At least for one year, new Hyundai car owners can worry less about the fluctuating prices of fuel thanks to this partnership between Hyundai and Pricelock. Pricelock and Hyundai have joined together to implement a new program which will lock the price of fuel to $1.49 per gallon for a year on select new car models under the Hyundai brand.

This event promises to help spur car sales in the midst of a faltering market that is being affected by the governing fuel prices which have made motorists ponder about alternatives (such as hybrids and electric cars). But with a year of no worries in price fuel, the program may just work. Also, who knows what would happen after a year’s time on the fuel issues plaguing the world today?

For the Hyundai program, Pricelock will issue car buyers fuel cards, similar to credit cards, which drivers will use to purchase gasoline at any of the 165,000 participating gas stations, approximately 93% of all service stations in the U.S. Using the Pricelock card, the car buyer will be charged $1.49 per gallon for fuel, regardless of the price on the pump. Of course, if the pump price is below $1.49 per gallon, the cardholder will not use the fuel card, but instead will pay the lower pump price using cash or a credit or debit card and still be able to participate in the upside.

(Source) Press

Tags: car buyer, car buyers, car models, car owners, car sales, cardholder, debit card, electric cars, fuel card, fuel cards, fuel issues, fuel prices, gas stations, gasoline, hybrids, hyundai car, motorists, new hyundai, world today

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Everyone knows what a Hummer brings but as far as China is concerned, it is not green (eco-friendly) enough to meet the standard of the country. Apparently the issue here is fuel consumption to which everyone knows that this GM vehicle consumes a lot. To think of it, China may not be the only country who may oppose the entry of the hummer because of this.

Prior to these issue surrounding the fuel prices and eco-friendly problems plaguing the world, the Hummer was a class act vehicle to have. In fact, being seen riding or driving one already places you in the circle of the elite who could afford to get one. But that was yesterday. Today, the theme is “Green” and the Hummer seems to be nowhere near that.

The country’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) is also concerned that Tengzhong lacks expertise in car production, the report said, but the company dismissed the story as speculative. Insiders at the company believe that negotiations with regulators are progressing well, that the Chinese government has not taken a view, and that it will assuage any environmental concerns by promising that future generations of Hummers will be significantly greener.

(Source) NZ Herald

Tags: china, chinese government, fuel consumption, fuel prices, future generations, GM, gm vehicle, HUMMER, regulators

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It has been customary for most families to travel and spend the 4th of July in certain places. But this year, it seems that many would be making some changes to their celebration plans. With fuel prices rising beyond reasonable levels, some people may be foregoing that tradition (at least while everything is in chaos in the fuel industry).

Compare to previous years, forecasts on the decline in numbers is expected. This is something expected ever since the fuel prices jacked up and became unreasonable. Add to that the fact that some have chosen to limit the use of their cars, if ever some would travel, it would be through a car pool or perhaps public means of transport.

If some people are willing to go through the uncomfortable situations of spending the occasion, at least they can get some consolation with special discounts to their destination. But first, they should ask themselves if the whole thing is worth the effort.

“Many Americans remain cautious about the outlook for their personal finances and these attitudes are reflected in the slight decline in travel we are forecasting for the upcoming holiday weekend,” said Robert L. Darbelnet, AAA President & CEO. “Those who do vacation this summer will find a plethora of attractive discounts and special offers resulting in some outstanding vacation values. If you can afford to go, this summer is a smart time to travel.”

(Source) Press

Tags: aaa, attitudes, attractive discounts, car pool, celebration plans, chaos, consolation, decline, fuel industry, fuel prices, holiday weekend, personal finances, plethora, president ceo, previous years, smart time, special offers, uncomfortable situations, vacation values

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A joint venture by Toyota and Gas Station TV brings you the TV program, “Prius Neighborhood”. This program helps keep you up to date on the actual fuel prices as well as some insights on the new 2010 third-generation Toyota Prius.

“Our Prius customers are very involved in their communities,” said Kim McCullough, corporate manager of marketing communications for Toyota. “For the launch of the third-generation Prius, we wanted to give them an innovative tool to help promote the philanthropic and community events they’re passionate about.”

The Prius Neighborhood 30-second TV segments and consumer-generated local event segments will be watched by more than one million unique drivers a day. Complementing the Prius Neighborhood content segment, Toyota will run 15-second Prius spots and other Prius content.

Hence for aspiring Toyota Prius owners, here is a chance for you to know more about the much heralded vehicle. This and of course being updated on the latest in the motoring scene promises to be a reasonable TV program to watch!

(Source) Press

Tags: fuel prices, gas station, generation toyota, insights, joint venture, marketing communications, neighborhood, segment, third generation, toyota prius, tv program

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Do not think that just because oil and fuel prices today are manageable that electric cars or vehicles running on alternative fuel are going to be shelved. The current trends may be appealing but they should not let us put down our guards when it comes to fuel requirements we have today.

Fuel prices may be dropping now, but experts predict that the energy and environmental challenges for the transportation and goods movement industry are far from over. In March 2009, join world-renowned industry and policy experts outlining clean solutions at the Clean Heavy Duty Vehicle Conference & Expo. 2009: the most exciting, timely national conference on the latest, real-world technologies and fuels for heavy duty vehicles and buses.

Major fleet, government and company executives will take part in Long Beach, March 16-18 at the Hyatt Regency Long Beach and the Long Beach Convention Center.

(Source) Business Wire

Tags: alternative fuel, buses, duty vehicles, electric cars, environmental challenges, fuel prices, heavy duty, renowned industry, trucks

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We all celebrated when the oil prices depreciated for the latter part of last year. In fact, motorists even forgot the alternative means of fuel like electric cars since they found no need to shift their attention to them. But now, it looks like people will start looking at them once again as the fuel prices are slowly going up once again.

AA president Edmund King said: “After the dramatic drops in pump prices at the end of last year, it may seem unreasonable to criticise the new rise in prices, particularly when current prices are way below those in February 2008.

“However, the global economy is in recession, the price of oil is 40 per cent lower than when petrol cost 90p a litre in March 2007, and the pound has strengthened in recent days.

“Recent changes in the exchange rate have had an impact on fuel prices but we aim to keep prices as low as possible. Though we price locally we do set an upper limit on fuel prices. “We price our petrol competitively and review it regularly to ensure customers get the best possible value.”

(Source) The Press

Tags: electric cars, exchange rate, fuel prices, global economy, motorists, oil prices, price of oil, recession

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With oil price plunging since the latter part of 2008, the demand for hybrid cars has dwindled in numbers. As a car owner, why invest in a hybrid if you can manage the fuel prices for now? Throw in the fact that people are cutting down on spending as well and perhaps you can imagine how hybrids may become a thing of the past.

Toyota and Ford have held back their hybrid cars production. With an unreasonable demand, the last thing that these two car manufacturing giants would want is to keep a large inventory of these hybrid cars (the Toyota Prius and the Ford Escape).

So have we seen the end of hybrid cars as an alternative mode of transportation today? Unless oil prices fluctuate again or the financial crisis improves, it is unlikely we will see hybrids flourish in the economy. So don’t be surprised if these concerned car manufacturers focus on making fuel-based car models once again.

Via Business Week

Tags: car manufacturers, car models, car owner, car production, car sales, financial crisis, ford escape, fuel prices, hybrid car, hybrid cars, hybrids, oil price, oil prices, toyota prius

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Even before this whole economic mess started, China was a country that was expected to report dips in car sales for General Motors. We all know of the various disasters and tragedies that befell this upcoming Asian country and they are key highlights on the latest evaluation made by the U.S. based car giant.

Add to that the financial woes the world is trying to deal with right now, GM reported a 6.1% dip in 2008, a far cry from the 18.5% increase in sales made in 2007. This year is not expected to help the cause of General Motors as further decline in the auto industry is expected.

“A series of natural disasters and an increase in fuel prices earlier in the year exacerbated the impact of the global economic downturn in China,” Kevin Wale, president and managing director of GM China Group said in a statement.

Via Maktoob

Tags: auto industry, car sales, economic downturn, economic mess, fuel prices, General Motors, GM, natural disasters

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Honda Fit is a great car for the people banking on economical means of transportation. This model was originally launched last summer and from the looks of it, is bound to flourish as far as demands for small and nimble cars are concerned.

The Honda Fit offers a great way to save on gas. It has proven that already when the oil prices were way out of proportion. And now that fuel prices are on the decline, you can just wonder how much savings you can get from this vehicle for both city and high speed driving.

“Honda increased production when the gasoline prices were high, so we have a nice selection,” said Bruce Levy, sales manager at Liberty Honda in Hartford. “The five-speeds [manual transmission] can be hard to get, but automatics are available.”

So if you were among the people back then aching to get one, now is the best time to get one. With ready and available stocks in hand, you can experience the Honda Fit benefits for better driving the way it should be.

(Source) Courant.com

Tags: Cars, fuel prices, gasoline prices, Honda, honda fit, oil prices, stocks

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Is smaller the future? We are all aware that among the measures being advised towards us today is to turn to compact cars that can help reduce fuel consumption in light of the recent issues thrown at oil and fuel prices we are all aware of today. We have seen a lot of cars out in the market, smaller and mostly electric powered but as far as space is concerned, rarely can you visualize fitting your cars into one small coupe due to the limited capacity.

But the T25 claims it can accommodate up to a party of 4 people. Looking at the T25 design, it does seem it can accommodate 4 people although you may look like a group of people sandwiched in a car which may not be ideal for most families today. So perhaps 2 to three people are ok but if you are traveling with baggage or packages, it doesn’t seem to be fit for people who may have to transport some goods here and there.

Source

Tags: compact cars, fuel consumption, fuel prices, limited capacity

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