The Auto Writer

The price of gasoline is in full retreat, thanks to a decline in consumer demand and a big drop off in the cost of a barrel of oil. After peaking at $150 earlier this summer, oil prices have dropped below $90 a barrel and seem to be heading downward. For consumers, relief from high pump prices is finally being felt, with many stations selling gas for under $2.90 a gallon.

Alaska, Hawaii and North Carolina Have the Highest Gas Prices

Alaska and Hawaii remain the two most expensive states for gasoline, with prices now just beginning to drop below $4 per gallon. Last summer, stations in Hilo and Honolulu were selling regular gasoline for more than $5 per gallon, with diesel fuel selling for as high as $6 per gallon.

In the Lower 48, North Carolina now has the distinction of having the highest gas prices, thanks to a shortage brought about from Hurricane Ike. The southeast US gets its fuel from Texas and the pipeline supplying that region was shut down for a lengthly time following the September storm. Even today, as supplies are being restored, a number of independent stations across the state are still without gasoline. For those who do have a ready supply, the average price across the Tarheel State is $3.79 for a gallon of regular gasoline, but that level is expected to drop by fifty cents or more over the coming weeks.

Oklahoma City: Home of the Cheapest Gas Prices

According to GasBuddy.com, the cheapest gas in the nation can be found in Oklahoma City, where the average price for regular gasoline is about $2.80 a gallon. Quite a few stations are easily beating that average, selling gas for as low as $2.57 per gallon.

New York City, which has long held the distinction as having some of the highest gas prices in the nation, is seeing pump prices as low as $3.35 per gallon, which is below the national average of $3.48 recorded on October 6^th according to the Energy Information Administration.

The Up and Down of Gas Prices

The volatility of gas prices means that consumers should be prepared to expect anything over the coming months. Prices could drop to $2 per gallon, but could quickly rebound if market conditions quickly shift. OPEC will be meeting soon to cut production and our summer driving habits mean that prices will go up as demand increases. Thus, $4 per gallon gasoline may now be a not too distant memory, one that can return in short order especially as consumption increases, supply drops, or both.

Car booster seats are a parents worst nightmare. You either can’t get your child buckled in properly or the seat isn’t installed the right way. Worse, is news that booster seats don’t do as they’re designed to perform — elevate children so that safety belts designed for adults are in the right position to restrain kids during a crash.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute recently tested 41 belt-positioning booster seats, and found that 13 did such a poor job of improving the fit of lap and shoulder belts for children that the IIHS doesn’t recommend them at all.

15 Models Meet IIHS Requirements

Ten booster seats were selected as best bets, while five managed to labeled good bets by the Institute. These evaluations are the first to tell consumers how well boosters sold by US retailers improve belt fit for children in cars, minivans, and SUVs. As a result of their findings, the IIHS plans to continue these assessments.

“We evaluated the safety belt fit boosters provide, not crash protection,” says Institute president Adrian Lund. “This is because unlike child restraints, boosters don’t restrain children in crashes. They simply position children so lap and shoulder belts are in the right place to restrain them.” Good boosters route belts across a child’s bony parts, not soft parts like the abdomen, which is more vulnerable to injury.

“We’d expect the 10 best bets to improve belt fit for children in almost any car, minivan, or SUV,” Lund says. “Likewise, it’s clear that kids in the 13 boosters we don’t recommend aren’t getting the full benefit of improved lap belt fit. These boosters may increase restraint use by making children more comfortable, but they don’t position belts for optimal protection.”

What The University of Michigan Team Discovered

A research team from the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute assessed two types of boosters — backless and highback — under conditions representing a range of 2001-06 model vehicles. Some highbacks convert to backless, and some boosters, called combination seats, can be used as child restraints.

Highback and backless modes were evaluated separately because each mode affects how belts fit, with additional importance given to lap belt fit. All of the best-bet boosters locate this belt on children’s upper thighs. The main problem for the boosters that aren’t recommended is they leave the lap belt partially or fully on the abdomen. Fit is important because a correctly positioned lap belt loads pelvic bones during a crash, not the abdomen. A good booster also positions the shoulder belt at mid-shoulder, keeping the webbing away from the neck so it won’t chafe and reducing the likelihood that kids will endanger themselves by putting the belt behind their back or under an arm.

Not Recommended By The IIHS

The following booster seats were not recommended by the IIHS and should be on every parent’s list of seats to avoid:

1. Highback Compass B505
2. Compass B510
3. Cosco/Dorel Traveler
4. Evenflo Big Kid Confidence
5. Backless Safety Angel Ride Ryte
6. Combination Cosco/Dorel Alpha Omega
7. Cosco/Dorel (Eddie Bauer) Summit
8. Cosco Highback Booster
9. Dorel/Safety 1st (Eddie Bauer) Prospect
10. Evenflo Chase Comfort Touch
11. Evenflo Generations
12. Graco CarGo Zephyr
13. Safety 1st/Dorel Intera

The following list of ten booster seats made the IIHS’ “best bet” list:

1. Combi Kobuk
2. Fisher-Price Safe Voyage
3. Graco TurboBooster
4. Britax Monarch
5. Britax Parkway
6. Fisher-Price Safe Voyage
7. LaRoche Bros. Teddy Bear
8. Recaro Young Style
9. Volvo Booster cushion
10. Safeguard Go (when used as backless only)

“Boosters that provide better belt fit aren’t necessarily the priciest,” notes Anne McCartt, Institute senior vice president for research. “Parents don’t have to spend a lot of money for a best bet or good bet booster.” The highback Graco Turbo-Booster, for example, converts to a backless booster and retails for about $50. The backless-only version sells for about $20.

For more information about which seats were considered “good bets” by the Institute and for tips on how to install a booster seat properly, please visit the IIHS website for those details.

(Source: IIHS)

Mitsubishi’s lone manufacturing plant in North America is based in Normal, IL, what was originally developed as a jointly owned facility with Chrysler. Mitsubishi bought out Chrysler’s share of the plant a few years back, giving the Japanese automaker sole control of the facility.

The former DiamondStar collaboration has been struggling lately, falling far short of reaching its annual build capacity of 100,000 units. The Illinois plant produces Galant sedans, Endeavor SUVs, Eclipse coupes and Spyder convertibles, but production is down by 24% this year. Consumers just aren’t in the buying mood and for those who are Toyota, Honda, and Nissan are the vehicles of choice for them.

What could have turned out to be a plant closing has now been averted, thanks to the efforts of Mitsubishi’s union workers who decided it was better to accept a pay and benefits cut than risk seeing their plant close. Under a labor agreement ratified on October 4th, the plants 1260 workers agreed to pay more for their share of health costs while permitting Mitsubishi to trim their hourly wage from $28.50 to $24.

Though Japanese manufacturers are loathe to close an automotive plant, Mitsubishi’s position has been a bit more precarious of late. Over the past five years, the company has seen its sales decline by 63% in the US resulting in a 63% drop in plant employment. Earlier this year Mitsubishi closed an Australian plant and would have done the same thing in Illinois without the benefit of a revised labor agreement.

Under the terms of the agreement, Mitsubishi has pledged that they will keep the plant open through August 2012 while the union has agreed to a two-tier wage system where new assembly line hires can start at $14 per hour or $20 per hour for maintenance workers. Any recalled workers will be taken back at a lower wage rate, what amounts to be 70% of the new rate or $16.80 per hour.

(Source: Bloomberg News)