Model T

In case you missed it, last Saturday there was a birthday party for the Model T who turned 100 according to detnews.com .  One couple traveled more than 400 miles to Detroit for the big bash. They brought along their 1926 Ford Coupe.  There were about 55 drivers who brought Model Ts or other signature Ford Motor Co. to enjoy the road rally and party for the Model T’s birthday.  People who came to the bash visited Ford’s world headquarters and the Henry Ford Museum, the Piquette Plant in Detroit where the Model T was made, and the Edsel and Eleanor Ford House as well.  While at the Ford House, those celebrating enjoyed lunch and looking at each other’s cars.  Almost 15 million Model T cars were sold between 1908 and 1927.  So, if you missed this birthday celebration, it sounds like everyone had a good time hanging with all their old time cars.

When you think of a hurricane, my first thought is the destruction that can and probably will happen to the coastal cities and towns.  What I really never thought of was gas shortages that can and did occur in the south due to Hurricane Ike.  An article on MSNBC.com talks about the serious problems due to gas shortages that have taken place in Atlanta, Nashville, TN, the Carolinas, including Charlotte, and mountain towns in the west.  There are big gas shortages with some gas stations completely out of gas.  There have been long lines are the gas stations with gasoline and the price of gas has risen tremendously. At one station, the cost was $9 a gallon!  Outrageous!  People have been cancelling plans for the weekend with fears that they will get somewhere and not be able to find gas to get home. AAA received many phone calls with customers asking if they should cancel trips and if they knew where there were gas stations available.  “People have been calling saying, ‘If I get there, can I get back?’” said Brad Dean, the president of the chamber of commerce in Myrtle Beach, SC, where the gas is plentiful. 

Even though two-thirds of the oil refineries that were shutdown due to Hurricane Ike are back up and running, there is still the shortages. Hopefully they expect the shortages to be over by the end of this weekend.  It’s crazy to think how many people are affected by hurricanes and not the obvious destruction, but gasoline instead. 

There was an article in my local paper this past week about RVs.  The title of the article was “RVing Stays With You ‘for Life.’”  It was very interesting to me because I would have thought that NO ONE was “RVing” these days with the gas prices the way that they have been the past few months. Well, I guess I’m wrong. According to this article, there are still RV lovers out there and despite the high gas prices, they continue to travel this way. Some live in their Rvs year-round, so obviously they have no choice but to use them, but others are buying and renting them as well.  Even though many are buying and renting RVs, there is still a significant decline in sales this year.  According to a new report by Robert W. Baird & Co, the U.S. demand for motor homes plummeted 51 percent in June, compared to last year.  June is usually the biggest month for RV sales. 

Many people are travelling fewer miles to their vacation destinations these days. They are still travelling but maybe only 100 miles away to campgrounds instead of a 1000 miles to a campground in another state.  An interesting fact is that Fishing Bridge Recreational Vehicle Park in Yellowstone National was packed with RVs and camping equipment this summer.  Many people will tow their smaller vehicles behind their RVs, so that they can use those vehicles to drive around once they are at their destination.  Another option for many people is that they are getting a TrailManor, which is a lightweight travel trailer that users tow behind their vehicles. They are more fuel efficient getting somewhere between 15-24 miles per gallon compared to the bigger RVs that are getting between 8-10 miles per gallon. 

Many people feel that it will not cost them any more money to travel with their RVs, then pay for an airline ticket, stay in a hotel, and eat at restaurants. They may be right. Also, it seems as though there aren’t nearly as many new RV owners, but the ones that have owned RVs for any length of time, love it and are sticking with them despite the price.  I guess if I owned an RV, I would probably feel the same way. To many, these are their homes.  Growing up, I always wanted to go on a trip in an RV, and maybe if the gas prices go down, I’ll get that opportunity. 

While checking out a couple of auto industry websites, I realized that there are more and more problems everyday for the American automakers.  One article that I found on detnews.com, talks about how Bill Heard Enterprises Inc. which is the biggest Chevroletdealer in the country said it is closing the thirteen remaining dealerships because it is unable to survive the weak economy with high gas prices and lack of sales of SUVs and trucks.  These closures will affect approximately 2700 employees.

Another article on detnews.com, talks about how GM has ended the second shift at the GM plant in Shreveport, LA.  This eliminated 798 employees, leaving less than 800 employees at this location.  Until recently, there were more than 2000 people working here.  This plant produces the Chevrolet Colorado and the GMC Canyon pickup trucks and the Hummer H3 and H3T.  Unfortunately, due to the economy and gas prices, no one wants these cars and trucks. 

These are just two articles of the turmoil of the American automakers.  It is very unfortunate that our automakers are really having a hard time competing with foreign auto industries.  I hope that the U.S. automakers can turn it around!

According to an article on MSNBC.com, Chrysler announced that it will be introducing an electric car in 2010.  There has been a great deal of buzz about Chevrolet’s Volt electric car expected to be sold in the U.S. in November of 2010, and Chrysler wants everyone to know that they are “neck and neck with General Motors in the race to put a mass-produced electric vehicle on America’s roads.”   The big buzz surrounding Chrysler is whether the electric car will be a Dodge sports car, a Jeep, or a Chysler minivan.  The company showed reporters three prototypes and just has not decided which electric car will be introduced in the United States first.  The Dodge sports car is completely electric, but the Jeep Wrangler and Chrysler minivan will have a recharging system similar to the Chevrolet Volt.

Due to the gasoline prices and decline in U.S. auto sales, GM, Chrysler, and Ford, have been under some serious pressure to produce fuel-efficient cars.  Until recently, no one thought that Chrysler was developing any electric cars, but according to Chrysler, they have been developing several electric models, but just kept it a secret until recently.  Chrysler has taken the hardest hit financially among these three, so they definitely need something for people to talk about and hopefully buy.  Electric cars are becoming more and more popular, hopefully they can produce when they are sold here in the United States.       

According to an article on autoweek.com, Honda has come out with a new camera system that gives the driver a bird’s-eye view of the car to help with parking and visibility in blind corners and intersections.  The camera system uses four wide-angle cameras and will be available in the new redesigned Odyssey minivan that is going on sale in October in Japan.  These cameras are very similar to that developed by Nissan, but this camera system can be used to navigate through tight quarters to the left and right and peek around corners at intersections.  These camera systems work by a computer synthesizing images from the front and rear cameras to compile its aerial view.  Honda has not said when or if it would be introducing these camera systems in the United States. 

There is an article on MSNBC.com that gives tips on how to properly donate your car. It sounds easy enough: find someone to donate the car to, and give it to them. Right?  Wrong. This is a big asset and you need to follow the steps below to make sure that you donate correctly.

1.  Avoid Middlemen-There are all kinds of ads out there that say they can help you donate your cars.  The problem is that the charity loses money to this middleman.  Just contact the charity yourself to set up donation. 

2.  Find a worthy charity  - If the charities that you normally support do not accept donated cars, do some homework, you will find charities in your area that do.

3.  Know the status of your recipient - in order for you to get a deduction, the organization that you donate to must be an IRS-approved 501(c)(3) organization.

4.  Do the delivery yourself - if you drop off the car yourself, you will save the charity money that they otherwise would have to spend to have someone pick it the car.

5.  Transfer the vehicle with care - you want to eliminate all risk of parking tickets and other violations happening after you’ve donated the car by formally transferring the title to the charity.

6.  You need to make sure you get a receipt from the charity on how much money the charity got for the car.  (most charities, accept your donation then turn around and sell the car)

7.  Keep a thorough paper trail - if your donation is worth more than $500, you need to attach IRS form 8283 to your tax return.  If it’s worth more than $5000, you need an appraisal, a receipt and title change from the charity.

8.  Be detail-oriented - paper trails may seem to be a burden, but this may be one of the biggest charitable donations you ever make. You want to make sure that the charity gets the most benefit and you get the biggest possible donation that you can.

I just read an article on Forbesautos.com that gave the top ten value-packed cars on the market right now according to the author, Jacqueline Mitchell.  She did a great deal of research including a survey of drivers to see what they were looking for and what was important.  These cars may not be the most fuel-efficient, cheapest, or most reliable, but they offer an extensive, attractive mix of attributes. 

In no particular order:

1.  Honda Fit - $14,750 is loaded with value-driven features such as power windows and doors, side-curtain airbags and an adjustable steering column as standard equipment.

2.  Toyota 4Runner- $28,415 is a midsize sports utility vehicle

3.  Ford Edge- $25,735 is a midsize crossover vehicle

4.  Lexus LS 460 - $62,900 comes equipped with a voice-activated navigation system, push-button ignition start/stop, multiple airbag system that includes knee airbags for front seat occupants, as well as a headlamp washer that cleans off bugs stuck to the lights’ surface.

5.  Scion xB - $16,700

6.  Subaru Impreza - $17,995

7.  Buick Lucerne - $27,275

8.  Lexus IS 250 - $32,025

9.  Honda Element - $19,780

10.  Lincoln MKX - $35,840

None of these vehicles are short on safety, some having a few more safety features then others.  According to the article, you must ask yourself a question before purchasing a car….”How much am I getting for every dollar spent?”  If you can’t answer this question right away, you need to take a little extra time before making your big purchase. 

According to an article on Forbesautos.com, Nissan is betting that the future cars are going to be electric and “hybrids are yesterday’s news.”  They think that plug-in electric cars are the next big thing that will happen in the auto industry.  Nissan is testing a new electric motor powered by lithium-ion batteries called the Cube.  Nissan will continue to embrace the hybrid technology by making hybrid versions of their existing models. By not making a model exclusively as a hybrid, Nissan will have more time and money to spend on the electric cars.  Currently, the Nissan Altima comes as a hybrid, but sales have not been good.

Toyota, Mitsubishi, Ford, and Subaru are currently working on battery-powered vehicles. 

The problems with electric cars are the limitations of them. You can only travel a certain amount of miles before the vehicle needs to be recharged, usually less than 50 miles.  Nissan is not disclosing how far it expects the Cube to be able to go.  Another problem is that the batteries are very expensive, up to $10,000 for the battery alone.

As the push for alternative-fuel vehicles continues, automakers will have to find different ways to fuel are cars for the least amount of money to the consumer.

I was having a conversation with someone yesterday about minivans. First of all, minivans get a bad rap.  People think of “soccer moms” driving them, and to many people they absolutely do not want to be that person that gets a minivan, so they try everything they can to avoid it.  Well, I think people “afraid” of minivans need to think again. I can give you several reasons why they are so practical. 

1.  Storage-  Minivans have a lot of storage for everyone’s “stuff,” and everyone has stuff!  The Chyrsler Town and Country and the Dodge Grand Caravan have the stow ‘n go seating which is great for extra storage. 

2.  Comfort- It is much easier to access the third row seating in minivans, then let’s say a Jeep Commander.  In many SUVs, you have to fold down a seat in the second row and climb over it to get to the third row. That isn’t very practical for many people. Children could climb back there, but it stinks for adults. 

These are just a few of the reasons why minivans are such a good choice for many people, especially families.  A cousin of mine has to resort to a minivan, because they cannot fit three car seats in a row in the backseat of a sedan or even most SUVs.   They are a little nervous about the “big move” to a minivan, but I know that after they have the van, they will realize that they have been missing out! 

According to an article on MSNBC.com about Chyrsler, they plan to dump either the Dodge Caravan or Chyrsler Town and Country to help alleviate some costs. These vehicles are very similar, so it makes sense. Chrysler says that it may try to change the model of one of the vans in order to attract younger buyers and then keep the other minivan the same for the minivan customer base.  Minivans have a stigma, but they have a purpose to many people and many that go to a minivan will never go back. So for those of you that are nervous about purchasing a minivan, do some research and you too will realize that they are not just for soccer moms!