Below: The Toyaris

The mortgage industry has bottomed-out and oil has been trading for record high prices shooting gasoline up to $4/gallon.  The price of gas has come down a little in recent weeks but not much.  It’s still high enough to make a lot of us think about trading our current ride for a more fuel efficient one.

Car shopping is challenging. There are many different manufacturers with dozens of models at scores of dealerships, new and used.  Where does one even start?  With gas still hovering near the $4 mark, it’s not smart to go shopping thinking, “Ooh, that one’s pretty/hot/cool/my favorite color.” 

These days, when you’re looking for a new set of wheels, the best place to start is the techno version of a library, the Internet.  Researching cars with the features that meet your needs and desires before going on a lot-hopping tour ensures you will be an educated consumer and armed against impulse purchasing, at least a little bit.

For gay men, lesbians and the rest of the LGBTQ community, it is also often important to make purchases from companies that support our community.  But, where can we research the best car for us made by a gay-friendly company that is for sale at a gay friendly dealership? The answer is simple, GayWheels.com.

Gaywheels.com, launched in 2005, is the complete gay-friendly automotive resource. The men and women behind this multi-faceted Web site are car enthusiasts and experts.  Some are gay men breaking stereotypes by being mechanically inclined and one is a lesbian living up to the dyke reputation of knowing her way around an engine. The site encourages car shoppers to patronize gay-friendly companies and promotes responsible consumerism. 

The folks at GayWheels.com have already done the tedious research for us concerning gay-friendly companies.  The Web site has all the manufacturers sorted into one of two lists: friendly and not friendly.  The criteria they use for a manufacturer to be considered gay-friendly is simple, they must offer domestic-partner benefits to their LGBT employees, no matter where they live or work in the country.

GayWheels.com has some other interesting features that allow you to learn about different cars, trucks, and SUVs; find a dealer near you (hopefully a gay-friendly dealer but GayWheels.com admits that’s not easy); read reviews of new cars; enjoy a wide variety of auto industry related articles including, Homos for Hydrogen, Sexy by Saturn on Project Runway, and GM Reaches Out to LGBT Journalists; and even purchase auto insurance through Esurance, which, according to GayWheels.com, is “one of the few truly gay-friendly insurance companies…that supports their employees as well as Pride events.”

One article that caught my eye was the report entitled Top 10 Researched Vehicles – 2nd Quarter 2008.  GayWheels.com tracks visitors to the Web site and creates a list revealing trends in the habits of vehiclephiles and car shoppers. 

In that article, Joe LaMuraglia, founder of GayWheels.com said, “Research has consistently indicated that the LGBT consumer is an early-adopter and trend setter.  Our consumers’ behavior supports [that]…look at the history of the Top 10 Most-Researched list, the GayWheels.com consumer has been researching fuel efficient vehicles long before gas prices reached $4/gallon.  The average MPG in the current Top 10 list is 22 city and 30 highway.”

So, not only are we loyal to businesses and companies that respect and support our community, we are also smart and savvy when it comes to making big purchases. And, in case you’re wondering or are in the market for a car, here’s the latest list of Top 10 Researched Vehicles: Volkswagen Rabbit, Volkswagen Eos, Mazda Mazda3, Mazda MX-5 Miata, Audi A3, Toyota Yaris, Dodge Caliber, Volvo C30, Saab 9-3, and the Volkswagen Jetta. That should help you on your quest.