You can find cheap flights, cheap hotel deals, heck even cheap ski deals – but good luck with the rental cars.

The problem, says Jaunted, is that the rent-a-car companies can easily trim their inventory, and that means they can keep prices high.

So nose around for deals – or look into public transit. Or better yet, win the lottery and hire a car-and-driver. Am I right, people?

We told you about Ashton and Demi and their rough landing earlier this summer – now let us tell you about Brooke and Belushi!

Okay, not much to tell, but that didn’t stop People magazine from blogging about it – anyway, it seems Brooke Shields and Jim Belushi were on a Cessna, which landed at a little private airstrip at Hearst Castle in San Simeon (and, if you haven’t been to this coastal California landmark, you really should go – it’s just beautiful).

Anyway, the pilot didn’t turn on the brakes (maybe, “turn on” is the wrong expression, but they were not doing their job) and the little plane hit an SUV and – BOOM went the dynamite.

Okay, maybe not quite “boom” but the plane broke its mirror and gave the vehicle a good scrape, but there were no injuries. Except to the SUV. And it was a rental.

Why were these celebs there in the first place? “Attending a private function” according to People – and goodness knows what that could mean.

83 year old Ralph Squeglia has been flying planes since 1944. But where has he been landing them?

Yesterday he brought his single engine plane down near Miami on the busy Sawgrass Expressway, and called it a “perfect landing”.

His definition of “perfect” must be a little different from mine. Let’s see – he did miss hitting all those cars, but he clipped a wing on a light pole, the plane’s tail wing broke off – and, oh yeah – think I mentioned this – HE LANDED ON A HIGHWAY.

Nothing in the article about why he landed there – but Mr. Squeglia is quoted twice regarding that “perfect landing” of his. Whatever. I’m glad no one was hurt.

Nobody’s quite sure why the driver of a construction vehicle at Boston’s Logan airport failed to stop at the runway like you’re supposed to, and why he failed to radio the control tower for permission to cross, like you’re supposed to.

He just headed on across runway, happy as can be – as US Airways Flight 27 was taking off for Phoenix. They came within seconds of an intense, fiery meeting. Near total fail.

Fortunately, the plane missed him, but this driver may be in a spot of trouble. The FAA is involved and nobody’s happy – I’m guessing the pilot who saw his life flashing before his eyes (and the lives of his 84 passengers) was probably unhappiest of all.

No word yet on why Mr. Oblivious drove where he drove, but one report says they will be looking into cell phone use. Or was he reading “Driving for Dummies” on his Kindle?

At first I thought this timesonline.com article was brought to you by our friends at the Onion, but apparently, it’s the real deal, so without further ado…

It seems a “flying car” is not that far away – brought to you by the Massachusetts-based Terrafugia company (note: their website seems to be temporarily down – no doubt crashed by sci-fi fans). Supposedly, we’ll see this two-seater car that can transform itself into a plane in 15-seconds, in showrooms sometime next year.

Questions: Can it take you where you want to go? Well, it can fly about 500 miles on a tank of gas – at about 115 mph. Cost to you? About $200,000. Where to find car/plane runways? Well, planes can legally take off from roadways in Alaska, but elsewhere – who knows…

I didn’t even know that silver-haired minx was still writing that “Hints from Heloise” column, but clearly she is, and here is a good one (from the Erie-Times News):

“I’ve seen many uses for cell-phone cameras, but here’s one we use when we travel. Take a few quick photos of your rental car, the license plate and the brand/model logo. It might help you prove the car’s condition upon returning it.” –Hints from Heloise

This is also a great way to FIND your car – ever been in a parking lot populated with rentals that all look like yours? And of course, who can remember the color (my spouse did once suggest that I simply look at the tag attached to the car keys which has a description and license plate number, but Mr. Know-It-All didn’t realize I’d, ah, misplaced those keys…)

BONUS: Heloise’s real name is Ponce Kiah Marchelle Heloise Cruse Evans.