Anyway, so what’s my point? Most students don’t need and won’t appreciate a new car whiel they’re in college. They certainly won’t appreciate a car that they didn’t pay for. While I appreciate Bankrate’s efforts in publishing a list of cars that are sub-$20k, fuel efficient (> 21 mpg), safe and comfortable (has A/C)… I think a student needs to drive a beater. A clunker. A piece of junk they can beat the crap out of, hence the term beater. As my dad used to say, if you start life with all the nice stuff, you never learn to appreciate it.

In all fairness, they did start the article off by saying you could go the clunker route or the more sustainable one and that this article was for the sustainable route – “The clunker will accept four years of hard use and neglect without serious harm. The new car likely will see your student through college and, it is hoped, beyond.”

• Dodge Caliber SXT
• Honda Fit
• Hyundai Sonata GLS
• Mazda3 i Sport
• Mini Cooper
• Mitsubishi Lancer ES
• Nissan Sentra 2.0 S

My list?

• Anything older than 10 years and cheaper than your mortgage payment.

What do you think?

(Photo: wickenden)

Best Car for Students: A Beater from personal finance blog Bargaineering.com.

That’s when we started trying to guess what was actually in windshield wiper fluid. You can pick up a gallon of the blue/orange/green stuff at Wal-Mart for around $2, so we figured it couldn’t be anything too expensive. When we got home, I started research online whether it’s possible for us to make windshield wiper fluid and wasn’t surprised to find out that we could.

Windshield Wiper Fluid Recipe

Did you know that the US Department of Health and Human Services keeps a Household Products Database? It contains Manufacturer Safety Data Sheets on a variety of products, including windshield wiper fluid.

For each product, you can see all of their ingredients. For example, Rain X Plus Bug Remover Premium Washer Fluid has methanol, 2-butoxyethanol, water, and Siloxanes and silicones. Note that it’s less than 6% methanol (used to prevent icing), 1-5% of 2-Butoxyethanol (used to remove bugs), and 90-95% water.

Want to make it yourself? Find those products and mix in those percentages.

Other recipes I’ve found online are even simpler. Combine three cups of regular household window cleaner (like Windex) with a gallon of water. Mix and pour into your windshield wiper fluid tank/reservoir. If you want a slightly greener version, another recipe I’ve found uses water and white vinegar, though I’m not sure how effective that is and what effect the acidity of the vinegar will have on your washer system.

Ultimately, while making your own is probably a little cheaper than buying it from the store, you don’t really get a better product or a less wasteful product, so we won’t be making our own. Wal-Mart will get our $2 per gallon on this one.

Have you ever made your own windshield washer fluid? If so, any lessons learned or tips to make it worthwhile (either from a financial or environmental perspective)?

(Photo: solidaltar)

Make Your Own Windshield Wiper Fluid from personal finance blog Bargaineering.com.

I was there to contest a ticket I received for making an improper left turn through a red light. The ticket was for $90 and I’m unsure how many points it would’ve been, but an improper turn costs 1 point and failure to stop at a red is 2 points. Do I get both? Or just the worse of the two? I wasn’t sure but I knew points usually meant my insurance would go up and I wanted to avoid that at all costs.

Traffic Court Process

The process is very simple. The court schedules cases on a docket, which is a list of all the cases it will hear, every hour. You should appear in court about fifteen minutes to half an hour before your session is scheduled to begin.

The judge calls your name, you announce you’re present and walk up to the defendent’s table. The judge will read you the charge against you and ask how you plead. Here’s where you have three options:

1. Not Guilty – If the officer isn’t there, there is no one to testify against you, so always plead Not Guilty. The officer, if present, will be standing there at the other table, so it’s clear when they’re not there. If you plead Not Guilty there will be a brief trial.
2. Guilty – You’re admitting that you are guilty and are now at the mercy of the judge. If it’s a minor offense and you have a clean record, you will often get Probation Before Judgement (more on that below).
3. Guilty with Explanation – You are admitting that you are guilty and are now at the mercy of the judge, but this time you can give a limited explanation. Unless it’s a medical emergency, and you’ll need proof of that like a signed letter, chances are you are out of luck.

Court Strategy

When you go to court, you’re hoping that the other officer doesn’t show up. When I was there, I was the sixth or seventh case. The first case up was a young woman doing 20+ over the speed limit and she was the only one to luck out, her officer didn’t show. For every case I saw after that, an officer was present. The cases are scheduled so that an officer can be present for a large number of their contested tickets.

The officer that issued my ticket had about twenty or twenty five cases that day, he wasn’t missing it. He was a county police officer. The ones with only one or two cases that day were all state troopers.

Outside of a Not Guilty because the officer didn’t show, you’re hoping mostly for leniency and Probation Before Judgement. Probation Before Judgement is where the judge will not enter a guilty disposition/ruling, will still fine you (or reduce the fine), and not assess points. It’s your one free pass every three years. If your record is clean and the offense is minor, judges will usually grant you this.

The Trial

It sounds fancy but trial is very informal in a traffic court. The officer will tell his story, you will be given the opportunity to ask questions, then you tell your side of the story. Then the judge renders a decision.

In my case, the offense occurred near the end of January, and I believe my officer’s memory was questionable. However, I wasn’t any better. I had made a left turn when the light was yellow and I believe the officer made a judgment call about my turning on red. I remembered that he was in the opposing lane of traffic and didn’t have a clear line of sight to the light. Unfortunately, he testified that he was behind me, which threw me for a loop, and I couldn’t be certain, so I didn’t contest that (mistake). He also called my car a Toyota GT, rather than Toyota Celica (GT), I probably should’ve contested that (another mistake). My only defense was that the intersection was monitored by a red light camera and I wasn’t issued a ticket, which didn’t fly in court.

In the end, the verdict was Probational Before Judgement, my fine was reduced from $90 to $45.00, and no points were assessed. After court fees of $25.50, I paid $70.50. I saved $19.50, 1-3 points, and the whole process took less than an hour – I chalk that up as a win.

There was one case where a driver was going 105 in a posted 65 MPH speed zone, he had no explanation and was hoping the officer wouldn’t show up. When asked if he had any prior incidents, he said he couldn’t remember when he actually had one just last year. He had no strategy beyond hoping the officer wasn’t there, then wasn’t truthful with the judge, and so he had to pay is $500+, 5 point fine. The judge even stated that he failed to be “candid” with the court, so always tell the truth because they already know the answer.

Lessons Learned

Always contest. While I was nervous being in court (first time ever), I felt it was a great learning experience. Law is very much about technicalities and preparation, so use all of it to your advantage. Also, it’s important to ask the officer questions or contest what he testifies. I should’ve recognized he was reading from a script and not recalling the events. That was my mistake and I’ll know for next time, fortunately it was a small mistake.

The impact on your insurance may be minor. After the ticket, I emailed my insurance agent and asked about the impact on my insurance. She told me that chances are the underwriters wouldn’t even know about it unless I made a major change to my policy and even then, it was only a few dollars more per six months (< $10). That's one of the benefits of dealing with a local agent rather than a faceless insurance corporation.

Do you have any advice?

(Photo: nostri-imago)

What to Expect in Traffic Court from personal finance blog Bargaineering.com.

However, despite the creepiness of the ads and the whole slew of new hybrid-electric cars, I still would love to have a Prius (or a Tesla!). The only problem I have is that it’s not a financially sound decision. It’s an emotional one (which is fine too!).

The distinction may seem unnecessary, right? People buy cars for emotional reasons all the time. You buy one type of vehicle over another, in part, because of what you think it says about you (which is fine!).

Buying a car for emotional reasons is perfectly fine… as long as you know that’s what you’re doing.

Making an emotional decision is perfectly acceptable! It is your money, you earned it, you can spend it however you like. You can buy a car because you like new car smells or because you want to make a statement. You did the work, you get the spoils! The point of this post is that it’s important to recognize when you’re making an emotional decision and not to trick yourself into believing it’s a financial one.

The Prius

If you really want fuel economy, there are plenty of cars that give you similar performance without the toxic battery and with a stick price under $22,000 starting price. If you look at the third generation Prius, you’ll see that the estimated MPG is 51 city, 48 highway. Those are pretty good numbers right?

The Smart Fortwo

Take a look at the Smart Fortwo, a tiny little vehicle that has the ability to get up to 45.9 miles per gallon with a starting price of $12,000. Ben at Ecomodder took the Smart Fortwo on a test drive where he listed the pro’s and con’s of the Fortwo.

The Difference

From a strictly financial perspective, the Smart Fortwo is a better value than a Prius. Assuming all other financial costs are the same, which is a huge assumption given the Prius’ battery and the Fortwo’s diminutive size, gas would need to be $5 a gallon for 26 months before the Prius’ fuel-sipping hybrid premium would “pay off.”

While 26 months doesn’t seem like a long time, $5 a gallon gasoline is also really really expensive. Last year, the average retail gas price peaked at $4.054 during the week of July 14th, 2008. California, known for ridiculously high gas prices, peaked at $4.588 during the week of June 16th, 2008. (Gas prices data provided by the Energy Information Administration)

So while a Prius is nice and does conserve fuel, it’s important that we understand it’s an emotional decision and not a financial one. Too bad we don’t have a clunker we can trade in.

(Photo: MaryMactavish)

Buying A Prius Is An Emotional Decision from personal finance blog Bargaineering.com.

The Cash for Clunkers program would provide a voucher worth $3,500 to $4,500 to consumers trading their vehicles in. The vehicles have to be in running condition and get less than 18 miles a gallon in fuel efficiency. The value of the voucher is determined by this schedule:

• For passenger cars, the new car has to get at least 22 MPG (EPA combined MPG). You get the $3500 voucher if you get an improvement of at least 4 MPG, $4500 for at least 10 MPG.
• For light duty trucks, SUVs, and minivans, the new vehicle has to get at least 18 MPG. You get $3500 for an improvement of at least 2 MPG, $4500 for an improvement of at least 5 MPG.

Here’s the WSJ chart describing the benefit:

The bill has two purposes:

1. Removes older, less efficient cards from the road. Many of the cars that qualify are probably worth less than the $3500 or $4500 voucher, so consumers are still holding onto them because it makes sense to. This would give that added incentive to upgrade.
2. Increases sales of new cars.

There are downsides to the bill though – the bill would call for the cars to be crushed and the vouchers would only applicable towards the purchase of a new vehicle, rather than a used one.

I like the idea of it but I think we’re creating a lot of special tax credits that prop up various industries. Also, not everyone is able to take advantage of these new credits, which is a bit unfair. The prime example is the $8,000 first time homebuyer credit, which was created to artificially boost the housing sector. Now we have this proposed $4,500 credit that will only help people who are close to buying a new car.

What do you think?

(Photo: wickenden)

Cash For Clunkers Program from personal finance blog Bargaineering.com.

But should you buy a car from a dealership about to close its doors? Or a manufacturer that’s in bankruptcy? Yes… if they’re reliable vehicles.

J.D. Power and Associates always puts out a list of the most dependable vehicles on the road.

1. 2006 Lexus LS 430: Ranked number one with a “record-setting index score for problem-free ownership, setting the best performance in the history of the Vehicle Dependability Survey.” Certainly high praise. (Toyota)
2. 2006 Lexus SC 430: Ranked second. The five most common trouble spots were failed battery, trouble with tire pressure monitoring system, peeling, fading, or chipping paint. (Toyota)
3. 2006 Mercury Grand Marquis (Ford)
4. 2006 Buick Lucerne (General Motors)
5. 2006 Buick LaCrosse (General Motors)
6. 2006 Mercury Montego (Ford)
7. 2006 Toyota Camry (Toyota)
8. 2006 Acura RL (Honda)
9. 2006 Lexus ES 330 (Toyota)
10. 2006 Toyota Avalon (Toyota)

Not a single Chrysler vehicle made the dependability list. Five Toyota vehicles, two Fords, two General Motors, a Honda and absolutely zero Chrysler vehicles. I think that says it all for the franchise. Here’s the full photo gallery.

(Photo: willvision)

Top 10 Most Reliable Cars (2009) from personal finance blog Bargaineering.com.

• Compact Sedan: They named the Hyundai Elantra the best bet in this category and the true market value of a 2001 used model GLS manual at just under $3,500.
• Midsize Sedan: The Toyota Camry won out this category because of its reliability scores, with the Honda Accord taking a close second. Midsize sedan is pricer though, with a ‘01 CE manual just under $6,000 and the 02′ LE just under $7,500 (the design changed between ‘01 and ‘02).
• Large Sedan: Ford Crown Victoria at $5,000 for a 2001 model tied the Mercury Grand Marquis ($5,500 for the ‘01 GS) for the large sedan category. One thing to be aware of is that these cars are V8s built during a time when gas was cheap though both have listed fuel economy scores of 18 mpg.

If the Elantra, Camry, or Crown Vic isn’t your style, you can always go with a Honda Civic, a car that was rated an A+ for College Students by Forbes in the “Small Car” category a few years ago. The listed base price is $15,000 for a new model but Edmunds says you can get a 2001 Honda Civic DX for a little over $5,000.

What was your first car? Mine was a used 2001 Acura Integra that was eventually totaled by a Dodge Durango that blew through a red light. It wasn’t a “beater” though I would argue that you don’t fully appreciate a reliable car until you’ve driven a beater for a few years, that’s the problem I have with many of the “best cars for students” lists out there (like this one from Forbes), they list brand new cars! A student should get a brand new car unless they pay for it themselves (and even then, it’s probably not a good use of their limited resources!).

(Photo: wickenden)

Best Used Cars for College Students from personal finance blog Bargaineering.com.

The video is only five minutes long but here’s an even briefer recap his tips:

• Plan on two full weekends – Time is your friend, not theirs.
• Get financing from your bank – You are unlikely to get a good deal from the dealer, this way you go into it knowing your amount, rate, and other terms.
• Don’t sell your used car to them – There is no reason they should give you a good deal, Gruhl says they are looking to make $1200-$1800 off your car. Sell on craigslist, donate, or sell on ebay.
• Pick at least three different cars – That way you have options and aren’t married to a single model
• Test drive them – So you know how they handle, but don’t buy it after test drive.
• Invoice is useless – Dealers know this, it’s a distraction, and competitive bidding is the real discriminator. Call 8-10 dealerships and bid them against one another. They will say they don’t do it but tell them that you will buy from them if they give you the best price today (they will bid, they always will).
• Get the “drive it off the lot” price – That’s the real number, with all the fees, taxes, etc. added in.
• Confirm availability – Make sure they have it, VIN number, and walk through the options
• The first visit – You will probably leave because something bad will happen (car is gone or some other BS); Tell them “Sorry we had a deal, see ya.”
• The second visit – Bring patience and a friend, they will try to tire you out, stick to your guns.
• Don’t sign until it’s all set up
• The Back Room – ignore those add ons, high margin stuff you can buy elsewhere, “Just say no”

Yes, all those tips were jam packed into five minutes. If you’re going to buy a car, or even thinking about buying a car, watch the video and you won’t be disappointed.

How To Buy A Car (Without Getting Screwed) from personal finance blog Bargaineering.com.

There was one good thing about that experience, it taught me how to properly respond in the event of an accident. Accidents are very scary and it’s very easy to lose your calm. They are exactly like those “controversial” Volkswagon “Safe Happens” commercials (I embedded two at the end of this article, they are very shocking). One minute you’re minding your own business, the next you’re being violently interrupted.

Here’s what I do immediately following an accident, I’ve written little notes down to myself on a piece of paper in my wallet to remind me. (In fact, I got the idea from Geico, which writes a sub-set of these instructions on what you should do immediately following an accident)

Never Admit Fault

No matter what happens, don’t ever admit you were at fault in the accident. This isn’t so that you can get away with something that you did but it’s to protect you in the event your memory of events or your understanding of who is at fault is wrong. When my car was totaled after the other driver ran a red light, I was a little dazed and unsure what had happened. I was turning and had a dedicated turn arrow but at the time I wondered if I only had a regular green and should’ve yielded. The police and the insurance companies can sort that stuff out and they know all the laws.

Don’t Get Out

If your car is smoking or on fire, get out immediately. If everything seems to be fine, just sit for a minute and collect your thoughts. You may have gotten a concussion or hurt something in your body, you don’t want to be moving around too much unless it’s absolutely necessary. Take this time to collect your thoughts, try to figure out what happened, and look at the other driver. If the other person looks furious, unbalanced, whatever… lock your doors, call the police immediately. It’s not uncommon for someone to be upset and have that anger turn into blows.

Call The Police

If it’s more than a little bump and superficial scratches, call the police. If you need emergency assistance, such as a tow, call the police before you call a tow. If the accident is severe, you’ll want the police to write a record and issue a ticket. The ticket is an indication of who the police find at fault, having one of those makes it much easier to deal with insurance companies. Police can also diffuse hot tempers. If the other person looks like they’re going to do something, you’ll want the police there.

Get Driver’s License & Insurance Info

When you collect the other driver’s information, copy down everything from his or her driver’s license. You’ll want everything from the state it’s issued to their address to the ID number. There is no such thing as having too much information. Also remember to get their phone number as well, confirm if you must (call them). Get all of their insurance information as well, essentially carbon copying the data on their card (ask for a card, not just for them to recite it). Also get the make, model, and license plate of their car. If you have any problems, call the police if they aren’t there already.

Call Your Insurance Company

If you have comprehensive and collision insurance, which is insurance for your own vehicle in an accident, call your insurance company and let them know what happened. They are responsible for paying for the repairs on your car if the other driver is found to be not at fault, which means they will work hard at proving the other driver is at fault (if they are). This ultimately means less work for you, so take advantage of it (you are paying them for this anyway!).

Don’t File A False Claim

Whenever insurance is involved, there’s always the opportunity for fraud. You may be tempted to file a damage claim for something that happened a few months ago, please don’t. Fraud is a serious crime, don’t throw your future away for a few dollars in repairs in the present.

Volkswagon Commercials

The two commercials I promised are after the jump.

(Photo: andyfitz)

What To Do After A Car Accident from personal finance blog Bargaineering.com.

Most cars have a four-stroke gasoline engine where the strokes refer to the cylinders moving up and down. One of the strokes is what’s known as the compression stroke. The piston compresses a mixture of air and gasoline before it is ignited by a spark plug. Octane rating of gasoline refers to how much that gas and air can be compressed before it spontaneously ignites, the lower the octane the less it can be compressed before igniting. Premium gas can be compressed far more than regular gas.

Why you should only buy what your car needs. If your car calls for 87 octane gas, that means it’s going to compress that air/fuel mix to a point where 87 won’t ignite on its own. If you pay more and add in 89, you get no benefit because it’ll only compress that mix to the 87 level. You get no added benefit because your engine can’t take advantage of the higher compression ratio.

Why you shouldn’t skimp and buy a lower octane than required. Your engine operates most efficiently when that air/fuel mix explodes when it’s supposed to explode. The whole timing of the engine is fouled up when it explodes early and that’s what happens if you put regular gas into an engine designed with premium in mind. When 87 gas is compressed to 91 levels, it’ll explode prematurely and foul up the timing of the engine (this is known as “knocking”).

Why people think higher octane is better. Because it is better! If all other specs are kept equal, an engine with a higher compression ratio will have greater horsepower. However, you need an engine that is operating with the higher compression ratio. If you have an engine compressing for an 87 octane fuel and you put in 91, nothing changes except you’re a little bit poorer.

Gas prices have come down the last few months (whew!) but you aren’t doing yourself any favors by getting fuel your car isn’t designed to use.

(Photo: riza)

Why High Octane Doesn’t Matter (Unless It Does) from personal finance blog Bargaineering.com.

So, what can we do? Hit them where they want to hit us, in the money sack. We must use less gas.

The lesson here, which we should’ve learned in the 70’s, is that OPEC should control our destiny. Say what you want about offshore drilling or alternative fuels, that’s for the pundits and the policy makers to figure out for 2015… I’m going to continue to do what I can today – use less gas.

Five Ways to Screw OPEC

1. Regularly maintain your car. Getting regular checkups, regular tune ups, and regular oil changes will improve your fuel mileage and increase the lifespan of your car. The myth about the 3,000 oil change is a myth, you can follow whatever your car manual says for your type of usage, but you still need to get that changed. As for the 30,000 and 60,000 checkups? Do them. Tune ups? Wonderful for gas mileage as you replace things that have been worn down. Don’t be penny wise and pound foolish with your car because the day you take it for granted is the day it reminds you that you shouldn’t.

2. Check your tires regularly and rotate them. Rotating the tires maximizes their lifespan. Keeping them properly inflated maximizes your fuel efficiency and maximizes their lifespan. Those two simple things will reduce how much gasoline your car consumes and how much oil is used to produce the rubber for your tires. Use less, OPEC complains.

3. Carpool to reduce driving. I feel like a broken record (can I even use that analogy anymore?) but carpooling and efficient trip planning has to be the easiest way to save gas. My wife and I try to plan our trips such that we minimize how much driving we do and it makes for a fun mental exercise.

Did you know that if two separate people are meeting at a point between them, it’s always better for one person to pick up the other person first as long as they return to the same place? If my wife is leaving work and I’m at home, it’s better for her to pick me up if we plan to go out for dinner than for us to meet each other at the restaurant. I didn’t think it was intuitive but if you draw it out it makes very obvious sense. (if the meeting point is equidistant to both then it’s equal)

4. Learn how to hypermile. Hypermiling is changing your driving behavior so that you maximize your car’s fuel efficiency. The basics are quite simple, you want to brake as little as possible, accelerate as slowly as possible, and travel as slowly as reasonably possible. Realistic hypermiling are a few suggestions I feel are both effective and realistic in our current driving environment.

5. Buy a bike. My wife and I bought bikes earlier this year and we use it to get around our area fairly easily. This may or may not be feasible for you given your neighborhood but it’s something you should consider. If not a bike, then investigate how you can best utilize mass transportation in our area. The key here is to ditch the car and try something fun and different.

Now say it with me, “Down with OPEC! Down with OPEC!”

(Photo: jfabra)

5 Easy Ways to Screw OPEC from personal finance blog Bargaineering.com.

Here’s a chart of the price per oil (in black) vs crude oil production in OPEC nations (1973 to 2007, not inflation adjusted):

Oil was less than $70 as recently as 2007. Now that demand for oil is falling, along with the price (which is in the $70s), it seems as though OPEC is quick to reduce supply in an attempt to boost up the price per barrel of oil. What was once called “too high” was now normal, once they saw we could afford $100 a barrel oil.

Iran’s Oil Minister Gholam Hossein Nozari said “on October 4 that oil producers were pumping too much oil and that a price under $100 per barrel was too low.”

On OPEC cutting oil production: “OPEC president Chakib Khelil told reporters last weekend that any production cut could be “substantial,” adding that the organization would try to stabilize prices between $70 and $90 a barrel.”

You don’t have to believe that we contribute to global warming or believe in peak oil, just believe your purses and wallets. OPEC, which controls 40% of the world’s oil (Venezuela and Russia, hardly our two best friends control a lot of the rest), has us by the throat. You can bet that some of our own dollars are going to Iran, who gives some to Islamic fundamentalists, who use them to buy weapons with which they try to kill Americans.

With gas prices falling, you might be tempted to revert to your old ways (like we did after the oil crisis in the 70s), please don’t. I think sending our money overseas to buy a product from someone who despises us is a terrible idea and one we should limit.

Thoughts?

OPEC Despises You, Stop Buying So Much Oil from personal finance blog Bargaineering.com.

Having that as a baseline, isn’t it amazing that Chinatown buses sell tickets for practically nothing to essentially make that trip? DC/Baltimore to NYC for often less than twenty bucks each way? Some places offer them for less than ten if you take low demand rides (or even $1 if you’re the first ticket!). I’d always known about them but when Megabus started offering free Wi-Fi (reports are that it’s a little slow and depends on how many people are using the bandwidth with you), it really started to catch people’s attention.

The three most popular ones, based on my empirical evidence driving around I-95 and the NJ Turnpike, are:

• Megabus
• ApexBus
• BoltBus

I’m glad that their gaining in popularity because mass transportation is something that needs to be more established in this country. The first thought should always be to try rail or bus, rather than jumping into a car. I always try to find a rail or bus option because I like the flexibility of being able to do something else, rather than just drive.

Has anyone ever taken one and care to share their experiences? I’ve never tried them but they are really tempting given the price (and the trip time isn’t that much longer than driving yourself). My only concern about them is what happens if they break down?

“Chinatown” Buses from personal finance blog Bargaineering.com.

MPGUINO

The MPGUINO is an entirely DIY monitor that you’ll have to sodder and wire into your car, it’s what Ben uses and the only option for cars made before 1996 because the rest of the gauges rely on hooking into the ODB-II system (On-Board Diagnostic System).

It’s also one of the cheapest at between $30-$40 plus the tools needed to install it.

ScanGuage 2

The ScanGauge II 3-in-1 Compact Multifunction Vehicle Computer runs a little pricier at around $160 but is one of the most popular gauges and one of the easiest to install (hooks into the ODB-II port underneath the dash, which means you have to have a ODB-II car). In addition to offering up gauge-type information, it lets you check engine codes and helps with other diagnostic function.

• Programmable 3-in-1 automotive trip computer, diagnostic scan tool, and up to 37 digital gauges in one (vehicle dependent)
• Watch fuel consumption, cost-per-mile, coolant temperature, engine speed, horsepower, and much more in real time
• Works on all 1996 or newer OBDII cars, including gas, diesel, propane and hybrid vehicles
• Checks for Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTCs), clears the codes, and can turn off the “Check Engine” light

PLX Kiwi

The PLX Kiwi, at a pricier three hundred bones that offers more than a gauge. It can monitor your driving behavior and “teach” you how to become a better driver through ratings and suggestions.

• Named after the green fruit, the Kiwi is a green driving device that helps users monitor their driving behavior and increase fuel efficiency. With Kiwi users can save up to 33% on their fuel consumption while also reducing their carbon footprint by 2 tons per year!
• Monitors driving behavoir over four parameters Smoothness, Drag, Acceleration, Deceleration. Also comes equiped with an Instantaneous MPG readout
• Drive Green mode is a series of lessons designed to optimize user’s driving behavoir
• Check engine feature can diagnose and fix engine code errors
• Compatible with all vehicles 1996+ including hybrids.

Dashhawk

The MSD Ignition 13100 DashHawk Vehicle Information Display is another unit that runs around three hundred bucks and looks crazy slick, though it’s not clear what you get (that you would need) over the ScanGauge II besides a more polished looking unit (and backlighting!).

4 Ways to Add a Gas Mileage Display to Any Car [EcoModder Blog]

WIN: Car Fuel Efficiency Monitor Gauge Prices from personal finance blog Bargaineering.com.

Here are some thoughts I had about the list:

• If you’re trying to do any break-even comparisons between cars, you can use this list to help you. Look for a pricier car with a higher MPG and you can calculate the break-even versus a cheaper car. For example, the $23,780 Toyota Prius with 44 MPG will catch up to the Mazda3i ($17,290, 30 MPG) in terms of base cost + fuel when the odometer hits ~152,978 miles at $4/gallon gasoline. That’s a lot of miles huh?
• Four Hondas are on the list, including the Fit and Fit Sport taking the top spot. Three Toyotas (Scion is a subsidiary of Toyota) are on the list along with a Hyundai, Nissan, and the lone “American” car the Mazda3 (Mazda has Japanese origins but is now a Ford brand, hence the quotes).
• I’m surprised to see only three manual vehicles on the list because manuals often get great fuel mileage and because manual transmissions vehicles are usually cheaper than the automatic ones, usually resulting in lower vehicle costs. A great frugal tip on cars is that you can save a few hundred dollars to a grand on a car if you buy a manual.
• I’m not surprised to see that these are all small vehicles (you could argue that the Fit is smaller than small).
• The difference between #1 (Honda Fit Sport) and #10 (Scion tC) in price per MPG is pretty significant – $194 per MPG.

Full table after the jump.

In addition to being fuel efficient vehicles, every car on the list is “recommended” by Consumer Reports, meaning it meets their quality requirements, and is have strong owner-cost ratings so you can be assured you’re not going to face huge maintenance issues down the road. I think those are two very important considerations when buying a car but I’m not at all surprised CR took that into account.

Best fuel economy for the buck [Consumer Reports]

(photo: chicanerii)

Cheapest Fuel Efficient Cars: Fit Is Go! from personal finance blog Bargaineering.com.