Search

Reports that Zipcar is an automobile leasing company that operates around the clock and lets its cars be picked up at garages in 21 cities in the United States. Hourly or daily fees; Scion xBs; Volkswagen Golfs; BMW cars; 125 free miles; Insurance; In-and-out parking at the car's home garage; Driver's license check; Yearly membership.

The article offers the author's insights on her experience of taking her father to drive cross country from Boston, Massachusetts to Los Angeles, California.

FOR the next few hundred words, I am going to detail all the great attributes of the 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid and explain why you might want to buy such an economical car with so many cool features. Then I'm going to explain why you will probably ignore me and decide not to buy one. First, let's talk fuel economy: it is stellar for a car this large and useful. The Environmental Protection Agency rates the Fusion Hybrid at 41 miles a gallon in the city, 36 on the highway and 39 in combined driving. That is an incredible 8 m.p.g. better than the similar-size Toyota Camry Hybrid in city driving and 2 m.p.g. better on the highway. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Even in midsummer's heat, residents of the eight million or so households with oil-fired furnaces -- more than three-fourths of them in the Northeast -- are worried about winter. The price of heating oil has jumped almost 40 percent this year. Unless prices dive, which seems unlikely, many customers will face the double-whammy of higher fuel prices for their homes and cars. People with money in the bank were able to contract months ago for next winter's oil at then-lower prices. But millions of cash-strapped families will need help. With heating oil now at $4.50 a gallon, compared with $2.50 a year ago, a typical New England homeowner using about 600 gallons a year would see the winter fuel bill rise to $2,700, or nearly $500 a month during the coldest months. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

We've seen this New York standoff before. Gas prices go up, and cabdrivers demand a surcharge -- in this case, $1 a trip. And, as it did three years ago, the city's Taxi and Limousine Commission says no. New York did raise taxi fares two years ago, which helped drivers' incomes, at least until the price of staying on the road quickly climbed to more than $4 a gallon at area stations. According to drivers' advocates, costs have risen as much as $1,000 a month for some drivers. The issue is less pressing for those who own and operate one of the few hundred hybrid cabs in the 13,000-vehicle fleet. The fleet is to be completely hybrid by 2012, but for now, most cabs are Ford Crown Victorias, which get, at best, 15 miles a gallon in city driving. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Discusses parking rules in New York City. Claim of mayoral candidate Fernando Ferrer that parking meters near churches amount to a tax on worshipping imposed by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg; Others who wish to end Sunday parking meter rules for religious institutions, including mayoral candidate Gifford Miller; Question of whether people who ride mass transit to church should have their fares eliminated; Suggestion that eliminating the parking meter would have to respect religions other than Christianity; Reference to the book "Tepper Isn't Going Out," by Calvin Trillin.

Focuses on a study commissioned by business and labor leaders on the implementation of a single-occupant driving, which indicates how it affected the economy of New York City.

Reports that the New York City, New York Department of Sanitation is changing some of the parking restrictions it imposes on drivers for street cleaning purposes, in an effort to make the rules less burdensome on drivers. Details on the new rules and how they compare with the older ones; Comments on the effects of such rules on parking in the city; Outlook for public reaction.