At the big unveiling of the Chevy Volt, GM said the vehicle would be able to hold 12 gallons of liquid fuel and be able to go 640 miles on that energy and what was stored in the batteries. Well, that announcement was 18 months ago and things have changed since then. The latest that we've heard about is that the liquid fuel tank will be something smaller than the original estimate.

Kicking Tires quotes "a source" that says that the exact size of the smaller tank is not yet set but that, "We're working on that." The new goal is to give the Volt a range of 360 miles without any help from the initial charge, so that would imply a tank of maybe eight or so gallons - still plenty for most drivers most days in a PHEV like this. While the aerodynamics of the Volt have proven to be much more important than weight when it comes to increasing the miles per gallon number, every bit counts. We're waiting on a reply from GM to see if the smaller fuel tank move is official.

UPDATE: GM's response was that they will share "the detailed technical information on the production vehicle at the appropriate time."

[Source: Kicking Tires]

After Pittsburgh police noticed a Hummer (yep, a Hummer... what else?) sitting conspicuously close to a five-hundred gallon tank of gas at a golf course, the vehicle suddenly took off. Considering that the top speed of a Hummer is right around one-hundred miles per hour, we can safely say that the driver was giving it all he had in an attempt to get away. The high-speed chase ended as the Hummer smashed into a tree and rolled several times in a nearby parking lot. The eighteen-year-old-driver sustained leg injuries which required a hospital stay and will face charges after being deemed healthy.

Sixty-eight gallons of gasoline were said to be found missing from the tank by the golf course superintendent. To recap: this story is further proof that:

1. Hummers are very expensive to fill up.
2. Gas thefts are on the rise in the face of record-high fuel prices.

[Source: WPXI News]

Ever hear of Pricelock? It's a service for fleet operators to purchase gas in bulk at a set price to buffer the company budget from rising fuel fluctuations. Chrysler thinks that new car buyers should be able to participate as well, through the company's new "Let's Refuel America Gas Card."

Chrysler announced a three-year $2.99 price guarantee on fuel costs to anyone who buys a new Chrysler, Dodge or Jeep vehicle between tomorrow and June 2. Certain vehicles, like SRT models, Vipers, Crossfires and Sprinters, are excluded. Other limiting factors are that you can only buy fuel (regular gas, diesel or E85) that works in your new car and there's an annual limit based on driving 12,000 miles. So, there won't be a lot of hooking up your friends through this deal. The deal works at any gas station because the savings are taken care through a credit card on file with Chrysler; the fuel supplier charges the full price, and Chrysler pays the difference.

Let's calculate this out. Pretend you're about to buy a PT Cruiser convertible. The EPA says it gets 21 mpg (combined). So, 12,000 miles at 21 mpg is 571 gallons. At today's average gas price of $3.61 a gallon, you'll be saving 62 cents a gallon. During the first year, that's $354. Over three years - should gas prices stay the same (ha!) - you're talking $1,000, easy. Is that enough to make you want to buy a Chrysler? In any case, should prices ever dip below $2.99, nothing will stop you from paying for your gas without using the Chrysler-bound card. Get more details after the jump.

The Kelley Blue Book seems to track nearly everything related to cars and transportation. We recently became aware that a new KBB survey indicated that consumers are changing their car-buying habits because of high fuel prices. Not every purchaser is choosing as efficient a vehicle as they could, to be sure. According to KBB's latest survey, new car buyers are spending less on non-essential activities, like going to the movies, eating out and even purchasing new homes, all because of those same high gas prices. This data seems to indicate that it's not just the automotive industry feeling the pain -- the entire economy is at the mercy of petroleum.

Only twenty-two percent of respondents indicate that high gas prices are not affecting their spending habits at all. One bit of good news is that carpooling and other alternative transportation methods are on the rise, which should result in some reduction of vehicle emissions. Still, the five-percent increase cited since October of last year indicates that the public still has a long way to go before carpooling or mass-transit becomes a serious option in our collective minds.

On a recent episode of the Daily Show, the spike and price of a barrel of oil was explained (see videos below the fold). The comedy news show's explanation includes $15 of the $104 for a barrel of oil going towards trying to convince the public that the oil companies are not raping the environment. Another $25 goes towards blackening the oil because oil actually comes out of the ground rainbow colored. Who knew? The Daily Show also took a shot at President Bush for his press conference where he said he was unaware of the predictions that gas prices could reach $4 a gallon and for his speech at the WIRC.

[Source: Daily Show]

Are high gas prices having an impact on EV sales? Yep.

Washington state news station KING5 did a report on an electric car dealership's recent sales increase. Jim Johnson of MC Electric Cars has sold more electric cars in the last month than the last three years combined. With a barrel of oil trading around $105, NEV (neighborhood electric cars) sales probably won't decrease even though NEVs have a top speed of 35, a range of around 50 miles or so and no air bags. The amazing cost savings of a penny a mile (versus fifty cents a mile for fossil fuels, according to Jim in the video) seems to have reached a tipping point with the public. The news report also says electric cars with air bags will be available the middle of this year.

[Source: KING5]

Two days ago, we told you President Bush said he was unaware some analysts were predicting $4 for a gallon of gas in the U.S.. The day before Bush made those remarks, White House press secretary Dana Perino was actually asked about gas prices and she said "we're mindful of it." Yesterday, when asked if Bush was "joking around" when he said he did not know their was talk of $4 gas, the White House said that "the President's point was that neither his advisors nor Energy Department analysts are at this point forecasting $4-a-gallon gasoline."

But $4.00 gas is actually here today is some parts of the country. What does the White House have to say to that? "I think that the national average, as of earlier this week, was $3.15, according to the Energy Department and other surveys" says the White House. The EIA actually says $3.13 and "other surveys" must mean things like the AAA survey, which says $3.16. So, the White House uses multiple surveys for the average price of gas but only use a single, government source for predicting gas prices? That makes perfect sense because the EIA has been so incredibly accurate and its predictions have never changed (/sarcasm).

The price of a barrel of oil went over $103 recently and it's reasonable to think that, as a former oil man, the president knows $4 for a gallon of gas is very possible, even if he didn't see the predictions. Perhaps he was trying to defuse what might have been seen as an endorsement of the $4 prediction in the question, a number the EIA has not officially predicted. However, his appearing to have "no clue" on what analysts are predicting, as the CNN video below the fold says, is more disconcerting to some than the actual $4 predictions themselves.

[Source: The White House]

This morning in a press conference, President Bush was asked about statements he made on tax breaks for oil companies (see video below the fold). Yesterday, in support of the Energy tax bill (which the President threatened veto), Rep. Steny Hoyer quoted Bush as having said that oil companies do not need incentives when oil is at $55 a barrel (again, see video below). Bush says he talked about taking back "some" tax breaks from oil companies, or at least "certain aspects."

Did Rep. Hoyer misquote The President? Here is exactly what he said in 2005: "And so one of the initiatives that I will push, again, is to get an energy bill out. I will tell you with $55 oil we don't need incentives to oil and gas companies to explore. There are plenty of incentives. What we need is to put a strategy in place that will help this country over time become less dependent. It's really important. It's an important part of our economic security, and it's an important part of our national security."

President Bush also took a few questions on gas prices and said he was unaware analysts were predicting $4 for a gallon of gas (video after the jump). W must not be a regular AutoblogGreen reader, because we first wrote about predictions of $4 for a gallon for gas last October. We wonder if the Commander-in-Chief knows that oil hit a new high of $102.74/barrel today, which tops the inflation-adjusted high of $102.53? Dana Perino spin-control mode in 3...2...1...

[Source: White House, C-SPAN]

Chavez is backing off his threats to cut oil sales to America that we recently told you about. According to Bloomberg, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on state television that, "We don't have plans to stop sending oil to the U.S. ... All I've said is that, if the U.S. attacks us, we'll have to decide not to send one drop of oil to the U.S." False alarm everyone, back to using gas. Chavez meant if we attacked him, he would stop oil shipments ... which would make sense.

While America is in good shape to receive Venezuelan oil, things are not developing as well for oil companies. Chavez did not back off stopping sales to Exxon and he is considering a "tax on sudden earnings." I kinda like that idea.

Related:

• Exxon is back at the top with record profits again
• BREAKING: Venezuela stops selling oil to Exxon
• Chavez might stop selling oil to the U.S.

[Source: Bloomberg]

Former fed chair Alan Greenspan says the electric car is the best solution to high gas prices and we need to find ways to make more of them. Speaking at Cambridge Energy Research Associates (CERA)'s CERAWeek 2008, Greenspan said we must "find a way to move cars to electric" because using electric cars "will have a large impact on world petroleum demand." Who's gonna argue with Alan Greenspan?

Related:

• Greenspan on ethanol: it'll play a limited role
• Greenspan says (basically) that with higher MPG cars, Iraq war could have been avoided
• High-gas prices not significant yet, states Greenspan

[Source: News & Observer, Raging Bull via Treehugger]

Looks like Chavez was not kidding around when he said he would stop oil shipments. Late Tuesday, according to Reuters, Venezuela stopped selling oil to the Exxon Mobil. What does this mean? It's unclear and no one is commenting, according to MSNBC. We will have more as the story develops.

[Source: Reuters, MSNBC]

Royal Dutch Shell made $27.6 billion in 2007, a European and U.K. annual corporate profit record. Sound familiar? It should. Exxon Mobil was breaking records a year ago when they reported $39.5 billion profit. Everything is not great at Shell because profits for the last few months were actually a little less than expected.

It all has to do with margins. You see, Shell is not discovering as much or refining as much oil as they did even just one year ago. Feel sorry for them? Me neither. Gas prices will probably hit $3.50 a gallon before June. Who knows where it might go after that?

So, you better go green or your green will go.

Related:

• Spring could bring $4 gallons of gas to the U.S.
• US Gov't: A gallon of gas will cost $3.50 before June
• Oil prices set for highest annual gain this decade

[Source: Telegraph, Herald]

Soon-to-be hybrid owner Paris Hilton ran out gas recently and, go figure, the paparazzi stalking helped out by picking some up for her. The video above is a Jimmy Kimmel Live routine about the incident that includes footage of the entire incident taken by the paparazzi. In the video, we hear Paris say she "has never put gas in the car" to which Kimmel comments "usually when she runs out of gas, she just buys a new car."

Now it all makes sense. I think this video explains the logic behind Paris' statement that she will buy a hybrid: they get good mileage which, ta da, means more time before you have to buy a new car. If that is not funny enough for you, what Paris does with the, well, just watch. What she does proves that the rising price of gas is not a big concern to super-rich heiresses who drive $200,000 Bentleys.

Related:

• Paris Hilton: "I'm buying a hybrid car right now"
• Paris Hilton is getting a hybrid Hummer "designed"
• Paris Hilton gives up her Range Rover for an Escape Hybrid, is scared for the environment
• Video: Paris Hilton in a Prius

[Source: YouTube via AOL's Video Blog]

Imagine a classic radio announcer's voice in a static-filled newscast. He says:

"Ladies and Gentleman: I am standing at a Washington, DC gas station. You can see the cars lining up. Due primarily to a shortage of rubber needed for the war effort, gasoline is to be rationed to avoid unnessary driving. Normal citizens are limited to just 4 gallons a week. Others can get more gas if they have special needs or obligations such as police officers, doctors, and religious leaders. People are not happy about this rationing on top of the food rationing already underway and the Victory Gardens everyone is growing in addition to putting all the time in on jobs and on buying war bonds. Still this what everyone is doing because it justs seems to make sense. All Americans want to see this war won and the soldiers, sailors and airmen back home as soon as possible. People who act like there is no war on are the ones that everyone else frowns upon. Hopefully, US citizens will never have to ration fuel again."

Gas rationing did reduce the amount of driving during the Second World War but there were a lot of holes in the system. Gas rationing of a sort occurred 31 years later during the 1973 Energy Crisis (limited sales to each customer) and then about 8 years later during the Iran Crisis (odd-even gas rationing). Again, Americans just sucked it up and generally complied until the emergency was over. Now, in late 2007, we have been at war (in Iraq and Afghanistan) for nearly 5 years but we haven't really had to sacrifice anything for the war effort. Will gas rationing ever be needed again in the US? Will Americans used to unlimited travel on the interstate highway system and long daily commutes be able to adjust? Our grandparents did. It happened 65 years ago, and . . . You Are There!

Oil traded at over $90 Friday and the market took a tumble. It's gone "down" to the mid- and upper-80s since then. When will these prices start to effect the cost of gas at the pump? We can expect 20 more cents to the price of a gallon by mid- to late-November says Sarah Emerson, director of petroleum at Energy Security Analysis Inc. Stephen Schork, principal of The Schork Report, says "$4 gasoline is a near certainty in New York and many other areas of the country in the spring if crude prices stay at current levels." For all those people that like to say, well if you adjust for inflation... guess what? We are actually trading above those prices right now. According to Newsday, the price of a barrel of oil "surpassed the inflation-adjusted record for crude used in the United States, set in March 1981. The actual price then was $34.78 a barrel but the U.S. Department of Energy says that equates to $84.73 in today's dollars." Thanks for bumming me out, Newsday.

[Source: Newsday]