The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety crash tested the 1,800-pound Smart ForTwo, and it earned the agency’s highest rating, Good, in front and side impacts. Its seats and head restraints earned IIHS' second-highest rating, Acceptable, for protection in rear impacts.
But IIHS president Adrian Lund stopped short of saying the Smart is safe.
Starting next week, Chrysler is going to get serious about quality.
That's when each of its top 300 executives will get on the phone and call a customer who recently bought a Chrysler, Dodge or Jeep vehicle and ask a simple question: "Having any problems?"
This won’t just be one call to one person, then a toss of the cell phone into the drawer, either. Those 300 executives are going to call one customer a day every day until Chrysler chairman and chief executive officer Bob Nardelli is satisfied that if his customers have troubles, their problems will be fixed. Nardelli, by the way, is going to make the calls, too.
Chrysler says all 6,400 copies of its Dodge Challenger that will be built and sold for the 2008 model year have been spoken for: The return of the '70s muscle car is totally sold out.
Now that the 2008s have all been snarfed up, it's time to get in line to get your hands on a 2009 model, which will arrive this fall.
If you're dying for a 2008, though, and don't mind shopping on eBay, 28 of those 6,400 sold-out 2008 SRT8 Challengers just happen to have come out of hiding and are listed for sale — 24 of them by dealers — on the site.
What do you do after winning Car of the Year honors and having to add a second plant that works two shifts just to keep up with orders?
Why, you raise prices, of course. That’s exactly what Chevrolet did, upping the price of its 2008 Malibu sedan by $300 for cars built after April 2. The company's website is already showing the new price predominantly while the old price is still showing up in certain areas as shown above.
Chevy would only say that periodic "price adjustments" are common, but Aaron Bragman, an analyst with Global Insight, said the reason for raising the price of a car whose sales were up 110% in the first quarter of this year is obvious.
"Chevy has a hot model that they think they can get $300 more for, and they’re right,” Bragman said. "Chevy isn't getting the revenue it used to get from trucks because trucks aren't selling as well. They have to replace money not coming in from trucks with revenue from somewhere else, and that's what cars have to do for them."
Chevy also raised prices on the Cobalt, HHR and Impala, but wouldn't say how much. Dealer sources said they were far less than the Malibu.
"As the market shifts from trucks, cars are going to have to account for more profit at Chevy," Bragman said.
And the winner is…
That's the question everyone wants answered when it comes to the 2010 car/truck rendition of the Pontiac G8. And the answer is: All those inquiring minds will have to wait.
The deadline for consumers to submit names for the upcoming two-door car/truck version of the G8 sedan came and passed last week, but don't expect the winning moniker to be revealed until the end of May at the earliest, says Pontiac spokesman Jim Hopson.
The rich get rich and the poor get certificates.
Consumers who owned 1999-01 Ford Explorers and charged that their SUV’s resale value dropped like a rock after the exploding-tire-rollover fiasco have finally gotten (a kind of) financial justice.
A California judge has approved a settlement of a class action lawsuit filed more then 2 years ago on behalf of 800,000 Explorer owners in California, Illinois, Texas and Connecticut.
Each will now be sent a certificate worth $500 — toward the purchase of a new Explorer.
Who should decide when it's time for a senior to quit driving? We recently heard about the Japanese government bribing its seniors to get them off the roads. Should the U.S. force its elders from the road, too?
It's a question that Dennis P. McCarthy, co-director of the National Older Driver Research & Training Center at the University of Florida, hears all the time.
"It's a tough decision since we all age at a different rate, so you can't identify an unsafe driver based on age and have to look at how people function on an individual basis," he said. "In California, the Department of Motor Vehicles has a pilot program going to train its workers to identify potential problems when people come in (for driver's license renewals) with functional difficulties, such as using a mobility device, or have trouble with their visual testing."
Public perception is that if you take away a senior's license, he or she will simply take the bus.
Business as usual.
That's the general reaction to news that Tata Motors of India has completed the purchase of Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford Motor Co. for $2.3 billion — less than both the $2.5 billion that Ford paid for Jaguar and the $2.7 billion it paid for Land Rover.
Both company officials and dealers quickly downplayed any negative effects of the sale to Tata, saying the only change is in ownership.
Jaguar and Land Rover said dealers will continue to sell, service and warranty existing products, and product lineups are expected to grow rather than dwindle now that a company with deep pockets has taken over from a company that lost $2.7 billion last year.
While domestic automakers are reducing their employee ranks, Chrysler is looking for a few good men and women to join its company — 2,000 of them, to be exact, to serve on the industry's first Online Customer Advisory Board.
Chrysler spokeswoman Carrie McElwee said that while automakers spend lots of time and money on consumer focus groups to gather information about future products, "focus groups usually are used one time for one product.”
“The advisory board is for ongoing dialogue between the company and consumers, with members serving for several months at a time," she said.
There are 29 million licensed drivers today who are 65 or older, but by 2020 that age group will account for an estimated 40 million drivers.
That raised the question, "What would make the roads safer for seniors and, as a result, the juniors who are forced to share the same roads?"
The American Automobile Association, in cooperation with the Mature and Older Driver Research and Training Center at the University of Florida, set out to study what seniors need and what automakers are giving them to help them stay safe in their cars.
"We set out to learn what would enable senior drivers to be safer longer and found two exciting things," said Dennis McCarthy, co-director of the university's mature driver center. "One thing we found was the vehicle features that make seniors safer, but the other was that we busted the stereotype that only big Buicks are seniors cars. Audis, Acuras, BMWs, Ford Fusions and Edges all have the features on the seniors’ checklist of what they want in cars."
AAA compiled a list of nearly every vehicle sold in the U.S. -- though for obvious reasons Maserati, Ferrari and Lamborghini were excluded--- and whether they have the features deemed vital for the physical limitations of seniors, such as:
One of the hottest presidential campaigns in recent memory has had a mess of issues up for debate: Health care, housing, gas prices, Iraq.
Forget all that — if the election were decided based on what voters drive, John McCain could start working on his acceptance speech now.
A survey of 82,000 voters, based on political party as well as the type of vehicle they own, found McCain to be the favorite among those who drive luxury cars, full-size SUVs, full-size pickups, minivans and full-size vans.
The exception was hybrids. Barack Obama was the clear leader there, with 37.9% of all Democrats who own hybrids in his corner. Only 13.8% of Republicans who own hybrids favored McCain. Hillary Clinton was the choice among 17.9% of Democrats who own hybrids.
For months, Chevrolet has hinted that the remake of the Camaro sport coupe would arrive in January of next year as a 2009 model, but Chevy general manager Ed Peper says, nope, it will go into production in February of next year and won’t be in showrooms until March 2009 — as a 2010 model.
Rather than a January intro and a short 2009 model run before switching to a 2010 designation in the fall, the Camaro will have a long run as a 2010 model before switching to a 2011 designation in the fall of 2010.
Peper said only the coupe will be offered for the first nine months of the model’s life, with a choice of a 400-plus-hp, 6.0-liter V-8 or a 300-plus-hp, 3.6-liter V-6. He said mostly V-8s will be produced, for enthusiasts eager to get their hands on the first ones off the assembly line.
The convertible will be added at the end of 2009, also as a 2010 model.
The No. 1 complaint among owners of full-size pickup trucks is bad fuel economy, said Joe Veltri, director of product marketing for Dodge.
"We tell them we can fix that so they get better mileage, but that they'll lose some performance when we do, and then they all say, 'No, don't do that,'" he said.
At a showing of the redesigned 2009 Dodge Ram pickup that's coming this fall, Veltri said that while all owners want better mileage, 62% of Ram buyers opt for the 5.7-liter Hemi V-8 engine in their pickup, and another 3% take the 4.7-liter V-8. That means 65% of all buyers go for a V-8 instead of a V-6.
The 5.7-liter Hemi in the 2009 Ram will be tweaked to deliver 380 hp and 404 pounds-feet of torque this fall, up from 345 hp and 375 pounds-feet in the 2008 model.
All that said, though, thanks to different valve timing, dual exhausts, a higher compression ratio and the engine's ability to shut off four cylinders when they're not needed, the '09 Ram will get 5% better gas mileage than the '08, Veltri said. The outgoing, 2008 model is rated at 13/17 mpg city/highway with 2WD and 12/16 with 4WD.
The checks aren't in the mail yet, but consumers already know how they intend to spend the money they'll get from President Bush's tax rebate incentive package: on big-screen TVs, DVD players, iPhones, iPods, computers and, oh yes, maybe a car or perhaps a vacation.
Putting more electronics in the home is the No. 1 target of consumers when it comes to spending their tax rebate checks, according to a survey by CNW Marketing Research, which specializes in why people buy the vehicles they do.
The checks won't create a stampede to dealer showrooms. Automotive spending (15%) ranks No. 4 behind buying home electronics (38%), making home improvements (22%) and paying off debt (19.5%).
He who hesitates may have to wait a few years to get a 2008 Dodge Challenger, the hands-down hit of the Chicago Auto Show.
Fran Klegon, vice president of product development for Chrysler, said 4,300 Dodge Challengers have been sold and dealers have placed orders for 10,000 more.
That for a car of which only 6,400 will be produced the first year.
"Production is sold out, but sales aren't sold out," Klegon said. "While every one we can build is spoken for, not every one of those has a customer name on the order. Many of those 10,000 ordered by dealers are for display, so I don't want to discourage anyone from buying one. It's not a sales sell-out yet."
Next week, Chrysler will launch a promotion called "New Day Celebration" in which 12 vehicles have been earmarked to get 56 new or upgraded features, ranging from optional equipment made standard to deeply discounted "value" option packages.
Chrysler wouldn't say which vehicles will get what changes. Those details will be announced next week, but vehicles with the new features and options will be displayed at the Chicago Auto Show, which opens Feb. 8.
As an example, however, Stow ’n Go seats that weren't even offered in the base Dodge Grand Caravan SE minivan will now be standard. Also, the base Dodge Charger SE Plus will newly offer a package including a 3.5-liter V-6 upgrade from the 2.7-liter V-6 engine, plus Sirius Satellite Radio and 17-inch cast aluminum wheels. The Charger will also get a new "cool vanilla" body color in response to customers who've asked for more subtle colors.
Chrysler also plans to upgrade the interior cabin materials in several of its vehicles over the next year. There have been reports that the Jeep Compass and Patriot, for example, will get softer armrests, but Chrysler wouldn't confirm that.
Even if you search the bowels of McCormick Place when the Chicago auto show gets under way next month, you won't find the upcoming Chevrolet Camaro that goes into production a year from now.
One reason, Chevy folks say, is that it was already shown as a coupe concept two years ago and as a convertible concept one year ago at the major Detroit, Chicago and New York shows, so now it's time for folks in smaller markets, like Cleveland and Philadelphia, to get an in-person peek at their local auto show. There aren't a host of pre-production cars built to travel to all shows in the country.
Part of the fear is that the Camaro was unveiled as a concept two years ago but won't go on sale for another year. If you show the vehicle too much before it actually goes on sale, you run the risk of having it look old even before it bows as a new car. What’s odd is that GM fears overexposure at the same time it's showing pictures of the Camaro — minus any pre-production camouflage — on its own website and asking enthusiasts who spot one undergoing testing around the country to post their photos on the site, too.
Rather than putting your garbage at the curb, you may soon be putting it in your gas tank.
General Motors has purchased an equity stake in Coskata Inc. of Warrenville, Ill., which has come up with a process that uses bacteria to produce E85 ethanol fuel out of garbage, scrap tires, wood chips, and even recycled foam, rubber and plastic in today's junked cars.
While E85 is currently made from food-based sources, GM says non-food-based ethanol can be produced for about $1 a gallon, or about half of what it costs using corn today — meaning E85 could be priced under $2 a gallon at the pump.
Consumers perceive Toyota and Honda brands to be best, according to Consumer Reports’ 2008 Car Brand Perception Survey.
CR found the two Japanese nameplates ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in consumer minds when it comes to safety, quality, value, performance, environmental friendliness, design and technical innovation.
The study of how consumers perceive and rank car brands found Toyota ranked No. 1 by a wide margin.
But the study was of perceptions, "which shouldn't be confused with reality", said John Bulcroft, a former Audi and Porsche marketing executive who is now with The Advisory Group, a Cresskill, N.J., company that deals with consumer perceptions.
"Perceptions often lag reality, and that's the case with Toyota in the last 12 to 18 months as several issues regarding quality have come up,” he said.
Ford says SYNC is helping get sales back in sync by helping move out unsold cars.
SYNC is Ford's industry-exclusive technology — created along with Microsoft — that provides customers vehicle voice command compatibility with portable digital media players and most Bluetooth-enabled mobile phones.
Ford has an 18-month exclusive contract for use in its vehicles before others can offer the system.
You can flip, fold and hide a minivan's third-row seat flat in the floor in order to haul more luggage or groceries.
You can install a table between the second- and third-row seats so the kids can play Go Fish and eat lunch as you travel.
Just don't bump into a car at low speeds back into a grocery cart in the parking lot or it'll cost you up to $3,500 to fix the damage — of course, the good news is that's still less than it would cost if you were in a sedan.
That's the finding of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety after a series of front- and rear-end bumper crash tests at a mere 3-6 mph to simulate low-speed parking lot run-ins.
When it comes time to replace their old Toyota, most consumers say they buy a new Toyota.
Well, J.D. Power and Associates contacted nearly 170,000 new-vehicle buyers and says Toyota had a 64.6 percent retention rate among owners this year — that’s both a 1% gain from 2006 and the highest retention rate in the industry.
Toyota was followed by Lexus (63%), Honda (62.8%), BMW (58%) and Chevrolet (56.8%), the only domestic in the top five this year.
Chevrolet's retention rate rose from 55.3 percent a year ago. Ironically, Chevrolet displaced Scion — another Toyota brand — in the fifth spot. Scion plummeted to just a 30.8% retention rate, finishing near the bottom of the pack. That happened in large part because the xA was axed to make room for the new xD, but also because consumers say its number of offerings is too limited.
Pickup trucks are the lifeblood of the auto industry, contributing an estimated $5,000 to $15,000 to automakers’ coffers for each one sold.
But trucks are in need of a transfusion, and the outlook isn't very bright this year or next.
People staying put in their home — fearful of moving up in a dismal market — might have money to spend on a new car. But those who build homes can't afford to buy new trucks when there are no homes being built.
General Motors has a 150-day supply of unsold Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups in stock, more than twice the normal 60-day supply. Dodge has a 120-day supply of unsold Rams, while Ford is at 91 days of F-Series pickups.
Christmas shoppers spent more than $13 billion over the Thanksgiving weekend, but not all of it was at Macy's, Sears and Wal-Mart.
"I sold six new and used cars the day after Thanksgiving last year, but 17 this year," said John Guido, an Arlington Heights, Ill., Ford dealer. "Before that I sold 100 more cars this October than last October." Guido’s outlook reflects a common optimism among many car dealers despite talk of a weak economy.
Why?
"Consumers are more confident this year," Guido insists, and many dealers agree.
That's J.D. Power and Associates’ finding in its just-released annual Sales Satisfaction survey of new-vehicle buyers.
Not surprisingly, the more satisfied you are with the sales experience, the less time you spent in the store. Those most pleased spent an average of 177 minutes in the dealership, while those least pleased spent an average of 195 minutes.
Consumers are more satisfied with the new-car buying experience this year than they were last year, and they're most satisfied when buying that new vehicle from a Lexus dealer.
That's what the folks from J.D. Power and Associates reported in their 2007 Sales Satisfaction Index, an analysis of overall satisfaction with the dealership facility, salesperson, paperwork/finance process, delivery process and vehicle price.
Industry-wide, consumers rated satisfaction with the sales experience this year at 852 points on a scale of 1,000, which was up five points from 847 a year ago.
Lexus ranked first with a score of 897 — a 10 point improvement over 2006. It moved up from fifth place a year ago, driven primarily by increased customer happiness with the dealership facility, salesperson performance and vehicle price, according to Tom Gauer, senior director of automotive retail research at J.D. Power and Associates.
"Lexus salespeople show particular concern for helping customers stay within their budgets, choosing the right vehicle for their needs, as well as for making the negotiation process clear and understandable," he said.
Hummer placed a close second with a score of 895, up 21 points from 2006, with notable improvement in the vehicle price and paperwork/finance process. Dealers handling Jaguar, Lincoln and Mercedes-Benz, respectively, rounding out the top five nameplates. Those handling Mitsubishi, Suzuki, Nissan, Mazda and Jeep were the bottom five nameplates.
Dealers back then stomped their Guccis in protest, saying it would cost too much to inspect — much less repair — the vehicles, and consumers wouldn't be willing to pay for the added effort.
That was then and this is now, and the most popular vehicles on used-car lots are factory certified used cars, which have been inspected inside and out, fixed up and cleaned up — and even sport a warranty backed by the factory.
Another label warns of sitting too close to the airbags, and yet another tells us not to drive at Indy speeds in a top-heavy SUV — in order to avoid learning first-hand if the rollover rating is accurate. And of course there's a warning to apply your foot to the brake before shifting out of Park.
Soon there will be so many warnings on the window label that they'll have to drop the list of standard equipment to make room. Eventually there will be so many labels you won’t be able to see out the window well enough to drive safely, which, no doubt, would be grounds for adding another warning label.
But yet another label may be coming: a so-called "tobacco label" like the one that's been proposed for Europe in newspaper, magazine and TV ads.
The navigation system offered in the Infiniti G35 is the highest-rated factory-installed system in terms of consumer satisfaction, according to J.D. Power and Associates, which surveyed more than 14,000 motorists who have a factory-installed system in their car.
The system in the Lexus IS 250/350 finished second, while the Acura TL’s was No. 3 in the rankings. The Infiniti G35 and Acura TL systems offer a choice of voice or touch-screen activation, while the Lexus offers voice activation only.
While voice activation is considered the most technologically advanced, it's not the method of choice for nav systems, said Mike Marshall, director of emerging automotive technologies for J.D. Power. He said touch-screen activation was the top choice for 64 percent of nav system users, while 24 percent preferred voice activation, 5 percent favored knob controls and 4 percent wanted to use buttons or dials.
The automotive market is a tricky one. Trends are constantly changing and models are dropped for various reasons, like slow sales or even a new CEO’s whim. One recent rumor we heard was that Volvo’s introductory sedan, the S40, was heading to the chopping block. That bit of news deserved some investigation.
The S40 sedan will indeed remain in the Volvo lineup for at least three years, but may be dropped from the lineup after that time period. Current plans call for the V50 to remain in the lineup longer than the S40, should the S40 be dropped. Volvo isn't sure it needs a three-sedan lineup — small S40, midsize S60, large S80 — especially because the S60 and S80 are similar in size. One of the scenarios under consideration is to drop the S40 and have a scaled-down version of the current S60 to cover the market where the S40 and S60 now compete, leaving the upper end to the S80. "This is one of many scenarios," a source said. "Don't take it to the bank yet."
"It makes sense to consolidate because everyone else in the auto industry is consolidating," said Joe Phillippi of AutoTrends, an automotive consulting firm.
"Volvo doesn't need three sedans,” Phillippi said. “The new C30 can serve the purpose of attracting younger, less-affluent buyers than the S40 now does. It costs a lot of money to refresh a car like the S40 every five years, though at Volvo it's more like six years, and money is very important to Volvo and any eventual partner." The Swedish automaker is owned by Ford but may be sold to help fund the company’s North American turnaround.
"Any new partner may not want to invest the money it would take to support three sedans, which is a very expensive proposition," Phillippi said.
Related
2008 Volvo S40 Unveiled (KickingTires)
More Volvo News (KickingTires)
Every automaker wants to boast that a number of its cars are members of the environmentally — as well as politically — correct 30 mpg club. The Toyota Prius hybrid goes one better: It’s a member of the 40 mpg club, with a sticker on its window boasting 48/45 mpg city/highway.
While Congress debates dictating higher fuel economy from all vehicles in the near future, I couldn't help but notice the mileage labels on some of the new cars recently tested at a media event.
The midsize Hyundai Sonata sedan's mileage is rated at 21/30 city/highway, while the subcompact Toyota Scion xD hatchback's mileage was an even more impressive 26/32, meaning both are members of the 30 mpg club.
But those same cars carry another set of numbers that raise a question.
The Jaguar XF sedan goes on sale in the U.S. on March 1, but unless you put your name on a dealer waiting list by say, yesterday, you may not get one until May.
"It's the blossom we've been waiting to see grow," one enthusiastic dealer said. Jaguar says reaction to the XF ranges from "thrilling to unbelievable."
How do you get one? Spokesperson Anne Clinard said it's up to dealers to begin their own waiting lists, based on how many cars they expect to get from the factory versus the number of customer orders they take, "and all dealers have started taking orders, and some have started their own order bank."
One million cars are stolen each year, and 30,000 of them are involved in high-speed chases that result in an average of 256 injuries and 350 deaths.
But now — thieves beware.
Starting with its 2009 models, half of all General Motors vehicles — 1.7 million, mostly Chevrolets — will be equipped with an OnStar emergency satellite communication system with Stolen Vehicle Slowdown, a system that can "depower" the stolen car being chased by police.
Consumers aren't enamored with diesel-powered vehicles. Who can blame them, considering you can count the number of diesels now in showrooms on the proverbial one hand.
But even more important, salesmen aren't busting their tails trying to sell the oil-burners, a survey has found.
Volkswagen sells a diesel-powered Touareg sport ute now, and next spring it will again offer a diesel Jetta sedan and wagon; Jeep offers a diesel Grand Cherokee SUV; Mercedes-Benz has the E-320 turbo-diesel sedan and M-, R-, and GL-Class turbo-diesel sport utes; Honda plans to offer a diesel sedan in 2009, expected to be the Accord; Audi hints at a diesel Q7 crossover for 2009; and GM is talking light-duty diesel trucks and perhaps cars in the near future.
General Motors once vowed, "A vehicle for every purse and pocket."
Of course, creating so many divisions and models got GM into financial trouble when the number of its competitors grew so much as well and people dipped into pocket and purse to buy Toyotas and Hondas.
Now BMW, which sells about 300,000 BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce vehicles annually, appears to want to benchmark GM: It's saying it will add six new models in the U.S. within the next few years in order to have products in segments in which it doesn't now compete.
Automotive News says BMW, which already has a small 1 Series on the way and just unveiled an X6 coupe crossover concept in Frankfurt, plans a small BMW crossover and two sedans, one priced above the current 7 Series; a Mini crossover; and two Rolls-Royce models. What, no pickup or minivan?
Motorists want their hybrid electric vehicle to not only look different than other cars on the road, they want it to act differently as well, insists Dave Lyon, GM's executive director of interior design for North America.
"Simply putting a 'hybrid' badge on a car doesn't have much impact on other consumers," Lyon says, and when paying a premium to conserve fuel, most consumers want those around them to know they're conserving energy.
In addition to unique and novel styling on its upcoming electrics, like the proposed Chevy Volt plug-in, Lyon said GM is considering a few special features to make folks sit up and take notice.
"One thing we're debating now is whether an electric should make noise," he said.
Thanks to stricter testing methods designed to better reflect "real world" conditions, the government's fuel economy ratings on 2008 models have gone down considerably.
The Toyota Prius hybrid, for example, had been rated at 60/51 mpg city/highway for 2007, numbers that drew motorists to showrooms like a magnet when gas prices tickled and then topped $3 a gallon at the neighborhood filling station.
Under the 2008 rating system, the Prius window sticker now reads 48/45 mpg city/highway, which is closer to the truth, but some Toyota dealers and their staffs aren't telling folks the truth.
A nationwide survey of consumers found that 15% say once was enough — they'll never buy a General Motors, Ford or Chrysler nameplate again. That's four times the number of folks who say they'll never buy a Toyota, Honda or Nissan again.
But those numbers actually are encouraging for domestic automakers, considering the fact that three years ago the no-more-domestic number was 25% of consumers. Those who say they'll never buy a Toyota, Honda or Nissan again has risen from 2.7% three years ago to 3.5% today.
Guess the city of Chicago had a better idea.
Ford Motor Co. donated an Escape Hybrid SUV to the city of Chicago a year ago so the city could evaluate the performance of hybrids as fleet vehicles.
Ford doesn't build the Escape Hybrid in Chicago, but it does employ Chicagoans who assemble the midsize Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable there, along with the Taurus X crossover. So donating the Escape Hybrid was being neighborly
"Thanks to Ford Motor Co., we're well on our way to understanding the benefits of using low emission hybrid vehicles in fleets,” said Norma Reyes, then-commissioner of Chicago's Department of Consumer Services.
The city must have been impressed, because the Associated Press is now reporting that Chicago has agreed to purchase up to 300 hybrid vehicles for use by its police and fire departments — from a Toyota dealer: 100 Prius hybrids, 100 Camry Hybrids and 100 Highlander Hybrid SUVs.
These are also the types of long, tall vehicles that have made news in recent years for rollovers, which is why side curtain airbags are now standard for 2008, along with electronic stability systems with rollover control, and antilock brakes.
Now you have five years to live with the irritation.
It happens all the time, especially now, when consumers willing to spend 10 months researching every nuance of the vehicle they expect to buy via computer pride themselves in spending as little time as possible actually buying the vehicle at the store. They even refuse to spend 10 minutes test driving it before handing over a check, hopping in and heading home — which is the first time some set foot inside the cabin.
Huge mistake.
How can you save a ton of money when buying a new car? By not buying one: Hang on to your old car for at least 15 years and 200,000 miles before disposing of it, according to Consumer Reports.
Yup. CR found 6,769 readers who own vehicles with 200,000 to 488,000 miles on them who are saving money by not parting with their wheels, despite the odometer rolling over two to four times.
Considering the auto industry sells 15 million to 17 million new vehicles each year, as well as an estimated 30 million used ones, finding only 6,769 people who’ve continued to cling to their vehicles doesn't suggest CR has found an enticing new way for the masses to save dough.
In a consumer focus group held by CNW Marketing Research, Dodge’s Demon concept — the automaker’s possible answer to the Miata and Solstice — scored an 8.6 on a scale of 10, and only 20% of those polled said they would consider buying one, maybe as a second car.
If Dodge has hopes of taking on the Miata, Solstice and Sky roadsters, it had better head back to the drawing board.
In the same focus group, the Carver, a two-seat