What if your fuel bill was $1,200 a month?

Now, this is pain at the pump.

Record-setting fuel prices have hammered California drivers, but few are reeling like Rick and Arleen Roberts of Los Banos.

Their monthly bill to fill up his diesel VW Golf and her Corolla: Just shy of $1,200.

No typo, no misplaced comma.

"It's killing me," said Rick, 50, a scientist for Roche Pharmaceutical in Palo Alto.

"I never believed we'd be paying this much," sighed Arleen, a catering manager for a hotel in Fresno. Yep, he commutes 220 miles a day over Pacheco Pass to the Peninsula. She travels 165 miles deep into the Central Valley. That's 1,925 miles a week — or more when they work six days out of seven, which both often do.

Some people criticized the couple for choosing to live so far from work, when gas prices are hovering around $3.63 a gallon and diesel is $4.18.


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QAF Auto To Unveil BMW΄s New X3

Bandar Seri Begawan - QAF Auto Sdn Bhd will be holding a roadshow this month at The Mall in Gadong, where they will be unveiling Bavarian Motor Works' (BMW) latest Sports Activity Vehicle (SAV) that has recently received accolades for being both efficient and safe.

Offering substantial enhancement of driving pleasure and economy, BMW's latest diesel-powered X3 is being brought to the local market by QAF Auto in hopes to further broaden its leading position in 2008 as the world's most successful SAY

"This is a totally new look for us, so the launching of the car can be compared to a facelift," QAF Auto Sales Manager Clement Chong told the Bulletin yesterday. The newly developed four-cylinder diesel in the X3 2.0d, along with numerous fuel-saving improvements, has been widely lauded for its efficiency and agility in its segment, BMW said in a media release.



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Fueling issues, educated guesses

In uncertain economic times for schools, one thing is almost a guarantee.

That guarantee is one that nearly every person who owns a car, truck or van can relate to. Whatever was paid this year for fuel cost it will almost certainly be more for the following year.

Although fuel cost is not necessary as big an issue for districts as the amount of funding the State of Michigan is going to pay out or how much enrollment will increase or decline, the cost of fuel for districts in the Cadillac area is a concern.

Much like trying to figure out the dollar amount the state is going to pay or the number of students a district might lose, there is no way of telling how much money is needed for fuel cost.

While districts don’t pay have to pay taxes on fuel and technology is making buses more efficient then they were in the past, the uncertainty of fuel prices has area districts looking for ways to stretch every transportation dollar.


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FPA's Rodriguez Keeps His Powder Dry And Outperforms In Sell-Off

Few things seem to slow down amateur race-car driver and First Pacific Advisors CEO Robert Rodriguez. Over the 10 years ended March 31, his FPA Capital Fund ranked No. 9 among small-cap value portfolios tracked by Morningstar. It ranked No. 2 so far this year going into Wednesday. .


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What will fuel our green future?

Green auto technology is making cars cleaner and more efficient, but no one knows for sure which technology will win out, a Vancouver Board of Trade luncheon was told yesterday.

Glen Ringdal, president of the New Car Dealers of B.C., laid out a five-pronged plan to help control greenhouse gases, beginning with cleaner fuels such as ethanol, biodiesel, natural gas, propane and diesel.

"We're looking into technology that can make ethanol from trees, waste growth, even garbage," said Ringdal. "There are even two large ethanol plants being built in Georgia that can make extra ethanol from pine trees.

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2008 New York International Auto Show Steve and Thom Wrap-Up

Four major US auto shows with international importance keep us busy all winter. Los Angeles begins the season in November where the Asian influence is felt and where automobile enthusiasm is most pervasive in the general populace. Detroit is next in January drawing by far the most international media attention and therefore the most new product introductions. But space is seriously limited. Chicago in early February is a wide open show mostly in terms of having the most space, but we always find great new stuff there as well. Now, here we are in New York in March where we see most of the fresh new products from the other three shows plus a few treats the manufacturers have saved for this final blast into the model year.

We, your intrepid Detroit Bureau team of Thom and Steve, drove the 11-hour, I-80 trek so we wouldn't have to suffer the ongoing indignities of airline travel.


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Nat'l Car Care Month right time to spring clean auto

The heat is coming. Your car is going to suffer, and your wallet may, too, if you don't prepare. Planning ahead and preparing your car may prevent it from needing an "unexpected" trip to the repair shop.

April is National Car Care Month -- the perfect time to visit your local repair shop and have a preventative maintenance inspection and checkup. For those who love their cars, it means the chance to scrub off winter's grit and grime and administer some well-deserved TLC.

Follow these 10 important tips on how to spring clean your machine:

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