Here’s something you probably never thought about. The new hybrid electric cars are not only cutting down on air pollution but also noise pollution. That’s good right?  Well, it is, but then there is another problem.   Silent electric cars are some what of a problem for the blind.  Congress is considering federal regulations for electric cars.  I can see their point. Yes, the driver of a vehicle should take responsibility and not hit somebody, but that doesn’t always happen, and a blind pedestrian has no chance if there can’t hear the vehicle.  So, Fisker and other automakers as well as toying with different ideas to decide how to have the electric cars alittle noiser.   Fisker will emit a sound from speakers that are in the bumpers.  BMW was thinking of allowing the customer to choose their own sound for their vehicle.  Some are thinking maybe a ringtone that you could manually push on your steering wheel. Whichever way the automaker chooses, it sounds like electric cars will be getting louder.  I guess a quiet car cannot completely happen after all.

www.cars.about.com

So, I mentioned the Lexus LFA last week when talking about concepts being debuted at the Tokyo Motor Show, but I failed to mention the particulars of this car.  I just read an article by Matthew Debord on msnbc.com that kills Toyota and the Lexus LFA for basically building this car.  Toyota used to be known as the powerhouse.  They built the best cars, most reliable, etc. and then there were some bumps in the road with financial losses, recalls, etc.  Anyways, at the Tokyo Motor Show, the Lexus LFA was their baby. This was going to help turn Toyota around. Now granted it is too early to tell if it worked, but this car is sooo unrealistic for most people.  The average Joe (or Sue) will probably not be purchasing it. Though the rumors around town are that this Lexus will probably become ”an instant classic” when it is sold in the future. 

With that said, here are the details.  The Lexus LFA is a supercar with between 500-600 horsepower V10 engine.  It is supposed to compete with the Ferraris and Lamborghinis.  The problem with the Lexus LFA is the price……do you have about $375,000-$400,000 to spend on it?  If you do, go for it, if not, sorry the Lexus LFA is not for you. 

An annual survey was done by Consumer Reports shows that the Asian automakers (Japanese and Korean) are the top for reliability in vehicles. They took 8 out of the top 10 spots. That’s pretty impressive.  An interesting fact is that several Ford models are consistently scoring higher than Honda and Toyota.  The Consumer Reports stated that “Ford is now making some vehicles that have world-class reliability due to the fact that the Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan have been at the top of their class for a couple of years now.  That means that the Fusion and Milan are considered more reliable than the Accord and Camry, which are known for trust and reliability. 

Good news for Ford…..not such good news for Chrysler.  Chrysler had only one model that was recommended by Consumer Reports for their reliability and they came in last out of the 33 brands that are sold in the U.S. Not so good, Chrysler.  For GM, 21 of 48 models scored average or better for reliability. Not so good for GM either. 

The survey also found that higher-priced cars are not necessarily more reliable and that less-expensive small cars and midsize family sedans were the most reliable.  Also, the Honda Insight hybrid was found in the survey to be the most reliable vehicle and the Volkswagen Touareg was the least reliable. 

The number 1 brand for reliability….drum roll please…..Scion by Toyota.  This is the second year in a row for them to get this honor as the top brand!  Good for them, but somewhat surprising for me. I guess because the Scions don’t appeal to me, I would never consider even looking into them and checking out the details of these vehicles. Maybe I’m dumb and I should be!

A website called fuelclinic.com has been started that will allow you to track your actual gas mileage online and “will teach you safe and efficient driving techniques that will improve your gas mileage, and help you monitor your progress as you continue to practice better driving techniques,” according to the website.  Fuelclinic.com says that it can improve your gas mileage by 10-20%, possibly more. I’m all ears I have to say.  The developer of the website, Michael Bragg, owns a Toyota four-wheel drive pickup truck and he has improved his gas mileage from 18 or 19 mpg to 23 mpg. That’s pretty good, right?  I’m interested. 

Basically, we as drivers have to change our driving styles in order to successfully improve our gas mileage. Plain and simple.  We need to not be in such hurries,  accelerate and brake gradually, avoid traffic jams (though I’m not sure how you do this, who really wants to be in a traffic jam?), and “in general just calm down” Bragg says.  Easy right?  I know that this won’t be easy for me, but I think I’m going to sign up at fuelclinic.com and try to track my gas mileage. I’ll track it for a few months, then report back. 

So I was looking at some different websites looking for a topic to write about and I came across topspeed.com, which had a category called Strange Cars.  I thought I’d give you some information on a few of the strangest cars in my opinion.

http://www.topspeed.com

This is the NMG2 made by Myers Motors.  So, this strange car has three wheels and three headlights, in case you missed it.  It is an all-electric vehicle, so props to them for that, with top speed of 75 mph and a 60-mile range.  The NMG2 runs on lithium-ion batteries and Myers Motors is hinting that possibly there will be a new model coming out that will have a 100-mile range.  This car will be available to buy at the end of 2010 and cost alittle under $30,000.  Not bad, but still quite strange looking.

   www.metro.co.uk

The Ferrari Citroen hybrid is a bizarre looking car for sure, but the dynamics behind it are even crazier.  This car is a Citroen 2CV that was put on top of a Ferrari F355.  What a waste of a Ferrari!  It has a V8 engine, but still. Ugly!

www.topspeed.com

Alright, you would think that this is a joke and doesn’t belong in my strange cars blog, but I had to include it. You can’t get much stranger than this? 

The Tokyo Motor Show began today (press only-open to public starting 10/23-11/4) and of course there were many new concept cars unveiled.  Many automakers had decided not to participate in this show due financial difficulties but those that have exhibits there are trying to make the most of the situation.  Lexus is showing off the LF-A super car with a 500 horsepower engine.  I was reading alittle about the LF-A at topspeed.com and people aren’t saying nice things. They don’t like the look of it and aren’t buying the super car advertising of it as well.

Another concept car unveiled at this show is the Toyota FT-86.  This is a compact, rear-wheel drive sports car that supposedly provides “driving joy and excitement.  Also the Toyota FT-EV II was introduced which is a compact electric vehicle designed for short distances. 

Mazda also are showing off a new concept as well as a new engine and transmission at the Tokyo Motor Show.  The Mazda Kiyora has a Mazda Sky-G engine and Sky-Drive transmission, which are both being debuted at the Tokyo show as well.  The Sky-G engine has greatly improved fuel economy due to thermal efficiency. 

I’m sure there will be more talk of the Tokyo Motor Show as the week goes on, but I thought this was some good information about some new concepts.  The thing is that I feel like most of these concepts have the same ideas. They are smaller, with more power and better gas mileage.  I guess that’s what people want. 

As the fuel economy rules become stricter in the next few years, many automakers will be offering 4 cylinder engines in their vehicles to meet these rules.  BMW will be adding these four cylinder vehicles by 2012 in the 3 series.  Several others models by BMW are being considered for four cylinder engines.  The four cylinder engines with be equipped with twin-turbo diesel engines.  Someone made a really good point about these engines. People buy BMWs for performance and power and if you make a expensive, fast 4 cylinder engine then it won’t get the gas mileage that they need to get. Therefore the power that is needed for customers to want to buy the BMWs is going to have a hard time working in a 4 cylinder.  It’ll definitely have to be something new, because the current 4 cylinders are not powerful enough for the price tag of a BMW (in my opinion of course!)  Mercedes-Benz is also considering these engines, and again may have the same problems as BMW.  Well, the good news for these and other automakers is that they have time. It will be interesting to see how most of the automotive companies make out by 2016 when the mpg average needs to be 35.5.  Most have some work to do, others have ALOT of work to do.

So, silver is still the world’s favorite car color for the 9th straight year.  White is second, black third, and red a distant fourth. 25% of all US vehicles are silver, 35% in Europe, and 34% in Asia-Pacific region.  Geez, this really surprises me. I would have thought that black would be number 1.  I guess what do I knows?

Car sales fell sharply in September after a nice summer for sales and Cash for Clunkers. Sales fell 41% from August. Yikes!  GM and Chrysler were the biggest losers. 

Chevrolet will be announcing a new rear-drive police car on Monday that may resemble the Pontiac G8.

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….