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.

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.

The 2011 Mazda2 is the entry level of all Mazdas.  Mazda wanted to get into the action and competing against the Toyota Yaris, Ford Fiesta, and Honda Fit.  These three had succeeding in the past few years as a small, fuel efficient vehicle.  Mazda is hoping to take some of its competition’s customers and run with the new Mazda2. 

It isn’t the cheapest starting at $13,980. The Yaris starts at $12,605. It doesn’t have the best gas mileage at 29 mpg in the city and 35 mpg on the highway.  The Fiesta gets 29 mpg in the city and 40 mpg on the highway.  The Mazda2 is a nice five-door, five-seater that is the most fuel efficient vehicle the Japanese have ever made. 

The Mazda2 has a 1.5-liter, 4 cylinder engine that according to the reviews has some pep in its step and gives you quite a ride for the small car.  It has front-wheel drive and a five-speed manual transmission.  It doesn’t have all the bells and whistles in technology, but it does have steering wheel controls for the stereo and cruise control.  You can fold down the backseats to allow for more storage.  

The Mazda2 seems to overall be a nice vehicle that will be able to compete with its’ competitors.  More and more people are interested in these small vehicles, so there is no reason to think that the Mazda2 won’t be able to have success like the others.  According to the reviews, it may be worth looking at when it becomes available.

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.

1.  2010 Ford Mustang - the 2011 Mustang will have an additional 95 horsepower and 40 pound-feet of torque in the V6 engine and 87 horsepower and 65 pound-feet of torque in the GT, and the GT will have a 5.0-liter V8 engine.   The gas mileage will be the best in its class as well.

2.  2010 Hyundai Sonata - the 2011 Hyundai Sonata will have a different look, more like a coupe and it will have the best fuel economy in its class.  Lots of technology in the interior as well.

3.  2010 Infiniti M - the 2011 Infiniti M will have lots of technological advances like a Blind Spot Intervention system and a larger navigation screen.  It will have more horsepower and a four-wheel steering system.

4.  2010 Honda Odyssey - the 2011 Odyssey is completely redesigned with a more modern-looking design.  It will have gas mileage of 19 mpg in the city and 28 on the highway, which tops the Toyota Sienna’s gas mileage of 18/24 mpg.  There will be more legroom and still availability for 8 passengers.

5.  2010 Ford Explorer - the 2011 Explorer will ride on a car-based platform instead of the truck-based platform of 2010.   The 2011 will have a completely different look.  You will have a choice of engine between more power and better fuel economy.

There may be other models out there with 2011 models coming out better, but for sure you might want to wait on the vehicles that I mentioned.  I hate buying a car only to have the next model be that much better.  Though on the flip side, you might be able to get really good deals on the 2010 models.  If you can live without, go after the 2010 ones!!!

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!!

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!!

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??

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!!!!

Fiat has taken over Chrysler and is making their presence known. One way they are doing this is by completely remodeling the Jeep Grand Cherokee for 2011.  The Jeep Grand Cherokee made its debut 18 years ago.  It has been a success for the last 18 years, but Fiat needed to make some changes and try to improve Chrysler’s vehicles.  There have been some major changes made to the Jeep Grand Cherokee.  Currently, the Cherokee’s major competitors are the Land Rover Range Rover, BMW X5, and the Mercedes-Benz M-Class.

The Cherokee was updated with the grille, which is a trademark, still in tact.  If you look at pictures though, I really think that the new Jeep Grand Cherokee looks really different.  There are a couple of different models available.  There is the Overland and the Laredo.  The Overland comes with a 5.7-liter, 360 horsepower V8 with a multi-speed automatic transmission.  To help the Overland conserve fuel, the engine alternates between a  4 cylinder mode when less power is needed and the V8 mode when full power is needed.  Supposedly the switch between the 2 is very subtle.  This is a good feature, because the gas mileage stinks.  You get 13 mpg in the city and 19 mpg on the highway.  The Laredo has a 3.6 liter 290 horsepower V6 engine.

A special feature of the Overland is the Quadra-Lift air suspension system, which raises the ground clearance for off-roading.  This Quadra-Lift comes with five settings.  The normal ride setting has clearance of 8.1 inches.  Off-road 1 raises the suspension 1.3 inches, off-road 2 adds 2.6 inches.  There is a Park mode that drops the suspension 1.5 inches below the normal mode.  Then there is an Aero mode, which lowers the vehicle another .6 inch to reduce wind resistance on the highway and help improve fuel economy. How cool is that?

The base price of the Jeep Grand Cherokee is $41,120.  Not for the average Joe, but a fresh new look and improved exterior and interior to attract some new customers for Chrysler.  They desperately need it….