More than 6 million people nationwide rely on public transit to get to work, which means if they own a car it spends a lot of time parked in the garage. People who drive less stand less chance of getting into accidents and therefore cost insurers less money. Yet, historically, these drivers have been expected to pay the same amount for car insurance as everyone else. Not anymore.

and Insurance are now offering discounted rates to customers who log fewer miles, according to Lavonne Kuykendall of The Wall Street Journal. The premise of the programs is simple: The less you drive, the more you save. The catch is that the plans aren’t available to all drivers.

GMAC’s plan is being offered in 34 states. To participate you have to own a GM car that comes equipped with the navigation system. It verifies your mileage by automatically reporting the car’s odometer reading at the beginning and end of your policy term. Motorists who drive less than 2,500 miles a term can save as much as 54% on their bills, according to Kuykendall.

You don’t have to own a GM car to participate in Progressive’s TripSense plan, but you do have to live in Minnesota, Michigan or Oregon, and you have to be willing to install a small device in your car to track your miles. Unlike with GMAC’s program, customers must download and report their own miles to receive discounts. Progressive also tracks other driving habits to assess your risk. The reward, reports Kuykendall: Users can shave 5%-25% off their bills by using TripSense.

Sound good? Consumer advocates say it is, as long as you don’t mind insurers gathering information about your driving behavior.

Copyright (c) 2007 MarketWatch, Inc.

February 16, 2008 — General Motors is saying adios to the General Motors Building even as Harry Macklowe scrambles to sell the tower in hope of staving off foreclosure on much of his real estate empire.

The automaker that gave its name to the marble tower at 767 Fifth Ave. will vacate its offices there this year and move its New York employees to Citigroup Center.

GM’s exit was bound to come sooner or later - its presence at 50-story 767 Fifth, across from the Plaza Hotel, had shrunk from 26 floors when the building opened in 1968 to just three.

But GM’s final pullout couldn’t come at a more fitting moment in the tower’s tormented history.

Macklowe, who yesterday reached an agreement with Deutsche Bank and Fortress Investment Group to extend the deadline on over $7 billion of debt, recently put GM on the block via CB Richard Ellis. He hopes it will fetch $3.5 billion.

Bids for the building were due yesterday and sources said Macklowe likely received several offers for the building that were enough to satisfy the two lenders. The offers will likely be evaluated over the weekend, sources said.

The Post reported earlier that real estate mogul Larry Silverstein was interested in the GM Building.

But some investors are said to be unimpressed with the tower’s reported cash flow of $17.1 million - a result of below-market rents signed years ago.

Although several recent leases have been signed for well over $100 a square foot, many floors are still occupied by companies with cheaper long-term leases.

However, Donald Trump, who once co-owned the building with Conseco until bankruptcy forced the insurer to sell it, said, “I think someone will pay him the price - over $3 billion.” Trump is not bidding.

CBRE’s Darcy Stacom declined to comment.

GM’s naming rights at 767 Fifth Ave. expire in 2010. Who will then own the leviathan is a riddle only time - and maybe the banks and courts - will answer.

Besides the auction now underway, developer Sheldon Solow, who tried to buy the GM Building five years ago, recently got a judge’s consent to press his court claim that its sale to Macklowe for $1.4 billion by Conseco was fraudulent.

Yesterday, Globest.com reported another frustrated suitor, investor Leslie Dick, has refiled a court claim - which was thrown out in 2006 - regarding the sale to Macklowe.

February 16, 2008 — Bear Stearns rose the most in three weeks on speculation the fifth-largest US investment bank will be acquired.

Bear’s stock gained $4.32, or 5.5 percent, to $82.79.

Bear has fallen 6.2 percent this year after losing 46 percent in 2007 following the collapse of two hedge funds that bet on subprime-related bonds.

Russell Sherman, a Bear Stearns spokesman, said the company’s policy is not to comment on market speculation.

China’s government-controlled Citic Securities Co., which agreed in October to pay $1 billion for a 6 percent stake in Bear, is renegotiating to get a 9.9 percent stake because of the decline in the company’s shares since then, Reuters reported.