The auto sales in the U.S. was awful for August. Actually as a whole the auto industry sold 997,000 vehicles in August, down about 5% from July. This is the worst August sales figures since 1983 when the U.S. was at the end of a double dip recession.  Auto sales in August are typically one of the top months of the year.  The next year models are coming out in September, and people try to get all the deals they can in August.  Clearly, these numbers show that we still have economic troubles in this country and the automakers are really hurting. Some more than others…..Honda’s sales were down 33% from last August and 3% from July.  GM fell 7% from July and 25% from last August.  If you remember, last August we had the Cash for Clunkers government program which helped to sell about 700,000 new vehicles.

Another reason why the sales of autos are down is because the incentives are down.  Automakers are not willing to take a hit on the sale in order to move the vehicles off the lot.  They are buying less vehicles for their dealerships and then therefore only offering on average $2681 which is down 3% from July.  According to Edmunds.com, in July dealers offered about $1000 less in incentives than last July.

Things are really not good these days if you are in the auto industry. You would think that we should be able to get vehicles dirt cheap since the sales are down, but clearly that is not the case.  So my advice, unless you are a high roller who isn’t affected by the economy, try to ride out your vehicles until things get better if you can.  I don’t think we can get the deals we have in the past. May be worth waiting until those deals come back, which I’m sure they will….eventually.

It’s becoming more and more common for automakers to offer maintenance plans when purchasing a new vehicle.  The automakers are trying to entice their customers into having some brand loyalty and getting customers used to using their service departments. 

The maintenance plans vary from automaker to automaker. Some saving customers lots of money, while others not so much. You pay a little more up front for your vehicle with these maintenance plans, but for some such as BMW, you can save about $2738, according to Edmunds.com.  Edmunds also says that for a Land Rover you will only save about $95.  You need to read the fine print for sure.  In April, Jaguar announced that they will provide complimentary scheduled maintenance for 5 years or 50,000 miles starting on 2011 models.  Cadillac announced the same thing in June offering 4 year or 50,000 miles starting on 2011 models.  Some automakers like Lincoln put stipulations on the plans. You can get a 3 year or 45,000 mile scheduled maintenance plan for all new Lincolns bought or leased through September 7. 

What’s even better is that some auto maintenance plans include oil changes but also brake pads and wiper blades. Most plans include at least 1 free oil change if not all of them for several years.  The better plans with brake pads and wiper blades could really save you some money.  BMW, Jaguar, Mini, and Volvo include the wear-and-tear items like pads and blades.   

I’m sure that in the future more and more automakers will be offering some sort of free maintenance plans.  You just need to read the fine print.

I know. It sounds ridiculous, right?  I have to say I wish I was lying but I’m not. There is such things out there that are curly eyelashes for your headlamps.  The company that makes this wonderful invention is Carlashes.  You really need to just take 2 minutes and check out the videos on their websites. They are hilarious!

So, for just $24.95 you can get a nice pair of eyelashes to fancy up your car.  If that’s not enough for you, for an additional $19.95 you can get “Crystal Eyeliner” you spruce up your vehicle. Have you seen these eyelashes on the road yet?  I personally haven’t, but would love to.  I will probably try not to stare, but I can’t imagine I won’t stare.  The pictures look really dumb. I can’t imagine who wants these eyelashes for their car, but you know as well as I do that there are people that do, and who knows maybe it’s even you.  Sorry to offend those that are planning to buy the eyelashes and eyeliner for their car.

How many of you have felt bad for Toyota in the past year with their recalls and pedal problems?  Maybe a few of us, but now Toyota’s problems have worsened…if that’s possible.  The latest recall are 1.33 million 2005-2008 Corolla sedans or Matrix hatchbacks.  Their engines may stall, just a minor detail.  Another quality issue for Toyota.  Up to date, Toyota has recalled more than 10 million vehicles for problems, whether it be floor mats, faulty pedals, problems with the Prius hybrid, or this latest problem with the engine.

Not good for Toyota.  It’s really a shame because they have always been known for their quality vehicles, and truthfully I know so many people that really like Toyotas.  Several people I know are completely unphased by these 10 million recalls and still love Toyota and are looking to buy them.  Overall though, I think that people are hesitant and it’s becoming more and more each time a new recall comes out….with good reason.  Get it together Toyota! People want to stick with you, but you aren’t making that very easy!!

So, I’ll go out on a limb and say that all of us have at some time or another been stuck in a traffic jam for probably an hour or maybe 2 at the most.  How about getting stuck in a traffic jam for 10 days????!!! Yes, I said 10 days!!!  That’s what just happened in China (if you missed the news on it.)  There was a major traffic jam heading into Beijing on the main route.

There was a slight economic boost for some though that sold food, water, etc. to those stuck in the traffic jam at inflated prices of course!  It sounds funny, but I’m sure I would not be laughing if I was in the traffic jam itself.  The reason for the problem was that there was construction in the area, the communication of traffic is not terrific, there are too many cars on the roads, and there are few alternate routes to take.  Add all of those factors together, and I guess you get a 10 day long traffic jam!  The worst part is that according to those people that study traffic, this can and probably will happen again….and it could be soon.  There are about 1900 vehicles added to Beijing’s streets each day and that sure doesn’t help matters. The Chinese roads were not built for all these vehicles and then add construction and also peak travel season….bad news.

The moral of my story is that if you travel to Beijing, be careful on the roads and if you see any slowdowns, you might as well turn around at that point, go back to your hotel, and rest awhile. It will be better than sitting in traffic for 10 days!!

If you bought a car that is 2008 or newer, you have a nice, new tire monitoring system on it.  I say that somewhat sarcastically. Sure it’s a technological advancement for our vehicles.  It helps you know when to put air in our tires and will make our vehicles more fuel efficient and the life of the tires will be better since they will have the proper pressure in them.  That’s the up side of the tire monitoring systems.

Here’s the down side of these indicators.  I’m annoyed because both vehicles that I own, have had tire monitoring system problems.  One of my cars’ monitoring system has been on non-stop for 6 months now.  I put air in the tires to the correct pressure and the indicator light is still on. I have brought the car into the shop on 3 different occasions, and they say it’s not the tire but the system, they flip a switch, and reset it.  The indicator light goes off, then the next day it goes back on.  It’s a pointless system for me, because I truly never know when the tires are low or the system is messed up.  I have to go back to the old way anyways, and use a tire gauge.  What’s the point of the tire monitoring system? As I write this, I need to supposedly have my tire monitoring system serviced.  Also, my other car has had the tire indicator light on 3x in the last few months. Once it was legit, but the other times the indicator light has come on sporadically then i check the tires and they are fine. The light comes on and then the next time I turn the car, it’s off.

I hate having these technology advances when they don’t work right. The tire monitoring system is great when it works. My parents’ indicator light came on last week, and after putting air in it and the indicator light still on, they brought their car to the dealership and there was a huge nail in the tire. That’s great, but the system just doesn’t always work, and I have 2 cars to prove that. Anyone else had problems with the tire monitoring systems in their cars??

If anyone is interested in participating in the Zero Emissions Race around the world in 80 days, I’m sorry. You missed it.  It started yesterday, but you can follow the entire trip on the internet of course!  So, yes there is a race with 4 electric cars that have zero emissions.  Really it’s just a marketing strategy to get people to become more aware of the zero emissions cars.  The cars/teams will cross 16 countries and stop in about 150 major cities along the way. This should take 80 days of travel, but that doesn’t count the shipping time across the oceans.  The 80 days will be actual travel time in the vehicles.  There are 4 cars/teams involved in the Zero Emissions Race.  They are from Australia, Switzerland, South Korea, and Germany.  There cars are neat.  There are 2 what I would call motorcycles.  The organizer is Louis Palmer from Switzerland who was the first person to circumnavigate the world in a solar powered vehicle, which was called the Solartaxi.  He got his message out across the world about renewable energy and wants to continue to get the message out by organizing this race.

People from the Zero Emissions Race will be blogging daily, and if you live in one of the major cities that the race will be stopping at, maybe you should go and check them out yourself.  Might be worth your time. Something to do different either way!  Good luck to the racers.  May the best electric car win!!!!

An interesting auction to raise money for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and The Children’s Center in Michigan that helps troubled children, youths, and families.  The auction happened this past weekend in Monterey, CA.  Ford auctioned off 225 vehicles from around the world, beginning Thursday night.  On Thursday, Ford auctioned off 18 concept cars raising about $1 million for charities.  Here’s the crazy part. These concept cars cannot be titled for use on the road.  You basically can look at this car in your driveway. Crazy!  Some of these concept cars have no drivetrains and had to be pushed onto the auction block.  The top concept car was sold for $110,000.  It was the Ford Mustang GT-R concept.  A Lincoln MK9 concept and a Lincoln Mark X concept sold for $101,750.

This auction preceded the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, which is one of the most prestigious and expensive car shows in the world, which actually is today.  The Pebble Beach Concours happens on the third Sunday of August each year.  There are 175 collectors cars and motorcycles from around the world that meet at the 18th fairway of Pebble Beach golf course. These cars/motorcycles are judged for their “historical accuracy, their technical merit, and their style.”  I bet it’s fun to go and see these cars on a beautiful golf course nonetheless!

So, mark your calendars for next year. Maybe you could go to Monterey, CA, get yourself a concept car (if Ford has the auction again next year) and then go watch the Pebble Beach Concours. Sounds like a nice vacation to me.

Cars are getting more wireless everyday and this is making it easier for hackers to access your cars and mess with the signals. Some researchers from Rutgers University and the University of South Carolina found a way to hack into a car’s electronics wirelessly through the tire pressure monitoring system, which all cars made since 2008 have.  There will become more and more ways that our cars will be become more wireless therefore, we will have more problems with hackers. Scary to think that we could be driving down the road and things go haywire because someone has hacked into our cars.  Yuck!

Ford has announced the engines for its 2011 Ford F-150.  There will be a 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6, 3.7-liter V6, 5.0-liter V8, and a 6.2-liter V8.  The 5.0-liter V8 will have a rating of 360 horsepower at 5500 rpm.  That’s quite a great deal of power.

It looks as though the auto industry will be adding 182,000 manufacturing jobs through 2012.  The auto industry has 50,000 more auto related jobs than they did a year ago.  Good news for the economy and the auto industry!  Things must be moving upward.

Note to self and U.S…..let’s not try to follow/copy Spain’s electric car marketing scheme. Not working out very well for them right now.  Spain has been publicizing their plan to have thousands of electric cars on the road in the coming years. That’s great news, but here’s the problem. Currently, Spain has only sold 16 electric cars so far.  The REVE electric car is up by 15 though. They only sold 1 last year. The government’s plan was to have 2000 on the road by the end of 2010 and 20,000 electric and hybrid cars on the road by the end of 2011.  Not looking so good. We in the U.S. need to find a better way to market I guess!!

Good news! Some auto advocacy groups have asked that Enterprise Holdings Inc, which owns Enterprise, Alamo, and National car rentals, to stop renting cars that have recalls that haven’t been fixed. I found it crazy that Enterprise was actually doing this, but the good news is that now that the advocacy groups are involved, they are no longer going to use these cars that have recalls that are potentially danger until they are fixed. Duh, but I guess we need auto advocacy groups in order to prevent morons from doing stuff like this.

This is all the exciting news I could find for you tonight. Good night!

I was searching for an interesting topic to write about tonight and I learned something new in the meantime. I had never heard of the Big Green Bus, but now that I read about it I really feel that it’s worth discussing.  The Big Green Bus is a bus full of 12 Dartmouth College students that are driving across the country to try to educate people on the little things we can do to be “green” and help the environment.  Their bus is a 1989 MCI coach bus that has been converted to run on waste vegetable oil.

The website is a wealth of knowledge for everyone. It explains all of the green aspects of the bus.  This is the 6th year that the Big Green Bus has travelled across the country trying to educate people.  The bus has bamboo flooring and cabinets.  It has solar panels that provide all the energy that they need.  The first bus that the Dartmouth students used in 2005 (there are different students each year) was a school bus that they painted green.

Most of the students that are currently on the Big Green Bus this summer are environmental studies/science majors at Dartmouth.  Some are in engineering and others in Biology, but all share a common bond to try to make this country a better place to live and helping people to make just some small changes that benefit the environment.

If you have a few minutes, check out the website of the Big Green Bus.  It will be worth your time.  Trust me.  By the way, this year’s bus trip will be over on August 29, ending in Cleveland, OH.  There is a blog on the website too from people who have met the crew members along the way. Check it out!