Crossovers are the fastest growing segment of the auto industry.  Do you have one?  It seems that everyone is getting one these days. I do not have one, but I think I’m a minority.  So, if you are in the minority like me, here is the dirt on the crossovers.  They are built like a car (unlike SUVs that are built on truck frames,) use less gas than an SUV, and have more storage space than a traditional sedan.  So there you have it. Everyone loves them (so I hear!)  I have several friends with crossovers, and they really do seem to love them.  They are stylish too, and people want room in their vehicles as well as style. The crossover offers you both.  The price tag is nice too. The crossovers start around $20,000 compared to $30,000 for SUVs.  So, go and check out the crossovers.  They’re sales are doing well, such as the Ford Escape whose sales rose more than 49% in August from last year. So, here are the top-selling crossovers out there for you to choose from right now.

1.  Honda CR-V - $21,245-$27,245 

2.  Ford Escape - $20,550-$27,055  

3.  Toyota RAV4 - $21,500-$27,810

4.  Chevrolet Equinox - $22,440-$29,795

5.  Subaru Forester - $20,295-$28,495

If you want to see the other top 10 best sellers, go to autos.aol.com.  Go and check out the crossovers. Don’t be a minority like me!

The Tokyo Auto Show next month (October 24-November 4) is getting worse as the days go on.  Hyundai has just backed out of the Tokyo Auto Show and they were the last major foreign manufacturer to be in attendance at the show.  The Tokyo Auto Show used to be the premier auto show in Asia.  Now it is held every 2 years and clearly not very popular since no major automakers are going.  The Detroit 3 backed out earlier this year stating that they need to try to save money.  That’s supposedly the reason that all of these automakers have decided not to attend the Tokyo Auto Show, but not such good news for the show itself.  Hyundai actually already had paid $122,000 in nonrefundable fees for their space at the show, but that is still far less than they would have paid had they actually gone to the show. It can cost millions of dollars to have an exhibit at these shows. I guess that it makes sense for none of these automakers to want to spend the money to go to the show, so it will be interesting to see if the LA show in November or the Detroit Auto Show in January are affected by the recession and current economic state. I remember reading that last year, automakers were scaling back, but I think they still attended and had exhibits at the shows, unlike the problems that the Tokyo Auto Show is currently facing. Maybe they should just cancel the show and wait 2 more years. Hopefully by then the economy will have turned around.

Ok here’s a recall I bet you may never have thought could happen. Toyota is recalling all of the removable floor mats on the driver’s side.  The mats have caused numerous problems with getting accelerators stuck and then this can and have led to crashes.  Toyota has yet to figure out the true solution to this problem, so until they do they want you to remove the mats until further notice.  The NHTSA (National Highway Transportation Safety Administration) has received 102 incidents to which the accelerator may have become stuck in Toyota vehicles.  The recall will be affecting the following models: 2007-2010 Toyota Camry, 2005-2010  Toyota Avalon, 2004-2009 Toyota Prius, 2005-2010 Toyota Tacoma, 2007-2010 Toyota Tundra, 2007-2010 Lexus ES350, and 2006-2010 Lexus IS250 and IS350. 

It sounds kindof funny that Toyota and the NHTSA are making such a big deal about floor mats, but then you read the examples of what happened in a few accidents that looks as though the floor mats were a problem, and then you realize that this isn’t funny. It’s serious. Four people lost their lives in CA after a Lexus’ accelerator got stuck. This is no joke, so if you have one of the recalled Toyota’s I would advise that you get rid of the floor mats. 

So about a week ago, I wrote a very uplifting blog about General Motors‘ money back refund deal currently going on.  I was excited about it. Thought it was a good strategy for GM. They need to differentiate themselves to get customers back. Well, I may have changed my mind on the brilliance of GM.  Here’s what I failed to mention to you guys (and I’m sorry that I did….) the fine print.  That’s the really small details that may be small in font, but HUGE in detail.  So, here are the true rules of the GM money back refund deal.  It sounded as simple as returning shoes that don’t fit.  Guess what. That’s not the case at all.

1.  You can only return the vehicle from day 31 to 60.  That does make sense for GM. People sometimes have buyer’s remorse right after the purchase, so by making the customer wait 30 days may also make them decide to not bother and keep the car.

2.  You don’t have to have a reason for wanting to return the vehicle, but there cannot be any damage of more than $200.  GM will be inspecting for damage, and $200 doesn’t get you very much. A tiny scratch or scuff will most likely cost more than $200 to fix.  Yet again, GM has to make a rule so that people can’t just bring back badly damaged vehicles and expect their money back.

3.  You will get most of your money back, but not all.  You can get the cost of the car and the sales tax back, but not the registration fee, title, or any other fees.  Also, if you get any add-ons, you won’t be refunded for those either.

4.  I know I mentioned this in the last blog, but you cannot exceed 4000 miles or the deal is off as well, and you must be current in your payments. 

5.  Don’t buy 2 GMs. Only 1 return per household. Sorry.  

6.  If you lease, you cannot return the vehicle.

Nope, not done yet.

7.  Program runs from 9/14-11/30.

8.  If you choose to waive the return policy, you will get a $500 rebate check toward the purchase of the new vehicle.  Take the $500 and run.  Too many hassles and rules for it to be worth it at least in my mind.

I would love to have someone actually try to return one of these vehicles and succeed. It would be a good story!

www.autoblog.com

Nissan has unveiled a all-electric vehicle, which is a four-door hatchback called the Leaf.  It will be going on sale in Japan, Europe, and the United States next year.  This is a midsize car that can “comfortably seat five adults.”  The Nissan Leaf will be able to go 100 miles between chargings, and take about 8 hours to fully charge at home, and just a half hour at a special charging facility.  Nissan has not announced the price yet, but according to the CEO it will be “affordable and not priced out of reach of most consumers.”  The Leaf will also be about to qualify for the special tax breaks and incentives for zero-emission vehicles. 

The Leaf has an 80-kilowatt electric motor, which gets its power from a lithium-ion battery pack.  There is no tailpipe or gas tank, which makes it a zero-emission vehicle.  My only problem with the electric vehicle is that the automakers HAVE to figure out a way to get the Leaf and other electric cars to last longer than 100 miles. That just isn’t long enough between chargings, especially since there are limited charging facilities currently in the U.S., so most people that would own these cars will need to charge them at home for 8 hours. 100 miles is not a lot of miles whether you are driving around your town let alone travelling.  Just my thought….

So, here’s some of the highlights of the Frankfurt Auto Show last week for those of you that missed it. 

-Ferrari 458 Italia named Best in Show

-Mercedes to bring 100 hydrogen fuel-cell cars to the United States year.

-BMW will be offering 4-cylinder gasoline engines in the United States to meet the new fuel economy rules.

-Renault has 4 electric car concepts working right now. They will start selling them in 2011.

-Electric was the buzz word this past week at the Frankfurt Auto Show. 

So, there’s some of the highlights. Get ready for the LA Auto Show in a couple of months.

So as bizarre as this sounds, when you go buy a new 2011 model vehicle, you might be disturbed when you see the crash test results on the sticker.  The government crash tests will be worse as the federal government puts the vehicles threw a series of tougher crash tests.  This is to help our safety, but instead of the usual 4 and 5 star ratings that we see on vehicles for safety, there will be more 2 and 3 stars.  And even though that may seem as though the 2011 models are not as safe, they will be just as safe if not safer. Are you confused yet?  I was…until I reread the article on msnbc.com. Ten years ago there were good cars safety wise and bad ones. Well, now that’s not the case. Most cars are good in terms of safety. Sure some are safer here or safer there, but overall safety is good. Basically the government is trying to force the automakers to think outside the box. They want them to design seat belts, air bags, and other protection that will be proper for the small women, as well as larger people and not just the average adult male dummy that is part of the crash tests.

There may very well be no 5 star ratings when the results come out on the 2011 models.  Safety advocates feel as though the government has not made the crash tests hard enough.  They “tweaked” the old tests, but instead should be using new “dramatic crash tests.”  I guess you can always say that there could be harder crash tests to give, etc. but it sounds as though the government is making some headway to make our vehicles safer and that’s a step in the right direction. Hopefully it saves more lives, that’s all.

www.green.autoblog.com

The BMW Vision EfficientDynamics concept car is currently on display at the Frankfurt Auto Show.  This car is being described by BMW as “BMW’s most innovative concept car ever.”  Supposedly this car can go from 0 to 60 mph in 4.8 seconds and it received a score of 62.6 miles per gallon on the EU combined test cycle according to autobloggreen.com.  The concept had a 1.5-liter turbodiesel engine but rumor has it that BMW may go with a smaller engine than this.  The doors to the BMW Vision EfficientDynamics car (that’s a long name!) flip up like a Back to the Future vehicle. I think thats cool, but something even cooler is that this car is green. It is a plug-in hybrid. It can go approximately 31 miles in all-electric mode and an additional 400 miles if you use the diesel engine as well.  Charging with a regular 220 volt outlet takes about 2 1/2 hours.  BMW has not said that it will make these vehicles, but hints state that there will be a car similar, if not the same, as the concept car available in the future.

The Frankfurt Auto Show is tomorrow and Wednesday.  This show is held every two years and it is considered the largest show in the industry.  There will be alot of vehicles introduced at the show, with Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedes, and Porsche taking center stage to show off their stuff!  I’m sure as you can expect, there will be alot of electric, hybrids, fuel efficiency vehicles. They will probably be front and center at the show.  I always find it interesting to see who “wins” at the shows.  The reviews of the new cars will be flying around next week, I’m sure. We’ll have to wait and see.  

Do I have a deal for you.  Go buy a General Motors vehicle starting Monday and if you aren’t happy with it, you can return it within 60 days for a full refund.  The program is called “May the Best Car Win” and is being offered to help bring back customers that are leery of GM since the bankruptcy earlier this year.  Between Monday and November 30, GM will allow customers to return their new GM vehicles with no questions asked within day 31 and 60.  Two stipulations - the car cannot have more than 4000 miles on it and the customer must be current with their payments.  The offer applies to Chevrolet, GMC, Buick, and Cadillac brands.  So, moral of the story is that you need to get out and at least try a GM vehicle. Worth it!