Auto Club Web Site Features New 'Fuel Cost Calculator' to Estimate Gas Costs for Vacations.

Business Editors/Travel Writers

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 10, 2004

Wondering how the high gas prices will affect your vacation budget? Want to know just how much it will cost to fill up your tank on a road trip from Los Angeles to Yellowstone National Park? A new tool available on the Automobile Club of Southern California's Web site answers those questions by calculating how much you will pay for gasoline on vacation in real-time average fuel prices.

The Fuel Cost Calculator, available through the Auto Club's Web site at aaa.com in the "Gas Price Information" section of the Web site, computes the fuel costs for trips using a vehicle's model and year, as well as regional gas price averages updated daily.

The service is available to Auto Club members and non-members. To use it, just go to aaa.com and click on "More News," then "Gas Price Information," then "Fuel Cost Calculator." Select the major metropolitan areas or national parks near your departure and destination, then select your vehicle's make, model and year, and the calculator will figure out the approximate trip mileage, fuel usage and gas costs, both one-way and round-trip. For multiple destinations, click on "Start Over" to estimate gas costs for each leg of the trip.

"Even with high gas prices, driving is still the most popular way to take a vacation, but travelers are concerned about the impact of high gas prices on their budgets," said Auto Club spokesperson Jeffrey Spring. "While this Internet service will provide just an estimate of the costs, it is a way for travelers to plan for their gasoline expenses and get a complete budget for their trip."

Real-time average fuel prices are updated daily on the site by Oil Price Information Service, the nation's most comprehensive source of petroleum pricing information.

As of the second week in June, the Fuel Cost Calculator shows that the approximate round-trip fuel cost for a drive trip from Los Angeles to the Grand Canyon in a 2004 Ford Taurus sedan is $84. The same trip in a 2004 Ford Focus would cost $78, and in a 2004 Ford Expedition, the fuel costs would be $128. For a trip from San Diego to Chicago, the Taurus gas costs would be $350 round-trip, the Focus gas costs would be $325, and the Expedition fuel costs would be $535.

The Automobile Club of Southern California, the largest affiliate of the AAA, has been serving members since 1900. Today, the Auto Club's members benefit by roadside assistance, insurance products and services, travel agency, financial products, automotive pricing, buying and financing programs, automotive testing and analysis, trip planning services and highway and transportation safety programs. Information about these products and services is available on the Auto Club's Web site at www.aaa.com.