We may not feel it now but if the fuel trends continue, alternative sources of fuel are bound to dominate and become an important resource in the near future. But if there is one person who know their importance, it has to be the most important person in the U.S. today, President Barack Obama.

President Obama lauded advanced renewable transportation fuel as one of the important needs in the 21st century and the National Corn Growers Association have thanked him for it. Corn-based ethanol happens to be one of the key fuel alternatives found today although a lot of fine-tuning is still needed to make it suitable for majority of cars today.

“With oil prices on the rise, ethanol’s critical role in the U.S. economy, especially promoting energy security, is more important than ever,” NCGA President Bob Dickey said. “We are pleased to hear the president’s clear statement of corn-based ethanol’s pivotal role in the nation’s future energy strategy, and we will continue to make sure the Administration understands the current and future value of corn ethanol.”

(Source) PR Web

Tags: 21st century, Barack Obama, Cars, corn ethanol, corn growers association, critical role, economy, energy security, energy strategy, future energy, future value, important person, national corn growers, national corn growers association, oil prices, pivotal role, promoting energy, transportation fuel

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Here we go again! All the while we thought that the issue of oil prices had been a thing of the past, dropping and normalizing after it had hit outrageous numbers some months ago. But now we find ourselves in the middle of successive oil price hikes, an event that will surely become a headliner for the coming days.

And the reason for such hikes? Well owe it all to the continued country disagreements and war on critical countries that have supposedly normalized. Terrorism and fortuitous events have forced the hand of some companies to hike the prices, once again practicing caution in case something disastrous hits the crude oil market.

Gasoline for June delivery rose 3.76 cents, or 2.2 percent, to $1.7182 a gallon at 10:36 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gasoline futures prices touched $1.7485 before paring gains as the dollar rose against the euro.

(Source) AZCentral

Tags: caution, crude oil market, disagreements, fortuitous events, gasoline futures prices, gasoline prices, headliner, new york mercantile, new york mercantile exchange, normalizing, oil price hikes, oil prices, terrorism

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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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It is simple marketing. How can you sell something if you don’t have people stocking them or offering them for sale? The same is true in the auto industry. Apparently, if you don’t have dealers, what other means can customers use as far as purchasing new cars outside the actual manufacturer?

According to Arthur D. Little’s latest report, even before the full impact of the global credit crisis hit the automotive industry in the second half of 2008, the sector faced major changes to its competitive arena, which were brought about by: regulatory pressure on CO2 emissions, international safety standards, high oil prices, and changing customer lifestyles.

Competition amongst global players has been pushed even further as a dramatic increase in overall vehicle quality over the past decade had progressively weakened the role of the product itself as the key differentiator.

“Dealerships have a major role to play in delivering an excellent brand experience that will attract new customers and retain the existing base. Despite product differentiators, more responsibility for the customer’s overall brand experience must lie with the dealer, and automotive brands are ultimately reliant on their dealer networks to manage customers’ in-store buying experience from start to finish in order to build the global brand.”

(Source) Press

Tags: auto dealerships, auto industry, automotive industry, brand experience, brand source, co2 emissions, credit crisis, dramatic increase, global brand, global credit, global players, new cars, oil prices, vehicle quality

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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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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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