3 Electric Cars For 2010, Already Here Now

So break out your wallets and get ready for the waiting list.  In a flash, Chrysler’s electric car team called ENVI is working on 3 electric vehicles to be released as early as 2010.  Which to me is surprising, since partially electric vehicles have been in production for years now.  Why is this taking so long?  That’s another post I guess, but here’s what Chrysler unveiled;

ENVI’s biggest hopeful is the  Dodge EV which is completely electric with rear wheel drive, but the downside being that it’s a two passenger sportscar.  A full charge will take you between 150 and 200 miles away from home before it needs to be plugged in for another 8 hours to do it again.   Considering that most passenger vehicles average twice that, that will be a very hard sell.  Having to recharge for a full 8 hours doesn’t sound much like an advancement since the movement alone should generate some sort of renewable energy that could be transferred back into the battery.  I’m not a sceintist, but doesn’t movement=energy?   Ok, Chrysler, what else you got?

How about a minivan that seats 7 called the Chrysler EV.  It uses the same motor that the Dodge EV does, but it also includes a small internal combustion engine that acts as a generator to recharge the batteries and will get you up to 400 miles on 8 to 10 gallons of gas.  So while it does take advantage of the generator aspect I was speaking of, it still needs to utilize gas and why wait until 2010?  That technology already exists and it’s called hybrid-something-er-other.  This is Chrysler showing up at the ball in a pretty red dress, but the ball was yesterday.

And the lastly is a Jeep Wrangler EV.  Oh great.  It’s not bad enough that Jeep is already possibly the least desirable of vehicles right behind Yugo, but it’s also showing up late to the ball after the post-prom backseat romp.  Plus it’s wearing the same red dress that the Chrysler EV minivan was wearing. For shame.

So essentially we’re waiting for 2 vehicles from Chrysler that are already available from other companies in some form or fashion and one vehicle that will get you just far enough from home to be scared about how you’re getting back.  Where’s the advancement in technology?  Where are we at here?  Why is it taking so long?  Where is all of this government funding for renewable energy being buried? Does anyone have the answers?
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The 10 Most Fuel Efficent NON-Hybrid Cars

So much focus has been spent on people buying fuel efficient hybrid vehicles to save money to help reduce their costs at the gas pump. The end result of which has them paying too much for vehicles that don’t even get better mileage than their regular non-hybrid counterparts. Two seater vehicles like the Smart car are getting unreal mileage by simply using less gas to get the job done. So leaving the hybrids out of the picture, we take a look at the best cars with the highest gas mileage. The humorous part is that the report which was conducted by FuelEconomy.gov lists all vehicles with the highest fuel efficiency INCLUDING hybrids and only TWO hybrid cars made it on the list which were Toyota’s 2008 Prius (48 city and 45 highway) and Honda’s 2008 Civic (40 city and 45 highway).

Here are the rest:

Most Efficient Non-Hybrid vehicle
2008 Smart Fortwo Cabriolet – Automatic (33 City/41 Highway)
2008 Smart Fortwo Coupe – Automatic (33 City/41 Highway)
You may have seen these little deathtraps on the road more and more since gas hit $3 per gallon and kept climbing. They get an amazing 33 City MPG and an incredible 41 on the highway.

Not to be outdone, its partner in crime is the coupe version which gets the same mileage. While they are fuel efficient, these cars would be the worst vehicles to be in a major accident and are solely designed for single folks or for the “around towners”. Since they are only two seaters, children are out of the question. And I can’t help but wince in fear thinking of my child driving in one of these. While they may be cool and get them eco-points with their green friends, they lose major safety points.

2008 Mini Cooper – Manual (28 City/37 Highway)
Joining the ranks of rolling death traps, but sill being a very fuel efficient vehicle is the Mini Cooper.  Sporty rabid fans across the globe have given this vehicle a huge popularity nudge. Clocking in an impressive 28 MPG in the city and an even more shocking 37 mpg highway, the Mini Cooper is a green favorite with a low carbon footprint. The primary difference being extra seating for small families. Scoring high on the fanatic scale, it’s still not the safest car on the road because of the size, but it has fuel efficiency in spades.

2008 Toyota Corolla – Manual (28 City/37 Highway)
Not anywhere near the safety hazard as the Mini-Cooper or Smart vehicles, the Toyota Corolla turns in the same fuel efficiency as the Mini Cooper with 28 mpg city and 37 highway. Corolla also has the advantage of notoriety in the states having solidified itself consistently as a fuel efficient and affordable vehicle for years. That also translates into better probability for inexpensive repairs and more choices for repair shops.

2008 Toyota Yaris – Manual (29 City/36 Highway)
2008 Toyota Yaris – Automatic (29 City/35 Highway)
Following closely on the heels of its predecessor, the Toyota Yaris follows it’s Corolla counterpart and turns in an impressive 29 mpg city and 36 highway. BUT according to the report based on 29 reports from actual users of the car, they are turning in mileage at 38.1 mpg which is 2 mpg more than Toyota is touting. This refreshing stat is unusual since most car makers are squeezing out the highest numbers they can legally get away with whereas Toyota is clocking more than it knows what to do with. The 2008 Toyota Yaris Automatic turns in only 1 mpg less than its manual brother listed here.

2008 Honda Fit – Manual (28 City/34 Highway)
2008 Honda Fit – Automatic (27 City/34 Highway)
Coming in next is the 2008 Honda Fit. The manual version of which turns in an efficient 28 mpg in the city and 34 on the highway. The Automatic version of the 2008 Honda Fit only drops 1 mpg in the city down to 27, but keeps the respectable 34 highway. This new family addition to the Honda line makes a huge splash in the states and becomes an integral player in Honda’s marketability in the middle of the gas crisis.

2008 Mini Cooper – Automatic (26 City/34 Highway)
While most vehicles stay relatively close in mileage when going from manual to automatic, the automatic version of the Mini Cooper experiences a noticeable 3 mpg highway mileage drop. The difference between the versions should have their engineers going back to the drawing board to uncover the deficiencies in design. While it’s still a very nice 26 in the city and 34 in the highway, it’s overshadowed by its manual cousin that turns in 3 mpg’s more on the highway and 2 more in the city. While not a groundbreaking loss, it’s worth a second look.

2008 Nissan Versa – Manual (26 City/31 Highway)
Nissan comes late in the game behind Toyota and Honda, but puts up a fair fight in the fuel efficiency battle. The new Nissan Versa offers 26 in the city and 31 on the highway which is making waves in the Nissan stockholder meetings.  They are avidly throwing more money into their research department to keep up the good work and keep them afloat. These are hugely impressive numbers for a midsize vehicle and the ONLY midsize on the report outside of Toyota’s Prius hybrid. So kudos to Nissan for getting it right.

2008 Honda Accord – Manual (22 City/31 Highway)
2008 Honda Accord – Automatic (21 City/31 Highway)
If a large family vehicle is what you need, look no further than the 2008 Honda Accord that will give you and your a sweet 31 mpg on the highway and an , eh, 22 in the city. The automatic version turns in only 1 mpg loss in the city, but maintains it’s high 31 highway benchmark. Anything above 30 mpg on the highway for a large safe family vehicle is worth multiple looks and consideration.

2008 Volkswagen Passat Wagen – Manual (21 City/29 Highway)
2008 Volkswagen Passat Wagen – Automatic (20 City/28 Highway)
If a large family vehicle is just not large enough and you also need luggage room or a space for the dog to roam, then this super efficient VW station wagon turns in an awesome 29 mpg in the city and 21 in the city which is a very big deal for a station wagon loaded with kids, spouses and animals. The Automatic version of 2008 VW Passat Wagon loses 1 mpg in the city and highway, which is not that noticeable of a deal when you need that extra hand for other things other than shifting when yelling,  “I’ll turn this car around, I swear!”

If you’re looking for great cheap car deals or hoping to land an incredible deal in a car auction, make sure you visit Drive It Off The Lot. An awesome new website based out of Gwinnett County Georgia offering listings of incredible new and used car deals and even highlighting fuel efficient car deals from all around the country.

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Top 6 Gas Saving Myths Debunked!

Mr. Christopher from DriveItOffTheLot.com with some real cool tests that were run by Edmunds.com. They took the 6 biggest gas savings techniques that everybody swears by and put them to the test. They used 2 exact same cars on a 56 mile circle of road in California and drove them accordingly taking everything into consideration including the wind speed. The results are in and you’re in for a shocker.

Theory #1: The more aggressively you drive, the more gas you use.
Found to Be: Very True
Amount of Gas Burned: Up to a 37 Percent difference. That’s HUGE!
What To Do: Stop driving like a maniac. Don’t mash the gas pedal on start up. Slow your 0-60mph acceleration down about 10 seconds longer than usual. Look ahead and brake easy. If doing these tips can save you 37%, why wouldn’t you? Are you nuts?

Theory #2: Check Your Tire Pressure
Found to Be: False
Amount of Gas Burned: Almost immeasurable difference.
What To Do: They concluded that every vehicle is different, but even though the experts swear by it, they couldn’t prove this theory. There was a modest savings, but nothing huge. Keeping your tires at the correct inflation will make you safer more than anything.

Theory #3: Slower Speeds Saves Gas
Found to Be: Very True on Long Trips
Amount of Gas Burned: Up to a 14 percent difference.
What To Do: Staying the speed limit on long trips will make a huge difference. Stepping on the gas pedal to give it gas does just that, gives it gas. They drove 2 vehicles with one at 65 mph and another at 75mph and got 14% less mileage driving faster.

Theory #4: Using the Cruise Control Saves Gas.
Found to Be: True
Amount of Gas Burned: Up to a 14 percent difference.
What To Do: If you have cruise control, use it. When you simply use your foot on long distances, your foot may get heavy sporadically which uses gas and especially on hills. Using cruise control keeps the speed in moderation and makes a sizable chunk at the gas pump.

Theory #5: AC on with the Windows Up Versus AC Off and the Windows Down
Found to Be: False
Amount of Gas Burned: Almost immeasurable difference.
What To Do: If there is a sunroof involved, then there was a difference. But with standard windows, it was not even measurable. Whatever is more comfortable to you is what you should do.

Theory #6: Don’t Let Your Car Idle Excessively
Found to Be: Very True
Amount of Gas Burned: Savings of up to 19%.
How to Offset The Result: If you plan to stop for longer than a minute, turn the car off. They took 2 cars and had one stop and idle for 2 minutes and the other one they turned off for those 2 minutes. Incredibly, the car that idled used up 19% more gas. It even shocked them.

If you want to see the full results of these tests and how they did the testing for each of the above theories, be sure to visit the Edmunds site here.

If you desperately need to get a new car, used car or even a hybrid car because your old car is eating up too much gas, be sure to visit Drive It Off The Lot at DriveItOffTheLot.com for great automotive deals on cheap cars and cheap trucks and some of which are on auction right now for dirt cheap.

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10 Ways to Avoid Speeding Tickets

Mr. Christopher from DriveItOffTheLot.com with another helpful report. AOL Autos released an article that gave some useful advice as to how to avoid a speeding ticket. Here are their tips.

1) Drive within 5-10 miles of surrounding traffic.
In other words, blend in. If there are 8 cars all going faster than the speed limit, the officer is going to pull over the one that is going noticeably faster than everybody else. It’s not a race. Stay blended.

2) Monkey in the Middle
If you’re out in front, you’re the one the officer can tag for speeding. If you’re in the back, you can get snagged from behind. Stay sandwiched in the middle and you’ve greatly reduced your risk of being pulled over.

3) Follow the Leader (about 100 yards back)
Most drivers that you see driving like they have a pregnant woman about to give birth in the backseat have radar detectors (or a pregnant woman in the backseat). If you see a pack of cars or a driver that’s going the speed you’d like to go, get behind them and follow discreetly about 50 to 100 yards back. If he brakes suddenly, either a radar has tripped his detector or there’s something obstructing the road. Assume that the detector was tripped and proceed to blend.

4) Don’t Act Sporadic
Driving aggressively, switching lanes frequently, and tailgating is a one way ticket to a… um, ticket. Not only do you increase your visibility, but your risk of being in an accident. You may be in a rush, but multiple studies have shown that in over 90% of the cases, the arrival time of 2 drivers (one driving fast and erratically during traffic and one obeying the rules of the road) usually have an arrival time of less than 3 minutes difference. And if you’re in an accident or getting a ticket, those 3 minutes are miniscule.

5) Life in the Slow Lane
Avoid the fast lane and only use it to pass a slower vehicle. An officer coming the opposite way can still clock your speed and either turn around to nab you or call back to a waiting officer. Officers will typically focus on the fast lane since this is the prime location that most speeders go in excess of 15-20 miles over the limit.

6) Keep under 5 miles an hour over the limit
If you simply can’t drive 55, keep it under 5 miles over the speed limit. Anything above 5 miles over the limit is next to impossible to beat in traffic court. If you must speed, keep it around 4 or 5 over MAX. The sweet spot is 3 to 4 over and most cops won’t even waste their time. They’re looking for someone who really stands out. Also consider that anything faster is also wasting gas in a major way.

7) Don’t be a Lonely Speeder
If you’re the only car on the road late at night, stay within that 5 mph over the limit window. If they are out and about clocking speeders, that is one quick way to get a ticket because they have no one to look at but you. Late at night is even worse because cops are most likely out to catch drunk drivers and will pull over even the minimalist speeder in order to see if you’ve been drinking. And be sure to stick to the speed limit as best as possible in small towns, because small towns are synonymous with speed traps.

8) Radar Love
If you just can’t help yourself, a good radar will run about $250-$300, but it’s way less than the cost of higher insurance premiums and the cost of the ticket itself, so if you’re just incurable of the lead foot disease, get one.

9) Keep a Low Profile
If the cop has got a choice at pulling over the guy in the green Toyota minivan and the guy in the cherry red Ford Mustang with neon light foot runners, who do you think is going to have the honors of talking with the officer?

10) You Lookin’ at Me?
Nothing says “I am aching for a ticket” than doing more than one of the above looking like and then being rude or belligerent. Don’t look like you just crawled out from under a bridge and certainly don’t be short with the officer if you do get pulled over. Nothing will get his hand writing that ticket quicker than being ugly to him if and when you get pulled over.

Follow these rules, and you’ll have a great chance at not getting pulled over and ticketed for speeding. If you need a new ride, head over to Drive It Off The Lot to see the absolute best deals on cars and trucks being auctioned right now! We scoured the country for awesome deals on cheap cars and cheap trucks posted them online for you to see. Enjoy.

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BMW’s Very Bizarre Marketing Stunt

Mr. Christopher from Gwinnett Subaru covering the Gwinnett BMW side of the automotive industry. BMW doesn’t have any real negative strikes against them in the public eye with exception to few improprieties here or there. So some find it odd that for some reason, BMW decided to go all out on their latest marketing stunt smack in the middle of the Red Square in Russia right in front of the Kremlin to unveil their BMW 7 Series. As AutoBlog’s Chris Tutor explains, they could have hidden it under a burlap sack and still maintained the customer loyalty that rabid BMW fans display on a regular basis.

BMW built a 40 foot high glass and acrylic hourglass filled with 180,000 steel balls at the top. Buried within those steel balls was the BMW 7 Series car. Then on July 8th, BMW invited 400 guests to witness the unveiling by releasing the steel balls which slowly dropped to the bottom of the hourglass to unveil their latest creation. Many wonder why it was necessary to use such an extravagant tactic, but BMW simply insists that it’s their commitment to quality and that the hourglass symbolised their tagline of “Never Stand Still”.

BMW appears to have released yet another superb vehicle and you can read more about it here. Europe will get 5 models to choose from, whereas the U.S. will only see 2 versions of the 750 model. Regardless of reasoning or just sheer madness, the newest additions to the BMW Series 7 boasts 32 miles to the gallon even though it’s not a hybrid. So maybe car manufacturers should pay attention to what’s going on under the hood of this new series, because this may just be something that the greenies can get behind.

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Top 10 Hardest Cars to Steal

Mr. Christopher from Gwinnett Subaru with some great news for Audi and Subaru owners (and even Hyundai). Auto club RACV has tested a huge breadth of vehicles and has announced its findings of vehicles that were the most difficult to steal. The results were very interesting. The scores range from 0 to 120, with 120 being the highest a vehicle could score against being broken into, stolen and then “re-birthed”.

Of all the vehicles tested, Audi and Subaru faired the best making it extremely difficult for thieves to get away with doing any of the three. The absolute worst vehicles were from Honda and Nissan although both of them faired incredibly well on the fuel efficiency side. The highest score out of all the breeds was the Audi S5 Coupe that walked away with an astonishing 117 points out of 120 scoring 100% theft resistance score. Almost all of Audi’s models scored in the 100’s. So who were the top 10 regardless of size or class? All of the top 10 scores with exception of only one were in the Large category;

1. Audi S5 Coupe – Score 117 (Large Category)
2. Audi R8 Coupe – Score 115.5 (Large Category)
3. Porsche Cayman S Coupe – Score 113 (Large Category)
4. BMW 335i Coupe – Score 112.5 (Large Category)
5. Audi A3 3.2 Quattro 5 Door Hatch – Score 112 (Small-Medium Category)
6. Subaru Impreza WRX 5 Door Hatch - Score 107 (Large Category)
7. Subaru Impreza STi 5 Door Hatch – Score 107 (Large Category)
8. Audi TT Coupe – Score 105.5 (Large Category)
9. Mini Cooper S 3 Door Hatch - 105.5 (Large Category)
10. Tie – FPV FG Ute and FPV Sedan - Score 104.5 (Large Category)

Is your car not on the list? See if it even qualified as theft resistant and download the entire report right here.

Overall Winners;
Large cars: Hyundai Grandeur Sedan
People movers: Subaru Tribeca five-door wagon
Four-wheel drives: Audi Q7 five-door wagon
Luxury vehicles: Audi A8 4.2 V8 Sedan
Small cars: Hyundai Getz five-door hatch (all models except SXi)
Small/medium cars: Audi A3 3.2 Quattro five-door hatch
Medium cars: Subaru Liberty five-door wagon

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Top 5 Fuel Efficient Hybrid Cars of 2008

Mr. C from GwinnettSubaru.com with the new report on what the hot cars are for 2008. It will come as no surprise that 2009 will see grand changes in this lineup as gas prices continue to skyrocket and people will go for more gas economical vehicles, but 2008 had some good ones. So what vehicles faired best in the economical tests? Let’s take a look.

5) Toyota Camry Hybrid – The number 5 slot was tough to call with both the 2008 Toyota Camry and Corolla turning in decent numbers. While Corollas highway mileage turned in an impressive 37 mpg, it’s city mileage was only 28. The Camry however, turned in 34 mpg on the highway and 33 in the city which overall is much better since most people sit in traffic and need the gas efficiency to be at its peak during slower times.

4) TIE – Ford Escape Hybrid and Mazda Tribute Hybrid – It’s a tie for the number 4 slot and a formidable one at that. Ford’s Escape Hybrid and Mazda’s Tribute hybrid both bring in 30mpg on the highway and 34 in the city which is impressive to say the least, but not when the top 2 vehicles are clocking in the mid to upper 40’s. Both the Escape and Tribute are reasonably priced in the mid 20’s

2008 Ford Escape

2008 Mazda Tribute

3) Nissan Altima Hybrid – This vehicle gets good mileage, but not incredibly impressive considering it’s a hybrid. Only clocking in 33 highway and 35 in the city is nothing to scoff at, but considering that Toyota and Honda’s hybrid offerings are in the mid 40’s, Nissan’s got some catching up to do.

2) Honda Civic Hybrid - Coming in super close to the number one slot is the Honda Civic Hybrid that gets a sweet 40 miles per gallon in the city and 45 on the highway.

1) Toyota Prius Hybrid - And the number one vehicle is number one because of it’s supreme efficiency. This gas/electric hybrid car is a 5 passenger vehicle that gets an awesome 45 mpg on the highway and 48 in the city. Yes, you read that right. It gets more in the city because it’s primarily running on battery in stop and go situations. A lot of users are claiming miles per gallon in the 50’s on a regular basis. A Consumer Reports darling, it currently has a 2-3 month waiting period to get one, but that’s not a long wait at all compared to the 1 year plus wait imposed on consumers when they first arrived on the scene. The price is half of what it was then and now sits at a mere $24,000 for the super efficient family vehicle putting it right in line with standard new car costs and with tons of savings down the road.

To my disappointment, Subaru didn’t have a good offering for hybrids this year but apparently plans to make hybrid versions of all of their vehicles in the next couple of years, so until then, these are the vehicles you go with to save that precious gas. Or until they have hydrogen cars.

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