Oil & Gas

I just want to say that it takes a special kind of incompetence to invade and occupy an OPEC member for 2+ years, yet see the price of a barrel of oil skyrocket from $29 to $62.

In the last week, gas locally shot up from about $2.21/gal to $2.33. Literally overnight.

Luckily, I got out of the SUV business when gas hit $1.85. My one car gets 30 MPG, and the newer one is still breaking in, so it gets closer to 27. I pity the people getting less than 20 and filling up 50 or 60 gallon tanks.

Hey, SUV owners: a station wagon with AWD will do everything your behemoth does, and get at least 25mpg, to boot. Try the Subaru Legacy / Outback / Impreza / Outback Sport, Audi A4 Avant quattro, Audi A6 Avant quattro, Volvo V50, V70, or XC70, the AWD Dodge Magnum with the V6 engine, the VW Passat Wagon 4motion, and the Saab 9-2x.

Minivans now are coming with variable valve management, which shuts off 1/2 of the cylinders at crusing speed. So, for instance, the new Honda Odyssey will use 3/6 cylinders when cruising, resulting in a slight but measurable fuel economy increase. Other minivans will soon introduce that, as do the Hemis in the Chrysler 300 and Dodge Magnum (RWD).

If you need fuel economy and room for 6 people, try the Chrysler Pacifica or the brand-new Mazda 5, which is America’s first version of the mini-MPV that is wildly popular in Europe – the Renault Scenic is the standard-bearer for that segment.

The Mazda 5 comes with a 4-cylinder 157 HP engine, standard 5-speed manual transmission, and seats 6 people in 3 rows. It gets 22 mpg city, 27 mpg hwy.