Gas From State to State

Gas prices can vary substantially from state-to-state and this has a lot to do with demand. In less populated regions of the U.S. it is not surprising to find cheaper gas. This is true within cities as well, try driving from South Central Los Angeles to Beverly Hills and you will find gas prices increase the closer you get to the prime location of Beverly Hills.

California has redone gasoline that meets stricter guidelines than those required by clean-gas laws. This provision makes gas in California burn cleaner but can also mean a higher price at the pump due to the additional processing required.

The Midwest saw gas prices far above the national average as they required ethanol-blended gas before the rest of the country. Since this special blend of gas was not as readily available it was quite possible that demand could exceed supply and thus pricing was higher in the middle of the country. While this became a national standard in 2007 it is factors like this that can produce varying gas prices from state to state.

The Birth of The Muscle Car ??

The growing public interest in speed and power gave birth to what many regard as the first muscle car, the 1949 Oldsmobile Rocket 88. It was a car any hot-rodder could understand. A powerful new engine in the lighter Oldsmobile body. And the engine was a breakthrough. America's first high-compression overhead-valve V-8, the result of research begun at General Motors well before WWII.

Though GM's Cadillac Division introduced a similar V-8 for '49, it was the smaller, fleeter Olds 88s that grabbed public attention, especially when they started to dominate stock-car racing, which along with drag racing and the beginnings of NASCAR was blooming.

Because success in Detroit never goes unchallenged for long, the Rocket 88s soon had showroom competition and a horsepower race was on. By 1955, most every U.S. nameplate offered light, efficient V-8s. Two of the best remain performance legends to this day.


One was Chrysler Corporation's Hemi, first offered for 1951 and named for the half-sphere or hemispherical shape of its chambers. No less significant was the 1955 Chevrolet small-block V-8, a design so right that its basic engineering concepts are still in production.

Birth of the Car

The first milestone vehicle was built in Germany in 1889 by Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach. Powered by a 1.5 hp, two-cylinder gasoline engine, it had a four-speed transmission and traveled at 10 mph. Another German, Karl Benz, also built a gasoline-powered car the same year. The gasoline-powered automobile, or motor car, remained largely a curiosity for the rest of the 19th century, with only a handful being manufactured in Europe and the United States.

The first automobile to be produced in quantity was the 1901 Curved Dash Oldsmobile, which was built in the United States by Ransom E. Olds. Modern automobile mass production, and its use of the modern industrial assembly line, is credited to Henry Ford of Detroit, Michigan, who had built his first gasoline-powered car in 1896. Ford began producing his Model T in 1908, and by 1927, when it was discontinued, over 18 million had rolled off the assembly line.

Sorry Toyota

Toyota issued a recall covering 2.3 million late model cars, SUVs and pickup trucks several weeks ago, broadening its largest recall ever and acknowledging that potential accelerator pedal problems were more numerous than previously acknowledged.

Toyota previously recalled about 4.2 million Toyota and Lexus vehicles to reduce the risk of pedal trapping caused by floor mats, according to a news release issued by Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. About 1.7 million Toyota vehicles are subject to both recalls, the company said.

Toyota stated in "rare instances" the accelerator pedal may stick in a partially depressed position or return slowly to the idle position.

Toyota previously had maintained there was no evidence of a mechanical fault linked to reported bursts of unintended acceleration that prompted the original recall last year.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration had received reports of 100 incidents at the time of Toyota's first recall. Those reports included 17 crashes and five fatalities possibly linked to floor mats and accelerator pedals in Toyota cars and trucks.

One of those crashes involved a Lexus that accelerated to more than 120 mph before crashing in San Diego, killing four people.

The safety stumbles have harmed Toyota's reputation in the U.S. as a builder of dependable, high-quality cars. Last year's recall was the sixth-largest ever in the United States.

Vehicles affected by the latest recall are:

• 2009-2010 RAV4
• 2009-2010 Corolla
• 2009-2010 Matrix
• 2005-2010 Avalon
• 2007-2010 Camry
• 2010 Highlander
• 2007-2010 Tundra
• 2008-2010 Sequoia
I think that this Recall is pure proof that this so called dependable Toyota and Honda are supposivley superior to American cars when in reality they are not. Every automaker has their issues with defects and recalls, but this one for Toyota is massive and should be seen as a wake up call to the American people. American cars are safer,more relaible, and even becoming cheaper. So i think that more people should look at an American option before they put there foot on the pedal of a Toyota!

The V-8

A V8 engine is a V engine with eight cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of four cylinders, in most cases set at a right angle to each other but sometimes at a narrower angle, with all eight pistons driving a common crankshaft.In its simplest form, it is basically two straight-4 engines sharing a common crankshaft. However, this simple configuration, with a single-plane crankshaft, has the same secondary dynamic imbalance problems as two straight-4s, resulting in vibrations in large engine displacements. As a result, since the 1920s most V8s have used the somewhat more complex cross plane crankshaft with heavy counterweights to eliminate the vibrations. This results in an engine which is smoother than a V6, while being considerably less expensive than a V12 engine. Racing V8s continue to use the single plane crankshaft because it allows faster acceleration and more efficient exhaust system designs.