Amongst all the service providers I checked, American Auto Transport had the best track record. They have been in business for over 20 years, and the number of satisfied customers has grown over the period. They are known for great customer service, and have branches all across the country. They transport in better time than other companies and have very competitive rates. And what is more, they are patriotic too! They offer great discounts for military transports. They offer open and enclosed car shipping, and many people swear by the prim and proper condition in which their vehicle is delivered. They offer vehicle tracking while being shipped. They move all kinds of vehicles all across the country including Hawaii, Alaska and Puerto Rico too.

My cousin in Texas also used their Texas Auto Transport, and highly recommends their service. He had earlier burnt his fingers with two other movers, who did not turn up to even pick up the car on the promised date. He was completely satisfied with the services offered by AAT. Now, for my neighbor to move her daughter’s car from Florida to California, I am going to recommend she uses their Auto Transport Florida service. American Auto Transport has created a name for itself in the industry and anyone in love with their car should put it in their safe hands.

What makes a car popular? It is a question with no simple answers, because if there was a simple answer every car manufacturer would be on to it, and there would be no flop models!

In my humble view it is good value for money that makes a car popular: a combination of good features, better than average looks and cost effectiveness are what makes a car popular. Increasingly now, fuel efficiency is becoming a factor too as oil prices keep fluctuating and people become more environment and resource conscious. Without further ado, here is the top ten list from Forbes:

1. Toyota Corolla – this one has been a best seller for years, and in the last year alone it sold close to a million units (over 900,000) worldwide! Even the big Toyota recall (sticky accelerator and pedal entrapment concerns) is not expected to affect sales
2. The Ford Focus – 10 models of the same engineering platform are being developed for markets around the world. It is expected that this will have rich dividends in terms of boosting scale and saving money. Last year saw the sale of 781,139 Ford Focus cars.
3. The Ford Fiesta – this one is positioned as a world car that is catching on even in the less prosperous parts of the world where reasons of economy make a virtue of the smaller cars. It is even making a comeback in the US, having sold 724,502 units last year.
4. The Volkswagen Golf – this is another classic hatchback in many parts of the world. This is a company bestseller and sold with 705,276 last year
5. Honda Civic – this car has built a reputation for reliability and is great value for money. 686,000 cars sold in 160 countries around the world last year.
6. Toyota Camry – An American best seller, half of the global sales of 679,117 cars was in the United States.
7. Honda Accord – Another car hugely popular in the US. World wide sales were 586,584, half of which were sold in the US.
8. Peugeot 207 – This is the European classic. Though it isn’t sold in the US, it sold 536,090 units worldwide last year.
9. Volkswagen Polo – 467,047 units sold worldwide last year in their different variants- sedan, hatchback, wagon and coupe.
10. Toyota Yaris (Vitz in Japan) – 466,267 units sold last year though this car is more popular in the middle east, Europe and South Africa.

There is still a way of owning these cars; just think in terms of second hand; ooops that is so not OK to say; the correct term being ‘pre owned’.  So think in terms of pre owned, and you just may have yourself a really affordable deal, be able to afford precision German engineering at a fraction of the original cost.

Understand that the moment a new car is purchased and driven off the lot for the first time, its sale price promptly plummets. So really the moment a new car is sold, it become a little bit more affordable as a chunk of its value is knocked off instantly. And obviously the older the car the cheaper it is likely to be.

A new Mercedes E350 has a starting price of about 50 grand, but if you look here, this 1996 model is listed on the site for less than $4000!

Think about the fact that a new BMW 7 series is an almost unthinkable $80,000, but when you think in terms of a used (sorry, pre owned) BMW it suddenly begins to make a lot more sense. This year 2000 BMW is listed for less than $8,000/-!

This car site as well, offers you a lot of options in used cars which you can browse by make, year of manufacture, price, color etc. and if you are hesitating because you already have a car and are wondering what to do with it, you can get yourself a quick quote for that as well, and have that listed on the same site for sale, while you browse other cars and decide what you want to get after this. Most cars have the photo on the sale page as well as the mileage, and other specifications of the car listed.

So do some research, as to how many miles that car has clocked, how good of a shape it is in, that it hasn’t suffered any major accidents etc and you could soon be driving around in that luxury car of your dreams!

I don’t know how many of you already know about hypermiling, but this is a term that I needed to find out more about. Hypermiling is a set of techniques to increase fuel efficiency and keep down fuel costs, so naturally I was interested in finding out more. It’s all about learning to adopt certain driving methods to get more miles per gallon of fuel. The technique has been around for some time now, but gas prices being very volatile recently have made is really popular in recent times. According to the hypermiling site, there are six main steps to follow:

1. Always know your gas mileage after every visit to the gas pump. Obviously you can’t improve on something until you know how good or bad it is in the first place.

2. Don’t drive aggressively. Rapid accelerations and frequent braking are really bad for mileage. It would seem that most drivers use the brakes at least 10 to 25 % more than required. To reduce braking, leave a big enough buffer between you and the car in front and don’t accelerate if you see traffic lights coming up. You are also advised to concentrate on driving etiquette and focus on maximum carefulness while driving to see results.

3. Sitting still at intersections / red lights. As soon as you see the red light before you, take your foot off the pedal and remember that idling does not improve your MPG.

4. Avoid traffic congestion. In this very interesting article, William Beatty talks about traffic ‘Waves’ and how to avoid them so that you are not caught in traffic snarls that cause you to stop and go stop and go. It’s about not going with the flow.

5. Accelerate slowly. To get to a certain speed in 3 seconds, it takes more acceleration (fuel) than it would to reach that same speed in 4 seconds. So don’t waste that fuel to save a second, makes sense I think.

6. If you have cruise control, use it. See here, to read about how Cruise control can be used to your advantage.

To discuss tips and techniques with Hypermiling buffs (or just to pick up a few pointers) you could go visit the Hypermiling Forum.

The Honda Fit was perceived as the best value for money in the small car segment, at $14,750 with an excellent predicted reliability rating and standard features such as Side curtain airbags; front side airbags with passenger side occupant-position detection system; adjustable steering column; split-folding rear seats and fold-flat seats; antilock brakes; power windows and door locks.

The Scion xB is estimated to be the best small multi functional at the price of $16,700, with standard features such as Front-seat-mounted side airbags; front and rear side curtain airbags; electronic stability control with traction control; tilt steering with audio-mounted controls; height adjustable driver’s seat; auxiliary input and iPod jack. (I really like the ipod jack feature)

The Subaru Impreza is seen as one of the best mid size cars with the suggested sticker price of $17,995 and standard features such as Active front-seat head restraint to reduce whiplash; five-mph impact-absorbing bumpers; front-seat side-impact airbags; side curtain airbags; power door locks, window and mirrors; height-adjustable rear seat headrests; air filtration system.

The Buick Lucerne is among the best large size cars. It costs $27,275 and has standard features like Multiple airbag system; electronic stability control; touch-screen navigation system; 3.9-liter V6 engine; hands-free phone interface; heated power outside rearview mirrors; six-passenger seating available.

The Honda Element is adjudged one of the best utility vehicles at $ 19,780, a roomy substantial car that is good value for money with the standard features of Vehicle stability assist (electronic stability control; side curtain airbags with rollover sensor; front side airbags with passenger-side occupant-position detection system; power door and tailgate locks; height-adjustable driver’s seat; cruise control; rear-seat heater ducts.