There are a few things that you should have in your car at all times for safety reasons. It doesn’t cost a lot, but it will be worth it in an emergency.  Driverside.com gives a list of the important items.  

1.  Owner’s Manual - people love to take their owner’s manual out in order to make room in the glove box for other things, but you never know when you need to know what a warning light is or other information that only your owner manual can tell you.

2.  Jumper Cables - I’ve wished that I had jumper cables on several different occasions and then was at the mercy of good samaritans to help me out. 

3.  Distilled Water - You could use it for yourself if you are stranded or to put in your radiator to prevent overheating.

4.  First-Aid Kit - You never know when you might need something.  We use our first-aid kit a lot for band-aids for the kids.

5.  Duct Tape and Rope (wouldn’t have thought of this) - these aren’t necessary for life-saving situations, but could just be helpful if you are transporting stuff or something in your car breaks.

6.  Updated Registration and Insurance Card - Hopefully you don’t need these, but you never know when you might be speeding or something and need to show the police your information.

7.  Blanket or Towel - this is to keep you warm if you get stranded. 

8.  Swiss Army Knife or Leatherman - multi-tools will definitely come in handy at some point I’m sure.

9.  Tire Pressure Gauge - it’s important to have the right pressure for your tires so this is really important to make sure that you have the pressures right at all times.

10.  Snacks - yet again if you are stranded or stuck in a traffic jam, snacks come in handy.

11.  Napkins, paper towels, or tissues - You need them. We eat and drink in our cars, and there will be spills. I spilled coffee yesterday in my cup holders, and there was a big puddle and I had nothing to clean it up. Annoying more than anything.

I think we can all handle buying these items. Obviously some are not as important as others, but all 11 will probably come in handy at some point.

The information that we have all been waiting for….well, maybe not all of us but some I’m sure.  The price of the 2011 Chevrolet Volt is…..$41,000* (the asterisk is because there will be a $7500 federal tax credit that you will get for buying this car, but you need to finance $41,000 and then you get the tax credit on your next tax return.  The best deal is the leasing deal. You can lease the Volt for $350/mo. for 3 years with $2500 down. The price of the Volt leasing deal is alittle more than the Nissan Leaf, which is $2000 down $350/mo., 3 years. 

With this Chevy Volt you get standard navigation with a 7 in. screen, an 8 year/100,000 mile battery warranty, Bluetooth connectivity, Bose audio system, and 5 years of OnStar service included. OnStar normally costs $300 per year.  There are a few options for more; heated leather seats, chrome wheels, three premium paint colors, and a rear park assist.  You actually get quite a bit for the price. A lot more than many other cars. I know the price is higher, but the lease price isn’t bad at all.

There will be 7 U.S. markets selling the Volt in December, and the rest of us will have the Volt available to us in a year to a year and a half.  If you want to know the 600 dealers that will have the Volts available are, go to http://getmyvolt.com. 

This is exciting stuff, right?  I don’t know.  I’m really not totally sold on the Volt or Leaf for that matter. I’ve been reading a lot about them and I think I will be waiting for the price to lower and for customers to give reviews after driving these cars for a year or so.  By the way, sorry about the blog in bold, just got a new computer and pressed some button and could not get the bold off.  I pressed it about 10 times with nothing happening. I’ll figure it out for the next blog.

www.theweeklydriver.com

The new 2011 Ford Explorer that will be in showrooms starting next winter.  Ford is hoping to bring back the SUV, but in a car form instead of a truck one.  I really like the look of the new Explorer. In 2000 (the peak year for Explorers,) Ford sold 445,137. Last year, Ford sold 52,190.  Partly this is due to the new crossovers that are out there, even the Ford Edge and Flex are competitors.  So, Ford decided to revamp the Ford Explorer and hope that those with current Explorers and new buyers as well will be drawn in by the look, fuel efficiency SUV, what’s under the hood, and the technology updates.  Ford just unveiled the details of the new Explorer last week and it really seems to be a hit on the car websites already. 

The price of the Explorer will start at $28,000 and go up to $48,000 for one with every option.  The gas mileage will be about 18 mpg in the city and 25-26 mpg on the highway.  The Ford Explorer will be equipped with a new EcoBoost turbocharged four-cylinder engine that will be more powerful than a V6 and will have about 237 horsepower.  The EcoBoost will only be offered in front-wheel drive.  Another option will be a 3.5-liter V6 engine with 290 horsepower. 

I like the fact that Ford is trying something new with this SUV and I think it will be a hit.  It’s a nice looking car, and people like the Explorers and I think more will come next spring when these 2011 Ford Explorers are in full swing.     

If you don’t have a perfect credit score and you want to buy a car, you are in luck…well in better shape now.  Back in the day (well a few years back,) the approval rate for subprime borrowers (those with credit scores of below 620) was about 60%. Last year the approval rate for these guys was 5% and now it’s about 9%. Just a little more conservative in our loans these days.  

Also, subprime borrowers have to put large down payments and their interest rates will be at least 10%.  The thing is that the people with bad credit make up a huge portion of the auto sales market.   

Looking for my good news?  Well here it is.  The numbers are getting better. More people are getting approved for loans with not great credit scores.  If you try to get a loan from a local or regional bank they seem to be more relaxed in their loan approvals.  Also, the average interest rate is down about a percentage point from last year at this time to 6.3% so that’s good news too. 

Everyone in the auto market and elsewhere is still so unsure of our economy (with good reason.)  The auto industry seems to be slowly but surely making its way up and out of its troubles, but financial companies still need to be careful when offering their car loans. It’s understandable, but still doesn’t make the guy happy that has a poor credit score get the car he always wanted, or any car for that matter. Best advice, get your credit score up and then go try to get a car loan.  Good luck!

www.xgo.com.cn

The Smart ForTwo car is now adding a partner, the electric version.  Smart used to be a somewhat popular vehicle selling 24,622 Smart vehicles in 2008, and if more were available probably could have sold even more, and then sales have diminished greatly.  Smart has been trying to figure out what to do to put them back into the black.  One major problem with the Smart is that you can get a car for about the same price, similar fuel economy, more power, and room for more than 2 people.  The Smart really didn’t offer anything to separate themselves, other than it’s a cute looking car, as many feel. 

Now comes along a Smart electric car.  There will be 250 sold in the U.S. this fall as a trial before the electric car is officially introduced in 2012 as a 2013 model.  You can only lease these vehicles. It will cost $599/mo. for 4 years with a 10,000 annual mileage limit.  Each car will have a “black box” to collect information to work out any minor problems before 2012. 

Nothing will change with the interior or exterior of the existing Smart ForTwo, because the original Smart was designed as an electric car.  There isn’t really any power to this electric Smart.  It uses a 30-kilowatt electric motor with a horsepower equal to 42.  This vehicle has a top speed of 62 and according to some reviews, rides “choppy.”  You can fully charge the battery in 8 hours with a standard 220-volt appliance line.  You get about 80 miles between charges. 

The couple of reviews I read were not fabulous.  As I said earlier, other than the “fun” aspect of the Smart, there isn’t anything else to offer that would truly make you want to choose this car over another.  I’m not interested, but I’m sure there are some people out there that will be very interested in test driving and buying the Smart electric car.

California has just extended access to the state’s carpool lanes for zero and ultra low emission vehicles until 2015.  If you are unfamiliar with the HOV lanes in CA, they are lanes that are available for cars with more than one person in them. This is supposed to encourage people to carpool and have less vehicles and gas emissions on the road.   Part of the change in law for the HOV lanes is that hybrids such as the Toyota Prius and Honda Insight that were allowed in the HOV lanes will no longer be allowed.  Let me clarify this rule.  These vehicles were/are allowed in the HOV lanes without 2 people. Due to the low emissions, they can be in the HOV lanes without the extra person/people.

Honda has 2 cars that qualify for the HOV lanes, now that the Insight is back with the “regulars.”  The Honda FCX Clarity and the Honda Civic GX.  Currently there are only about less than 10 of the fuel-cell powered Claritys on the roads, and the Civic GX, which is a natural gas-fueled vehicle is not on the roads much either.  These new rules for the HOV lanes in CA could possibly make some people shy away from the hybrids and move towards these alternative fuel vehicles. I guess it really depends on how much traffic a person sits in daily on the highways. If you sit for a long time, maybe one of the zero or ultra low emission vehicles are right for you.

www.ford-fiesta-2011.info

Some more exciting news for Ford and domestic vehicles.  The 2011 Ford Fiesta, according to Mark Phelan of the Detroit Free Press, is the “most fuel-efficient and sophisticated subcompact car on the market.”  The Fiesta competes with subcompacts such as the Chevrolet Aveo, Honda Fit, Nissan Versa, and the Toyota Yaris.  The Fiesta’s base price of $13,320 is in the middle of the group. When the Fiesta is fully equipped, it comes in on the high end, though supposedly it offers features to justify the price difference.

The base price includes a 120-horsepower, 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine with a five-speed transmission.  The 1.6-liter engine is standard in all models.  You can get a six-speed dual clutch for $1070 on any of the models.  The fuel economy is really reason enough to get this car.  There is a $695 SFE option package that gives you a dual-clutch gearbox, low rolling resistance tires, and some aerodynamics that gives the Fiesta fuel economy of 29 mpg in the city and 40 mpg on the highway.  Without the SFE option, the fuel economy is 29 mpg in the city and 38 mpg on the highway with the dual-clutch gearbox, and 28/37 with the manual transmission.

A weakness of the Ford Fiesta is that it has low-rpm torque so you have to rev the engine a lot  and the interior storage is not so great, but according to Phelan, the strengths outweigh the weaknesses.  Phelan says that the way to go is the dual-clutch transmission.  The cargo space is average for the sedan or hatchback and the headroom is good.  

According to Mark Phelan, you definitely need to check out the 2011 Ford Fiesta. I might just do that.

Here’s my one stop shopping car news for the week.

GM is offering an 8 year or 100,000 miles warranty on the Chevrolet Volt battery.  This is a nice guarantee for the new owners of the Volt when it goes on sale in November.  This warranty is better than any other GM warranty which is 5 year or 100,000 miles.  GM must feel pretty confident with the new Volt battery.

New York City just opened its first public electric charging station.  This is an effort to try to encourage NYC residents to go with an environmentally friendly vehicle.  There will be 100 more public charging stations installed around NYC between now and September 2011.

Chevrolet is allowing new owners of the 2011 Corvette ZR1 and Zo6 models to have the opportunity to help build the engines for their cars.  For about $5800 plus the cost of travelling to Detroit, you can go to the GM Performance Build Center and work side-by-side with the professional engine builders.  At the end, you can personalize your engine with your name. Definitely worth $5800!  Not sure, but I’m sure that there are definitely lots of Corvette owners that will be interested.

What else can I tell you of importance this week?  Detroit brands top Asian and European counterparts in a study of the most appealing models.  Porsche is the number 1 brand of appeal for the 6th straight year.  Lincoln and Cadillac had the highest appeal scores of the domestic brands.  Detroit’s three automakers had an average of 787 out of 1000 points in the 2010 Automotive Performance study done by J.D. Power and Associates.  This average is a 13 point lead over the average score for European and Asian brands.

I think this is all I have for you for top car news this week.  Enjoy the rest of the weekend.

I know what most of you are saying….”minivan video worth watching? Yeah right!”  Well, I’m telling the truth. During the problems with the auto industry the last few years, minivans have been hit close to the hardest.  All automakers are trying to find a way to attract more than the mothers with young children to minivans.  They are giving some “men appeal” and others older appeal, but truthfully the real target audience will always be the same….mothers with young children.  Plain and simple. Convenience is such a factor this audience and minivans give customers that.  There is a lot of room for a lot of stuff, and when your kids are young, you have a lot of stuff!

So, now let me get to the video. It’s a video made by Toyota for the Toyota Sienna. It’s really funny. The video is trying to show that it’s hip to own a minivan.  What do you guys think??  Me personally….I like the video but not sure that all of a sudden I want to get a minivan because I’ll be cool/hip.  Not so sure but the video on YouTube has gotten more than 4 million hits, so Toyota has gotten a lot of publicity for the Sienna. Maybe it’s helping sell it!

Here’s the video:Swagger Wagon

A nice bonus of hybrids these days are the quiet rides (and of course the great gas mileage!)  The days of silent hybrids are just about over.  Congress, with the help of automakers and advocates for the blind, are adding sound performance requirements for hybrids and electric cars.  The silent hybrids make it hard for pedestrians and the blind to hear them and use those cues in order to safely cross the road, etc.  It sounds kind of dumb, but makes sense.  People know the sound of an accelerating vehicle, and then to have no sounds, can definitely cause some problems and danger for some, especially the blind that use sound cues as a way of life.

Of course there are always those that don’t feel the same way.  Those people, mostly green car advocates, say that we need to reduce the noise of the trucks, buses, and motorcycles, and then you could hear the hybrids.  Noise pollution will be increased with these new requirements on hybrids and electric cars and the green car advocates say that adding noise is not the answer.

Also as of right now, each automaker is coming up with their own sound for their hybrid.  Ford feels like the sound of the hybrids and electric cars should be a standard sound and not like cell phones with each having their own sound.  “This can cause confusion” they say. I agree. I think that Congress and groups make a decision on the best sound for the hybrids and then all automakers use it.  I like that idea the best.

Well the days of silent hybrids are over.  I guess we need to just move along and accept it. The noise will be for a good cause and I’m going to bet the sound won’t be too bad. We shall see….