It’s amazing how many big auto shows have happened already this year; the Detroit Auto Show (last month), the Washington DC Auto Show (last week). We have another one coming up this weekend- the Chicago Auto Show.  I’m wondering what makes this show different than the others that have already happened this year.  Well according to Scott Burgess of detnews.com, the difference is the audience.  At the Detroit Auto Show, the carmakers were trying to sell the automotive future to Congress, and they were doing that in Washington DC last week as well.  The automakers were showing electric cars, hybrids, and the most fuel-efficient vehicles that they had.  According to Burgess, the Chicago Auto Show is the “biggest auto show in North America.”  He says that there will be a “smorgasbord of potential customers.  You can chew on a concept (at the Chicago Auto Show), but it’s not nearly as filling as meat and potatoes.” 

The buzz at the Chicago Auto Show is the 2010 Ford Taurus SHO (super high output).  Taurus lovers have been waiting for this car for years.  It will be available this summer for $37,995.  It will have 365-horsepower V-6 engine that gets 25 miles per gallon on the highway. 

The GM Camaro will be taking center stage at the auto show when it rolls out the Bumblebee Camaro, that will star in the film “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.”  The Camaro will be available for sale in a few months and there are already 20,000 pre-orders. 

The cars at the Chicago Auto Show are “real cars for real people to buy.”  The is the main difference between this show and the others. So, if you can, go check out the Chicago Auto Show that runs for the next week. 

Richard Williamson of the Scripps Howard News Service gives his choices for the best cheap cars out there, for those of us on a limited budget, which is pretty much everyone these days. 

So, here are some of his choices for cheap cars: 

1. - Top Choice - 2009 Nissan Versa 1.6 - this is the cheapest car sold in the United States.  The price range is $9990-$17,000 depending on models. This car has a 1.6-liter engine with 107 horsepower (or 1.6-liter 122 horsepower) with 26 city and 34 highway miles per gallon.

2.  Kia Rio - the price is $12,145 with a 1.6-liter, 110-horsepower.  The gas mileage is 27 city and 33 highway. It also has a five-year warranty.

3.  Chevrolet Aveo- the price is $12,625 with a 106 horsepower, 4 cylinder engine that gets 27 city and 34 highway miles per gallon.

4.  Toyota Yaris- said to be the Nissan Versa’s top competitor.  1.5-liter 106 horsepower engine that gets 29 city and 36 highway mpg.  The price is $12,796.

5.  Honda Fit - the price is $15,220.  It is only sold as a hatchback with a 1.5-liter 117 horsepower engine that gets 27 city and 33 highway mpg. 

If you are looking for a small, cheap car, look no further than the 5 cars listed.  The ratings are pretty good and gas mileage is good as well.  I personally do not like the look of any of these cars, but the bottom line is that these cars are cheap, and these days people need cheap cars.   

www.suv_buster.blogspot.com

I found an article on autoweek.com that talks about the new 2010 Ford Ranger that will be coming out this summer. This vehicle will include a stability-control systemthat includes a rollover sensor.  This rollover sensor will measure the truck’s angle of tilt and engage the antilock brake system to help it prevent rollovers.  This rollover sensor technology is called AdvanceTrac with RSC.  Some people were commenting on the Ranger.  Some of the people really like this truck and others said that fuel consumption and a ”major re-do” were needed on the Ford Ranger.  

Do you want to know which vehicles are ticketed most often?  Well, according to an article on yahoo.com, I have the answer for you.  The data comes from a survey done by ISO Quality Planning.  This company helped insurance companies spot risks, which means higher insurance premiums for higher ticketed vehicles.  Hope you don’t own one of these, and if you do, it would be interesting to see if you have gotten tickets.

Most Ticketed Vehicles

1.  Hummer H2 

2.  Scion tC - this vehicle is popular among young drivers, so it’s not surprising that it would be towards the top of most ticketed.

3.  Scion xB - same thing goes for this car as the other Scion.

4.  Mercedes-Benz CLK63 AMG 

5.  Toyota Solara Coupe 

Least Ticketed Vehicles

1.  Jaguar XJ

2.  Chevrolet Suburban

3.  Chevrolet Tahoe

4.  Chevrolet Silverado 2500 or 3500

5. Buick Park Avenue

Looks as though you might want to buy a Chevrolet!  Be careful if you are on the most ticketed vehicles list and congrats to you if you are on the least ticketed vehicles, though I would still be careful…   

If you haven’t gone yet, check out the Washington Auto Show this weekend.  It started on February 4 and ends this Sunday, the 8th.  There are all kinds of events scheduled for Saturday and Sunday.  The importance of this auto show is for the automakers, such as General Motors and Chrysler, to show politicians specifically that they are making cars that people want to buys.  There have been several politicians, such as former Secretary of State Colin Powell,  that have gone to the auto show already this week to check out the latest models. The automakers are hoping to lobby to preserve and extend the federal aid for them.  Automakers are bringing 700 new cars and trucks to the Washington Auto Show.  Many will try to show their fuel-efficient vehicles and battery-operated ones as well. 

According to an article in The Washington Post by Kendra Marr, Chrysler ”is determined to prove itself viable with a display of several of its advanced technology vehicles.  Its concept car, the Chrysler 200c EV, is a battery-powered sedan that has a giant touch screen that controls the temperature and navigation, as well as connects to the Internet.  Hopefully, Chrysler and others can prove themselves to the politicians and DC to help the auto industry to turn around.     

Whatever you do, steer clear of a Scion tc.  This car, according to the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) , has the highest frequency of collision claims of all car/trucks on the road.  Each model has a ranking assigned to it that is relative to the average for all vehicles that have insurance claims on them.  Here is the list of the top accident-prone vehicles and their ranking.

1.  Scion tc - 165 - that means that this car has 65% more insurance claims than the average.

2.  Chevrolet Cobalt SS - 161

3.  Honda Civic Si - 159

4.  Subaru Impreza WRX - 154

5.  Hyundai Tiburon - 154

6.  Mitsubishi Galant - 152

7.  Suzuki Forenza - 148

8.  Cadillac STS - 145

9.  Mazda RX-8 - 144

10.  Infiniti G35 - 143

This list shows that several of the models are on the smaller size. That isn’t surprising, but this list doesn’t show the age of the drivers. I think you would find that many of these cars are driven by younger people, who are also prone to accidents. So, whether it’s the vehicle that causes more accidents or the drivers is still disputable.