It is pretty much a given in our society that many families have at least two cars. My husband and I were considered a bit odd in our neighborhood, since for seven years we shared a car. (We finally bought a second car earlier this year.) However, things are changing now. Some people are beginning to see that they really can get by with only one car if their budgets demand it. I received the information about this rising trend from LeaseTrader.com, a company that specializes in helping people get rid of their leases early:
“We’re finding more and more families …read more

Hybrid cars are becoming more and more popular in the United States. In Japan, the Toyota Prius is selling a lot faster than expected. Various reports indicate that Prius orders in Japan have already totaled between 100,000 and 110,000. Toyota has responded by focusing more of their manufacturing on building the Prius.
Considering that Toyota had the stated goal of selling 10,000 Prius hybrid cars per month in Japan, the company has to be happy with this move. That said, this news isn’t good enough to stop the company from losing billions of dollars in 2009.
The main reason why so many …read more

On Monday, Yomiuri reported that Toyota is considering the possibility of giving its hybrid technology to General Motors. Yomiuri, which is one of the largest newspaper in the country of Japan, said that Toyota thought it was a good chance for the company to expand its hybrid technology to a company that is desperate to gain a footing in the hybrid automobile industry.
However, according to the Associated Press, Toyota has denied the reports made in the Yomiuri newspaper. While the Japanese automaker denied any such deal, they didn’t close the door on possibly working with GM in the future.
For General …read more

President Barack Obama plans to institute national fuel efficiency standards, along the lines of what California requires in its state standards. And the auto companies are happy about it, reports Popular Science:
The auto companies have been begging for a nation-wide standard (along with a clear timetable for improvement) for years. Now that they have one, they can unify their production and save money by not having to manufacture more efficient cars for certain states.
Many consumers will be happy to know that by 2016 they will have a variety of more fuel efficient cars to choose from. And it will be …read more