I'm on my second Jamis- I think they're great bikes. I can't afford Xenith, but the line seems to fit me well, so I'm happy with my Ventura and I had some great adventures in CA on my Cross Country.

As for cars, it might be cheaper to use premium depending on the car- My old truck (who I miss) used to get 20% better gas mileage with mid-grade or premium than it did with regular. So as long as the price difference was less than 20%, it was actually cheaper. And usually (espcially now that the bas price is so high) there's not much difference in price (~5-10%). Of course since she didn't do any better on premium than mid, I got mid-grade.

My car plug is you should consider an 08 pontiac vibe if you can find one- yes, it's not as snazzy to drive as the cooper, but it gets great gas mileage with its toyota engine (mid to high 30s on the highway), great cargo ability, and for what you get, the price is superb (especially now the 09s are out). 09 gets worse gas mileage (tho is more fun to drive), is smaller (less head room for my 2 Bernese) and the rear glass won't open (how am I supposed to get a 2x4 in there then??).