Toyota is following in Honda’s footsteps to manufacture natural gas powered products. The carmaker of the successful Prius hybrid is planning to debut a Camry concept car that uses natural gas in November at the L.A. auto show. These cars are called CNGs, or compressed natural gas. There are only 1,000 refueling stations for these vehicles to fuel up at, and only half of these are retail pumps that are standard of refueling stations that are based at home.

So far, CNGs have not become popular, which is why the Honda Civic CNG is just sold in two states, California and New York. The CNG Honda Civic performs pretty much the same as the gasoline version. However, it is unclear why natural gas is a good alternative source of fuel for vehicles when there isn’t near the infrastructure for it than there is for E85. Also, by creating more of a demand for natural gas, prices will go up for those people who use natural gas to heat their homes.

However, Toyota claims that creating a natural gas infrastructure would be a good way to pave the way for a hydrogen infrastructure in the future.

Are consumers ready for natural gas powered vehicles? The problem is it is inconvenient at the moment. Motorists would rather hang onto their current vehicles and purchase used car warranties, rather than paying money on a new vehicle that will end up being inconvenient.

Analysts have expected the prices of crude oil to go down for months now, yet they keep going up. Will motorists ever be able to afford important things such as an auto warranty and maintenance again? Crude oil prices had a considerable decline early in the year, however the hope is not just that the price will make demand go down, but that the amount of non OPEC production delayed will hopefully catch up late in the year and into next year. The market will soon continue with production, which will cause prices to drop.

The investment of the oil companies are based on around $55-$75 per barrel of oil. If you look at history, that is still very valuable oil. That’s what we are going to see, and gas prices will drop. However, the question on everyone’s mind is when.

Consumers shouldn’t expect price drops to be dramatic until late in the year. Gas prices will likely rise and peak throughout the nation at about $3.50 per gallon. However, motorists could see significant relief late in 2008 as new production is evident online.

There are a few things working in favor of lower gas prices. Ethanol will displace a large part of the demand for gas since it will be taking 10% of gas out of the picture. Also, prices won’t be up an enormous amount from years past, just about a percentage point. However, this isn’t the beginning of the $4-$5 per gallon apocalypse for gas. Never fear, motorists will be able to afford such things as used car warranties and maintenance again.

J.D. Power recently came out with the results from its 2008 Escaped Shopper Study, which gauges why consumers made the decision to walk away from certain new vehicles in their car shopping experience. It’s quite surprising that approximately 80% of car shoppers decided against purchasing a model after they went to a car dealer.

The top three reasons for not buying a car, that are dealer related, included inferior dealer service, a limited availability of various trim levels and colors, and unprofessional employees.

This is a very common anecdotal reason for consumers. If a dealer or salesman doesn’t treat a prospective customer well, that’s it. And, typically the customer not only stays away from that dealership, they also get a tainted view of the vehicle brand.

The study examined 30,000 new car shoppers and discovered that 40% of shoppers decided not to buy a vehicle because of the price, and 40% of those buyers said it isn’t that the car costs too much money, it’s that the car doesn’t seem like it is worth the high price.

Motorists would rather hang onto their current vehicles and buy used car warranties, than purchase a car that they feel isn’t worth the money. And with an auto warranty, drivers can rest assured that they won’t have to pay unnecessary repair expenses down the road.

Ford is debuting its new lineup for 2009, and the majority of the models are not only equipped with new car warranties, and numerous safety features, they come with a gas-cap-less fuel tank.  Ford is referring to this as “EasyFuel,” which shouldn’t be confused with “FlexFuel”, which is when a car can use E85.  However, if you get the two mixed up, cars with the EasyFuel system have a warning that E85 won’t flow easily into the gas tank.

When hearing this you may wonder, “Are people too lazy to even screw a gas cap off and on?” but chances are you have actually forgotten a gas cap at a gas station once or twice.  And sometimes it can be annoying to remember if your gas cap clicked properly when you turned it.

If you purchase one of the new 2009 Fords, you may feel a bit strange just taking the pump in and out without doing anything else.  But chances are that you will get used to the convenience after a short time.  Oh, and did I mention that the new 2009 Fords come with a hefty auto warranty?

The EPA is the arm of the government that is responsible for testing fuel economy, and its results are now posted on the stickers on new vehicles. This is a different rating than the government’s CAFÉ numbers, which you might have heard about in Washington.

The real numbers by the EPA are predicted to go up an average of 0.2 mpg for 2009, compared to last year, the EPA claims, which will be about 20.8 mpg.

The final statistics won’t be in until the early part of 2009, but according to the EPA, these predictions demonstrate the fourth rise in a row in the average fuel efficiency of light trucks and cars. In fact, trucks have actually had the largest impact of all. Although their market share has gone down from 52% in 2004, to 48% in 2008, overall, their fuel-efficiency has gone up.

The figure of 20.8 mpg is the largest since the year 1993, and the EPA is predicting that the final number is going to be even higher because people have shifted to smaller cars because of high fuel prices. Consumers are trying to protect their wallets by purchasing more fuel-efficient vehicles and new car warranties.

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners recently performed a study researching the best and worst places in the U.S. for car insurance.  The study determined that Northeast drivers are paying the highest premiums.

The most expensive state was New Jersey.  The average premiums there were more than $1,300 a year.  Washington D.C., our nations capital, was in second place with average premiums of over $1,185.  New York took third place with premiums on the average being over $1,100.

The study stated that the reason for the elevated costs for insurance in those areas is because of urban driving matters, dense traffic, and high salaries.  In addition, costs for average liability insurance premiums are high in the Northeast.

Midwestern and Northern states were ranked as having the lowest insurance premium costs.  Iowa was the state with the lowest insurance overall, at $530 a year.  Maine took second place at $560 a year, and North Dakota came in third at $570 a year.

This study proves that location is key when it comes to your car insurance costs.  Motorists have to pay high vehicle costs these days with the costs of new car warranties, insurance, and maintenance.

Pontiac is planning to add a four-door version of the Chevrolet Aveo hatchback to the spring lineup, which will be called the G3.  In Canada, Pontiac currently markets a G3 Wave, but in the U.S. they will simply market it as the G3.

According to Jim Hopson, who is a Pontiac spokesman, “The G3 gives us a credible new high-mileage entry-level car at a time when small cars are the fastest-growing segment in the industry.”

But Pontiac is supposedly the exciting high-performance division of General Motors.

Susan Docherty, who is the VP of the Buick, Pontiac, GMC group, claims that fuel-efficiency is a huge factor in the style and performance of Pontiac’s formula.  With the addition of the G3, Pontiac will have four models that get more than 30 mpg of highway driving: the G5, G3 and G6.

Consumers are demanding small, fuel-efficient vehicles with good new car warranties, so it looks like Pontiac has made a smart move.  But what about their performance cars?

Hopson says, “We still have G8 and Solstice rear-drive performance sports cars, as well as the front-drive G5 and Vibe that are sporty and get good mileage, and now we’ll have the G3 that’s sporty and gets very good mileage and is very fuel-efficient at the entry-level car range.”

Although certified pre-owned warranties are very similar, they do vary some depending on the car manufacturer.  They combine the manufacturers original auto warranty with a certified pre-owned auto warranty, and then offer roadside assistance along with other benefits.  The advantages are apparent: instead of taking a risk with a used car that you know nothing about, you get a car with a complete history and an auto warranty.

Chrysler decided to go one step further and offer extended service contracts for Jeep, Chrysler, and Dodge certified pre-owned vehicles.  The contracts will be divided depending on what they cover.  For instance, the Lifetime Powertrain Care will cover transmissions, engines, and drivelines; the Lifetime Added Care Plus will cover those mechanisms and also electrical functions in the interior, suspensions, and fuel systems; and the Lifetime Maximum Care plan will cover all of the above with just a few exclusions.

Chrysler has not yet announced pricing plans for these contracts, so it isn’t clear how much more consumers will have to pay to get a lifetime component auto warranty, or whether consumers will want the used car warranties at all.

Ford recently announced what the pricing will be for the 2009 F-150.  A regular cab XL with a two-valve V-8 engine will start at $21,345, which doesn’t include the destination charge of $975.  To compare, the 2008 regular cab that had a 4.2-liter V-6 engine and an automatic transmission began at $19,990.  For the 2009 model, the V-6 was eliminated.

Meanwhile, if you move up to the other trim levels, the 2009 F-150 Lariat SuperCrew trim starts at $35,820.  Ford claims that that truck is equipped comparably to the 2009 Dodge Ram Laramie cab, which begins at $41,320.

Ford is offering competitive pricing, which will make consumers happy.  Motorists aren’t purchasing as many expensive pickup trucks, due to the economy and fuel prices.  However, consumers will be more likely to purchase Ford trucks because of the sticker prices and new car warranties that come with them.

Do you find that you are apprehensive about negotiating with an auto dealer?  Are you unsure about topics such as car loans and an auto warranty? Shopping for a vehicle doesn’t have to be nerve-racking, however, you need to be aware of a few things that you shouldn’t say to a dealer.

First, you shouldn’t start talking about monthly payments, instead focus on negotiating the purchase price.  It can become confusing when you’re discussing monthly payments because it might be unclear whether the payment is for 24 or 36 months.

Don’t tell the dealer right away if you’re willing to trade-in your car.  If the dealer is aware of this he will know that you want to get as much money for your car as possible.  The dealer might agree to give you a lot for your trade-in, but usually it’s a smokescreen because then they will fix the price of the new car.

Don’t tell the dealer if you’re planning on paying for the car in cash.  They count on making a lot of money in financing, and if they know that they won’t be able to count on that money, chances are they won’t negotiate on the sticker price.

Do your homework before showing up at a dealership.  Be prepared with information about new car warranties, financing, and vehicle prices.  This will help you negotiate a successful deal on a car.