Auto News for Monday May 7th 2012

Gas prices may be getting an increase due to the gas tax being revisited. Just what the country needs more taxes, and on gasoline no less. In all fairness, the gas tax has not changed since 1993 which is almost 20 years without adjustment for inflation. The current tax on fuel in the U.S. is 18.4 cents per gallon and that money is put into a trust fund for the transportation infrastructure. Since 2001, except for 2006, the tax has not taken in more than it has spent and has been borrowing from the general fund. This borrowing was used for highway repairs and mass transit programs. The CBO (Congressional Budget Office) has offered 3 solutions to the problem.

1. Do nothing and keep borrowing from the general fund.
2. Stop spending on mass transit projects and lower spending on highway repairs.
3. Increase the gas tax by 5 cents per gallon.

An increase of the gas tax at this point would be harmful to drivers everywhere including car transport companies who drive hundreds of miles every day.

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The Toyota Prius has become the most popular hybrid car in the U.S. as of April 2012. It was already the most popular hybrid in the world compared to the Nissan Leaf and Chevy Volt. The Prius sells for $32,000 and sold 1,640 cars in last month compared to 370 of the Leaf and 1,462 of the Volt. With March being the best month for Prius sales ever, this should have been no surprise. This was an increase of 129% over last year at this time. The Auto shipping industry stands to benefit from new car sales because as demand goes up, the need to get cars shipped to dealers increases.

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Audi is releasing the detail of their new A3 model. This will be the third generation of A3 since 1996; selling 2.5 million worldwide. This version looks to be a complete redesign from the previous 2 models. It will come in 3 models; a 3-door hatchback, 4-door sedan and a 5-door sport-back. It will be using the VW Group MQB architecture otherwise known as the “transverse modular system”. Look for these models on auto carriers in Q4 2012 or Q1 2013 in the United States and Europe.

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$8,946 is what it costs to own a car each year in the United States. AAA releases their annual “Your Driving Costs” study showing a 2% increase year over year for owning a car. The costs include the monthly payment, insurance, maintenance and of course gasoline and is based on driving 15,000 miles per year. Since gas prices are up over 14 percent, which equates to about 14 cents per mile. The average insurance rate is $1,001 per year; up by $33 from 2010. The cost of maintenance items has risen sharply due to the cost of materials skyrocketing. According to the study, a small sedan may be the best car for your money since they average only $6,735 per year compared to the SUV which is highest with $11,360 per year. This will have little impact on the auto transport industry since there is not much anyone can do about the cost of ownership.

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