Are you thinking about your next vehicle purchase? There are so many things to consider like gas mileage, comfort, safety, longevity, and perhaps the most important thing is the cost of ownership, for a vehicle that delivers all of these must haves.

Well, you can rest assured that Toyota measures up, FANTASTICALLY well against the auto industry’s other best selling models.

Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Toyota has developed a great cost of car comparison tool to help you determine how well they stack up by comparison to other manufacturers.

When at the site, just choose a Toyota model that you like. Then, you will be taken to a page that features all the details on that particular model,and it will also let you choose other comparable models from other manufacturers to help you determine the best car choice for you to purchase.

According to IntelliChoice and Kelly Blue Book Toyota has the Best Resale Value of all brands for 2013, although a vehicle’s projected resale value (price quote)is specific to the 2013 model year, at this time.

Toyota has always received high marks in safety and in 2013, Toyota has more IIHS Top Safety Picks than any other brand.

“Toyota is the most fuel-efficient full-line automotive manufacturer.” Based on NHTSA Final Industry MY10 CAFE data for Toyota Motor Sales.

Another plus is, every new Toyota comes with ToyotaCare, a complimentary 2 year maintenance program that includes roadside assistance.

Whatever your choice for your next vehicle, Toyota makes it easy to decide with their cost comparison tool. Rest assured, you will always get top notch customer service and attention at any Toyota dealership, making your customer experience and satisfaction an added bonus. Toyota is always a great choice.

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Cooper Tire for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

You probably already know that Cooper Tire, has been crafting tires for life’s road trips, for nearly 100 years.They boast a full product portfolio, that fits most vehicles on the road today. Cooper Tires manufactures top quality passenger, light truck, sport utility, performance and winter tires.

As of today, March 22, Cooper Tires Facebook fans may submit their not-so-every day road trip stories on the company’s Facebook  fanpage. You can enter the Cooper Tire’s My Every Day Road Trip Contest, in one of the following ways: a written story, a photo or a video. Winners will be selected based on criteria such as originality, creativity,  your passion for Cooper tires as well as your own compelling content. You have until March 29th, to enter in this way or by photo.

The top written story will win a $100 gift card to use toward gas for one week, and the highest rated photo entry will receive a $500 gift card to use toward gas for one month.

Whether you enter the contest or not, you can visit Cooper Tire’s Facebook page, for complete contest and sweepstakes rules and submission guidelines. While you are there, you may also want to “like” the Cooper Tire Facebook fan page, perhaps enter the contest, and visit the Cooper Tire website.

If you need a little inspiration watch this video:

From the video enteries in the contest, the top five video finalists will each win a new set of four Cooper tires and advance to the final phase of the competition.

In the final phase of the competition, Cooper Tire Facebook fans will be encouraged to vote for their favorite Every Day Road Trip video, to help determine the final winner. Voting [for an opportunity to enter the sweepstakes] begins April 15).Then, the video with the combined highest score and most votes will be awarded a gift card for $5,000 toward gas for one year to fuel their daily drive. What a deal!

You even have an opportunity to Win, just by voting. Cooper Tire is also offering its fans a chance to win a “Road Trip Kit” just for voting during the “My Every Day Road Trip” sweepstakes. Beginning April 15, you can vote for your favorite top video to help determine the overall Cooper Tire Facebook video winner. Each time you vote (only once per day),you will automatically receive an entry to win a “Road Trip Kit.” The “Road Trip,” prize pack includes several items to keep you on-the-go, including a $100 Cooper Tire auto service voucher, a $50 gas card, $50 iTunes gift card and Cooper gear. Best of luck to all who enter, and remember, tires are for people and safety, NOT just for cars.

How long will it be before we have to pay to leave our driveway? I have asked myself that question many times. Here in the Puget Sound area, there are tolls on several highly traveled bridges and there will be a toll on an anticipated tunnel project that is currently underway.

We all know that our national infrastructure of roads,bridges and dams is in urgent need of upgrading. That could mean a lot of jobs. I received a study on this topic recently and wanted to be sure and share it with you.

Gas Tax, Road Tolls Imperative to U.S. Road, Tunnel & Bridge Markets,
according to SBI Energy

On December 17,2012 in Rockville (MD),results of a study by SBI Energy was released to the public. Below are the details of the report.

There is a growing disconnect on both the federal and state levels between the amount of money being generated from fees paid by users of the U.S. road system and the amount of money required to maintain and expand that system. High gas prices exacerbate the problem, as well as pressure to move towards more fuel-efficient cars and alternative energy vehicles, creating a reduction in fuel use that has the effect of also reducing the amount of gas tax revenue.

The pay-as-you-go system has failed

“While the pay-as-you-go system has worked reasonably well for decades, it is no longer able to pay for all of the roadway construction required to maintain the U.S. road network at its current performance level,” according to Norman Deschamps, SBI Energy analyst and author of The U.S. Road, Bridge and Tunnel Construction Market.

The Federal Highway Trust Fund (HTF) is the primary vehicle through which the federal government collects and transfers money to the states to fund roadway construction. The HTF operates as a pay-as-you-go system, largely funded through taxes on gas and diesel fuel, with the collected funds then transferred to the states through multi-year transportation bills.

The pay-as-you-go system has failed at the federal level, too

“Almost half of the states have less than 60% of their transportation spending come from user-based taxes and fees. The pay-as-you-go system is failing at the federal level as well,” Deschamps continues. “Since 2008, the federal government has had to inject $32.1 billion dollars to maintain solvency of the HTF, and the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21), passed midyear 2012, transfers an additional $18.8 billion into the HTF through FY2013 and FY (fiscal year)2014. Unfortunately, MAP-21 also does not address the growing discrepancy between the amount of money collected through user-based fees by the HTF, and how much money state and local governments are spending to maintain and improve the nation’s roadway infrastructure.”

Capital spending for roadways has averaged a 6% per 10-year CAGR since 1950. However, a new forecast anticipates the CAGR of spending during the next decade to be just 4.8% between 2013 and 2022. According to The U.S. Road, Bridge and Tunnel Construction Market, a new study from energy market research publisher SBI Energy, as long as both state and federal governments refuse to increase their respective gas taxes or implement other user-based funding schemes, long-term market prospects remain bleak.

Unfortunately for the road, bridge and tunnel construction market, the availability of public funding has been, and continues to be, a serious constraint on the market. This lack of funding shows in the growing discrepancy between fees collected for the HTF, and the amount of money needed to maintain those same assets, and in growing debts at all levels of government.

The U.S. Road, Bridge and Tunnel Construction Market by SBI Energy, provides key insight into current and future construction trends for the nation’s road infrastructure, with a particular emphasis on bridge and tunnel construction segments and an analysis of key states. The analysis includes definitions, current product offerings and market detail on the following segments: Road construction, including lane widening, resurfacing and rehabilitation Bridge construction and rehabilitation, as well as, tunnel and wall construction.

The report by SBI, also studies the key elements driving new road construction, analyzing local, state and federal financing strategies that provide construction funding in the U.S., and the impact these projects have on employment.

SBI Energy, is a division of MarketResearch.com. They publish research reports in the industrial, energy, building/construction, and automotive/transportation markets. SBI Energy, also offers a full range of custom research services. To learn more, visit www.sbireports.com

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