You already know that gas prices hurt, and maybe you also know a way to find the best price in your area. When it comes to getting the most out of the pump, though, some drivers are pumping me for information on driving half-full, half-empty, or close to "E."

The reason: a series of chain mails that have been zipping through The Great Cloud of Internetdom for months. The version I got a few weeks attempted to argue that gas vapor, cold gas, warm gas, and dirty gas could all be avoided--and could save you money and time. It sounds logical, doesn't it?

Not according to the AAA's Geoff Sundstrom. Most of us are better off paying attention to the running condition of our cars, Sundstrom says: "Consumers would be better served to concentrate on keeping their vehicles maintained, consolidating trips and errands, and adjusting their driving to avoid prolonged idling, hard braking, and sudden acceleration."

So what's true and what's false when it comes to pumping gas? Here's Sundstrom's take on the tips floating around the Web:

1) Only buy or fill up your car or truck in the early morning when the ground temperature is still cold.

It doesn't matter, Sundstrom says. "The idea that gasoline expands when warm and contracts when cold is true," he says, "but the amount of fuel that can be saved by filling up when the temperature is cooler would be so minuscule as to be hardly worth the effort. There is some research taking place in California on the cost to consumers of 'hot fuel,' but conclusive results have not been reported to our knowledge."

2) When you're filling up, do not squeeze the trigger of the nozzle to a fast mode.

Gas can vaporize as it pumps, "but only in extremely small quantities," Sundstrom adds. "The reason the vapor is recovered at the pump is to help limit air pollution from evaporating gasoline. Pumping more slowly may be of some assistance in getting more gasoline for the dollar, but it is not going to alter your fuel bill in any meaningful way."

3) If there is a gasoline truck pumping into the storage tanks when you stop to buy gas, DO NOT fill up.

The warning that there is enough sediment in underground storage tanks that can harm your vehicle is "mostly an outdated idea," Sundstrom says. "Anything that does make its way into the underground tank will be strained out by an internal filter. Your vehicle's engine is further protected by the gas filter in the fuel line."

Prototypes for the North American-spec Ford Fiesta have been spotted in Dearborn, giving us our first look at the non-hatchback version. As expected, this prototype takes many cues right off the Verve four-door concept car that bowed at this year's Detroit Auto Show. The camouflage keeps us from seeing just how verbatim the translation from concept to production actually is, but the differences will most assuredly only be trim differences designed to make the concept model as sexy as possible. It appears that the concept's backlight might be a bit more raked than the production model, and the rear overhang may be a bit longer, but those impressions may be from a slight change of angle, and the camouflage cladding.

As of now, we're told that this four-door sedan is the only model destined for our shores, but the three- or five-door hatchbacks could easily make the move to U.S. showrooms if demand is deemed strong enough.--KGP Photography

Well, it’s approaching that time in the Nissan Xterra’s life cycle, and 2009 will bring a fresh look to the youth-oriented ute.

Our photos clearly show that the 2009 Nissan Xterra’s grille will look more like that on the Nissan Frontier pickup truck, although not too many other changes and updates are obvious at the moment.--Brian Williams for Brenda Priddy & Co.

You'll have a more difficult time avoiding drunk drivers on the road if you're in the Dakotas, Nebraska, Minnesota, or Wisconsin. A new report from the federal government says those states have the worst drunk driving rates in the country.

While 15 percent of drivers nationwide say they drove drunk in the past year, the rate in Wisconsin approached 25 percent, giving it the dubious honor of number one. The least offending state is Utah, where less than 10 percent of the driving population confessed to driving under the influence, followed by West Virginia, Arkansas, Kentucky, and North Carolina. The report also found that black drivers are substantially less likely to drive drunk than white drivers.

Driving on drugs was also reported by the study. Seven percent of drivers in the District of Columbia said they drove while drugged, with Rhode Island and Massachusetts right behind. The states reporting the lowest drugged-driving rates were New Jersey, Alabama, and the Dakotas.

The AP reports that the drunk-driving report is drawn from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, which sampled more than 125,000 citizens in a three-year period.

What the heck is that? If you've been reading TheCarConnection.com for most of its online life -- more than 10 years online at this writing -- you'll recognize this very early logo. We forgive you if you think it looks like a car towing a computer. Back in the early days of the Web, towing a computer was better than not owning one at all. And, well...we were writers, not tech gurus and certainly not highly paid illustrators.

Times change, and so does the ethos of the Web. TheCarConnection.com is changing too, and in the next few weeks you'll discover more of what we have in mind for the most comprehensive re-think in TCC's history.

You've seen some of the changes so far. We launched an iPhone application that gives you an idea of the direction our new site will take. The clever readers will notice some minor tweaks to road tests this year. Recently we put our award-winning newsletters on hiatus while we come up with an even better way to deliver the car reviews and news you want directly to your inbox.

There's far more to come. We can't spill all the beans today, but when the changes start coming, you'll find reviews that are the most comprehensive on the Web. You'll get more photos, great pricing and shopping information, globe-spanning auto show coverage, and a slick new design that's easy to navigate. If I told you more, I'd be out of a job, and I'm no good at pulling espressos.

While our new reviews, blogs, and interface hide behind a firewall, we'll be posting less to the current site. We'll make this down time as quick as possible. In the meantime, please do stay tuned--everyone at the Car Advisory Network is proud of what we're ready to launch soon, and what we have planned for the next year.