Monday, August 14, 2006

Saving Money With Gas Friendly Car Models

By Gabriel J. Adams

With gas prices averaging over three dollars a gallon, everyone in America is looking for ways to get more gas mileage out of their car. People are making sure they have enough air in their tires, changing their fuel filter, and watching their speed to try to conserve gas. However, there are many gas friendly car models on the market today, which could really put some money in your pocket.

The days are gone where the only gas friendly car models look like toy cars, or have no horsepower. Now you can get a sleek, sophisticated car, with quite a bit of horsepower, and great gas mileage. Many cars are available now like the Honda Accord, Honda Civic, Honda Insight, Lexus GS450H, Toyota Camry, and the Toyota Prius. These cars get anywhere from 25 miles per gallon in the city (Lexus GS450H) on the low end to 61 miles per gallon in the city (Honda Insight). The Insight also gets 68 miles per gallon on the highway, while the GS450H, gets 28 miles per gallon on the highway. Some of these cars have a fully integrated hybrid (gas & electric) engine, while others have a six cylinder engine that turns off three cylinders on the highway to conserve gas.

If you are looking for a sports utility vehicle, but you do not want to get a second mortgage on your house to pay for gas, then you are in luck, because many hybrids are hitting the market now. These include the Ford Escape, Lexus RX400H, Toyota Highlander, and Mercury Mariner. The gas mileage for these models ranges from 31 to 33 miles per gallon in the city, and 27 to 29 miles per gallon on the highway, with the Escape and Mariner getting higher gas mileages.

Not only will these gas friendly car models get more mileage for your gas dollars, the federal government is giving income tax breaks for buying gas friendly car models as well. Many different states are also giving sales tax breaks, parking fee exemptions, and state income tax breaks for purchasing gas friendly cars. Some major cities are also allowing hybrid cars the ability to drive in the high occupancy vehicle lane with only one passenger. The perks to owning a gas friendly car model are very lucrative, so what is stopping you from going out and buying one the next time you are looking for a new car?

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