On morning news there was a sniped about a lady who sued Honda for misrepresentation of their gas mileage. It was in small claims court, but still won $10,000. Interesting!

It has become pretty much accepted, by all of us, what the sticker gas mileage would be under ideal condition. I am glad someone has stepped up to say, “We are not going to take it anymore!”

When I look at different makes and models of cars it is sometimes difficult to compare apples with apples and oranges with oranges. I have long accepted the car companies fudge on the numbers when it comes to performance and gas mileage. I have personally gotten rated gas mileage when I was going downhill with a tail wind.

I believe over the next several years we will see some reform as to how gas mileage will be calculated. Still I think with all the electric and hybrid cars, we should change performance numbers to something a little more realistic. I am talking about Cost Per Mile.  It is more realistic.

Some people buy a vehicle with the expectation of replacing it every five years. Some replace their four wheel transportation sooner than others. I try to make our faithful horseless carriage last as long as possible.

Then before buying another vehicle, I take my time to do some research as to what will meet our needs. I also look at how long it will be before I have to replace the replacement. I set the goal of at lease five years or more before replacing.

If I am buying used, which I usually do, I look at what kind of car the previous owner did. Another factor that should be considered when buying a car from the start is its record of reliability for that make a model. The major sign for a makes and models reliability is the resale value.

Kelly Blue Book is pretty much the industry’s standard for determining the value of a new or used vehicle. This is in direct relation to the reliability, performance and quality.  The Kelly Blue Books have been around for as long as I can remember. Even, today I use their phone app to determine if the asking price for a specific vehicle is far or not.

It was back in the first part of December, when I saw the a Fiat 500 driving down the road. I took noticed of it, because it was a small compact car that appeared to have great gas mileage. It reminded me of the comment I have heard several times about a coffin with four wheel. Well, that was before it became fashionable to drive small gas saving vehicles.

Fiat as a car company dates clear back to 1899. It was started in Italy. Fiat over the years has fought to stay in business by adapting to the needs of the Italian, European, and American drivers. Fiat has really not been a number one leader, but an impressive niche car maker.

The Fiat 500 comes in three basic trims; Pop, Sport and Lounge. They are all powered by a 1.4 liter four cylinder engine that produces 101 horsepower. The Pop and Sport trims delivers power to the wheels via a five speed manual transmission. A six speed automatic transmission comes standard with the Lounge. You can order an automatic transmission as an option on the Pop and the Sport trims.

When I look around, I see a lot of reviewers comparing the Cooper Mini and the Fiat 500. As far as first impressions go, I can see it. We will be taking a closer look at those two cars side by side in a future post.

The 2011 Ford Fiesta and the Mazda 2 are not the latest and greatest compact cars on the road, today. I chose to compare these two cars as a means to help the used car buyer. I wanted us to look at what compact vehicles are available and make an informed decision as which is the better deal.

Each car has it’s own reputation. The Ford Fiesta has a reputation of being a subcompact that retains its resale value over a five year period. The Mazda 2 is known as a sporty subcompact that has style. An individual looking to buy a used cars would be considering these two.

Under the hood Ford has a 1.6 inline four cylinder where Mazda 2 has a 1.5 inline 4. Still according to RoadAndTrack.com the Ford goes from 0 60 in 9.7 seconds. The Mazda 2 with its small 1.5 liter inline 4 cylinder engine goes from 0 to 60 mph in 9.4 seconds. When it comes to braking the Mazda 2 beats Fiesta’s braking from 60 mph to a dead stop by 2 feet.

Mazda 2 is lighter in curb weight is 272 pounds lighter than the Ford Fiesta (Mazda 2,306 compared to Fiesta’s 2,578). The overall height of this subcompact from Ford is only one tenth of an inch shorter than the Mazda 2. The overall length of the of Mazda 2 at 155.5 inches compared to the Ford Fiesta’s 173.6 inches. Here the Mazda 2 beats the Fiesta in size and weight.

When it comes to head room for both vehicles measure at 39.1 inches. However, when it comes to back seat and cargo space I see a lot of reviewer saying they wish the Fiesta would have more space.

Reviewers at ConsumerGuideAuto.com liked the Mazda 2′s the instruments/controls, interior materials along with the steering and handling. They did not like it’s acceleration, rear seat room, and road noise. The same reviewers like the 2011 Ford Fiesta’s fuel economy, along with the steering and handling. They were down on the vehicles passenger and cargo room. The reviewers really didn’t care for the acceleration in both vehicles.

Mazda 2 fuel usage rating is 27 mpg city and 33 mpg  on the open road, with the automatic transmission. This is slightly less than the rating of 28 city and 37 mpg highway on Fiesta.

Kelly Blue Book The 4-door Fiesta SEL Sedan 4 door retails at $17,862. Trade in value of $14,047.  The Mazda 2 hatchback 4 door retails for a $15,270 with a trade in value of $11,680.

Bottom-line: I must admit the Ford Fiesta gets better gas mileage than the Mazda 2. The Fiesta is also larger in overall dimensions.

The Mazda 2 is a couple of thousand dollars cheaper and smaller in size compared to the Fiesta. A lower Kelly Blue Book price is another positive for the Mazda 2.

When it comes to both cars, reviewers don’t like the acceleration. They think for the size and class both cars could be a lot more peppy in acceleration.

The deal breaker, here between the two cars, for me, would be cost and how well the cars were cared for by the previous owner. What I have listed above are only a small portion of the equation in choosing a reliable used car. The maintenance history, mileage, and selling price are other factors to consider.

I don’t care if you are a young person who likes fast cars, or a retired senior who likes to stay under the speed limit. We all need to have some knowledge some basic knowledge about how safe our car is before we consider buying it. More important, safety should be a major consideration when we go looking for a replacement.

Just recently, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety rated the Fiat 500 as the TOP SAFETY PICK award.  An interesting fact about the 2012 Fiat 500 is price. It sells in the $15,500 to $20,000 range. The first look at this Fiat has raised my attention. We will be looking at it in more detail come January 2012.

When shopping for any new or used replacement vehicle is the online reviews of cars. There I can get some sense as to what is vehicles have the highest safety rating. It is interesting to note, unless a certain vehicles has an extremely good or extremely bad safety rating, the reviewer usually don’t say anything.

The Chevy Cruze, and Volt are bill as two energy efficient flagship cars from General Motors. The EPA awarded both cars for their highway mileage ratings. The Cruze for its rating of 42 miles on a gallon of gas. Then the Volt for traveling down the road 40 miles while using only a gallon of premium gas.

According to EPA  the Chevy Volt can go about 35 miles on fully charged battery. The cost for charging that battery is approximately $1.50. This much cheaper than buying a gallon of gas.

There has been some questions about how Chevy Cruze Eco gets its in city rating of  28 miles per gallon. From the Cruze Eco website it is rated at 42 mpg highway and 28 mpg city. A report I read from CNN Money where he did some actual city driving test found he was not getting 28 mpg. He got a considerable less results. He was getting closer to 20 miles per gallon in city. In all fairness, his city driving was New York City. Portions of New York City does have a lot more stop than going driving.

The 2012 Ford Fiesta is consider a sub compact car of the 21st century. The Fiesta has been made by Ford since 1976, but only sold in the US since 1980. It has always had a reputation of be compact and good on gas mileage.

We see the 2012 Fiesta in two basic trims. There  is two hatchback and three sedan sub trims. All the trims come with front wheel drive, and a nice set of features.

Under the hood all the trims deliver 120 horsepower to the wheels from a 1.6 liter 4 cylinder engine. This is done through a 5 speed manual or optional 6 speed automatic transmission to the front wheels

The Ford Fiesta is loaded with onboard features like Ford SYNC®, push-button start, satellite radio, ambient lighting, heated seats, power moonroof, capless fuel filler, and leather seats. The safety features include seven standard airbags, safety cage made of Boron Steel, tire pressure monitoring system, integrated blind-spot mirrors, electronic stability control, and anti-lock braking.

Did you know that used cars out sell new car 3 to 1? Are you aware the average price of a used car is less than half than that of a new car? So why buy a new car?

Why not let some rich folks buy all the new cars then when they trade them in a couple years later, buy them. Sounds good or does it?

What makes the decision for buying a new car over a used car boils down to money in the bank. If you don’t have the money in the bank to buy it out right (few of people do) then we have to take out a loan. Then what if our credit and income does not match up to what is needed to buy a new car, then we have to settle for something less; a used car.

Yes, there is a several advantages to buying a new car. The warranty, the extra service you can get from a new car dealer, and the feel of a new car make a good argument toward buying new. Some people feel it is below their station in life to buy anything less than brand new just of the assembly line.

Cars are getting much better in how far you can drive on a gallon of gas. We are seeing more and more cars that have electric battery assist to help you go farther on a gallon of gas. Unless you want a large hauling capacity vehicle a 40 MPG rating is a reasonable expectation.

Because we are reducing our demand for fossil fuel the cost for gasoline is slowly dropping. Currently the price of crude oil is ranging between $93 to $110 a barrel. The $93 market is the where the majority of the crude oil is selling at.

The local Jackson’s gas station dropped their gas prices by 10 cents over the last couple of weeks to $3.55 per gallon. When I saw it, I expected for the the price go back up in a few days by at least five cents, but it has not. Their price has remained the same. I have seen some other major brand gas station dropped their price to as low as $3.49 per gallon. According to GasBuddy.com within five miles of our home Fred Meyer is selling their gas for $3.36 per gallon.

This week we are going to look at the Suzuki SX4 Crossover. Looking at it’s history the Suzuki SX4 has only been around since 2006. This is enough time to get an idea as to what to expect from this crossover SUV.

With a base price of $20,094 (I have have found it to sell for much cheaper) the Suzuki SX4 Crossover comes with a 2.0 liter I4 engine. Delivering power to the a All Wheel Drive with a continuously variable transmission.  This engine is rated at only 48 horsepower.

Options for the Suzuki SX4 include 16-inch alloy wheels, front fog lamps, for another $550.  Bluetooth with screen graphics, for another $250. Premium floor mats, for another $125. You can get a value package discount which will save you $550.

The reviewer over at Edmunds.com says called the 2011 Suzuki SX4, “a good value, a number of newer and more enticing compact sedan and hatchback competitors make it harder to recommend.” They liked the price for the hatchback model’s low-cost AWD system, generous cargo capacity, long power train warranty, navigation system standard on higher trim levels. They did not like what they called awkward driving position, so so cabin materials, limited fuel range, dizzying array of trim levels.