Clark Behind The Headlines
From HLN's Money Expert Clark Howard

It’s possible for you to have a car with great fuel economy and still have fun driving it.  You can find proof at the L.A. Auto Show where revamped and muscular 4-cylinder engine vehicles were the star attraction.  And one of them, a diesel, won green car of the year!  Now think about that.  A green diesel!  People old enough recall the last big wave of diesels in the United States will remember cars that belched black smoke, went 0-60 in a day and a half, and were often subject to mechanical breakdown.  It pretty much soured an entire generation of Americans against diesel.

Diesels in the modern era are a different thing.  In the United States now, we have adopted a clean diesel fuel.  The engines are very clean burning engines, and the fuel they burn is an ultra clean type of diesel fuel.  The Audi that won green car of the year is the A3 TDI (Turbo Direct Injection) station wagon.  It’s a substantial size vehicle that has get-up-and-go, and gets 30MPG in the city, 42MPG on the highway.  These are real numbers.  The base sticker price is $29, 950.

All of the European automakers have a great deal of experience making these vehicles with diesel engines, and the fuel economy they get can be exceptional. Volkswagen used to sell a 4-door diesel car that could get 100MPG on the highway.  No hybrid gets anywhere near a 100MPG.  So as you’re looking for a fuel efficient car this holiday season, remember, it doesn’t have to come wrapped in a hybrid bow.  It could be a diesel and who knows what else is coming.

Clark Behind The Headlines
From HLN's Money Expert Clark Howard

As I expected, new cars are becoming a deal again. We went through a real dry spell of opportunity for buyers after the “Cash-for-Clunkers” program ended. Dealer lots were pretty thin and the automakers had cut production, but now lots are filling up again. So what do you need to know if you are in the market for a new car?

When buying a new car, most of us think first about the sticker price, the cost of insurance, gas, maintenance, etc., but the real cost is depreciation: how much value the vehicle loses over the first years of ownership.

According to Kelly Blue Book, an average vehicle maintains less than 35-percent of its original value after 5 years. Imagine that! KBB has just published its 2010 list of vehicles that are predicted to best hold their value. Lexus and Toyota topped the list.

Of course, I prefer used cars because someone else has essentially paid for the depreciation. But, if you keep your car for a long time, then it’s fine to reward yourself with a new vehicle. Just make sure you keep it for at least 10 years. That’s how long it usually takes to absorb all the depreciation. Happy hunting!

HELP ME CLARK!
From HLN's Money Expert Clark Howard

DWIGHT:

Is it better to get a loan from your bank for a certified used car or try and get financed through the dealer?

CLARK:
Absolutely 100% of the time you go to your bank to get pre-approved for a car loan for a used or new car.

Now if the car dealer will then meet or beat the interest rate offered by your bank, fine to do it with the dealer.

But almost always if you don't shop in advance for that loan you're gonna get chopped off at the knees.

Money Coach Diaries with HLN's Money Expert Clark Howard

Having trouble managing money? Do your money goals seem impossible? Clark Howard wants to help you! We're looking for individuals or families who are willing to be profiled on HLN. Those chosen will get money advice and information from Clark Howard.

This week's question comes from Bell Wahab of Atlanta, GA:

I have a 2008 BMW 335. I leased it in January of 2008 and my main concern is whether or not I am actually doing the best thing for my financial future by leasing as opposed to buying.

I think the monthly payment might be high to some people, but to me it’s very affordable. I don’t feel bothered by it, but I recognize if I decide to purchase the vehicle now the payment would go up.

The car is an expensive car so if I would have bought it, I probably would have wound up financing it for six years or so.

At the time, I thought that leasing it would make it more affordable. It would allow me to get something I wanted but would limit the amount of money I would have to spend monthly to have it.

My main concern is whether or not I should wait until the end of the lease and see how much the car is worth and negotiate then, or should I buy it out now when I think that I might be able to get a pretty cheap finance rate because the credit markets are tighter, but I have good credit.

I feel comfortable negotiating about money. I think that when I first purchased the car that’s when the credit crunch hit home and many people weren't getting car loans at all.

But I leased it anyway, so I'm just now trying to decide which way is better for me.

HLN Money Expert Clark Howard

In the 80s movie “Back to the Future”, the mad professor had gone off into the future and came back with the DeLorean that had a different fuel system. It was called Mr. Fusion, and it was fed trash from the house of the main character, played by Michael J. Fox. He got the cans and started pouring the trash in and that was all they needed to power the DeLorean.

Clark recommends checking out the Microfueler, which allows you to make fuel from household waste.

Well, another popular actor from the 80s, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, is in a video for a technology called the Microfueler. And he's really excited about this startup company.

The Microfueler is a home fueling station that you install at your house to fuel your cars. The idea of this machine is to use waste to make your own fuel and then you can run a car, truck or SUV that is an E85. An E85 is a flex-fuel vehicle like they have in Brazil. About 90% of new vehicles sold in Brazil are designed to run on gasoline, ethanol, or a combination of the two.

The Microfueler is designed to pay for itself in two years through a combination of cost savings and a federal tax credit. After you pay it off, you're fueling in an environmentally conscious way, if that matters to you. Or, if the other kind of green matters to you, you're saving money. You can see more about it at www.microfueler.com.

There’s only one Microfueler in operation right now. Is it going to work on a wide scale? Who knows? The idea of taking your food waste and turning it into energy seems like off-the-charts crazy, but there are more efforts around the country to take garbage and turn it into energy to run factories or provide energy for homes.

Wouldn't it be something if Mr. Fusion wasn't just a joke, and the idea really ends up providing energy to make things run? And who among us would be the first one to get something like this?

Yes, it would be me.

Clark Behind The Headlines
From HLN's Money Expert Clark Howard

There are times when companies mess up. It's not so much a test of who's perfect and who's not. It's more of a question of how do you handle it when you have messed up. People understand when you say, "I made a mistake and here is what we’re doing to make sure it never happens again."

There's a story about Enterprise Rent-A-Car, and they messed up big time! The Kansas City Star broke this story that Enterprise was buying cars as a fleet purchaser from General Motors. And in order to save money, they were buying cars with side airbags deleted from the car because they were not mandated by law. The only ones that are required are the front airbags.

Enterprise worked out a deal with General Motors to delete the side airbags in return for a lower price on the cars. They did this for three years and it saved the company almost $12 million. They were still within the law until they did something else. Enterprise went on to sell the cars but they didn't disclose that they had deleted the airbags.

According to industry studies, having side airbags reduces highway deaths by 45% among drivers in cars that are hit on the driver's side. So when you get into the cost benefit analysis, this is life-threatening for people who bought these cars.

Now this is where I think the story becomes really important. Any company can make a decision to make their cars less safe. That's their judgment and their decision. Not telling people when they went to buy the cars was wrong.

But you have to give Enterprise credit, and this is the nuance that has been missing in America. They found every person they sold one to, and plans to send them letters saying they’ll buy the cars back regardless of condition, at above market value. They owned up to it. They're making amends.

So remembering that we all do make mistakes, what you do afterward is really the heart of it. It's probably good for your wallet too, no matter what lawyers will tell you about never saying you're sorry and never admitting the truth.

MARGARETHA:

What is your advice on taking out a collision damage waiver when renting a car, even though my insurer says I'm covered for rentals? The rates seem exorbitant, but I also don't want a possible dispute with the rental company to spoil my vacation should something happen.

CLARK:

Great question! And the reality is, even if you buy the insurance from a car rental company, you're still going to have a hassle factor if you are in an accident or there is something that involves a claim.

The whole purpose of having auto insurance is to protect you from the unexpected event. If you have coverage for temporary use of a rental car, you should use that.

But if you want ultra peace of mind, I'd like for you to also use a credit card that pays what your own insurance doesn't. And many credit cards do that.

If you're renting a car five or more times a year, pay the huge fee for a Diners Club card.

Diners Club is the only credit card that has blanket protection for you when you rent a car and, in fact, takes care of it before your own insurance company is ever involved.

Tune in to Clark Howard Saturdays and Sundays at noon and 4 p.m. ET on HLN

Uncle Sam wants to put you in a new car. A so-called "cash for clunkers" bill - just passed by the House - provides money to trade in that gas guzzler for a new, more fuel-efficient car. The bill now goes to the Senate.

1) What's in the bill

The program would offer vouchers that allow consumers to save up to $4,500 on a new-car purchase. There are also various credits, for trucks and work trucks. Here are some requirements according to the House version of the bill. The old car must get 18 mpg or less city/highway combined while the new car must get at least 22 mpg city/highway combined.

The vehicle must be registered/insured under your name & in use for at least one year. And the car purchased must cost $45,000 or less. However, cars that have not been insured for the past year or those that are older than 25 years are not eligible to be traded in for vouchers.

These eligibility requirements vary depending on whether you’re getting vouchers for a light duty truck or a work truck.

2) Criticism

One of the biggest criticisms is that it’s not very environmentally friendly. Getting 22 miles per gallon isn’t exactly a gas-sipping car. Secondly, not a lot of cars will qualify for the trade in. Here are some examples of cars that would be eligible according to Edmunds.com: the 1990 Cadillac DeVille; 1991 Dodge Grand Caravan; 1990 Dodge Ramcharger and the 2004 Chevy Tahoe.

3) How it will work

First, you’ll want to see if you qualify. Get your car’s Mpg rating on the window sticker, or go to fueleconomy.gov. Once your car qualifies for a trade in and the car you’re buying is eligible for the program, there will be an electronic transfer of funds from the government to the dealer. The voucher amount would be credited as all or part of the down payment on a qualifying new car.

So far as we know, the vouchers will only be available for new car purchases, not used car purchases.

The program would last about a year and it’s expected to generate up to 1 million new car purchases. Experts say that the earliest we could see this program in action is October.

For more of Gerri's Top Tips, tune into CNN weekdays at 11:20 am Eastern Time.

General Motors has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. If you own a GM car or if you're thinking about buying one, here's what this bankruptcy means to you.

1) Finding a new dealership

If you own a GM car, one of the bigger issues for you may be that the dealership you’re used could be shut down. Over the next year, 1,500 dealerships will wind down, according to the company. That means you may have to travel further to get to a station and endure longer wait times.

To find a new place to get your car serviced, go to GM’s dealer "locator" tool on its Web site - all you have to do is punch in your zip code. But if it’s just routine maintenance you need, like oil changes or tire rotations, consider going to an independent shop. Not only is it more convenient, but Consumer Reports says it’s usually less expensive than dealerships. Just make sure you keep the receipts.

2) Deals to be had

Well, the time is right. Incentives on GM cars are historic, according to Edmunds.com. Take a look at some of the deals out there - for a 2009 Cadillac Escalade, you'll get up to $4,500 cash back. For a Chevy Tahoe, you'll get up to $7,000 cash back. And a 2009 Chevy Impala can get you up to $6,000 cash back, according to Edmunds.com.

3) Scoring a bargain

Find a dealership that’s going out of business. The deal you get is more dependent on how the dealer is doing than how GM is doing. Dealerships going out of business will be the most desperate to get cars off the lot.

Call to ask if they have the car you’re interested in. (It’s not the best idea to blindly visit the dealership because if they don’t have the car you want, you might be sold on getting another kind of car).

Know the incentives and what it cost the dealer. Right now about 25 percent of vehicles are sold below their true cost across the board. But the percent of GM vehicles selling below what the dealer paid for it could be higher. Getting the best info is key to getting a good deal.

Finally, negotiate, but don’t bully - don’t go in offering half the vehicle’s value. You do have leverage as a consumer since auto sales across the board are weak.

Catch more of Gerri's Top Tips weekdays at 11:20 am Eastern Time on CNN.

One last piece of advice: You may want to wait a few weeks or even a few months to get the best deals. And keep in mind that availability of these cars will diminish, so you may have to contend with a car color you don’t like or features you’re not crazy about.

President Barack Obama announced new rules on Tuesday to get the auto industry to make more fuel efficient cars and light trucks. Under current rules, automakers are supposed to manufacture car fleets that average 25 miles per gallon.

That means that some cars in an automaker's "fleet" can have better fuel mileage, while other vehicles - SUVs, mini-vans and the like - come in well below the government mandated average.

Obama's new proposal would toughen fuel efficiency standards to 35.5 miles per gallon by 2016. The automakers seem to be on board, because Obama's new rules propose a federal standard for fuel efficiency standards, taking the bite out of states like California that impose tougher rules than the rest of the country.

Still, the new rules as proposed will push automakers to make and sell more fuel-efficient cars - meaning more compacts, hybrids and the like. The question is will Americans want to buy smaller cars? Here are some things they will have to consider:

1) Cost vs. savings. The White House says all the new rules - including some recently enacted - will increase the price of a car by a total of $1,300 per vehicle; but, that does not factor in the long term savings consumers could see at the gas pump. If more Americans start driving fuel-efficient cars over the long haul, that could ease demand on gasoline and keep prices down.

2) The environment. According to some, the United States consumes up to 10 percent of world oil output just driving their cars and trucks (including big-rigs transporting goods across the country). Obama argues that more fuel efficient cars on the road will make a dent in carbon emission in this country.

3) Energy security. Obama has even couched his tougher rules in national security terms, because America's growing dependence on imported oil has become such a burning issue in Washington.

Obviously, Americans will decide what vehicles suit their needs, and if all the tougher standards do get enacted, they will have to pay more to buy their SUVs.

Still, the U.S. is just playing catch up with the rest of the world. Japan plans to move to the 35.5 miles per gallon car fleet average next year, six years ahead of President Obama's proposal. And, the European Union is pushing for a more ambitious 47 miles per gallon car fleet average by 2012. We're not there yet!

Ali Velshi is CNN’s Chief Business Correspondent