I try to share common questions I am asked on a regular basis, one of those is about gas. We all know we need it, the three elements of internal combustion motors are fuel,air and spark. The one that costs the most in this equation of course, is gasoline.

To some the goal of finding the "cheapest" gas is a weekly mission which includes memorizing local prices. The questions I am asked are: Is one gas better than another? Should I buy a higher octane gas? and What gas do you use? These are all great questions and all have easy answers.

First, not all gas is created equal. Actually, only a few are distilled for specific companies. Take Chevron and Shell, both actually manufacture their own gasoline. Yes, Chevron is expensive but Chevron is the only U.S. company to ad detergent to all octane levels (known as Techron). Shell has also stepped up by adding "V-Power" additive, but only to it's premium gas. Texaco will soon be adding Techron as well in the near future. These additives help your car with running smoother and keeping engine internals clean among other things.

Decisions, decisions

Should you buy a higher octane than what your car recommends? No, save your money for a new air filter for better gas mileage. Engines are designed for specific octane gas and using a higher octane is actually a waist in most engines. Octane refers to the knock resistance (anti-knock rating). If your car doesn't have "knock" with the fuel you use, there is no need to step up to a higher octane.

What gas do I use? The 6.0 in the GTO requires 91 octane. The Goat gets either Chevron with Techron or the Shell with V-Power (surprise!). The additive helps keeps the valves and cylinder walls clean of deposits. After seeing torn down motors which have used standard and detergent fuel, I have seen the difference and what these companies say are true. My little Mazda B2300 pickup (aka PutPut) also gets one of the two above even though it takes 87.

With some of the "cheap" gas stations by the time you pay the "ATM fee" it ends up costing the same as the good stuff. Or what about the person that burns a dollar in gas to make it over to the cheap station only to end up saving .40¢ cents on the tank! Look at it like this: say Chevron is $3p/gal. and USA is $2.95p/gal. and you buy 10 gallons. This means you save a whopping .50¢ cents and chances are you will get less mileage out of that cheap tank than you would from the good. Test it for yourself! I have found by using higher quality gasoline you can gain 20-30 miles per tank, that's $5 bucks savings right there.

Happy Motoring,

Lance

There are two hobbies in my life that stand out from the rest, Cars and cooking. An odd combination right? Not really, if you consider that both can be prepared the way I like it! The same hero in my life that taught me cars (my Dad) also taught me cooking. Having said that, it might make sense to some on why my "fun runs" revolve around ending up at a nice place to eat. Over the next several weeks I will be sharing weekend drives that revolve around some of my favorite restaurants from here to the Monterey county line.

A recent run my fellow Seaside Goats and I took was a round-about drive up to Santa Barbara. Our day started out bright and early in a parking lot on the corner of Main and Mills in Ventura. After a little meet 'n greet and car comparo, we headed up the road to Corrales.

Now when I think breakfast burrito in Ventura County, I think Corrales. They keep it pretty simple when it comes to ordering. I go with a "4 way" with bacon; this is beans,cheese,rice, egg and bacon. Don't look for a salsa bar either, if you want salsa bring your own. The only thing they have is hot sauce in 1oz. containers for you to add at your discretion.

Upon filling up our stomachs and our gas tanks, we headed North on 33 towards Lake Casitas. Not even 3 miles into the drive we come upon a group of about 10 woodies going slow and low. We didn't get many waves as most of the older gearheads don't know of the new GTO. As our 8 Goats slipped past them we started up the hill. Shortly after Oak View we made a left onto Hwy. 150 cutting along Lake Casitas towards the coast.

There are many "vista points" along 150 to take in the lake as well as some nice wildlife. We drove along a steady pace as unlike some, we save the white knuckle driving for open track days. After winding down 150 we ended up at the bottom of Carpenteria Ave. next to 101. This makes for a great photo op spot and is steps away from the coast bluffs. After snapping some shots and getting props from passing cyclists, we b-lined up 101 for a cruise through State St.

After throwing a few revs at a couple of Mustangs we turned left off State St. onto Los Positas Rd. (aka 225). We simply stayed on this road until it "T's" off at Cliff Dr. at which point you make a right. Less than a mile on the left is a parking lot that looks like a state park, turn in there. If you see a small estate sign that reads The Brown Pelican, your at the right place.

The Brown Pelican has a rich history and if your one to wash up before grub, you will find articles and honors on the wall on the way to the restrooms. These guys are known for chowder from scratch and big sandwiches. Everything is good and the price is relative to the location, if that makes sense.

It's about 2:30p and all are ready for the trek back to Ventura. We pulled back out on Cliff Dr. and headed South. This road also "T's" off at which point you make a left on Castillo then jump back on 101 South. We took the Hwy 1 exit and made one last photo op. stop on the Old Rincon Highway before the final stint home. Everyone was very content sighting good times, excellent views and great food made the day all come together.

Enjoy,

Lance

It's official, I have seen every magazines write up on new releases for the 08-09 model year cars. From my much anticipated Zeta platformed, Holden built G8 to the awesome R8 and Nissan GT-R. Now don't laugh, but I am subscribed to Automobile, Car & Driver, Road & Track and Motortrend. I also receive news from NADA, SEMA and Automotive News. Why you ask?
To be "in the know". I like having knowledge on what's hot and what's not. With as much change that has gone on in the automotive industry in the past 5 years alone one can't have enough information.

Here at The Star we have decided to get to know one of these hot new rides a little better. We have been invited by Allan Crocket of Barber Driving Experience to spend a day at Willow Springs with a dozen spanking new Shelby GT500's! If your confused by all these different trim levels coming out in '08 from Ford, your not alone. Off the top of my head I can think of the GT, the GT California Edition, the Bullitt, the standard Shelby GT and the top dog Ford Shelby GT500. I have also heard of an Interceptor and can't forget the Shelby KR (King Road).

Ford Shelby GT500, notice the Cobra badging

This track day is for new GT500 owners to help them become more familiar with their ride. You also get to see the one-off BDX cars being built by Allan and his team. We will be along to show you what goes on both behind the scenes and on the tarmac at such an event. Not only will we have a multi-part video series on this event, you will also see a full story penned by your's truly both online and in our weekend Wheels print section.

Hold on to your lug nuts your in for a fun ride!

Lance

Learn more about the Ford Shelby GT500 here: http://www.svt.ford.com/fordvehicles.html

Learn more about BDX here: http://www.barberdrivingexperience.com/index.html