Cars
Basics
Nets Look to Lure Fans With Free Gas
Given the New Jersey Nets' lackluster season (34-48 record, no playoff berth), the franchise is taking a page from another under-performer to unload tickets for next year. That's right: buy 2008-2009 season tickets and the Nets will return 10 percent of the cost in the form of "free" gas, which fans will presumably burn up on the way to all those home games. 'Cause with the Nets, it's not about winning or losing, or even how you play. It's about the free gas.
June 13, 2008
America (Or 1,800 Miles of It) Through the Windshield
It's easy to tut-tut at the auto-dependent from the transit-rich confines of New York City. So, to get a taste of what it's like out there as the era of cheap gas seemingly draws to a close, Streetsblog sent me on a road trip. My destination was Athens, Georgia, where I checked on the state of bike-ped infrastructure in what could be a model small city for the future of American mobility. I'll be filing more Athens reports soon. In the meantime, here are some quick hits from the road.
June 10, 2008
“My Next Vehicle Will Be a Bicycle”
Like media outlets everywhere, CNNMoney.com is reporting with greater frequency on rising fuel prices, with headlines like "Six fixes for pricey gasoline" and "Bad news for Detroit: Miles per gallon." In a recent online poll, the financial website asked a question that is surely on the minds of many Americans: "The next vehicle I buy will be...?" In the non-random sample of 42,275 respondents, more people said they are leaning towards a bike than a truck or SUV.
June 5, 2008
Car Buyers Pick Their Poison: Free Gun or Free Gas
With Detroit increasingly desperate to unload inventory, one Missouri car dealership seems to have struck gold with a special promotion: Buyers get a $250 coupon towards either a gun or gasoline. The offer comes from Max Motors,
a small dealership south of Kansas City that has slapped
the image of a grimacing cowboy wielding two pistols all over its
website.
June 4, 2008
Joe Lieberman: Did Someone Say “High Gas Prices”?
How obsessed is Washington with gas prices? Acting on a Streetsblog post from last week, a reader wrote Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman urging him to support legislation that would bolster funding for Amtrak. In response, Lieberman's office sent a long, long form letter outlining the many ways the senator is -- you guessed it -- working to keep gasoline as accessible as possible.
May 28, 2008
Chrysler: Let’s Ruin America!
Looks like Chrysler has figured out a novel way to move their 2008 model gas guzzlers off the lot. Sign up for their new "Let's Refuel America!" credit card and they'll lock in the price of gas at $2.99/gallon for three years.
May 20, 2008
Mixed Messages From Critic of NY Gas Tax Holiday
Following the lead of John McCain and Hillary Clinton, the State Senate voted yesterday to suspend New York's gas tax for the summer. The move was largely symbolic, as the governor and Assembly speaker have both indicated they won't support the bill.
May 8, 2008
Obama Dismisses Gas Tax “Gimmick”
With primaries in North Carolina and Indiana less than a week out, Barack Obama seems to have taken Streetsbloggers' advice with this ad explaining why a suspension of the federal gas tax, as called for by Hillary Clinton and John McCain (among others), is a sham. It's a masterful spot: the swelling orchestral score, the shots of everyday North Carolinians nodding in agreement as the candidate links the lie of the "short-term quick fix" gimmick to the need for fundamental change in Washington.
May 1, 2008