If only diesel fuel were affordable, why, everyone would be buying diesel cars.
For years, that’s been the sad song from diesel vehicle producers. The moaning and whining, the constant crying about how their precious engines get a bad rap about bad smells and lousy pollution…it’s enough to make one buy a hybrid, if it weren’t for that whole thing about diesels running forever and such.  Of course, by now most of us know that the new super uber clean diesels are really, really clean, thus preserving our carbon footprint and eliminating yet one more reason why we can’t buy diesels over gasoline or hybrids.

All that’s left is the damage that $5 per gallon diesel does to our walletprint. 
Even that may no longer be the case, as the price is dropping  - and fast.  According to etrucker.com, diesel fuel “plunged to $2.809, off 13.5 cents from the previous weekly average. The current national average price is 60 cents less than a year ago.”  Do the math. Combine two buck diesel at your local gas station with longevity, performance and lower emissions, and it’s easy to see how diesel may quickly become the old idea that makes a big difference in a new world.

Source: http://www.etrucker.com/apps/news/article.asp?id=73974

–Archie

It is here where sheetmetal gets its personality. Where engines and tires, previously built to behave, learn about rude manners and burnouts.

Here - in Las Vegas. Where the sun is the only thing brighter than the night.
For the automotive faithful, it’s called the Specialty Equipment Manufacturers Association trade show, or SEMA, and is lovingly thought of as an automotive carnival stretching across 2 million square feet of Vegas convention space and parking lot. Every inch of space – and more – is used to celebrate the art of creating something special out of metal, iron and paint. And thanks to the legions of shade tree mechanics that have opened stalls since the early sixties, SEMA has come to represent the act of putting creative life into the industrial chill of production lines and factories.

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MODEL YEAR REVIEWED: 2008
INVOICE PRICE: $14,962 
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MPG: 22/28
*HEALTH COST: $ 140 per year
*GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS: 9 tons/year
*ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE INDEX: 2.18 ¢/mile
SOURCE: www.Greenercars.org
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REVIEWS of Scion xB: www.cars.com, www.edmunds.com
VIDEO of Scion xB: www.edmunds.com
AUTOMAKER of Scion xB: www.Toyota.com

 Like a high school football star who grows up to be a jelly donut eatin’ cop in a small town, it’s just not the same when it grows up, and that’s what Toyota’s Scion xB did: it grew up and got, well, ugly, pudgy and not even very charming. The first xBox is better because, though the engine was limp and the car would fairly rock around corners, it was unique and offered voluminous cargo room in a small package. This version doesn’t accomplish that same edgy uniqueness, and feels too big inside. Consider this: it’s not a successful Scion, but it is a damn successful Toyota as it ticks off improved efficiencies such as a more powerful engine, better transmission, more passenger room and a better overall driving experience – albeit one still devoid of much driving pleasure.

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