BMW has taken over the top spot from Toyota as the most valuable gloval car brand, according to autoweek.com.  Though it is expected that Toyota will be able to bounce back from their bad publicity and therefore bad brand value from the recent recalls.  Toyota is spending a lot of money and energy in marketing to try to win back their customers.  I’m sure that they will, so BMW so enjoy being on the top of this title, because it may not last for long.

Ford ranked higher on the global car brand value as well. Experts think that this is because Ford has introduced several new technologies such as the Sync, emission control, and their use of social media.  Smart techies working at Ford!

Porsche and Mercedes suffered in their rankings this past year.  That’s really not a total surprise though. These are luxury cars and people cannot afford luxury cars these days with the economy the way it has been.  Mercedes brand value fell 11%, but Porsche brand value fell 31%.  Yikes!  Not good.   But mind you, they still rank 4 and 5 on the list respectively.  Honda is third to round out the top 5.

The only thing I’m a little surprised about it is that I always consider BMW to be luxury as well.  I know that they have models that are cheaper by a lot than Porsche and Mercedes, but overall their vehicles aren’t cheap.

I guess good for BMW to take over and top the list of most valuable global car brand, but as I said earlier, very good chance this honor won’t last too long.

Wanna buy the new Porsche 918 Spyder that wowed everyone at the Geneva Auto Show?  Well, it will possibly be available soon.  It is a hybrid supercar, and Porsche wants to get 1000 seriously interested people in order to make a case to build this 918 Spyder. I would think that that won’t be a problem.  900 people have already said they are interested.  What’s 100 more?  Of course, these people are just interested. They didn’t commit to buying.  I can’t imagine that there aren’t 1000 people interested in this new Porsche.  It’s really nice looking….

A new AP poll done in March shows that Americans prefer a domestic vehicle over an Asian one.  Thirty-eight percent of Americans favor domestic vehicles with 32% saying that Asians vehicles are superior products.  Ford has become quite popular helping lead the domestic vehicles.  Big shocker is that Toyota’s loyal customers has dropped from 25% in 2006 to 15% in March.  Over 90% of GM, Ford, Honda, or Toyota customers were satisfied with their vehicles.  People willing to purchase an alternative fuel vehicle dropped from 70% in 2006 to 61% in 2010.  Interesting. I wonder why???  People are more aware of their choices and the details of these alternative fuel vehicles, and that made them disinterested?? I don’t know.

I have some crazy facts about Buick in China.  First of all, over 90% of new car sales in China are paid for in cash.  I mean actual cash, no checks. The biggest bill/coin in China is 100 Yuan, so if someone is paying like $40,000 for a vehicle (or about 280,000 Yuan) that’s alot of money to hand off at the dealership. Crazy, right?  Buick dealers in America sell less than 100 cars a year.  In the large cities in China, a Buick dealer sells over 2000 vehicles a year!  Buicks spend on average less than 20 days on a lot.

So, to sum it up, sign up to buy your Porsche 918 Spyder, buy an American car (cause that’s more preferred,) and if you go to live in China, you better have cold, hard cash to bring to the dealership to buy your car!!!

~Toyota will be coming out with a Prius hybrid minivan next year.  Not too many other details have come out other than it will most likely have a third row to allow for 5-7 people.  The price will be comparable to the other Prius hybrid models.

~Ford will be debuting a new traction control system on their 2011 Ford Explorer.  The driver will have a choice as to what traction control they want depending on the road conditions.  There will be a dial in the center of the console where you can choose one of four modes: normal roads, muddy or rutted roads, snowy roads, or sand.  This traction control system will adjust the engine, transmission, brakes, and wheel rotation speed accordingly.  This traction system will be standard on all Ford Explorers, which goes on sale at the end of the year.

~Toyota’s trouble continue yet again.  They announced that they are voluntarily recalling 600,000 Toyota Sienna minivans because there could be a problem with the spare tire.  If you own a 1998-2010 Sienna, you might want to look further into this recall.

~GM went a different route to market their cars today.  They went to the biggest baptist church in Detroit and offered churchgoers the opportunity to test drive many of their models, even the Chevy Volt.  GM was trying to interest some minorities to take a look at their cars without the pressures of showrooms and salespeople.  This is not a risk free marketing strategy though. Some may think it’s great that GM is going to the potential customer; to their communities and such. Others might think that GM is overstepping coming to their place of worship on Sundays. I’m in the middle on this one. I see both sides.

I’m kindof embarassed to be blogging about this, but I thought that it may interest some even if you don’t want to admit to it.  Yahooautos.com came up with 5 2010 models that don’t cost a lot (though $29,000 is a lot in my book,) but supposedly they look awesome, and I guess you will look rich. I’m sure that no one will admit to wanting to look rich while driving your vehicle, but you know it’s nice to look good while you drive.  Having people turn to check out your car and then THINK you spent a fortune for it might be nice occasionally.  So here they are. Run out and buy one…or not. I’m not sold on some of these for making you look rich.

Kia Soul - $13,300-$18,195 - alright, there is absolutely no way that the Kia Soul will make me look rich.  Absolutely no way!

Suzuki Kizashi - $18,999-$26,749 - this is crazy. Suzuki will pay $100 to anyone who tests drives the Kizashi and then buys an Audi A4 or an Acura TSX. That’s a lot of confidence in your car! I like it!

Mazda MX-5 Miata - $22,810-$29,350 - most affordable sports car on the road.

Chrysler 300 - $27,260-$44,865 - this is a large sedan, and I agree. This is a really nice looking, rich looking vehicle.  Probably one of the best ones on this list.  You can even buy an aftermarket kit to make your Chrysler 300 look just like a Rolls Royce or Bentley. Alright, that’s weird, but some people must buy it.

Ford Flex - $28,950-$42,465 - I don’t particularly like the look of this SUV.

So in my opinion the only cars on this list that I think truly look rich are the Chrysler 300 and Mazda MX-5 Miata.  I am having a hard time seeing how the others will make you look rich, but maybe I just don’t know what it means to look rich while you drive!

Hannah Elliott of Forbesautos.com wrote an article stating the worst cars on the road.  I immediately read the article to make sure that my car wasn’t one of them. Good news, it wasn’t.  The bad news is that 4 of the 7 worst cars on the road are made by GM.  Yikes for GM.  They just released numbers showing their sales up and things looking good, and all the while, Forbesautos.com is talking smack about them. To make matters worse, all 7 vehicles on from the Detroit Big Three. That’s awful!  Well, I’ll let give you the 7 vehicles and the reasoning for the worst car status, and you can decide what you think.

Cadillac Escalade - Consumer Reports Predicted Reliability Score-Fair, CR Value Score - rated among the worst, CR Safety Score - rated among the worst, CR Overall Score - 61 out of 100, J.D. Power Dependability Score - 2 out of 5

Chevrolet Aveo - CR Predicted Reliability Score - Poor, CR Value Score - not rated among the worst in overall value, CR Safety Score - not rated among the worst in overall safety, CR Overall Score - 36, JD Power Score-2

Chevrolet Colorado - CR Predicted Reliability Score - Poor, CR Value Score - Not rated among the worst in value, CR Safety Score - Rated among the worst in overall safety, CR Overall Score - 41, JD Power Score-2

Dodge Nitro - CR Reliability - Poor, CR Value - Rated among the worst, CR Safety - Not rated among worst, CR Overall - 33, JD -2

Ford F-250 - CR Reliability - Poor, CR Value - Rated among worst, CR Safety - Rated among worst, CR Overall - 37, JD - 3

GMC Canyon - CR Reliability - Poor, CR Value - Rated among worst, CR Safety - not rated among worst, CR Overall - 41, JD - 2

Jeep Wrangler - CR Reliability - Poor, CR Value - Rated among worst, CR Safety - not rated among worst, CR Overall - 17 (YIKES!,) JD - 2

So, there you have it. There isn’t a lot of good stuff to talk about with GM especially.  As I said, I’m just glad my car isn’t on the list!

The AAA says that the type of vehicle you drive can “help to both ease the expense and pain of a long commute.”  The AAA evaluated hundreds of vehicles to determine the best ones for us, the commuter.  An average people spend about 41 minutes a day driving to work, travelling 22.5 miles round trip.  Some of you are probably reading this, wishing that you only spent 41 minutes in the car driving to and from work!  So, here are some of the best commuter vehicles.

Honda Insight - great fuel economy and it’s relatively comfortable for the driver and passenger.

Ford Fusion - you can get the hybrid or four-cylinder version that has power, but comfort as well.  The hybrid will cost more, but depending on your commute, might be worth it.

Volkswagen Jetta TDI - this is a modern diesel, and according to AAA is “every bit as economical as the most miserly hybrids and fun to drive as well.”

Hyundai Elantra - good fuel efficiency and an interior that will be comfortable for up to 4 people.

Subaru Legacy/Outback - four-cylinder engines with good performance and enhanced rear seat legroom.

Honda Civic - AAA says that the Civic is one of the better performing compacts that is affordable and comfortable.

Chevrolet Malibu -Four-cylinder engine models offer power and good fuel economy.

Honda Accord - good for commute and for family transportation.

There are more, but these are the top commuter vehicles.  Basically, the four-cylinder engines are the best for commuting, because they are cheaper, more fuel efficient, but still have power and comfort.  I’m sorry if you have a long commute daily to work, but maybe check out these vehicles as your next commuter car.

So, I’ve been doing some research and trying to get all the pros and cons of diesel engines compared to gas engines and determine which are the best.  Well as you might expect, you can find the diesel lovers that give every reason why you should only buy diesel and then you have the others that find gas engines the way to go.  So, I thought I’d share some of the pros and cons of the diesel engine to you and if you were unsure, maybe this information will help you sway one way or the other.

Diesel Pros

-Better Fuel Economy

-Not uncommon to get 400,000 miles and upwards on the engines.

-Long-term maintenance and durability is great.

-Gas emissions are less if you get a clean diesel, which are common these days.

-Diesels can haul heavier loads on a truck.

Diesel Cons

-Initial cost is more

-Cold weather and diesel engine are not a good combo.  Sometimes they have trouble starting in cold weather.

-Diesel vehicles are noisy.

-Short-term maintenance.  It costs more for the regular maintenance on your vehicle.

-Sometimes it can be harder to find diesel fuel. It isn’t at every gas station.

You know, for the most part, I think that diesel’s pros outweigh the cons.  My sister-in-law has a diesel and she loves it. It is definitely louder than a gasoline vehicle, but it’s not insanely loud.  After doing my research, I guess I’m swaying towards diesel, though not planning to buy one in the near future.  I think that they will continue to become more popular in the U.S. Diesels are everywhere in the European market.

A lot of good stuff for some at the time but terrible when you like back happened in the 80’s. Horrible music, big hair, bad jeans, Miami Vice was awesome!  There were some great cars in the 80’s, and the good news is that you can still get some of these beauties!  Autoweek.com wrote an article about some 80’s favorites and their current prices according to Kelley Blue Book.  Of course even though autoweek included like 10 of these 80’s cars, tons of people commented on this article naming great 80’s vehicles that autoweek forget or didn’t include.  I’m going to just mention some of my favorites from that time and if you want to see more, check out the article.

1988-1989 BMW M3 - high price according to Kelley Blue Book $65,000 (for a car that’s 22 years old!) and the low price is $14,500 with the average being $24,417. It has a 2.3 liter 200 horsepower engine, which was big for that time.

1981-1989 Porsche 911 Turbo - high price $78,500, low $24,900, average $40,669

1987-1989 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am - high $22,900, low $4000, average $10,293. The 1987 Trans Am had a Tuned Port Injection V8 engine with only 210 horsepower.

1985-1989 Volkswagen GTI - high $5995, low $4100, average $4865 - My favorite!!!

The article is interesting and kindof cool to remind you of the different cars of the 80’s and the favorites for different people. Check it out.

Forbesautos.com compiled a list of the world’s most expensive cars.  I know that the majority of us cannot afford 1/4 of these cars but it’s still fun to read about them and their enormous price tags!  I still would love to meet someone who buys these cars, because they probably don’t even really drive them. I’m sure they are “summer cars” or used on special occasions. These most expensive cars are REALLY expensive. I know that sounds dumb, but they are a lot of money.  By the way, the tax is not included in these prices.

Lamborghini Reventon - $1,454,400, horsepower 650, 0 to 60 in 3.4 seconds, top speed of 211 mph. 20 will be made.

Pagani Zonda Cinque Coupe - $1,738,080, horsepower 678, 0 to 60 3.3 seconds, top speed of 217 mph.

Bugatti Veyron 16.4 - $1,738,080, horsepower 1001, 0 to 60 mph 2.5 seconds, top speed of 249 mph.

Pagani Zonda Cinque Roadster - $1,882,920, horsepower 678, 0 to 60 in 3.3 seconds, top speed of 355 mph (yup 355 is what I said!) only 5 will be sold.

Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport - $2,027,760, horsepower 1001, 0 to 60 in 2.5 seconds, and top speed of 253 mph.

AND THE WINNER IS…………………………………..

Koenigsegg CCXR - $2,173,950, horsepower 1018, 0 to 60 in 2.9 seconds, and top speed of 250 mph. 4 cars are currently being built.

I know that this is just mindless information really, but sometimes mindless is good.  Plus, it’s fun to see how the “other side” drive!!!!!

I have the top or bottom 5 vehicles of 2010 according to U.S. News and World Report.  Now of course this is just one group’s opinions of the newest vehicles, but I like what U.S. News and World Report normally has to say.  They did the research that we all need to do before we consider buying a new car. I would definitely not consider the 5 worst vehicles of 2010 and put the 5 best vehicles on my list to check out when I’m ready to buy, maybe you should too.

Best 5

Hyundai Genesis Coupe - MSRP $22,000-$31,000

Ford Transit Connect - MSRP $20,780-$22,350 great choice for the small business owners

Mercedes-Benz E-Class - MSRP $48,600-$58,800 this is a redesigned model that is supposedly a better car all around than the one it replaced.

GMC Terrain - MSRP $24,250-$31,000 a very affordable compact SUV

Cadillac CTS Sports Wagon - MSRP $39,830-$53,620

Worst 5

Honda Accord Crosstour - not much cargo space, expensive, and not living up to hype of its competitors.

Dodge Caliber - Dodge has cut back the warranty and one of the models of the Caliber.  Not good news.

Lexus HS hybrid - it supposedly doesn’t excel as a Lexus or hybrid.

Chrysler Sebring - “same bad investment as it ever was.” Yikes!

Land Rover LR4 - expensive car with bad fuel economy and poor reputation for reliability. Not worth it.

So there are the good and the bad.  If you want more details on each vehicle, read the article. May be worth it for you.