Buying a car is one of the most expensive purchases a person can make in their lifetime. Depending on the make and model you buy, you can easily spend $30,000 to $40,000 after paying down your principal and interest. Most people don’t consider insurance when shopping for a car, even though it can easily add $100-$200 to monthly car costs. This leaves many car buyers shell-shocked when they realize they didn’t budget for this added expense.

You don’t want this to happen to you. Before you go out and buy a new car, consider the top five cars offering the cheapest auto insurance quotes by Forbes and Insure.com.

#1: Hyundai Santa Fe
The Hyundai Santa Fe was listed as the least expensive vehicle to insure in 2009 with a average yearly insurance cost of $832.

This car’s main qualifier for the cheapest rate quote is a Highway Loss Data Institute report of “substantially better than average” for comprehensive insurance losses, as well as “better than average” for personal injury protection insurance losses. Some of the safety features that play a role in this vehicle’s low coverage costs include brake assist, body-side reinforcements, 3-point seatbelts, 4-wheel ABS, traction control, shift interlock system, front-rear crumple zones and multiple air bags.

#2: Kia Sportage
The second least expensive vehicle to insure is the Kia Sportage. With an average yearly insurance cost of $840, buying the Sportage makes insurance affordable.

The main reason insurance costs are so low with this vehicle is its safety ratings. With the NHTSA Star Ratings alone, the Sportage received the highest rating --  five stars -- for frontal and side tests on the driver, passenger, front seat and rear seat. Some safety features of the Sportage include multiple air bags, 4-wheel ABS, traction control, side-impact door beams and lower anchors & tether for children (LATCH).

#3: Hyundai Entourage
The Hyundai Entourage ranks number three on the list with an average yearly insurance cost of $848. Not bad!

The reason this car was quoted for a low insurance cost was because it received high safety scores from both the NHTSA and the IIHS. Some of the safety features on the Entourage include front side and curtain side airbags, ant-iskid system, traction control and anti-lock brakes.

#4: Kia Sedona
The Kia Sedona was an IIHS 2009 Top Safety Pick for its good performance in front, side and rear tests, as well as standard electronic stability control. Because of its top rankings across the board, the average yearly auto insurance rate for this minivan is $857. There are a ton of safety features on this car that give it its ranking. Some include electronic stability control, brake assist, 4-wheel ABS, passenger/side head/rear head air bags, height-adjustable front and 2nd row seatbelts, 3-point seatbelts, and an energy-absorbing steering column.

#5: Kia Rio5
The Kia Rio5 rounds out the list of the top five cars with the cheapest auto insurance quotes. This mini SUV offers a sleek look and great safety features to match. It received four stars from NHTSA for drivers and passenger side frontal impact and rollover resistance, as well as five stars for front-occupant side impact, giving it a average yearly insurance cost of $870. Some of its safety features include driver/passenger/side head/rear head air bags, rear 3-point seatbelts, LATCH, side-impact door beams, an impact-absorbing steering column and front/rear crumple zones.

As you can see, there seems to be a consensus that both Kia and Hyundai vehicles offer top-quality safety and thus help to lower your auto insurance rate. So it’s good to keep this in mind as you search for cars and attempt to lower auto insurance. But if you’re interested in a different type of car that didn’t make this list, it’s good to consider other ways to lower your auto insurance.

Additional Ways to Lower Coverage

• Buy an economy car – Having a smaller car can help lower your auto insurance. So consider this as an option as you look for cars to purchase.

• Consider PAYD insurance – Also known as “Pay as You Drive,” this is a relatively new type of insurance that’s only available in a few states so far, but it allows drivers to pay based on mileage rather than their driving habits, credit report, age, gender, etc. If you drive a short distance, this could benefit you pretty well.

• Seek discounts – Most insurance companies offer some one or more discounts that their customers can take advantage of. So whether you’re a good student, good driver or have purchased multiple policy types (ex. life, homeowners) with this company, you can probably receive a discount in the process.

• Shop around – If you don’t shop around for competing quotes, it will be hard to determine which is the cheapest. So make sure you shop around with various insurers before settling on coverage for your car.

Sometimes it’s tough to think in terms of auto insurance rates when you’re wowed by the beauty of a new car. They put so many bells and whistles in them nowadays that it’s hard to think of anything else. However, car notes are expensive enough without adding an expensive car insurance premium to it. So before you buy a car, it’s good to consider how much insuring it will cost.

This was a guest post written by GoInsuranceRates.com, where you can find the best deals on auto insurance, home insurance, life insurance, and health insurance.

This is an old story from 2008, but still too funny not to mention.  Allegedly, Dennis Anderson converted a La-Z-Boy recliner into a motorized vehicle.  The chair was powered by a lawnmower type engine, complete with lights, steering wheel, stereo speakers, and cup holders.  Unfortunately Anderson lounged around town while drunk and ended up hitting a vehicle.

Dennis had already lost his license because of a previous DUI, which was probably why he was driving a recliner down the road.  However, he blames a woman for jumping in the chair while in motion, which caused him to swerve into another car.  Anderson recorded a .29 BAC, which is 3 times over the legal limit in Missouri.

Check out the vehicle, err, recliner, or whatever you want to call it below.

La-Z-Boy Car

Muscle obviously doesn't have to refer to cars alone, there are 2 trucks that can proudly and honestly wear the muscle moniker.  The Ford F150 Lightning and the Dodge Ram SRT10.  Both of these hairy chested man machines are packed with power, speed, and enough torque to rip up the pavement.  But what would happen if they lined up next to each other on the 1/4 mile or on your local highways?  Like any race, it depends on the driver, but lets look closer at the matchup of muscle trucks.

Lightning

The 2004 Ford Lightning is packing some serious heat, not as much in displacement, but with forced injection.  The later model Lightnings were equipped with a 5.4L Super Charged engine.  This testosterone fueled motor produced about 380 horsepower and over 450 ft lb of torque.  Plenty to push the modestly sized lightning down the road.  There were just under 3,800 produced and 2004 was the last year they were produced by team SVT.

SRT-10

Dodge wins the displacement and cubic inch game with an 8.3L V10 engine.  Honestly, my hands are sweating  typing about such a hairy motor, which produced over 500 horsepower and 525 ft lb of torque.  Whenever you hit the gas you had better be holding onto something.  The Dodge RAM SRT-10 was last produced in 2006, but there have been rumors of a resurface in recent months.  Looking at production numbers, in the 3 year production of the SRT-10 there were only a total of 9,000 made.  It's a rare muscle truck, but one worthy of the name, and a serious contender for the Lightning.

See the two race in the video below.  While the SRT-10 wasn't quite ready for the first launch, the second attempt was much more valiant, but the Lightning pulled away at the end.

In this video you can see the Lightning clearly stomps a mud hole in the ass of the SRT-10.

Although these are just a few examples, I'm gonna have to give the F150 the checkered flag. The RAM is just too bulky of a beast, even with it's massive engine to compete with the nimble Ford Lightning. Keep in mind this is just an opinion piece and I'm sure there are those out there that can drive better than the videos above. But keep in mind the suspension and weights of the two muscle trucks when considering a showdown. Dodge RAM SRT-10 owners beware.

Lightning VS SRT-10

If you've ever been interested in learning about the economy, now is the time.  As our country and many others are weathering the biggest storm in economic history, the average consumer is certainly feeling the waves!  With the rising costs of everything from groceries to auto insurance , we Americans are beginning to pick up our heads and take notice of what is happening.  More and more, we are taking an interest in learning how some major world processes affect our everyday life.

Of the ups and downs of the current climate, one “up” that is most easily spotted is the price of fuel.  Prices of gas for our cars have skyrocketed, of course, making us think twice about driving out of town for vacation.  That's just the tip of the iceberg – home heating oil, manufacturing, electric power generation, the cost of the food that's delivered to the grocery store – these things are all affected by the price of the fuel we use.  Since our daily lives are affected in many more ways than we can even know, it may be good to get a bit of a grasp on how the economics of it all works.

There are a few factors that go into figuring the price of fuel.  Taxes and distribution, which generally remain stable components, account for about forty-five percent of the cost of your vehicle's gas.  The remaining fifty-five percent is directly linked to crude oil prices.  Since taxes remain steady for long periods of time and sudden disruptions to distribution lines are not foreseeable, crude price at the pump rises and falls... and rises, and rises... closely in keeping with the projected cost of crude oil.

The main determiners of the prices of crude oil are called oil “futures”.  Oil stocks are traded based on contracts to buy and sell barrels of oil at a specific price on a specific date in the future.  Every day, traders in oil bid based on a projection, or a guess, of what price they think oil will be trading at in the future.   The projections are based on calculations of supply and demand, taking into account all of the world's usage and OPEC's production rate.  With these trade projections being re-evaluated daily, the price of crude oil, and therefore the price of the gas we use, fluctuates daily.

This type of futures trading can lead to a self fulfilling prophecy; if oil prices are thought by traders to be on the rise, traders will raise the cost of oil by raising their own bids.  This type of “bubble” is a phenomenon which is not unique to oil prices, but can be seen in any other type of commodity trading.  Lately, this driving up of oil prices has been one of the biggest factors of current high fuel prices.  Although there is not a shortage of supply, and demand has gone down, oil traders have been driving up the prices of futures.

Green Motorcycles

Recently there was a post in the The-Grayline.com automotive forum stating that motorcycles pollute more than trucks and SUVs.  The thread starter claims that the typical motorcycle will emit 10 times more pollutants compared to a passenver car, light truck, or SUV.  Personally, I find it hard to believe, but is there any truth to the inefficiency of motorcycles.

California has already taken steps to to make sure all motorcycles on the road are meeting or exceeding emission standards.  However, these standards are different than passenger vehicles and may reflect a lower requirement.  In February of 2009 California issued legislature to require maintenance and smog check checks every year for motorcycles.

An argument more fitting to the emissions of motorcycles is, don't we have bigger fish to fry?  I mean, motorcycles are typically driven only a few months out of the year, compared to passenger cars that are driven year round.  So, focusing on such a small percentage of the actual problem shouldn't we work on broader strokes?  Even more to the point, if it's a single person getting from A-B isn't it more efficient to drive a motorcycle than a 4 passenger vehicle?

Comparing an SUV with a Truck many will say is like comparing an apple to an orange. Is a SUV (Sports Utility Vehicle) considered a truck? Or better yet is a truck a Sports Utility Vehicle?  To figure that out we need to define what a truck really is. Can the two be separated into two different categories? Like this: a truck has an open back bed and the SUV is a heavier sporty van.

Truck owners will say that a truck is a pickup in which you can carry 4'x8' sheets plus. The SUV owner has this to say: a SUV is a passenger vehicle which can combine the towing capacity and strength of a pickup truck with the passenger-carrying space of a minivan meshed with on or off road capability.

With today’s gas prices there are quite a few Trucks and SUVs for sale countrywide. The following are important facts to consider when looking for new or used trucks and SUVs.

Drive/Tranny: Most trucks come with either manual and automatic transmissions as well as two- and four-wheel drive---SUVs also have both transmission options however most SUV’s are 4x4s

Size: Trucks fall into the compact or full-size category, although there are a couple considered mid-size---SUVs come built on either truck or car chassis.

Safety: Most trucks offer such safety equipment as front air-bags and seat-belts for each passenger---SUVs come with the same.

Passenger Capacity: Trucks have 3 body styles. 1) Regular cab has 2 doors and seats 2-3 comfortably. 2) Extended cab mainly adds extra storage space behind the front seats. 3) Full sized Crew cab version can seat 3 additional passengers with 4 doors---SUVs offer full seating in the front for 2 and 3 in the real with 4 side doors.

Versatility of Interior Seating: Most trucks with crew cabs offer the ability to either fold the entire rear seat up or at least one half---most SUVs have fold down seats too or the rear seats can be taken out too.
Towing Ability: This all depends on the size of the truck and its engine---SUVs can also be used for towing, the weight varies with engine size.

Operating Costs: A compact truck is relatively fuel-efficient and fairly cheap to insure however as you add size and cylinders so will the cost of insurance as is the addition of four-wheel drive to any trucks---SUVs are higher to insure them trucks.

Fuel efficiency: This again depends on the engine and body size of the truck—SUVs can be slightly more gas-thirsty, especially if they’re towing.

When buying a used Truck or SUV the only consideration has to be given to the purpose of the vehicle. With other words the construction worker would probably get better use out of a pick-up truck and the SUV would deliver a slightly sportier experience.

I'm scratching my head trying to find out the specific details around the GM Hummer that is reportedly getting 100 mpg.  An article on ConsumerEnergyReport.com indicates that this new hybrid Hummer is the brain child of Raser technologies.  The Hummer is reportedly a plug-in type hybrid designed for daily local travel.  Basically that last part means that the numbers are slightly scued, to the tune of about 70 miles per gallon over statement.

According to information direct from Raser the Hummer is only capable of up to 33 mpg on the high way.  Now, I'm not saying that 100 mpg in the city isn't great, but obviously to arrive at these figures there are limits that must be set and gray areas to interpret.  Does that mean that the Hummer will get infinite miles per gallon if it stays under 30mpg?  I mean, I'm not sure of any city where 30+ is the norm, but they could just as easily be talking about an island city with 15 mph speed zones.

Also reported by Raser is that the engine found in the H3 Hybrid is the strongest electric engine available in a passenger vehicle.  Raser claims teh engine found in the H3 Plug-In is 4 times more powerful than the hybrid engine found in the Toyota Prius.  According to reports it can be recharged at home, obviously from the plug-in name plate, but the cost is $.60 per equivalent gallon of gas.  Again, this information is much better than paying an alternative now $2.50 per gallon of gas, but there is still a cost to driving such a hybrid.  Where do you think most of our electricity at home comes from?  I'm willing to bet it's not wind turbines yet, most likely coal, so saving fossil fuels has still yet to be accomplished.

Pictures of the Raser H3 Plug In Hybrid 100mpg

It becomes pretty obvious that perhaps a vehicle the size of the Hummer is required to fit all the drive train components into the package.  There is some serious weight, size, and limitations of fitting this much technology in any lesser vehicle.  No doubt, nows the time to start buying some Raser stock though.

Bad Economy, Good Deal

A bad economy and slow sales means that it's a buyers market in the automotive market.  Dealerships are in a hurry to push old inventory to make room for the 2010's that will start showing up any minute.  Furthermore, the slumping economy means there are less customers even walking through the door, so they will be more willing to make a deal on the spot.

Let's also look at the threat of dealerships being closed by the manufacturer themselves.  Already in the news there have been reports of General Motors and Chrysler closing dealerships all over the US.  Typically these are smaller volume dealers where their territory is grouped into a larger dealership organization.  When these places are closed down, usually all the receive is a letter in the mail from the manufacturer, and a lot of inventory to unload before they close their doors.

This last example is a sad state of affairs that we are currently faced with.  But it gives buyers a strong opportunity to go out and buy brand new GM and Chrysler vehicles for a fraction of what they would have cost even a few months ago.  A dealership doesn't want to take an even lower cost from a competing dealer buying inventory, so if they can unload on customers, they will.

If you are in the market for a new car, start making some phone calls.  Also, watch the news, find out what dealerships have been notified they are closing, you might just find a deal and a reason to buy new over used.

Let's look at the difference between UK and US based car insurance policies.  I'm looking at the giant elephant in the room when I note that either we are paying in dollars or lbs.  When looking for a car insurance policy over seas, keep the exchange rate in mind, because it could make a big difference in your monthly premium.  But let's find out a way to see what UK car insurance companies have to offer.

Car insurance in the UK is much like the insurance market in the US, right now it's a buyers market.  Insurance companies are trying to come up with ways to win new customers and keep existing ones.  Two the top car insurance companies in the UK right now, Direct Line and HSBC, both are offering some great incentives.

Direct Line car insurance promises protection in case you get in an accident with an uninsured motorist.  This promise means that the accident will not affect your no claims discount.  HSBC's standard policies seem to be growing, where items of an insurance policy that used to be options are now standard.  Take for example, New Car Replacement and options to protect your no claims discount.

Although there are some differences in car insurance policy requirements from the US and UK, there is one huge similarity.  Any driver, in either country, are required by law to carry car insurance.  This isn't a suggestion, it's the law, where if broken can mean you lose your license or risk having your car impounded.  Furthermore, driving without insurance could have devastating consequences for your financial future.  For more imformation on what insurance in the UK is all about, please read the UK Insurance Overview.

This is a completely unsolicited post for one of the greatest automotive products ever made, RAINX.  The answer is YES, yes RainX is worth every penny.   As of late I've been appreciating this inexpensive, yet incredibly useful product a lot more.  In Southern Indiana we've been exposed to more rain this year than I can last remember and RainX has made seeing in the rain no problem.

RainX acts as a kind of wax for your windshield, which then assists with removing water.  When water comes into contact with your windshield it beads up and rolls right off.  Unlike untreated glass where the water does not bead and requires more assitance from windshield wiper blades to push the water off.

RainX Comparison

As you can tell from the comparison, inbetween wiper blade swipes visibility is greatly improved.  There is virtually no excuse for not at least trying RainX if you are living in a wet area, which during the Spring almost everywhere is.

Applying RainX to the windshield is also a snap.  Simply spray the product onto the windshield or soft clean cloth and evenly wipe the product over the glass in a circular motion.  Application is done much like you would wax your car, only waxing off is not needed.