What we're buying in terms of vehicles has changed greatly. The typical behemoth 8-cylinder SUV has given way to the more economical 4-cylinder car. That switch alone can represent a saving of $1,500 or $1,700 in gas over the course of a year.

The Toyota Prius is selling consistently after initially being seen as a curiosity item in the market. The Toyota Yaris, Nissan Versa and Honda Fit are also popular sellers. But does it make sense to ditch your huge vehicle and get one of the wundercars? Usually, it does not unless you're at the end of your natural buying cycle. But to prematurely dump your vehicle, the numbers probably won't work out in your favor.

If you are in a gas guzzler and want out, try buying a used gas sipper. This may not be "sexy," but you can always buy that new car smell in a can.

Then there's the safety issue. Clark was recently talking to someone who has a Nissan Expedition and raised this point to him. Today's smaller cars aren't exactly "econoboxes" like the Datsun B210 that Clark got new in the mid-'70s. That dinky-mobile came with no radio, no AC and the floor was just a vinyl sheet over the metal! But the truth is that you can't outlaw physics, so if the Expedition hits a smaller car…

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!

If you heard Clark recently talking about Chrysler, you know that he expressed concerns about the company's financial health since they're privately held and don't report losses like other automakers. In today's challenging economy, it's not uncommon for car companies to struggle with decreasing sales. Clark just doesn't want to see consumers having their warranties ignored in the event that the company folds. He was very careful to emphasize that he had no inside knowledge about whether Chrysler is ailing or not. How could he if they don't disclose that info?

Well, the Chrysler people got very upset with Clark and promptly contacted him. They sent us the following statement and asked that we read it on air and post it on the website:

  The statements recently made during the Clark Howard Show regarding   Chrysler LLC "going bust" and not honoring its vehicle warranties are   simply unfounded and untrue.

  There are no plans for Chrysler to go out of business, abandon its dealer   network, or default on its vehicle warranties.

  Chrysler has established long-term product plans and has shown its   commitment to its customer base and employees by forming strategic   partnerships, recently with Nissan.

  Chrysler LLC has ample liquidity. We are fully funded with working capital   to meet our present and future needs and objectives. We are putting our   capital to work effectively and efficiently, streamlining inventory,   improving current products and developing new and innovative vehicles.

Let's clarify something about Clark's original remarks made on April 2, 2008. He never said Chrysler is filing for bankruptcy. This rebuttal doesn't address his concern that dealers need to seek firm assurance from corporate that warranties will be honored no matter what. Buyers deserve more than just words; they need it in writing.

Clark remembers the calls he took from people when Korean automaker Daewoo went bust and didn't honor its warranties. Once bitten, twice shy. A lack of transparency sows seeds of doubt.

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.

The car business continues its downward spiral. New figures for March show that GM and Chrysler are down 20% and Ford is down 14%, year over year. Ready for the stunner? After defying slowdown, Toyota now is down 10%. Honda is the only of the Big 5 automakers that emerged flat but unscathed. Be on the lookout for deals!

One word about Chrylser, but Clark wants to preface this by saying he's hasn't heard or read anything to substantiate his beliefs, nor is he trying to kill business at Chrysler dealerships. He's just concerned because the company was recently taken private and is being run by non-automotive people. So should the company go belly-up, he fears the owners might just shrug their shoulders and move on to managing other assets in their handsomely diversified portfolio. Chrysler dealers might want to get assurances from corporate that warranties will be honored even if the company goes bust. Again, Clark has no inside knowledge about whether Chrysler is ailing or not. He's just thinking ahead about possible future scenarios.

Finally, if you like fancy cars, this is a good time. Porsche sales are down 26% and Lexus is down around 20%. The theory that the rich would continue buying status automobiles through the lean times has proven false. And keep in mind that cash is king at the dealerships as loans become harder to get.

In Clark's TV work, he recently reported on a website that offers an interactive tool that should help the owners of old gas guzzlers. The site addresses that all-important question: Does it make sense to keep it or dump it and get a brand-new fuel-efficient vehicle? Before you play around with this tool, you should realize that the cost of a car is more than just the price of a gallon of gas or a barrel of oil. You have depreciation, maintenance, insurance, repairs and interest on the loan if you're not buying upfront.

What kind of gas mileage are you really getting? To find out, fill up your tank, set your trip odometer to zero and drive your normal route over a tank of gas. Then fill up again and divide the number of gallons you buy into the number of miles you drove. Keep in mind that if you replace your gas guzzler with a used car of similar age that gets great fuel economy, well, the math is irrelevant for you. You've simply bought like to replace like, in terms of age.

Clark's been hearing some interesting things in the car market. For the longest time, 4 cylinder engines were unloved. Now they're back with a vengeance. If your last 4 cylinder went from 0 to 60 in a day and a half, the technology has changed so much over the last few years. Today's 4 cylinder engines are more powerful and get better fuel economy than yesteryear. Meanwhile, sales of ultra-small cars like the Honda Fit have shot through the roof. So Clark's advice is look one size bigger for a steal of a deal. You'll get less depreciation over time and the slight decrease in fuel economy won't be much to outweigh the potential savings upfront.

There's great news for your wallet coming to a car lot near you. Automakers have been trying hard to scale back production to get supply and demand in sync. But it's not working; demand is dropping quicker than they can cut back production. There's simply too much product out there. Couple that with the fact that repossessions are skyrocketing and the housing slump is cutting into people's car budgets -- it all adds up to a perfect storm for the savvy car shopper. The Wall Street Journal reports that domestic, Japanese and European automakers are all offering great deals such as 0% or 1% financing and big rebates.

Edmunds.com will keep you up to date with the latest incentives. Keep in mind that sometimes a credit union car loan at 5% with loads of cash back from the manufacturer is a smarter move than an offer of 0% financing from the dealership with no cash back. So arrange your financing in advance, know the market and avoid "the grind" at the dealership. Start pricing vehicles at CarsDirect.com. They'll give you a fixed price that you can use as a reference point. You may even find that their price is the best. Surprisingly, people love the Internet for researching cars, but they always go to the dealership and face "the grind" when they want to seal the deal. Old habits die hard.

USA Today reports that car repossessions are headed to the highest level they've been since the '90s. In addition, people are stretching out their loans way beyond the generally safe 42-month mark. A longer loan means that you're usually going to be upside down in your vehicle. This year, 1.6 million cars will be repossessed. Clark recently spoke with a man who does repossessions. These people have a very tough job, but they are just the messenger, not the message itself. It's not the lender in the fancy suit that does the dirty work of repossession.

Consumer Reports' annual auto issue is out and Clark is giddy with excitement. The April '08 issue definitively says that extended warranties aren't worth the investment. Clark has historically been neutral on extended warranties for vehicles, but now he'll have to revise his opinion. Only 20% of people ever recoup the cost of the warranty vs. the cost of repairs over the lifetime of a vehicle. If you're buying a Mercedes, you'll have the best chance (about 40%) in that regard. Other vehicles where a warranty may be a smart move include Pontiacs, Jeeps, Chryslers, Buicks and Dodges.

In other news, there's a new champ when it comes to reliable small cars: Hyundai Elantra. Other top picks included the Honda Accord (family sedan); Toyota Prius (hybrid); Toyota Sienna (minivan); and Hyundai Santa Fe (SUV). American cars are getting more reliable, but they're not quite on par with the Japanese vehicles yet.

When it comes to the best used cars, they're all Japanese: Toyota's Prius, Highlander, RAV 4 (4 cylinder), Corrolla and Honda's Accord (4 cylinder). A new category this year was vehicles that are unloved, but good to own. This category was dominated by Korean vehicles such as the Kia Rondo and the MAZDA5.

Automakers are starting to build vehicles with the idea that people are spending more and more time in their automobiles. A major trend among manufacturers at Detroit's North American International Auto Show was creating vehicles that are like rolling houses -- not necessarily in their size, but in their amenities. Clark and his executive producer Christa both have Honda Odysseys that are 4 years apart. It's instructive to see how much has changed in such a short period of time. Christa's newer Odyssey has multiple outlets for video players, tons of cup holders, fancy pop-down wireless video screens and seats that fold down very easily. Some vehicles are even being built with power inverters for laptops, and Sirius satellite radio is offering TV channels so you don't have to carry around DVDs for your kids. It's like cars are becoming a destination instead of a means to reach a destination.

After years of declining or staying the same, auto insurance rates are now headed in the other direction. Allstate and Progressive are both raising premiums aggressively in 20 states, according to Bloomberg. There are a few factors contributing to this reversal. First, the availability of Internet insurance quotes sparked a battle for market share that has exhausted many of the insurers. Now their focus has turned from stealing customers to making more money for their own stockholders through higher premiums. Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal reports that insurers are suffering more losses in collisions as people buy cars with greater horsepower. More horses under the hood increases the level of accidents as people drive more aggressively and speed. The conventional wisdom about calling your insurer to find out what it will cost to insure a car before you buy is again great advice. Plus, it's even more important now than ever to shop insurance rates.

People are buying sub-compacts vehicles like crazy these days. Clark loves to ride around in sub-compacts when he's overseas in Asia. Foreign markets are all about the economy of packing as many people into a vehicle as possible. For example, Clark's Scion XB seats about 5 people over here, while 12 people will squeeze into the same vehicle over in Japan. Even high-end manufacturers like BMW and Mercedes are getting into the sub-compact market with their 1 Series and SmartCar brands, respectively.

Because of the sub-compact sales frenzy, you may now be able to buy one size larger for less than you would pay for a sub-compact. The fuel economy losses in going bigger may only be a couple hundred bucks a year. Even Clark who is obsessed with dinky cars knows there's more comfort in compacts like a Toyota Corolla. While Clark has pre-ordered the SmartCar, he may still decide to go with a compact instead. Dinky-mobiles deprecate at a faster rate than compact cars. Plus, the additional fuel economy they give may not offer you as much bang for your buck as you'd get by stealing a deal on a compact.

Clark recently overheard a man at the studio talking about shopping for a new car. One question that popped out of his mouth surprised Clark: "When did the average cost of a vehicle become $35,000?" It got Clark to thinking, "What kind of cars is he looking at?" Vehicles are the best deal they've been in a long time. We choose to gingerbread them with extra features and gussy up the price. But you can still get a fantastic new car for no more than $15,000.

There's a huge market for affordable auto transportation, and Clark means really affordable. Several years ago, he told you about a vehicle called the Logan by Renault. This 4-door sedan is available in Europe fully equipped for $6,000-8,000. Meanwhile, India has a $2,500 car entering its marketplace on Jan. 10. The vehicle is being introduced by Tata Motors, a company that's set to buy Jaguar. Talk about the opposite extreme of vehicle price!! Unfortunately, these kinds of affordable vehicles aren't available stateside yet. Many people are stuck in the '80s when it comes to thinking about affordable vehicles. If the terms "low cost" and "cars" make you automatically think "Yugo," you owe it to yourself to re-examine the new wave of today's low-cost cars. But keep in mind that, as Clark recently told you, the real deals in '08 will be with used cars.

Car prices are headed into a free fall. Records show that sales were anemic in 2007 -- the lowest they've been in 9 years. Now comes word that '08 sales are expected to be even worse! So the opportunity for car buyers right now is tremendous. Car dealerships are in complete turmoil because there are simply too many of them in the United States. Manufacturers, meanwhile, are trying to guess how much they should slow production. But they won't be able to dial back quickly enough. The Financial Times reports that the best opportunities in '08 will be in used vehicles, not new vehicles. There's a huge surplus of used vehicles because of repossessions, trade-ins or leases that have ended.

While Clark loves used cars, the only danger is that you'll buy someone else's trouble. So do it right from the start: Get the vehicle inspected by an independent mechanic -- even if it's been "inspected" at a dealership such as CarMax. Always beware that you buy as is when you buy a used car. In fact, salespeople in some states may be allowed to lie to you about the past history of a vehicle. So which dealerships are trustworthy? CarMax is one company that's beloved by Clark. They researched what people hated about the industry and eliminated it from the buying process. In Europe, a man who heard about Car Max opened a clone. Now it's the fastest growing dealership chain over there. You can't go wrong when you treat people right and make everything simple, honest and clear.

Auto loan delinquencies are skyrocketing; they're reportedly the highest they've been since 1991. That's a sure sign of economic slowdown. Whenever people have been squeezed in the past they'd do a home equity line of credit. But now those equity lines are tapped. That's why it's very important to stay current on your car loan. The interest rates are generally good, but the penalties for default can be huge. And let's not even speak of repo. Having your car repossessed is doubly harmful. Not only do you have to find other ways to get to work, but most states have what's known as "deficiency." This is what happens when the lender sells the repo car at auction and gets below wholesale value. They're then legally allowed to bill you for the deficient amount. If you can't pay it, they can sue you and get a judgment against you. So if you're having trouble making your car payments, get in touch with your lender and try to arrange a forbearance to avoid repo. Under the terms of forbearance, the payments you can't make now will likely be tacked on to the end of the loan. One final word about prioritizing your debts: If you're really pinched, don't pay that credit card! Pay your mortgage, food and medical expenses and your car loan first. Put the credit card collectors on ignore until you're able to begin paying them again.

Have you heard that Congress has reached an accord with automakers and environmentalists to have a 50 percent increase in fuel economy over the next 12 years? It's not yet clear if such a bill will make it to the President's desk. But we've got to get our act together for long-term economic strength. Otherwise, our dependence on foreign oil will make us a 98-pound weakling in the international arena. It's difficult to picture exactly how increased fuel economy will look. With that in mind, Clark wants to tell you about the Suzuki Wagon R (pictured here), which has been the No. 1 selling car in Japan for nine months in a row. Clark first saw this vehicle during a staff trip to Japan. The closest thing Clark can compare the Wagon R to is the old Scion XB, but even that's larger than this toaster on wheels that gets 60 mpg with a traditional engine. Unfortunately, Suzuki has no plans to sell the vehicle over here.

People are also bonkers about buying the SmartCar when it arrives next year on our shores, but that only gets 42 mpg in comparison! Other ways we'll be seeing increased fuel economy at play include clean diesel vehicles, turbo boosters on engines, hybrid designs and more. There are also some things coming that you might not be able to imagine easily, such as SUVs that are not truck based. Manufacturers will simply take a regular car platform and slap on a different top. The result will be an SUV that's easier to drive and offers better fuel economy, among other benefits. Clark gets a kick out of seeing tiny women driving huge SUVs when he drops his daughter off at school. Some moms just won't be caught dead in a minivan, which is considered the height of un-cool!

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.

Your car is the second most expensive purchase you're likely to make after your home. So people often ask about which vehicles hold their value best after 5 years. To answer that question, Kelley Blue Book has just released its 2008 Best Resale Value Awards tally. The winner is Volkswagen, which is making a comeback after some recent big losses. VWs keep just under half their value after a 60-month cycle. The other brands that round out the Top 10 are BMW, Acura, Honda, Porsche, Subaru, Lexus, Infiniti, Audi and Toyota. On the other end of the spectrum, the worst brand to hold value has been singled out as Suzuki. With Suzukis, you only get about a quarter back for every dollar after 5 years. Other cars that really stink when it comes to holding value include Kia, GMC, Mercury, Dodge, Chrysler, Lincoln, Jeep, Ford and Jaguar. On a related note, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) says that the Subaru Impreza is the only small car that meets its strict safety standards. There were tons of midsized vehicles green-lighted by the IIHS, but not so in the large vehicle categories -- despite what you may remember from high-school physics!

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.

Clark continues to receive many questions about the used Honda Civic GX he just purchased. Typically, a new GX runs about $25,000 versus $17,500 for a standard Civic. But some folks have been wondering if the extra investment is worth it. One boon to buyers is that you receive a $4,000 federal tax credit when you purchase this no-pollution natural-gas vehicle. Meanwhile, operating costs are about $1.20 per "gallon," though you don't fill up with traditional liquid gas. Clark instead uses compressed natural gas, which is largely produced here in the United States. He'll report back and let you all know if his GX purchase proves to be crazy or not. Meanwhile, the government has issued new fuel economy numbers for automobiles at FuelEconomy.gov. The push to get new numbers really gained momentum when people bought the Toyota Prius and found their sticker numbers could be inflated by 30 percent. But all 2008 vehicles going forward will feature the true miles per gallon figures. Note that you get greater value for your buck when you go from a vehicle that has 15 mpg to one that has 25 mpg -- rather than going from 25 mpg to 35 mpg. It's all about ratios. So it may make sense to buy a car with good mpg versus great mpg. It's that initial leap in fuel economy that gets you the biggest bang for your buck.

Last winter, Clark first started talking about natural-gas vehicles (NGV). He loves them because they don't pollute the air and they use domestically produced fuel. His wife encouraged him to get one, so he searched on the Internet and a found used 2007 Honda Civic GX. Clark admits that this could either be a really dumb purchase or a really smart one. Honda is making about 400,000 of these cars per year, but they're only for sale in California and New York. The cost is about $25,000 for an NGV versus about $17,500 for a standard Civic. One of Clark's challenges in having an NGV is finding a place to fill it up with specially compressed natural gas. There are a lot of filling stations on the West Coast and on the Eastern seaboard down through Richmond, Virginia. But in the Atlanta area there's only one single station in a more than 200 mile radius! Luckily that station is about seven miles from Clark's home. Clark believes that as a nation we need to start thinking outside of the box about our energy needs. Relying on foreign energy suppliers who want to harm us can only weaken our nation. Clark's Honda GX is his answer to this dilemma. What's yours?

Consumer Reports has released its annual vehicle reliability survey and Toyota has come out with a black eye. For the first time ever, the Japanese company's Camry has been dropped from the recommended list. Toyota made a corporate decision a few years back to become the world's largest automaker. In doing so, they had to take the focus away from making quality vehicles and shift it to growth. That explains why Toyota as a whole now checks in at No. 5 on Consumer Reports' tally of the most reliable vehicles sold in the United States. Ford has emerged as an unlikely hero in the report thanks to its enormous jump in quality. The "Not your Father's Ford" tagline is taking on a new meaning and people can no longer joke that Ford stands for "fix or repair daily." The top carmaker remains Honda, followed by Acura and Scion. The first American nameplate on the list is Buick, followed by Mercury and then Ford. The least reliable car sold in the United States is Land Rover, followed by Hummer, Cadillac and Mercedes.

Cars speak to us emotionally. Clark's producer Joel bought a 2000 Nissan Altima recently that doesn't really stir his emotions; he simply views it as dependable transportation. Joel might have picked a Honda Element if he were buying on emotion alone. Christa, Clark's executive producer, has named the hybrid version of her standard Lexus RX 300 as her dream car. Sometimes it's hard to step back from the emotional side and make a smart auto purchase. But think about the underlying hassle that comes with purchasing an unreliable vehicle. When you're ready to go car shopping, get pre-qualified for a car loan from a credit union and then get Consumer Reports' annual auto buying guide. Try to find a balance of quality and that emotional X factor and you'll be on your way to a great car purchase.

Clark's associate producer, Joel, has been in need of new transportation and now he's got his hands on a great used vehicle. His old Honda Accord croaked on him and he'd been very patient looking online for a used car over the past few months. By checking Craigslist.org on a daily basis, Joel was able to snag a 2000 Altima with 139,000 miles for $3,200. Clark's executive producer Christa used AutoTrader.com to buy a Lexus EX 300 about three years ago. The car had 99,000 miles and looked like new. She initially narrowed her search to 10 cars, and eliminated five off the bat when she couldn't get the VIN number from the owners. A few cars she did get the VIN for had been in serious wrecks, so she was able to eliminate those ones early in the game too. The important thing to know is that you're less likely to have auto heartache if you're methodical and have the vehicle vetted by a mechanic and run the VIN number before purchasing. Both Joel and Christa paid cash, so they have no car loan. Meanwhile, Kim -- Clark's producer -- has had a pickup truck for about five years. She bought it on a whim when she wanted to take a road trip and got a zero financing deal. Within days she regretted her purchase -- she actually hates trucks! But she didn't compound her troubles by selling the vehicle and facing steep depreciation. Instead she's hung on to it and turned a not-so-great purchase into a financially viable one.

For years Mercedes Benz vowed that it would never bring its Smart Car to the United States. The luxury carmaker claimed there would be no market for it. But now that people wants smaller and more efficient rides, the Smart Car is set to hit our shores in 2008. The Smart Car is a two-person vehicle that Clark has been obsessed with since he first saw one in Europe. In fact, Clark and his wife have toured the factory in eastern France where these cars are made. Smart Cars were originally designed as a joint venture between Mercedes and the Swatch watch people before the latter company pulled out. A basic Smart Car has a list price of $12,000, but that can rise to $20,000 if you fancy it up. Clark recently had a chance to test drive a Smart Car for a TV story. He's not completely sold on the car yet -- even though he previously put a refundable $99 dollar deposit down. The fuel economy is great (between 40-60 miles around town), but it may be too small for his five-person family. Safety is another concern. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety doesn't have a crash rating for the Smart Car yet. They think it may be too light to hold up well in a crash. While filming the Smart Car TV story at a Mercedes dealership, Clark couldn't help but notice some of the huge and fancy other vehicles on the floor. There was one Mercedes that cost $202,000. You could sure buy a lot of Smart Cars for that price!

The car market is going through some tough times right now. Sales are the worst they've been since the financial crisis of 1998. Toyota has reported lower sales for three months in a row, especially with their trucks. Ford's sales are down 20 percent over the last month and 14 percent over the whole year. GM is probably doing the best, which in this case means their sales are just on par with last year's figures. Meanwhile, dealers are scrambling because they're overloaded with '07s on their lots and the '08s are already in place. Add all of these factors up and it's clear that consumers are in charge of the car market.

People often ask Clark for a recap of what they should know when buying a new car. First off, get your financing in place before you buy. You'll usually get the lowest rates from a credit union or an online bank. Keep this rule of thumb in mind: If you can't afford a car on a standard 48-month installment plan, you're overbuying. Once you have your financing in place, check out Consumer Reports for recommendations about quality vehicles. Then check prices in the marketplace. Look at CarsDirect.com where you'll get a guaranteed price on a car. You should also test drive the car you want before buying. Visit a car rental business and see if you can rent one for cheap over the weekend. That way you'll have two days to decide if you like driving the car, not just 10 minutes. If you have to interact with a car dealer, try doing it by e-mail to avoid high-pressure sales pitches. And make sure the Internet price you get includes all junk fees like documentation charges.

It's no surprise that we Americans are energy hogs. But everyday there are new developments that help us reduce our energy consumption. Soon auto shoppers will actually be able to believe the gas mileage stickers found on cars in dealer lots! The feds used to put fake numbers on the stickers because the test used to calculate mileage efficiency was bogus. So you could purchase a vehicle expecting to get something like 26 miles/gallon (city) or 38 miles/gallon (highway) and get substantially lower real mileage. Now the government is enforcing a legitimate mileage test, so all cars shipped to dealers after Sept. 1 will have real numbers posted on them. Why the sudden change? The Toyota Prius really pushed this along. People were expecting to get 50-60 miles/gallon but the actual numbers were so much lower that people really ripped off and complained.

Another positive change that's a little further off involves LED (light emitting diode) lighting. Clark and his wife often battle over using regular or CFL (compact fluorescent lamp) bulbs in their home. He has a number of CFLs from the '90s when the technology still had a lot of kinks. In fact, once he was doing a TV story about energy-smart homes and he wanted to demonstrate his lighting for the camera crew. The CFLs took about 70 seconds to come on after he flipped the switch! Today's CFLs are much better (and faster to light up), so his wife is now more open to using them in their home. But CFLs may soon be a thing of the past when LEDs hit the market. LED are now used in new billboards and offer just about the best artificial light possible while eating up low energy. They don't release extra heat and they last for years. LEDs will probably be in offices, retail stores and industrial parks before they're available for home use. Clark thinks within four years LEDs should become a popular consumer product.

For 15 years, Clark has talked about the advantage of keeping a new car for at least 10 years or buying a used car and keeping it for at least four years. Cars lose about half of their value during the first three years, but then the loss ratio drops off pretty steeply after that time. Consumer Reports has now done a study on the virtues of keeping a car for 15 years. Bear in mind that most owners only keep their vehicles for three or maybe five years. But by keeping a car for 15 years or 225,000 miles, you save $31,000 dollars. The report found that during the course of 15 years, your average maintenance will be $18,000 and your insurance will be $18,000.

Consumer Reports also identified 10 vehicles that are reliable enough to last 15 years -- and they’re all Japanese! Among the top ones are Honda’s Civic, CRV and Element; and Toyota’s Forerunner, Landcruiser and Highlander models. So what vehicles should you not buy? A lot of European models, according to Consumer Reports, such as the BMW 7 Series, the Infiniti QX 56 and select models of Jaguar, Mercedes, Volkswagen and Volvo. Meanwhile, how should you decide when it does not make sense to repair a car? Clark typically tells people the cutoff should be when the cost of repair is 50 percent or more of the car’s trade-in value. Now Consumer Reports says you can push that up to the actual trade-in value. Other times you should junk a car is when it’s rusted out; really unreliable, in a flood or in an awful accident.

Over the past five or six years, there's just been one deal after another when it comes to buying an automobile. It goes back to the months after 9/11 when GM tried to jumpstart sales with offers of zero financing for five years. Other automakers quickly followed with similar deals. But now people aren't buying cars as readily because of the fallout from the stock and real estate markets. Overall the industry is having dismal sales results. So that means that you have so much bargaining power right now that it's not even funny. Yet two-thirds of consumers squander that power by not doing the right things.

What should you be mindful of when you go to buy a car? First, do research online before you buy. Check Consumer Reports and sites like KelleyBlueBook.com and Edmunds.com to find out about reliable cars that won't need much maintenance. Second, arrange for financing in advance before you get to the dealership. Credit unions offer interest rates on car loans that can be one to three percent lower than other lenders. You may also want to check online lenders. Even your auto insurer may be able to give you a competitive interest rate. Whatever you do, don't go with a traditional bank or dealer financing. Also, don't tell the dealer you're a cash buyer or credit union customer because they'll factor that into the price in a negative way. Finally, buy your car before you get to the dealership. By this Clark means you should avoid going to the dealer and negotiating the purchase of your car or you'll face "the grind." The grind is when the salesperson says he or she will go talk to their manager about getting you the best deal. Instead they go watch TV for five minutes and come back and tell you that the manager couldn't help out with a good rate despite their best efforts on your behalf. This is total baloney. When it comes to price, you want to stay in your ballpark, not theirs. After all, they have home field advantage because they sell cars everyday while you may only buy a handful of times over the years. As a final thought, you may also want to purchase through a warehouse club if you're a member. There you'll enjoy a set price and no haggling.

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.

When you use a car dealer to finance your auto loan, the dealer will mark it up as much as they can. But the average black customer buying a new car pays an interest rate that's 40 percent higher than the average white customer -- even after accounting for differences in credit scores. Hispanics, meanwhile, pay almost the same as non-Hispanic whites, just slightly higher. In the used-car market, one in three blacks pay an interest rate that is above 15 percent, while the average rate for a white person is less than 10 percent. Clark thinks it's a shame that this residual racism is still around in 2007.

If you dig deeper into this story, you'll really find that anyone who doesn't get pre-qualified for a car loan will pay more than they should. So Clark advises anybody seeking an auto loan to get pre-qualified at a credit union, which will offer lower rates than a bank. Think about it like this: You may have spent hours researching your car thoroughly, but you've got to do the same on the loan. Dealers are entitled to make money on a loan if you don't do homework and get pre-qualified elsewhere. Historically, that mark-up had been about 10 percent points. After all the legal settlements of the past few years, however, it now is usually three percent. That means if a bank offers you a car loan for 5 percent, the dealer will offer the same loan for 8 percent. So whether you're black or not, it pays to get pre-qualified for an auto loan.

Clark's daughter has his Honda Civic hybrid at school and she's happy to be getting about 45 miles/gallon. It seems that hybrids with good fuel economy are now selling like gangbusters. Remember back just a few years ago when this wasn't the case? Ford had to offer incentives just to move their Escape hybrids. Now The Washington Post reports the Escape is so hot that dealers can't keep up with the demand. In fact, the vehicles are selling for thousands of dollars above the list price because people want to save money on gas. Psychologically it may feel OK to pay a little more now with the promise of bigger savings down the road, but Clark thinks you should really crunch the numbers before you make this kind of purchase. Buying with your emotions isn't advisable, nor is overpaying for new technology. Take the rational approach by doing some smart comparative auto shopping on a website like Edmunds.com. The same thinking applies when deciding whether to dump your current gas-guzzling ride for a new and more fuel-efficient vehicle. Look for a similarly depreciated vehicle and try to do a trade where you get an older set of wheels that's more fuel-efficient than your current car.

Diesels cars and other vehicles are poised to make a big comeback, according to the latest findings from J.D. Power and Associates. The survey said that one in four Americans would consider buying a diesel car; a year ago, that figure was more like one in 10. Clark remembers the diesel station wagon his family had when he was growing up. That automobile shook like crazy, had terrible acceleration and belched smoke and odor. But today's diesels are not like your daddy's diesel. Clark's driven some modern diesels throughout Europe and enjoyed great acceleration, quiet operation, good gas mileage and less pollution than a regular gas-engine car. So if you're looking for a car next year, diesel could be part of the picture. On a related note, J.D. Power also revealed stats about the reliability of vehicles after three years of ownership. Two brands tied for the top spot: the foreign-made Lexus and, somewhat surprisingly, the American-made Buick. In fact, several other American brands were toward the top of the tally, with Cadillac placing fourth and Mercury placing fifth. Meanwhile, Japanese standards like Honda and Toyota placed fifth and sixth, respectively. On the bottom of the heap were some foreign cars like Suzuki, Isuzu and Saab. But the single least reliable automobile -- based on how many problems were reported per 100 vehicles -- proved to be a Land Rover. Clark thinks it's interesting that some Japanese and European cars were selected as least reliable, while a lot of domestic rides are back on top. But perceptions take a long time to change, and people who grew up on foreign cars sometimes won't even consider a domestic vehicle.

The latest American Customer Satisfaction Index from the University of Michigan has been released. This quarterly survey has been around since 1994 and keeps tabs on the good, the bad and the ugly in multiple industries. The big news this year is that American automakers did very well. While the top automaker was foreign (Toyota's Lexus division), homegrown companies like Cadillac, Buick and Lincoln-Mercury all tied for second place. Meanwhile, Toyota's namesake division fell way behind on the tally. Clark thinks the Japanese automaker has been taking its eye off the ball lately. The Toyota business model is now geared toward growth and quantity, not quality. That accounts for why they've been issuing more recalls than ever. Fortunately for Toyota, there are some corporate initiatives in Japan to raise the quality of their namesake line of vehicles. In the computer industry, Apple is tops in customer satisfaction; Clark's wife has an Apple Macintosh that she loves. In the PC world, Hewlett Packard's HP line makes a beloved machine, yet HP's Compaq division has been voted the worst company in the industry. Meanwhile, Whirlpool continues its dominance in the appliances field, racking up its largest lead yet over the competition.

Clark frequently fields one question from the public when he's on the road during his book tours: "When is it right for me to lease a vehicle?" With the leasing market up about 25 percent year over year, it's a great time to address this question again. There are two circumstances when doing a lease is acceptable: The first is if you like new wheels all the time and you only want to worry about gas, oil changes and routine maintenance on your vehicle. Then it's OK to lease a new car every two or three years, but no longer than that. The second instance is when luxury automakers offer factory-subsidized leases where they eat a lot of the cost. Luxury automakers hate to cheapen their brands with a bona fide sale, so often they offer such leases to help move extra product. But other than in these two circumstances, don't lease. And stay away from four or five year leases unless you want to face financial Armageddon, Clark says.

Meanwhile, the strong growth in leases means that in a few years there will be great deals on two and three year old cars when they enter the used auto market. Clark is a big fan of used cars, but be aware that you must always have them inspected by an independent mechanic before you buy. Finally, beware of one cousin of the long-term lease -- the balloon loan. This is the kind that starts with an extra cheap monthly payment, but at the end of five or six years you may owe the lender up to $10,000 or even $15,000. And by then, your vehicle's worth won't be able to keep up with that inflated balloon rate.

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.