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State officials say Minnesota is working on a pilot program to test the idea of charging drivers for each mile they drive. Other states around the country are considering a vehicle mileage tax, as revenues from the gas tax are expected to decline.

Last night the Hannity Show said that the dems are discussing a new MILEAGE TAX on how many miles we drive.

Public officials from several states are gathering in Austin, Texas this April for a symposium to discuss the implementation of a nationwide, mileage-based taxing system to replace the gas tax. Spearheaded by the Texas Transportation Institute, this symposium will feature representatives from several state transportation departments such as, Oregon, Minnesota and Texas. Over the course of this two day event, several panel sessions are planned to discuss past, current and upcoming pilot studies for the mileage tax, legislative and policy issues, public acceptance challenges, potential technology applications, and institutional issues. Several states across the nation, are seeking to implement a...

Massachusetts may consider a mileage charge By GLEN JOHNSON, Associated Press Writer Tuesday, February 17, 2009 A tentative plan to overhaul Massachusetts' transportation system by using GPS chips to charge motorists a quarter-cent for every mile behind the wheel has angered some drivers. "It's outrageous, it's kind of Orwellian, Big Brotherish," said Sen. Scott Brown, R-Wrentham, who drafted legislation last week to prohibit the practice. "You'd need a whole new department of cronies just to keep track of it." But a "Vehicle Miles Traveled" program like the one the governor may unveil this week has already been tested — with...

President Obama on Monday will direct federal regulators to move swiftly to grant California and 13 other states the right to set strict automobile emissions and fuel efficiency standards, two administration officials said Sunday evening.

Thursday, January 22, 2009 DOT: U.S. Vehicle Miles Driven Declines Sharply by CalculatedRisk on 1/22/2009 09:48:00 AM The Dept of Transportation reports on U.S. Traffic Volume Trends: Travel on all roads and streets changed by -5.3% (-12.9 billion vehicle miles) for November 2008 as compared with November 2007. Travel for the month is estimated to be 230.4 billion vehicle miles. Cumulative Travel for 2008 changed by -3.7% (-102.1 billion vehicle miles). The Cumulative estimate for the year is 2,656.2 billion vehicle miles of travel. This graph shows the annual change in the rolling 12 month average of U.S. vehicles miles...

A year ago, the Oregon Department of Transportation announced it had demonstrated that a new way to pay for roads — via a mileage tax and satellite technology — could work. Now Gov. Ted Kulongoski says he’d like the legislature to take the next step. As part of a transportation-related bill he has filed for the 2009 legislative session, the governor says he plans to recommend “a path to transition away from the gas tax as the central funding source for transportation.” What that means is explained on the governor’s website: “As Oregonians drive less and demand more fuel-efficient vehicles,...

First, they hand us our Obama-approved tire gauges. Next, they police our odometers. Fresh from North Carolina, here’s the latest Nanny State proposal: Monitoring our odometers and taxing us accordingly. With gas-tax revenues plummeting, the state of North Carolina is looking seriously at taxing motorists for how far they drive. If the “road-use tax” is implemented, it would at first be simple – with the state checking your odometer annually and taxing you based on how many miles you have driven. But transportation experts say new GPS technology could allow the state to

State panel endorses idea of levy tied to yearly miles logged on a car's odometer. A special transportation committee gave final approval Wednesday to a report that proposes a new tax on the number of miles a car is driven each year, as well as other options for generating highway and transit money. The vehicle miles tax would be calculated during the car's annual inspection and likely would supplement or replace the gas tax. Legislators on the 21st Century Transportation Committee cautioned that a new tax is unlikely to advance during a budget crisis. The special committee was formed to...

To find the future of the auto industry, Doug Pelmear looked to the past. He says he's perfected an engine developed by his grandfather 60 years ago. An engine that gives his 1987 mustang 110 miles to the gallon. Doug Pelmear says "my grandfather had the idea back in the 40's that he can make a difference then. There was quite a need at that time also with the war going on and everything, there was quite the need then." And quite the need now. So, Pelmear, a mechanic in Napoleon, has been tweaking this engine for the past 10...

The IRS plans to raise the amount of automobile mileage that businesses are allowed to claim. The IRS made the addition to help assist businesses and charities struggling with high gas prices. Business vehicles will now be able to claim operating costs of 58.5 cents for the last six months in 2008--up from last year’s deduction level of 50.5 cents. In an interview with the Associated Press, IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman said, "Rising gas prices are having a major impact on individual Americans. Given the increase in prices, the IRS is adjusting the standard mileage rates to better reflect the...

Trading in gas guzzler may cost you By Terry Jackson • Bankrate.com Like a lot of people, you may be watching the price at the pump soar and wondering whether it's time to dump your current, less-than-efficient SUV, truck or car. It's tempting to simply haul your 15 miles-per-gallon vehicle down to the dealership and drive out in something that gets 30 mpg or more. But that may not be smart, at least from a financial point of view. People thinking of going this route need to take several factors into account. For starters, your gas guzzler is worth considerably...

WASHINGTON - The energy bill President Bush signed last week mandating tougher fuel-economy standards sent a simple message to automakers: lighten up. ADVERTISEMENT The new rules certainly give makers of aluminum, carbon fiber and other lightweight materials something to smile about, analysts say, though the steel industry's piece of the auto-industry pie is likely to shrink.

"Check it out. It's actually a jet engine," says Johnathan Goodwin, with a low whistle. [Snip] Goodwin leads me over to a red 2005 H3 Hummer that's up on jacks, its mechanicals removed. He aims to use the turbine to turn the Hummer into a tricked-out electric hybrid. Like most hybrids, it'll have two engines, including an electric motor. But in this case, the second will be the turbine, Goodwin's secret ingredient. Whenever the truck's juice runs low, the turbine will roar into action for a few seconds, powering a generator with such gusto that it'll recharge a set of...

Port Charlotte man claims device can boost car mileage to 500 mpgGREG MARTIN, Charlotte Sun Updated — 10:35 p.m., October 9, 2007 If John Weston of Port Charlotte can get investors to take his gas-saving invention to the global automotive market, it just might solve the problems of smog, global warming and the high cost of foreign oil. John Weston stands next to his 1992 Geo Storm, which is equipped with his invention dubbed the Air Vapor Flow System. He claims the car can run 14 miles on 4 ounces of fuel, which would equate to more than 400 miles...

<p>Impressed by the gas-electric hybrid's advertised mileage -- 49 miles per gallon in the city, 51 miles per gallon on the highway -- True plunked down $28,470, at least $7,000 more than for a comparable non hybrid Civic EX.</p> <p>But after 6,000 miles of driving, True said he averaged just 32 miles per gallon in mixed city/highway driving. So in March, True, an Ontario, Calif., professional jazz piano player, filed a class-action lawsuit in U S District Court in Riverside, Calif., in what appears to be the first legal challenge of the mileage claims of hybrid vehicles.</p>

Wired can't be posted or even excerpted since they're idiots who don't understand copyright and fair use. See original.

A recent study by J.D. Power and Associates, the independent researcher of buyer behavior and customer satisfaction, found that more than half the consumers planning to buy a new car in the next two years were considering a hybrid. And why not? The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says the estimated mileage for the electric/ gasoline-driven cars is great. What isn't said: EPA uses an estimating system that's 20 years old, and doesn't reflect today's drivers or automobiles. With 57 percent of prospective purchasers saying they would consider a hybrid, it was the most prevailing alternative to the gasoline engine. A...

I heard about the following on Fox News today and could hardly believe it. Thought fellow Freepers would be interested in this. After all, what starts in the western part of the U.S. usually heads eastward. In 1919, Oregon was the first state to tax gasoline. This fall, the state will launch the nation's first high-tech experiment to tax drivers for the miles they travel rather than the gas they buy. The program is the first step in a long-term plan to replace the state's gasoline tax, which pays for about 40 percent of Oregon 's road projects. As in...

* Ford Motor Company hybrid sales have seen three months of double-digit sales increases, fueled by increasing consumer awareness, gas prices, and company and government incentives * Sales success shows there is a strong demand for affordable, fuel- efficient hybrid vehicles that deliver both economic and environmental benefits * Ford Motor Company remains the only domestic automaker with a hybrid on the road and will produce up to 250,000 hybrid vehicles globally by 2010