www.instylecars.com

Do you have a job or hobby that requires a roomy van?  Do you have an Econoline van and are sick of it, looking for something alittle less bulky?  Well, the new 2010 Ford Transit Connect van is probably something to check out.    Oh my gosh, I just totally sounded like a saleman….sorry!  Anyways, the Transit Connect has some pretty cool features for those that need some cargo space, but don’t want the big van.  It fits in a Toyota Corolla sized parking space (that’s cool, right!), and has 135 cubit feet of cargo space and 1600-pound payload capacity.  Ford has found a way to use its space efficiently without the true van characteristics. 

Also, the Transit Connect gets 22 miles per gallon in the city and 25 on the highway, and the price starts at $20,780 and runs to about $25,000.  You can’t get a traditional van for that price.  It has a 136-horsepower, 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine with a four-speed automatic transmission.  There are two front bucket seats and then the rest of the vehicle is for storagethough there is a second row of seating for you if you wish to use it.)  The Transit got a rating of 3 out of 4 stars. 

I guess I need to share the shortcomings with you too.  The quality of the interior materials poor, because they were chosen for low cost and to have a high resistance to dirt and scratches rather than comfort. I don’t see this as a big problem for most.  Also, the mechanism to fold the second-row seating is balky and not easy to do.  Also, the bluetooth connection needs some work and fails to stay connected alot, at least according to Mark Phelan of the Detroit Free Press who test drove this vehicle.

I definitely think that you can look past the shortcomings and see the positives for the Ford Transit Connect.  I would and actually think I will be considering getting myself one for centercaps.net!

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. 

The sad reality in the auto industry these days is that people aren’t brand loyal anymore, according to Bill Vlasic of the New York Times News Service.  Back in the 1980s, dealers didn’t have to do much at all to get customers to trade in their Ford for a Ford or their Toyota for a Toyota.  About 4 out of every 5 Americans were repeat buyers in the 1980s.  And furthermore, the “allegiance often continued through generations of families.”  Well, not anymore. Partly because the consumers have become more fickle in their tastes and also because of everything that has gone on in Detroit, there is no brand loyalty anymore.  Sad but true.  Only about 20%  of consumers this year have stayed with the same brand when they purchased new vehicles, according to a study done by the Oregon-based firm CNW Marketing Research. 

Just five years ago, Chevrolet and Ford were the top 2 brands in the U.S. market each with more than 16% of the market share.  Chrysler had 3 brands, Dodge, Chrysler, and Jeep, in the top 10.  Not anymore.  Toyota sits atop these days with 14% of the market share.  Then Ford, Chevrolet, Honda, and Nissan.  Chrysler is no longer in the top 10 and has been replaced by Hyundai and Kia.

The reality is that people trust many brands and improvements in the vehicles have made people willing to give up their brands to try something new and exciting for now…until the next vehicle comes out with new technology and exciting features to try out.  Oh well, maybe someday we will be more loyal again. In the meantime on the flip side, it keep the automotive companies thinking and trying to be more innovative in their new models.  Right?

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. 

www.ap.org

Toyota is launching a new larger hybrid-only sedan that will be for sale in Japan - the Sai.  The Sai is “Prius’ new little brother that is actually bigger” according to The Associated Press.  Sai means talent and color in Japanese and will be sold in Japan starting December 7.  Currently, Toyota has not decided on global sales of the Sai.  Hybrids get better gas mileage because they switch between an electric motor and the gas engine.  The Sai will get 23 kilometers per liter, which equates to about 54 miles per gallon.  The Sai’s big brother, Prius, get 38 kilometers per liter, or about 90 miles per gallon according to the Japanese mileage test conditions. Toyota is promising that the new Prius will get 51 mpg in the city and 48 mpg on the highway in the U.S.  The Sai comes with a bigger engine 2.4 liter engine with the Prius getting a 1.8 liter engine, and supposedly the Sai is fancier and more roomy than its’ big brother.  It’s more expensive too. When the Sai goes on sale in December, it will cost about $37,500, which is 3.38 million yen compared to the Prius which costs $22,000 or alittle over 2 million yen.  So, I guess I thought I would just let you know about the new hybrid even though we cannot and may never be able to purchase it here in the U.S.  I would suspect that if the Sai is a success in Japan that eventually we will see it for sale here. Toyota would be crazy not too, especially because the Prius is the only model that is making any money for them as the company loses money like the rest of the automotive companies. 

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.

I just read this interesting and different automotive article that I thought I would share with you guys.  Did you know that what you drive may let us know what kind of person you are?  I’m not sure that I totally buy this story, but it’s fun nonetheless!  So, forbesautos.com wrote an article what it means if you own a certain car. I thought I’d give you a brief synopsis of each car.  This information was found from a survey done by the San Diego-based market research company called Strategic Vision during a New Vehicle Experience Survey.  So, here’s some info. See if it fits you and what you drive.

Bentley- wealth - bank accounts of at least $5 million in investable assets. Yes, Bentley screams wealth but in a softer way than its competitors, they say.

Buick - old folks - 2/3 of the owners are over 55 and have an average household income of $75,000. The richer, older folks.

Chevrolet - Chevy owners have reputation of being behind in times.  13% of Chevy owners have never used the web, and 35% have a college education or higher.       

Ford- same as Chevy.  12% have never used internet and 45% have a college education or higher.  Ford introduced the Ford Sync to try to draw in younger owners.

Honda- usually pragmatic and well educated - 70% having college education or higher.  Honda owners are more tech-savvy with only 3% not using the internet. Honda owners buy for trust and dependability they find in car.

Lexus - wealthy and well educated with highest rating of 71% college education or higher.  Most Lexus owners are settled down.

Mini Cooper - sophisticated and wealthy with average income around $125,000.  Owners of Mini Cooper fall into four categories - “brand enthusiasts, design aficionados, social butterflies, and gas misers.” 

Scion - median age is 37, lots of first-time buyers. 

Toyota-  family brand. 1 in 4 Toyotas belong to someone with children under 18.  Median age is 55, 70% are married.  60% have college educations. 

Rolls-Royce - extreme wealth that share a “passion for life” according to a Rolls-Royce spokesperson.  Base price of these cars are $435,000…chunk change.

So, there you have it. Is it right???