TIP DU JOUR: Buying a vehicle may be cheaper

Many online tools can help you decide whether to lease or buy a new vehicle. But as Consumer Reports Money Adviser points out, those calculators often don't factor in such costs as insurance, acquisition and "drive-off" fees and upfront sales taxes.

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Tesla Rolls Out Long-Awaited Electric Sports Car

LOS ANGELES -- It's safe to say Jeremy Snyder gets a charge out of the little two-seat Tesla roadsters whenever he pulls one off the lot, and it's not because each comes equipped with an all-electric engine.

As Snyder, head of client services for Tesla, put the pedal to the metal and took one of the sleek new automobiles down a sidestreet Thursday, its lithium-ion battery-powered engine didn't give off any sparks. But it did emit a constant, powerful-sounding hum, one resembling a much quieter version of a jet taking off.

"Accelerate pretty good?" Snyder, knowing the answer, asked as he put the car through its paces.

"I call it a turbine sound," he said of the engine's distinctive hum. "Because it's an electric motor it's got 100 percent torque all the time.


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Used-car dealer at new site

Drive Away Preowned has parked in a new location.

The used-car business will mark the completion of its new $1.2 million facility with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 5 p.m. today.

The new location at 1257 Manheim Pike opened April 1. The company's other, smaller location at 2212 Marietta Ave. soon will be consolidated there.

On Manheim Pike, the firm can display 75 cars, compared to 30 on Marietta Avenue, said president Brian Brightbill.

The Manheim Pike property had been home to a towing service and tire store over the years.
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Driving a fuel-efficient car isn't the only way to save

With the price of oil and gasoline hitting record highs, it's time to wake up and face the crude truth on how you can save money on energy costs.

As commodity traders push oil prices ever higher as the dollar recedes, there's little, if any, relief in sight at the fuel pump or from soaring utility bills.

Yet the deer-in-the-headlights attitude that most investors, vehicle owners and homeowners adopt is misguided. There are quite a few actions you can take to beat the escalating cost of energy.

The most common response to high gas prices is to buy a high-mileage vehicle.

If you have a long commute or simply drive a lot, you'll immediately see the savings. There will be longer times between fill-ups. It may not make sense to pay a premium for these cars, though.


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Diesel car sales plunge as price of gas hits home

Soaring diesel prices means sales of diesel-fueled recreational vehicles are sinking while sales of compact sedans are surging.The average retail price of diesel reached 1,624 won ($1.62) per liter last week, equal to 95 percent of the gasoline price at 1,705 won.With diesel prices almost catching up with gasoline prices, sales of domestic RVs, most of which are equipped with diesel engines, declined 7 percent in the first quarter of this year compared to a year earlier, while sales of domestic sedans increased 7 percent, according to Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association data.The sales of major RV models plunged year on year in the January-March period. Kia Motors�� Sorento declined 36 percent, Ssangyong Motor��s Rexton, 25 percent, Hyundai Motor��s Tucson, 13 percent and GM Daewoo��s Winstorm, 26 percent.Ssangyong Motor, which depends heavily on sport-utility vehicles, was hit especially hard.


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Sheriff: Car cameras aid crime fight

Some patrol cars for the St. Landry Parish Sheriff's Office are now equipped with video cameras and recording devices thanks to a $72,000 grant from the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission.

Sheriff Bobby Guidroz said the devices, in use in numerous departments throughout the nation, are an important crime fighting tool.

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Home-equity credit line one way to finance car

Q. I need to buy a new car and was wondering what would be more beneficial: Getting a home-equity loan or home-equity line of credit for approximately $25,000 at the average going rate, use the money to buy a car and deduct the interest from taxes, or pay cash for the car. I do not have a mortgage on my house, so obtaining home equity should not be a problem.

-- Looking for tax breaks

A. Cash is often a better bet than borrowing money on which you'll pay interest.

But the best choice for you really depends on three factors, says certified financial planner Reed Fraasa of Highland Financial in Riverdale, N.J.: first, what you think the cost of borrowing will be over the next three years; second, what your tax bracket is; and third, what you can earn on a fixed-rate investment over the next three years.


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