Gas prices have been dropping lately, but nevertheless, the dollar amount at the pump is still...what's the word I'm looking for... oh, yes, insane. Evil is another good word.

So when the spokesperson for Pump and Save contacted me, vowing that its average user saves over $175 per year at the pump, I knew I'd be writing some sort of post for WalletPop. So here it is: Check out PumpandSave.com, a web site that offers numerous tips and tools on how to save gas -- like price-saving maps and gas usage calculators. But by far, its reason for being is that you can compare the best of the best of the cash-back and rewards-based gas cards.

If you're in the market for a gas card, this is a really sharp site. They have a lot of gas cards listed here, on the home page, so that you can compare one from the other, since not all rewards are created equally.

As I often note when mentioning one of these saving money sites, I'm not endorsing it. Beyond just looking around, I haven't used PumpandSave.com, and in fact, I don't even have a gas card and am not currently planning on getting one. But as an objective bystander, it looks interesting, and like it's worth spending some time on, especially if you've been considering getting a gas card, or if you are just really frazzled by the price at the pump and want some gas-saving ideas.

Geoff Williams is a freelance journalist, author and--not that anyone asked--the owner of a 1994 Saturn that fortunately has pretty decent gas mileage.

Rising gas prices are everywhere in the news as the fall-out continues. One article fears for $5 gas by July 4, others focus on the unlikely winners in the wake of such high prices at the pump, like Segway scooters. Meanwhile, if you are driving in your car still these days, it will get easier to choose which satellite radio service to purchase, since the FCC approved the merger of XM and Sirius.

News nuggets you need to know today:

• Rise in gas ripples through the economy
• Gas prices forcing many to pick up and move
• Floods May Send Gas Up 15 Percent
• $5 Gas Likely by July 4th; Get Ready for 'Stay-Cation'
  
• Price Jolt: Electricity Bills Going Up, Up, Up
• High Gas Prices Boost Interest in Segway Scooters
• Gas Prices, Economy Ease Shortage of Truckers
• Where to Find Deals as Inflation Soars

Elsewhere on the Web:

• CEO Pay Climbs Despite Companies' Struggles
  
• Five Ways to Cut Car Insurance Costs
  
• Slash Your Grocery Bills: 3 Steps for Reining in Costs
  
• Some Employees Buy Own Laptops, Phones for Work
  
• He's Big Bird: Caroll Spinney Loves Every Feather
• The Necktie, Knot What it Used to Be, Still Hangs On
  
• Nike Lets Sponsored Swimming Change Brands
• New Kits Can Turn Your Car into a Hybrid
  
• How Much You Need In Your Wallet For Your Next Flight
  
• Protect Your Child from Online Dangers the 'Cyber Dad' Way
  
  
  
  

I remember getting really excited when Geo first started producing cars in 1989. Quite apart from the fact that Geo was one of the first new lines that General Motors had put out in years, there was something about the cars themselves. They were reasonably well constructed, had cute styling, and got great mileage.

My Uncle Merle got one for my cousin Meghan, and I remember not being able to stop staring at it. Unfortunately, my father had some (justifiable) concerns about my driving skills and wanted me in a car with lots of heavy metal. He slammed the door on Meghan's car, tapped the fender, and declared it "tinny." I know that that was the death knell, and that I wouldn't be driving a hot little Geo any time soon.

(On the bright side, I ended up getting a 1983 Cadillac Seville from a police auction. I liked the classic styling and the fact that I could put fifteen friends in the car, while my father liked the fact that it weighed a ton and was built like a panzer. I put in a sweet sound system and rode the thing into the ground. In fact, it was the first car that I didn't total).

A reader comment on my previous post about our willingness to pay for name-brand gas caused me to delve a little deeper into the gasoline chain of custody. If you're a BP or Shell or Marathon devotee, you might want to consider the journey from well to your neighborhood station-

The oil is pumped from the ground in Alaska, Canada, Mexico, Venezuela or wherever.

It is transported via tanker or pipeline to refineries, primarily along the U.S. coastline, (including Louisiana, as we found out post-Katrina) where it is cracked into components, including gasoline.

From the refinery, this gasoline flows through the pipeline network that criss-crossing the country, eventually filling tank farms in our metropolitan areas.

At this point, all of the gasoline is the same, all one uniform product. Shell, B.P. and other brands all come from the same tanks. This explains, by the way, why you can't boycott gas that comes from one country, say Venezula. It's all comingled.

As gas prices rise, companies are scrambling to fill the role of buyer's agent for we the suffering public. Your search for the best gas deal can be made easier by various internet sites, or our GPS units or cell phones, all of which can be used to comparison shop. Among the sites that might save you a couple of bucks-

• gasprices.Mapquest .com merges mapping with gas price data to route you to the cheapest petrol in your proximity.
• Gasbuddy.com is another site offering real time gas prices in your area.
• GasPriceWatch.com also offers a widget via Mobio that will take the gas price, your current location, and geospatial data and send the cheapest gas location to your cell phone.
• MSN Autos Gas Price plots cheap gas locations on a Microsoft base map.

The key to this business, of course, is accurate data, and in such a rapidly evolving market, determining which is best is like picking the tastiest fish from a school swimming by. And, of course, the gas sellers know about these sites, and don't you suspect they are always just one step ahead?

via SearchEngineJournal