After going minivan shopping and searching I have realized that I just do not like automobile shopping.  The last time we purchased an automobile was in 2000.   Our family’s philosophy is to drive that car until that car can not drive anymore.

Some car sales people are can be deceptive.  I had one Toyota salesman tell me that the Toyota Sienna has the most horsepower of any other minivan.  Lie.  I have been doing research on several different web sites such as Edmunds.com.  The Nissan Quest and Honda Accord have more horsepower than the Toyota Sienna.

One thing is that I am happy that there are so many internet sites to help in research before purchasing a car.  One site is Edmunds.com.   Edmunds provides editorial and customer reviews for many different automobiles.  Another web site, fueleconomy.gov, provides info on the fuel economy many car, truck, vans, minivans, and SUVs.

Fuel Economy is on the minds of many automobile owners.   Before purchasing a car the cost of gasoline is one of the factors that lead to the overall decision of purchasing a car.

Car manufacturers are aware of this and are trying to feed consumer demand with more hybrid cars.  Hybrid car sale have increased in the last few years.  With rising gas prices Americans are trying to find alternative way to save at the pump.

Now, there is a web site that has been launched by the federal government to compare the fuel economy of vehicles.  The web site provides data on the MPG of many cars, trucks, and vans.  It also provides a rough estimate of the annual cost fuel for that particular vehicle.

 Fueleconomy.gov has several different searches and queries that can be ran to compare vehicles in their class or make.    There is also another search that shows the best and worst MPG vehicles.

According to a news releasee by the Highway Loss Data Institute, Cadillac Escalades are the most stolen automobiles.    One reason could be the many luxury features.    It’s a ready made pimped-out ride.

This is the fourth year in a row that the Escalade has topped the list of vehicles most likely to have a theft claim. In fact, 4 versions of the Escalade (EXT, a specialty pickup, plus 2- and 4-wheel-drive versions of the short- and long-wheelbase Escalade SUVs) head the list of the worst overall insurance losses for theft among all passenger vehicles. The EXT has overall theft losses that are 16 times higher than the average.

Source HIghway Loss Data Institute 

Cadillac has redisigned its new 2007 models atitheft system that will hopefully stop some theives.