The price of a gallon of gasoline is closing in on the $3 range over much of the country with prices in five states, California, Hawaii, Oregon, Nevada and Washington, over $3 per gallon.

This time around the $3 mark, consumers aren’t complaining as much and seem to accept the rising prices as normal and expected.

California drivers are hit hardest with the average gasoline price at $3.35 per gallon. The lowest price in the nation is in North Carolina, where in Winston-Salem you can fill up at only $2.47 per gallon.

For those who have purchased hybrid vehicles to help them avoid the gas-crunch, there is more bad news. Traction control problems haunt Toyota’s Prius with consumer complaints increasing. Consumers living in snowy or hilly areas have had problems when the traction control, which is computer-operated, shuts down engine power in slippery conditions. Toyota maintains that the traction control is operating properly, reducing or shutting down power to the engine when it detects wheel spin. This can happen even if the car goes over a bump. Toyota has been reluctant to make any changes, causing consternation for owners.

A car is probably going to be your biggest expense outside of the purchase or rental of your home. Paying too much for a car through purchase price or financing can leave you in the hole if the vehicle is totalled in an accident or stolen. An insurance company is going to pay only the value of your car, not the exorbitant balance left on your finance interest. Another concern is retaining good re-sale or trade value if you plan on replacing your vehicle every few years.

Consumer Reports list the top 10 best cars for holding value and the bottom 10. Not surprisingly, all of the top 10 are imports. 9 of the bottom 10 are American made models.

Check out the list.

Ford has announced that its small car, the Focus, will be revised and upgraded for 2008. Designed initially for Europe, the model has not been completely re-designed for America before and the idea is that, by offering more features for less money, sales will take off again after sliding recently.

The small car segment of the US market has not been a money earner for manufacturers in the past but the hope is that increasing gas prices will re-vitalize sales of cars like the Focus. Ford have not been doing well recently and are looking for ways to improve their position.

Having had experience of the Focus, I must admit to a wry smile and the thought that any improvement to it would be a step in the right direction. Just do a search for problems with it and see what you come up with…

CNN has an article looking at Consumer Reports’ latest survey on reliability in 2006 and 2007 cars. It makes interesting reading, with some winners you would expect and some surprising losers.

Toyota and Lexus do well but I was amazed that Volkswagen have so many models that owners reported as unreliable. As a result, I wonder just how reliable these surveys are. How were they conducted and what questions were asked? And to what extent has the usual problem with these surveys been overcome – that many owners hesitate to pour scorn on what was their own choice, after all?

These questions are answered in Consumer Reports’ FAQ on the matter. It does seem that they make a good job of their investigations and so we would be wise to take note of their findings when looking for a new car.

Have a read and be prepared for some surprises.