Tips To Get Better Mileage From Your Hybrid Car

During Earth month – and every day of the year – we know you want to stretch your fuel to get the most out of every purchase. We found a fun collection of money-saving tips and advice at Shell.com  and thought to share a few of them with our AskPatty readers.

The powertrain of a hybrid car combines an efficient gasoline engine with an electric motor as well as as well as a special system to capture braking energy to store in an onboard battery to provide a vehicle that not only relies less on fossil fuel but also has the potential to deliver increased fuel economy  and reduced emissions when compared to standard gasoline vehicle. Regardless of whether you choose to drive a hybrid to save gas or to reduce emissions, we know you want to get the best possible economy possible. In general, whether you drive a traditional combustion-powered or hybrid vehicle, common sense already recommends that you drive smoothly, and avoid heavy acceleration or braking.

Beyond that, it’s important to note that you’ll need to slightly change your driving style in order to benefit from the hybrid combination. While much of the general fuel saving advice that gets posted on the internet is still relevant to hybrids, Shell recommends the following four tips specifically for hybrid vehicles.

Want to save gas? Try slowing down.

Now that gas prices are loitering around $4 a gallon, gas-saving tips are abundant. Automotive pundits are quick to offer a variety of tips to help drivers eke every possible mile out of each gallon of gas. The tips are usually quite obvious: reduce weight, maintain your vehicle, keep your tires properly inflated, blah blah blah...

But here's one that many don't consider: Slow down. That's all there is to it. Want to save some gas? Leave a little earlier and don't rush yourself to get to your destination. Relax, take your time, and watch your fuel economy increase.

According to CNNMoney.com, "In a typical family sedan, every 10 miles per hour you drive over 60 is like the price of gasoline going up about 54 cents a gallon. That figure will be even higher for less fuel-efficient vehicles that go fewer miles on a gallon to start with."

Top Tips to Improve Your Vehicle's Fuel Economy

I remember how shocking it was the first time I saw Los Angeles-area gas stations advertising prices at $3 per gallon--this was about a year ago, in May 2007. Just today, barely eleven months later, I drove past a station at which the price for their premium fuel was over $4!! (The photos associated with this article were taken today, at several stations in the San Fernando Valley.)

At AskPatty.com, we recognize our responsibility to the world around us and are already striving to reduce our environmental impact. As part of Earth Month, in addition to encouraging the Three R's (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) of daily life, we encourage the following automotive tips, which are useful whether you're trying to make a difference by helping the environment, or you're just aiming to save a few more dollars at the pump each month.

Observe the speed limit.
As a general rule, assume that each one mph over 50 mph reduces your fuel mileage by 0.1 miles per gallon. Some say that can be as much as one to four miles per gallon less for every 10 mph over the speed limit you drive. Depending on your driving style and how fast you drive, you could waste 20 to 70 cents per gallon. Use your cruise control whenever possible to help prevent you from creeping up in speed without realizing it.

Remember FlexCar? Now Welcome ZipCar.

Are you tired of a car payment but you want the convenience of having a car to get around? Want to chuck the high maintenance and dealership bills that come with owning a set of wheels, but hate the idea of giving up the freedom and fun of getting behind the wheel? ZipCar is for you!

It’s basically a car sharing program online. There are 4 steps to ZipCar: Join, Reserve, Unlock, and Drive!

Join: You sign up through their online application and you get your own Zipcard.
Reserve: You can reserve a car online for a few hours or a whole day, whatever you need.
Unlock: Here’s the neat part! Go up to the car you reserved and hold your Zipcard up to the windshield and it will unlock your car for you!
Drive: Get in and the rest is history! Just don’t forget to return it when you’re done.

On their site you can check for availability of cars all over the nation. So Ask Patty took the site for a spin and it was pretty easy. We found some cars near us in LA and we had the option between a few different models. The prices were roughly $10/hour or $66 for the day. Really pretty cheap if you only use a car a few times a month or on rare occasions. Compare that to a car payment, insurance, and gas, and it’s definitely a savings.

What about insurance and gas prices you say? Still have to pay for those right? Nope! ZipCar covers you there as well. So back to our tour. You can check online to see where their ZipCars are located near you and you can even check all the rates before signing up or reserving a car.  ZipCar even has a business program (called Z2B – how cute is that?). Z2B ZipCar will setup accounts within your business to allow employees to have the Zip benefit.

Ford Ecoboost Engine Technology Promises Up To 20% Better Fuel Economy

This week at the North American International Auto Show, Ford Motor Company is introducing a new engine technology called EcoBoost that will deliver up to 20 percent better fuel economy on half a million Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury vehicles annually in North America during the next five years. This technology introduces a fuel-efficient engine platform that doesn't require plugging in or special fuels to promote sustainability in Ford's line. Woo Hoo!

The EcoBoost family of four-cylinder and six-cylinder gasoline engines features a combination of turbocharging and direct injection technology.  Compared with more expensive hybrids and diesel engines, EcoBoost builds upon today's affordable gasoline engine and improves it, providing more customers with a way to improve fuel economy and emissions without compromising driving performance.

"EcoBoost is meaningful because it can be applied across a wide variety of engine types in a range of vehicles, from small cars to large trucks - and it's affordable," said Derrick Kuzak, Ford's group vice president of Global Product Development.

"Compared with the current cost of diesel and hybrid technologies, customers in North America can expect to recoup their initial investment in a 4-cylinder EcoBoost engine through fuel savings in approximately 30 months.  A diesel in North America will take an average of seven and one-half years, while the cost of a hybrid will take nearly 12 years to recoup - given equivalent miles driven per year and fuel costs," he said.

Excuse Me, But Do You Carpool?

We found a video about adult carpools at sheknows.com, where they introduce it by saying: "With gas prices going through the roof, state agencies, private companies, and online sites are hyping the idea of carpools for commuters. And research shows it might be just the ticket for lowering bills and raising employee morale."

It made me remember my own ridesharing experiences, when I had been fortunate enough to enjoy the company of a several well-matched carpools at my last employer. Having a companion in the car made the 45-minute commute pass quickly, and it was nice to sometimes take my own turn as the passenger and savor the scenery without the responsibility of driving.  It was great to have a colleague in the car for some pre-arrival gossip or decompression on departure. Plus we were able to reduce the cost of gas and wear and tear on our vehicles, as well.

Los Angeles Rolls Out The "Green Carpet" For General Motors' Chevy Volt Concept

General Motors hopes its extended-range electric vehicle concept will electrify Los Angeles commuters when it arrives in Southern California on Thursday, giving Angelenos a rare, up-close preview of the highly-anticipated Chevy Volt. The vehicle will be on display at hot spot locations throughout Los Angeles from December 6 through December 11. Los Angeles is one of only four U.S. cities to host the Chevy Volt around town, providing an opportunity for locals to see the car of the future. The Volt ends its tour in the San Francisco area between December 13 and 18, and we'll post the schedule for those days as soon as it becomes available.

Since its introduction in January at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, the Chevy Volt sedan - powered by GM's E-Flex electric propulsion system - has energized car enthusiasts in the U.S. and abroad with its  promise to greatly reduce trips to the gas station for many commuters, as well as greatly reduce CO2 emissions.

Statistics show that more than 75 percent of drivers in the United States commute fewer than 40 miles a day. I am one of these drivers and can absolutely see the benefit of a car like this, as in my situation, a fully charged Chevy Volt will use no gas and produce no tailpipe emissions. The Chevy Volt promises to be easily rechargable, simply by plugging it into a common 110-volt electrical outlet. That is, if I could find a way to install a charger at my apartment's parking spot, or toss out a long-enough extension cord... A FlexFuel on-board engine that can run on gasoline, E85 ethanol, or a combination of the two, creates additional electricity to extend the vehicle's range up to 640 miles, delivering triple-digit miles per gallon, should the driver's energy needs extend beyond what can be stored onboard its batteries.

3 New Gas Saving Tips for Thanksgiving - When Every Penny Counts

Some great gas saving tips to help you save some cash on your Thanksgiving holiday drive:

TIP #1: Only buy or fill up your car or truck in the early morning when the ground temperature is still cold. Remember that all service stations have their storage tanks buried below ground. The colder the ground the more dense the gasoline, when it gets warmer gasoline expands, so buying in the afternoon or in the evening....your gallon is not exactly a gallon. In the petroleum business, the specific gravity and the temperature of the gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, ethanol and other petroleum products plays an important role. A 1-degree rise in temperature is a big deal for this business. But the service stations do not have temperature compensation at the pumps.

Track Your Gas Mileage Online

I confess. I'm a freak. I track my car's fill-ups, every one of them, in a logbook. The gas receipts tucked between the pages show the price per gallon as well as the total paid for each tank, and a handy little spreadsheet I created in Excel helps me track my fuel economy. I also record my maintenance in there. I have two of these logbooks that track every single one of my Honda Accord's 136,930 miles per gallon. I did the same thing for the car I owned before this one.

So, when the link to trackyourgasmileage.com  was sent to me, I really wanted to love this site. After all, this interactive website was designed to help freaks like me keep track of our car's gas consumption, graphing it on a functional little chart display; it will also export that data in a csv file format so I can import it into my own spreadsheet for my own neurotic purposes. And not just one car, but users can track the data for any collection of compact cars, trucks, or motorbikes in their garage, and it will automatically present them with each vehicle's information in regular text and as historical graphs.

Doing this allows fanatics like me to compare monthly consumption, track our gas costs, and monitor our car's general health by observing trends in economy. Cool! Or so I hoped.

Volvo Introduces Plug-In Hybrid ReCharge Concept

Volvo Cars introduced the Volvo ReCharge Concept at last week's Frankfurt Motor Show. The plug-in hybrid concept features individual electric wheel motors and batteries that can be recharged via a regular electrical outlet for maximum environmental benefit, and was demonstrated in a specially designed Volvo C30. Volvo says its plug-in charging system will allow the car to be driven about 60 miles on battery power alone before its four-cylinder Flexifuel engine is needed to power the car and recharge the battery.

"The Volvo ReCharge Concept combines an excellent battery range with a backup combustion engine, it is a very interesting concept," said Magnus Jonsson, Senior Vice President Research and Development at Volvo Cars. "This is a ground-breaking innovation for sustainable transportation. A person driving less than 100 kilometres a day will rarely need to visit a filling station. In the USA, this may apply to almost 80 percent of drivers," Jonsson added. A full recharge takes three hours. However, a one-hour quick charge should provide enough power to drive about 30 miles.

Thanks to the excellent electrical range from a fuel consumption angle, the Volvo ReCharge Concept promises to be exceptionally kind to the car owner's wallet. Example: When driving on electric power only, operating costs are expected to be about 80 percent lower than those of a comparable gasoline-powered car.

Getting Greener with General Motors

A recent opportunity to sit down with Bob Lutz, General Motors Vice Chairman of Global Product Development, revealed some of the company's future options to expand their alternative fuel vehicle selections, as well as improve corporate fuel economy averages. Would you consider driving a battery- or diesel-powered Corvette? How about a Hydrogen-powered Chevrolet Equinox? What about a car you plug in at night?

As Jody DeVere mentioned in her recent blog,  General Motors offers 24 cars that offer fuel economy better than 30 mpg. That's already quite impressive - however, as our government pushes for even higher corporate averages, manufacturers must become even more creative with the ways they can increase fuel economy. However, it's important to remember that, because of the mystery of the way the corporate averages are calculated, it's not enough that the manufacturers offer vehicles that offer such high economy; drivers must actually buy enough vehicles to offset the impact of the other, less-efficient, vehicles in the lineup. So, the manufacturers need to also find ways to improve fuel economy on the more popular, less-efficient vehicles as well. (Hence the possibility of a battery-assisted Corvette.)

Consider their upcoming "Project Driveway," in which Chevrolet will begin placing more than 100 Chevrolet Equinox Fuel Cell vehicles into the driveways of random customers across the United States. Slated to begin very soon, the Project Driveway market test will provide  insight into all aspects of the customer experience, including reaction to the performance of a fuel cell vehicle, and refueling with clean hydrogen gas. Want to drive one of these Hydrogen Fuel Cell vehicles? To apply for Project Driveway go to  www.chevrolet.com/fuelcell/, and find the "apply for test program" button at the bottom right of the page. Enter your zip to find out if you're in an area where they are doing the test.

Blab About Your Car and Win Prizes!

Ask Patty is announcing CarBlabber. It's car reviews for women by women like you!
What does your car mean to you? Is your car sexy? Do you love or hate your car? Is your car a fashion statement or a pile of junk? We want to hear the good, the bad, and the ugly about your car.

But before we even talk about what you can DO on CarBlabber, let’s talk about what you can WIN! Ask Patty is offering a lineup of amazing products as prizes to CarBlabber members (and signing up is totally free!). All you have to do is create a profile, review a car and add a photo to your review!

The grand prize is a Harvey’s seat belt bag valued at $224! The Harveys Carriage Large Satchel is so sophisticated and stylish! With enough room to carry your favorite novel, a makeup bag, and all other everyday essentials, this bag is a must have! The Carriage Large Satchel offers a convertible adjustable strap which is 42” when fully extended to make it even more versatile, and the bag comes lined with the Harveys signature material. The bag also comes with a drawstring storage bag and a Harveys Lucky Star key chain! Yowza! All that? Just for writing a review and adding some pictures? You bet your boots!

And that’s not all. We also have 12 – count them, TWELVE – CarMDs to give away too. The CarMD is a vehicle tester that can be used to monitor and maintain the health of your 1996 and newer car, light truck, minivan and/or SUV for the life of your vehicle. The red, yellow and green indicator lights help you instantly diagnose the health of your, your family's, even your neighbor's vehicles. It can help you to examine a used car before you buy, give your vehicle a clean bill of health before a road trip, and pre-“smog” test your car! It can tell you why your check engine light is on or let you get a second opinion on your mechanic’s report. This thing is so useful it’s ridiculous! I have one and have used it many times to help me out!

And it keeps going. We are giving away the Car Care Council’s official 56-page car care guide to the first 200 profiles with car reviews and photos. The guide covers nine major service occasions and 12 component groups of the vehicle, plus service interval recommendations, a maintenance log and much more. It’s the perfect size to fit into your glove box so you could have it with you whenever you need it! It would even fit inside a Harveys bag with your CarMD!

So what are waiting for? Do you want to know what you can do at CarBlabber?
    *Create a personal car profile
    *Write car reviews of any car you’ve ever owned or driven or heck, even seen!
    * Connect with other women who love or hate the same cars as you
    *Read reviews of cars written by women JUST like you before you buy your next car
    *Join car clubs online and find other car friends!
    *Create your own social network by founding a car club of your very own
    *Rate your cars and comment on others reviews

Why wouldn't you do it?! Ladies, we're talking about a free purse here! Wow!

Go to: www.askpatty.com/carblabber and register now! 
(It’s 100% free) … go on, do it now…we you know you want to blab about your car!

Related Link: http://www.emediawire.com/releases/2007/9/emw552890.htm

August Podcast: Alternative Fuels, Hybrids, and Efficient Vehicles Oh My!

   

Cristin Lindsay is the Senior Director of the Automotive X-Prize. The goal of the Automotive X PRIZE is to inspire a new generation of viable, super-efficient vehicles that help break our addiction to oil and stem the effects of climate change. The multi-million-dollar Automotive X PRIZE purse will be awarded to the teams that win a stage race for clean, production-capable vehicles that exceed 100 MPG equivalent fuel economy. The competition is open to teams from around the world. And really, all that hybrid technology is confusing right? Well Cristin is here to answer all of our questions and help us navigate through the world of alternative fuels, hybrid technology and true energy efficient vehicle choices. Her tips will help you be more educated about your options out there!  Make sure you read more about the Automotive X-Prize at auto.xprize.org. Listen Now!

Can Making Only Right Turns Actually Save You Money?

If you went around the block and only made right turns would that save you on gas, and better yet, cut down on emissions? It seems like it might make it a longer trip in some cases… well 10tv.com shared a tidbit from the United Parcel Service (that’s UPS to most if us). UPS claims they saved over 3 million gallons of gas in 2006 alone just by making right turns.

10tv.com did their own test. They took two different cars and did a test drive of a 1.7 mile route around town. Naturally one car did as many right turns as possible while the other made mostly left turns. (Let me jump in here for a sec… the UPS didn’t say their routes were better compared to those with mostly left turns, but were superior in gas savings compared to normal routes. This 10tv.com test seems a little weighted if you ask me.)

Back-To-School Savings As Easy As 1-2-3

August is here, and families across the country are taking advantage of tax-free holidays to get a head start on their back-to-school shopping. Soon the kids will be bringing home another “must have” list from each of their teachers -- markers, pens, paper, notebooks, calculators, and of course, that essential outfit of the season. With back-to-school purchases adding to existing gas, grocery and other non-discretionary expenses, the family budget often feels a real pinch.

According to Uniroyal Tire and savings expert Stephanie Nelson, saving money at this time of year can be as easy as 1-2-3 by implementing just a few smart-shopping tips.

“Families this year will spend nearly $530 on back-to-school supplies alone,” says Nelson. “In addition to supplies and clothing, the return of the school year often means an increase in commuting to and from school and extracurricular activities. To maximize overall back-to-school savings potential, I have partnered with Uniroyal Tire to recommend the following tips for saving money on fuel and shopping expenses.”

Sales of Electric Vehicles Zoom as Oil Prices Soar

As gas prices gas reach an all-time high, ZAP, an alternative transportation company based in Santa Rosa, California, says interest for all of its electric vehicles has increased beyond their expectations. The Zapino, a new motorbike design introduced last month, sold out in just over two weeks. Likewise, ZAP's ZAPPY3 line of personal electric transporters sold out during one of the busiest buying seasons of the year.

ZAP CEO Steve Schneider says the company has increased their orders, with new shipments arriving now. "The price of fossil fuels is one of the most important reasons why ZAP exists — to provide alternatives," said Schneider. "We should revisit the idea of energy independence that can be so important to the U.S. economy. EVs can even help with your own personal finance."

Schneider noted that electric vehicles typically cost a fraction of gas vehicles. ZAP's electric XEBRAs cost between one and three cents a mile, compared to more than 20 cents a mile for conventional automobiles.

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Hybrid Cars... But Were Afraid To Ask, Part One

One of our young readers sent us the following questions about hybrid vehicles, saying "I am 13 years old and I had a few questions for you about my hybrid car project:
1. What is the top selling hybrid car?
2. Why are hybrid cars better than normal cars?
3. What are the benefits of a Hybrid car?
4. How does a hybrid car work?
5. What is the average cost of a hybrid car/sedan?
6. About how much would you spend on gas in a month using a hybrid car?
7. What city sells the most hybrid cars?
8. How long does a battery in a hybrid car last? "

While I was researching her term paper, it occurred to me that she shouldn't be the only person to benefit from this research, so here is what we learned.

Enterprise Rent-A-Car Establishes E85/FlexFuel Branch in Washington, D.C. to Demonstrate Commitment to Alternative Fuels and Technologies

As part of a partnership to promote the increased availability and use of alternative fuels and technologies throughout the United States, Enterprise Rent-A-Car is designating its premier rental location in Washington, D.C., as an official "E85/FlexFuel branch."

The news is tied to a recent announcement that Enterprise's partners VeraSun Energy, one of the largest producers of ethanol in the U.S., General Motors (GM), the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), have joined forces to make VeraSun's branded E85, VE85(TM), available to the general public for the first time in the District of Columbia.

For Enterprise, the move is the latest addition to a comprehensive and long-term environmental stewardship platform. The company has the world's largest fleet of FlexFuel vehicles - 41,000 cars and trucks that have the ability to burn E85, a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. Nationally, Enterprise is actively deploying as many of its FlexFuel vehicles as possible near E85 fueling stations in order to increase the number of cars being fueled with E85.

"As the owner of the world's largest vehicle fleet, we are committed to fueling our FlexFuel vehicles with E85 and sending a strong message that we are ready to embrace new technologies and alternative fuels as they become commercially viable," said Matthew G. Darrah, Enterprise Rent-A-Car senior vice president of North American operations. "Those who produce and sell FlexFuel vehicles and E85 fuel need to know that if they make it, we will buy it, and we will encourage our customers to use it as well.

Elizabeth Edwards at BlogHer07…And I got to Meet Her!

Jody and I attended BlogHer07 this year in Chicago and among the great speakers we had there was Elizabeth Edwards (that's me with her to the left!!), wife of Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards. I have to say, on a personal level, I was inspired… and I’m not the type to say that lightly. I went into the keynote session she was in with excitement but also with a clear thought of where I was casting my vote come November 2008 (If you must know, it was Obama – please use the comments area for feedback and slams).  I walked away from her Q&A session with a floundering feeling of not knowing where I stood on my candidate choice… I even wrote to the blogging buddy next to me, “Forget Hillary and Barack, I’m voting for Elizabeth!”

And there you have it. Ask Patty has become political. Let me douse some cold water on you hotheads for a second. My opinions are mine alone and do not reflect those of the Ask Patty staff or company, though I think anyone worth his salt will vote outside the Republican ticket this year.

Elizabeth had a lot to say about supporting education and for making it easier smart people to become teachers and nurses because we need more of these gifted people in these fields. She also touched on John’s issue of gay marriage but she made sure to point out that she and John both support repealing all limitations in all 50 states, whereas other candidates (even the left ones) only support repealing some convenient ones.

Okay so what does this have to do with cars? Well, I caught up with Elizabeth at an after party and grabbed an email from her group where I can send this burning question: “What will John Edwards and his Administration do to push back harder on the automotive manufacturers and fuel economy requirements? Will you make them do a better job?”

And I ask you as well: Why haven’t we, as a country and as a people with a fast fading planet beneath us, why haven’t we stopped and told the Toyotas and the GMs and the Fords and the Kias and the Dodges of our world to stop messing around and think about their consumers and the environment for once? Why aren’t we DOING that? The technology is there so why aren’t the large manufacturers being held accountable?

Let me leave you with some food for thought. According to the Consumer Federation of America, “the average fuel economy across nine of 13 major automakers’ lineups is worse today than it was in 1996.” Wow, there’s advancement for you.

by Breanne Boyle

Where Can I Blab About My Car? CarBlabber on AskPatty.com!

Is your car sexy? What does your car mean to you? Do you love or hate your car? Is your car a fashion statement or a pile of junk? Ask Patty has just launched our new beta version social network for women to blog about their cars. That’s right. We want you to tell us all about your car and any car you’ve ever owned. You can tell us all the good, bad, and the ugly – we want to hear it all on CarBlabber.

And we are launching our CarBlabber Beta version of this ultra special, incredibly fun social network during the BlogHer conference in Chicago for all you lovely and talented blogging women. Register now to become a member of this unique social network about YOUR cars.

So what can you do at CarBlabber?
    *Create a personal car profile
    *Write car reviews of any car you’ve ever owned or driven or heck, even seen!
    * Connect with other women who love or hate the same cars as you
    *Read reviews of cars written by women JUST like you before you buy your next car
    *Join car clubs online and find other car friends!
    *Create your own social network by founding a car club of your very own
    *Rate your cars and comment on others reviews

Basically it’s about sharing and connecting in ways you can’t do anywhere else. Learn from other women like you what turns them on and turns them off about their cars. And share your own story.

Oh, and did we forget to mention that we will be giving away some goodies to some of you women who create profiles and reviews? Hmmm, well stay tuned to see what rewards you just might earn (check out the picture to the left). And trust us, they’re GOOD.

Go to: www.askpatty.com/carblabber and register now! 
(It’s 100% free) … go on, do it now…we you know you want to blab about your car!

Gas Prices Worry Americans More Than Terrorism or Economy

With fuel now averaging over $3 per gallon nationwide (AAA Fuel Gauge Report, June 18, 2007), more American consumers declare themselves (highly) concerned about high gas prices (83%) than about terrorism (62%) or the economy as a whole (69%).

So say the findings from the inaugural National Analysts Worldwide  "Foods, Fats, and Fuels" study completed in March that surveyed a nationally representative sample of 502 consumers via the web.

As a result of soaring gasoline prices, consumers are eyeing alternative energy sources such as biofuels in a favorable light. "Biofuel" is a generic term for fuel manufactured from living things, such as ethanol and biodiesel. Among those familiar with biofuels, most (72%) view them as a good way to reduce American's dependence on foreign oil and generate renewable energy supplies (70%).

Still, the National Analysts Worldwide study shows that there is limited consumer understanding about biofuels. More than one in three (36%) consumers says they have never heard of biofuels. And, among those who have, there is uncertainty about the net benefits. Only half (52%) are convinced that biofuels produce less greenhouse gas than fossil fuels and two-thirds (65%) are not sure whether biofuels require more energy to make than they contain.

Five Ways to Take the Sting Out of High Gas Prices

Are you one of many Americans stressed about rising gas prices and the affect it will have on your finances? Small lifestyle changes now could lead to major savings and less worries about high gas prices or future money problems.

Being "Nickeled and Dimed" applies to consumers unable to account for the money they spend: cash back from an ATM transactions, luxury spending or anything not categorized in a monthly budget. Luxury items like that morning cup of coffee may not seem expensive on your way to work, but over time can add up to the cost of a new car!

Family Credit Counseling Service offers some tips to save your m