My Gas Guzzler

While increased fuel prices have hurt many in their wallets, there is an underlying situation that will have a huge effect on your city streets. Each time you fill your tank, a small fee, currently a little over $0.18 of federal tax is included into the price. This tax is used for many projects including roads and bridges. Drivers are turning to alternative sources and limiting trips and finding ways to cut back on fuel consumption and driving their SUVs less. I heard a statistic last week that we are driving 4 billion less miles each month.

The situation intensifies when drives use less fuel and less tax is collected. With a smaller revenue base to work with, projects are placed into a waiting area and the damaged roads have to wait for constructions crews to update the worn and crumbling paths.

How did we get into this gas guzzling mess to begin with. Well…it all started a long time ago…the US Government decided that it would be a good idea for businesses to be able to write-off large vehicles for "business" purposes. Hmmm…sounds like a gray area for me. Let take a look:

Auto maker – we can sell lots of these high cost, high profit vehicles to business owners and they can write it off…sold!

Oil companies – These vehicles guzzle lots of our products…hey were on!

Business owners – we can write off the cost of these vehicles through our "businesses" and only need to use it for 50% of the time….let’s do it!

As a person of today…What were YOU Thinking?

In the year 2003 – To qualify for the deduction (Section 179 of the tax code), an SUV or light truck must have a gross weight of at least 6,000 pounds. This is the vehicle weight plus maximum payload and also is referred to as gross vehicle weight rating or GVWR. Before buying any vehicle for your business, always verify the GVWR for yourself. It usually is found on a label attached to the inside edge of the driver’s side door.

Here is a list from 2003:

BMW X5
Ford F150 Styleside 4WD
Cadillac Escalade ESV
Ford F250 Super Duty Super Cab
Chevrolet Astro Passenger Van AWD
Ford F350 Super Duty DRW Super Cab
Chevrolet Avalanche 2500
GMC Safari AWD Passenger Van
Chevrolet Express Passenger Van 3500
GMC Savana Passenger Van 3500
Chevrolet Silverado 3500
GMC Sierra 350 &
Sierra Denali
Chevrolet Suburban 2500
GMC Yukon XL
Chevrolet Tahoe
Hummer H1 & H2
Chevrolet Trailblazer
Land Rover Discovery
Dodge Durango
Land Rover
Range Rover
Dodge Ram Cargo Van 3500
Lincoln Navigator
Dodge Ram
MaxiVan 3500
Lincoln Blackwood
Dodge Ram Wagon
Mercedes M Class 320 and 500
Dodge Ram 1500
Mercedes ML55 AMG
Dodge Ram 2500 & 3500 two-door
Porsche Cayenne, S and Turbo
Ford Econoline E350 Van
Toyota Land Cruiser
Ford Econoline E350 Passenger Wagon
Toyota Sequoia 4WD
Ford Econoline E-150, E-250 and E-350
Toyota Tundra 4WD Access Cab
Ford Excursion
Volkswagen Touareg
Ford Expedition
Volvo XC90 (optional third row seating)

The the deduction is limited to $100,000 or your overall business income, whichever is less. Also, to get the tax break you must use the vehicle more than 50 percent for business.

Here is a list of the heaviest vehicles sold in the states in 2008:

CHEVROLET Suburban 2500 6L
CHEVROLET Suburban 2500 6.2L
PORSCHE Cayenne Turbo 4.8L
LINCOLN Navigator 5.4L
GMC Yukon 2500 6L
GMC Yukon 2500 6.2L
HUMMER H2 6.2L
FORD Expedition 5.4L
HUMMER H2 6L

These vehicles are not required to share mileage ratings due to the over 8500lb (CAFE) status each holds.

Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) is the sales weighted average fuel economy, expressed in miles per gallon (mpg), of a manufacturer’s fleet of passenger cars or light trucks with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of 8,500 lbs. or less, manufactured for sale in the United States, for any given model year. Fuel economy is defined as the average mileage traveled by an automobile per gallon of gasoline (or equivalent amount of other fuel) consumed as measured in accordance with the testing and evaluation protocol set forth by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Interesting how many are from GM…hmmm. What were YOU Thinking?

Here is a small sample of the highest mileage cars for sale in the United States.

HONDA Civic Hybrid 1.3L
4 cyl Gasoline Auto Variable
2WD   40 City / 45 Hwy

MERCEDES-BENZ Smart Fortwo Coupe 1L
3 cyl Gasoline Select 5 speed
2WD   33 City / 41 Hwy 

MERCEDES-BENZ Smart Fortwo Convertible 1L
3 cyl Gasoline Select 5 speed
2WD   33 City / 41 Hwy

TOYOTA Yaris 1.5L
4 cyl Gasoline Manual 5 speed
2WD   29 City / 36 Hwy

TOYOTA Yaris 1.5L
4 cyl Gasoline Auto 4 speed
2WD   29 City / 35 Hwy

TOYOTA Corolla 1.8L
4 cyl Gasoline Manual 5 speed
2WD   28 City / 37 Hwy

MINI Mini Clubman 1.6L
4 cyl Gasoline Manual 6 speed
2WD   28 City / 37 Hwy

Well, we are finally making strides toward our dependency on Peak Oil and foreign oil. 

Associated Press reported that Honda’s new zero-emission, hydrogen fuel cell car rolled off a Japanese production line Monday and is headed to southern California, where Hollywood is already abuzz over the latest splash in green motoring.

The FCX Clarity, which runs on hydrogen and electricity, emits only water and none of the gases believed to induce global warming. It is also two times more energy efficient than a gas-electric hybrid and three times that of a standard gasoline-powered car, the company says.

Here is a little information about the FCX Clarity provided by honda.com

About the FCX Clarity
The FCX Clarity is a next-generation, hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicle. Propelled by an electric motor that runs on electricity generated in the fuel cell, its only emission is water, and its fuel efficiency is three times that of a modern gasoline-powered automobile.

Based on the entirely-new Honda V Flow fuel cell platform, and powered by a highly compact, efficient and powerful new Honda V Flow fuel cell stack, the FCX Clarity marks the significant progress Honda continues to make in advancing the real-world performance and appeal of the fuel cell car. Significant advances over Honda’s previous generation FCX include:

• an advanced new four-passenger sedan design
• a greater than 30 percent increase in driving range to 270 miles¹
• a 20 percent increase in fuel economy to 68miles/kg-H2²
• a 50 percent increase in fuel cell stack power density
• a 40 percent smaller and 50 percent lighter new lithium-ion battery pack

Honda is responsible for the development of the world’s first fuel cell car to be certified for regular commercial use by the U.S. EPA and California Air Resources Board; the first commercial lease of a fuel cell car to a fleet customer; and the first individual retail customer for a fuel cell vehicle.

Some of Hollywood finest that are slated to receive the limited production are actress Jamie Lee Curtis and filmmaker husband Christopher Guest, actress Laura Harris, film producer Ron Yerxa, as well as businessmen Jon Spallino and Jim Salomon.

Let’s hope they can tout the car’s amazing performance and amazing "zero emissions"  of the FCX Clarity and allow it to become a success.

We have seen this before where Hollywood promotes a great idea only to have big oil "buy" the system out – who killed the electric car.

Hope your Hydrogen-powered fuel cell FCX Clarity is a huge success!

General Motors announced that they are finally waking up to the realization that their vehicles really suck – the gas that is. GM is looking into selling the Hummer brand or modifying it’s product line. Here is an excerpt from the GM website news section:

Strategic assessment for Hummer brand

Finally, GM is undertaking a strategic review of the Hummer brand to determine its fit within the GM portfolio. At this point, the company is considering all options, from a complete revamp of the product lineup to a partial or complete sale of the brand.

Moving forward

"We are making a number of important announcements today, covering everything from product and technology investments to capacity adjustments to a strategic review of our Hummer brand," said Wagoner. "These moves are all in response to the rapid rise in oil prices and the resulting changes in the U.S., changes that we believe are more structural than cyclical.

"While some of the actions, especially the capacity reductions, are very difficult, they are necessary to adjust to changing market and economic conditions and to keep GM’s U.S. turnaround on track and moving forward."

Hey GM, glad you finally heard the wakeup call and see the tunnel…watch out for that freight train heading your way….

GM should get a clue and help the workers that it employs and produce a product that the world needs and not a product for the shareholders. More sales of a demanded quality products will save you and your assets too. What were YOU Thinking?

For a true wakeup call on what General Motors has sold to the world – check out this video. Hey GM – What were YOU Thinking?

Here is a list of 2008 gas guzzlers from Porsche

Porsche Cayenne 6 cyl, 3.6 L, Automatic 6-spd, Premium
14 city 20 hwy $4003

Porsche Cayenne 6 cyl, 3.6 L, Manual 6-spd, Premium 
14 city 20 hwy $4003

Porsche Cayenne S 8 cyl, 4.8 L, Automatic 6-spd, Premium
13 city 19 hwy $4272

Porsche Cayenne GTS 8 cyl, 4.8 L, Automatic 6-spd, Premium
13 city 18 hwy $4272

Obtained from fueleconomy.gov

Porsche Cayenne Turbo 8 cyl, 4.8 L, Automatic 6-spd, Premium
12 city 19 hwy $4573

Porsche Cayenne GTS 8 cyl, 4.8 L, Manual 6-spd, Premium
11 city 17 hwy $4925

Porsche Cayenne Turbo (named after food item? hmmm) video shows all of the amazing things that this 2 1/2 ton SUV can do in all of its ugly fashion. Watch and laugh – BTW, What were YOU Thinking?

I know, a Honda Civic against a Hummer is no match but when you own a gas guzzler, your out of your mind. What were YOU Thinking?