In January 2005, the national average price for regular gas was $1.78. Only three and a half years later in July 2008, the same average was $4.11; a 130% increase in price. Politicians talk about national oil independence and more fuel efficient cars because they know that most Americans get a nervous feeling in their stomach every time they spend more than $50 at the corner gas station. However, are the politicians really living a life they advocate or are they not really paying attention to our national oil problems and gas prices in their personal lives? Is there a difference between Republicans and Democrats?

A lot of politicians are fickle about sharing information from their personal lives – even what kind of car they drive. Other politicians try to pretend they are “green” because they don’t personally drive a lot. In reality, they may be the worst offenders since the US government is notorious for driving politicians around in big black Chevrolet Suburbans that get 9 mpg in the city and 20 mpg on the highway. As an estimate for Republicans and Democrats in general, I looked at the 2008 presidential candidates because, after all, they represent the two parties and the media spotlight has been on them recently.

Democrat Presidential Candidate Fuel Efficiency

Note that some republicans have more than one car. The “All Cars Average” is the CAFE average for all the cars a single candidate owns.

Republican Presidential Candidate Fuel Efficiency

Unfortunately, politicians are not as gas price conscious as we might wish. Democrats beat republicans by a whopping 20% margin due to a republican fleet of cars that on average gets less than 20 mpg! Democrats also seem to be having a love affair with the Ford/Mercury small hybrid SUV which greatly helps their average gas mileage. On average, republicans also own 1.7 cars per person compared to 1.0 cars per person for the democrats. The partisan differences can also be seen in McCain’s and Obama’s stance on fuel efficiency. McCain supports “enforcing existing standards” while Obama is more progressive and supports an “increase in fuel economy standards.” Despite the political rhetoric, it remains a little discouraging that politicians as a group don’t drive cars that meet the federal standard on fuel efficiency that Congress enforces and is called CAFE.

For those unfamiliar with CAFE, it stands for Corporate Average Fuel Economy. It is the stick that congress created and uses to get car manufacturers to make more fuel friendly vehicles. In 2008, the standard requires car manufacturers to have an entire fleet of vehicles that gets 24.8 mpg. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in March 2008 the average for all new cars and trucks was 26.8.

CAFE averages are also not normal averages, they are what is called a harmonic average. Imagine this… pretend you have a gas guzzler that gets 10 mpg and a hybrid that gets 90 mpg. The mathematical average is 50 mpg. However, if I want to actually get 50 mpg, I need to drive my hybrid 90 miles for every 10 miles I drive my gas guzzler. Chances are nobody does that. It is more realistic is that I put equal mileage on both my cars. If I do that, I actually get an average of 18 mpg, and that is how CAFE calculates their averages (go here for how to actually calculate the averages).

So are there any bright spots in this seemingly contradictory world that politicians live in? Yes! The great news is that even though fuel efficiency standards have been very slow to increase, politicians of both parties are actively supporting alternative technologies that will either directly or peripherally result in better choices for us in the future. Some of those technologies are:

• Zero emission cars
• Biofuels
• Clean coal technologies
• Improved battery technologies
• Hybrid cars

Personally, I can’t wait until I can drive an advanced battery and biofuel powered hybrid that gets 150 mpg. Until that time, I’ll keep wishing gas prices were lower since my own CAFE average is 21.7 mpg. I guess I need to work on my personal fuel efficiency too. Calculate your CAFE average by starting at www.fueleconomy.gov and let me know how well you are doing!

Too many people write about how to be a parent instead of how to pick your child’s first car.

Let’s talk car - but in terms everybody can understand.

The usual criteria for picking a car for anybody applies to pick a car for your teenager. However, on this post I’ll focus on what’s different when you’re shopping for your teenager.

First and foremost is Crash Safety:

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that car crashes are the leading cause of death for teenagers. Don’t trust your instinct that “bigger cars are safer.”  It’s not always true.

The crash star rating system may be perplexing, so I found the following graphic about what the star ratings mean.  Note that a four star rating compared to a five star rating, will approximately double the chance of serious injury.

NHTSA Crash Test Star Ratings System

Secondly, Drive Type:

By drive type, I am referring to four wheel drive (4WD,AWD) vs. two wheel drive (2WD), and front wheel drive (FWD) vs. rear wheel drive (RWD).  If you live in an area with snow or ice, you may really want to get a four wheel drive car to help keep your child safe in extreme driving conditions.  Otherwise, you’re just going to spend more on the car and insurance.

Front wheel drive cars, compared to rear wheel drive cars, have been shown to be safer in wet and snowy conditions.  Basically, the engine puts more weight on the front drive tires which improves traction as the front tires pull the car through water and snow.  For a new driver, this could be really important.

By now you’re thinking that this is a lot of information to so here are some quick recommendations. All of these vehicles have excellent crash test results (by NHTSA), outstanding reliability, and are from brands that usually don’t command a strong premium.  I have noted the drive type for each vehicle.

• 2006-2007 Hyundai Sonata, 4 cyl. engine (FWD)
• 2006 Kia New Optima 4-DR with Side Air Bags  (FWD)
• 2004,2005,2007 Subaru Forester (AWD)
• 2004-2006 Mitsubishi Endeavor (FWD or AWD)

Now that you’re well versed on what to consider when buying the car for your child, you are free to talk about when to buy the car, how much to spend, your ability to revoke the car, if your child should pay for some of the car or just promise to get good grades, or how you will have more free time if your child drives.

My oldest daughter is still years away from driving so leave me some comments about how to deal with my own child when driving age knocks on my door (or honks from the street).

You just spent months picking the “right” car.

You shopped around online through hundreds of listings at autotrader & cars.com at your lunch hours.

You beat the pavement at car dealers on weekends.

You’ve finally found the car you want at a dealer.

Now it’s game time.

You put your game face on. You go out to the dealer, and you’re ready to negotiate.

The salesperson at the dealer gives you the run around for two hours but you finally reach a price that you believe is fair and you can’t wait to drive off the lot.

The salesperson walks up and introduces you to a new person from the finance department.  He says this new person is going to finalize the contract – the hard work is done, just sign on the dotted line and relax.

Not so fast !

This is the epidemic we’d like to inform you about: The post-sale sale where dealers make a LOT of money.

The finance person tells you that there are some really important add-ons that you should buy to make sure your “investment” is safe.

How about:

• extended warranty
• theft insurance
• tire insurance
• rustproofing
• fabric protection
• paint sealant
• window vehicle identification (VIN) number etching

Are you feeling a little overwhelmed?  Don’t panic.

As long as you know these things are coming, and you know what they are before you agree to buy them, you’ll be okay.

Extended Warranty:

In general, you really don’t need an extended warranty unless you knowingly buy an unreliable car and plan on keeping it way past its normal warranty period.  If you are set on getting an extended warranty because you break out with hives when you have to spend more money to fix your car (like me), then remember that warranties offered by auto manufacturers are usually better than third party warranties.  Read all the details and make sure you understand the policy.  For example, I have an extended warranty and I can get the full price back (without interest) if I don’t use it… and I make a claim to get the money back within a small time window.  Know the details!

Theft Insurance:

This extra really threw me for a loop.  The finance salesperson told me, “I wouldn’t sell these insurance policies if there wasn’t a need for them.”  What he really meant to say was, “I wouldn’t sell these insurance policies if I couldn’t convince somebody they needed them.”  My advice is to first see what coverage you get through your normal car insurance company.  If you don’t like the response, check out the National Insurance Crime Bureau to see if you’re really buying car that is at risk for theft.

Tire Insurance:

This insurance comes in different forms – tire insurance, road hazard warranty, tire reimbursement plan, and more.   A dealer will most likely try to sell you the reimbursement plan.  A reimbursement plan will replace your tires (usually pro-rated to remaining tread life) in case of some catastrophic failure.  First, if you really did serious damage to your tires, then you most likely damaged a lot of other potentially expensive components in your car’s drive system.  Your normal insurance policy should pick this up.  Second, how many $500 investments are you insuring?  My guess is none.

Rustproofing:

All newer cars are made with rust-resistant galvanized steel and then treated with a rustproofing product. In case you are thinking about getting your car rustproofed anyway, here’s a great clip from Car Talk about rustproofing.

Fabric Protection:

Many cars have their upholstery treated in the factory.  An alternative is to do-it-yourself with some Scotchgard protector for less than $10.

Paint Sealant:

Just like rustproofing, car factory paint is now sealed and durable.  Just like fabric protectors, there are at a lot of auto stores, supermarkets, and retailers that sell quality paint sealants and waxes to protect your paint for less than $20.

VIN Etching:

Some states require dealers to offer VIN etching , but you get to choose who you buy it from. A do-it-yourself system can be bought for $20 and some claim you can do-it-yourself in only fifteen minutes

As a final note, if these add ons are so great, why don’t dealers advertise them on their web sites?  If you bought any of these and had a good or bad experience, please comment.  Also, if there’s a new type of add-on that you think I’m missing, let me know so I can research it and add it to the list!