"too many jokes come to mind -- I'm not gonna comment" LOL! Just look at the one after you! LOL!

Thanks coughlin BUT I've heard predictions like this before and many seemed right around the corner. My fav example is flying cars... still waiting! Back in the 70's someone put wings on a Ford Pinto to show how possible it was and to prove that within a few years we'd all be driving flying cars. Still waiting. Tell you what, if I'm wrong please look me up on GasBuddy. Otherwise I'll look you up here in 2018 and ask where the driverless cars are. Ok?.

You wrote: "Not in my lifetime" Really? Well, unless you're planning on dying in the next ten years, it probably will. And just like headlights, windshields and doors on your car, it will probably won't be optional. From the article: "At the Urban Challenge in 2007, Lawrence Burns, then a General Motors vice president, said he expected driverless cars to be on the market by 2018, and the main obstacles to be governmental and institutional, rather than technological. Burns, now a University of Michigan professor and a vice chairman of Kansas City’s Midwest Research Institute, said last week that he is even more optimistic that any technological problems can be solved in the next few years."

Please become our Gas Buddy.

http://www.chevrolet.com/pages/open/default/future/volt.do "What happens if I travel more than 40 miles? Once the initial electric charge is depleted, the range-extending gas engine will kick in to seamlessly generate enough energy to continue to power the car for hundreds of additional miles."

Thanks for your post CruisinLinda. BUT, I did not say the US government gives preference to foreign companies to drill over US companies. I said that foreign companies are drilling off our coast (50 miles) but our companies cannot. It is a fact that Russia and China and others have rights to drill off our coast thanks to a Treaty with Cuba signed years ago by President Carter. Thanks again for allowing me to clarify.

You are mistaken that the US government gives preference to foreign companies to drill over US companies. Are you alluding to high bidders for drilling leases? Beyond 200 miles of the coast are international waters.

US Deficits you said what does it have to do with Gas. BurtB responded saying "What this has to do with Gas is: As the US deficit grows, the value of the dollar against other currencies falls. Since a barrel of oil is priced in dollars, as the dollar falls, the price of a barrel of oil goes up, so the price of Gas goes up" That was a very good explanation.

A tank-type engine heater is available at JC Whitney & elsewhere for about $50; maybe 30 minutes to install. see http://www.tognottisautoworld.com/parts-lookup.aspx?i=425859&source=googleps

I'd appreciate it if you'd contribute to my forum in the Fuel Economy Category. The Topic: Cold Weather Starting & Operating Procedures (i.e. below freezing) The southerners don't get it, but in my experience, cold weather affects the way seasoned operators care for their vehicles. What's your experience?