It can be depressing to calculate the amount of time you spend working to pay for your car. Your ride siphons money from you in an overwhelming amount of ways, including your monthly payment, gas, insurance, registration fees, maintenance and repair. If you want to start living more frugally, you can cast a stink eye at your car to look for ways to start cutting back. [More]
cars
Blame The North Sea For Rising Gas Prices
By 2.13.12
Experts continue to point their fingers at Europe for rising gas prices. Last month the continent’s credit crunch was the culprit, and this month it’s rising prices of Brent crude oil in the North Sea that’s guilty of pushing gas prices up to an average of $3.51 per gallon as of the end of last week. [More]
U.S. Car Buyers Seeing Less Difference Between Car Brands
By 1.24.12
Not so long ago, saying the name of any of the top car brands — Toyota, Chevy, Ford, Honda, etc — conjured up very distinct associated images and preconceptions, especially when compared to the smaller and newer brands on the market. But it looks like that line between champs and challengers is blurring as consumers re-think what they prize in an automobile. [More]
3 Ways To Keep That Old, Embarrassing Car Chugging Along
By 1.23.12
If you want to save as much money as possible on your vehicle expenditures, don’t buy that next car until you absolutely have to. From the frugal perspective, you’re always better off investing in your current car’s well-being rather than dumping payments into its replacement. [More]
Why The 'Check Engine' Light Is Stupid And Should Be Banned
By 1.19.12
In my seven years of car ownership, the only time I’ve ever seen the “check engine” light was when I neglected to screw in the gas cap tightly enough on my Accord. That wasn’t very useful. But our ex-sibling site, Jalopnik, made the case earlier this week that there’s no good reason why car makers can’t just do away with the “check engine” light altogether, and have our cars actually tell us what’s wrong with them. [More]
What Your Tire Tread Tells You About Driving Danger
By 1.2.12
Driving on bald tires jeopardizes your own safety on the road, as well as that of everyone around you. Frugal types like to squeeze every mile possible out of their tires, but it’s a bad idea to push them to the limit. [More]
Car Seat Sensors Scan Your Butt To Protect Vehicle From Theft
By 12.30.11
Some backsides are already alarming, but if new anti-theft technology takes off, the wrong rear really could set off alarms. Researchers in Japan have come up with a car seat that scans a driver’s posterior to verify identity before a car starts. [More]
Jeep Mind Trick: There Is No Navigation System/Stereo In Your Car
By 12.29.11
It doesn’t matter that Steven is looking right at the sophisticated navigation system/stereo that came with his 2010 Jeep. It doesn’t matter that the technicians at the Jeep dealership can see the system with their very own eyes. It’s not there. Chrysler’s records, based on his VIN, say that he doesn’t have it, and they won’t give him the upgrade disc needed to make it sync with his iPhone. You can’t upgrade something that isn’t there. [More]
How Cars Are Financial Anvils
By 11.21.11
Car ownership gives you the illusion of freedom and mobility while actually sticking you with expenses and stasis. The myriad expenses with which cars saddle you aren’t necessarily an argument against owning a vehicle — you need one if your job requires it or you live in a city that lacks reliable public transportation — but those looking for their next car need to know what they’re getting into. [More]
Change Your Own Tire And Save A Call To Roadside Assistance
By 11.11.11
While everyone who owns a car should know how to change a tire, the extent of some drivers’ knowledge on the subject is to pull out a phone and dial up roadside assistance. Learning how to do it yourself can save you from hours-long waits and unnecessary deductibles. [More]
Automakers Getting Rid Of Spares To Cut Costs, Reduce Weight
By 11.9.11
Hey buddy, can you spare, a spare? That’s what some stranded motorists find themselves asking AAA when they pull over and discover that the spare tire, once standard, has become optional. [More]
No Car Will Escape This "Future Now" Speed Cam
By 11.1.11
Most photo radar systems can’t keep track of more than one car at a time. But the descriptively-named “Cordon multi-target Photo Radar System” can. If these bad boys get deployed across America, people who pride themselves on their speeding skills better cool their jets. [More]
How I Got Hertz To Give Me A Free Double-Tow, 1 Day Off My Rental, And A $25 Voucher
By 10.28.11
I was cruising down I-95 to Maryland to see my uncle’s bluegrass band with my step-father in the passenger seat and my wife in the back, when I noticed my Hertz rental wasn’t steering as responsively as before. The tire pressure indicator light went on, then the passenger-side airbag light was on steady, and so was the car temperature gauge. [More]
Vegas Dismisses $896 Ticket They Gave Car Parked In New York
By 10.26.11
Sometimes it just takes a little followup. That’s what got a $896 ticket vaporized that the city of Las Vegas had erroneously slapped on Charlotte’s car while it was 2,000 miles away in New York state. [More]
Car Racks Up $896.80 Vegas Parking Ticket While Sitting In New York
By 10.25.11
Charlotte is bewildered as to how her Camry somehow got a for $896.80 ticket for parking in a handicapped spot in Las Vegas while it was sitting happily in New York State. Had her car been secretly running out of town to go galavant around Sin City behind her back? [More]
Man Drives Honda 1 Million Miles
By 10.25.11
Honda threw a surprise parade for a Maine car owner who became the first ever documented driver to rack up one million miles on the odometer. He did so behind the wheel of his 1990 Accord, which he’s kept running smooth all this time. [More]
While Mom Gambles, Repo Man Takes Away Car With Kid Inside
By 10.25.11
A Florida woman who allegedly left her kid inside her car while she gambled at an internet cafe found her vehicle and child missing when she got back. It turns out a repo man had swooped in and taken her car, unaware of its precious cargo. Now the woman faces charges of neglect. [More]
Thieves Stealing Pickup Truck Tailgates
By 10.24.11
The movie “Gone in 60 Seconds” is a lot more plausible if instead of stealing the whole car, you only focus on one smaller aspect of it. That’s what thieves in Oswego, IL are doing, stealing just the tailgates from pickup trucks. [More]
