How do you need to prepare your car for a hurricane--and how do you use it to get out of harm's way quickly? Matt Hardigree over at Jalopnik did a great job this week of laying out the basics in a service piece that didn't once mention Lindsay Lohan, which is sort of a mixed blessing in our book.  Otherwise, total golf clap, Matt.

However, the evacuation process is just the beginning. At some point, you have to return with or to your car after a big-ass storm. Luckily, this week's appearance by Hurricane Gustav wasn't as biblically devastating as past Gulf storms--but Hurricane Ike is tracking toward Florida just like the infamous Labor Day Hurricane of 1935.

You learn things like that when you get hit, and hit often. I'm a veteran now of four big storms (Ivan, Dennis, Katrina and Gustav) and much of this month has already been spent on the NOAA hurricane Web page. What you also learn is that you have to prepare for the trip home to God knows what--and your car needs to be ready.

So with Matt's great post in mind, here's TheCarConnection.com's list of ten things you really need to know for your return.

1) Never let your gas dip below half-full. You don't know when you'll be able to refuel.

2) Bring a compressor if you can, to reinflate deflated tires that allow you to run down the beach where the road used to be.

3) Bring snacks for the National Guard that protects your remaining salvageable crap. Fruit bars and whiskey seem to work.

4) Bring a small trailer or a large gun. If you want to steal Jet-Skis lying around, drop a new motor in them and have title-free fun, bring the former. If you want to keep them from walking away with looters who silently float into town under the cover of night, you'll need the latter.

5) Bring insurance and title for your car as proof of residency to get back in past guards. And bring your property insurance papers because you'll need to memorize them like an actor heading to an audition. Call the car folks first, because if your car is a total loss, you can get a check for rental days and for a new car more quickly than you'll see anything from homeowner's.

6) Don't park on the streets. Humvees need to pass without clipping wrought-iron balconies. Give 'em a wide berth.

7) Don't bring a car too small. You need to carry plywood, 2x4s, steel cabling, tarps, a toolbox and portable sawhorses. If not for yourself, for a neighbor or a friend.

8) Bring a wind-up radio and leave it in your car with blankets and Powerbars and some bottled water. You just never know.

9) Bring cash. You'll need to barter with the natives and if your car breaks down, good luck on running a credit-card number when power's out for three weeks.

10) Bring a sense of humor. Dark works best. When you come home to a car buried in six feet of sand, the road is strewn with toilets (the houses that are long gone lose their heaviest debris on shore), your family pictures are plastered together and there's a patch of sun where your ceiling fan used to be, it's best to laugh about it and hope the claim adjustors you called can get to you in a month.

In yet another computerized bit of mobile wizardry that is sure to take drivers' eyes off the road, a Mac aficionado has developed software for the iPhone called Mobileyes. The application helps commuters avoid rush hour traffic by viewing live traffic camera feeds on the fly and right on the screen of an iPhone.

Currently, the application works only in selected areas of major American cities. These include Detroit, Hartford, Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Knoxville, Los Angeles, New York, and Washington, D.C. More cities are in the works.

We tried using the app--while sitting at our desk--to check out the traffic on Detroit's I-94 heading west through Inkster, and it looked just lovely. Periodic updates refreshed the screen, with a lovely ad interstitial that showed Detroit TV anchor Huel Perkins. Gotta pay the bills, Fox5.

However, iPhone phreaks and other handheld abusers are likely to put this feature into use while driving. Unlike navigation systems that require lots of pushbuttoning, the iPhone version is easy to click through while driving--which means you'll use it that much more often. With cities such as Los Angeles now cracking down on talking and texting while driving, Mobileyes adds to the debate on the number of in-car distractions facing the modern driver.

Visit 3rd Dimension, Inc.'s site to learn more--and tell us in a comment if you've tried it and found it useful, or if you're in the hospital as a result.

Via Geekologie

You can add another state to the pile of those that forbid texting and driving. This time, it's Alaska--home of moose hunters and Mustang lovers, and that's just their Rachel-sporting governor Sarah Palin.

Starting on Monday, Alaska joined a smaller, less perfect union of five states that don't allow you to do what the idiot in this photo is doing. Other states in the clique include Minnesota, New Jersey, Washington, and our favorite, Louisiana, where it's ironically still legal to drive up to a bar at 7 a.m. and expect Purple Voodoo on tap.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) wanted you to know all this--plus, the fact that handheld cell phones are not allowed when driving in California, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Utah, Washington, and the District of Columbia. From those top-tier edicts, the use of phones becomes a hodgepodge of local rules and laws that would all be rendered moot if we just had a constitutional amendment banning any kind of driver distraction, including singing, DVD watching, and microwaving your coffee back to life.

Think that would get play during this election season? Tell us how long it's been since you were last texting and driving in a comment below--and let us know your favorite technique for avoiding getting caught.

PumpPredictor.com--the gas-pricing site with that certain Web 2.0 flair--says you'll be paying more this holiday weekend for fuel.

The latest data feeding into the site has prices moving up in cities across the country--no doubt due to a spike in oil as Hurricane Gustav lurches toward the Gulf of Mexico.

PumpPredictor claims to help drivers get in on cheap gas when it's available, using pricing-prediction methodology and email/text messages to alert users when gas is about to get more expensive. The big downer? It costs $3.99 a month, which could eat up your savings in one 30-day period or less if you're careless about heeding its advice. However, it also lets you peg 5 zip codes for pricing information, so you could find it useful if you road-trip a lot. Or, in theory, you could set up a network of friends nationwide, split the fee and hamstring this startup like all the Webvan users who made off with the fantastic plastic grocery bins they used. (Yes, totally guilty.)

Useful or loopy? Like a lot of sites built with similar technologies, it's easy to see the same features expanding across other verticals outside of gasoline. If you're a subscriber or user of PumpPredictor, tell us your experience on the site and if it's really the deal or not.

Ford's latest push for greener pastures is "eco-driving"--teaching car owners and users how to elicit the maximum fuel economy from their vehicle without any savvy mechanical tricks or upgrades.

It's as simple as re-learning how to drive, Ford says--and it's proving it by setting up some fleet drivers with professional drivers from Phoenix-based Pro Formance Group. After putting a group of 48 drivers through its courses, Ford found that ordinary drivers could boost fuel economy by 24 percent just by modifying the ways in which they drive.

Ford began the training in Europe in the 1990s, and says it will expand its program so that more drivers of Ford-made fleet vehicles can boost their fuel economy.

Even if you're not a pro, Ford says you can increase gas mileage by dropping speeds, keeping tires properly inflated, and eliminating long waits at idle. These 10 tips can help anyone become a better eco-driver, they say:

Slow down and watch speed – Drive 55 miles per hour instead of 65 to save fuel. EPA estimates a 10-15 percent improvement in fuel economy by following this tip. Also, aim for a constant speed. Pumping the accelerator sends more fuel into the engine. Using cruise control whenever possible on the highway helps maintain speeds and conserve fuel.

Accelerate and brake smoothly – Accelerating smoothly from a stop and braking softly conserves fuel. Fast starts, weaving in and out of traffic and hard braking wastes fuel and wears out some of the car components, such as brakes and tires, more quickly. Maintain a safe distance between vehicles and anticipate traffic conditions to allow for more time to brake and accelerate gradually.

No idling – Today's engines don't need a warm up. Start the car immediately and gently drive away. Don't leave your car idling. Prolonged idling increases emissions and wastes fuel. Turn the engine off in non-traffic situations, such as at bank and fast food drive-up windows, when idling more than 30 seconds.

Check your tires – Keep tires properly inflated to the recommended tire pressure. This alone can reduce the average amount of fuel use by 3-4 percent. Under-inflated tires increase rolling resistance and reduce fuel economy. They also wear more rapidly. Check the vehicle's door-post sticker for minimum cold tire inflation pressure.

Be kind to your vehicle – Maintain proper engine tune-up to keep vehicles running efficiently. Keep the wheels aligned. Wheels that are fighting each other waste fuel. Replace air filters as recommended. Use a fuel with good detergent additives to keep the vehicle engine clean and performing efficiently. Always consult the Owner's Manual for proper maintenance.

Travel light – Avoid piling a lot of luggage on the roof rack. The added frontal area reduces aerodynamics and will hurt fuel economy, reducing it by as much as 5 percent. Remove excess weight from the vehicle. Unnecessary weight, such as unneeded items in the trunk, makes the engine work harder and consumes more fuel.

Minimize use of heater and air conditioning – Use heating and air conditioning selectively to reduce the load on the engine. Decreasing your usage of the air conditioner when temperatures are above 80 degrees can help you save 10-15 percent of fuel. Use the vent setting as much as possible. Park in the shade to keep car cool and reduce the need for air conditioning.

Close windows at high speeds – Don't drive with the windows open unless your keep your speed under 50 mph. Driving with the windows open at highway speeds increases aerodynamic drag on the vehicle and lowers fuel economy.

Choose the right oil – Use good quality oils with the viscosity grade recommended in the owner guide. Ford recommends SAE 5W-20 oil for most cars and trucks to provide the best fuel economy. Only oils "certified for gasoline engines" by the American Petroleum Institute (API) with the starburst symbol should be used.

Consolidate trips – Plan ahead to consolidate your trips. This will enable you to bypass congested routes, lead to less idling