So the Detroit Auto Show began this past weekend.  It is actually open to the public starting this Saturday.  Currently, the show is open to the industry only.  The Detroit Auto Show is always a big show because it’s the first one of the year, showing off all the new models for the year and hoping for good reviews as well.  Autoweek.com has their eyes set on 6 cars that they are eagerly waiting to see at this show.  The anticipation is overwhelming! Well, maybe let’s not go that far but it’s exciting nonetheless!  Autoweek says that these 6 cars have them “on the edge of their seats.”

Cadillac CTS-V Coupe - “killer caddy that we’ve all been waiting for.” It has a 556 horsepower V8 engine that goes from 0 to 60 in 3.9 seconds!

Mercedes-Benz E-Class cabriolet - 3.5-liter V6 engine with 268 horsepower or the V8 5.5-liter engine with 382 horsepower.

Buick Regal GS concept - interesting one to get excited about!

Ford Mustang GT - 5.0-liter V8 with 412 horsepower

Mini Beachcomber concept - this is a “funky, offbeat” concept that is a “hint of the future.”  You need to look at this one.

BMW Concept ActiveE - a plug-in electric car that should get a 100 miles per charge.

I’m sure Autoweek and others will have more to drool over and talk about to nausea as the Detroit Auto Show truly gets under. Stay tuned….

Every year, Automobile Magazine tests, evaluates, and debates vehicles to come up with the best of the year.  According to Jean Jennings, the president and editor-in-chief of the Automobile Magazine, “the level of excellence found during this competition was at an all-time high and the competition was strong.” That’s good news since we’ve come off the worst year for the auto industry.  I’ll just list the vehicles and their prices, and you can check out the article if you want the details about these cars…..YahooAutos.

1.  Jaguar XF/XFR - $52,000-$80,000

2.  Audi S4 - $46,725 - base price

3.  Chevrolet Camaro (this car is constantly talked about!) - $23,530-$34,595

4.  BMW 335d - $44,725 - base price

5.  Dodge Ram 1500 - $21,510-$43,550

6.  Ford Flex - $29,325-$43,635

7.  BMW Z4 - $46,575 - $52,475

8.  Ford Fusion Hybrid - $28,350-base price

9.  Mazda 3 - $15,795-23,945

10.  Porsche Boxster/Cayman - $48,550-$62,450

Hopefully all of these people are right and 2010 will be a big year for the auto industry!

According to Larry Printz of The Virginian-Pilot, you can be a sound like a car maven if you just know some of the terms used by car designers in styling studios around the world.  I’m just going to give you a few of these “fancy” car terms so that the next time you are talking to your friends, you can show them that you know your car stuff!

Mohican line - The strips that run where the body-side meets the roof panel.

Shut line - The gap between two body panels or interior trim panels.  The tighter fit usually suggests better craftsmanship.

Wheel arch - The circular shape that frames the road wheels.

Beltline - The line underneath the side windows of the car.

Character line - A line or crease that adds definition and personality to the car’s design.

There are more terms to learn, but I thought it would be too much. If you really want to learn all of them, check out the article written by Printz.  I personally think that these terms are hard enough to grasp, but more power to you and you will REALLY impress your friends!

An article on Yahoo! autos.com gives advice on what not to say when you buy a car IF you want to get a good deal.  It’s kindof like when you buy a new house. You need to have a poker face. Anything less is not acceptable. The owners/dealers will know that they can get you to eat out of their hands. Not good.  The article went to the big dogs in car consulting (AAA, Kelley Blue Book, and NADA Guides) for some advice as to what not to say.

Keep your mouth shut as much as possible. Do not go into the dealership and tell them what you can afford to pay. The salesman will then use that as a baseline and then you will probably end up paying more after fees, extended warranties, add-ons, etc.  Supposedly nine out of ten times telling the salesman what you can afford to pay will be an advantage to the dealership and not you. Talk about what cars you are interested in and the overall price of the cars, not the monthly payments that work for you.

Also, do you tell anyone that you have bad credit up front (if you do.)  Eventually if you are serious about getting a car at the dealership, they will run a credit report and see that you have bad credit.  If you tell the salesman up front about your credit problem, they will get the mentality that if they can get your credit, you will then pay what they want you to. If shows that you are vulnerable.  If possible, try to get financing from a bank or credit union before you even go looking for the car then you can tell the dealership that you have outside financing, and they may even try to give you a better deal to get your financing.

If you plan to pay in cash (good for you if you can!), don’t announce that up front either. Then the dealership may try to charge you more since they won’t be making any money on you with a financing plan.

Basically you just need to research the vehicles that you are interested in and know what you can afford.  There are really good deals out there and most salesman just want to sell cars as you just want to buy a car, so you are actually looking for the same end result.  Keep your mouth shut and know what you are talking about and you should be just fine buying a car.

I’m alittle late for those of you that live in the Midwest to be giving winter driving tips, but these tips will probably come in handy nonetheless, especially for those lucky enough to not have had the big time snow yet.  Yet is the key word.  Here are the 5 tips to make sure you are ready for winter driving.

1.  Get a checkup - hurry up and have your car checked out. Make sure the fluid levels are good, the exhaust system, defroster, antifreeze, climate control and battery are working correctly.  Checking the battery is extremely important to do.  The battery loses 60% of its strength when the temperature is 0.  Make sure the mechanic checks the belts and hoses too to ensure there are no signs of wear. 

2.   Pump them up - Check the tire’s pressure regularly.  A 10 degree drop in temperature will cause your tires to lose 1 to 2 pounds of air.  If your tires are under inflated then the tire’s grip will be less.  Make sure the tread is good as well.  Here’s what you need to do to make sure the tread is good.  Place a penny into the tread’s groove. Lincoln’s head should face downward. If you can see the top of his head, then it’s time to get yourself a new tire.

3.  Consider switching tires - You might need to think about getting snow tires especially if you drive a sports car or sports sedan as well as other cars too. 

4.  Check lights - Inspect your headlights, tail lights, fog lights, and turn signals to make sure they are all working correctly.

5.  Be prepared - Make sure you have an emergency kit in your car.  Make sure that your spare tire is properly inflated, that you have an ice scraper, snow shovel, flashlight, blanket, extra clothing, candles, matches, bottled water, snacks, and any medication that you might need. Cell phones and chargers as well. You might want to consider putting kitty liter or sand in the trunk for better traction.

Good luck to all of you out there that are just beginning the terribly long months of winter driving. I know that I do not look forward to this. Take the necessary steps to help you if you get into any trouble driving this winter. Also, start counting down to spring!

I just read in my paper today about a debate that is taking place between General Motors and environmentalists over whether you should start your car and let it sit idle in your driveway or not.  GM says that you need to warm up your car because a warmer car gives off less bad emissions.  GM gives their reasons for this theory and then in return the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) says that cars these days do not need much warming up and “cars run more efficiently when they are being driven rather than idling” according to Jennifer Feyerherm of the Sierra Club’s Wisconsin Clean Energy Campaign.

Then on the flip side again, the AAA says that cars are “sluggish” in cold weather and need to be warmed up to let the car “comes to its senses, so to speak, before you put it in gear.”  You also need to warm up your car alittle bit to get the frost off your windows and possibly melt ice and snow.  Also, people need to be warm. I know that I can’t stand to get into my freezing cold car and start driving. My instincts are slower, my hands and feet don’t work as well.

I understand and see the other side saying that warming up your car is just a waste of gas and puts emissions into the air that don’t have to be there, but I think that the benefits or warming your car outweigh the negatives. Interesting tidbit….the city of Madison, WI and some other cities in Wisconsin have anti-idling ordinances to reduce the greenhouse gases and in Toronto, it’s actually illegal to allow a car to idle longer than 3 minutes!  Just think about it, how many of us idle for longer than 3 minutes like 10 times a day??!  I know that I do.  As I said, I understand their reasoning of trying to reduce pollution, I’m just not sure that this is the best way to do it.

So, this information isn’t totally about automobiles but it is related to them and I thought it was valuable enough information to pass along to you guys.  There are new energy-efficient traffic lights (well actually they aren’t really too new. They’ve been around about a decade.) Anyways, some states are just introducing them and when the weather is bad, such as snow and wind, the traffic lights don’t work correctly, or really at all. Drivers cannot see if the light is red or green because the lights aren’t bright enough to melt snow and ice that may get on the lights. Normally, the lights will melt the ice, but the new LED, energy-efficient lights are not bright enough to melt the snow. There have been dozens of accidents and 1 death that is to blame on these LED lights. 

Of course the problem is that these traffic lights save money and quite a bit of it.  In Wisconsin, the Transportation Department says that they save about $750,000 a year with these lights. That’s a lot of money. Some states report that the traffic light problems only happen every so often when the snow and wind are perfectly aligned to cause the problems and by the time they get out to the light after a complaint has been made, the problem has fixed itself. Then other states say that they people need to actually clean off the snow by hand, which is somewhat of a problem I think. 

The moral of the story is that drivers need to be aware during a snowstorm that the traffic lights aren’t always working properly and really what you need to do is if the traffic light is hard to see then just assume it’s like a stop sign and STOP.  Simple solution to the problem, right?  Energy efficient is not always the end all be all I tell ya. 

Reilly Brennan of aolautos.com wrote an article on three cars that will be available to us in the near future that will give us great gas mileage without the hefty price tag of hybrids.  Brennan was actually pretty down on hybrids. He made some good points though.  The lowest priced hybrid you can get is about $20,000 and that’s a base model and the price goes up to $100,000.  You are basically paying for the hybrid engine but when you actually number crunch it will take you a long time to recoup your money for the hybrid technology.  I know that’s not the only reason that people drive hybrids. I get the whole environment aspect, Brennan and myself for that matter are just saying that hybrids are an expensive car and are only about 3% of all new cars.  Anyways, the three non-hybrid cars that Brennan talks about are the talk of the auto industry these days.  I know I’ve talked about them on this blog, but I’ll touch on them again anyways.

2011 Ford Fiesta - supposedly will get 40 mpg when it is with a 1.6-liter 4 cylinder engine.  This car has been winning numerous awards in the rest of the world for sometime now, and the starting price is $13,320.

2011 Chevrolet Cruze - you will get 40 mpg from the “high-efficiency model.” Not sure what the non-high efficiency model gas mileage will be, but you would think not a lot worse.  The price has not been determined but it should be in the mid-teens.  1.4-liter turbocharged 4 cylinder engine. This car will compete with the Toyota Corolla and Honda Civic. 

2010 Fiat 500 - not a lot of information available could be available to some metropolitan areas in late 2010 and might be priced in the low $20,000s though this is speculation at this point.  1.4-liter 4 cylinder engine that will be like the Mini Cooper or Smart Forwo getting 38 mpg. 

So, there you have it. Check out these cheaper cars with great gas mileage. Might be worth it.

Cars are expensive enough and just like when you buy an appliance or electronic, the salespeople are always pushing you to buy the extras.  Well, Yahoo!autos wrote an article about the 5 things that you should not buy from the dealer.  Even though it may not be too expensive as part of your monthly payments, it will still cost you more money that you probably don’t need to spend. So, here are the 5 things not worth buying.

1.  Extended Warranties - there are several reasons why you don’t need the warranty. Most automakers are giving longer warranties like 5 year/60,000 miles or 5 year/100,000 miles. You can also buy extended warranties after the fact, and you can shop around for the best warranties for the best price, which will probably not be from the dealer. Also in some cases, the fine print will make you service your car at that dealership which could be a problem for you down the line.  The moral of the story - just don’t buy the extended warranties!

2.  Fabric and Paint Protection - Fabric protection for your seats and floors is just not worth it. According to Yahoo!, you can buy Scotchgard Auto Interior Fabric Protector for like $10 which will work the same.  Paint Protection can be done by you if you wax your car once a year. That will be much cheaper than what the dealers will charge for the Paint Protection.

3.   Rustproofing - most of the new cars come with good, “lengthy rust perforation warranties” and unless you plan on keeping your car for decades, the rust protection that you have should be plenty.  “That makes rustproofing one of the biggest rip-offs a dealer can entice you to buy.”

4.  Maintenance Plans - These plans cover fluid changes and other regular maintenance items which will be part of your monthly payment. The thing is that you have to do the maintenance at the dealership, which might be more expensive than just a repair shop.  You definitely need to do some homework. Plus several automakers throw in the maintenance plans for free when you buy a new car.  Volkswagen and Volvo offer plans that last 3 years/36,000 miles.  BMW offers 4 years/50,000 miles, and Scion will give you the first two maintenances for free.  You could probably definitely negotiate these plans for free.   

5. Ding Protection - this is a cost you pay for upfront that you may never use. It could cost $650 for 3 years and only covers dings and scratches that are 4 inches or less. Just doesn’t seem like a logical expense to pay especially when you don’t know if you will need it.

So, when buying your new car, don’t fall into the salespeople trap and buy these extras!

I think it’s kindof sad that I am writing about this today. I guess sad is not the right word.  I just can’t believe that there is now new computer software, DriveSafe.ly, that will read incoming text messages aloud, which of course then allows drivers to keep their eyes on the road. Crazy!  First of all, it’s against the law to text message while driving, but then again that doesn’t necessarily stop people from doing it, so I guess that’s why I am writing about this. In today’s society, we need a computer software that will allow people to get their text messages read to them while driving. They NEED to have access to the texts.  Anyways, then the software will send a message back to the person with a pre-recorded message of the driver’s choice such as “Hey, I’m driving, txt u later.”  It’s even got the text language as well!  

There are also some applications out there that will let you know when you are speeding or a voice will warn you that you are approaching a red-light camera, speed traps, school zone, or something else that might catch you up while you are driving. This software system is called PhantomALERT.  This system is like a radar detector but supposedly better.  You should never get a speeding ticket again…at least that’s their motto.   

I don’t know all of this seems kindof crazy to me. Just turn off your cell phone or use a bluetooth or handsfree headset. I’m not naive, I know that we are a mobile-device addicted nation. I get it because I am as well, so we’ll see how successful these computer software programs become as they become available across the country.  I’m sure they won’t be cheap.