July 4 weekend is here, almost--but more of you will be staying home for cookouts and fireworks than in years past.

CNN's the latest news outlet to report that drivers are damping their holiday expectations, thanks to $4-a-gallon gas. The network says 31 percent of us have shortened or canceled holiday plans due to the run-up in fuel prices. Their new survey comes a few weeks after the AAA predicted a 1.3 percent drop in the number of drivers set to hit the highways for the extended weekend.

AAA says that 40 million folks will be going somewhere over the long weekend, but CNN reports that with gas hitting a record $4.09 a gallon on Wednesday, bigger changes are coming to driving habits--and more of us are affected by them. CNN's survey of drivers also found that 78 percent of rural, 73 percent of suburban, and 61 percent of urban drivers have been impacted by gas prices, and almost three-quarters of those polled are making changes to cut their gas bill.

Do these numbers sound familiar? Tell us in a comment if you've junked your vacation due to gas prices, and what you'll be doing instead.

When I can't sleep, I fire up my iPhone, check on my latest posts, and cruise over to YouTube for some pirated Family Guy clips and maybe a little from the Featured list.

Imagine my horror when I found this video, the product of "Gas Unit and MC Esher," a three-minute white-rap ode to $4-a-gallon gas. I did not want to get "humped at the pump" at 1 a.m., but there I was, transfixed by Burger King crowns (who's the king, baby?) and the ability of two former frat guys to link Halle Berry to Halliburton.

It has subtitles in case you don't want to let anyone hear you watching this hot Eminem-mess. Definitely work-safe, but maybe toxic to your iTunes library:

We drove the new Hyundai Genesis this week once more, and liked it so much we're adding some points to its review next week. In the meantime, Hyundai execs say the big four-door could get all-wheel drive soon--which makes us wonder if the Genesis will also spawn a big crossover vehicle along with the two-door Genesis Coupe due next spring.

We're down to the last 10 days or so of an America kept apart from the Nissan GT-R. The $70,000 GT-R arrives at dealers officially on July 7--only 13 years after I first drove one. Maybe this time, a Japanese carwash attendant won't rip off the rear spoiler and crouch in an embarrassing wail of tears.

The Chevrolet Traverse is on the way soon to showrooms nationwide. Is it too late to the crossover party? Not if you're a fan of GM's 3.6-liter V-6. Stay tuned for our full review.

And we finally finished our epic ode to the Lambo Gallardo LP560-4, too. Let's blame the vertigo caused by laps at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and leave it at that.

No driving yet, but we've seen the 2010 Lexus RX crossover. We also see dead people, and sometimes they're behind the wheel of an RX. Coincidence?

Suzuki's dumping the Detroit auto show. There's no truth to the rumor that execs swapped hot text messages with the Mayor before they broke it off, though.

Hypermilers are causing mayhem on the highways, according to AAA. They're drafting other vehicles, shutting off their engines at highway speeds, and doing other things that Dale Jr. gets paid to do on a weekly basis.

Finally this week, the magazine that brought fragrance inserts to the man cave says Seattle is the home of the greenest drivers on earth. Our best guess: incessant rain + lack of physical activity = haven for butt lichen.

Hypermilers--as USA Today reminded us this week--are those folks who are taking fuel economy to the next level. While you and I make sure our tires are properly inflated, and we're running on the right octane, hypermilers are turning off their engines on the highway, coasting behind huge trucks, and rolling through stop signs.

That's dangerous, AAA says. Even though record gas prices mean everyone should be paying attention to fuel economy, hypermilers are putting themselves in harm's way by pushing their vehicles beyond normal driving.

"The goals of hypermiling are positive, such as eliminating aggressive driving and saving energy," Marshall L. Doney, AAA vice president, says. "Unfortunately some motorists have taken their desire to improve fuel economy to extremes with techniques that put themselves, as well as their fellow motorists, in danger."

Some of the techniques to avoid when hypermiling are the very techniques than can push fuel economy into the stratosphere. Cutting off engine power on the highway or putting a vehicle into neutral has the same effect as stop/start systems do--without the safety precaution of engaging only at very low speeds or complete stops. Turning off the engine in these circumstances can cause accidents by giving up control of power steering and brakes, AAA says.

Then there's the practice of drafting--following closely behind a much larger vehicle to take advantage of its aerodynamic drag, just like in NASCAR. Those are paid professionals wearing safety cages and helmets, not Camry sedans. Tailgating's OK on the track, but highly illegal on the road, AAA points out.

Hypermilers also overinflate their vehicle's tires to lessen rolling resistance. Doing so will boost fuel economy, but it could lead to a sudden tire problem. Blowouts are much more likely to happen when the tire's overstressed, AAA adds.

Their advice? The traditional fuel economy savers:

• Accelerate smoothly and evenly, avoiding "jackrabbit" starts


• Maintain a steady speed and/or use cruise control


• Look ahead to avoid changes in speed due to traffic


• Use the right oil to keep your engine operating at high efficiency

Congratulations, Seattle--the men's magazine that tells guys every month how to eat like a supermodel has chosen your city as the home of the greenest commuters.

Men's Health magazine picks the Emerald City tops out of 100 towns based on an exotic equation that involves gas consumption, air quality, miles driven each year, and the fuel efficiency of the vehicle fleet in the area. Privacy hounds alert: The survey tapped into data from the National Transit Database, the American Lung Association, the Texas Transportation Institute at Texas A&M, SimplyMap, and the Energy Information Administration.

Seattle placed tops, with Burlington, Vermont, in second place. The top five also included Portland, Oregon; Madison, Wisconsin; and Fargo, North Dakota. Towns that are "driving us to extinction," in their words, include Arlington, Texas; Yonkers, New York; El Paso, Texas; Riverside, California; and Birmingham, Alabama.

Drumroll, please? Here are the top 100 cities ranked by Men's Health's green grades:

1. Seattle, WA A+
2. Burlington, VT A+
3. Portland, OR A+
4. Madison, WI A
5. Fargo, ND A
6. Rochester, NY A
7. Minneapolis, MN A-
8. Spokane, WA A-
9. San Francisco, CA A-
10. Norfolk, VA A-
11. Boston, MA A-
12. Oakland, CA A-
13. Buffalo, NY A-
14. Miami, FL B+
15. Tucson, AZ B+
16. Orlando, FL B
17. Bangor, ME B
18. Anchorage, AK B
19. Newark, NJ B
20. Lexington, KY B
21. Jersey City, NJ B
22. Hartford, CT B
23. Fremont, CA B
24. Denver, CO B
25. Pittsburgh, PA B
26. Cleveland, OH B
27. Honolulu, HI B
28. Lincoln, NE B-
29. Richmond, VA B-
30. Aurora, CO B-
31. Durham, NC B-
32. Lubbock, TX B-
33. Des Moines, IA B-
34. Corpus Christi, TX B-
35. Salt Lake City, UT B-
36. Boise, ID B-
37. Sioux Falls, SD C+
38. Greensboro, NC C+
39. Providence, RI C+
40. Washington, DC C+
41. Tampa, FL C+
42. Baltimore, MD C+
43. Austin, TX C+
44. Wichita, KS C+
45. New York, NY C+
46. St. Louis, MO C+
47. Kansas City, MO C+
48. Philadelphia, PA C+
49. Milwaukee, WI C
50. Jacksonville, FL C
51. Chicago, IL C
52. Baton Rouge, LA C
53. St. Paul, MN C
54. Columbia, SC C
55. Las Vegas, NV C
56. Raleigh, NC C
57. San Jose, CA C
58. Jackson, MS C-
59. St. Petersburg, FL C-
60. Phoenix, AZ C-
61. San Diego, CA C-
62. Atlanta, GA C-
63. Colorado Springs, CO C-
64. Cincinnati, OH C-
65. Sacramento, CA C-
66. Little Rock, AR C-
67. Dallas, TX C-
68. Albuquerque, NM C-
69. Fort Wayne, IN C-
70. Oklahoma City, OK C-
71. Omaha, NE C-
72. Billings, MT C-
73. Cheyenne, WY C-
74. Grand Rapids, MI C-
75. Bakersfield, CA D+
76. Modesto, CA D+
77. Wilmington, DE D+
78. Nashville, TN D+
79. Montgomery, AL D+
80. Memphis, MN D+
81. Columbus, OH D+
82. Detroit, MI D+
83. Anaheim, CA D+
84. Los Angeles, CA D+
85. Louisville, KY D+
86. Houston, TX D+
87. Manchester, NH D+
88. Toledo, OH D+
89. Charleston, WV D
90. Charlotte, SC D
91. Fresno, CA D
92. Tulsa, OK D
93. Indianapolis, IN D-
94. San Antonio, TX F
95. Fort Worth, TX F
96. Birmingham, AL F
97. Riverside, CA F
98. El Paso, TX F
99. Yonkers, NY F
100. Arlington, TX F