning their city’s crumbling infrastructure and lousy schools. Here’s a great example involving our favorite topic: cars.

Members of the House of Representatives get to lease cars with taxpayers footing the bill, including maintenance, insurance, registration fees and — God help us — gas. Senators have to pay their own way. Of the 435 representatives in the House, 125 take advantage of this option, and only one owns a hybrid (Democrat Michael McNulty of New York leases a 2007 Mercury Mariner Hybrid).

Leased vehicles range from a Chevrolet Impala for $219 a month (Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y.) to a Lexus LS 460 for $998 per month (Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y.).

How Long is Too Long to Leave a Child in a Car?

Many a parent has faced this dilemma: You need to hop out of the car to get cash from the ATM or run inside to pay for your gas, but there's your child sound asleep in the car seat. Do you keep one eye on the tyke, dash in and dash back out? Or do you rouse the infant and take him or her along for a cranky ride?

An Illinois woman recently found out the hard way what kind of penalties can result from this practice when she was arrested and charged with child endangerment for leaving her 2-year-old daughter in the car while she dropped money into a Salvation Army kettle.

The charges were dropped, but incensed mothers came down on both sides of the issue, some in defense of the woman — who was gone for only minutes — and others who saw the potential for danger in the situation.

Safety groups like Kids and Cars advocate taking the child or children with you no matter the situation. Last year, 232 children died in non-moving vehicular accidents (although this included those who had climbed into a car of their own accord), and so far in 2008 the tally is 36.

With summer on the way, the most crucial thing for parents to remember is how quickly a car can heat up. The temperature can rise 19 degrees in less than 10 minutes, and even a brief trip to the ATM can be potentially deadly.

Parents Weigh the Risks of Leaving Kids in Cars (Chicago Sun-Times)

Study: Teens Like Texting, Loud Music While Driving

A study released today by Erie Insurance says most teens think they’re good drivers, even though a majority admitted to texting while driving.

The survey asked 2,127 licensed drivers between the ages of 16 and 19 about their driving behaviors. The most interesting results were:

• Cell phone use among teens while driving is 76%
• 57% admit to texting “sometimes” or to often reading or sending text messages while driving
• 93% of teens play loud music when they drive
• 48% admit they're easily distracted when friends are passengers
• 91% think they're good drivers
• 34% say their friends are good drivers
• 97% have witnessed other teens take risks while driving

Now, back in my day there was certainly some loud music being played and friends on board, so I won’t chastise today’s fun-loving teens for that. The 57% admitting to texting in some fashion, though, is alarming, as is the 76% on the cell phone. I see far too many adult drivers performing poorly on the road with cell attached firmly to ear. What do you think? Alarming trend or no big deal?

Mazda Disposes of $100 Million Worth of Cars

What do you do with more than 4,000 cars that you can neither sell nor safely give away?

This was the conundrum facing Mazda after a cargo ship called the Cougar Ace tilted at a severe angle before being rescued by a remarkable salvage operation.

Mazda couldn’t tell if the vehicles had been damaged, but the possibility that corrosive fluids had harmed the cars was too great a risk. Even donating the cars would have created messy liability issues — say if an airbag failed to deploy or something else went wrong mechanically.

The issue of damaged cars on the market played out recently when, after Hurricane Katrina, hundreds of cars were salvaged from the devastation, slapped with a coat of paint and resold in Latin America, where buyers later found incredible amounts of sand and water damage.

Mazda has decided to build a disassembly line in Portland, Ore., where the cars will be broken down piece by piece. Wheels and CD players will be removed and destroyed, platinum will be yanked from the catalytic converters, and all metal will be crushed, shredded and sent back to Japan for recycling. All told, that's an estimated $100 million worth of automobiles done in because they spent a few weeks angled incorrectly.

A Crushing Issue: How to Destroy Brand New Cars (Autoweek)

Clinton Joins McCain on Plan to Suspend Gas Tax

Apparently, Sen. Hillary Clinton is not an avid reader of KickingTires.

If she were, she would know that we — along with many other news sources — pointed out that Republican presidential nominee John McCain's plan to suspend the federal gas tax over the summer was a pandering exercise in futility.

As we previously wrote, the plan would take more than $9 billion away from the nation's highways, as well as 300,000 highway jobs, all to save the average American consumer a whopping $28 at the pump from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

To her credit, Clinton at least wants to make up for the revenue shortfall by imposing a windfall-profits tax on oil companies rather than tacking it onto the national debt, as McCain would do. Oil companies have been raking in record profits. Today, Shell and BP both reported record net incomes of $9.08 and $7.62 billion for the first quarter.

Feel Cheated at the Pump?

We’ve heard complaints before about gas stations ripping people off by reporting more fuel flowed through the pump than their car could actually hold. That’s one kind of scam we’re against. But there may be another reason your car is taking more gas than it should. The problem could be a “check valve” that’s worn out — and the gas station may not even know.

The device is supposed to start the meter as soon as your hand depresses the handle on the gas pump. Pumps are allowed to charge up to six cents more than what is actually delivered in a five gallon test, but with a bad check valve the overage could be as much as $5 per fill up. The best way to prevent this from happening is to let your local regulators (often at the county level) know if you experience a legitimate overage.

And don’t think the guy behind the counter is trying to scam you. A bad valve could freeze the pump, too, giving you more gas than it rings up. If that doesn’t make you feel better, the co-founder of GasBuddy.com says most retailers wouldn’t know how to jury rig a pump if they wanted to.

Gas pump problem cheats everyone (Boston Globe)

Watch Out Plug-In Fans, Electric Rates are Going Up

The big potential of plug-in hybrid cars is that they’ll operate for long distances on electricity drawn from the home. That will save consumers pain at the pump, where prices are at record highs. But what happens when electric power sources see a price hike too?

That’s what’s predicted. The Energy Department says rates could rise 15% in 2008, the most in history. In contrast, last year they rose 2.3%. The price hike is due to the high price of coal, which fuels a majority of electric plants in the U.S. The high prices come from new international demand for the fossil fuel, even though it’s fairly abundant in North America. Other factors, like bad weather in coal-producing countries like Australia and China, are also fueling the spike for 2008, which may subside once those issues are resolved.

Some of the areas that will be hit hardest are places where electricity is derived almost exclusively from coal, including West Virginia and Kentucky. 

It looks like we’ll all have to get our calculators out once plug-in hybrids go on sale to see if we’re spending more at the pump or at the outlet.

Coal price hikes boost electric rates, more increases coming (ChicagoTribune)

We'll Take That Alternative Fuel Now, Thanks

Not to get all Chicken Little here, but even a cursory glance at today's news about rising gas prices makes for an ominous read.

At a record $3.60 national average, the price of gasoline is squeezing everyone, and there’s no sign of respite on the horizon. In Washington, D.C., truck drivers are staging a protest today, driving from Harrisburg, Penn., to RFK stadium, then assembling outside the White House. Truckers have to contend with the price of diesel, which has hit $4.24 nationally.

In Chicago, cab drivers have been forced to add a $1 gasoline surcharge regardless of the distance driven. This means a short jaunt in a cab will cost a disproportionate amount more, and may lead to more people choosing to walk.

High Gas Prices Mean Fewer Car Washes?

Here’s a trend we never thought of going along with record-high gas prices, which today are at a record $3.58 nationally: People are getting their cars professionally washed less often to offset what they’re paying at the pump. This isn’t the first time this has happened: According to one executive, the same thing occurred when the $3 gas price was breached back in 2005.

Now that gas prices have been solidly higher for some time there’s even more of a slowdown. Maybe its time to take advantage of those gas stations that advertise low gas prices with a car wash. With the discounts and the most basic car wash, drivers might come out even — and with a clean car.

As gas prices rise, more cars stay dirty (Sacramento Bee)

A First-Hand Account of ZipCar

As car-sharing service ZipCar grows in popularity in major cities around the world, KickingTires wanted a first-hand account of what it’s like to drive a ZipCar. So began a four-hour odyssey that would take me from a downtown ZipCar location, across the city of Chicago, and back to that same ZipCar location (Michael Bay, the film rights are still available if you're interested).

Let's begin with the basics: What is ZipCar?

ZipCar allows city-dwellers to rent a car for a few hours without the hassle of ownership, insurance or fuel costs. It's available in 12 American cities, and most have more than 100 remote locations — no storefronts — where you can pick up a vehicle (D.C. has more than 600 locations). Pricing varies depending on the plan you choose, but in my case I went with the Occasional Driving plan that required no money down. For a basic car — a 2007 Volvo S40 — this set me back $9.25 an hour.

Are New Diesel Cars DOA?

We here at Cars.com have been covering the alleged entry into the U.S. market of a number of new clean-diesel cars and SUVs for the past few years. 2008 seems like the year that we’ll finally see these more efficient, torque-happy models on sale at local dealers. Some examples include the VW Jetta TDI and BMW 335d.

There’s just one little problem — well, one new little problem: Diesel prices are sky high, currently at a national average — and record high — of $4.21 a gallon compared to an also-record-high $3.55 per gallon for regular gas. That’s almost a 20% premium for diesel. High octane gas isn’t even that expensive, coming in at $3.91 a gallon.

So, will this hurdle hurt the new diesels?

New Fuel Efficiency Standards Proposed, What Happens Next

Tuesday, the Department of Transportation officially proposed an increase in fuel economy by 25% with a 2015 deadline. The increase would be 4.5% each year over a five-year period, starting in 2010. That would move the current 27.5 mpg standard for passenger cars to 35.7 mpg, and move trucks from 23.5 mpg to 28.6 mpg. By 2020, the number would have to be 35 mpg combined fuel efficiency for cars and trucks.

In 2007, the fleet fuel economy average for cars was 31.0 mpg, while trucks came in behind the regulated level at 22.9 mpg.

Automakers are saying to reach these new goals they need to spend a lot of money on technology, a cost that will be passed on to the consumers. We thought there was another way to reach the goals.

Cars.com Survey: Mileage Matters Part II

In Part I, we tackled what car owners thought of high gas prices and hybrid technology. The rest of the responses were equally intriguing and focused on what will folks sacrifice for fuel efficiency? The answers to that question are below.

Cars.com Survey: Mileage Matters Part I

Gas prices are getting to consumers, we’ve found in a new survey, and even we cynical automotive journalists, found the other results pretty enlightening. 

Cars.com surveyed 1033 men and women to find out how high gas prices are impacting how they live with their car and how it will influence the next car they buy. The surveyed group was split evenly among men and women as well as location. Nearly half (48%) considered themselves suburban, while 29% said they were urban residents and 23% said they lived in a rural area. Twenty-eight percent said they drove more than 16,000 miles per year – 9% drove more than 24,000 miles per year — which greatly overwhelms the 15% who say they drive 8,000 miles per year.   

What did these folks say about sky high gas prices and what it means to them? Keep reading to find out.

GPS Devices Become Top Theft Target

Remember the good old days when burglars were smashing windows for your stereo? Now, according to the Hartford Courant, GPS units have overtaken stereo systems as the most prized in-car object for thieves looking to make a quick buck. Although that newspaper focuses on GPS-related car burglaries in Connecticut, the FBI confirms that it’s a nationwide trend.

The devices, which have become popular over the last four years, can fetch $100 on the street, and it’s often as easy as thieves smashing a window and getting a good running start.

Here are some tips for avoiding having your GPS stolen: It's not enough to simply hide the device in the glove compartment. If you can look into your car and see an empty holder for the unit or even the suction cup marks on the window, that means a burglar can too. Removing any sign of a GPS device and wiping the suction marks clear is the only way to signal to potential thieves that you still use good old-fashioned paper road maps. Also, be sure to record the unit's brand, model, and serial number, in case it turns up later at a pawn shop.

Thieves Zero in on GPS Devices (Hartford Courant)

I Just Paid $4.20 For Gas

There I was, just minding my own business, test-driving the new BMW M3, when a warning went off about having low fuel. According to the trip computer, I still had 50 miles or so to go before I reached empty, but I decided to be safe and pull into the gas station around the corner from my place on the north side of Chicago.

The M3 requires high-octane gas since it’s such a performance machine. I hit the 93 octane at a whopping $4.199 a gallon and topped off. After nearly 14 gallons the grand total was $57.94. In honor of the occasion and high prices nationwide, it might be a good time for everyone to tell us what they paid for a gallon of gas recently in the comments below.

Gas Hovers Under $3.50, Will Go Higher

I was sipping my coffee this morning and watching the news about the earthquake I slept through and I was mildly shocked to hear during a financial update that the national average price for a gallon of gas has hit $3.45, according to AAA.

The real surprise, though, was the notion that it’s pretty much a foregone conclusion we’ll pass $3.50 very soon. I hadn’t thought we’d be there this soon, and unlike surges in gas prices since Katrina, the rise in prices has not seen any real decline since the beginning of the year.

The psychological $4 gallon mark is fast approaching. I expect to see sales of the Ford Focus continue to rise.

Ford Explorer Settlement Pays Lawyers

The rich get rich and the poor get certificates. 

Consumers who owned 1999-01 Ford Explorers and charged that their SUV’s resale value dropped like a rock after the exploding-tire-rollover fiasco have finally gotten (a kind of) financial justice.

A California judge has approved a settlement of a class action lawsuit filed more then 2 years ago on behalf of 800,000 Explorer owners in California, Illinois, Texas and Connecticut.

Each will now be sent a certificate worth $500 — toward the purchase of a new Explorer.

Pricey Safety Equipment's Value Contested

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety released a report today indicating that expensive new safety equipment doesn’t really prevent accidents. The report sounds scathing, especially toward seemingly useless blind spot monitors, but once the report charts the number of fatal crashes that could be prevented by widespread use, the case for the certain types of equipment is compelling.

For example, if a system like lane departure warning was mandatory, it would prevent 10,345 fatal crashes annually. Likewise, forward collision warning systems that apply the brakes to prevent a crash could prevent 7,166 crashes if installed in every vehicle.

On the flip-side, blind-spot detection would only prevent 428 fatal crashes. As a raw number that looks good, but compared to other safety systems (including the ones mentioned above) and considering the cost for consumers (anywhere from $700 to $1,700), the statistical tradeoff is pretty insignificant.

While these technologies are usually only available as pricey options on luxury vehicles, we still think there is a good chance they could work their way across more affordable cars. Especially if these numbers are accurate. 

Report: Some auto safety gear's value limited (USA Today)

World Food Shortage Linked Directly to Fuel

In case you haven't been watching the news, catastrophic food shortages have hit many countries, mostly in the developing world. There are many culprits, including severe drought in certain regions and population growth in China and India, but two of the most important factors directly relate to what you put in your gas tank.

The skyrocketing price of oil has hit the global economy hard. Think about it: How is food transported all around the world? Mostly in trucks and ships that require diesel fuel, which has hit records highs (in the U.S. over $4 per gallon). It has become vastly more expensive to transport food. The cost of rice, for example, has seen an explosive increase of 75% in just two months, with the result being food riots in countries like Haiti, Indonesia, Cameroon and the Philippines.

The second factor, and the one the Western world bears the most responsibility for, is biofuel—specifically corn ethanol. According to a World Development Report authored by the World Bank, it takes 528 pounds of corn to fill the tank of one SUV. This same amount could feed one person for a year. Additionally, as more and more corn and farmland is diverted to fuel production, it drives up the price of other foods. According to a report on National Public Radio, Europe is reconsidering its heavy investment in biofuels in light of the food shortage. Perhaps it's time for the U.S. to take a look at its policy as well.

World's New Crisis: Soaring Food Prices (Business Day)

Ford Wants to Slim Down its Vehicles with Nanotechnology

How can you reduce a vehicle's curb weight by 250 to 750 pounds while maintaining each material’s original durability, strength and performance? Ford thinks the answer is nanotechnology.

Nanotechnology is a quickly expanding field where scientists are learning how to manipulate a material on the molecular or atomic level to achieve new properties or characteristics. Sound like science fiction? It's not.

Ford's lab in Germany has already devised a spray-on coating of nano-particles for the cylinder liners that wears less and cuts friction losses while weighing only a fraction as much as the cast-iron material. By using lighter materials manipulated with nanotechnology Ford thinks it can significantly decrease the mass of a car and therefore raise its fuel efficiency significantly.

The automaker expects that 70% of all materials in a car will be modified this way by the year 2015.

Ford Turns to Nanotech to Cut Pounds, Save Fuel (Autopia)

McCain Gas Tax Reprieve No Real Break

When he outlined his economic policy a speech yesterday, Republican presidential nominee John McCain came out in favor of a three month suspension of the gas tax from Memorial Day to Labor Day. McCain's policy will certainly generate some support from businesses being hurt by the high cost of fuel — and the average Joe might rethink cancelling a family road trip — but that does not make it a good idea.

In fact, suspending the gas tax right now makes very little sense. The U.S. already has one of the most insubstantial gas taxes in the world among industrialized countries. If you go over to Europe right now, you'll be lucky to pay less than $8 American for a gallon of gas. Across Europe, 60% of what drivers pay on gas goes to taxes.

Under the McCain plan, the average American commuter would save — approximately — 18 cents per gallon (or about 5% of each gallon). According to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, the average American commuter would save $28 over the course of the summer. We did the math ourselves and came up with $27 (3,000 miles driven over three months with an average fuel economy of 20 mpg equals 150 gallons of gas times 18 cents equals $27).

Premium Pain at the Pump

USA Today has an enlightening story today about the trend of new cars that require or recommend premium fuel. As we’ve tested new cars and refueled them here at Cars.com, that’s something we’ve noticed too. According to Kelley Blue Book, the number of cars that fit the premium bill rose from 166 for the 2002 model year to 282 for the 2008 model year. That’s a sharp jump.

The story says that you can take a step down in octane no matter what the car requires, but in certain high-performance engines – like those with turbochargers — there will be a noticeable impact on the overall performance of the car. In the case of sporty Mazda models like the CX-7, MX-5 and Mazdaspeed3, not using premium could invalidate the warranty (if the switch causes mechanical problems). Still, even economy cars like the Chevy Cobalt recommend premium fuel. 

Are premium fuel costs making you downgrade at the pump? Have you noticed a difference in your own car? Let us know in the comments.

More cars use pricier premium gas (USA Today)

Flight Cancellation Backup Plan: One-way Rental Car

If you’re one of the thousands of American Airline passengers stranded since Tuesday because of FAA-ordered emergency safety inspections to its fleet of MD-80s, and are surfing KickingTires on your laptop to pass the time, we’re here to help you with options. We looked into how much it might cost to rent a car to get to where you need to be, instead of waiting for that mythical “next plane” to arrive.

We picked Chicago-to-Charlotte as our test case because you’re a lot less likely to be able to hop on a some other airline’s flight to a smaller city like Charlotte. It’s a doable one-day drive from Chicago, at around 12 hours and 797 miles, although it’s obviously a long day of driving. To give you an idea of what damage this can do to your credit card, we called three rental car agencies at O’Hare to see how expensive it would be for a one-way rental of a midsize car like Chevrolet Malibu or Chrysler Sebring. One-way rentals are notoriously more expensive than a return rental, and this trip isn’t looking like much of an exception.

• Enterprise: $773.74 ($175.99 per day, plus 75 cents per mile — ouch!)
• National: $567.68, no mileage charge
• Hertz: $302.75, no mileage charge

Pricing is all over the place and we gasped (audibly) at the 75 cents per mile fee from Enterprise for our almost 800-mile trip from Charlotte to Chicago.

We asked all three about if they offer any discounts or consolation pricing for stuck travelers. We were returned with an immediate “no” from one rental agency, and another seemed ready to break into laughter at the suggestion.