Super Gas Saver » automobiles

Auto Manufacturer’s New 0% Financing Offers

Mon, 26 Jan 2009 23:28:24 +0000

As the economy grinds ever more slowly, auto manufacturers scramble to bring whatever incentives they can in an attmept to generate more business. Recently, auto manfacturers fom Japan to Detroit have unleashed powerful, new incetives in an attmept to entice Joe and Joesphene consumer into the dealership. Here are some of the better low and 0% financing deals they’ve unveiled.

Many of these deals expire on Feb 2nd, but there are still some great ones hanging around into March. If the economy stays soft, and every indication shows that’s probably the case, you can bet there’ll be some more great deals from the same folks who cooked these up.

Acura
2009 Acura: RDX, MDX, RL,TSX,RDX,TSX – 0.9-2.9% Financing

Toyota
2009 Toyota: Sienna, Tacoma – 0-0% Financing
2008 Toyota: Tundra, Sequoia, 4Runner, Highlander, Sienna, Tacoma, FJ Cruiser, Camry Solara, Rav4 – 0-0% Financing

Dodge
2009 Dodge: Charger, Challenger, Ram 1500, Ram 2500, Ram 3500, Grand Caravan– 0.0-2.9% Financing
2008 Dodge: Charger, Magnum, Ram 1500, Ram 2500, Ram 3500, Grand Caravan– 0.0% Financing

Jeep
2009 Jeep: Grand Cherokee, Commander, Wrangler – 0.0-2.9% Financing
2008 Jeep: Grand Cherokee, Commander, Wrangler, Compass – 0.0% Financing

GMC
2008 GMC: Sierra 2500HD, Sierra 3500HD – $6000-7000 Rebate – Hey! Gas is cheap again, go get um!

Saab
2008 Saab: 9-7X,9-5, 9-3 – 0.0% Financing

Kia
2009 Kia: Borrego, Optima – 0.0% Financing
2008 Kia: Amanti, Sedona, Sorento, Optima, Rondo, Sportage, Spectra – 0.0% Financing

Infiniti
2008 Infiniti: G35, G37,M35,M45,EX35, QX56 – 0.0-0.9% Financing

Suzuki
2009 Suzuki: SX4 0.0% Financing

Volkswagen
2008 Volkswagen: New Beetle Convertible, GTI, Toureq, Pasat – 0.0% Financing

Volvo
2008 Volvo: S60, S80, V70, XC70, XC90 – 0.9% Financing

Do You Believe the Gas Mileage Claims in Advertising? The Case of Splitfire Spark Plugs (and more)

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 05:51:42 +0000

The Splitfire spark plugs are still being made and sold by Old World Industries, Inc., Northbrook, IL. They rose to prominence because of their unique center electrode, which did its forked, snake-tongue impression. The thinking was that electrode design would lead to more complete combustion. When you visit their site today however, you’ll notice that their current line of plugs looks suspiciously like almost any other quality spark plug on the market.

Why is their site devoid of the original Splitfire plug from whence they derived their name? Why, indeed! It appears that in 1997 Splitfire’s advertising was making fuel economy and gas saving claims that went something like this:

A -“Of all users (regardless of vehicle type, age, condition, and use) responding:

70% reported a gas mileage increase of from 1 to 6 more miles per gallon.””

And

Consumer Endorser: “Yeah, I went from probably 300 miles on a full tank to almost 400.”

Consumer Endorser: “I probably was getting, I would say about 20 miles more per tankful, and that’s a lot for me!”

Consumer Endorser: “And when you’re driving a four-wheel drive vehicle, you need all the extra gas mileage you can get.”

The problem is that they couldn’t actually back up any of these claims to the Federal Trade Commission’s satisfaction. In 1997 they were hauled into federal proceedings by the FTC to substantiate their claims of increased fuel economy provided by their (at the time) $6 spark plug. Now not only was that about 5 times what a traditional plug cost at the time, some consumers had suspicions about the efficacy of the product. This resulted in complaints to the FTC, and well, you know what happened next.

From the FTC case report –

“In truth and in fact, respondent did not possess and rely upon a reasonable basis that substantiated the representations set forth in Paragraph 5, at the time the representations were made. Therefore, the representation set forth in Paragraph 6 was, and is, false or misleading.

Through the means described in Paragraph 4, respondent has represented, expressly or by implication, that competent and reliable studies or surveys show that 70% of SplitFire users achieve a gas mileage increase of from 1 to 6 more miles per gallon.

In truth and in fact, competent and reliable studies or surveys do not show that 70% of SplitFire users achieve a gas mileage increase of from 1 to 6 more miles per gallon. Therefore, the representation set forth in Paragraph 8 was, and is, false or misleading.

The acts and practices of respondent as alleged in this complaint constitute unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce in violation of Section 5(a) of the Federal Trade Commission Act.”

And I suspect that was the beginning of the end for the forked tongued devil. It just goes to show that while certain things have been shown to definitely increase your fuel mileage and save you a few dollars here and there, others can’t quite measure up, so do your research carefully, as there are many other devices out there with dubious records of saving gas. *Take note that bad, old, or fouled spark plugs can certainly cost you gas mileage, as can other worn out and/or dirty parts such as O2 sensors and air or fuel filters.

Actually, “the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has evaluated or tested more than 100 alleged gas-saving devices and has not found any product that significantly improves gas mileage. In fact, some “gas-saving” products may damage a car’s engine or cause substantial increases in exhaust emissions.” So much for magnets! As for anecdotal reports, you can’t trust any test that wasn’t done in a double blind fashion, under controlled conditions. There are actual performance parts that increase the engine’s efficiency and deliver better gas mileage, but usually the “gadget” type of product isn’t among them.

Until next time…………

Credit Card Gas Rebates – How to Get the Biggest Rebate

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 14:10:02 +0000

You can save money on gas by buying your gas with a credit card that gives you a rebate for gas purchases. These rebates can be upwards of 6%, depending on which rewards card you choose. Unlike a decade or so ago, many consumers eschew the using an oil company gas card in favor of a traditional Visa or MasterCard that gives some type of reward or rebate for gas purchases. The reasons for this are many, but suffice it to say that flexibility is definitely not the oil company credit card’s strong suit.

With an oil company credit card you’re limited in two ways; one, you have to use it for purchases at a gas station, and two it has to be a gas station owned or affiliated with that specific oil company, for example, Chevron or BP. Need to pick up a new HDTV or 5 lbs of bananas and a large combo pizza? Too bad.

That sort of inflexibility has consumers fleeing company gas cards for the greater options provided by credit cards that pay rewards for gas purchases, but can be used in any store that accepts credit cards, and for any purchase the consumer might wish to make. In many cases they’ll get rewards or rebates for these other purchases as well.

One way to save gas is to use one of these gas rebate credit cards and, this is important, pay off the balance every month, so you’ll accrue no interest charges. Failing that, at least search high and low to find the card with no annual fee and the lowest interest rate possible. Click here to check out a vertical credit card search engine that lets you do just that, find the gas credit card with the lowest interest rate, and more importantly if you’re trying to maximize your gas rebate, the biggest rebate.

These things change with the winds in the financial sector (which lately have risen to hurricane force), but as I pen this you can get a gas reward of up to 10%, depending on the particular card. Don’t forget to avoid any card with an annual fee, unless it’s extremely small and the rewards for your specific type of use far outweigh the impact of the annual fee. That’s a very important point, you must remember to give careful consideration to your expected use of the different cards when making your decision. The offers are varied (and seem to change with the wind) so you have to look at your past credit card usage, and examine how any prospective new card would fare if you were using it instead. Calculate the different rewards percentages for each type of purchase, and total your expected total annual reward dollar amount.

You can use the gas reward percentage to directly offset the price at the pump. For example, if the reward percentage for a particular card is 7%, that is effectively a discount on gas prices that’s applied to the final price you’ll pay. Two more things to consider here; some credit cards have a maximum rewards amount, so keep that in mind when making your decision, and if you fail to pay off the balance every month, you’ll pay an interest rate that I can almost guarantee will be higher than your reward percentage.

So, you can use a credit card gas rebate to effectively save money on gas, if you find the best card, and be careful to use it correctly. It is just one more strategy to save money on gas you can keep in your arsenal. Go here to use that gas rewards search.

….until next time.

What is a Hybrid Car?

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 14:04:35 +0000

What is a hybrid car? Even with the myriad new coverage and the copious advertising for hybrid vehicles, the fact is that many people are unsure what one really is or how hybrids work. As the name suggests a hybrid car (or any other hybrid vehicle) is one that uses a combination of two power plants to increase fuel economy and reduce emissions.

In the majority of cases hybrid vehicles use a gasoline engine and one or more electric motors. Some manufacturers are developing hybrids that use a small, high efficiency, turbo diesel engine in lieu of the gas engine. Using a turbo diesel as part of the hybrid power train will have advantages in efficiency, emissions, and the ability to use renewable biofuels. The manufacturers developing diesel / electric hybrids are principally European, which makes sense given the popularity of diesel vehicles in Europe. So far Citroen, VW, Opal, and Peugeot have all showed prototype vehicles that have strong production possibilities.

The hybrid’s electric motors draw their power from a large battery bank in the vehicle. This is recharged either from a generator connected to the gasoline engine, or by a process known as regenerative braking. The regenerative braking is merely recapturing the energy contained in the vehicle because it is moving. Any object that is moving required energy to get it moving at the speed that it’s traveling and maintain that speed. To slow it down, the energy must be removed.

With a normal vehicle, friction brakes are used for slowing and stopping. These transform the energy contained in the moving vehicle into heat, which is then dissipated into the air. If that seems like a complete waste, it is. The hybrid’s regenerative braking systems actually recapture that energy and store it in the batteries used to power the electric motors for later use. There are one or more generators that are coupled to the wheels under braking. The drag created by the generators when turning the car’s spinning wheels into electricity provide much of the stopping power. This has two benefits; greatly increased brake life, and capturing energy that would have been wasted as heat (and that you already paid for).

Because internal combustion engines such as gasoline and diesel engines exhibit increased efficiency during different operating conditions, the vehicle can be operated on the optimum power source for a given load condition. At times such as peak acceleration, both power sources can be used in combination. Electric power is typically used when starting out and at low speeds when electric motors are most efficient. The internal combustion engine takes over at higher speeds or when the batteries are discharged.

There are different types of hybrids. Pure hybrids can move completely on electric power. This can be kind of weird if you’re not expecting it. The first time I experienced this, a Ford Escape hybrid pulled away from a stop as I was standing next to it. It was eerie as the truck silently glided away from the curb, as if by magic. After it was moving about 10 mph, the gas engine kicked in and it motored (engined??) away.

The stored energy in the batteries let the hybrid’s engine be completely shut down when stopped. The engine is only restarted after the vehicle’s electronic control unit decides it would be better to let the gas engine handle things. More efficiency is gained by using this method. This is similar to the technique used by your internal combustion powered golf cart, but far more sophisticated.

In fact, the sophistication of engine and control electronics are one of the reasons that practical hybrid vehicles are on the road today. Juggling the optimum mix of power between the two power systems, and recapturing the heretofore lost energy from the moving vehicle would have been impossible to accomplish affordably and practically a few years ago.

So, that’s what a hybrid car is and kind of how it works. My favorite is the Honda Civic hybrid, followed by the Chevy Tahoe Hybrid, but I’m waiting for someone to make a really cool sports car hybrid, which reportedly Toyota is doing as a replacement for the dear, departed Supra. Toyota probably has more experience than any other manufacturer with hybrids, so they should be well equipped to handle such a task.

Not to be outdone, Honda is reportedly releasing their CR-Z in about 2011. The CR-Z is a sports coupe in the same vein as the Honda CR-X of 15 years ago, but with a sexy, modern body, great handling, and the hybrid power train from the new Civic hybrid.

Until next time……..