I'm sure you've probably noticed by now that gas prices have dropped back down to under two dollars a gallon.  That's 50% lower than they were this summer at their peak.  The reasons for the high and low gas prices are somewhat complicated, but at the same time they're pretty simple.  Because our economy hit a recession before the rest of the world did, our dollar value was very weak compared to other currencies such as the euro.  The difference in currency value meant that gas prices in Europe didn't actually change that much last year, but since our dollar value dropped dramatically the price of gas skyrocketed.  Now that the rest of the world's economies are hurting like ours, gas prices go back to normal because our dollar value relative to other currency values has increased.

All this is interesting, but you really have to wonder what the end result of cheap gas once again will be.  Will people go back to buying their Hummer H2's?  I'm not really sure.  One thing I do know is that people have a short memory.  Sure, gas prices were high, not so long ago, but when used see that big truck next time you're buying a vehicle and gas prices are cheap, are you going to remember the four dollar gas? My guess is most people won't.

Recently Google released some of their yearly keyword trend data, and there is a fascinating trend.  As gas prices skyrocketed people's interest in hybrid vehicles and alternative fuels increased with it.  Now that gas prices have gone back down, interest in hybrid cars has gone down as well.  Coincidence? I doubt it.

It would be better for every one if people stopped buying these huge trucks just to drive around town.  It's always fascinating to drive to the richer part of town to see soccer moms driving Cadillac Escalade's just to go shopping at the grocery store.  Why on earth does anyone need an eight passenger vehicle just to go get groceries? Couldn't they just have a small vehicle that they run around town in?

Gas prices are going to go back up.  It's only a matter of time. Next time they hit four dollars a gallon, will we be ready? It's hard to say but one thing is for sure, we've been warned.

Taking the maintenance of your car seriously will make your ride more secure and save you a huge amount of money.  However, what most drivers don't know is that sound car care habits of the past are not useless nowadays.

Technology evolves, and so present cars are different from cars of the past.  Manufacturers have thought about how our driving experience can be made easier and more secure. It is time to review these myths.

The first, almost unknown, myth is that you have to change the oil and oil filter of your car every 3,000 miles. Oil change is surely still necessary. Cars don't run a closed system in regard to oil.  However, modern technology have twofold ways of saving oil. First, modern motor parts fit better nowadays as they did in the past, so they run smoothly (literally) with less oil. The second point is that modern electronic like the OLS (Oil Life System) controls the quality of your oil and informs your when it's time for oil change.

A second maintenance need of the past is nowadays no more necessary: no new car needs a yearly radiator flush nowadays. Cooling systems are a closed system and coolant fluid circulates without losses. Modern coolants are synthetic and designed for keeping their chemical qualities for a long long time. The only important point is using the specific coolant recommended by your manufactured. Only if your radiator is dripping or you see some loss of fluid level, you will have to take your automobile to the nearest repair shop. By the way, take specially care if your motor is overheating. The best way of destroying a motor without an accident is through a failure of the cooling system.

A third point of your car that has improved with technology are the wheels. Wheel alignments were common in the past, but in new vehicles it is only seldom necessary. Often only when you feel that your car is pulling to the left or to the right. Another different issue is the tire pressure. Tires should be kept inflated according to the recommendations of their manufactured.

Furthermore, check specifically your vehicle's manual to keep your car tuned, but save on unnecessary and sometimes expensive services.

New drivers are eager to drive. I was too short after I had my driver's license. Of course, with the years commuting is no fun anymore, but for teens, driving represent a new life. Parents on the other side find incredibly stressful giving the car's key to their teenage children. Most parents drive with their children to see how they cope behind the wheel, but handing over the keys is mostly a source of anxiety.

The best way of dealing with this anxiety is based on good old communication and modern technology too. The rate of accidents of teen drivers is huge. However, not all teens are alike.

The first point is not letting your children drive with the cell phone and don't call them while they are driving. Text messages specially are a huge distraction for young driver and a terrible source of accidents. Never let the keys of your car on the hand of someone who believes being able to read a text message while driving. It is simply not possible.

The second ground rule is establishing a road map where the teen may and may not take the car. New automobile GPS keep track where you car has been. Most models also allow for real time tracking through your cell phone or the internet. With such system you will always know where your car is.

An automobile GPS allows for negotiating safe zone -perhaps the road between school and home -and to expand or reduce this safe zone. Some GPSs systems also track the speed limit and so you will be informed for gross infraction of your ground rules.

Having an automobile GPS on your car will also make your insurance policy cheaper since recovering a stolen car equipped with GPS is much, much easier.

Of course, installing an automobile GPS and not telling your teen may be a huge source of conflict. Don't 'sell' it as a control mechanism. Explain what your car means to you and about your necessity of always knowing where the car is and when you will have it back.

Make your son or daughter feel like this is something you are accomplishing together. Take him or her for a drive and test their driving style or ask them for a full brake in a quiet area, for example.

We all probably went through the same experience when we were growing up.  When we turned 16, we probably took driver's ed and got our driver's license. I was not a huge fan of drivers education, because it was a very boring class.  Yet, looking back, it is an extremely valuable class that everyone should be required to take.

I don't think a day goes by that I don't see someone run a red light.  Is getting to be the wintertime now.  I really start to wonder how many people are going to get in car accidents  just because they were impatient.  It's a terrible thing.  While driver's ed doesn't really solve this problem, it does teach you to drive more defensively and can keep you safer in the midst of so many other bad drivers.

Also, even though drivers education was a very high stress environment, especially the driving tests, that does do a good job of teaching you to be alert in high stress driving environments.  Many people live in large urban areas, with four or eight lane highways that get cramped and congested during rush hour.  I've driven in more than my fair share of this kind of traffic, and I can tell you that it is extremely stressful.  People make mistakes, and at 75 miles an hour, that usually means someone dies or is badly injured.

I can't help but wonder, when I see bad drivers if they ever took drivers education class themselves.  I'm sure they did, but what happened to them that they all of a sudden decided that safety of themselves and others was not really worth paying attention to? Is getting to work or to the store a couple minutes quicker, worth killing someone? I don't think so, but it seems like a lot of other people do.

With all the distractions in our vehicles and outside of our vehicles, it is more important than ever to have a solid foundation of drivers education to keep people safe behind the wheel.  The more safe drivers, we can have better.  Even if you know how to drive, a defensive driving course. might save your life. Aefensive driving isn't sexy, but neither is a horrific accident. Think about it.

Driving With Pets

Taking your pet dog, cat or whatever along on a long trip is for many drivers an absolute necessity. Some pets and some owners too can't stand being alone. Besides this, there are all the costs and headaches of searching for boarding for a pet, or asking friends or family to take care of your pet.

For making your trip as smooth as possible, some preparation, for both the vehicle and the pet, is necessary.

First, take into account, that your pet has to get accustomed to cars. That is not normally a problem for a dog, since most owners take their dogs in their car with them. However, almost no driver takes his cat for a ride. So, start small and try a few short trips within your neighborhood. Many pet associate trips to trips to the veterinary, so it is important that it associates driving with something pleasant. Giving some form of reward after the trip, will make your pet feel more comfortable in a car.

All cats, no matter how peaceful they are, should be confined to a cat carrier. No exceptions are allowed. Cats are unpredictable within an automobile. Putting it in a cage will make you both feel more comfortable.

Dogs can also be dangerous for the driver. Don't let your dog ride at your side -whether on the floor nor in the passenger seat- or lay on your lap. Sometimes drivers have to make unpredictable movements and you will need the security that your dog won't hinder you in your movements.

The best option for dogs is buying a divider to create a compartment separating the pet from other areas of the vehicle. If you have a big automobile like a SUV, you can put your dog in the rear area. The most important is that you keep it separated from the driver.

Further minor points are taking enough food and water with you, taking general medication and planning to stop every couple of hours. And don't let it ride with an open window, although it seems funny for him, this is a focus of infection for him.

Last week, once again, the big three automakers went to Washington to beg for money.  Actually, that's not exactly true.  GM and Chrysler both went to Washington to beg for money, while Ford went to secure loan guarantees, which is a bit different.  You see Ford is a company that has realized in the last few years that they're in trouble.  That is a stark difference from GM and Chrysler, which once the economy tanked, they realized that they were completely hosed.  Up until then, they thought everything was fine.

Ford has been in a restructuring cycle for the past two years.  They hired a new CEO from Boeing, who has a very simple goal.  Instead of overproducing to make the numbers look good, but being stuck with the financial mess later, he's going to take Ford and make them a leaner, meaner, and more intelligent company.  He is going to do this by reducing their output to meet actual market demand.  It sounds almost too simple, but for various reasons, the old strategy in the automotive world is to overproduce to make your quarterly numbers look good.  Even if people aren't actually buying your cars.  Then, tie up all the money in your financing operations and make it look like you're making money.  When in fact, you're really not.

It's too bad that Ford is getting lumped in with the other two car companies as "one of the big three". while they are one of the big three, they are two years into their restructuring.  And if it wasn't for this recession, they would've hit profitability next year.  As it stands now, they are likely to make money in 2010.  That's a big difference from General Motors and Chrysler threatening bankruptcy if they don't get money yesterday.

The real sad thing is that even though Ford is the best, even if General Motors or Chrysler were to go out of business it would hurt Ford tremendously.  Ford relies on the same parts manufacturers that everyone else does.  If Chrysler or GM were to go under, that would take down the whole auto parts industry potentially as well.  The unintended consequences would be that Ford and other companies would have to find a way to rescue the auto parts companies.

It's a pretty ugly time for American automakers, but one thing is clear: Ford has a plan.  You can't say that about General Motors and Chrysler.  Sure, GM has their Chevy Volt that they're preparing, but that won't save Chevy.  At this point, I'm not sure if anything will.  They have too much junk on their books and need to be willing to cut.  Companies like Pontiac, Saturn, and maybe even Buick.  These are tough times, and if these automakers don't act, they'll go under and take all the jobs with them.

As I obtained my driver's license as a teenager it was for me a ticket to a new world. It gave me the freedom that I, and all teenagers, see as their passage to the adult world. However, this new freedom also imply new risks. An automobile can be a wonderful or a terrible tool in the hands of an inexperienced driver.

Before giving the car's keys to a new teenager driver consider evaluating you insurance policy. Does it cover drivers of all ages and drivers with a newly obtained driver's license? Take the insurance card always with when driving. The police may request it and you have to show it after an accident. Read the small print about what it covers and what it doesn't. For new drivers, full cover may be expensive, but depending on your mileage, it is the way to go. Don't make the mistake of believing that if you only drive on weekend, you need less protection, since accidents happen exactly on weekends. If the premium is too high, but you still want full protection, consider completing a certified driving security training. These course take normally just a couple of days and will make any driver experience his limits and the braking pattern of his own car.

As a side note, consider that another interesting way of still being fully protected by your insurance policy it to choose a hybrid automobile. Leasing or owning a green car will make some insurance policies 10% cheaper. In the saving is double, since ecologically friendly cars consume less gas.

Of course, you cannot only rely on your insurance policy to keep accident costs low. New drivers have to be specially careful about speed and road conditions. It is all about knowing where your limits are. These are two point that new drivers, especially those on their teens, don't take enough into account. In winter, road conditions can vary rapidly and a new driver will have serious trouble maintaining the car straight the first time.

The new driver should also know his car and extras -first aid kit, jumper cables, camera, spare tire, the route, and cell phone. Make sure that everything is working, and that the new driver knows how to use everything.

Winter Tires

Winter is the harshest season for your vehicle and the most dangerous for you as a driver. Your car will be exposed to snow, ice, rain, slush, freezing temperatures, and road salt.  On top of that, many of us will be driving thousands of miles over the Christmas holidays under unpredictable road conditions.

For your security, the single most important item is to use winter tires, (aka snow tires). No matter how carefully you drive, not using winter tires on snow, ice, or slush will increase your chance of spending some time in the car repair shop or worse.

Winter tires not only guarantee that you will be able to brake securely, but also that your car won't loose grip accelerating or driving around corners.

All-season tires (those marked 'M+S' or 'M&S') are appropriate under most conditions. Just remember that these tires stiffen and loose grip under extremely low temperatures. If you have to drive under those conditions, remember to keep a longer security distance from the vehicle in front of you. However, if you are security minded, just change your summer tires before the first snow has fallen. They are clearly a little bit cheaper than having two sets of tires (for winter and for summer). However, I doubt that it represent a true saving. All-season tires wear more than normal summer tires and have less grip than normal winter tires. And in the case of an accident, the saving is definitely gone.

Some SUV drivers make the mistake of thinking that since they have large wheels with wide tires, they don't need winter tires. Actually, only tires explicitly marked as winter tires (or all-season) are suitable for snow and ice. Otherwise, no matter how aggressive the profile of your tire may be, you will have to mount new tires on your vehicle. Winter tires are not only different in their profile, but also on the rubber they are made from.

And last but not least, don't try to save a couple of bucks putting winter tires only on the traction wheels. Your car need the same kind of tires on all its wheels. If you mix tires with different attributes, your car may exhibit an unpredictable braking pattern, even if you have the most advances security features like ESP (Electronic stability control).

Playing video games is probably my only other hobby besidse working on the Mustang in my garage.  Therefore I'm always on the lookout for a quality racing game or automtive themed gaming title.  Today I came across the news and screen shots of the new Burnout Paradise PC game, which has me salivating.

The screen shots below are amazing, but what's more interesting is how they plan on bringing the game to market.  The developer intends on offering a full version for a small period of time, for FREE.  That way you won't have to worry about being suckered into another game purchase, only to find out that the demo was not an accurate representation of the full game.  All features, online multiplayer, and other aspects of the full game will be available on the demo.

I'm stoked and plan on checking this out as soon as it's available, which should be some time in February 09.

The Black Series Mercedes Benz SL65 has officially been tested by the boys at Motor Trend, whom as the question, what recession?  Basically jetting around in a $300,000 blown V12 makes you wonder who could afford such awesome toys, but apparently Mercedes feels at least 350 people can.  As of this posting Mercedes plans to produce only 350 2010 Mercedes Benz SL65-AMG Black Series.

Check out the pictures of this throbbing race car wrapped in domesticated sex appeal.