So it's nice that Musk has such lofty goals. Frankly, it's always been his forte. He leaves the "how to get there" to other, more little people. Like with an idea to build 100,000 cars per year by buying an idled assembly plant from a U.S. automaker. He'll leave the whole "design a mid-size sedan for it to build" to other people. Musk's an "idea man," ya know. And for an "idea man" the reality of building 100,000 mid-size sedans is kind of like trying to build a "kabillion" mid-size sedans — they're both impossible numbers when you don't even have a working design.

He also thinks gas should cost $10 a gallon. Hmm, we wonder why. Keep in mind it's not that we disagree with Musk, we just happen to believe it's also probably the price-point in which a $100,000 Tesla roadster becomes a good investment versus a sports car with similar performance. [CNet, Twitter]

[via GasBuddy]

Average gas prices in the U.S. peaked last July at a price of $4.12 per gallon before starting a rapid descent. Bad economic news and high unemployment timed out with the normal season decline and prices plummeted. Between mid-September 2008 and and the end of December prices dropped more than $2.00 to a low of $1.61 per gallon. Prices have slowly climbed, as indicated in this chart from GasBuddy, until this month.

Since the beginning of May, prices have started their seasonal rise reaching $2.45 per gallon this week. Compared to the last few months it's been a quick climb and, despite hopes to the contrary, it has yet to stop. Why are prices rising?

When determining the average price at the pump you've got both current supply-and-demand and projected supply-and-demand to contend with. What frustrates most people is when the current supply/demand ratio favors the buyer, as it does now, and the price continues to go up. This is primarily to due to the projected supply-and-demand.

There's lots of oil out there now and demand, though it will likely increase as we approach the peak of summer and the economy slowly improves, is low relative to the supply. But oil suppliers, specifically OPEC countries, will continue to keep production and delivery of oil low until they reach the point they want. OPEC says they're hoping for crude oil to hit $75 to $80 a barrel, up from the current price of around $66 a barrel.

Because of the uncertainty, price trends on a day-to-day basis remain in flux. The lowest gas price by city, according to GasBuddy, is Tuscon, Arizona at $2.16 per gallon, and that price is down $0.027 from yesterday. But of the ten cities with the lowest gas prices, seven stayed at the same price or increased their price. On a state-by-state basis, gas prices remain highest in Hawaii ($2.69 per gallon) and lowest in South Carolina ($2.28 per gallon).

Ten Lowest Average Gas Prices by City
1. Tuscon, AZ $2.163
2. Houston, TX $2.264
3. Salt Lake CIty, UT $2.272
4. Columbia, SC $2.274
5. Corpus Christi, TX $2.276
6. San Antonio, TX $2.277
7. Birmingham, AL $2.286
8. Atlanta, GA $2.299
9. Virginia Beach, VA $2.300
10. New Orleans, LA $2.301

Overall, it looks as though gas prices will continue to generally trend upwards this summer unless we're overwhelmed with bad economic news, supply magically increases or demand drops dramatically. If there's good news on the horizon it's that few analysts believe we're going to be able to reach crude oil prices of $145 a barrel anytime soon, meaning $4.00 a gallon gas may also be far away.

Photo Credit: JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images

[Gas Buddy, The Gaurdian]

An as-yet-unidentified system glitch resulted in the $81 billion charge which was only discovered after Zamora was informed his credit car had been maxed out, a couple billion times over. After arguing with Paypal's broken-English service division in India, Zamora was eventually able to convince the creditors he hadn't filled his Camaro up more than 3.1 billion times (or alternately gas hadn't gone to $5,920,060,866 a gallon) the charge was removed. Juan's moral of the story: "Pay cash." [Consumer Energy Report]

We make no allusions to intimately knowing the intricacies of the global oil production system and the resultant pricing flim-flam, but recent pricing has given us pause. The price of a barrel of oil closed below $34 yesterday, which strikes us as odd since in the late 1990's, such prices correlated to per-gallon prices at the pump between $1.25 and $1.50.

When we fueled up yesterday, prices for regular unleaded where between $1.89 and $2.00 — depending on what state we were in. Now, we aren't saying there's some kind of grand conspiracy to bilk the consumer by desensitizing them to high prices and then leaving prices at artificially high levels once oil prices fall, but the historical record makes it hard to not be suspicious. [Graph courtesy pf SeekingAlpha]

Thanks to the huge spike in the price at the pump in the first half of the year, SUV sales are down more than 40% in 2008 from 2007. In response, the not-so-Big Three have closed many plants dedicated to making SUVs, a product that has come to symbolize their perceived inability to produce the vehicles American consumers want to buy.

Writing on his New York Times "Freakonomics" blog, Steven D. Levitt asks the question:

“The apparent cause of death for SUV’s was high gas prices. Doesn’t that mean that with low gas prices SUV sales should come back to life?”

Levitt goes on to suggest the reason SUV sales haven’t recovered is both a fear gas prices will rebound as well as a belief: “When gas prices got high, it became uncool to own an SUV.”

The SUV may be dead, but the humble pickup truck doesn’t appear to be suffering the same fate — because, for many buyers, trucks aren’t a fad, they’re actually a useful vehicle.

Keep in mind that in the current market problem of a lack of credit is being seen across the board — sales are down for every single vehicle in the marketplace. So the way to determine sales strength at the moment is to peg one vehicle's sales drop to another. So, while sales of the historically top-selling Ford F-Series pickup are down 25.4% for the first 11 months of 2008 compared to the same time period in 2007, they’re only down 18.4% when comparing November, 2008 to November, 2007. That's a lower drop in sales than that seen by the Toyota Camry, down 5.3% over the first 11 months of the year, but down 28.7% during the this past month.

So what does that potentially tell us? It would seem possible that the recovery in sales can be pegged to gas prices; as the economy collapsed in October, gas prices fell and consequently, pickup truck sales began to increase, and the sales of mid-size econo-sedans dropped. But, what we're also seeing is while some SUVs have recovered sales, for the most part, they haven't quite followed that same number, and appear to be continuing their decline.

Indeed, that trend can be tracked across other popular pickups and cars. The Chevy Silverado was only down 22.5% November to November while the Honda Accord was down 38.1% and the fuel-efficient Toyota Prius fell a staggering 48.3%.

What does this all mean? It appears that while people do stop buying pickups when gas prices spike, they’re more resilient long term than SUVs because they’re more useful. When gas prices drop, it looks like Americans still want to buy bigger vehicles, but now, they demand actually utility from their trucks, either by necessity or fashion.

The larger picture? Throughout the whole Carpocalypse, American automakers have always been building the vehicles Americans wanted to buy, it’s just they weren’t building the vehicles Americans thought they could afford to own.

[via The New York Times, data: Automotive News]

OPEC President Chekib Kheli told reporters "I hope we surprised you. If you're not surprised we need to do something about it." Be careful what you wish for President Kheli. The big surprise is the energy markets don't seem to care with crude prices dropping 4.5% to $41.64 a barrel. So no need to trade-in your Excursion yet.

The drop in production is, in the eyes of the market, not large enough to counterbalance the decrease in energy use by a recession-weary populace. Gas prices may continue to rise slightly after January 1st when the change becomes effective, but the economy is still so bad people aren't using as much black gold as before. We're trying to process if this is good or bad news. H/T to Jason for the tip!

Photo: ALI AL-SAADI/AFP/Getty Images

[MSNBC via Truckblog]

Average Gas Prices Per Gallon From Friday
• Detroit, Michigan — $1.76

• Houston, Texas — $1.78

• Atlanta, Georgia — $1.88

• Boston, Massachusetts — $2.01

• Chicago, Illinois — $2.10

• Washington — $2.19

• Los Angeles, California — $2.22

[Source: CNN, Photo: Whitney Curtis /Getty Images]

It turns out it is. GasBuddy currently lists Oklahoma City as the U.S. community with the cheapest price per gallon — $2.78. What a choice for consumers — fill up your tank or fill up your 401k. Frankly, you'll probably go farther on the tank fill-up.

Now, if you're like us, those stock price numbers make you say, "damn," but they don't really translate into anything tangible. Thankfully, the Detroit News lays out the effect the drop has had on the Ford family fortune: When Bill Ford Jr. took over the company in 1999, the Ford family's special Class B shares were valued at $2.25 billion. Five months ago, they were worth $586 million. Today, they'd bring less than $189 million. That's a loss of $2.06 billion in less than 10 years; real money, in other words.
[GasBuddy, Google Finance, Detroit News]

Those of you who've been too mesmerized by the collapse of our financial system to notice other news may not realize that Atlanta has been running on empty for about three weeks now, with some drivers reporting hour-long lines for fuel at the few stations with any to sell. Fortunately, social media has come to the rescue: About four days ago, some enterprising Atlanta Twitter users began tagging posts with #atlgas to help their fellow motorists locate fuel.

So why is Atlanta in such dire straits? Apparently the problem began with Hurricane Ike disrupting refining capacity in the Southeast, and the problem was compounded when Governor Sonny Perdue (R-Good Ol' Boy) delayed waiving low-sulfur fuel requirements for the state. However, as a former Atlanta resident, this author is convinced the sheer extent of the Atlanta suburbs, which stretch from Macon to Chattanooga, combined with the fact that no one in Atlanta drives anything smaller than a Tahoe might be adding to the pain. [PansyPatrol]

Up until police decided his operation was illegal and warranted his arrest, Salinas had managed to keep the charge to only 11% of the purchase price on a quarter ounce, and $25 on a $215 bag of coke wasn't going to break anyone's bank. It's just a damn shame our national addiction to oil is now also affecting our national addiction to cocaine. [TheSmokingGun via Gawker]

Jalopnik Snap Judgment: Obviously, gas falling below $4 a gallon is having some effect — unleaded suddenly seems like a bargain, and the short-sighted are likely convinced the energy crisis is over. But we think it's pretty humorous that Lutz is touting the recovery of the truck and SUV market just as GM is in the midst of a huge and well-advertised "employee pricing for everyone" sale. Of course sales are seeing an uptick; that's what incentives do. So, while we're happy for GM that they're able to clear some excess inventory, we're not quite ready to say the truck and SUV sales slide has bottomed out. [Bloomberg]

One of the best features of the site is that it allows you to see how your particular make and model compares to other identical vehicles. And if you're using an iPhone or other mobile device, the mobile page lets you update your mileage on the fly. Overall, we think Fuelly will work out better than our current system, which involves writing down the mileage on gas receipts and then losing them when we empty out our full wallets.

[Fuelly via AB Green]

Bob Carter, general manager for Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A., made the projections in remarks to reporters at and industry conference yesterday. Going on to say that while he expects total full-size truck sales to drop to 1.45 million in 2008, from 2.14 million in 2007, he expects those sales to rebound.

"We are absolutely confident that the recovery will take place, it's just arguable when," Carter said. "We've reduced production. It's our intention to build to the market. But when that market comes back, the core buyer who uses the truck for employment, who uses it for work, whether it's the landscaping company or the contractor, can't substitute a Corolla or a Yaris."

But they could use a smaller, more fuel-efficient truck. Carter does expect to see a significant reduction in demand amongst recreational truck buyers — the kind of people who buy big trucks because they want them, not because they need them for work.

A new 2011 Toyota Prius is in the works, as is a new plant in Mississippi that will be capable of producing a significantly higher number of the hybrids. But until then, Carter says, "In the short term after having that kind of increase last year and a big increase the year before that we're restricted on capacity and components." But with a new Honda hybrid on the way, maybe priced as low as $18,000, and the Chevy Volt scheduled to arrive as early as 2010, that may not be enough — especially if fuel prices hit the $5-per-gallon figure earlier than Toyota is projecting. [Automotive News, Sub. Req.]

That's right, for every extra smug mile you travel on a gallon of gas, that's less money going into the federal highway coffers. And you bicycle riders...don't even get us started. If you're not going to buy gas, even just to squirrel away, Unabomber-style, then you shouldn't be riding on public roads. You gotta pay to play, boss. So don't complain when your Honda Fit falls into a pothole and we gotta come haul you out with our asphalt-financing Expedition EL — "Extra-Long" — because we just like what that says about us. You gotta burn gas to lay pavement, and if you don't like it then just swim your ass back to Russia, ya commie. [Green Car Congress; Photo Credit: Free-StockPhotos.com]

What was your price before? Have you gotten under the dreaded $4.00-per-gallon mark? How much did it cost you to fill up today?

The Champ and its smaller brother, the Tiger Star, were both designed by China-based Chongqing Changan, and are shipped to Oklahoma as partial knockdown kits. Tiger sources the remaining parts stateside and completes assembly at a facility in Poteau, OK, with the capacity to build about 35 units a day.

Tiger plans to skirt the "collapsing Chinese vehicle" problem by certifying the Champ as legal only for off-highway use, and only usable on public roads in Oklahoma — the latter courtesy of Ward's friend, Gov. Brad Henry.

With 28 HP and 45 lb-ft of torque, the Tiger Champ (35 HP and 54 lb-ft of torque for the Tiger Star) isn't going to break any land speed records, but the truck should provide a fuel-saving way for farmers to get around rural areas and run from tornadoes. Technically, one can purchase a Tiger Champ outside of Oklahoma, but the vehicle will be governed to a maximum of 25 MPH; inside Oklahoma, Champ speeds are unregulated, so we're looking forward to future rural Tiger hoonage courtesy of the Sooner State. Tiger vs. Unimog, anyone? [Automotive News (Sub. Req.)]

5. Less Congestion
Higher gas prices mean fewer people driving and more people taking public transit or telecommuting. The most obvious benefit for the real driver is that it opens up the road to those who travel for fun by removing those who merely commute out of necessity. This results in less traffic and, not surprisingly, fewer traffic fatalities, thanks in part to people keeping their Suburbans in the garage. Safer, emptier roads are something all drivers want, but real drivers need.

4. Better Cars
After years of racing to see who could build the largest vehicles, automakers are finally looking to see who can build more efficient vehicles. The technologically advanced Fisker Karma could only exist in the land of expensive gas, and the same is true for the beautiful and powerful Audi R8 diesel. The new Eco Elise not only gets better mileage that a stock Elise, it's also faster. Those are only a couple of examples. There's more on the way, if what Wert had to say at Popular Mechanics a couple months ago is any indication.

3. Better Roads
Owls aren't the only thing in danger of extinction. Cheap energy has meant more driving road-gutting sprawl, which leads to more stoplights and four-lane freeways. Most drivers have had the experience of pulling up to their favorite stretch of asphalt only to find a CVS and a lighted intersection suddenly under construction. Thankfully, the price of commuting is pushing families to move back into the cities and encouraging developers to focus on density with their new projects and leaving the remainder of great driving roads alone and safe from earth movers.

2. Cheaper Insurance
Assuming you become one of those people that takes the train or bus to work, you can adjust your insurance classification to "pleasure driver," which has the dual benefits of sounding awesome and saving you money. Depending upon your current insurance level, you could end up saving 10% to 15% on your premium. That's more money you could put into gas, tires, oil and everything else you need to enjoy the newly emptied roads.

1. Fewer Fatties
According to one economist's doctoral thesis, a $1 increase in the price of gas equates to a 10% decrease in the obesity rate, as people dine out less and walk/bike more. While this has a few boring side effects — fewer health-related deaths and lower health care costs, for example — the benefit to the driver is that your co-pilot is less likely to add sprung weight to your car. We're pretty sure it's the same reason Colin Chapman became a vegan and John DeLorean made sure all his women were coked-out anorexics.

Details are sketchy, but the Star claims J.D. Power sources say suppliers are gearing up for an iteration of the Two-Mode Hybrid system used on the upcoming Durango/Aspen hybrids and shared with the Tahoe/Yukon hybrid. The report also states that a hybrid Toyota "Sierra" (which we're pretty sure means "Sienna") van is scheduled for 2010, and that diesel minivans from Honda and VW are on the near horizon.

Chrysler's foray into more-efficient vans could be as much for the company as for the consumer, since Chrysler remains near the back of the pack on total fleet fuel efficiency. Adding a hybrid van to the mix would be an effective (if expensive, on the order of $4,000 per unit) way to bump up CAFE numbers while older, larger models are being retooled or dropped completely.

Unlike Chrysler with its Two-Mode, and Toyota, who will presumably use a version of its Hybrid Synergy Drive in the Sienna Hybrid, Honda and VW are likely to exploit their diesel expertise in the Odyssey and Routan, respectively. Honda is reportedly readying a diesel Accord for 2009, providing it with a federally approved oilburner that could be used in Odyssey, while VW has access to its own diesels (which would be a bit small for minivan use) as well as the Mercedes Bluetec unit.

If the idea of a hybrid Grand Caravan or an Odyssey with 400 lb-ft of torque doesn't get you excited, hey, that's okay. What should get you excited is what's on display here: More evidence of the powertrain variety we can expect around the 2010/2011 model year. [Windsor Star]

Rasmussen found 59% of people support drilling offshore and in ANWR. They also found 61% of people didn't believe that driving slower would reduce the price of oil. But here was question one:

John McCain favors drilling in offshore oil wells to help reduce the price of gas. Barack Obama opposes offshore oil wells and says it would not reduce the price of gas. Should drilling be allowed in offshore oil wells off the coasts of California, Florida, and other states?

"Do you favor offshore drilling when economists almost unanimously agree it will not decrease the price of oil beyond a negligible amount sometime in the distant future?"

10. Public Art
Now that Democrats have taken over Congress and Jesse Helms is dead, nothing stands in the way of getting some sweet, sweet National Endowment of the Arts grant money. When putting together your application, make sure to mention how you'll be involving the desecration of some sort of religious artifact or symbol; the grant people at the NEA love that.

9. Holder Of Contraband
Doesn't it suck when the ATF, DEA or other governmental agency impinges on your right to stock ammo in preparation for the imminent Canadian invasion? It's not safe to keep automatic weapons in your home these days, so why not fill your old SUV full of things you'd rather didn't get found. All that storage is perfect for Japanese elder pr0n, guns, ammo, African monkeys and maybe even a Cuban cigar...or Cuban child.

8. Recording Studio
Given all of the sound-deadening material they stuff into the average SUV, it can be a serene, quiet place. And with 600 power outlets, ample space and cupholders, you've got the perfect location to cut your demo tape. Tina Weymouth approves.

7. Illicit Sex Pad
You know what blows? When your wife, or a British Tabloid, catches you in the throes of passion with one or more Nazi-imitating hookers. Why not throw your SUV up on blocks, put on some Lovage and put out the red light in the roomy back row of an SUV? If this Durango's a'rockin...

6. Newspaper Stand
Parking an SUV can be quite the chore, especially in urban areas. Why not make a little extra money out of the deal? Though not exactly a million-dollar idea, people love the printed word despite the obvious superiority of blogs (read Jalopnik). Nail on a roof, open up the hatch and see if you can't sell out of Vibe. I heard there's a great interview with Cory Booker in this month's Esquire; let's check out the old Suburban News Stand.

5. Trebuchet Projectile
Instead of a gasoline engine, try a siege engine. And what's a better siege engine than the old fashioned Trebuchet? When the next generation of crusades start over oil, we can use them against the infidels, or Lithuanians...whomever, really. Fill up the tank with some sort of fuel and watch it blow!

4. Backstop
What's more American than baseball? The major manufacturers will have you believe trucks are, so in that spirit why not combine the two? It's not always easy to find a fence or a wall so plant a G-wagen behind the plate. It'll be extra fun when a wild pitch knocks out a window or dents a panel and you get to steal third as the catcher picks glass out of his or her eye.

3. Refugee Camp
According to the UN, there are approximately 32.9 million people classifiable as "refugees." Whether because of famine wrought partially by the global weather patterns tied to our industry or because of the wars needed for fuel to power our SUV's, these people don't have homes. We're not sure if it's a write-off, but wouldn't you feel better about someone without a home living in that Excursion instead of in an asbestos-ridden FEMA trailer?

2. Artificial Reef
Growing up, we were shocked to learn that old Christmas trees were recycled into artificial reef barriers. That's thinking green. Imagine how great it would be to recycle that old evergreen SUV by dropping it onto a shoreline that needs protecting? You were probably going to dump it in the ocean for the insurance money anyway, right?

1. Target Practice
Most people's SUVs are probably sitting in the driveway, their owners staring angrily at them as they collect dust. If you're going to despise it anyway, why not use that energy constructively by blowing the crap out of it? Explosives, projectiles or just a baseball bat will do. It's cheaper than therapy and we like to think it's more cathartic too.

Oh sure, you could donate your SUV to the Purple Heart, but where's the fun in that?

Exploding batteries: Remember the flaming plug-in Prius from a few weeks ago? No, that wasn't a manufacturer-sanctioned ride, but it still plainly shows the dangers inherent in releasing unproven technology. The fact that GM has yet to name a supplier for Volt's lithium-ion battery pack (though we hear it'll be either Continental or CPI) is another red flag for the power source.

Embarrassing show mishaps: GM needs a win...and they need it to be a clean win, both on the stage and showroom floor. No panels falling off, stalls, massive oil leaks, fires, or collapsing spokes-robots on stage. Asking engineers to work 18-hour days in an effort to ready bleeding-edge technology for debut at a huge, public event, all while holding their jobs over their heads, is a recipe for disaster.

Gas price crashes: Let's not forget November is rapidly creeping up on us. This is an election year. Don't be terribly surprised if gas prices suddenly fall to earth in a magical, ballot-influencing Bullworth-like fashion in September. The result would be GM touting Volt's amazing fuel economy at the same time Tahoes again start flying off dealer lots.

Are any of these outcomes probable? No. Possible? Yes. [Automotive News (Sub. Req.)]

Gas-Guzzler Trade-In Calculator Introduced by Edmunds.comSANTA MONICA, Calif. — June 30, 2008 — Should you dump the SUV for a gas-sipper? That's the question everyone is asking these days.

Edmunds.com, the premier online resource for automotive information, helps consumers answer that question with today's release of its Gas-Guzzler Trade-In Calculator. The tool helps consumers determine the pay-back period and fuel savings associated with trading-in a fuel-thirsty vehicle for a more fuel-efficient one.

"Car buyers think they can save money by dumping their gas-guzzler and purchasing a gas-sipper," said Philip Reed, Senior Consumer Advice Editor for Edmunds.com. "But when you look at the big picture — total cash out of pocket — a very different situation is often revealed."

A common example demonstrates the potential pitfalls of ditching that SUV: A consumer trades in a four-year old GMC Yukon, worth $13,483, for a new $21,647 Toyota Prius. The difference is $8,164. If the consumer drives 1,200 miles per month and gas costs $4.07 per gallon (national average), the monthly fuel savings will be $201.34. While this may seem attractive, it will take 41 months to pay back the additional cost of the Prius over the trade-in value of the Yukon.

The Gas-Guzzler Trade-In Calculator prompts users to select the vehicle they are considering and the vehicle they would sell or trade-in. The calculator automatically provides the Edmunds.com True Market Value® prices (the average price that people are currently paying for each vehicle), as well as the anticipated fuel mileage of the two vehicles. Consumers then input their monthly mileage and local gas price, and the calculator displays the monthly fuel savings, as well as the number of months to "break-even".

"Americans hate high gas prices," said Reed. "However, it's important to calm down and look closely at the dollars and cents. If people make a panicked car-buying decision they could lose thousands of dollars just to save hundreds of bucks at the pump."

[Source: Edmunds]

We sort of actually admire what Toyota is trying to do here, and we don't disagree with some of their suggestions. But the whole exercise reeks of marketing. The thing is, in this age where "going green" is the flavor of the day, they're marketing better than the competition.

Consider it like this: Toyota is promoting conservation strategies in a direct, forthright manner on its corporate blog at the same time Chrysler is offering to subsidize your conspicuous gasoline consumption. This, despite the fact that equivalently-equipped current Toyota Tundra and Dodge Ram pickups get almost identical mileage (16 MPG combined vs. 15 MPG combined — although we hear the new 2009 Dodge Ram supposedly blows those numbers out of the water). But who's going to win the perception game in the era of $4-and-up gas? After all, perception is everything. [Open Road Blog]

A little history first. Back in '78, when the guzzler tax came into existence, it penalized vehicles that got fewer than a combined 22.5 MPG; however, trucks, vans and SUVs weren't included because they made up such as small percentage of personal vehicles. Fast forward 30 years, there's a Grand Cherokee in every garage and some folks say it's high time to revisit the gas-guzzler tax...and perhaps the hybrid tax credit. Let's just say we can see both sides of the argument.

It's probably evidence of how far we haven't come that 22.5 combined MPG doesn't seem all that low to us. Regardless, if we're going to have a tax, then a true gas-guzzler tax should apply to gas guzzlers — vehicles that can't top 18 MPG combined — and be made an across-the-board rule, regardless of vehicle type. Yeah, there'd have to be an out for contractors, and yeah, some folks would cheat. What's new?

What about the hybrid tax credit? The intention was to help folks afford hybrids until the costs have been amortized enough for automakers to lower the price. But guess what? Prices ain't coming down. Instead, it's nothing more than a cheap gimmick. A better alternative would be to apply a "gas-sipper credit," a sort of reverse gas-guzzler tax that would credit buyers of the most fuel-efficient vehicles.

In the end, Americans are going to buy what they want, burn what they want, and drive as fast as they like. It's what we do here, and that's all good by us. But a little cash under the table to "do the right thing" is apparently part of the American way too — especially when it's complete hypocrisy. [blogs.nytimes.com]

• Have a 72-Hour Sale: Hey, it worked for GM, right? Well, no, but Winnebago could consider long-term interest-free financing on its mid-range models, possibly enticing some fence-sitters. And if you need to extend it out, that's okay; you can just say the 72 hours was in tortoise years or something.
• Offer cheap gas: Hey, it worked for Chryserberus, right? Well, no. But a gas price deal has proven to be a showroom draw; you just have to make sure you have some stuff folks want to buy there when they arrive.
• Create a snappy ad campaign: Winnebago needs to live on the Edge-uh! Hey, it worked for Ford, right? Well, no. But at least tell people what you've got for sale; last time we actually noticed a Winnebago was 1986, and that's only because we were enjoying a show courtesy of a comely young lass pressing herself against the back window.

So, there you have it. Good luck, Winnebago, we'd miss you if you were gone, even though we kind of thought you already were. [AP/Google; Photo Credit: Auto Engine Lube]

Grove believes the auto industry has reached what he calls a "strategic inflection point," the point at which a business has to either change or die. And he wants change in the direction of electrics; Grove has set up a course teaching about hybrids, plug-ins, and electrics in an attempt to move the discussion toward alternative energy sources. And then there's the fun part.

Mr. Grove is also a proponent of retrofitting current vehicles with the lowest fuel economy — trucks, vans and SUVs — with hybrid powerplants. Envisioning half a million Yukon owners reaching for their toolboxes, GM spokesman Greg Martin said, "We strongly discourage consumers from retrofitting vehicles." Unless they're out of warranty, in which case knock yourself out; the service department is hurting right now too.

All we hope is if Grove next ends up pushing for an Intel chip inside, he goes with an Apple OS to run it. Those Microsoft systems don't seem to be running well enough for even the back seat.[Detroit News; Photo Credit images.vnu.net]

Original Volvo Ideas

1. Stay at a nearby hotel for a night. Use the money you're saving by forgoing airfare, and treat the family to a night or two in a local hotel. Look for hotels with attractions you can drive to during the day such as water parks, pools, malls or golf courses.

2. Create your own historic tour. Pack up your car with some bag lunches and discover local history. Contact your local historical society or chamber of commerce, and sign up for a historical tour or chart out your own self-driven tour.

3. Get lost in a museum. Instead of getting lost on the interstate this summer, drive to a local museum and wander through at your own pace. Take time you might not normally spend in town to explore your city's treasures within a 30-minute driving radius. It's a great way to learn about your kids' interests, too.

4. Enjoy nature at a county, state or national park. Whether doing a day-hike or a weeklong camping trip, some of the best family memories are made on the trail. Get an atlas or state map, and drive out to the nearest park.

5. Try new restaurants. Just as you would in a new city or country, test out restaurants and types of food you've never experienced before. Some of the best vacation memories are spent while sampling new cuisine. You might just discover your new favorite dining spot close to home.

6. Set up camp. It never quite feels like a family vacation when waking up in your own home. Finish off your drive around the city by teaching your kids camping basics. Try finding a campground near your city and take the kids camping for a night or two. Or, set up a tent in the backyard and tell ghost stories, eat marshmallows and stargaze.

Our Ideas

7. Get high. We're not sure how much gas it takes to get a family of four high, but we're guessing a quarter of a tank is enough for that kind of huffing. Of course, then you might die.

8. Spy on your ex-wife. You don't need that much gas to circle the block to see if that ungrateful harlot has found someone else. Bring the family along and one kid can go through the trash looking for receipts or hair (for the hair sculpture) while the other one searches through the mail.

9. Demolition derby. There's no chance that you're going to find someone to buy back that Excursion with gas at $5,300 a cc, but if it gets destroyed you can use the insurance money to buy a hybrid or something.

10. Napalm a tree stump. Assuming you've got a hose around, pour a little of that gasoline over Styrofoam for a bit of homemade napalm. Have a patch of concrete or a stump that's been bothering you? Stand way back and light it up like the Ho Chi Min Trail.

[Source: Volvo, Crazy Imagination]