Showing posts with label Car. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Car. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
GM Working On New "Cadillac One" Limo For Obama [Obama-mobile]
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Daimler to offer electric Mercedes in 2010
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| Daimler to offer electric Mercedes in 2010 | ||
| Fri Jun 20 19:19:41 UTC 2008 FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Daimler <DAIGn.DE> plans to roll out a Mercedes-Benz model that runs on electricity in 2010, its chief executive said in a newspaper interview. "We plan an electric Smart for 2010 and for the same year a Mercedes (electric) model as well," Dieter Zetsche told Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in comments to be published in the Saturday edition. Daimler currently has in London a fleet of 100 first-generation Smart cars that run on electricity. Unlike General Motors Corp <GM.N>, which has promised to launch a Chevrolet Volt plug-in electric car in 2010 selling for about $30,000 (15,182 pounds), Zetsche said no decision has been made regarding the price for the electric models. "That depends on whether we sell the batteries with the car or lease them. The willingness (on the part of consumers) to pay more is limited," he said, adding that the group is also considering whether to manufacture electric motors itself. Daimler, which spends about half of its research and development budget on powertrains and CO2 reduction, is also in talks with ex-SAP <SAPG.DE> executive Shai Agassi regarding his plan to create a mass-market infrastructure for electric cars. Zetsche also said he aimed to bring a small series of fuel cell cars to the market in 2010. Earlier this week, Honda <7267.T> kicked off production of its FCX Clarity fuel cell sedan, which will be leased in the United States via a special dealership network starting in July and then in autumn in Japan. Honda targets a volume of 200 cars in the first three years in the two countries combined. Zetsche, who reaffirmed the Mercedes-Benz operating margin target of 10 percent, said Daimler so far had not been hurt by a drop in used car prices in North America that forced BMW <BMWG.DE> to raise its risk provisions by 236 million euros ($366.5 million) in April. He also called the talks with BMW to cooperate on components for the next generation of compact models as "good and concrete." (Reporting by Christiaan Hetzner; editing by John Wallace) Tuesday, June 17, 2008The 3,000 Mile Oil Change Myth
By Bill Siuru, Greencar.com
According to a recent study by the California Integrated Waste Management Board, 73 percent of California drivers change their oil more frequently than required. This same scenario no doubt repeats itself across the country. Besides wasting money, this translates into unnecessary consumption of $100-a-barrel oil, much of it imported. Using 2005 data, the Board estimates that Californians alone generate about 153.5 million gallons of waste oil annually, of which only about 60 percent is recycled. Used motor oil poses the greatest environmental risk of all automotive fluids because it is insoluble, persistent, and contains heavy metal and toxic chemicals. One gallon of used oil can foul the taste of one million gallons of water. » Article provided by GreenCar.com It’s been a misconception for years that engine oil should be changed every 3000 miles, even though most auto manufacturers now recommend oil changes at 5,000, 7,000, or even 10,000 mile intervals under normal driving conditions. Greatly improved oils, including synthetic oils, coupled with better engines mean longer spans between oil changes without harming an engine. The 3000 mile interval is a carryover from days when engines used single-grade, non-detergent oils. Read more at link. Tuesday, June 10, 2008Cheap Gas in Missouri
Explainer  Cheap Gas in Missouri What keeps pump prices so low in certain states? By Jacob Leibenluft Posted Monday, June 9, 2008, at 6:43 PM ET While the average gas price nationwide passed $4 last weekend, Missouri could boast of prices around $3.825, the cheapest in the country. How come the Show Me State has the lowest gas prices? Taxes, pipelines, and ethanol. State gas taxes—which are assessed on top of the federal rate of 18.4 cents per gallon—tend to get the most attention in comparisons of fuel prices across states. At 17.6 cents per gallon, Missouri's gas taxes are low, but they aren't quite as low as some other states'. New Jersey, for example, takes just 14.5 cents per gallon, but its prices remain more expensive than Missouri's. (The Garden State's ban on self-service pumps adds an estimated nickel or so per gallon to the retail price.) In Missouri, geography helps keep prices low. The state doesn't have any oil refineries, and its share of U.S. crude oil production is so small that the Department of Energy reports it as 0 percent. But because of its proximity to Texas, Oklahoma, and the Gulf Coast states, Missouri is crisscrossed by some of the nation's larger pipelines. Oil barges also pass through the state on the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. Proximity to producers reduces transportation costs a little, but it also makes Missouri less susceptible to price spikes when individual refineries run into problems. The distribution of gas stations within a state can also make a difference. In Missouri, many pumps are at big-box stores or stations attached to convenience stores—which take in significant income from secondary sales. At these locations, retail gas prices tend to be closer to wholesale prices. (You can find a similar effect on gas prices in Kansas, parts of Pennsylvania, and the upper Great Lakes region.) Retail gas prices can vary depending on state and local environmental requirements. Urban areas with particularly dirty air are required by federal law to sell "reformulated gas" for all or part of the year, and because the cleaner-burning fuel is refined through a special process, it tends to be a little more expensive than regular gas. Within Missouri, for example, St. Louis and Kansas City have higher prices compared with the rest of the state because of mandates for cleaner gas. California uses a unique blend of gas due to environmental regulations and is generally cut off from supplies east of the Rockies; there, prices can spike to more than 40 cents above the national average. Yet one piece of legislation designed to help the environment may have had the unusual effect of reducing gas prices in Missouri—at least in the short term. At the beginning of this year, the state implemented a new law requiring that all gasoline include 10 percent ethanol. With the price of crude oil rising much faster than that of ethanol, the new formulation may save consumers about 10 cents per gallon (PDF) relative to regular gas. But with ethanol production being blamed for rising food prices, Missouri lawmakers are debating rolling back the law—a change that might allow South Carolina or New Jersey to reclaim the title of the nation's cheapest gas. Bonus Explainer: How come diesel fuel*—in Missouri and elsewhere—costs so much more than the regular stuff? Global demand. Historically, diesel has often been cheaper than regular gas. But with the rest of the world—including fast-growing China and India—so reliant on diesel, U.S. refiners have increased their exports abroad. While European refiners export gasoline to the United States, some tankers return with diesel to fulfill high demand across the Atlantic. Reduced supplies in the United States mean diesel is, on average, about 65 cents per gallon more expensive than gasoline. While diesel and gasoline both use the same basic raw ingredient—crude oil—they require a different refining process. Given diesel's higher price, refiners almost certainly would produce more if they could, but it may take them years to build that additional capacity. Got a question about today's news? Ask the Explainer. Explainer thanks Severin Borenstein of the University of California Energy Institute, Hayley Chouinard of Washington State University, Michael Davis of the Missouri University of Science and Technology, Tom Kloza of the Oil Price Information Service, Matthew Lewis of Ohio State University, Erich Muehlegger of Harvard University, and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources Energy Center. Correction, June 10, 2008: Due to an error introduced during editing, diesel fuel was incorrectly described as a kind of gasoline. (Return to the corrected sentence.) Jacob Leibenluft is a writer from Washington, D.C.Article URL: http://www.slate.com/id/2193222/ | ||
Sunday, June 8, 2008
6 Ways You're Wasting Gas
It's not easy to break bad driving habits, but if you don't, the money you lose on gas could wind up breaking your bank.
By Peter Valdes-Dapena provided by: NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com)
With all the worry over fuel prices, you'd think drivers would do whatever they can not to waste gas. But look around and you'll see lots of them tooling around as if they owned their own tanker fleet. One of them might be you.
Here are six ways drivers typically waste gas on every trip:
1. When the light turns green, you don't have to take off as quickly as possible. That pedal under your right foot is called the "gas pedal" for a good reason. The more you press down on it, the more gas you're pumping into the engine.
Press lightly on the gas pedal, and you'll still accelerate, and you'll still get where you're going. You might be surprised at how little pressure it takes to get your car up to speed in a reasonable time.
2. Racing up to red lights
When you're driving down the street, and you see a light red light or stop sign up ahead, you should lay off the gas sooner rather than later.
There's no point in keeping your foot on the gas until just before you reach the intersection. Let off the pedal sooner and give your engine a rest as you coast to the stop while braking gently. As an added benefit, your brake pads will last longer, too.
By themselves, these first two tips can improve your fuel economy around town by as much as 35 percent, according to tests conducted by automotive information Web site Edmunds.com.
3. Confusing the highway with a speedway
Even if it doesn't involve hard acceleration, speeding wastes gas. The faster you go, the more air your vehicle has to push out of the way. It's like moving your hand through water. The faster you try to move your hand, the harder the water pushes back.
In tests by Consumer Reports, driving at 75 miles per hour instead of 65 miles per hour reduced fuel economy by between 3 and 5 miles per gallon, depending on the vehicle.
4. Bumper-buzzing
Tailgating is a bad move for many reasons. First of all, it's unsafe. You reduce your ability to react if the car in front of you slows or stops. It also means you have to pay ultra-close attention to that car which reduces your ability to scan for other hazards ahead of you and to the sides.
And tailgating wastes gas. Every time the driver ahead taps his brakes, you have to slow down even more than he did. (That's because you can't react immediately so you have to slow even more because you're slowing down later.) Then you accelerate again to get back up to speed and resume your bumper-buzzing routine.
Hang back and you'll be safer - plus you'll be able to drive more smoothly and use less fuel. A good rule of thumb is to allow two seconds of space between your car and the one ahead. You can figure that out by counting off two seconds after the car in front of you passes an obvious landmark like an overpass.
5. Driving standing still
You've probably heard that it takes more gas to restart a car than to let it run. Maybe that used to be true, but it isn't anymore. With modern fuel-injection engines, it takes very little extra gas to restart a car once it's warmed up.
Idling, meanwhile, burns about a half-mile worth of gas every minute, according to the California Energy Commission. That's why hybrid cars shut down their gasoline engines whenever they stop, even for a moment.
Now you don't want to shut your engine down for every little stop in your regular, non-hybrid car - it's not designed for that - but if you're waiting for someone to run in and out of a convenience store, turn off the engine.
And don't go through the drive-through at fast food restaurants. You're already paying enough for the oil in those chicken nuggets.
Bonus tip: Don't idle your engine to let it warm up before driving. It does your engine no good and it wastes gas. Instead, start driving right away, but drive gently until the engine is warm.
6. Short hops
For really short trips, take advantage of the opportunity to get some exercise. Try walking to the store instead of driving. You can save gas and burn a few calories instead.
If you can't hoof it, save up your errands. A lot of short hops that let the engine cool down at home between trips can use twice as much gas as starting the car once and making a big sweep to all your stops, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
Go to your farthest destination first so your engine has a chance to reach its optimal operating temperature. Then make your other stops on the way back. With the engine warmed up, the car will restart easily and run efficiently all the way home.
If these tips don't work, here are some alternatives from your boy.
1. Call off work - don't work, don't drive.
2. Only make necessary trips. No more driving to see people, that's what email is for.
3. Trade in your SUV. Oooopps. Too late. They are no longer taking SUV's as trade bait. You are better off trading in a salvaged vehicle.
4. If all else fails, catch the bus. In some instances, this is a bigger hassle than help (Like St. Louis and the wack Metro link). But it will only be a matter of time before they go up on prices also.
By Peter Valdes-Dapena provided by: NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com)
With all the worry over fuel prices, you'd think drivers would do whatever they can not to waste gas. But look around and you'll see lots of them tooling around as if they owned their own tanker fleet. One of them might be you.
Here are six ways drivers typically waste gas on every trip:
1. When the light turns green, you don't have to take off as quickly as possible. That pedal under your right foot is called the "gas pedal" for a good reason. The more you press down on it, the more gas you're pumping into the engine.
Press lightly on the gas pedal, and you'll still accelerate, and you'll still get where you're going. You might be surprised at how little pressure it takes to get your car up to speed in a reasonable time.
2. Racing up to red lights
When you're driving down the street, and you see a light red light or stop sign up ahead, you should lay off the gas sooner rather than later.
There's no point in keeping your foot on the gas until just before you reach the intersection. Let off the pedal sooner and give your engine a rest as you coast to the stop while braking gently. As an added benefit, your brake pads will last longer, too.
By themselves, these first two tips can improve your fuel economy around town by as much as 35 percent, according to tests conducted by automotive information Web site Edmunds.com.
3. Confusing the highway with a speedway
Even if it doesn't involve hard acceleration, speeding wastes gas. The faster you go, the more air your vehicle has to push out of the way. It's like moving your hand through water. The faster you try to move your hand, the harder the water pushes back.
In tests by Consumer Reports, driving at 75 miles per hour instead of 65 miles per hour reduced fuel economy by between 3 and 5 miles per gallon, depending on the vehicle.
4. Bumper-buzzing
Tailgating is a bad move for many reasons. First of all, it's unsafe. You reduce your ability to react if the car in front of you slows or stops. It also means you have to pay ultra-close attention to that car which reduces your ability to scan for other hazards ahead of you and to the sides.
And tailgating wastes gas. Every time the driver ahead taps his brakes, you have to slow down even more than he did. (That's because you can't react immediately so you have to slow even more because you're slowing down later.) Then you accelerate again to get back up to speed and resume your bumper-buzzing routine.
Hang back and you'll be safer - plus you'll be able to drive more smoothly and use less fuel. A good rule of thumb is to allow two seconds of space between your car and the one ahead. You can figure that out by counting off two seconds after the car in front of you passes an obvious landmark like an overpass.
5. Driving standing still
You've probably heard that it takes more gas to restart a car than to let it run. Maybe that used to be true, but it isn't anymore. With modern fuel-injection engines, it takes very little extra gas to restart a car once it's warmed up.
Idling, meanwhile, burns about a half-mile worth of gas every minute, according to the California Energy Commission. That's why hybrid cars shut down their gasoline engines whenever they stop, even for a moment.
Now you don't want to shut your engine down for every little stop in your regular, non-hybrid car - it's not designed for that - but if you're waiting for someone to run in and out of a convenience store, turn off the engine.
And don't go through the drive-through at fast food restaurants. You're already paying enough for the oil in those chicken nuggets.
Bonus tip: Don't idle your engine to let it warm up before driving. It does your engine no good and it wastes gas. Instead, start driving right away, but drive gently until the engine is warm.
6. Short hops
For really short trips, take advantage of the opportunity to get some exercise. Try walking to the store instead of driving. You can save gas and burn a few calories instead.
If you can't hoof it, save up your errands. A lot of short hops that let the engine cool down at home between trips can use twice as much gas as starting the car once and making a big sweep to all your stops, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
Go to your farthest destination first so your engine has a chance to reach its optimal operating temperature. Then make your other stops on the way back. With the engine warmed up, the car will restart easily and run efficiently all the way home.
If these tips don't work, here are some alternatives from your boy.
1. Call off work - don't work, don't drive.
2. Only make necessary trips. No more driving to see people, that's what email is for.
3. Trade in your SUV. Oooopps. Too late. They are no longer taking SUV's as trade bait. You are better off trading in a salvaged vehicle.
4. If all else fails, catch the bus. In some instances, this is a bigger hassle than help (Like St. Louis and the wack Metro link). But it will only be a matter of time before they go up on prices also.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Car Search - Best of Best
The Best of the best and Worst of the worst are based on our larger lists of Reliable used cars and Used cars to avoid (both available to subscribers). These comprehensive lists give you a rundown of all the models that were found, from our data, to be above or below average in reliability. Owners reported on any serious problems they had had with their cars, minivans, SUVs, and pickup trucks in the previous year.
Best of the best
These are models that have performed well in CR road tests over the years, and have proved to have several or more years of better-than-average reliability. Listed alphabetically.
Acura - Integra, MDX, RL, RSX, TL, TSX
BMW M3
Buick LaCrosse
Honda - Accord, Civic, Civic Hybrid, CR-V, Element, Odyssey, Pilot, S2000
Infiniti - FX, G20, G35, I30, I35, QX4,
Lexus - ES, GS (RWD), GX, IS, LS, RX, SC
Lincoln - Continental, Town Car
Mazda - Millenia, MX-5 Miata, Protegé, Mazda3
Mitsubishi - Endeavor, Outlander
Nissan - Altima, Maxima, Murano
Pontiac Vibe
Porsche 911 (except '03)
Scion - tC, xB
Subaru - Baja, Forester, Impreza, Legacy, Outback
Toyota - 4Runner, Avalon, Camry (except '07 V6), Camry Solara, Celica, Corolla, Echo, Highlander, Land Cruiser, Matrix, Prius, RAV4, Sequoia, Sienna, Tundra (except '07 V8 4WD)
Volvo S60
Worst of the worst
These models have multiple years of much worse than Used Car Verdicts in the 1998 to 2007 models. Listed alphabetically.
Buick - Rendezvous (AWD), Buick Terraza
Chevrolet - Astro, Blazer, Colorado (4WD), S-10 Pickup (4WD), Uplander, Venture
Chrysler Town & Country (AWD)
Dodge Grand Caravan (AWD)
GMC - Canyon (4WD), Jimmy, S-15 Sonoma (4WD), Safari
Jeep Grand Cherokee
Kia Sedona
Land Rover Discovery, LR3
Lincoln Aviator
Mercedes-Benz SL
Nissan - Armada (4WD), Titan (4WD)
Oldsmobile - Bravada, Silhouette
Pontiac - Aztek, G6, Montana, Trans Sport, Montana SV6
Saturn Relay
Volkswagen - Cabriolet, Jetta Sedan (turbo), Jetta Sedan (V6), Touareg
Best of the best
These are models that have performed well in CR road tests over the years, and have proved to have several or more years of better-than-average reliability. Listed alphabetically.
Acura - Integra, MDX, RL, RSX, TL, TSX
BMW M3
Buick LaCrosse
Honda - Accord, Civic, Civic Hybrid, CR-V, Element, Odyssey, Pilot, S2000
Infiniti - FX, G20, G35, I30, I35, QX4,
Lexus - ES, GS (RWD), GX, IS, LS, RX, SC
Lincoln - Continental, Town Car
Mazda - Millenia, MX-5 Miata, Protegé, Mazda3
Mitsubishi - Endeavor, Outlander
Nissan - Altima, Maxima, Murano
Pontiac Vibe
Porsche 911 (except '03)
Scion - tC, xB
Subaru - Baja, Forester, Impreza, Legacy, Outback
Toyota - 4Runner, Avalon, Camry (except '07 V6), Camry Solara, Celica, Corolla, Echo, Highlander, Land Cruiser, Matrix, Prius, RAV4, Sequoia, Sienna, Tundra (except '07 V8 4WD)
Volvo S60
Worst of the worst
These models have multiple years of much worse than Used Car Verdicts in the 1998 to 2007 models. Listed alphabetically.
Buick - Rendezvous (AWD), Buick Terraza
Chevrolet - Astro, Blazer, Colorado (4WD), S-10 Pickup (4WD), Uplander, Venture
Chrysler Town & Country (AWD)
Dodge Grand Caravan (AWD)
GMC - Canyon (4WD), Jimmy, S-15 Sonoma (4WD), Safari
Jeep Grand Cherokee
Kia Sedona
Land Rover Discovery, LR3
Lincoln Aviator
Mercedes-Benz SL
Nissan - Armada (4WD), Titan (4WD)
Oldsmobile - Bravada, Silhouette
Pontiac - Aztek, G6, Montana, Trans Sport, Montana SV6
Saturn Relay
Volkswagen - Cabriolet, Jetta Sedan (turbo), Jetta Sedan (V6), Touareg
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
My Car Situation
I will be giving an acceptable amount of cash for my car as well as all expenses rendered through medical visits.
Now I need your help. I need a freakin car. I don't want to pay more than $350/month and I do not want any headaches. Preferably, I would like to be in the $250-300 range but that is probably not going to happen. I had my Honda for 8 years.
Top choices
1. Acura TL 3.2 - Great car. Sexy and everything. Example 1. Example 2.
2. Nissan Maxima (2004+) - Spacious and nice. Step below the Acura to me. Example 1. Example 2.
3. Dodge Charger - I really didn't like this car. But I can find one for a good price. Example 1. Example 2.
Unless I can find a hookup like this. Is this real?
Now I need your help. I need a freakin car. I don't want to pay more than $350/month and I do not want any headaches. Preferably, I would like to be in the $250-300 range but that is probably not going to happen. I had my Honda for 8 years.
Top choices
1. Acura TL 3.2 - Great car. Sexy and everything. Example 1. Example 2.
2. Nissan Maxima (2004+) - Spacious and nice. Step below the Acura to me. Example 1. Example 2.
3. Dodge Charger - I really didn't like this car. But I can find one for a good price. Example 1. Example 2.
Unless I can find a hookup like this. Is this real?
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