“Five Good Things” about the High Price of Gas

The price of gas is rising to an alarming level as of late. Just hearing the fuel pump in the fuel pump assembly in my car kick on makes me nervous. It’s difficult to be anything other than dismayed at the current situation, but Insideline at Edmunds posted an interesting take on five “good sides” to the insanely high price of gas currently.

See how she's walking? Yay fitness!

 1. You can get in shape. With the price of gas so high, you will supposedly forgo driving short distances to walking or cycling, so you can arrive a sweaty disgusting mess at work after jogging 6 miles to get there.

2. You can learn to drive more efficiently. You will no longer floor it to get around that special individual in a Prius on the freeway going 10 miles under the speed limit, because it would cost you $1.25 to do so. You will patiently coast your vehicle behind the Prius and hope that you can safely and efficiently ease out from behind them by switching lanes, and then increase speed slowly…. And not think how worth it it would be to pay $1.25 to cut that special individual off.

3. You can “say goodbye to stress, traffic tickets, and accidents.” Theory is, practicing the above referenced efficient driving you will no longer be wildly weaving in and out of traffic, and your former habits of speeding will magically cease.

Take out a loan to fill this sucker up.

 4. You will be more inclined to support energy independence. Not being able to afford gas, you will be motivated to take public transportation, ride a bicycle, or because you’re so broke, fork out tens of thousands of dollars for an electric car (that uses lithium batteries we are still dependent on other countries to source). Or you can beg your boss to telecommute as an act of patriotism, because no one fears for their jobs already in this economy.

5. You now have a built in excuse for anything. Don’t feel like fulfilling familial obligations? Sorry Grandpa, I can’t afford to drive to your birthday party. Friend asking you to move? Sorry, can’t afford to cart your stuff back and forth.

There you have it. Five excellent things about gas prices being so high. Take them or leave them… I think I know which one I’m going with.

Bio-ethanol May not Be The Biggest Hit But it Packs a Punch

Over the past few years car companies have been pushing the use of alternative fuels for vehicles. Most of these have gone unnoticed, mainly due to the fact that they are less potent than gasoline.  The fuel pump and fuel pump assembly are able to handle Ethanol without issue and the engines can as well.

The facts about Ethanol are easily seen, while the fuel may not work well in normal engines but once a few key components are changed to work with ethanol…watch out! The main issue caused by the way ethanol ignites, new injector timing and ignition are the main issues. Companies like Honda or Toyota have not really tried to push this set up because the cost to the average consumer would be around $3000 and not many of us are just willing to drop that much coin.

The companies that have been able to take advantage of the ethanol change are companies like Ferrari or Koenigsegg. While most of us will never be able to afford anything that these companies off…especially Koenigsegg who mainly makes cars that cost close to a million dollars, the technology is there for the taking.  New technology is always showcased in the more expensive cars and trickles down to the rest of us, usually in the Mercedes S class. Ferrari recently released the FF which is a 4WD that makes 650HP but tune it for Ethanol and that number jumps to around 875HP. That’s right no forced induction just a good tune. Koenigsegg tuned the Agera R from 927HP up to 1,100HP just by using Ethanol and there are many other examples of this fuel doing great things. Maybe sooner than later it will become main stream…oh and did I mention that it is a renewable fuel source.

The Tow Plow

The kids are screaming in the back seat so you look down to press play on your DVD Player, but when you look back up you see what appears to be an out of control semi.  You panic and yell out, “HOLY FUEL PUMP! That truck has lost control.” I am here to inform you not to worry; it is all part of the show.  This crazy device cruising down the highway is called the Tow Plow.  It’s a snow plow on steroids.  It can do the job of two and a half snow plows all by itself.  It makes the Mr.Plow look pathetic.

The Tow Plow is basically what it sounds like.  It is another plow that a normal snowplow tows behind it.  The operator of the snow plow can operate the tow plow with two controls.  One of the controls lifts and lowers the blade, while the other steers the device. The primary use of the Tow Plow is to clear highways with multiple lanes. It can do its job at speeds up to 55 miles per hour, and can also come equipped with the ability to drop sand, salt, or liquid calcium chloride.

The Tow Plow was developed in Missouri but is currently being used in several states, such as Minnesota, Utah, Maine, and Pennsylvania.  Even though it costs a hefty $100,000, states say it makes sense to buy them, because it does the job of two plows and two snow plow drivers.  Check out a video of the Tow Plow in action, CLICK HERE.

"C" You Later Low Gas Mileage

You know who worked really hard this year and deserves a break? You’re fuel pump, that’s who.  You take for granted all the hard work the fuel pump assembly does for you.  Without it you wouldn’t get to work, or get to the in-laws for the holidays.  OK, so maybe in the second example we wish the fuel pump would stop working so we could skip the in-laws. Nonetheless, they deserve a break.

It appears that Toyota is going to give the fuel pumps in their new Prius C a huge break.  These fuel pumps are going to have a nice and relaxing job, since the new Prius C is supposed to get 83 miles per gallon.  That’s a little bit better than the standard Prius model.  According to Toyota the Prius C will get the best city fuel economy of any hyrbids that do not plug in.

The car was introduced last week at the Tokyo Motor Show as the Toyota Aquas, but it will be officially introduced as the Prius C in the states next month at The Detroit Auto Show.  The cost will be somewhere around $21,700.  The car will have a 1.5 liter four cylinder engine to go along with its electric motor. The total horsepower of the vehicle is going to be around 98.  This is about 40 horsepower less than the normal Prius and the Prius V.   

You will be able to buy this miniature Prius this spring.  And, Toyota is forecasting that a lot of you are going to buy it.  They expect to sell 12,000 a month in Japan and hope to have a 20 percent increase in global sales this year.