A dear friend of mine is from England, now living in the U.S.  She sat in my living room recently, telling me that one of the hardest things to get used to in America has been the way that people spend so much time in their cars. 

In England, she told me, life was centered around smaller villages.  Mothers walked their children to school, because they lived close enough.  They walked to the market, and to church.  And it would be nearly unheard of to drive for 15 minutes to go shopping.

I've run several stories lately on hybrid vehicles -- comparing their costs against traditional gasoline engines (http://askpatty.typepad.com/ask_patty_/2008/04/pros-and-cons-o.html) and giving tips on how get the best fuel economy when driving them (http://askpatty.typepad.com/ask_patty_/2008/04/tips-to-get-bet.html) - and it occurred to me that it might be helpful to explain what makes these powertrains so different.

So Kim and Seana, those two music-loving Ford-focus-travelling- Sync-using singer songwriters have assembled all their travel adventure videos at a giant Kim and Seana YouTube video page (http://youtube.com/user/kimandseana), and have offered our readers another chance to win some more cool prizes.

Ford has improved its warranty coverage on both new and remanufactured gasoline engine and transmission assemblies, increasing the mileage by 25,000 miles from 3-years/75,000 miles to 3-years/100,000 miles, effective April 1, 2008.

According to their press release:

During Earth month – and every day of the year – we know you want to stretch your fuel to get the most out of every purchase. We found a fun collection of money-saving tips and advice at Shell.com and thought to share a few of them with our AskPatty readers.

Now that gas prices are hovering around $4 a gallon, many drivers are becoming more aware of their need to cut their gas costs. And with Earth Day upon us, we've been bombarded by messages telling us to make greener choices to help save our planet.