Gas Mileage and Gas Prices » cars http://www.fueleconomyhelp.com How to Increase Gas Mileage and Beat Gas Prices Tue, 29 Jun 2010 09:37:02 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 The Mercedes Shark II; Would You Donate it to Charity? http://www.fueleconomyhelp.com/2008/12/the-mercedes-shark-ii-would-you-donate-it-to-charity/ http://www.fueleconomyhelp.com/2008/12/the-mercedes-shark-ii-would-you-donate-it-to-charity/#comments Tue, 02 Dec 2008 02:11:24 +0000 Fuel Economy Advisor http://www.fueleconomyhelp.com/?p=187 Let’s take a little break from talking about fuel economy – in fact, let’s just forget for a minute that you cared about how many miles per gallon your car got and can afford a $100,000 car – because it seems everyone is talking about the Mercedes Shark II.  It’s an amazing car, born from the union of the Mercedes Benz CLS 55 and the design package by the Mercedes Benz tuning company ASMA Design.

So why is everyone talking about the Mercedes Shark II right now?  Because Kim Kardashian (of Keeping Up With the Kardashians fame) and her boyfriend, Reggie Bush (of the New Orleans Saints, but not as famous), have decided to auction off some of their belongings for charity.  And somehow she talked him into auctioning off his Mercedes Shark II!  It seems they really needed the fame more than the money, however, because they actually submitted a press release to all the major marketing outlets to let everyone know just how “philanthropic” they were being.  I guess he didn’t like it that much anyway – in the past 2 years he only drove it about 7,100 miles.

You can follow the auction for the Shark II on Ebay – it’s up to $80,000 at the time of this writing, and doesn’t end until Dec. 3, 2008.  I tried to find some specs on the car, like how much gas mileage it gets, but it seems when you have that much to spend on a car you’re not so concerned with mpg.  The standard Mercedes CLS four door coupe gets about 12-14 mpg city, and 18-21 highway, and starts at about $65k.  But that’s before ASMA Design got to the car.

ASMA Design took a 2006 Mercedes AMG CLS 55 8-cylinder, chromed it out with a new front grill and chromed alloy rims, and gave it a new Bi-Color finish.  The changes are subtle, but that’s all it takes when you’ve got a brand new Mercedes to work with.  Some more info on the Mercedes Shark 2:

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]]> http://www.fueleconomyhelp.com/2008/12/the-mercedes-shark-ii-would-you-donate-it-to-charity/feed/ 29 Site Review: STiBlog.com, Showcasing the World of Subaru Enthusiasts http://www.fueleconomyhelp.com/2008/11/site-review-stiblogcom-showcasing-the-world-of-subaru-enthusiasts/ http://www.fueleconomyhelp.com/2008/11/site-review-stiblogcom-showcasing-the-world-of-subaru-enthusiasts/#comments Sun, 16 Nov 2008 16:00:06 +0000 Fuel Economy Advisor http://www.fueleconomyhelp.com/?p=156 If you’re into any kind of Subaru, especially the STi, then STiblog.com is the site for you.  They’ve got pictures and videos on some of the latest and sportiest Subaru models, with some feature articles on the more popular models such as the 2008 Subaru Impreza WRX STi “Spec. R” and the 2007 Pure White EDM STi.  Keep in mind these are sport cars; they’re not known for better gas mileage and you wouldn’t want to worry about gas prices while you’re driving one, but they sure fun to drive!

Please tell us a little about what STiBlog.com is all about:
The site is all about Subarus. Everything from industry news, to new Subaru models, and racing/WRC coverage. (Rally Racing as an example)

When did you start your blog, and why?
I started the site in September 2008. I’m a long time car and Subaru enthusiast, and figured why not blog about something I have passion for?

What kinds of service/news/info does STiBlog.com offer?
A Subaru Blog! Read about current Subaru news, road tests, comparisons, articles, and tuning. We also feature a wide variety of Subaru photos, videos, and wallpapers.

How often do you update the site, and where do you get new content and ideas from?
I try to and pretty much do update it daily. I got content from various sources across the web, but primarily Subaru-related forums, such as NASIOC (www.nasioc.com) and IWSTI (www.iwsti.com)

Are you planning any new additions or features to the site? What’s next for STiBlog.com?
No new “features” per-se as of yet, but I’m planning to hopefully recruit a few more writers to write content.

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]]> http://www.fueleconomyhelp.com/2008/11/site-review-stiblogcom-showcasing-the-world-of-subaru-enthusiasts/feed/ 5 Site Review: Mazda3Zone.info, The Mazda 3 Zone http://www.fueleconomyhelp.com/2008/11/site-review-mazda3zoneinfo-the-mazda-3-zone/ http://www.fueleconomyhelp.com/2008/11/site-review-mazda3zoneinfo-the-mazda-3-zone/#comments Sat, 15 Nov 2008 12:50:31 +0000 Fuel Economy Advisor http://www.fueleconomyhelp.com/?p=149 It’s Saturday, so why not review another website?  This unique blog, www.mazda3zone.info, is dedicated to only one car – the Mazda 3.  Pretty specific – it must be a popular car if it’s got a blog dedicated to it.  The site promises to have everything you ever wanted to know about the Mazda 3, with videos, pictures and consumer comparisons to comparable cars.  Besides the videos on the site, I also liked the preview of the upcoming 2010 Mazda 3 – it includes plenty of specs on the engine (no gas mileage rating though).  So I emailed the site owner with a few interview questions:

Please tell us a little about what your site is all about:
It is a blog i made about the Mazda 3 car. It has articles about the car, reviews, video reviews, videos of the car, and pictures of the car.

When did you start The Mazda 3 Zone, and why?
I started the website about a week ago. I started it because I wanted to make a blog someone could visit for Mazda 3 information.

What kinds of service/news/info does The Mazda 3 Zone offer?
It offers news and reviews about the Mazda 3. It has videos and pictures as well.

How often do you update the site, and where do you get new content and ideas from?
I plan to post new articles every day. I get new content from other car blogs, and car forums.

Are you planning any new additions or features to the site? What’s next for The Mazda 3 Zone?
I am planning to keep updating the content and try to get more traffic to the site. I dont plan on adding any more features, I like it the way it is.

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]]> http://www.fueleconomyhelp.com/2008/11/site-review-mazda3zoneinfo-the-mazda-3-zone/feed/ 11 Site Review: CarPlanetOnline, The World of Cars & Automobiles http://www.fueleconomyhelp.com/2008/11/site-review-carplanetonline-the-world-of-cars-automobiles/ http://www.fueleconomyhelp.com/2008/11/site-review-carplanetonline-the-world-of-cars-automobiles/#comments Sat, 15 Nov 2008 12:33:42 +0000 Fuel Economy Advisor http://www.fueleconomyhelp.com/?p=146 Here’s an interesting blog I thought I’d share with you about “The World of Cars and Automobiles” called CarPlanetOnline.com.  They certainly have some valuable info about cars and autos in general, but I also noticed they had some good car reviews.  What caught my eye in particular, since I’m interested in hybrid cars, alternative fuel and increasing gas mileage, was a review on the 2009 Toyota Prius.  I emailed the owner of the site a few questions to find out a little more about the blog:

Please tell us a little about what your site is all about:
It is a blog on automotive news, cars and tips.

When did you start carplanetonline.com, and why?
I love cars and started it about a year ago.

What kinds of service/news/info does your site offer?
News on the latest cars, auto tips and more.

How often do you update the site, and where do you get new content and ideas from?
I update it once every 10 days and so.  I get my ideas from recent and relevant news stories.

Are you planning any new additions or features to the site? What’s next for carplanetonline.com?
Just keep blogging …

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]]> http://www.fueleconomyhelp.com/2008/11/site-review-carplanetonline-the-world-of-cars-automobiles/feed/ 7 Better Gas Mileage Car Review: 2009 Chevrolet Aveo http://www.fueleconomyhelp.com/2008/10/better-gas-mileage-car-review-2009-chevrolet-aveo/ http://www.fueleconomyhelp.com/2008/10/better-gas-mileage-car-review-2009-chevrolet-aveo/#comments Sun, 26 Oct 2008 20:33:02 +0000 Fuel Economy Advisor http://www.fueleconomyhelp.com/?p=107 If you’re considering a hybrid car because you like the idea of increased gas mileage, but are wary of the disadvantages of hybrid cars, the new 2009 Chevy Aveo or Aveo5 might be for you.  These new cars from Chevy promise to get around 34 mpg, which is in the same class of the current hybrid vehicles.  Unlike hybrids, however, the Chevy Aveos are traditional gasoline powered cars with a modern 16-valve four-cylinder engine and variable valve timing for optimal power and fuel efficiency.

2009 Chevy AveoThe Aveo is the sedan version and the Aveo5 is the hatchback.  Both pump out just over 100 horsepower and lb/ft of torque, so while they’re not ready for the NASCAR circuit they’re not wimply little boxcars, either.  They start in the mid $12,000 to $13,000 range, so they’re very affordable as well.

Now, the 34 mpg sounds pretty good, but that’s the best it will get.  The actual breakdowns are 27 mpg/City, 34 mpg/Highway for a manual transmission, and 25 mpg/City, 34 mpg/Highway for the automatic (according to Chevy’s specs).  This is approaching hybrid fuel effeciency, but not quite there yet.  The Toyota Prius gets 48 mpg/City, 45 mpg/Highway (according to federal mileage specs).

But since the Toyota Prius starts at $22,000, almost $10,000 more than the Aveo and Aveo5, you have to consider total cost of ownership.  How many times do you have to fill the tank to make back your investment on a hybrid car as opposed to the Chevy Aveo?

It’s not a direct comparison, because the Aveo is a little smaller than the Prius.  It’s a nice car to get around in, but noone’s going to mistake you a rock star in it.  But if you’re not a rock star, chances are you don’t have rock star money to pay for gas, so it might be worth your while to consider Chevy Aveo‘s increased gas mileage and low sticker price as a great way to save at the pump.

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