While this was occurring, businesses small and large were using this to their advantage; offering customers free and discount gas incentives. Many stores would entice you with a free gas card for large purchases. Meanwhile car manufacturers like Chrysler were guaranteeing buyers gas at “only” $2.99/gallon. However the most prolific of these marketing gimmicks were the gas credit cards, which offered higher cash back on fuel purchases. But now that gas is cheaper, are they still worth the hassle?

Not what they used to be…

A few years ago, there were several credit cards that gave 5% cash back on gas. The most popular were the Citi Dividend, Chase Cash Plus Rewards, and Discover Open Road card. When gas starting climbing, they all cut back their rewards. Today, these cards only give double or triple points on fuel purchases. In fact, the only 5% gas card left is the Discover More card. However, there’s a big catch – they only give the 5% on gas for one quarter out of the year, plus there’s a cap on the amount of spending that will qualify. So, basically, the credit cards that had a 5% rebate on gas are now extinct.

Are they still worth the hassle?

Unfortunately, the gas cards currently on the market are nothing to write home about. Most credit cards give the same percentage on gas that they do on other purchases (typically 1%). The Discover Open Road card is still in existence, but as mentioned, it only gives up to 2% on gas these days. The “Premier” version of the American Express Gold card gives double points on gas, but it also carries an extremely high annual fee of $175! As far as business cards go, the American Express Simply Cash card used to give 5% on gas, but today it only gives 3%. In a nutshell, these cards may not be worth the hassle unless you drive a lot.

The Nissan Cube is no newcomer to the world of square autos, however. It has been in production for the last ten years in Japan. Nissan is now shifting gears and planning a release in the United States.

The Cube includes a 122 horsepower 1.8L 4-cylinder engine and gets around 30-40 mpg. Two types of transmission are available for the car: 6-speed manual or what Nissan refers to as “CVT” or “Continuously Variable Transmission).

Because the car is essentially a box it features over 50 cubic feet of cargo room and air space for passengers. Nissan even quotes the Cube has more room than a Mercedes S-class (One of the largest interiors in a vehicle). There are 6 standard airbags positioned all throughout the vehicle and a special VDC system (Vehicle Dynamic Control) which comes standard.

The Cube will use a regular gasoline powered engine to run the front wheels and an energy efficient power and fuel cell for the rear, meaning the car will be much more efficient than the average gas-using automotible.

There are several additional options that will be available, including a Rockford Fosgate Subwoofer, an iPod and MP3 device docking station, a unique Nissan Intelligent Key with a push button ignition system, an integrated Bluetooth/hands-free phone system, and a special rear sonar system so that drivers never back into anything.

The Cube will be released sometime in 2009. As of this date Nissan has quoted sometime in Q4.

The 2e features a complete aerodynamic design, which Aptera claims will be more efficient both on energy use and speed. The California built car will come in both complete electric and hybrid versions. Aptera states that the hybrid version will get up to 300 miles per gallon of gas, and both versions will have a top speed of 85 mph and go from 0-60 mph in under 10 seconds. A full recharge of the all electric version is slated to only take about a four hour charge while plugged into a standard electric socket (with a fully drained battery).

The body design of the 2e looks like something straight out of a sci-fi movie. The birth father (co-founder) of the auto, Steve Fambro, “dreamed of cruising past the masses in a vehicle that was safe enough to protect his new family, yet efficient enough to keep money in his pocket instead of feeding a gas pump”. So Fambro sought to “design a vehicle that follows nature and glides through the wind instead of pushing it.” As you can see in the photo, the car seems like it would do just that.

The Aptera 2e is technically considered a motorcycle because it includes three wheels total; two in the front and one in the rear. But the developers see it as a regular automobile much like the standard four wheel vehicles all over the roads. Aptera also claims that with all the efficient specifications, the 2e is the most efficient production vehicle in the entire world.

The Aptera originally had a set release date for sometime in 2008, but as we grow closer to the end of the year it looks more like the auto will be released sometime in early 2009. As if all this efficient talk wasn’t enough, the Type-1 is slated to cost less than $30,000.

The only drawback, however, is that it will be in the same design as the Scion XB, a squared off and boxy type body design. Nissan has stated that the car currently is being referred to as the “cube”, but the name certainly will change before release. Nissan is planning to release the electric autos in Japan and the U.S. with a market release for retail set in 2012 (As a side note I ask if they’ve ever heard of the Mayan end world prophecy. Think we still will be around long enough to see these cars actually bud into fruition?).

Masahiko Tabe, Nissan’s manager of advanced vehicle engineering commented on the new vehicles. “The first production vehicles will be for regional areas like California, and we will later expand the EV (Electric Vehicle) all over the world.” Tabe also commented on what type of vehicle consumers can expect to contain the EV technology.

“The technology will first appear in a small vehicle,” Tabe said.

The electric vehicle would be an ideal replacement for commuters. On average, a large number of drivers on the road only travel about 62 miles (100 kilometers) a day, and this means there is a very large potential for those drivers. The EV technology would cut out a large number of costs in the average consumer’s budget, although it would obviously create a more expensive power bill in the long run.

A main concern is that electric vehicles contain almost no moving parts that can malfunction and will run completely on electricity, so what will the auto industry do to make money off these vehicles? Not being biased with this comment, I’m sure they can come up with something shady enough to still make money.

E-85, or Ethanol alcohol in the form of fuel, is an alternative source of energy that is already available. Most average drivers are not aware that around 6 million cars already on the road can run on E-85 as a fuel source. These types of vehicles are called “flex-fuel” autos, meaning they can run on a fuel mixture of 85% E-85 and 15% gasoline. However, there is one very big setback. An auto using E-85 at this current point in time costs more money than an automobile running on gasoline. This is due to the fact that E-85 produces less energy than gasoline, meaning a car running on E-85 will get fewer miles per gallon. The current cost of E-85 is pretty close to the average gas prices as mentioned before. Another big problem is that E-85 fueling stations are not as abundant and are only prominent in the northern corn-growing states such as Iowa, Illinois, and Minnesota. They are not generally found at all in the southern states where corn is harder to grow.

Pros of running an auto on E-85 fuel are: the dependency of imported petroleum will drop around 85% if most drivers switch to a flex-fuel auto, meaning less money will go overseas; consumers will not have to pay a premium for a flexible fuel model; and the fuel source is completely renewable. Adversely, some cons of running an auto on E-85 fuel are: fewer miles per gallon; there is a chance that global food supply could be affected negatively; and the environmental hazards of burning E-85 are still unknown.

E-85 prices will come down over time, however, if the fuel source is more widely adopted.  If we all do our part in purchasing flex-fuel autos, our total dependency on foreign petroleum and oil will drop a considerable amount.

• 68% Driving Less
• 51% Keeping The Car Well-Tuned
• 18% Carpooling
• 12% Looking for a New Car
• 9% Using Fuel Additives

“We like to be upbeat and optimistic around here. We love cars and everything about them. But the truth of the matter is that in localities with the highest prices and lowest wages, Americans are using about 13% of their paychecks on gas. In big cities with lots of public transportation the figure is about 2%, but across the board those numbers are going to go up.”

This left me wondering, what will the price be on July 4th , the unofficial midpoint of summer?

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hy pay full price when you can get a discount with your credit card?

FINDgascards.com is a website that is dedicated to helping you save money on gas purchases. At FINDgascards.com, you can find the credit card that best suits your needs and saves you anywhere from 5% and more on gas purchases!

Gas credit cards are a very helpful way to save anywhere from 5% and beyond on each gallon. 5% may not seem like a lot, but, for instance, let us say that a person puts $30 worth of gas into their car–5% of $30 is $1.50. After spending $30 twice, that person will have saved enough money to buy a full gallon of gas (assuming that the gas price is $3.00).

FINDgascards.com allows you to scroll and read through the various credit cards that offer this opportunity. The site describes the features of each of the best gas credit cards available today. With at least nine different gas cards to choose from, you will certainly be able to pick out the best gas credit card for you.