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I just read a very interesting article on autoweek.com called “Today’s ‘cheap’ looks like yesterday’s ‘luxury’.”  What was really intriguing about the article was that the author, Cory Farley, was talking about a friend asking him his advice on a “cheap, dependable, and safe” car to buy his newly graduated daughter.  Farley suggested the Nissan Versa, which is less than $11,000.  So Farley and his friend went to the Nissan dealer in Seattle, WA to check out the Versa.  There are no power windows or mirrors, no radio, no automatic transmission, and you have to pay $1000 for air conditioning.  The interesting part of the article is that Farley was saying that the 1979 Toyota Corolla had none of these frills, but it was transportation, so he was fine with his car. The father kept saying that his daughter would not be ok with no air conditioning (even though you only need it a couple of days a year) and that crank windows would be a no-no as well.  Here’s the deal….does she want a car that drives, is very fuel efficient, and good for the environment that will be free to her??  I guess not, because she asked her dad to help her buy a used Mazda Miata.  Oh well, no wonder there were so many Nissan Versas still left at the dealership. People can’t do without these days.  I’m probably one of them.      

The Wall Street Journal wrote an article yesterday talking about whether GM should ditch the new all-electric Chevy Volt.  This is a tough decision either way. You could say that since it looks like GM will be filing for bankruptcy on Monday that they and the new owners, the government and us (the taxpayers,) that no one can afford to make and especially sell these $40,000 compact sedans and have “mass-market success.”  That’s one stance. The other side of the coin is that if you do not continue with the Chevy Volt, that has potential to be successful and help GM to get out of the red and back on track.  Tough decision.  Autobloggreen.com did a poll asking readers “Should the government pressure a bankrupt GM to ditch the Volt?  Overwhelming the responses said “No Way!”  It was 224 for Yes of course!” and 1085 for No Way the last time I looked.  Here’s my thoughts…I think that we need to give the Chevy Volt a try at least. At this point, GM needs something different, something outstanding to try and differentiate themselves, so this could be the answer.  Yes, it’s $40,000, but that’s before rebates and hopefully it won’t be long before the price comes down.  I hate to see a good idea go to waste, which is what would happen if the Chevy Volt is ditched.

Now, that it looks like General Motors will be filing for bankruptcy on Monday, there is a great deal of talks about what will happen to Saturn and Hummer.  Saab’s future is unknown as well.  An article on MSNBC.com  talks about GM’s options for these companies.  GM will decide this year some time whether to sell Saturn and Hummer or just discontinue both brands as part of a cost-cutting frenzy to help get GM back into the black.  What’s interesting is that I just wrote a blog about the new electric Hummer H3 that was supposed to be coming out in 2011. The big talk was about the great mileage it was supposedly going to get and so on, and now we may never see that vehicle. 

During the first 3 months of this year, GM’s sales dropped 28%, but worst than that was the sales of Hummer which dropped 62% and Saturn which fell 57%.  Yikes!  No wonder GM is putting them on the chopping block.  It’s sad to see brands go, but according to GM some people are interested in buying them, so maybe Saturn and Hummer can hold on.  I guess only time will tell. 

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The Audi R8 spyder convertible is most likely to be debuted at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September.  This coupe will share the same mechanics as its counterpart the drop-top version according to autoweek.com, which could be a V8 with 420 horsepower or a V10 with 525 horsepower.  This R8 coupe will be available in 2011.  Audi is not saying anything, because the Frankfurt Motor Show is the biggest show for the Germans, so that want to probably make a big splash at the show with this new Audi R8.  More to come in a few months I’m sure. From the look of this vehicle and what it will have under the hood, get out your large checkbooks for this car. 

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The new 2010 Lincoln MKT crossover was test driven and reviewed by Scott Burgess of detnews.com.  Burgess said it was a “very fun ride.”  There are tons of luxury amenities with a lot standard and then others optional.  Burgess said that if “luxury was solely calculated by how much stuff a vehicle includes, the Lincoln MKT would be at the top of the list.”  Personally, I am not a big fan of the exterior.  The grille in the front is really big and the shape of the car is odd, I think.  I just don’t like it, though if it was given to me, I would have ZERO problem driving it! 

So, here’s the specifics of the Lincoln MKT in case you are interested in this crossover.  This vehicle has a 3.7-liter V6 engine that has 269 horsepower or you can get the 3.5-liter direct injection turbocharged V6 engine that has 355 horsepower if you are looking for more performance.  I really cannot even begin to tell you all of the options available and technologies that you can and will get with the MKT.  It’s crazy.  Some really nice features.  What I couldn’t find is the fuel economy for this vehicle. I looked on four different websites.  Maybe it’s just not available yet.  Alright, here’s the bottom line.  The base price begins at $44,200.  I bet it’s going to be a hit. We shall see.

An article by G. Chambers Williams III of the San Antonio Express-News, talks about how the Kelley Blue Book has come out with their “Top 10 Best New Family Vehicles.”  The list has small vehicles for small families and then the big vehicles for those of us that have several children.  Kelley Blue Book also took into account fuel efficiency when determining this list.  So, here’s the list. You can decide, which ones, if any, fit your families needs.

The list goes in order of roominess, with the first one having the most room.

Honda Odyssey - this is the best-selling minivan and most fuel-efficient.  It gets 17 miles per gallon in the city and 25 on the highway. The base price is $26,355.

Chevy Tahoe Hybrid - This is the most fuel-efficient full-size SUV, with seating for up to eight people.  The fuel economy is 21 city and 22 highway. The base price is $50,455.

Chevrolet Traverse - This is the largest crossover with room up to eight people as well.  It gets 17 mpg in the city and 24 on the highway.  The base price is $29,215.

Toyota Highlander Hybrid - This is a seven-passenger model, that is the most fuel-efficiency three-row vehicle on the market, according to Kelley Blue Book.  The vehicle gets 27 mpg in the city and 25 on the highway, with a base price of $34,700/

Toyota RAV4 - This is a more compact crossover, but it still can fit up to 7 passengers.  The fuel economy is 22 city/28 highway, with a base price of $22,900.

Ford Escape Hybrid - This is a five-passenger compact crossover getting 34 mpg in the city and 31 on the highway. The base price is $29,645.

Volkswagen Jetta Sportwagen TDI (Diesel) - The diesel is awesome, producing very low emissions and it get 30 mpg in the city and 41 on the highway.  The starting price is $23,870. 

Chevrolet Malibu - Kelley Blue Book calls this car a “fuel-friendly family sedan. It also edged out the Honda Accordto win our 2008 Family Sedan Comparison Test.”  It gets 22 mpg in the city and 33 on the highway.  The base price is $21,605.

Toyota Camry Hybrid - It gets 33 city/34 highway.  Kelley Blue Book says that this car gets “an average of 135 more miles from a 15-gallon fill-up than its gas-only counterpart.”  The price starts at $26,150.

Last but not least, for the small families out there, the Honda Civic.  The base price is $15,305 (very nice!) and it gets 25 mpg in the city and 36 on the highway for the regular gasoline model, and 40 city/45 highway for the hybrid, which starts at $23,650.

So many choices. That’s good, right? I like choices, and for most families only a few of these cars will be right for them.  Pick your favorite!

It’s the “in thing” for sure. More and more automakers are designing more and more hybrids.  It’s becoming quite competitive, which is good for you and I, the consumers.  I’ve talked about the “green car race” as autoweek.com calls it.  The Toyota Prius and the Honda Insight are neck and neck these days, each one trying to inch out the other in sales.  Toyota has just announced another hybrid to compete with the Insight, the Toyota Yaris hybrid.  Critics have been saying that even though there has been a tremendous amount of press about the Toyota Prius and Honda Insight head to head, they are really not the same cars. The Insight is much more of a compact car, which is why the Yaris will be a much better head to head match for the Insight, whether Honda and the Insight want it.  These are just a few of the hybrids out there. If you like a vehicle, chances are there is a hybrid out there for you.  And I’m sure there are more to come as well. 

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So, the Hummer H3 currently gets about 15 miles per gallon, whereas the new electric Hummer H3 that will be available in 2011 will supposedly get 100 miles per gallon!  That’s quite a difference.  President Obama announced on Tuesday that there will be new standards for fuel efficiency and carbon emissions.  Then the next day, Hummer announces that it will be introducing this electric SUV, the Hummer H3, that gets this unbelievable gas mileage. Interesting and especially interesting is the timing.  But whatever, timing is everything in life, right?  I think the most interesting part of this whole story is that there are many skeptics out there that believe that Raser Technologies, who has put together this vehicle, is misleading customers by saying that it gets 100 mpg.  According to Doug Schiller, who runs alternativeenergy.com, Raser is only factoring in the amount of gas used and not the electric (electricity energy) that it takes to run the Hummer H3 as well. If you factor the energy it takes and ”convert it into the equivalent of gasoline, the H3 would get 33 mpg.”  Wow, that’s a huge difference.  The new Hummer H3 will cost about $55,000, which is 20-30% more than the Hummer H3’s current price.  Either way, the new electric Hummer H3 gets much better gas mileage.  I guess we’ll have to wait and see whether it’s 33 mpg or 100 mpg, when the car becomes available in another year or so. 

Big news today in the auto industry world. Though I’m sure this isn’t the first you’ve heard about it. Anyways, President Obama has laid out the new standards that must be followed for cars and light trucks starting in 2016.  For cars, you must get on average 39 miles per gallon and light trucks get 30 mpg.  The average price of a vehicle will go up by about $1300.  This new proposal will force the automakers to meet these new fuel efficiency standards about 4 years before the Bush administration had originally said it needed to in 2007.  Obama’s administration says that these new fuel efficiency standards “will save 1.8 billion barrels of oil and eliminate 900 million metric tons of greenhouse gases” according to an article on detnews.com.  This is the equivalent of taking 177 million cars and trucks off the road. That’s a lot of good that will be done for the environment.  Another piece to saving the earth is that President Obama has said that new cars must cut the carbon emissions by 30%.  California already had these higher carbon emissions standards in place. They have been pushing for the rest of the country to get on board.  There was a tremendous amount of support for Obama’s plans for the fuel and emissions standards.  I heard on tv tonight someone ask if they think that 2016 is just a number and that these standards will constantly be pushed back.  The news people said that didn’t think so, that the good support of these plans will help keep the project on target for 2016. I sure hope they are right. I think it’s a great idea, and we can all only hope that all the automakers follow through and sooner than later would be even better.   

The new Toyota Prius was rolled out today in Japan.  According to an article on detnews.com,  80,000 advance orders have been placed in Japan for the new Prius.  Toyota hopes to sell 400,000 vehicles globally a year.  The new Prius will get an amazing combined 50 miles per gallon, which is up from the 46 mpg that the 2009 model got. That’s incredible. You would think that it would be no problem selling these cars!  The interesting part is that the Prius now has some serious competition.  The Honda Insight was actually ranked the top-selling vehicle in Japan for April-this was the first time that a hybrid was the top seller. 

The thing is that the Insight is really a compact car, but the Prius is a bigger car and gets better mileage. Even though they are direct competitors, they really shouldn’t be totally compared.  The Prius will have a base price of about $22,000, whereas the Insight costs less than $20,000. That’s not a huge difference. The Honda Insight gets 40 mpg in the city and 43 on the highway.   

Toyota hopes to sell 10,000 of the new Prius a month and 2000 of the older model Prius a month as well. That seems a little ambitious to me, but I guess that’s not too far fetched for Toyota.  The Japanese government, like the U.S. government, is offering incentives for buying green cars like the Prius and Insight. That will definitely boost sales. 

I don’t know. I have to say that I really don’t like the looks of the Prius. I think it’s kind of ugly. So, I’d love to know…what draws the people?  Does the gas mileage really bring all of these people to buy the car??? I’m sure not everyone thinks the new Prius is ugly, but I bet that the gas mileage plays a HUGE role in the sales. It must.