Used Cars Make A Comeback

Gas prices aren't the only thing going up these days. Prices for used hybrids and more fuel-efficient small cars have risen dramatically in the past six months.

A shortage of new, popular and fuel-efficient vehicles has sparked interest and a surge in demand for older, fuel-efficient models in the used-car market. The same cars that were cheaper and virtually ignored last year are now selling at a premium, thanks to gas prices that have topped $4 a gallon.

The sharp rise in prices for used, fuel-efficient compact cars and hybrids is so "dramatic and one-sided," says Ricky Beggs, vice president and managing editor of Black Book, which compiles new- and used-car data for the industry. "We have never seen it where it was so focused [in one vehicle segment]," he says.

The most fuel-efficient vehicle in the market today is the 2007 Toyota Prius hybrid. It gets an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimated average 46 mpg. The new 2008 Prius is in short supply, since Toyota has capped production of the model at 180,000 units for the year. Buyers who are just fine buying a used 2007 Prius paid an average of $21,850, or $1,900 more in mid-June than they did in January of this year. That's a 9% increase in a six-month period.

On Jan. 1 of this year, gas averaged $3.12 a gallon; today it is at $4.07, a 30% increase in the same time period.

It's not just used hybrids seeing a price increase, however. This year's Mini Cooper buyers expecting to find a lower-priced used 2007 Mini were in for a big surprise. They paid, on average, $2,300 more for a used Mini in mid-June, a 12% increase over the average transaction price on Jan. 1 of this year. The car has proved its value during the past six months; it gets an average EPA estimated 29 mpg.

Behind The Numbers
Black Book compiled data for used cars for model years 2002 through 2008 that dealers purchased at auction from Jan. 1 through June 16, 2008. The amount consumers actually paid for the vehicle is higher than what the dealer paid (since dealers mark up the price of the vehicle to make a profit).

Used cars typically depreciate in value from to 14% to 16% each year, so a vehicle that holds or increases its value is unusual, says Beggs. Any vehicle showing an increase of $400 or more in a six-month period is "out of the ordinary," adds Beggs, "and anything like a $1,800 increase is exceptional."

Dominating the list of 15 fuel-efficient used cars making a comeback is the Mini Cooper with four model years, including 2005 ($1,900 average transaction price increase, or 11%); 2006 ($1,600 average transaction price increase, or 10%); and 2004 ($1,050 average transaction price increase, or 7.4%).

As expected, the Toyota Prius hybrid is also popular, with four model years, along with the 2007, in high demand and commanding higher prices. The 2006 model saw a $1,600 average transaction price increase (8.5%); the 2005 jumped $1,200 in price on average (7%); and the 2004 jumped $800 in price (5.2%).

Other hybrids making the list are the 2007 Honda Civic Hybrid ($1,550 average transaction price increase, or 9.4%); the 2008 Mariner ($1,550 average transaction price increase, or 6%); and the 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid ($950 average transaction price increase, or 5.5%).

Rounding out the list are the 2006 Suzuki Aerio ($900 average transaction price increase, or 11%); 2004 Toyota Corolla ($400 average transaction price increase, or 4.3%); and the 2007 Nissan Versa ($400 average transaction price increase, or 3.4%).

The only SUV to make the list is also a hybrid, the 2008 Ford Escape ($700 average transaction price increase or 3%), which gets an EPA estimated 32 mpg.

Are you willing to pay more for a fuel-efficient used car? Is the price hike still lower than the long-term cost of gas? Add your thoughts in the Reader Comments section below.

Hybrid SUVs, it seems, stand in a different class from regular SUVs. The overall value of used SUVs has depreciated at a rate of 27% over the past several months, says Beggs. This time last year, the 2005 and 2006 Ford Expedition full-size SUVs were selling, on average, $1,760 higher at the end of May 2007 compared with Jan 1, 2007.

Auto experts say the used-car market is merely reflecting emerging trends in the new-car market: People want more fuel-efficient cars, plain and simple. Sales of the once popular Ford Expedition, which gets an EPA estimated average 14 mpg, tanked between January and April of this year by 27%, according to J.D. Power and Associates. At the same time, sales of the new 28 mpg Nissan Versa soared 37%.

While you can likely purchase any used gas-guzzler at a discount today, it'll cost you in the long run due to rising fuel prices. But as gas prices continue to rise, so will the cost of used, fuel-efficient cars.

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British Steam Car Hits the Road En Route to 170 MPH at Bonneville

THORNEY ISLAND, England — “No one goes round the back, there’s 360 horsepower of colorless death ’round there.”

It was a statement that made nearby fireman at a secure military base here prick up their ears. The British Steam Car, a potential Land Speed Record breaker, wasn’t belching its intense fire when it revved up on a track for the first time today, so there was no need for the firefighters’ services. Still, loose talk about dangerous infernos from Matt Candy, the vehicle’s project manager, was bound to get their attention.

The Jules-Verne-meets-Batmobile vehicle is being loaded up for a trip across the Atlantic, bound for the Bonneville Salt Flats and a potential rendezvous with racing history in late August. Burning liquid petroleum gas at 750° F to pressurize that 360-hp Curtis turbine, the 25-ft.-long Steam Car can turn 10.5 gallons of water a minute into some boiling-hot action for the record books—and wicked fast, with velocities in excess of 150 mph. That’s not much compared to the absolute land speed record of 763 mph, but it would be enough to top the 88-year-old international steam record of 127.66 mph­. The target speed for later this summer: 170 mph.

When the attempt is made, it will be the first time the Steam Car will run as a complete unit. All the car’s systems have been exercised individually on a test bed, and it got an eye-popping early workout in motion here today. But the whole thing will run together for the first time in the third week of August, when the supersonic engineering team will test the time-bending machine prior to an all-guns-blazing attempt at the record the following week.

“When I heard it was a steam car, I certainly had some mixed feelings about coming out of record-breaking retirement,” said Don Wales, nephew of the late Donald Campbell and grandson of Malcolm Campbell, who between them set some 20 land and water records. Don himself set the electric-car Land Speed Record in Bluebird Electric in 2001, and serves as chief test driver for the Steam Car. “The driver’s cockpit is probably the safest place on the entire car—it’s the blokes working on the machine who face the most risks.”

If the speeds the team aims to break are modest by most standards, the technical challenges certainly aren’t. The biggest problem has been the 12 micro boilers that have to make super heated steam, very quickly. Getting the maximum amount of energy from the burners into the water without allowing it to escape has been a formidable challenge.

Unlike a steam locomotive, which uses a steam-powered injector system, the British Steam Car uses compressed-air-powered hydraulics to inject distilled water and pre-prime itself. The water is pumped into the start of 1.86 miles of tubing to develop three megawatts of heat to convert water into 750 F steam. This super-heated “dry” steam is then directed down the car via heavily lagged pipes and two enormous industrial steam valves, which act as throttles, and then into the two-stage turbine. “That’s where we turn pressure into velocity,” says Candy. The steam is injected into the turbine at over two times the speed of sound; under the assault, the turbine revolves at up to 13,000 rpm. The turbine drives the rear wheels via a conventional crown wheel and pinion. The vehicle turns 10.5 gallons of water a minute into super-heated steam at 40 times atmospheric pressure.

“It’s a total-loss system,” says Candy. “We’re not condensing the steam or anything, we just throw it out the back and, as a consequence, we’re only about 10 percent thermally efficient.”

It takes longer to start the machine than it can run—eight minutes to get going with enough fuel, compressed air and water to run for three minutes, although the vehicle only needs two minutes to cross the measured mile. “We’ll actually coast through the line,” says Wales. “We’ll then let it roll to a stop rather than use the brakes, and by the time the team manages to find it, things should be cool enough to turn it around and prepare for the return run. If they can’t find it, it’s got a GPS system on it.” —Andrew English
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Connect with Your Creative Writer

Do you have to complete a piece of writing but are putting it off? A report, a blog article, or a letter? Are you finding that the moment you sit down to write, your mind seems to go blank? Crap! Writers block! What can you do about it?

Although, the term writers block is popular, this feeling of blockage and mind blanking is not specific to writing, but of any creative feats. Other examples include, brainstorming for a new business, dancing, musical performances, music composition, painting or photography. I’ve personally experienced this during my photography work, blanking out as I stand in front of a client waiting for me for direction. I call these Creative Blocks, where your mind just comes up empty and you feel lost. It’s purely mental.

Through practice and observation, I’ve gotten pretty good at getting past these blank moments, and this article shares some insights for unlocking your creativity. Throughout the article, I will be using writing as the example, but keep in mind that it is equally applicable to any creative activity.

Creativity & Mental Blocks

Before digging into how we can unlock these creative blocks, here are some observations on the subject of feeling mentally blocked.

• The more we Think about it, the worse it becomes. The more we think about not knowing what to write, the stronger the feeling of not knowing what to write, the harder is it to come up with creative and original content.
• Creativity is a miraculous interaction of the mind and spirit. Regardless of how we label it, I believe it is inter-linked with spiritual realm of things (not religion). Talk to any exceptional artists and they’ll explain that the creative space is comparable to that of no-mind spiritual state. My brilliant cellist friend once explained it perfectly, “that place in you which is infinite and unexplainable and nothing physical can compare to that space. When I am in that place, all thoughts clear out. It’s just me and the field of infinity.“
• We all have the capacity within us to access this place of infinite creativity. However, what may be blocking us is our mind, our thoughts, the inner noise created by ourselves, consciously and unconsciously.
• When we are working in that creative space, we are experiencing flow. We feel happy, content, and passionate. Time just flies. Think of the last time you were deeply in joy with writing, creating something or deeply immersed in a project. What did that feel like?
• There is no such thing as “I am not a creative person“, it may only be the case because we keep telling ourselves that. Creativity is something that can be cultivated. We are born with access to the creative space, some of us may be more in-tuned to it, but it is never too late to get in touch with that side of ourselves.
• When we need to produce something creative on a deadline, we may succumb to fear and start to procrastinate. Our thoughts get in the way sometimes, because we are afraid that we won’t be able to produce quality result in time, and so we push it away.