Two new programs caught my eye recently, recession-fighters by vehicle companies who aren't spending their time driving to D.C. for a handout. Perhaps this kind of thinking will help reverse the downturn in transportation sales. I hope so.

The first company is Hyundai, which over the weekend made a ton of ad buys to promote Hyundai Assurance. This program allows purchasers of new Hyundais to walk away from their loan in the event they lose their job within the next twelve months. Since the value of a new car drops considerably the moment it is driven off the lot, the company wisely built into the program coverage of up to $7,500 of negative equity. This means that, as long as the value of the car (as determined by Hyundai) is no less than $7,500 less than the amount owed, the purchaser can cut it loose without obligation. Say goodbye to the downpayment, though.

The second company is Harley-Davidson, which has been hit hard by the recession and the credit crunch. Since many new Harley riders start with the least expensive ride in the stable, the Sportster, the company is currently offering those who buy a new Sportster now the right to trade up within a year to a Dyna, Softail, VRSC or Touring model and receive the entire new value of the Sportster in trade. This is a good deal for the rider who is hot to join the HOG ranks but worried about his/her present finances.

This kind of thinking shows that companies that are willing to confront the recession, rather than withdraw into a shell, can create programs to give their dealers a fighting chance to move some iron.

Detroit, I'm looking at YOU.

The family of Dr. Harold Carr, a London physician, found a 1937 Bugatti Type 57S Atalante in his garage after his death.

The Associated Press reports that the car is one of only 17 made, and appraisers expect that it will fetch more than $4.3 million when it is sold at auction in February. AutoBlog adds that "Estimated values for the car are all over the map, with values as high as £6 million (about $8.8M USD) being discussed."

It was originally owned by British race car driver Earl Howe and changed hands several times -- It hasn't been used since 1960.

I know literally nothing about cars except that friends make fun of me when I show up in a 1995 Volvo. But I wonder whether the price the car realizes at auction will be adversely impacted by the economy. Might the family be better off waiting a few years? Or perhaps a buyer will scoop it up at a bargain and then flip it when the economy rebounds.

Either way, it's one sweet ride for the Carr's.

After touching down at San Francisco International Airport after the holidays, I didn't feel so guilty about flying as I had in the past. Or actually, because of optimism for a New Year, reduced gas prices and a third of the seats on my flight staying empty, I didn't even give a thought about feeling guilty.

However, I was landing in San Francisco, one of the most eco-conscious places in America, and the city intends to do its part in making everyone passing through its borders aware of their carbon footprint. Not only is San Francisco the first U.S. city to consider a "congestion pricing plan" for motorists driving its streets, it will also be the first city in the world to let travelers buy certified carbon offsets in its airport.

Flush with capital from taxpayers, GMAC is lowering its underwriting standards. The credit crunch and a shortage of cash had pushed the company's minimum FICO score for car loans up to 700. Now credit scores as low as 621 will qualify for some form of GMAC finanncing.

In its press release announcing the return to less responsible lending, GMAC made it sounds like a FICO score requirement of 700 was unreasonably high: "The actions of the federal government to support GMAC are having an immediate and meaningful effect on our ability to provide credit to automotive customers."

Here's the truth about a 700 FICO score: It puts your right around the middle. According to Equifax, this is an approximate breakdown of Americans' credit scores;

• 15% of the U.S. population is below 600
• 35% of the U.S. population is below 670
• 50% of the U.S. population is below 710
  
• 70% of the U.S. population is below 755
• 90% of the U.S. population is below 790

In other words, lowering required credit score below 670 would have allowed 65% of Americans to get a GMAC loan. And now the federal government provided the cash for GMAC to go 49 points lower than that!

Looking at the dismal state of so many Americans' finances, I find this unconscionable. If your credit history is worse than 70% of the population, what business do you have taking out a loan to buy a new car? I know, it's your choice, but is that really something that the federal government should be subsidizing?

Flying to my mom-in-law's for Christmas, I was able to get a whole can of Coke when the flight attendants rolled the beverage cart my way. Flying back after New Year's, I was only able to get a cup -- and ice cubes took up most of the space. And to me, that sums up the direction airline service in 2009: a downward spiral.

You'd think gas prices going downward would mean fuel surcharges decline too. Think again.

And now more airlines are planning to go down the '"menu pricing" route for everything related to flying on their planes.

The governor of Oregon is worried about the nation's embracing of high-mileage vehicles. The change could result in a sharp drop in gas tax revenue, leaving his state with a huge deficit, so his administration has come up with a workable alternative - the pay by the mile vehicle tax plan.

The transition to this plan, which would take some time, has been included in the state's new proposed transportation bill. How it would work--

Vehicles are equipped with GPS units that keep track of miles driven. When the driver refuels, a device at the pump reads the total miles driven since the last fill up and adds a per-mile tax charge to the final fuel bill. The gas tax portion of the final total would be deducted. In a test of this system by 300 Portland-area residents, the drivers paid 1.2 cents tax per mile driven and received a refund of their gas tax, 24 cents a gallon.

If my math is correct, vehicles that get 20 mpg would pay the same tax as before. Oddly, cars that get higher mileage would actually pay a higher tax under this plan. For example, a car that gets 30 mpg currently pays .8 cents per mile in gas tax. A gas guzzler that gets 10 mpg, on the other hand, would see its tax per mile cut in half.

I don't have a problem in revising the way funds are collected to keep the nation's roads maintained. I'm uneasy, however, with the government collecting yet another record of my personal life, in this instance, my travel habits. The state claims that the system will not collect any personal data, but I have a theory-- call it Barlow's Conjecture-- that any personal data that can be collected and added to master marketing databases eventually will be.

Despite my qualms, this is the most workable solution I've seen to sustaining state transportation revenue, and so I expect to see it show up on the planning board of many other states.

How often do you really need a car? Instead of owning your own ride, what if there were a fleet of cars conveniently stationed nearby that you could rent by the hour when the need arose? Following in the tread print of Zipcar, Hertz has started just such a service in New York City, London, and Paris called Hertz Connect.

The fully-gassed cars are available at a number of pickup points in the city, which members reserve online or by phone for as little as an hour at a time. Reserving by phone will cost you an extra $3.50. Each car is equipped with a hands-free phone hookup to Hertz, through which you can extend rentals on the fly.

Three membership plans are available;

• A basic package at $50 per year with a $25 application fee (!), for which you'll get 180 free miles a day and rental charge of $10 an hour.
• Connect 50, a $50 per month plus the same $25 nonsense fee, for the privilege of 180 free miles/day and $9.00 an hour rental.
• Connect 125, $125 per month, $25, 180 miles per day, $8.50 per hour.

Insurance is included in the cost of the rental.

The terms of rental include some restrictions; no smoking, no pets, and a limit of four active reservations per member.

For those living in a high-density area such as NYC or a large college campus, this seems like an excellent way to save a lot of dough. If it were available in my neighborhood, I would be very tempted to dump one of our cars. On the downside, such a program bodes ill for the struggling auto industry.

Hertz has the budget and infrastructure to take this program national, but it will have to hustle to catch up with Zipcar, which already offers a similar service in 33 locations including a number of campuses, and offers an appealing fleet of fun rides.

Also read: Zipcar, Flexcar merger

Automobile dealerships are struggling. There are probably too many dealerships and there are fewer car buyers than usual. So they all have inventory they need to get rid of. I had heard of dealers having "buy one, get one free" sales, but hadn't seen any firsthand. Now, one dealer in Milwaukee is giving me the chance.

The Russ Darrow Group is having a major sale at all its dealerships through January 5 to try to whittle down its inventory of 1,000 used and 2,000 new cars. Anyone who buys a new vehicle is automatically entitled to a used vehicle for $1 (basically free) plus tax, title, and license. How good with the used car be? The value will be determined by the price of the new vehicle that's purchased. The more expensive the new car, the more valuable the used car, and values will range from $500 to $10,000.

And if buyers don't want a used car? They can use the credit toward a second new vehicle. This is just another example of the awesome deals available if you're in the market for a new car. Obviously if you can't afford a different car or the time just isn't right to buy one, then this deal makes no difference to you. But for those consumers who were already planning on getting a different car in the next 6 months or so, they definitely have a lot of leverage with the car dealers and ought to play hardball and shop around. There's no better time to get the most bang for your auto buck.

Tracy L. Coenen, CPA, MBA, CFE performs fraud examinations and financial investigations for her company Sequence Inc. Forensic Accounting, and is the author of Essentials of Corporate Fraud.

I don't know how much money it will save, but at least Caterpillar Inc. is making a move that might improve employee morale by announcing it will cut executive compensation by up to 50% next year, according to an Associated Press story.

The mining and construction equipment maker has already laid off employees, and plans temporary factory shutdowns and more layoffs as needed. As someone who was laid off, (not by Caterpillar but at a newspaper) I think cutting executive pay sends a message that everyone is feeling the pain and that executives who make as much money in a month as a floor workers does in a year are not immune from the recession.

Pay for senior managers at Caterpillar, based in Peoria, Ill., will also be reduced next year by 5% to 35%. Other management and support staff will see their pay cut by up to 15%. The planned reductions are part of its incentive program and equity-based compensation. A hiring freeze is also in effect and merit increases for managers and support employees are being suspended.

Under terms of a $17.4 billion bailout approved by President Bush on Friday, General Motors and Chrysler have three months to turn things around. If they don't, they have to repay the loans and face bankruptcy.

Does anyone really think that companies that are failing after years of bad business decisions will really get their act together by the end of March 2009? People have spent more time trying to stick to a diet.

The emergency loans start with $13.4 billion now and $4 billion more in February. The Obama administration will determine at the end of March if the automakers are meeting the conditions of the loans and will continue getting government aid, or if they must repay the loans and go bankrupt.

We've all been on the receiving end of a parking ticket we felt was unjust wishing there was some way to, "stick it to the man," while avoiding a night in jail. One New Jersey man recently decided he was going to "fight back" by paying his $56 fine completely in pennies, only to be turned down after he lugged the 112 rolls of pennies into the courthouse. To top it all off, because of non-payment, he had to pay an additional $90 to get out on bail because a warrant had been issued for his arrest!

While the New Jersey Court hasn't commented on why it wouldn't take the coins, there is a precedent for not accepting large amounts of coins as payment. While some may argue that the government must take accept them as a form of payment, at least one district court has a policy which lets clerks turn down any amount of coins which would be a burden to accept. Something I'm sure the Bloomfield Municipal Court will be writing up in the next few days.

Back in June, consumers were puffed up with pride when Hertz announced it was ending its policy of overcharging customers for gas. If you returned the car without filling the tank all the way again, Hertz gave customers the option of pre-buying gas set according to the going rate at the pumps in that city, plus a $7 fee. Considering that before then, it was gouging us for twice the market rate of gas, or some $8 a gallon, the policy revision was a breath of fresh air.

We're gasping again. A few weeks ago, with none of the P.R. fanfare that accompanied the policy's implementation, Hertz quietly eliminated them. We're back to square one. As gas prices became more manageable, the rental car company's panic evaporated, and now that it isn't so desperate for our business, its true colors are returning.

Hertz's policy, poorly disclosed to customers, has also been that if you drive less than 50 to 100 miles during your rental, you are automatically charged a refueling fee. Even if your tank was returned full. That policy, too, seems to live on, unchanged. (I've asked Hertz to tell me if it does. No response so far.)

In early summer, the Maryland Attorney General was threatening to sue car rental companies over practices like these, and some bystanders thought that the legal pressure was what convinced them to relent. Something must have changed behind the scenes -- back-room deals, perhaps? -- because Hertz is no longer playing ball.

It's a wonder, sometimes, that we need gas or coal at all. It seems like every day, there's a new potential source of energy out there. We know about the obvious ones -- wind and solar power. Then there are lesser known like wave energy, where people are hoping if we can harness the energy from the ocean, we might be able to create fuel cells to drive our cars.

And now the latest: traffic energy.

According to TG Daily, a technology news portal, an Israeli company called Innowattech has figured out how to collect energy from cars driving on the road. They install something called piezoelectric crystals underneath the road, and the highway vibrations are then captured by the crystals and converted into electricity. Apparently, for every kilometer (0.62 miles), you can get up to 500 kilowatts (500,000 watts), which will power approximately 100 homes.

After writing about a car dealer in Chicago who was offering a PT Cruiser for $1 for customers buying a $40,000 luxury SUV, I now find a two-for-one deal happening in Brussels.

Reuters reports that through Dec. 15, a Belgian car dealer is giving customers one car after they buy a more expensive model. They choose from a range of new, full-price cars -- the cheapest a 22,800 euro ($28,930) Hyundai van -- and then they can pick a second free vehicle from a selection that goes up to 14,000 euros.

The move by auto dealer Cardoen is one that other car companies have tried as the auto industry undergoes a global meltdown. Cardoen could do this buy one, get one free deal because distributors in southern Europe were desperate to move cars off their lots and were selling them to Cardoen at steep discounts.

Reuters also reported similar deals in the United States. Chicago's Bettenhausen Dodge sells two cars for the price of one, and the deal gets better at Rob Lambdin's University Dodge in Miami with a "Buy one, get two!" sale.

The Bennenhausen dealership first offered a deal of a second vehicle for $1 after buying a car, truck or minivan. That deal ended within a week because it was so successful, so the dealership started a second program promoting the buy two cars for the price of one special.

At a time when the Big Three automakers are begging Congress for money, maybe it's time for American taxpayers to get this deal every time they step onto one of their car lots.

Aaron Crowe is an unemployed journalist in the San Francisco Bay Area. Read about his job hunt at www.talesofanunemployeddad.blogspot.com

There's a giant pile-up down at the Port of Los Angeles. No, not the usual oops between an 18-wheeler and a passenger car on the 710 corridor. It's a pile-up of unsold vehicles.

Thousands of unsold import cars -- everything from SUVs to hybrids, are sitting idle, waiting for dealerships across the country to sell their backlog and replenish. Trouble is, in the worst car market in a generation, nothing's selling. So the car companies have leased vacant land at the Port of Los Angeles (the biggest port in the country) for use as a massive parking lot.

Now it's running out of space. Toyota and Mercedes have quickly leased more acreage, but Nissan couldn't arrange it and had to find parking lot space elsewhere.