Clark recently bought an Internet clock radio for his wife Lane's birthday…and she was underwhelmed to say the least. At first glance, the gadget Clark bought her for $100 looked like a very boring and traditional clock radio.

But a smile came over her face as soon as she plugged it in and the device picked up the wifi connection in their home. Lane now has access to 11,000 radio stations from around the world for FREE. That includes virtually any commercial station in the United States, plus every format of music from the most obscure to the most mainstream with hundreds of choices in each category.

No wonder satellite giant Sirius XM -- a paid subscription service -- is suffering. Internet radio is the future of radio. Within the next 18 months, Internet radios will be in cars and offer the same kind of access to motorists for free. Of course, you may pay a connection fee for the wifi, but the programming itself will be free.

Clark thinks Internet radio devices have one substantial advantage over simply listening to a free radio stream on your computer: You don't have to be tech-savvy or computer-minded to use an Internet radio.

Clark has always loved maps and used to relish getting the folding maps at AAA when he was planning a trip. Now he hasn't unfolded a map in years since getting his first GPS. His most recent GPS was the Dash, which he raves is "the most phenomenal GPS to date ever."

The prices on GPS units can be as cheap as $60 or $80 for a no-name brand or $100 for a name brand such as Magellan or Tom Tom. You can't go wrong buying a GPS from any of the Big 3 -- Garmin, Magellan or Tom Tom. Clark's personal preference is for Magellan out of the three big players.

The penny-pincher is often asked if you need to spend more than $100 on a GPS. The answer is no, the $100 models will do the job just fine.

Need more convincing? Think about it like this: If your GPS is stolen from your car, at least you're only out $100. But that smashed-in car window will probably run you more than that, as Clark's wife recently discovered.

Honda is the envy of the manufacturing world for the flexibility and efficiency of their plants.

Here's a question for you: How long does it take the Japanese automaker to go from making, say, an SUV to a different model of car -- on the same line in the same assembly plant? A stunning 5 minutes, according to a Wall Street Journal report. And how much does it cost? Absolutely nothing, thanks to the use of modular robots that can be quickly adapted.

By comparison, it takes Ford a whopping 13 months and a staggering $75 million to make a similar change at one plant. That's what Detroit is up against. We taxpayers are going to be asked to keep the Big 3 Motown automakers in business in the coming months. But in the free market, people always choose to buy from the most efficient producers.

Until the Big 3 can get creative solutions like Honda, it won't matter how much money we throw at them.

If you have an emergency and call 911, it feels like forever until the ambulance arrives, right? That's the mindset of the American people today as we instantly want automakers to put more fuel-efficient cars on the road.

Business Week recently reported on the Ford ECOnetic, a vehicle that gets 65 mpg, runs on diesel and is available in Europe only. Huh?! One of our automakers making a great vehicle like this and not selling it in the United States? It turns out Ford can't figure out how to manufacture the ECOnetic over here without losing money on each car!

As a nation, we went from wanting the biggest Terminator-style gas-guzzling SUVs to wanting total gas sippers almost overnight. But there's been major lag time on the manufacturing side.

Yet all hope is not lost. Clark promises we'll have a lot of choices over the next 24 months. By 2010, we'll have the GM Volt and other fuel-efficient cars. In the next few months, Honda will have an affordable hybrid available with a price tag in the upper teens.

It just takes a while to make a long-term change. We will get there as long as we don't lose focus when gas becomes cheaper.

The Norwegians have a new electric car coming to the United States in 2009 that's got Clark very excited. It's called the TH!NK City and it gets 110 miles on a single charge and goes up to 65 mph. The cost? About 2 cents a mile! And it doesn't eat up foreign imported oil like a gas-engine vehicle.

In other news, a group of researchers in the lab have developed an easy way to take sugar and turn it into a power plant for a hydrogen-powered vehicle. This development is not ready for the mainstream yet, but it's in the works. There are a lot of promising advances that are going to take a while to materialize in the marketplace.

In the meantime, Clark wants to encourage you to look at offbeat transportation alternatives. Washington D.C. has launched a Smartbike program. You pay $40/year for access to bicycles that are strategically placed around town. Users have a code to unlock the bikes and lock them up again at the other end of their commute. It's almost like a Zipcar program for bikes!

Worried about getting too sweaty during your ride? Buy an electric bike for around $600 and it will be no sweat getting around. Clark knows this all sounds kooky, but we need to expand our minds and realize we're not sitting ducks for foreign-oil interests. Christa has long had a fascination with a bicycle that runs on a weed whacker motor. If you Google "weed whacker bicycle," you'll even find videos that detail how to convert your bike.

Clark is often way ahead of the curve when it comes to money-saving vehicles.

Decades ago, he got a 3-wheeled car called the Freeway that got 100 mpg. Recently he read that an automaker named ZAP has teamed with the state of Kentucky to make an electric 3-wheeled car. The ZAP will go 40 mph and cost about 2 cents/mile to operate.

About 8 years ago, Clark bought his first hybrid -- a Honda Insight. Today, another hybrid called the Prius is in such demand that even 2-year-old models with 30,000 miles are selling for the manufacturer's suggested retail price.

Last year, Clark got the Honda Civic GX -- a natural-gas vehicle. Now comes word that his new ride is the hardest car to get in the United States!

That puts Clark in a dilemma: Should he capitalize on the situation and sell his Honda Civic for more than he paid for it? Or should he keep it and continue to enjoy the tremendous fuel savings? What would a capitalist do? He'll have to run the numbers and get back to you!

When it comes to research about reliable cars, there are two highly respected sources -- Consumer Reports and J.D. Power and Associates.

The latter's 2008 Vehicle Dependability Study shows that the most reliable cars are made by Lexus. They're followed by Mercury, Cadillac, Toyota and Acura.

When it comes to the worst of the worst, Land Rover is in last place -- again. Faring slightly better were Suzuki, Kia, Isuzu and Saab. In fact, Saab was named as the most-improved nameplate this year.

In addition to J.D. Power's tally, you should also check the April issue of Consumer Reports each year -- particularly if you're in the market for a used car.

Brazil has long won praise from Clark for their energy independence thanks to native sugar. Virtually all their cars can run on sugar or gas or a combination of both. They also have had huge discoveries of oil as of late. In an ironic twist, Brazil may even join OPEC in the future because of their vast quantities!

The neighboring country of Colombia, meanwhile, also gets its gas from sugar. But where they're really leading the charge is with bio-diesel. Colombia uses palm oil, yucca, sugar beets and rapeseed oil to efficiently create diesel.

McCain and Obama have both been clear about the need for a new national energy policy with alternatives. This is not pie in the sky stuff, folks. Just look at our Southern hemisphere neighbors.

That being said, it's a kick in the teeth to our allies in Brazil that our Congress charges a 54-cent/gallon tariff for Brazilian-made energy. Meanwhile, American consumers are being held over a barrel of oil at the pump. Moreover, OPEC doesn't face any tariff whatsoever to send us oil. What is Congress thinking?

Other countries are getting it together on energy. Why not us?

The Internet is truly going to be everywhere. Chrysler is putting a wireless Internet service called UConnect Web in all its cars. The hope is that people won't create a road hazard by surfing while they drive!

This idea of the Internet in vehicles became popular with the high-end bus services that operate on city-to-city routes throughout the Northeast. The bus carriers put in wireless Internet capabilities in a bid to attract business travelers.

Meanwhile, American Airlines is testing Internet for it fleet of planes. AA is using strategically placed towers -- similar to cell phone towers -- to implement the technology. Clark expects the market price will be around $10 a flight.

Boeing lost money when they tried equipping their planes with Internet capabilities using a satellite-based technology. Their price point would have been around $30 a flight.

Some travelers see airplanes as the last sanctuary away from work, but Clark would like the ability to surf the 'Net at 30,000 feet -- if the price is right.

Several months ago, Clark first spoke about the Sirius/XM merger. Many people in rural areas love satellite radio, but Clark doesn't get it. Why would you pay money for something when there's a cheaper option?

The alternative is called HD Radio, and it's a free service that's only being used by about 1 million people. Think of HD Radio as a digital TV signal for your radio -- that's the quality of the broadcast.

Every station can get up to 3 channels of HD and then deliver multiple kinds of content. So a rock station, for example, may be able to expand its format to include classic rock and alternative rock with the extra channels.

All of this is free -- you just need the receiver that can be up to $150 installed. The sound you'll get is phenomenal -- equivalent to a CD.

So who cares about the satellite merger? You have better and cheaper choices out there. In the future, more car radios will allow you to listen to Internet radio. This development really promises to threaten terrestrial radio in a way satellite never did.

CLARKONOMICS: Your favorite penny-pincher walked to the studio today. It’s something he likes to do several times a year when the weather is nice. Clark lives only 5.6 miles from the studio and the cost to walk is free. In fact, Clark saved about $6 today by not operating his car…and he got exercise. It’s like his own Declaration of Independence from high gas prices.

The futures market is showing oil at $140/barrel. Less a year ago, we forget that oil was under $50/ barrel. There has been a massive run-up in price, especially for airlines and other transportation-based businesses.

Most people aren’t fortunate enough to be able to walk to work like Clark. But there’s always something you can do to fight back against the high prices at the pump. For example, Honda will be rolling out a huge new fleet of affordable hybrids in 2009. The payback should be very quick for buyers; the hybrid version of a car will only be about $1,900 more than the traditional gas engine version.

Nissan, meanwhile, is launching a battery-powered car in the next 2 years. They’ve partnered with NEC to make a new battery for plug-in hybrids and electric cars. It will be beta tested in forklifts, so beware if you’re an operator!

The point is there are real solutions coming. Oil was previously so cheap that we could almost be forgiven for not being more energy smart. But to paraphrase Winston Churchill, “The American people are finally getting around to doing the right thing after trying nearly everything else.”

It used to be that weather was the safest casual conversation starter. Today it's the price of gas. Clark was stunned when he was filling up his wife's car and the bill came to $57; he knows that many folks can top that easily, but it was shocking to him! Recently while filling up a rental car, the pump didn't shut off properly and spewed out additional gasoline. Every last drop is precious these days. We are in a time when the high prices have us more focused on alternative solutions than ever before.

Clark loves his natural-gas vehicle, but that type of car hasn't been embraced by the masses. It can be difficult to find a filling station. Still, he firmly believes that American ingenuity will come up with answers to end our foreign oil dependence.

Here's an example: A man named Floyd Butterfield started the E-Fuel Corporation and is selling a home-fueling station that's the size of washer/dryer stack unit. It allows you to take sugar and make it into fuel to power your car. The price of the device is $10K, so the payback is nowhere near immediate. The New York Times reports that the sugar it would take to create a gallon of fuel would cost around 30 cents.

Will this catch on? Is it vaporware? We don't know yet. But the point is bright people are working on alternatives to power our vehicles. GM is preparing an electric car called the Volt, and Toyota is working on its plug-in hybrids. Meanwhile, there are experiments to turn tree waste into fuel, and Pres. Bush is a fan of switch grass as a fuel.

Many of these experiments won't prove viable. But we're at a new time when we're willing to listen and learn from people we might have dismissed as kooks in the past. For example, Clark is a fan of electric bikes for city commuting. They cost a third of a cent per mile to run and emit nearly zero pollution. Just be prepared to get wet on rainy days!

Many people listen to music using Internet radio. Pandora is probably one of the easiest to use and it's customizable, which allows you to build your own radio station online. Right now there's a big fuss about the XM/Sirius satellite radio merger. But Clark says, "Who cares?" After all, you have to pay about $12/month for satellite radio! He understands why long-distance truck drivers and other motorists in rural areas would want satellite radio. But when Clark flies on an airline that offers satellite radio, he can't find anything that he likes! There's just trashy content like Howard Stern. Clark thinks the shock jock was more interesting when he had FCC limitations and you had to use your imagination with what he said. Now there are no limits and the content is just not as compelling.

Clark just loves that we have so much choice; that's why he's not upset about the possible monopoly merger in the satellite radio world. We have MP3 music players, Internet radio and HD Radio, to name a few of the choices. If you're not familiar with HD Radio, it allows you to get multiple channels of music on a given frequency for free in your local market. Meanwhile, Apple is looking at selling iPods that will cost more and come with unlimited music. This business model was first explored by Nokia. The bottom line is that the major record labels failed to set up their Berlin Wall around music. They created a marketplace where people simply steal what they want. As far as the Apple deal goes, all the big labels will likely be on board with their entire catalogs for the life of the iPod device. You'll also be able to download a certain number of songs and use them as you wish.

Clark has been big on the electric car deal since the 1970s. While he doesn't know much about the science behind it, he does know that energy alternatives will help rescue us from the dangers of buying imported oil. Clark gets all excited when he hears about new breakthroughs, but then he gets crestfallen when they don't prove commercially viable. Yet his hope always triumphs over his experiences. Toshiba has now announced they have a lithium-ion battery with a 10-year lifespan that can be recharged in 5 minutes. It will ship in 90 days for use in electric bikes, forklifts and construction machinery. If it's successful, it will be available for cars in 3 years.

Speaking of cars, Clark is still hot on his natural-gas vehicle. The only problem is that he has to fuel up in a rough neighborhood. Why does Clark put himself through all these crazy hoops? Because we need to know that we're not stuck over the OPEC barrel. We can break our dependence on foreign oil. If we do this individually, then national policy will follow. Clark's natural-gas vehicle is just one idea in a mosaic of possibilities. His car emits zero pollution and the natural gas is domestically produced in the U.S. and Canada. Honda can make over 400,000 of these cars annually right now. They already have a factory in Ohio. But last year only 1,500 were ordered -- probably because they're so difficult to fuel up!

Several automakers announced new plans for alternative energy cars at the recent Los Angeles Auto Show. Honda unveiled its Clarity, a hydrogen powered fuel-cell vehicle. The Clarity will emit zero pollution. A 3-year lease would run you about $600/month, so it's not exactly cheap. Honda will be marketing its vehicle in Southern California, where there are several dozen hydrogen-filling stations. Chevrolet/GM has plans to put around 100 of its hydrogen vehicles on the road in SoCal under the Equinox nameplate. Meanwhile, Ford is working to launch its plug-in hybrids. Those kinds of cars usually run on electricity for the first 40 miles before they kick over to a gas-powered engine. Clark salutes the entrepreneurial spirit of these automakers who are experimenting with new kinds of cars. Some of you may remember when Clark previously spoke about a car company called Tesla that's building a $100,000 electric sports car. Their goal is to use proceeds from initial sales to fund further research into developing alt-fuel vehicles that will be much more affordable for everybody. This is exactly the kind of entrepreneurial spirit that will help us move away from the environmental and national security dangers that go along with gas engines.

There's one call that Clark has taken on the air about 60 times over the years, and he's never been able to answer it convincingly: Is it worth it to pay the extra bucks to buy a hybrid just to pay less in gas every week? Now Edmunds.com has done a cost analysis of some of the top hybrid models. Their research indicates how much longer it takes to get a return on investment if you buy the hybrid versions of any cars in the study. It's the Ford Escape that gives you the quickest payback -- owners will break even at around 3 years. The Honda Civic and the Mercury Mariner tie at No. 2. The Saturn Vue checks in at No. 3, allowing owners to break even in 4.8 years. Keep in mind that any hybrid offering return on investment in under five years is a smart buy. On the other end of the spectrum, the Toyota Highlander takes 11 years before you break even and the Camry will take you 12 years. And what about the Prius? Because there's no exact gas-engine equivalent, Edmunds looked at the Prius vs. Corolla. Turns out it will take you a whopping 13.6 years to get payback if you only drive your Prius 15,000 miles/year! So Toyota -- the greenest of all the automakers -- actually does not give you good payback on your hybrid-purchasing dollar. Clark advises people to only buy a Toyota hybrid if they're doing it because of deeply held environmental beliefs.

Have you ever parked at a big event and lost your car? One of Clark's staffers recently told him that she was at a racetrack for a concert and couldn't find her car for a full hour after the event. She eventually located the vehicle when security drove her around to look for it. Similarly, the husband of Clark's executive producer once wandered around an airport parking deck for four hours when he couldn't recall where he parked following a weeklong trip. Imagine if you could avoid these kinds of scenarios in the future. GPS maker Garmin has developed a device that can help: a car finder. Clark recently read about it in The Kansas City Star. It will electronically mark where you leave your car and walk you back to the spot later. This is one device that Clark himself could really use; he fesses up to forgetting where he parks at the radio station about twice a week. And that's after working for only six hours! If you're in the market for a basic GPS, Clark thinks we'll be seeing Black Friday sales in the $99-$129 range. And in a few years, every car will probably come standard with a GPS -- just as mostly every car has a radio.

HD radio is suffering from an image problem -- a lack of image, to be exact. This technology is beloved by Clark, yet few people know about it or seem to care. The idea behind HD radio is simple: Radio has traditionally been broadcast as an analog signal, but today there are digital signals that make the HD experience available. However, the radio receiver you needed to pick up the HD signals previously cost thousands of dollars. But today you can get a receiver for your car for around $100. HD radio does two things for listeners: it dramatically improves the sound quality of a broadcast and it gives you more stations.

Clark recently had an HD radio installed in his wife's van. When you tune to a particular frequency, the radio first delivers the analog signal while it takes a few seconds to seek the digital one. Watch out when it kicks over to HD. Clark compares the difference in sound quality to listening to a standard car stereo versus listening to live music in a concert hall. The cool thing about the whole HD radio trend is that each station has been given three digital signals for every regular one they had. So a music station, for example, now has the opportunity to play two additional formats that weren't previously available -- in addition to its regular music format. So how much does this wonderful technology cost? Absolutely nothing, unlike satellite radio which offers a ton of channels if you pay the subscription fee. Now Clark wants to put an HD radio in his own Scion xB. He'll probably have the only Scion in the nation with HD radio. While satellite radio has spent a ton of money striking deals with the automakers, HD radio has nobody out there to advocate for it and get it built into cars. So it's a great technology that is going no place. We'll see if it catches on or goes the way of Betamax.

The Chinese have come into almost every American market except for cars—until now! Starting in 2008, Chinese cars will be sold under the Chrysler name in the U.S. Mainland China has a goal to account for 10% of cars sold in the world. But quality is a huge issue with Chinese manufacturing. Hyundai started off with terrible products at first; China might too! China makes terrible toys, dog food, tires, and much more, because there aren't sufficient checks and balances in the manufacturing system. So it will be a challenge for them to get the quality right. But they'd better, because the quality of cars these days is top drawer. Cars are better, safer and more reliable than they have ever been, so it's a great time to buy.

Ford is working with the power companies in California for plug-in hybrids, which are electric-powered for the first 40 miles, after which the car switches to gas. These are awesome! They cost only 2 cents per mile, only a fraction of what you pay per mile for gas! And it's a great way to reduce our dependence on foreign oil.

High-definition radio is taking over the radio world, but most people are not even aware of it. HD radio converts radio signals into the rich, deep sound you’d receive on a CD. It also allows stations to "split" their signal and offer more than one channel on their station, which increases choices for the listener. Just a year ago, almost no stations offered HD broadcasts, and HD radios themselves were hard to find. But now 1,300 HD stations exist, and that number will continue to grow. Some stations are griping about the expense involved in converting the signal. But this is short-sighted because listenership will increase when there are more choices and better quality. HD radio is being installed standard in BMWs, Jaguars, and Hyundais now, and soon, it should be a standard feature on all cars. So why spend $150 a year on satellite radio, when you could spend around $130 one time for an HD radio? The signal is just as clear.

While the big oil companies are the ones ripping us off, it's your local gas station that gets the heat from consumers. But did you know that gas stations actually like it when the price of gas is lower? When prices get too high, people tend to buy less of the expensive convenience store goods like beer, cigarettes and lottery tickets that are profit boosters for gas stations.

No matter how you look at it, fuel is just one cost associated with a car. If you were paying to ride in your car the same way you pay to ride in a taxi, you'd be spending some 50 cents a mile. But what if you could drive for as little as two cents a mile? There are a number of smaller companies such as Kurrent making electric cars offering that kind of fuel economy. Kurrent -- which was bankrolled by ad-agency people using their retirement funds -- makes an electric vehicle that will go up to 35 miles an hour with a 100-mile range on flat ground. You can charge the vehicle in an ordinary household outlet. And though it is very small, it's built strong enough to be substantial in a crash. They're making up to 10 of these cars a day. The primary market is in large retirement communities in Florida, California and the mountain states. But if you think you're too cool for a grandpa-mobile, just ponder these economics: In addition to running for just two pennies a mile, a Kurrent costs as little as $10,000 to buy. Now that's a Clark Car if ever there was one! Clark has been fixated on great fuel economy since the oil shortages of the '70s. As he says, we are the strongest nation on Earth, but we won't always be if continue to give our money to oil-producing nations that want to destroy us. We must be innovative as Americans, and going electric with your car is one way to do it.

Clark is always investigating the push to go green in the auto industry. Not long ago he spoke about the Air Car, a vehicle that runs on compressed air instead of gasoline. Now he recently heard that McDonald's franchises in England are planning to run all their delivery trucks on recycled fryer grease. Previously McDonald's had to pay to dispose of the grease, but now with some processing equipment they'll be able to save that money and leave the world of diesel fuel behind forever.

Closer to home, Clark is still weighing the idea of purchasing a Honda Civic that runs entirely on compressed natural gas. The benefits include that he won't have to give one more penny to foreign oil-producing nations who want to destroy us, and the vehicle won't cause any pollution. Honda could roll out 40,000 of these natural-gas cars a year right now. But the demand for them isn't really there yet. Partly that's because owners would have to install what are called "Phill" refueling stations at home. While such a move might seem a little cumbersome for the average homeowner, the price of the investment is certainly sweet. How does paying $1.20/gallon sound in an age when people regularly pay upwards of $3/gallon?

A few years ago a French inventor came up with the technology for an automobile that runs on compressed air! It generates no pollution at all, costs about $2 per fill up, runs 125 miles on a tank, and can go up to 70 mph. It looks like a micro-mini van, with a sliding door. Clark loves the idea. But so far, even though they're bringing 6000 of them to India, no one wants to bring them to the U.S. So until they're available here, Clark is considering getting a "GX", a car from Honda that runs on natural gas, the kind of gas that heats your home. It creates almost no pollution, costs about $1.20 a gallon, and about 97% of the gas supply would be from domestic sources. Honda is only bringing about 1200 in per year (to New York and California only) to see if there's a market for them. To fill up, you install your own gas station at your house and plug into it overnight. On road trips you'd have to do your homework to find out where natural gas filling stations would be. But Clark is really excited about these cars, and would even consider breaking his own rule of avoiding costly "new" technology in order to be an early adopter.

Intelligent keys are coming out with lots of new models of cars. Many times they make life a little easier, but the smart key for the new Nissan Altimas have had just the opposite effect. If your smart key is right next to your cell phone and your phone rings, the I-key is permanently disabled. There is no way to fix it, and these I-key’s cost about $400 a pop. Nissan is including I-key malfunctions under the factory warranty so if you have been affected by this, call the dealer you bought your car from.

A device coming to a car near you is expected to save more lives than any other gadget, except for maybe a seatbelt. It’s called electronic stability control and it actually prevents accidents. ESC prevents vehicles from flipping by correcting them automatically when they start moving out of control. For example, if a car cuts you off and you overcorrect, putting the car in jeopardy of flipping, the ESC will right the car and put it back on the road. It’s expected to eliminate at least one out of six fatalities and possibly as many as one in four. By next year, more than half of cars will be required to have ESC. And very soon it will be in just about every vehicle on the road. Other preventative systems include “lane departure systems,” and sensor systems that can sense an object or child behind the car. Keep a lookout for cars with these safety systems. It could save your life!

Cameras are everywhere now, as you may know. Digital cameras are so inexpensive that there is a huge risk of being watched and it can get pretty creepy. But cameras can also be a lifesaver. As you may or may not know, the No. 1 cause of death for teenagers these days is automobile accidents. What if you could save the life of a teenager with a snooping digital camera? One insurance company has partnered with the University of Iowa to design a camera that spies on teens as they drive, according to the Arizona Republic. The digital cameras have artificial intelligence that can sense when something is awry in the car or on the road. It records it all and alerts parents. So, it’s a lot like having a nanny in the car because kids tend to drive better. Now, that company – American Family Mutual Insurance – is going to offer the device to parents in Wisconsin, Indiana and Minnesota for free. The information won’t go back to the company on individuals, so it won’t affect individual rates. But it will allow the company to see what behaviors are putting teens in the most danger. Not to mention the fact that parents will know what their kids are up to. Teenagers are going to drive; that is a given. But during the Iowa study, teens admitted they drove safer when there is a camera on them.

Drunk driving accounts for about one-third of all fatalities these days, and organizations seem to have run out of ideas to stop people from driving drunk. Well, Toyota is never one to back down from a challenge. The auto company is in the process of designing cars that will detect whether drivers are drunk through sweat in their palms. When drivers place their hands on the wheel and they are beyond the legal limit, the car will automatically shut down. It won’t be available for two years, but Clark loves this idea. We need to put a stop to it and the company claims this is a fail safe system. MADD – Mothers Against Drunk Driving - is also trying out an idea in New Mexico that could be promising, as well. In that state and now others, convicted drunk drivers have to blow into a tube before they can drive a car. Any preventative idea like this is bound to save lives and that is the main objective.

Do you remember when GPS units were something only the very wealthy could afford? A built-in unit was about $2,000 and a portable unit was about $800. Times have changed quite a bit. Clark recently bought a portable unit for less than $300 and it’s possible to find them for under $200. The more expensive units will tend to have the hard drive built-in to the unit, while the less expensive ones have an SD chip. And there are good and bad factors to both. But they are so simple to use and they have a memory of all of your addresses. These are hot gifts this holiday, so think about one for your loved one. Or wait even longer and they are sure to go down even more.

Clark’s Scion XB has something called "electronic stability control," a safety feature that has already saved him from a potentially horrible accident. The great news is that by 2012, all cars will have to have ESC, according to a new government edict. So, what is ESC? It's a new technology that automatically corrects a car that is about to flip, turn over and the like. GM and Ford are working on getting ESC in cars over the next few years. Toyota and Honda already have it in most SUVs and some other cars. So, ask about it if you're thinking of buying a car. We’ll keep you posted on progress, but this is actually something for which we should congratulate the government. Shocking, isn't it?

Clark was in a car wreck when he was about five years old. There were no seat belts in the back seats of cars back then, so Clark went flying and hit his head. Today, things are much different. There are air bags and side air bags and electronic stability control. There is even a requirement now that the price sticker on cars shows how safe the car is. Every car is ranked on various safety tests and the ranking must be displayed. Accident avoidance devices and adaptive cruise control are also getting more popular in cars. Clark would like it if there were a temporary block on all lawsuits involving these new devices – just until we can tell if they actually help.

We are in a tough time economically right now because gas is high again and we’re dependent on foreign sources for oil. Clark thinks our efforts need to focus more on technology if we’re going to help the situation. One of the products out there is called the “Tesla.” It’s an electric car that will go 250 miles on one charge and is about the fastest performance car ever made. It will go from 0 to 60 in four seconds, which is amazing. And it’s on the market now for those who can afford it. The cars cost $100,000, which is obviously not feasible for most people. But the cost will go down. Toyota announced just in the last week that it is adopting the plug-in hybrid. The company was reticent for years, but now the cars will be everywhere. Also, Wal-Mart, FedEx and UPS are working on ways to make their trucking and shipping outfits more efficient. They spend a fortune on gas and average about six miles per gallon. There are also a bunch of new cars on the market that get above 30 miles per gallon. These include the Honda Fit, Toyota Yaris, the Toyota Camry hybrid and the VW Lupo.

Clark was at political event recently and one of the topics that kept coming up was energy. People kept mentioning the need for more oil refineries and creating more supply. That’s true, but there are two more pieces of the puzzle. We make up 4 percent of the world population, but we use about a quarter of its oil. So, we need alternative forms of energy and we need to decrease our demand. Some car companies are working on this effort. Honda, for example, is planning to introduce several vehicles that get 50 miles to the gallon or more. That’s in town! Honda is also going to introduce some more diesel cars that burn much cleaner fuel. We are in the early innings of a multi-inning game here. It will take decades to get where we need to be, but the smaller gains can happen quickly. Three years from now there will be a lot more technologies in use, including plug-in hybrids. It gets you an average fuel economy of more than 100 miles per gallon because it’s run partly on electricity and partly on gas. You charge the electric battery and get 40 to 60 miles on electricity when you “unplug” the car. Then the gas engine kicks in. Most people drive a moderate number of miles every day, so the car never needs gasoline. It’s ingenious!

Clark has been riding his scooter to and from work every day for a week. He lives about 5.5 miles from work and he uses about a quarter of a tank a week. The scooter gets about 75 miles to the gallon, so gas has become irrelevant to him. Or, at least for this week. Granted, most people can’t take a scooter to work. But what if cars could get 75 miles per gallon? It’s not a pipe dream. The U.S. Congress is moving closer to imposing new fuel economy standards on automakers in Detroit, and it’s the start of some much-needed change in the oil industry. The average American vehicle gets about 27.5 miles to the gallon today. We can do much better than that. The technology is already in place, and there is no excuse for our lack of focus as a country. Detroit will claim it can’t do this but that’s simply not true. You can do your part by purchasing something more fuel efficient when it’s time to buy a car.

Maryland is now joining New York and Colorado in adding speeding cameras at intersections and stoplights. The cameras catch you on tape and send you a ticket in the mail. It seems like a good way t o prevent accidents, but the real goal of the cameras is solely to make money for local governments. Clark doesn’t agree with that. Red light cameras are used for the same purpose. And now there are lawsuits pending because the cameras were sending tickets to people who did not run the light. Of the two, the red light cameras bother Clark less than the speeding cameras. But, if you’re local government is thinking of trying either, Clark thinks you should make a fuss.

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In other traffic news, European governments are taking a new tack on preventing traffic deaths among teens. In certain countries, teenage drivers have a mark on their cars letting others know who is behind the wheel. There is also a phone number and a code to use if the teen is driving erratically. Clark thinks we need to bring that system to the States.

Clark has talked with great enthusiasm about the “Smart Car” coming to the U.S. The Smart Car is a Mercedes-Swatch idea that is from Europe and is being sold in Canada. The cars average 60 miles for gallon and many have wanted them to come to the U.S. It’s not going to happen, but all is not lost. Zap, the company that was going to sell the Smart Car in the U.S., is now bringing another car into the States. It’s from Brazil and it can run on various types of fuel, including corn, sugar, gasoline and other sources. It’s called the Obvio 828. It’s one of the oddest looking cars you’ve ever seen and it goes 0 to 60 in about five seconds. The Obvio takes up as much space as a motorcycle, but it can seat three people. Prices on these will ultimately be decided, but we’ll keep you posted. In other car news, Mazda is bringing a micro mini-van into the States that seats six people. It gets about 50 percent more fuel economy than a regular mini-van. Clark is psyched about the options coming our way because they get such better fuel economy and reduce our dependence on foreign sources of oil.

Honda has had a reputation as the best engine maker in the world. But Toyota has now one-upped everyone with its hybrid engines. As a result, Honda has been working overtime to recapture its innovative lead. The company has secretly been working on a gas engine that gets 65 miles per gallon of gasoline. It’s a regular car with an HCCI engine. That translates into “Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition” but what it means is that it allows a gas engine car to run as efficiently as a diesel engine. These cars won’t be out next year, but it will be in the next five years. Companies have the ability to cut fuel consumption in half. Many just haven’t tried. So, there are good things happening, including in the United States. But we need to continue on this path and continue separating ourselves from foreign oil sources. If you read the quotes of the Iranian president in recent weeks, you’ll realize how important it is that we assert our independence in the oil world.

About 10 years ago, Clark was a strong advocate for red light cameras at traffic intersections. He believed these cameras would reduce injuries and fatalities because people would change their behavior. But they may not be as helpful as once thought. In fact, the Washington Post just completed a six-year investigation, which showed that these cameras do nothing but beef up the money collected by jurisdictions. In Washington D.C. alone, $32 million in fees have been collected. Worse yet, accidents have actually increased at the intersections where red light cameras are installed. The conclusion is that the cameras do not deter behavior at all. Twelve states are now using these cameras. The only state that has rescinded them is Virginia, which as outlawed them.

There are now 33 states that have emission testing programs in part or all of the state. So, depending on how things work in that state, you usually have to go once a year and have your car checked before getting your registration renewed. The testing itself is for a good purpose, which is better air quality. But it’s had a bit of a Frankenstein effect. If the “check engine” light on your dashboard, it can mean that something is wrong with your emissions. But it can also mean the gas cap is off or some other unrelated problem is going on. But in several states, if the “check engine” light is on when getting your car tested, you automatically fail. The mechanics don’t even inspect the car. It’s going on in Ohio, Maine, Louisiana, Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire, and the trend is growing. There may be nothing wrong with your car, but you have to pay to get it checked out because you failed the test. A smarter way to check emissions is to do “drive-by tests” along roads. Measuring devices are set up in key high traffic areas, and the device automatically tracks the car if it is emitting harmful fumes. It’s already being tested in California, according to the Orange County Register. Starting next year, infrared beams are going to sense when cars are spewing pollution on the interstates. The device also takes a picture of the car tag and sends the person a notice to get the car repaired. It’s a much more efficient and accurate way of testing, and more governments should pay attention.

Who is going to do more to quell America’s weakening position in the world? Does the federal government have a plan, or is there a company out there with a plan? Nope. Companies in other countries are more attuned to the problem, however, and are doing what they can to reduce their dependence on foreign oil sources. Toyota, for instance, plans on one-quarter of its vehicles being built with hybrid engines over the next four years. The company is making money selling hybrids and it wants to do something about the energy crisis. What are we doing here in the States? Nothing. In fact, automakers are giving each other high fives because they have convinced Congress to avoid establishing any kinds of regulations on American cars. Honda is also doing what it can to make cars more fuel efficient. Clark thinks GM, Ford and Chrysler need to wake up and come up with ways creative ways to keep our resources here in the States. We have no choice. We have to become more energy efficient if we want to stay alive in the marketplace.

Gas prices are moving up and it doesn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon. Do you feel like a sitting duck? There are things you can do, but you have to be a bit of a free thinker. If you have a diesel car, or can convert your car to a diesel, it will run on restaurant grease, for example. Another man, who recently sent pictures to Clark, runs his diesel Volkswagen Beetle on vegetable oil. Cars in Brazil are “multi-fuel” vehicles, meaning they can run on sugar cane and other types of fuel. The country made it a national policy to break away from foreign oil sources, and it’s working. The powers-that-be in the U.S. are trying to block the use of sugar as a fuel source and luckily it hasn’t happened yet. But they’ll continue to try. Our country should be in favor of any initiatives that reduce our dependence on foreign oil. So Clark doesn’t get it. In the meantime, consider converting your car if you really want to save money.

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In other car news, have you heard of “plug-in hybrids?” These cars can get up to 250 miles per gallon. So, some people are converting their regular hybrids to be plug-in hybrids, which allows them to run solely on electricity for quite a long time. All this news may frustrate you, but it’s becoming a reality. The answer is not to dig for more oil, but to come up with new ways to run our vehicles.

Clark talked recently about the fact that 1.2 million people die in auto accidents worldwide each year. In the U.S., we lose about 40,000 to 50,000 year. That number may go up because of all the distracting technology being added to cars. People are apparently installing DVD monitors in cars so that the driver can watch a movie or watch TV. Many people, including Clark’s producer, Kevin, check and send e-mails while driving with PDA devices. It’s bad enough to e-mail while driving. Why would anyone think it’s a good idea to watch a movie behind the wheel? It’s dangerous to you and to everyone else on the road. The good news is that there also devices that keep people alert and attentive on the road. The “Napzapper,” for example, buzzes when your head dips below a certain point, as if you’ve dozed off. If you get beeped or buzzed, please pull off the road and either get a meal or a hotel room before you get back on the road.

The British government is experimenting with putting RFID tags in driver’s license plates. As people move along the streets, the government will be able to track the car with this tag. It’s in an effort to track potential terrorists or “persons of interest,” as they’re often called. The idea has the U.S. government interested, according Wired News. But it’s still pretty creepy. What do you think about it? Tell us in our weekly poll. Clark thinks that if we were going to do something with this, we’d need very strict control of the system.

Who wants to sit in traffic tie-ups? No one Clark knows, and especially not Clark. He literally freaks out as soon he sees the cars ahead. So whenever he sees stories about trends and technology that help traffic, he wants to tell people about them. The latest story involves a 511 system, which Clark talked about five years ago. The basic idea was that people could call 511 on their cell phones and find out what traffic was like anywhere. There are now 26 systems around the U.S., and apparently they don’t talk to each other very well. It costs $15 million to maintain, but none of the states are compatible. In foreign countries, systems are much more effective and in sync. The systems tell people how far ahead an accident is what speed drivers are going. Honda has something in Tokyo, Japan called the “Car Navigation System.” It talks to drivers about accidents and even offers alternate routes to avoid them. Better yet, it's free for the first six months. How cool is that? Of course, the only downfall is that you have to know Japanese.

Clark’s 16-year-old daughter, Rebecca, recently got her license and Clark talks with her all the time about the dangers of driving. Clark has explained to her that the chances of getting into an accident are very high the first year of driving. It’s due to lack of experience and the invincible feeling many teens have. But the statistics for all drivers are staggering. According to the Wall Street Journal, 1.2 million people will die in car accidents this year. In the next few years, it’s expected to top 2 million people. That’s thousands of people a day. So, what can we do about it? Well, wearing a seat belt is key, and air bags are also helpful. But the real answer comes from preventing the accidents in the first place. For instance, Honda is working on a bumper design change to prevent SUV fatalities. Also coming are adaptive cruise control, lane departure systems and blind spot warning systems. These kinds of technologies sense when you’re drifting out of your lane or when a car is in your blind spot and alert you. What about “collision mitigation breaking,” which automatically apply the brakes when accidents are about to happen. You’ll find these things to be completely routine in the next five years, so keep your eyes and ears open.

The price of oil is now $60 a barrel at wholesale and it seems to keep rising. As a country, we need to become stronger in this arena instead of depending on foreign sources of oil. And while Clark shakes his head at our current situation, Honda is already coming up with ways to combat high gas and oil prices. The company has developed a new engine called the IV-TEC (Intelligent Variable Valve Timing and Electronic Control System), which improves the fuel economy of any vehicle. It should get about 30 miles to the gallon. The company is also coming up with a hybrid engine that gets more than 60 miles per gallon. So, while we’re twiddling our thumbs in the States, Toyota and Honda continue to make history in the automotive industry. We need to improve the fuel economy of our vehicles if we want to continue as the world’s most powerful country.

The average price of a gallon of gas is about $2.13 a gallon right now, and the cheapest is about $1.75. This is serious stuff, and people are concerned about what to do. One woman Clark talked with recently is running her Mercedes diesel on restaurant grease. It’s something that is catching on, no matter how strange it sounds. Another option is something called “bioheat,” it’s a combination of soybeans and canola oil. Bioheat is spreading across New England because it’s great for heating homes. So, there are things you can do to save money and keep our fuel resources closer to home. If we can to continue to be a world power, America needs to stop importing fuel from foreign sources.

Have you ever had a car stolen? It’s a huge hassle, not to mention the fact that getting your car back can cost you a ton. Why don’t we just raise the stakes for people who steal cars? In Europe, car thefts were stopped cold with a digital technology that is being used now in multiple countries. They use highly sophisticated roadside cameras that scan license plates to determine if it’s a stolen cars. They take a digital image of every vehicle plate as it goes by. Then, even if a plate is smudged, artificial intelligence determines if the car is stolen, and officers are immediately notified. This can happen even at freeway speed. In Great Britain, 13,000 arrests occurred in just one year. So, now some states in the U.S. are trying it out. Los Angeles and San Fernando police departments are experimenting with the cameras, as are communities in Ohio and Florida. The cameras cost $20,000 to $30,000 a piece. But the average cost of a recovered vehicle is $25,000. There are a few downsides to this, however. Specifically, car thieves often switch tags. So, an officer who thinks you’re a car thief could be following you if the thief switched his tag with yours. Just be sure you know your tag numbers and you should be fine.

A few years ago, Clark talked about a computer driving system in Europe that senses an accident or traffic tie up on the road up ahead. Now, it’s coming to the United States. This fall, Acura will install the system in one of its models, and Cadillac will put it in several of its models. As you drive along, you will be alerted to the problem and directed around it. The New York Times reports that neither company has disclosed what the cars that have these systems will cost. Acura says the system will be free at first and then the company will charge a monthly fee of about $10. But Clark thinks it’s great because it will save truckers and, therefore many industries, a lot of time and money. Eventually, the systems will be in every car out there. How much would you pay for a car with this system?

How many miles over the speed limit do you drive? Most of us drive a couple miles above the limit, and we hate seeing those flashing red and blue lights behind us. But it doesn’t stop us from doing it. Instead of continuing this never ending battle, San Francisco Bay area communities are experimenting with smart technology that will make drivers slow down. They’re using digital monitoring devices to figure out how fast traffic is moving. If most people are speeding, the devices sense that and immediately turn the next light to red. It forces everyone to slow down or stop. The amount of time the light is red adjusts based on how fast people are driving. People interviewed for a story in the San Francisco Chronicle were very upset about the new technology. But Clark thinks it’s a great idea. Driving is a privilege, not a right.

How would you like to get in a vehicle and travel 268 in an hour? What about traveling 1,000 across the country in just under four hours without ever getting on an airplane? Well, it’s going to be possible very soon. A magnetic levitation train, known as “Mag-Lev,” which moves people at 256 mph is in the works in China right now. It’s a German system that will available in the United States in our lifetimes. The train sits above the ground, and – like a magic carpet – floats from one place to another. One of the problems with regular trains is that the friction with the rails limits how fast a train can go. But with Mag-Lev trains, the speed limit is limitless.