Southern California is sort of like the world’s “car zoo” – where there are innumerable samples of just about every car species out there. Albeit, this zoo is overcrowded. Los Angeles has been called the “Car Capital of the World,” but in reality that could be said about all of Southern California. Nobody Walks in L.A. The area is [...]

Call them the underdogs of the hybrid vehicle movement, not many people know about them, but everyone should. Some people who drive flex-fuel cars know they are saving gas but they don’t always know that they are in a FFV. Luckily, their production and use is slowly picking up in the United States. What is A FFV? The official name is flexible-fuel vehicles, [...]

Back in 2003, Steve and Annette Economides started a financial-fitness-type newsletter, the HomeEconomiser, to help direct people to better manage their finances much like they had the previous 20 or so years. It seems appropriate, considering their family surname name starts with the term “econo.” America’s Cheapest Family Today they call themselves “America’s Cheapest Family,” a couple who [...]

It’s been written and said so often, it’s reached a point of nausea. We’ve even done it with our reliable used-car sales overview. Reliability is a huge factor in the mind of any potential car buyer. It’s that peace-of-mind on Highway 395 through Bishop. Or for that matter, while rolling through Bakersfield, Baldwin Park, Brea or Barstow in California’s summer heat. The [...]

Not too long ago it was hard to imagine a day when motorists would study gasoline and its pros and cons much like they research products such as milk or skin care products. But that day has come, and it has been here for quite a few months. Aside from price shopping – four dollars-plus per gallon [...]

Are automakers taking a cue from new-home sellers, by offering some of the strangest contests or incentives imaginable? For months homebuilders have worked diligently to attract potential buyers and boost traffic in their models, by giving away gas cards, free tickets to amusement attractions, and the like. Some have had contests for no mortgage payments for a [...]

Southern California is arguably the land of the cars, a land of more automobiles, freeways and roadways than one can count. The lack of a strong public transit system certainly contributes to our need for cars. But it’s fascinating to look at which types of cars are popular in certain areas of Greater Los Angeles or the [...]

It reminds me of the OP shorts boom of the early 80s. Once California teen-agers made them must-have, the race was on among surf short designers to come up with something even gnarlier. Same goes for smaller cars today. It’s been written ad nauseum that American motorists are turning toward smaller cars and away from the beastly sport [...]

August 1, 2008 California’s new hands-free mobile phone law has been in effect a month now, and media reports outline some interesting consequences. First, there’s the cheaters. “I looked to my left, and there was a dark-haired woman driving a gray SUV with a towel draped over her head”, wrote a Bakersfield Californian columnist on July 30. She was [...]

It wasn’t long ago that truck owners were attached to their vehicles like a best buddy, favorite T-shirt, or long-trusted putter. Nicknames were not uncommon, and owners personalized them with window stickers and fancy accessories. Parting with their truck was a rare occasion. Unless an owner had his or her eyes on a larger or fancier model. Times [...]