Automobile Retailers

When you’re looking at the new cars at your local Buick dealer, chances are that you want to get all the options available. Besides, who wants to be driving down the road without a moon roof or some other modern feature that everybody else has? But did you know some options use more gas than others? If you’re trying to save gas, here are a few options to avoid.

Anything Automatic
Yes, power seats and power windows are some of the most convenient features on a car. You can hardly find vehicles without them these days. But any feature that uses a motor adds weight to your car. And these pounds can add up. These features won’t drain your gas tank, but they could reduce your overall fuel economy by a fraction of a percent.

Moon Roof
Moon roofs are nice, aren’t they? But, as mentioned in the first point, they need a motor in order to operate. In addition to that, an open moon roof adds drag to your vehicle. You might like the luxury of driving down the road in the open air, but it could cost you a penny or two per mile, if not more.

Don’t let these figures discourage you, though. The differences in fuel economy are so small you won’t even notice the difference. Besides, a little bit of luxury is worth the extra cost.

If you’re like most Americans, you’ve changed your driving habits in the last few months because of the gas prices. Now, an article in USA Today tells us exactly how much we’ve cut back.

Between the months of November 2007 and April 2008, Americans drove 22 billion fewer miles than they did during the same time period the previous year. That’s right – Billion, not million. That’s the largest decrease in driving since the fuel crisis that occurred in the late 1970s.

Analysts think these new habits are here to stay, too. Marilyn Brown, a professor of energy policy at Georgia Tech University, had this to say about the reports: “I think the difference between now and 1979, when prices were comparable when you adjust for inflation, is there’s a sense of sustained pain.” She went on to say that Americans are getting the feeling that “cheap energy” is gone for good and these prices aren’t coming down. And even if they do, they’re not coming down by much.

The article also listed some changes that we can expect as a result of Americans driving less. Some of them include:

• Housing patterns may change because people will start buying homes closer to their job.
• Paying for road repairs may be different. With people driving less, the state and national governments aren’t receiving as much money to put towards the roads. As a result, we may see more toll roads or other options.

You’ll probably see more people at your local Mercedes-Benz dealer, too. With the number of fuel-efficient vehicles and hybrid technologies, this is one of the best places to go if you want to save gas and still drive around in luxury. See one today!

Lamborghini, Ferrari, and Porsche are going to have a hell of a fight on their hands if the brand spankin’ new Tesla has a word in it.

The Tesla, which can rip from 0-60 in 3.9 seconds, is a completely ELECTRIC car. So much for the mythology of green cars not being able to go fast or compete with the muscles of the combustion engine powerhouses.

Ferrari and Lamborghini most certainly will need to come up with something to come to terms with this latest green addition, even if the Tesla is just another in a long line of electric cars that can burn rubber. It certainly isn’t the first fast green car, of course, as Tom Swift was ripping it up in electric cars some sixty years ago.

If Tesla wants to market their green machine as the first and finest, more power to ‘em. I just hope the buying public knows that the power behind your favourite car at the Lamborghini dealer or the Ferrari lot is available with none of the fuss and muss of the internal combustion engine. Not only are electric cars cleaner, they’re also quicker when it comes to reaching those speeds. While the combustion engines require a lot of going-through-the-motions to reach their apex, the electric car is a start-and-go masterpiece.

So get ready, Lamborghini. Tighten your braces, Porsche. And prepare yourselves, Ferrari. Tesla’s here.

It’s hard to imagine a car that will get much faster than a Ferrari or a Lamborghini. In fact, a spin around the block in a Ferrari is enough to make the hair on the back of your neck stand up and a cruise in a Lamborghini will knock toupees off for blocks.

While there are faster cars on the planet, most of them are under wraps at secret locations somewhere and are only driven by the very, very rich.

Enter UK sports car builder Noble and the M600. Spotted this week at a British test track, this brand spanking new machine is scheduled for a release next year and will have more than a few tongues wagging.

Noble will make about 50 of the things and will use a 650 horsepower, twin-turbo 4.4 litre V-8 taken from Volvo. With this much power under the hood, Lamborghini and Ferrari may have a lot of making up to do.

Of course, your local Ferrari dealer will still be more than happy to prove that their cars are among the finest in the world. And the Lamborghini factory owners will still stand by their products.

But the Noble M600 sure as hell sounds exciting, doesn’t it? It will, like its M15 predecessor (pictured above for drooling purposes) use a speed shifting six-speed transmission. And it’ll rock. A lot.

Dick Kvetnansky was washing cars at a gas station near Washington, D.C., when he first spotted the fake. It was a yellow Ferrari Testarossa, but it had an engine that sounded an awful lot like a Chevrolet. He knew the discrepancy instantly and it gave the Slovakian an idea.

Fast-forward and Kvetnansky started creating his own fakes. He built fake Ferraris and fake Lamborghinis, spending several years creating versions of the top sports cars. Hollywood even used some of Kvetnansky’s cars in crashes for their films.

Eventually, Ferrari cracked down on the Slovak and said he was harming their image. He was forced out of the replica business and had to enter the kit car design business with an entirely new enterprise. It was after creating roadster kits built on a Honda Accord frame that he started to make an entirely new sports car.

Today, Kvetnansky is backed by Slovak investment firm CI Holding and is hoping to take on the likes of Ferrari and Lamborghini with something he’s calling the K1 Attack. He has since called out any competing sports car for a speed challenge, claiming his car is the fastest.

Whether the K1 Attack will find its way to any dealer remains to be seen, but it may wind up challenging those cars found on the Lamborghini dealer lot or in the Ferrari factory, adding new speed to an industry often dominated by two Italian carmakers.

Can you blame drivers for choosing and 87 Octane fuel instead of the 92 Octane or something even high? It’s tough enough to pay the $4 a gallon (and even more in some places), but it’s even more difficult to pay another 20 cents or more per gallon on top of that.

For some car owners, using regular unleaded simply isn’t an option. Some cars require it in order to prevent damage to the engine. But some of them are using the cheaper grades anyway.

This is creating some chaos for gas station owners. With people using mostly regular unleaded, it’s difficult to predict how much mid-grade or premium gas to order. In some cases, they are even running out of the regular grade and they have to shut down some pumps until more fuel arrives.

One driver in Queens, New York drove to three different gas stations in his area before finding one with regular fuel. His car requires premium, but he says the savings are worth it even though he hears a “pinging” in his engine every once in awhile. “When premium hit $4.10 a gallon, I realized there was a sliding scale between performance and economizing,” he said. Many Americans are reflecting those sentiments as well.

With most new and certified pre-owned vehicles from your local Buick dealer, you can get by with using regular gasoline, too. Don’t let the high prices of premium fuel break your budget. Get a car that runs well on regular fuel instead of needing premium grades for ultimate performance.

Do you remember the days when you’d come home from a local Mercedes-Benz dealer with a brand new car and worry about someone stealing it? These days, that’s not as big of a problem. Instead, you have to worry about thieves stealing your fuel!

The worst part about this new phenomenon is that they are getting creative. They can’t do a “pump and run” anymore. This is where they fill up their car at the gas station and drive away without paying. Stations are requiring drivers to pay for their fuel before they start pumping. That’s why they’re finding other ways.

One of the most common ways thieves are stealing your gas is by siphoning it out of your tank and into a container. They usually do this at night or in places where there aren’t too many people around. You can combat this by putting a locking gas cap on your car so they can’t get into your tank.

Gas thieves are also targeting truck stops and places where truckers typically pull over for an extended period of time. Since diesel is even more expensive than normal fuel, trucks are vulnerable targets for gas thieves lately.

If you’re worried about getting your fuel stolen, there are only so many steps you can take to prevent it. Try to park your vehicle in well-lit areas where it won’t be alone. If you have a garage, park your car or truck inside when you’re not driving it. A car alarm may also be a great way to scare off would-be fuel thieves. Just use some common sense and you can make your car less of a target for hoodlums like this.

Ferrari has joined with former Bond girl Michelle Yeoh and her husband, Jean Todt, to support a safe driving initiative in South Africa. Todt has been credited with Ferrari’s revival as a series contender on the Formula 1 circuit, so his presence at the Automobile Association’s skills development initiative was a welcome one.

Along with Todt and Yeoh, David Ward of the global Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile Foundation was present for the launch of AA’s local technician apprenticeship program.

Ferrari is sponsoring a “Make Roads Safe” program in South Africa and the reason for such a program was highlighted by Yeoh. She noted that she had her “eyes opened” during a fact-finding trip around the area.

“I have seen the most horrendous sites where children, pedestrians are facing death sentences practically every day,” Yeoh said.

With Ferrari and the FIA supporting the initiative and some celebrity talent backing it up, there is hope for the region that some safer driving skills will be learned. Ferrari has opened the doors to its Maranello factory in Italy for the AA training academy’s best apprentice, giving the young man or woman an opportunity of a lifetime to see how a real automaker operates from the inside.

This move is a great boost in the PR department for Ferrari and will impact Ferrari dealer outlets as well as the corporate setting as the Italian automaker takes more initiative in the global community.

In our final instalment of Know the Dangers, we’ll be taking a look at how global warming and climate change has an effect on the fragile ecosystems found right here in North America. A number of industries are focusing in on climate change as being their top obstacle to turning significant profit, like the ski industry that we looked at last time. Another industry that requires its fragile ecosystem to be pitch-perfect is the wine industry.

The quality and taste of the wine depend directly on the soil and on climate conditions in which the grapes are grown. This concept is known as terroir. With climate change altering conditions significantly, the wine industry is experiencing a myriad of issues with the grapes. By bringing higher temperatures, the effect had on the terroir is impossible to predict. As such, California’s $15-billion wine industry sits in the balance.

Pinot noir is a type of wine that requires a very particular temperature to grow the grapes. The grapes benefit from ocean breezes and other climate conditions. With climate change, many worry that the conditions required to grow the pinot grapes will no longer exist.

Another issue that impacts the wine is water. With potential for a water shortage and issues impacting the volatility of the water supply, it’s enough to make many wine producers nervous. There have been periods of drought in California that have impacted the grape crops significantly, such as the drought in the Grain Belt from a few years ago. If these drought conditions don’t improve, wine makers will need to rely on other measures to achieve a halfway decent crop.

By now, many readers are likely panicking. “Not the wine! Anything but the wine!”

If you’re wondering what you can do to save the wine and the wineries we all love so much, some changes are in order. Driver smarter and drive a more fuel-efficient car. Stop by your Scion dealer today, tell them you want to save the wineries in California, and get yourself a test drive!

According to an article in Business Week magazine, a Ford and General Motors merger was discussed at a recent management meeting at General Motors. The idea was shot down, of course, but the prospects of such a merger were most interesting to the casual observer.

The idea for the potential merger was proffered by a General Motors executive who was clearly reacting to the current strain on the markets. A merger would likely save some grief but could probably also add some tension to the industry giants. There is certainly no assurance that such a merger would wind up saving both companies, either.

Citing “someone familiar with the discussion,” the Business Week article goes on to say that the merger was turned down because it would have been a huge distraction from the real business of the day and that any such merger would compound the numerous problems both companies were having. I think the idea of the merger would actually minimize the problems, as both companies could attack them together and come up with a grouped solution. But I suppose that’s why I’m a blogger and not a business executive with a sinking automotive firm.

As many pundits and analysts have admitted, such a merger could save a lot of the issues both companies face as the merging of the business capital would certainly come in handy when dealing with fiscal issues. Having the financial pools of both companies to deal with would certainly be advantageous and could provide some remarkable opportunities for investors.

For now, though, the idea is simply a discussion in passing. Perhaps the idea of the merger is enough to get some tongues wagging in the higher circles, as the combination of business capital and executive power would likely make an instant impact in the industry and could wind up putting a lot of people back to work. The Ford dealer outlets and GM dealer outlets would be grateful.