Autoblog

In the book of Genesis, man was given dominion over all the plants and animals, so we're guessing that dead, liquified ones count, too. Since Rocky Twyman started his Pray At The Pump effort in April, average fuel prices have certainly fallen. Twyman believes that his groups' prayers have effected the change, and that no other factors like shifting consumer behavior, international conflict, or speculators has anything to do with it. Right.

The Pray At The Pump group is not just asking for divine fuel price intervention without also encouraging acts of sacrifice on behalf of man – Twyman's ministry strongly encourages car pooling and better organized trips to maximize conservation on a day to day basis. After all, committing the mortal sin of gluttony while asking for the Lord to make it easier on us all would ring kind of hollow. We suppose even the non-faithful can get behind Twyman's effort in that it's at least as effective as the various fuel-saving trinkum that internet scheisters are imploring us to buy (run your car on water? hydrogen "batteries"?), and it costs nothing, to boot. Combined with a regimen of proven fuel-saving behaviors, extra prayers certainly can't hurt in keeping the flow of car-sustaining manna trickling along at an affordable price.

[Source: BBC, AutoblogGreen, Photo: daylife.com]

Think of it as the Carsumer Price Index; new car sales are under pressure from other factors besides fuel prices and economic slowdowns, much like the Consumer Price Index strips out the price of fuel and food and then makes a proclamation about the economy. At least that's the theory that Pinny Cohen posits. Who's Pinny Cohen? As far as we know, he's an average joe with an internet rostrum and a budding web entrepreneurship who makes some salient points. He's also an Autoblog reader and he's got something to say, so we thought we'd share.

If it's not $4/gallon gasoline or economic stagnation that's putting the brakes on car sales, what else could it be? Cohen posits that the better construction of cars these days, a glut of leases that have led to a tsunami of used cars, and online shopping and telecommuting keeping people home are all contributing factors, says Pinny. Something's got to give for consumers, and new car sales seem to be the weakest link. Every automaker will eventually accept these facts, but the question is whether some will have to close up shop in order to realize that it's a brand new day of decreased production. Check the link to read Cohen's thoughts and let us know if you agree or think of more reasons why besides the crappy economy and high gas prices that new vehicle sales are down.

[Source: PinnyCohen.com, Photo: DealerConnection.com]

UPDATE: The Better Business Bureau apparently has some issues with MyGallons. This post was written several days ago and we were not aware of the dustups at that time.

You can pre-pay for cellphone minutes, here in New England it's popular to lock in your heating oil price for the winter, and now you'll be able to bank gallons of gasoline on a debit card, thanks to MyGallons.com. While you're screwed out of the money if the price of fuel drops, it's not looking like that's going to happen soon. MyGallons uses your zip code to determine what price you'll pay to add gallons to your card, which is accepted just like a normal debit or credit card at most fuel stations. It's a creative way to smooth out the fluctuations in the price of fuel, and it could also be a boon to those wanting to run a tighter budget, or at least know what they'll be spending on fuel for a given time period, as they've pre-bought. Shoot, it could even be a decent gift idea for the person who has everything!

[Source: Reuters]

The high cost of fueling up is affecting just about everyone at the pump. But it's also costing us at the grocery store, the airport, and, beginning July 1, it could bump up the cost of your speeding tickets, too. When a north Atlanta suburb spent 60% of its police fuel budget in only five months, it was faced with cutting back on patrols, raising taxes for all, or passing the cost on to speeders. The final decision was a no-brainer for the city of 7,700, and beginning in July, all speeders will be slapped with an additional $12 fuel charge. The added charge will raise ticket revenues up to $26,000 or more, and the costs will only be passed on to those who break traffic laws and not every citizen. The Atlanta city council has unanimously passed a similar proposal to include a $10 - $15 fine for ticketed motorists, and many more cities are sure to follow suit in short order. Yet another reason to get a really good radar detector. Thanks for the tip, Brad!

[Source: AOL Money, Photo by Malingering | CC 2.0]

We're certain that we're not the only ones that shake our heads in disgust when we roll by a gas station (and bow our heads in shame when we actually have to fill up). With the price of gas starting to come down, we certainly all are a little puzzled about what influences fuel prices. Howstuffworks.com comes to the rescue with a overview about what factors control the price of gasoline and the price of oil. While this is far from an exhaustive analysis at the elements that influence energy prices, the article does provide more in-depth analysis about the hot button topics in the economics of fuel.

The only explanation that we did not see is how oil companies are making record profits with oil AND its derivative product, gasoline, at such high prices. We want to see a step by step look at each stage in the process from well to wheels, and where each side takes its cut. Otherwise, the howstuffworks.com article does give more time to the subject than we typically see in other media outlets. So get going and find out what goes into making a $3.00 gallon of gas.

According to AAA, our friends in the Buckeye State are benefiting from the end of the summer driving season by registering the lowest gas prices in the nation. Ohio residents are enjoying a 30-cent discount on fuel, compared to the national average, partly due to seasonal demand and increased competition between the purveyors of the go-juice.

The average cost of tank of unleaded in Ohio is $2.29 a gallon, which in comparison to this writer's residence in the Golden State, is a full 58 cents less than the fill-up station down the road. Fine, we'll see your cheap gas and raise you our ability to go skiing in our shorts.

[Source: NewsNet5.com]

As U.S. cities take a new look at mass transit services (anticipating increased demand following rising gas prices), transportation planners might want to take a look at a recent survey sponsored by U.K. insurer esure. The survey of U.K. drivers finds that gas prices would have to reach the equivalent of a stratospheric $13.48 per U.S. gallon before they'd consider switching to mass transit.

A remarkable 55 percent of drivers said they'd never switch, no matter how expensive fuel becomes.

There are lots of ways to interpret these results (existing mass transit may be perceived as too inconvenient and/or too expensive, but improved systems might change peoples' thinking, for example) but one thing's for sure - automakers must be breathing a sigh of relief.

[Source: Reuters]

Mimicking a similar project in the UK, a US-based organization has launched FuelCard.org to help drivers save some cash on gas. The idea is seemingly simple: get a bunch of people together and give them a gas discount card, promise a popular, nationwide gas station chain that the group of people will only buy their gas, and the card holders in question get 10-20 cents off per gallon of gas. The site evidently started up last week, so we're not sure who the gas retailer will be, but if this program flies, it could be a great thing for many of us looking at $50+ a tank.

Thanks to Bob for the tip.

[Source: FuelCard.org]

With gas prices rising politicians in states like Maryland, South Caroloina, Connecticut, Georgia, New York and Nevada are considering reducing or even eliminating their state's gas taxes to ease the burden on the average citizen.

This seems to us like a shortsighted solution designed more to curry favor with voters than actually ease anyone's financial burden. As the article from The Detroit News points out, state and federal gas taxes are levied when retailers buy their gas from distributors, so there's no guarantee those savings would be passed on to consumers instead of just being absorbed by retailers.

Add to that the fact that most state budgets have been operating at or near deficit levels and reducing or eliminating a major source of income seems like an idea that will lead to more potholes and less teachers in public schools.

Check out the article and let us know in the comments whether or not you think repealing state gas taxes is a good idea.

[Source: The Detroit News]

That's the gist of Chairman and CEO Bill Ford's statement to the annual meeting of Ford Motor Co. shareholders Thursday.

Saying that the company's long-term success depends on its global expansion, Ford emphasized that, despite its problems at home, all of the company's automotive operations outside North America are profitable. He went on to say that Ford Motor is aggressively targeting emerging markets, including Turkey, Russia, India and China, as avenues for future growth.

Ford reaffirmed the company's commitment to return its North American operations to profitability by 2008, and his personal commitment to forego a salary until that goal is met.

Responding to questions from shareholders, Ford said the company is considering adding a plug-in hybrid to its model range, while aggressively pursuing other ethanol, biofuel and hybrid solutions to rising petro-fuel prices and their impact on his company's revenues. He also stressed that overall Ford Motor's lineup is getting smaller and more fuel efficient.

[Sources: Ford Motor Co., Reuters]