As a condition of grazing at the public trough, Congress will be appointing a “Car Czar” to oversee the U.S. auto industry. As with many projects undertaken by Congress, there is a great chance the effort will be misguided and the execution flawed.

Will the incoming Czar know anything about the auto industry they’ll be entrusted to repair? Given they’ll have the reported authority to veto any expenses over $25 million, they will effectively control what vehicles the automakers will produce in the future. In this day and age, it’s pretty difficult to launch any vehicle development program for less than $25 million.

Performance vehicles don’t really fit well with the targets of the administration to reduce “man-made global climate change”. The fact that tens of thousands of climatologists, physicists, and other qualified scientists still say there is no clear indication that climate change is man made seems to play no part in the decision. See this for more information on the debate, and yes, it’s still far from closed, despite what so many would have you believe.

The incoming Obama administration is reportedly mulling over creating an entirely new Federal bureaucracy, dealing directly with climate change and energy policy. The Car Czar will no doubt be in constant communication with this new federal agency (if it ever comes to pass), the EPA, and the Energy Department to ensure the newly designed vehicles don’t step out of line.

Will all of this collaboration and oversight produce vehicles that people actually want to buy? Are performance vehicles even profitable for the automakers to produce in the first place? Because a high performance vehicle by its’ very nature is going to use more resources that one that gives tepid performance.

Or is it? Actually, this could force our automakers to start producing high performance vehicles that are much more “green” than their predecessors. It’s all in how they’re designed. One thing about electric vehicles is that they tend to develop prodigious torque at a very low RPM; 0 RPM to be precise. It’s due to the way electric motors function.

Since the majority of driving in American cities includes a large amount of stop and go situations, this gives electric and hybrid powered vehicles ample time to put their low RPM torque characteristics to good use. What if the high performance vehicle of the future is a diesel-electric hybrid? It’s recently been proven by Audi and Peugeot that diesels don’t have to be slow. In fact, they can be fairly fleet of foot. Audi has used their V-10 TDI power plant to great effect at LeMans.

BMW has just introduced a new, diesel powered 3 series, the 335d. It gives about 35mpg on the highway and can do a 0-60 sprint in 6.1 seconds. Combine a small, turbo diesel that uses modern high pressure injection and fuel management electronics, (like the new BMW) and a high efficiency electric motor(s) and you could be talking real performance with a minimum of environmental impact.

Toyota has been talking about reintroducing the Supra with a V-6 gas / electric hybrid power train. It would definitely be performance oriented, but give decent gas mileage.

Of course there will always be those that contest the need for anything high performance on the grounds that standard performance is all anyone really needs. Take that mindset to extremes and you’ll be walking or taking the bus to work. After all, does anyone really “need” personal transportation?

With new CAFÉ standards, an incoming environmentally friendly administration, and a possible governmental bailout then control of the automotive industry looming, are drivers witnessing the swan song of the performance automobile? Will there ever be another Cadillac CTS-V, Corvette ZR1, Porsche Turbo, or even Charger SRT-8?

Are we to behold a drab and boring future, devoid of automotive excitement? Is it the ‘80’s all over again? Remember the frighteningly tepid vehicles, with dubious quality, and lackluster design we were forced to endure in the dark days of the automobile? Does anyone not see how producing such vehicles pushed the Detroit automakers over a precipice from which they never extricated themselves?

If a “Car Czar” again forces our automakers to produce such rolling trash heaps, we may as well just shut the doors now. Maybe then the UAW would give some union concessions. By the way, how can I get paid $35 an hour to play cards?

How to save gas is on everyone’s mind, even as gas prices have declined over the last week or so, down to, WOW! about $3.98 a gallon. What’s the best way to save gas? Don’t drive, of course. For the rest of us (those of that have to get to work, the kid’s soccer practice, school, the doctor’s office, and 2-a-days), gas saving techniques can range from the subtle to the ridiculous.

Here is a list of some of the best gas savers out there. They’ll help you save on gas and fight the high price of gas at the pump. If you’re one of those who didn’t trade in the F-250 duallie when gas crossed $3.00 a gallon, listen up. We may never see cheap gas again (if even $3.00 / gal?), so you’ll probably need to use every last one of these gas saving tips.

Gas Saving Tips Master List – (Please, drop me a comment with the ones I forgot)

How to Save Gas Tips #11

Keep all that junk out of your car to save weight. It takes gas to get every extra pound moving, so lighten up a bit. For example, take out the golf clubs that you only use 3 days a week. If your car is reliable, ditch the tool box, and don’t drive around with last winter’s emergency sand in your trunk.

How to Save Gas Tips #10

Plan your trips. UPS and other mileage intensive companies didn’t just spend millions on trip planning software for nothing. Planning your routing and consolidating trips together can add up to big gas savings. Short trips are harder on your vehicle and waste gas.

How to Save Gas Tips #9

Maintain your vehicle. That $29.95 you saved by putting off an oil change for a few weeks isn’t going to help your gas mileage at all. Check your air filter. A dirty air filter can lower your gas mileage by from 2% – 10% depending upon who you believe (and what they’re trying to sell you).

How to Save Gas Tips #8

Use the brakes as little as possible. Obviously that doesn’t mean be unsafe or run into the guy in front of you. What it does mean is that every time you apply the brakes you’re wasting all that momentum you burned good gas to get by turning it into heat. Look down the road when you drive. If the light way down the road turns red, let off on the gas and begin coasting. Sure you’ll have a line of pissed off drivers behind you if you end going too slow, but you won’t be using fuel to maintain your speed, only to have to scrub it all off with your brakes later.

How to Save Gas Tips #7

Keep your tires properly inflated, you really will save gas. However, I’m not going to drink the KoolAid that says we won’t have to import oil if only we’d keep our tires at the PSI stated on the door jamb sticker (or a few PSI higher), but you will save gas. According to official government estimates, under-inflated tires can lower gas mileage by 0.4 percent for every 1 psi drop in pressure of all four tires. They also say that you can save an average of 3.3% by keeping your tires properly inflated at all times.

Can the small act of keeping our tires properly inflated solve our foreign oil usage issues? Hey, there’s this large bridge I happen to own, and I’m selling it cheap. I’ll give you a great deal on it because I really like you, just don’t tell anyone else about our deal, OK? I’ll tell you whatever you want to hear, just trust me for a change, would you.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (What? There’s ANOTHER government agency?) The U.S. uses about 20.7 million barrels of oil per day. The agency further states that the U.S. sues about 9.3 million barrels (390 million gallons) of gasoline per day. That means that if every car on American roads had under-inflated tires, we would save approximately 13 million gallons of gasoline per day by checking our tires, and topping off the tire pressure.

How much petroleum do we import to supply our daily fuel needs? Our net petroleum imports are a hair over 12 million barrels per day. If we take it that 70% of that is used for motor fuels, that means that we import about 8.4 million barrels of oil per day for transportation. Transportation has a broader meaning than private motor vehicles however. In addition, a barrel of oil does not equate to a barrel of gasoline.

About 20 gallons of gasoline and 7 gallons of diesel fuel is refined from a 42 gallon barrel of oil. If we’re importing 8.4 million barrels of oil for transportation every day, that equates to about 168 million gallons of gasoline. We could save 13 million of those, or less than 8% of the oil we import. That is only true if every single car, truck and SUV in this country had under inflated tires and we remedied the problem through some national initiave. So, the next time a politician tells you we can solve our foreign oil dependency issues by adding a few PSI, maybe they can use the hot air they’re spouting to help our energy problems, because their ideas sure won’t do it.

How to Save Gas Tips #6

Keep your A/C off and the windows down in town, the reverse on the highway. In town aerodynamic drag is negligible, and the A/C compressor uses 4 – 6 hp. On the highway the A/C compressor still uses 4 – 6 hp, but keeping the windows down causes far more aerodynamic drag, because drag increase with the square of your speed.

For those who slept through math class in high school (I might have done that a time or two) that means going twice as fast will cause four times more aerodynamic drag. You’ll save more gas by foregoing the A/C in town and lowered windows on the highway.

How to Save Gas Tips #5

Watch (figuratively, of course) the gas pedal action. It seems obvious, but a heavy foot will lead to a light wallet. Blasting away from intersections, constant on / off throttle actions and trying to marry the accelerator pedal to the firewall on a regular basis will kill your gas mileage.

The word of the day is smooth. If you concentrate, you can tell if you are one of the many drivers that use the accelerator pedal as an on/off switch. With such drivers, it’s a constant on-off-on-off-on-off with the gas to maintain a constant speed. If your engine is constantly speeding up and slowing down, even though your car isn’t, you’re doing it again. You should carefully modulate the pedal instead. Or……

How to Save Gas Tips #4

Use the cruise control, even in town, and definitely on the freeway. The computers in modern vehicles are far more powerful than the one astronauts relied on to get them to the moon and back. When you set the cruise control, the computer uses the minimum amount of fuel required to maintain your chosen speed. It usually does a better job than you can under similar circumstances.

How to Save Gas Tips #3

Actually measure your gas mileage. In many newer cars there is a trip computer that will do the heavy lifting for you, courtesy of the OBDII system that keeps an eye on every thing for the emission control system. Keep a log of driving conditions, weather, what station you got gas at, and your observed gas mileage. In much the same way as dieters who have lost twice as much weight when they kept a diary, having a written record you’re constantly trying to beat can help up your gas mileage.

How to Save Gas Tips #2

Slow down on the freeway. You’ll use less gas to get to your destination that way. It’s up to you if you feel the added time is worth the tradeoff.

To the yea hoos in Congress who propose to bring back the double nickel, please don’t. You relish the thought of absconding with yet another of our personal freedoms in the name of the common good. In reality the choice weather or not to use an extra hour or two of my life (that I’ll never get back) when I’m driving on a long trip should be mine, and mine alone.

Please find something else to meddle in, rather than restricting the pace of travel to something akin to Conestogas crossing Kansas. The National Academy of Sciences estimated the low speed limit cost the country close to 1 billion hours annually in lost time when the 55mph was implemented before. Surely that’s worth something??

How to Save Gas Tips #1

Let someone else go first. Use another vehicle, preferably a much larger one, use their gas shoving the air out of the way. For the same reasons the boys in NASCAR use the draft and those riding the Tour de France bunch up in the peloton, having a line of vehicles closely spaced (not too closely spaced while on public roads, please) returns aerodynamic and thus energy savings benefits for those in the following vehicles.

Notice I’m not saying you should play Tony Stewart, and tuck in behind a semi close enough to smell what the driver had for dinner. You can get close enough for the big trucks to move enough of the air out of your way that you’ll see a few percentage point gas saving increase in return, though.

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