gas prices

You Want a Real EcoBoost? Lets Put it in Perspective …

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I spent the better part of three days at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit this past week. While I’ve been to NAIAS a number of times over the years, this was the first time I flew home knowing that I need to start doing things differently, ASAP. Although the price of gasoline may have plummeted, there’s still a mission (make that multiple missions) that must be accomplished. Gas will not stay this cheap forever.

Ford kindly flew me in with a crowd of “Digital Influencers” and I lived happily in the big blue snowglobe with my new comrades. Our agenda was non-stop, starting with a Sunday night visit to the historic Piquette Avenue Plant in Detroit, where the Model T was designed and built.

1908 Ford Model T at the Piquette Avenue Plant

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How Low Will Gas Go?

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The recent drop in crude oil prices has driven the cost of gasoline down to remarkably low levels across America. It’s a whole new era, with our country suddenly awash in relatively cheap oil. This couldn’t come at a better time for many families, with all that newly liberated cash finding its way into the … Read more

U.S. Diesel Policy: Taxation Without Representation?

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While increasing the fuel efficiency of passenger vehicles is a stated goal of government of the United States of America, our appointed officials have allowed the perpetuation of a tax that penalizes the owners of certain vehicles. Although our government has put forth a great effort to encourage the adoption of vehicles that include some form of electrification, little has been done to due the same for clean diesel-powered vehicles. One could almost say that they’ve been discouraged.

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How Much Can You Save on Gas with a 40 MPG Car?

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Ready for a change? How about some change in your pocket?

When you swap out of a gas guzzler and into a fuel efficient car you will be able to calculate the savings at the end of every month. It all starts with the amount of driving you need to do each week. Try keeping track, starting on Monday when you leave for work. Write down the mileage figure shown on your odometer or reset your trip meter. Then make note of it on the following Monday (or on Sunday, when you park your ride for the night).

Add two zeros to that number, then divide it in half. If you’ve driven 300 miles in a week, for example, you’d add the two zeros to make it 30,000, and chop it down the middle. Drive 300 miles per week for fifty weeks out of the year, you’ll roll up roughly 15,000 miles. Drive 400 and you can call it 20,000.

If you own a vehicle that gets an average of 15 miles per gallon on average and drive 15,000 miles per year, you’ll pay over $4,000 per year for gasoline, with gas at $4 per gallon. If you switch into a vehicle that gets an average of 40 miles per gallon, you will spend approximately $1,500 per year, for a savings of just over $2,500 per year. That’s a serious chunk of change and may be enough to cover a significant piece of your car payment.

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How High Will Gas Prices Climb This Time?

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Hold onto you wallet. Gas prices have risen consistently over the last month, edging ever upward. Once again, California leads the nation into the abyss, with a state average of $4.203 per gallon, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California. While today’s prices are still below the records set last fall, we’ll see those historic numbers eclipsed if the rise is unabated. In all likelihood, it won’t be long until that happens, as prices typically rise into the summer driving season, when demand peaks.

So what’s pushing the roller-coaster up hill this time?

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