There is no one secret to getting your car to live to a ripe old odometer reading. Luck could get you there, but it is no surprise that many vehicles that have reached 200,000, 400,000 and even 500,000 miles have received extraordinary care and maintenance, often with the owners doing the routine work themselves.

A couple of weeks ago I overheard a heated debate about modified vehicles.

It's an argument to which those of us who enjoy working on our vehicles should pay close attention, because it might affect our freedom to do so in the future.

One of the people involved in this discussion argued that we should not be allowed to modify stock vehicles because we only do so to race them on the streets.

If high gas prices coupled with a big monthly car payment have you thinking that it might be time to trade in your truck or SUV, you'll be happy to know there is an alternative. Consider refinancing your auto loan at a lower interest rate, and using the money you save to offset today's high gas prices.