Fuel prices continue to rise to record highs, averaging $3.48 in Colorado Springs and as much as $3.77 in Glenwood Springs. Compare that to three years ago, when we were paying about $2.18 for a gallon of gas (and that seemed a whopping price then).

When trying to save gas — and money at the pump — make sure any tips you follow are tried and true and not something that might actually hurt your car.

This article from Money gives us six gas-saving myths and why they don’t work. And be especially careful of tips that are outright dangerous, like over-inflating your tires: “They’ll get you slightly better fuel economy because there will be less tread touching the road, reducing friction. But that means less grip for braking and turning.”

Your best bet are these tips from FuelEconomy.gov:

• Drive more efficiently
• Keep your car in shape
• Plan and combine trips
• Choose a more efficient vehicle

Chrysler has released the long-awaited Challenger. And despite its 13 miles per gallon city/18 mpg highway, the car is already sold out, according to this story from the Associated Press. “Chrysler has already sold all 6,400 of the 2008 Challengers it plans to make for the U.S. market as well as several hundred for buyers in Mexico and Canada. Spokeswoman Kristin Tyll said Chrysler will begin taking orders for the 2009 Challenger in the next few weeks.”

Even though Chrysler recently announced that it will give buyers of most of its vehicles at Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge dealerships a card that can be used for purchases of gas or diesel fuel, locking in the price at $2.99 a gallon for three years, that deal does not extend to the Challenger.

The article goes on to quote Rebecca Lindland, an auto analyst for the Waltham, Mass.-based consulting company Global Insight: “Some people will be appalled by (the Challenger). But there’s a portion of the market that’s appalled by the Prius too. This is a fashion accessory. It’s not intended to be a practical appliance. This is the type of vehicle that the American marketplace really thrives on and was built on.”

It’s a tough-looking car, sporting a 6.1-liter HEMI V-8 with 425 horsepower. People looking to buy this car probably aren’t thinking about high gas prices or the environment. They’re looking for a mean muscle car that brings to mind fast cars of the late ’60s and early ’70s. As the quote above says, “this is a fashion accessory.” You wouldn’t wear your diamond tiara or Rolex everyday — well, most of us wouldn’t — so you probably wouldn’t drive your gas-guzzling muscle car everyday. You can’t really compare it to a full-size pick-up truck, which has its practical uses for hauling or towing. Even a full-size SUV can carry a lot of people.

With all that in mind, the Challenger does seem a bit irresponsible, a bit of a bad boy. Then again, I guess that’s the point.

FOUNTAIN PAL CAR & CYCLE SHOW

Registrations for the June 1 Fountain Police Activities League Car & Cycle Show are due by Monday, May 12. The show takes place 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at Metcalf Park, 704 E. Ohio Ave. in Fountain. Staging begins at 7 a.m. and classes include:
• All motorcycles
• Hot rods (early ’30s to late ’50s custom vehicles)
• Antique cars (before 1953)
• Classic cars (1954-1978)
• Classic trucks/utility (before 1978)
• Late model trucks/utility (after 1978)
• Sports compact car/import
• Classic muscle cars (1979 and older)
• Late model muscle cars (1980 and newer)

Registration is $25 per car entry. Registration forms can be picked up at the Fountain Police Department or downloaded at www.fountainpd.com/pal/carshow. For more information, contact Officer Larry Waugh, Officer David Langfels or Dawn Bentley at the Fountain Police Department, 382-8555.

SOAP BOX DERBY

Register now for the All-American Soap Box Derby, which takes place 8:30 a.m. June 22, downtown Colorado Springs. The race is open to kids ages 8-17. Registration deadline is May 16. Registration forms, rule books and kit order forms can be found at Pikes Peak Acura, 655 Automotive Drive or online at www.ppsbd.com.

The All-American Soap Box Derby is a youth- and family-oriented racing program, established in 1933. The goal of the Soap Box Derby Program is to promote families working together to teach youngsters some basic skills of workmanship, along with the spirit of competition and the perseverance to continue a project to completion. The Pikes Peak race is one of 450 races held throughout the country each season. For more information, call 488-8808 or e-mail info@ppsbd.com.

Devout motorcycle riderS can get their bikes blessed Saturday by Father Mike Butler. As Bill McKeown writes today at gazette.com, Father Mike says, “Motorcycles are a wonderful, unrestricted way to take in God’s creations: the wind, the mountains, the babbling brook along a twisty road, the wretch in the GMC Yukon who just turned into the Conoco.”

Father Mike Butler of Our Lady of the Pines Catholic Church will bless motorcycles and their riders Saturday at American Motorcycles’ “Thunder on the Lot” event. The blessing will be nondenominational and is open to the public. Everyone is invited to participate, Butler said. The blessing will be at 11 a.m. at 6314 E. Platte Ave. For information, call Lynn Sherman at 495-1426.

Father Mike Butler was introduced to motorcycle riding six years ago by his scuba-diving friends. PHOTO BY BRYAN OLLER, THE GAZETTE

For car shoppers looking for a practical yet fun vehicle, the Volkswagen Jetta just may fit the bill. SpringsWheels writer Kevin Carmody took the 2008 Jetta SE out for a drive recently. His verdict: The Jetta has a little something for everyone.

“With a 2.5-liter, five-cylinder engine, the 2008 Jetta delivers 177 horsepower, a nearly 25 percent increase from the previous generation. And starting at $19,760, this five-passenger sedan won’t force buyers to consider mortgaging their first-born child to afford it. On paper, it seems like the perfect match of the two colliding worlds. On the road, it was well worth an afternoon.”

Having driven the Jetta myself, I have to agree. While the Jetta may look unassuming, it’s got great pick up and gets 21 miles per gallon city/29 mpg highway.

Click over to SpringsWheels.com for the full test drive.

Mother’s Day is May 11. Only five shopping days left. Have you bought your mom’s present? Do you know what you’re getting her? Flowers? Candies? Diamonds? Mom doesn’t want that stuff. She wants something for her car — new floor mats or an emergency roadside kit. How about a membership to AAA? Maybe you could take her car out and have it detailed for her.

The boys over at Car Talk are honoring their mother with a special feature you may want to share with your own mom. You can listen to a few clips of Tom and Ray’s mom on their radio show. (Her laughter is infectious — especially when she talks about lipstick instead of dipstick.) There’s even a CD collection of calls from their radio show about moms and cars called “Maternal Combustion.”

Love ‘em or hate ‘em, the Car Talk guys know their stuff. And they really loved their mom. Love your mom and do something nice for her and her car for Mother’s Day.

My aunt and mom on a road trip to California.

There’s a lot of talk about the gas tax holiday purposed by Republican presidential candidate John McCain and others. The hope is that suspending the gas tax for the summer will help ease the pain of soaring gas prices and help boost the economy. Those who oppose the gas tax holiday say it will push up the price of gas by almost the size of the tax cut. Maybe instead of hoping for lower gas prices, we should look at better ways to save gas. I’m not saying you should just sit at home all summer or that you need to walk or take public transportation everywhere you go, because we love our cars and want to drive them.

First, you may want to avoid the cars on this list from Forbes — many of the cars on the list are too expensive for most of us to own anyway, but not all. FuelEconomy.gov has a list of the most and least fuel efficient cars, so you can make an informed decision when shopping for a new vehicle.

After you’ve traded in your Bugatti Veyron (8 miles per gallon city/14 mpg highway) for a Toyota Prius (48 mpg city/45 mpg highway), check out the gas-saving tips at FuelEconomy.gov. Things like observing the speed limit, removing excess weight, keeping your engine properly tuned and combining trips don’t sound too difficult. But it does take a little planning and a little restraint.

If you’re a regular reader of The Wheel World, you know how we feel about teen driver safety. We love kids and want them to be safe, whether they’re drivers or passengers. Too often we read stories about young drivers who die or kill others while behind the wheel. These stories serve as reminders of why we need graduated licensing laws and why teens need a lot of time behind the wheel with an adult before they take to the streets on their own. Lots of information for parents and teens can be found at the Colorado Department of Transportation’s Web site The Driver’s Seat. It’s a really good site with important facts and tips.

All of us — regardless of how many years we’ve been driving — sometimes need to slow down. The chance of death or serious injury doubles for every 10 miles per hour over 50 mph that a vehicle travels, according to The Driver’s Seat Web site.

If you feel the need for speed, why not check out a racing school? Places like Skip Barber’s Racing School give you the Formula car experience on a real track. If you’re a NASCAR fan, you can try the Dale Jarrett Racing Adventure. These schools are a little pricey, but so are speeding tickets and insurance premiums, not to mention funeral costs.

I hate to admit this, but I put off getting my car’s oil changed. My car has an oil life monitor, and at 15 percent, an indicator displays when I turn on the car. A little wrench lights up, and the display shows the oil life. I can turn it off during that trip, but it comes back on each time I start the car — just a little reminder that the oil life is almost up. I drove around for a while with that little wrench coming back on. One day, the wrench was there and the indicator said 5 percent. Apparently, once you reach 5 percent, the oil dies quicker because it dropped to 0 percent before the end of that trip. Today, I took the car to have for an oil change. The indicator went from -5 percent to -8 percent during the drive over. It gets really insistent.

Why do I put off my oil changes? I really don’t know. The service technicians at my local Honda dealership — Front Range Honda, 1001 S. Academy Blvd. — are awesome. They’re efficient and friendly. The waiting area is clean and bright, with free popcorn, coffee and doughnuts, plus they have free WiFi and a flat screen TV. An oil change doesn’t even take that long — I was in and out in less than an hour. (I didn’t even get to see who got eliminated from Rachel Ray’s new cooking competition.)

Next time my oil indicator tells me the oil life is at 15 percent, I’m going to be more efficient about getting the oil changed. It’s good for my car. If your car doesn’t have an oil indicator, check the owner’s manual for recommended intervals. Every three months or 3,000 miles used to be the standard, but some manufacturers recommend as many as 7,500 miles between oil changes. Our buddies over at Car Talk recommend changing your car’s oil every 5,000 miles.

Just make sure you find a place you trust, whether it’s the dealership, a quick lube place or a local mechanic. And don’t be afraid to ask for samples of their free coffee and doughnuts.

Hot Wheels cars have been around since 1968. To celebrate the 40th anniversary, car companies like Honda are putting out special edition cars — toy cars that is. The Honda Racer will be available in stores in May. The Hot Wheels 40th-anniversary road trip down Route 40 kicks off at Mattel headquarters in El Segundo, Calif., in August.

What kid doesn’t love Hot Wheels? I’m talking about kids of all ages — boys, girls, men, women. My brothers had Hot Wheels. I had Hot Wheels. My friends had them. We had miles of race track for the cars. They even went off road out in the sand box. I still have Hot Wheels today. The Mustang pictured here sat on my 16th birthday cake. (I asked for a car. I got this. Mom was a laugh-riot.)

I’m not a serious collector, but they’re out there. I know one guy who collects only Ferraris — he doesn’t take them out of the package. Then there’s this guy, who has been collecting Hot Wheels since there have been Hot Wheels. And this father and son, who have a collection of more than 6,000 cars.

You can find a local Hot Wheels collectors club by clicking here. Colorado has a few clubs.