Because there’s more to buying a car than just looking at the sticker price.

Smart ForTwo: So Darn Cute and So Darn Smart

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Day before yesterday I was finally able to fulfill my wish and get a real look at a Smart Car. Since we have a dealership in the metroplex, in Dallas, I’ve seen one or two of the little beauties tooling around town here in Ft. Worth. Monday I stepped out of my car at the grocery store and there was a Smart, parked, just begging to be ogled.

I wish a word other than “cute” would come to mind when talking about a Smart, but the appellation is inescapable. I drove a Ford Pinto in high school and next to the Smart, it was a land yacht. At the same time, however, I didn’t feel as if I were standing by a toy car. There’s a solidness to all that Smart compactness. “So what do you think?” asked a voice over my shoulder. Turning, I encountered the woman who was the proud owner.

While we visited she opened the trunk and I was surprised by the amount of room. Ditto for the interior when she opened the single side door. I didn’t get in, but I did have a good look around and although I’m just an inch under 6″, I didn’t have the claustrophobic reaction I was expecting. She’s getting 40 mph around town with careful driving and as she pulled out, the motor humming in a pleasant way reminiscent of the little engine chugging, “I think I can, I think I can, I think I can,” I couldn’t help thinking — there’s our future.

The Smart ForTwo is offered in three models: Pure ($11,590), Passion Coupe ($13,590), and Passion Cabriolet ($16,590).


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Better Dodge Ram Promised

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Automakers are having to work hard to make a truck or an SUV look like a good purchase in the face of $4 a gallon gas. The 2009 Dodge Ram is promising to play nice at the pump and the company swears the two models coming in 2010 will have all the fuel efficient street cred a driver could want.

The 2009 still has a Hemi engine, but they’ve taken it back to the bench and added fuel saving variable valve timing for peak efficiency. Similar modifications to the cylinder cutoff system open up the rpm range. Better compression, better air and fuel flow — all equal better performance. (And they worked on the aerodynamics.) As opposed to the 2008s, you’re looking a 4% better fuel economy. No mpg estimates released, but Chrysler did point to improved horsepower up to 390 and a zero to sixty leap in six seconds.

At the same time the company confirmed a hybrid of the Ram with a two-mode gasoline-electric power train. That one is going for a 40 percent gain in fuel economy in town and a 25 percent improvement on the highway. Now those are numbers headed in the right direction. As for right now, in 2008, the Ram is getting 13 mpg in town and 19 on the highway — numbers that are just not going to cut it in the new reality of high fuel costs and deep set environmental concerns.


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Pricier Volt, Smaller Trucks/SUVs, Fewer Miles

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Volt Price Change

Times, oh my, how they are a’ changing. SUV and truck sales plummeting. Automakers scurrying to announce more fuel efficient models and hybrids. And Chevy determined to get the futuristic Volt hybrid electric on lots by 2010. The bad news? If you want a Volt, with it’s promised 40 miles on a single charge, it just got $10,000 more expensive.

Yep, just this week Bob Lutz of Chevy pinned a $40,000 price tag on the long-awaited Volt after previously implying it would go for $30,000. He did hurry to point out that the company would lose money on the vehicle’s first generation and that you’re likely to get a $7,000 tax credit for buying one. I guess that mitigates the “ouch” factor a little bit, but I’m still not sure it’s enough to make me want to take on car payments again. (Six dollar a gallon gas, now that would do it.)

Saving the Dinosaurs?

And what about the demise of the SUV? GM may be cutting back production, but they’re also considering moving their full-sized trucks and SUVs to a smaller, more fuel-efficient platform. It’ll be 2012 before we see any of them on the market, but it sounds like they’re looking for a way to save the dinosaurs by putting them on a diet. There’s no denying the form factor has been wildly popular and apparently GM is loathe to give it up. But 2012 is a long way off and a lot can happen between now and then to change the driving public’s preferences.

Americans Driving Less

Just this week the Department of Transportation announced the figures on miles driven nationally for April 2008. In one month alone Americans drove 1.4 billion fewer miles. That’s a bigger drop than in the 12 months between March 2007 and March 2008 combined. Here in the Dallas / Fort Worth metroplex a number of school districts are citing teacher resignations based on the cost of the commute involved and realtors are reporting the beginnings of a reverse migration toward the city center rather than away from it for the same reason.

What does it all mean for car buying? Go into a holding pattern. Will you probably wind up with a different kind of vehicle in the next year to 18 months? I’d say the odds are high. But I’m waiting to see what shakes out before even thinking about it. (And I’m seriously looking at a Vespa in the meantime.)


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Toyota On Track for Total Hybridization

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It’s safe to say the automotive times are a changing. Toyota has been out front with the Prius in the green game for quite some time now and the company vows to have a plug-in using lithium-ion batteries for sale in 2010. In the world of development, that’s an incredibly fast response to new consumer desires. Conceivably, if all goes well, we could start seeing this long talked about vehicle late in 2009.

But it gets better. Toyota is working with Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. to produce batteries that will out-perform lithium-ion units because the corporate plans call for every single Toyota made to be a hybrid on a 2020 to 2029 timeline. I, for one, am beginning to envision a hoary elderhood in which I rasp out, “Back in ‘08, we were still putting gasoline in our cars,” to a chorus of astonished gasps from the organically raised sprouts at my feet.

But when Toyota president Katsuaki Watanabe says it’s time to move past oil, he’s getting absolutely no argument from me. Watanabe told reporters in Tokyo, “Our view is that oil production will peak in the near future. We need to develop power trains for alternative energy sources.” Preaching to the choir here, Mr. W. For right now, I’m going to sit with my soon-to-be-paid for wheels, ride the bike a whole lot more in the neighborhood, and wait to see what comes down the production pike in the next 18 months. Yes, the gas prices hurt, but they are also — pardon the pun — are fueling a long overdue change in how we think about personal transportation.


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Resist the Incentive Temptation

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With some of the news coming out of the automotive world this week, it’s hard not to feel as if we Americans are, as a society, poised on the brink of a significant change in how we approach personal transportation. I’ve never been a fan of the SUV, although I have driven picks-up (two Fords) in my lifetime and loved them both.

In one week, however, GM has announced plans to shut down four plants that make trucks and SUVs because the company sees no way to get back on a profitable footing with those vehicles. Their new concentration will be on fuel efficient models and on the Chevrolet Volt gas/electric hybrid scheduled to reach showrooms in 2010. With a potential range of 40 miles on electricity alone, the Volt could well revolutionize daily driving in urban areas.

At the same time, after a run beginning in October 1991, the Ford F-150 fell from the top of the bestseller heap in May, losing ground to four sedans — the Corolla, Camry, Civic, and Accord. While Ford hasn’t come right out and made any statements as drastic as GM’s, the VP for marketing and communications did say the decreased sales figures were a “significant development.” No kidding, Jim.

The rapid change is boiling down to what the consumer can and cannot afford to feed — the kids or the big SUV parked in the driveway. I read a story on CNN last week about a man who is commuting 42 miles to work on his bike. He decided to give it a try for a month to see how it would work out. Of course, he has to leave the house at 5 in the morning and it takes him three hours (and he lives in Bakersfield, California), but he also saved $500. That’s not chump change and to families already struggling, cutting down on driving, changing to a more fuel efficient vehicle, and looking at alternate forms of transportation has shifted from PC dinner table chatter to real world necessity.

With the national gasoline average hovering at $4 and prognosticators pointing out that one severe hurricane in a season already predicted to be intense could drive it to $6, the best advice at this time would seem to be wait and see what happens. My own vehicle will be paid off in February and the last thing I want is to face more car payments. Fortunately, I don’t have to do a lot of driving, but I’m already looking at biking to handle some of my errands and $6 gas would definitely make me take more drastic measures. Yes, there will be a lot of incentive deals being offered in this climate, but I’d hold off. The dominant consideration in car buying right now is not whether you can afford to purchase it, but whether or not you can afford to drive it.


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Hyundai Genesis: Luxury for the Rest of Us

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Although there was a time when I never expected to use the words “Hyundai” and “luxury” in the same sentence, the Hyundai Genesis, the company’s first upscale product, will arrive at dealerships in July and is a truly beautiful machine. Look for the V6 at $33,000 and the V8 at $38,000 (both prices with shipping.)

The V6 has 3.8-liter V6 putting out 290 hp. It should get 18 mpg around town and 17 out on the highway. The V8 uses a 4.6-liter, 32-valve engine putting out 375 hp. Fuel economy is rated at 17 mpg city and 25 highway.

Price wise the Genesis is a good competitor for the Chrysler 300 or the Pontiac G8, but when the engineers were working on its design they were looking at the Lexus GS, Mercedes E-Class, and Infiniti M. The whole idea was luxury paired with value and the results are impressive.

- electronic stability control
- SM NavTraffic
- adaptive headlights
- radar-based active cruise control
- Lexicon audio (17 speakers, 500-watts)
- electronic active head restraints
- leather-wrapped, dash, door panels, console lid
- heated and cooled seats
- steering wheel wrapped in ultraviolet reflective leather to keep it cool
- ultrasonic sensors (8) front and rear for parking in close quarters
- power rear sunshade
- automatic electronic parking brake
- proximity key
- push button start
- eight airbags (side, roof, and curtain)

And that doesn’t even consider all the available options. The Genesis is luxury for the rest of us and well worth a test drive come July.


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Toyota Credit Card? Think About It

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Okay, let’s be honest, we all have too many credit cards. I know I do and I know I struggle to keep a handle on the balances. My Depression-raised late father would not be pleased. That’s why I’m not sure Toyota Financial’s launch of a Toyota-branded credit card is that great an idea — even if it does follow the established pattern of the 50,000 Lexus credit cards floating around out there. I mean come on. If you can afford a Lexus in the first place, you’re probably safe with that card. For most of the rest of us, however, one more piece of plastic is one more temptation to spend money we don’t have.

Here’s how the thing works. You make purchases, you get points. You redeem the points for discounts on parts and maintenance bills or toward a vehicle down payment. The company is looking to issue 140,000 of the cards during year one, starting in October. The balances will be carried by U.S. Bank with Toyota maintaining all the customer data and such. (The customer info is confidential, but Toyota can use the data to take a look at purchasing trends.)

We’ve made no bones about the fact that this may not be the time to buy a car, especially if you have shaky credit. Yes, there are going to be good buys out there as automakers work to move their sluggish inventory, but the first question you must always ask yourself is can you afford that car? Can you afford to keep up with the payments? And the second questions is, what will I have to give up in some other area of my life to accomplish that? And this business of a Toyota card or one from any other automaker? My advice would be to think twice. If you already have weak credit, it’s not going to be strengthened by one more card in your wallet.


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ForTwo, Focus, Ferrari — A Few Tidbits

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A few little tidbits for your consideration . . .

Smart ForTwo

The insurance industry is regarding the Smart car as small, but safe although — as only insurance agents can do — the pros are quick to point out that smaller vehicles are riskier than big ones.

Uh, duh?

Hummer vs. Semi
ForTwo vs. Semi

You do the math.

Ford Focus Spiffier for 2009

The Focus SE coupe will get a sportier exterior for the new model year with a lower front fascia in a bid to European-esque design. There will be a new roofline spoiler and the standard wheels will be 17″ aluminum. The idea is to make the car more attractive to younger buyers. It’ll go on sale in August with a price take of $16,615 for the SE and $18,035 for the SES.

Ferrari GT California

Ferrari is showing off a new eight-cylinder GT available as a convertible only with a hand-formed aluminum body. Under the hood look for a 4.3-liter V8 in the mid-front position. Estimates put the 0 to 62 mph rating at under 4 seconds. There’s a seven-speed dual clutch transmission, Brembo brakes, and a F1-Trac traction control system. The public debut is scheduled for the Paris motor show in October.


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2008 Shelby Mustang GT

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If I had $35,000+ to spend, and didn’t have such a sense of responsibility about more practical things, I might be tempted by the 2008 Shelby Mustang GT. No matter how you shake it out, the Mustang is an icon, and a Shelby Mustang is a performance lovers dream. My Dad was in the Army Air Corps with Carol Shelby and he always said the man drives a car like he flew a bomber. All out. But honest to God, is there any other way to drive a machine with a 4.6-liter V8 putting out 319 hp and 330-lb. ft. of torque?

The spec list is just drool-worthy from start to finish:

- high-flow exhuast with X-pipe crossover
- five-speed manual with a Hurst short-throw
- special-tuned dampers
- custom way bars
- rear axle at 3.55:1
- 18″ polished wheels
- P235/50ZR18 BF Goodrich gForce tires

And the fact that they’re only going to make 2,300 of these babies just ups the lust factor. (There’s also a new paint scheme for 2008; Vista Blue with the standard Shelby silver racing stripes.)

Think I’m kidding? Check out the photos posted to Flickr.


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2009 Infiniti Distance Control Assist

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It’s hard to believe that we’re talking about the 2009 models already, but hey . . . march of time and all that. It looks like Infiniti is raising the bar for tech features on the FX35 and FX50. (You can see pix over at AutoSpies. Bear in mind most were taken at car shows and are babe shots.)

The big tech stand-out features are:

- all-around cameras
- Intelligent Cruise Control
- Distance Control Assist (DCA)

The last one is attracting the most attention. DCA is an intuitive system designed to help the driver get off the gas pedal and apply the brakes more effectively in heavy traffic. You get Intelligent Brake Assist by default and have to push a button for DCA. Basically, it manages the distance between two vehicles.

Here’s the description from the AutoSpies article on the subject:

DCA is the first system ever to utilize the accelerator pedal to provide feedback to the driver. When approaching the preceding vehicle from behind and the distance falls below a certain threshold, DCA will signal to the driver that the throttle should be released by “pushing back” via the accelerator pedal. Initially a subtle push can be felt by the driver as a gentle reminder to maintain a more appropriate distance. If the driver continues closing in on the vehicle ahead, a more insistent double impulse from the pedal plus an audible signal will urge the driver to release the throttle immediately. Upon release of the throttle, DCA will automatically engage the brakes and decelerate the vehicle in order to reestablish a safe distance. In slowing traffic DCA will bring the vehicle to a complete stop. Also, the driver can override the system at any time by depressing the accelerator pedal.

We’re getting darned closed to cars that just do the driving for us, but it all makes sense given the technology at our disposal. Why shouldn’t we employ sensor technology to help us monitor and judge the distance around our vehicles? Back-up cameras have become almost a standard feature over the past year or so and now designers are simply stepping things up a bit.

My best guess is that we’ll be seeing more tech features than ever before from 2009 forward. And at least with the Infiniti models, it’s all packaged in a couple of good looking vehicles. I, for one, don’t mind time marching along so briskly when it brings new cars and new tech with it.


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