http://cache.jalopnik.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/jalopnik.com.png http://jalopnik.com/tag/gas tax http://jalopnik.com/tag/gas tax Despite offering a fuel efficient alternative to gasoline-powered cars, Connecticut will raise its diesel tax to $0.462 cents per gallon next month. Connecticut is a small state and the tax in Rhode Island is just $0.32 per gallon, truckers. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5814164&view=rss&microfeed=true

Honda's Insight hybrid may fall 33% short of U.S. sales goals. Why? America's already forgotten last summer's record high gas prices. Even with a recent 30% price increase, gas's still cheap for the moment. So, are appliance-driving consumers just stupid? More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5291088&view=rss&microfeed=true Good question, but wrong road to the right answer. [AlleyInsider] More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5140101&view=rss&microfeed=true

It's no surprise people are driving less because of the financiapocalypse, leaving the US Department of Transportation rightly worried the Federal Highway Trust Fund could continue to dry up. The solution? A study, of course. We've found a federally-funded study at the University of Iowa looking to fit GPS tracking units onto participant's cars to determine if a pay-per-mile system would be more feasible than the current gas tax. Here's the fun part — if you live in one of the six test cities and you're chosen to participate in the eight-month study, you'll receive $895. Sounds like reasonable compensation for letting Big Brother know your every move. And hey, we can all use the dough at the moment, can't we? Hit the jump to see if you qualify. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5084234&view=rss&microfeed=true

Transportation Secretary Mary Peters is lamenting the fact that Americans are driving less, resulting in declining gas tax revenues and decreased funding for road projects. As eTrucker reports, the federal government already had to make an emergency contribution of $8 billion to the DOT in September to continue in-progress projects. Statistics show Americans have driven 62.6 billion miles less than they did over the same nine-month period last year, leading Peters to remark "If we don’t evolve our policies, we will leave a sad legacy of old roads, crowded highways and unfulfilled transit ambitions." Which is exactly what we have now, so who do we blame for that? [eTrucker; Photo Credit] More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5058033&view=rss&microfeed=true

Transportation Secretary Mary Peters is warning that the Federal Highway Trust Fund could run out of money by the end of this month, reports the AP. The fund is facing an $8.3 billion shortfall in projected revenues, primarily due to high gas prices reducing the amount of fuel purchased by American consumers. The immediate impact would be a delay or reduction in payments for local road and bridge projects the government had agreed to partially fund, likely resulting in a delay or reduction in work by construction crews. While the current recommendation is to borrow from the general fund through the end of the fiscal year, we suggest tapping Detroit automakers for low-interest loans, allowing the transportation department to invest in new highway technology and replace aging stretches of obsolete asphalt. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5046637&view=rss&microfeed=true

GM's two-mode hybrids, the Tahoe and Yukon, along with Chrysler's versions, the Durango and Aspen, have come to an ironic intersection in the tax code: These vehicles are eligible for a hybrid tax credit, yet theoretically should also be hit with the gas-guzzler tax. Does that sound like the world's loopiest loophole to you? We certainly think so. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=397812&view=rss&microfeed=true

Floating around the policy wonk-o-sphere and on the front page of most of the news dailies today is this idea of a temporary holiday on Federal gas taxes for the summer driving season. Presidential candidates Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-copycat) have hopped on the "good idea" bandwagon, while Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) rides on the "not-so-good idea" wagon-for-one. Analysts at the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, along with Greg Mankiw, former chairman of George W. Bush's Council of Economic Advisers are both saying "Not so fast!" Heck, even Bush's spokeswoman Dana Perino is saying it's a bad idea. Seems these economics experts think that something crazy called "Supply and demand" will cause consumption to rise as prices fall, and since capacity is at a peak, prices will just go back to where they were before the tax holiday. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=385751&view=rss&microfeed=true