That weird, cheaper gas station down the street

A couple of months ago, the first bio-diesel/flex-fuel station in town opened a few blocks from where I live, offering alternative fuel options to cars with the option. What the hell is flex-fuel? Is it any good for the environment, in addition to being about $1 cheaper per gallon (2.99)?

According to CNN Money, Flex-fuel vehicles running on E85 fuel will do the following:

• Gives less fuel efficiency (in comparison to gasoline)
  
• Even while the fuel cost is cheaper, it will still cost you more each year with less fuel efficiency than running with gasoline.
• Give small increase in peak horsepower
• Burns more cleanly than gasoline in terms of air pollution, however, since they must burn more, it makes things close to even in comparison to regular gasoline.
  

If your car is a flex-fuel vehicle it should indicate it somewhere either on the car itself or in the manual. Flex-fuel vehicles have been made since around 1991, so it isn't completely unheard of. Flex-fuel stations are hard to find outside of the Midwest (I wouldn't know, though), due to the fact that corn is the heavily involved ingredient in flex-fuel, however, it can take many other forms. New forms of fuel, like cellulostic ethanol (made from plant parts), are in the making which may replace petroleum based parts of fuel.

So if you are thinking of investing in a new or used eco-friendly vehicle, you'd be better going with the Prius, or maybe just a more fuel efficient car (I am proud to say my Pontiac Vibe makes the Kelley's Blue Book List of most fuel efficient cars). You dont have to have a great car so help the Earth either, many parts of a car are recyclable as time takes its toll, so be sure if a car part needs to be replaced, whether its the oil to tires to batteries, the old part may be recycled. Better, greener cars are on their way too. For those of you who watched "Who Killed the Electric Car?" Saturn is now in the process of developing the Saturn Flextreme, a 100% electric car with zero emissions, and very sleek as well. Rock on Saturn!

For more information on Fuel-Flex vehicles, here are a couple of resources:
Kelley Blue Book Article
CNN Money

Transportation across the country

As a tip I have been giving away to friends and family lately (since I live so far from them), there are 2 other forms of transportation that I am aware of for long road trips that do not involve flying (expensive) and driving yourself (tiring).

First, consider taking the train! Amtrak is a system that provides transportation to many major U.S. cities at about half of the cost of flying. See the sights, or just relax while you travel. Traveling by train, I have looked, typically takes about as much time as it would if you were driving yourself. The delays come from making stops along the route.

Secondly, there is also megabus.com. Megabus provides a bus system with extremely cheap fares ($5-30), however, there are some limitations here. A) It only goes to MAJOR U.S. cities. So if you don't live close to a major metropolitan area, this could be a problem. B) Since you are going by bus, can take much longer than it would than driving yourself or by the Amtrak system. If time is of the essence, this might not be the best option.

If you are taking an upcoming trip, or would like to but do not have the money to fly and/or can't drive, there are some other options out there. If any readers have some additional travel shortcuts, send them my way or post them in the comment section!

Getting a AAA Membership

If you own a car, or travel with someone frequently in their car, consider getting a AAA membership. Although they provide many forms of insurance, their membership program provides 24-hour roadside assistance at very reasonable prices. Basic membership dues start at $53 a year. Plus, you save by using your AAA membership EVERYWHERE. Hotels, restaurants, entertainment, you name it, you will likely get a discount of some kind (The AAA website provides a list of discounts for your area when a zip code is entered.)

I can advocate that AAA can be a real lifesaver when those inconvenient, and sometimes huge car emergencies come up. My Grandmother still has a membership and anytime I was having an issue with the car, like one time I got locked out of the car, she called AAA, they dispatched an associated AAA towing/auto service, and they came and unlocked my car, free of charge. All you have to do is have the AAA member present. Just this past winter I was in another car conundrum on the road (on the way to the airport, just our luck), and I wished we would have had a AAA membership (We have since moved out of my Grandma's area :( ) it would have saved a lot of worry and money, since towing a car in it self is usually around $100-$150 dollars. (Depending on the level of membership, AAA will agree to tow your car x-amount of miles.)

For the discounts and personal reassurance a AAA membership can provide, I believe it is worth the small cost. Check out what they can offer you at http://www.aaa.com