How to avoid luxury car tax surcharge

One of the more obscure tax increases in Gov. Corzine's proposed budget is a one-time registration surcharge of 0.4 percent on new luxury cars - those with sticker prices of more than $45,000 - and new cars with an EPA rating of less than 15 mpg. It would take effect July 1.
If you are planning to buy a new vehicle this year and you want to avoid the modest surcharge - about $200 on a top-of-the-line Hummer - here are the vehicles to avoid, or to purchase before July 1.
Vehicles that get less than 15 mpg (according to April 2006 Consumer Reports): Chevrolet Avalanche, Chevrolet Silverado/GMC Sierra, Chevrolet Suburban/GMC Yukon XL, Chevrolet Trail Blazer/GMC Envoy, Dodge Dakota, Dodge Durango, Dodge Ram, Ford Expedition, Ford F-150, Hummer H3, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Jeep Wrangler, Land Rover, Mitsubishi Montero, Nissan Armada, Nissan Titan, Toyota Land Cruiser and Toyota Tundra.
(In case you're curious, the Dodge Ram is the biggest gas-guzzler - 11 mpg.)
Vehicles with minimum sticker prices of more than $45,000 - remember when you could buy a condo for that? - include: Acura RL Audi A8, BMW 7 Series, Cadillac Escalade and XLR, Hummer H2, Infiniti Q45 and QX56, Jaguar S-Type, XJB and XK8, Land Rover Range Rover, Lexus GX470, LS430 and LX470 and SC430, Lincoln Navigator, all Mercedes-Benzes but the M-Class and SLK, and Porsche 911 and Cayman.
If you can afford any of these cars, a 0.4 percent surcharge isn't likely to faze you. Me, I'm sticking with something that gets more than 15 mpg and costs less - far less - than $45,000.
If you are looking to impress the neighbors, go for the BMW7 Series line, which has the top sticker price in this year's Consumers Report car issue - $118,000. If you want to make your neighbors think you have lots of money, even though you don't, try the poor man's BMW, the 3 series, which starts at $30,900.