Top Auto World News
| MyGallons lets you lock in fuel prices | Filed under: Trends, Etc., Lifestyle 
UPDATE: Once again, our sharp commenters FTW! This may be a scam, we'll be following up, but head to the comments for more details. The 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] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
| | Gas prices rise along with interest in motorcycles | Filed under: Car Buying, Trends, Green, Motorcycles 
Click on the image for more high-res shots of the Night Rod Special
As you may have noticed, we've been featuring more two-wheeled content lately as interest in motorcycles and scooters has risen rather dramatically along with the increase in fuel prices. While we can appreciate the reduced cost of operation that sometimes goes along with choosing a motorcycle over four-wheeled transport, the enjoyment some of us get from bikes easily eclipses our desire to save at the pump. After all, this particular blogger has been riding since the days of buck-a-gallon gas. Still, the growing trend of drivers dropping half their wheels in the name of gas conservation deserves close examination and has even caught the attention of Consumer Reports. In fact, a recent survey conducted by the group has found that a staggering 26-percent of respondents have considered downsizing from four wheels to two. According to CR, their team is intently studying this two-wheeled phenomenon in an effort to become acquainted with the products on the market, how often they are ridden and the newly-found fuel savings of their riders.
[Source: Consumer Reports] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
| | Chrysler plans to idle minivan plant in St. Louis | Filed under: Trends, Minivans/MPVs, SUVs, Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, Plants/Manufacturing, Chrysler, LLC., Dodge, Jeep, Earnings/Financials 
Click above high-res gallery of the 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan SXT
Now that General Motors and Ford have completely abandoned the minivan market for good, the American originator of the species faces only Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Kia and soon Volkswagen as manufacturers that also offer competitive choices. Perhaps you'd think that Chrysler would be benefiting as the only domestic automaker currently playing in the segment, but it seems that sales are down this year by 13 percent for the Chrysler Town and Country while the Dodge Grand Caravan is down an alarming 35 percent. High gas prices are the obvious reason why the minivan market is seeing such a harsh downward trend, and likely the culprit behind Chrysler's impending move to idle its St. Louis South minivan plant as early as December, which would leave some 1,500 employees jobless.
Utility vehicles have been the biggest gas-price casualties, and slow sales are said to be forcing the Jefferson Avenue assembly plant in Detroit where the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Commander are assembled and the Toledo, Ohio North assembly plant which builds the Jeep Liberty and Dodge Nitro into extended shut-downs, as well.
[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
| | Automotive Traveler offers "Car photography for dummies" | Filed under: Trends, Etc., Tech 
This is the kind of photo Rich Truesdell will teach you to create
We've actually talked about doing this ourselves before, at least internally here at AB HQ. Giving some practical pointers on basic photography theory for new bloggers trying out their DSLR skills for the first time. Basic stuff like composition and lighting, focal lengths and depth of field. Well, our pal Rich Truesdell beat us to the punch, and did a much better job than we probably could have done in the process. Check out the series of articles he wrote to learn the basics and a whole lot more. While not everyone wants to be the next Ansel Adams, these tips can help you capture the best angle of your ride for that craigslist or eBay ad, or to show it off on your forum of choice. The article even gets into tips on catching the eyes of editors if you want to get your shots published. Really good information for anyone with a camera really. Click over and read the whole thing for yourself.
[Source: Automotive Traveler] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
|
| |
