Quick Contact

News

General

• The 5 Best Low-Cost, High-Mileage Cars: By Ron Amadon
  Oct 21, 2009

  This article is part of a series related to being Financially Fit

  Readers ask 'what would you buy' and I tell them

  In the blogs, in reader email and on the street I hear it all the time. And the question goes something like this. "What car would you buy that is well made, gets good gas mileage, and doesn't cost much?"

  There are many well–made small compact cars on the market right now, and there are more to come. Some will get the best mileage possible because they are all electric and do not use any gas. Yet there is still that big question of range.

  So bloggers, warm up your keyboards! Here are my top five picks based on cars tested in the current calendar year.

  1. Volkswagen Jetta Diesel
  The Volks and the Prius were separated by less then the depth of snow the last time the white stuff fell on Phoenix. In the end, it was the Jetta's fun–to–drive factor that moved it to the top spot. The handling is good, the performance is spot on (as the Brits would say), and virtually no one riding with you will ever know it is a diesel –– the new generation is that good. The test car, with just one option, bottom–lined at $23,169. The diesel Jetta is EPA rated at 30 to 41 miles per gallon. I got 32.2 in city, country and interstate travel while not babying the throttle. Many Jetta owners have told me they routinely get over 40 mpg on a trip. Europeans love their diesels and the Jetta is one very good reason why.
  
  2. Toyota Prius
  Updated substantially for 2010, especially on the inside, this granddad of the hybrids is a winner. Quiet out on the interstates and nimble around town, the Prius has rung up an enviable durability record over the years. The new one carries an EPA rating of 48 mpg on the highway, and 51 around town. I loved the interior styling with the beautiful, swooping integration of the center console with the dash. A Prius plug–in hybrid made its debut at the Frankfurt auto show. With five levels of trim available, the Prius starts at $21,000.
  
  3. Ford Escape Hybrid
  I just love the size of this vehicle, especially when there is a long list of things to do around town. Another advantage is that the Escape's interior is always a cheery place to settle into. The EPA rates the Hybrid with front–wheel drive at 31 miles per gallon on the highway, and 34 around town. The base price is $20,515 but load up on options and it is easy to crack $30,000.
  
  4. Kia Soul
  From downtown Washington to the Maryland suburbs, the fun little Soul turned heads with its styling. It is EPA rated at 24/30 mpg with a starting price of just under $14,000. The Soul was named a top safety pick by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and a 10–year, 100,000–mile warranty should not be overlooked. Plus, you can put a surprising amount of stuff out back with the seats down.
  
  5. Honda Insight
  With a sporty flair lacking in many gas sippers, the Insight is EPA rated at 40 mpg in the city and 43 on the highway. The test car was a top–of–the–line EX with a navigation system and sold for $23,770. A base model starts at $19,800. This new hybrid carries Honda's promise of long life and economical operation. If that price is too high, the Honda Fit, at a starting price of $14,900, is a good way to go.
  

  Hub Caps

  • The fun continues in October when a 2010 Mustang GT heads this way. I will have a full road test on the site as soon as possible.
  • For 2010, Chrysler will put the owner's manual and all the other stuff that fills up the glove box on a DVD.
  • It was sad to hear of the financial troubles of Chrysler's Jim Press. He is one of the truly nice guys in the auto industry.
  • J.D. Power thinks September auto sales will be very low, now that "cash for clunkers" is gone. It sees September sales at a yearly rate of just 7.5 million, the lowest selling rate of the year.
  • Yet, Ford's CEO Alan Mulally thinks auto sales will increase here in the U.S. over the next two years. And GM will step up production of three hot sellers, including the new Camaro.
  • I love the new Ferrari 458 Italia. Sleek styling, 562 horsepower, zero to 60 in under 3.4 seconds, and did I say it was gorgeous? The price? Well if you have to ask...

   

  Vehicles tested in this column are on loan from the auto companies through local distributors.

  Ron Amadon is an auto writer and morning news anchor on the MarketWatch Radio Network, based in Washington.

  - 31 - 40

• Toyota to recall 3.8M vehicles over floor mats: By By Ken Thomas, Associated Press Writer
  Oct 07, 2009

  WASHINGTON (AP) -- Toyota Motor Corp. said Tuesday it will recall 3.8 million vehicles in the United States, the company's largest-ever U.S. recall, to address problems with a removable floor mat that could cause accelerators to get stuck and lead to a crash.

  The recall will involve popular models such as the Toyota Camry, the top-selling passenger car in America, and the Toyota Prius, the best-selling gas-electric hybrid.

  Toyota said it was still working with officials with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to find a remedy to fix the problem and said owners could be notified about the recall as early as next week. Toyota spokesman Irv Miller said until the company finds a fix, owners should take out the removable floor mat on the driver's side and not replace it.

  "A stuck open accelerator pedal may result in very high vehicle speeds and make it difficult to stop a vehicle, which could cause a crash, serious injury or death," Miller said.

  NHTSA said it had received reports of 102 incidents in which the accelerator may have become stuck on the Toyota vehicles involved. It was unclear how many led to crashes but the inquiry was prompted by a highspeed crash in August in California of a Lexus barreling out of control. As the vehicle hit speeds exceeding 120 mph, family members made a frantic 911 call and said the accelerator was stuck and they couldn't stop the vehicle.

  "This is an urgent matter," Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a statement. "For everyone's sake, we strongly urge owners of these vehicles to remove mats or other obstacles that could lead to unintended acceleration."

  The recall will affect 2007-2010 model year Toyota Camry, 2005-2010 Toyota Avalon, 2004-2009 Toyota Prius, 2005-2010 Tacoma, 2007-2010 Toyota Tundra, 2007-2010 Lexus ES350 and 2006-2010 Lexus IS250 and IS350.

  Toyota's previously largest U.S. recall was about 900,000 vehicles in 2005 to fix a steering issue. The company declined to say how many complaints it had received about the accelerator issue.

  The Japanese automaker warned owners that if they think their vehicle is accelerating out of control, they should check to see whether their floor mat is under the pedal. If a driver can't remove the floor mat, Toyota advises drivers to step on the brake pedal with both feet until the vehicle slows and then try to put it into neutral and switch the ignition to accessory power.

  For vehicles with engine start/stop buttons, Toyota said the engine can be shut off by holding the button down for three seconds.

  In the August incident near San Diego, the fiery crash of a 2009 Lexus ES 350 killed California Highway Patrol Officer Mark Saylor, 45, and three members of his family on State Route 125 in Santee. The runaway car was traveling at more than 120 mph when it hit a sport utility vehicle, launched off an embankment, rolled several times and burst into flames. One of the family members called police about a minute before the crash to report the vehicle had no brakes and the accelerator was stuck. The call ended with someone telling people in the car to hold on and pray, followed by a woman's scream.

  NHTSA investigators determined that a rubber all-weather floor mat found in the wreckage was slightly longer than the mat that belonged in the vehicle, something that could have snared or covered the accelerator pedal.

  Toyota spokesman John Hanson said the final report had not yet been submitted in the California case.

  "We don't know what the actual cause was of that accident other than preliminary reports that have been published so it's impossible for us to comment on that particular incident," Hanson said.

  In mid-September, Toyota ordered 1,400 Toyota and Lexus dealers nationwide to ensure that each new, used and loaner vehicles had the proper floor mats and that the mats were properly secured.

  In September 2007, Toyota recalled an accessory all-weather floor mat sold for use in some 2007 and 2008 model year Lexus ES 350 and Toyota Camry vehicles because of similar problems.

  For more information, consumers can contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's hotline at (888) 327-4236, Toyota at (800) 331-4331 or Lexus at (800) 255-3987.

  Toyota Motor Corp.: http://www.toyota.com

  Lexus: http://www.lexus.com.

  - 32 - 40

• Car Safety Recalls: What You Need to Know: By Lauren DeAngelis
  Sep 22, 2009

  If you own a car, you've probably received a safety recall notice in the mail at some point. Manufacturers are required to attempt to notify owners of recalled products and to provide a free remedy. You may be inclined to ignore a recall notification letter - especially if it contains confusing jargon or seems like it concerns something minor.
  
  But here's a newsflash: In the realm of safety recalls, nothing is minor. According to Rae Tyson, spokesman for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the federal agency that issues automotive recalls, every recall has a serious safety implication. "A defect exists that is a safety issue and it needs to be corrected," Tyson says. "There are some worse than others, yes, but in some way they all have potential to lead to injury or death."
  
  A Cautionary Tale
  
  In 1996, Ford issued a recall on the cruise control switch in models throughout its line-up The recall affected about 16 million vehicles and became one of the largest vehicle safety recalls on record. Though Ford sent out notification letters, relatively few people actually took their cars in to be fixed right away. NHTSA's Tyson speculates that owners probably read that the recall affected the cruise control and assumed it wasn't a big deal because their cruise control was working just fine.

  But a little more attention to detail would reveal that the recall was quite serious. "The problem was manifesting itself after the vehicle was shut off and parked," Tyson explains. "The defect caused the vehicle to catch fire." As a result, some owners' cars caught fire in their garages in the middle of the night and subsequently led to their houses catching fire.

  Today, attorneys are still advertising for potential clients who where injured or lost personal property due to the fires. According to the law firm Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein LLP, "NHTSA has reported receiving 1,472 complaints connected to the defect, including 65 fires."

  The moral of the story is clear: There are no small or insignificant safety recalls. "What seems to be really innocent and innocuous can turn out to be a real tragedy," Tyson says. "And that's why people need to respond to a recall notice and take their car in to get fixed right away."
  
  Recall Apathy
  
  In fact, according to Tyson, recall completion rates show car owners are quite apathetic when it comes to responding to recalls. In some cases, the rates of completing the recall repairs are only 20 to 40 percent.

  The only outstanding success (completion-wise) was the Firestone tire recall of 2001, which became one of the most tragic recall-related events. In that case, a design flaw causing tread separations in specific Firestone tires led to more than 174 deaths and 700 injuries. The tragedy of the situation led to so much publicity that drivers couldn't ignore the recall and most of them took their tires in to be replaced.
  
  Recall Trends

  So, how can you avoid a safety recall? The answer is simple: You can't. There's really no rhyme or reason to vehicle recalls. Since millions of cars are built each year, something, no matter how minor or major, will probably go wrong at some point.
  
  In 2008, NHTSA logged 684 vehicle recalls affecting more than 10 million vehicles. That number is the highest on record, although the number has hovered around that point for several years. In 2007, 587 recalls were filed (by contrast, only 58 vehicle recalls were filed when record-keeping began in 1966). The number of vehicles affected for each recall also varies. Some recalls only involve a few hundred cars, while others, like the Ford cruise control switch, may involve millions.
  

  There's no trend regarding manufacturers or models, either. Naturally, the larger manufacturers report the most recalls, since they make more vehicles than smaller manufacturers. In 2008, Ford Motor Company reported 11 recalls affecting 1,604,819 vehicles. By contrast, Hyundai Motor Company, a much smaller automaker, reported three recalls affecting 293,910 vehicles.

  Note that recalls have nothing to do with quality. Manufacturers with good quality ratings are affected by recalls just as often as those with poor quality ratings. Even expensive exotics have safety recalls. Bentley Motors LTD reported three recalls affecting more than 13,000 vehicles in 2008, while Ferrari North America Inc. reported one recall affecting 366 vehicles.

  If A Recall Happens to You
  
  You've received a recall notification in the mail. Now what? First, make sure to read the letter carefully. According to NHTSA, each letter must contain the following: A description of the defect; a note about the risk or hazard posed, including warning signs; a description of the free repair, including when it's available and how long it will take; and a description of what you can do if you're unable to have the problem corrected within a reasonable time and without charge.

  Your next step is to take the car in to be repaired, following the instructions in the letter, as soon as possible. If you're confused or need more information, you can always call NHTSA toll-free at (888)DASH-2-DOT (1-888-327-4236).
  
  Better yet, don't even wait until you get a letter in the mail -- where it could get lost or mistaken for junk mail. You can routinely check to see if there are recalls on your car using NHTSA's online Recall Search, which allows you to search by year, make and model.

  - 33 - 40

• How to Avoid the 'Cash for Clunkers' Snarl: By Rick Newman from U.S. News
  Aug 20, 2009
  By Rick Newman Rick Newman – Wed Aug 19, 12:19 pm ET

  When car dealers start doing business with the federal government, whaddya expect? Perfect harmony?

   

  Of course not. Several weeks into the "cash for clunkers" program it turns out that delivering a couple of billion dollars worth of rebates to hundreds of thousands of car buyers can generate a few flat tires. The Department of Transportation's latest update on the Car Allowance Rebate System shows that the government has received applications for about 412,000 rebates totaling $1.7 billion. But so far, the feds have approved only a fraction of those, leaving dealers furious.

   

  [See which carmakers have been hurt most and helped most by the recession.]

   

  The Transportation Department won't say exactly what the rejection rate is, but in an Automotive News survey, some dealers said up to 80 percent of their rebate applications had been rejected. Some dealers are waiting for payments totaling as much as $200,000, the survey found. About 13 percent of dealers said they've suspended clunker deals because of red tape and concern about getting paid by the government.

   

  Prediction: They'll be back. Buyers, meanwhile, should make sure the dealer isn't putting the burden of obtaining a rebate on them. And those still looking for a clunker deal should be able to find plenty of dealers continuing to play along.

   

  It's obvious that the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, the agency administering CARS, has been overwhelmed by the popularity of a program that has surprised just about everybody, including the masterminds in Congress who had to triple the funding a week after clunkers kicked in. NHTSA initially detailed 225 people to processing those 400,000 claims; it's in the process of assigning 1,000 more to the program to help speed up the rebates.

   

  To put this in context, there are only about 635 full-time workers at the entire agency, and their principal job is to set safety standards, perform crash tests, conduct research, and regulate the automakers. So NHTSA is swelling to nearly twice its regular size--by borrowing workers from other agencies--to manage a program that will come and go within six weeks. I guess they'll get back to worrying about safety after Labor Day, when CARS expires.

   

  [See 5 downsides to the cash for clunkers program.]

   

  NHTSA also has to make sure nobody's claiming that a rusty tricycle constitutes a clunker worth $4,500 toward a new ride. Don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting that anybody would ever attempt to take advantage of wanton congressional spending and defraud the U.S. government. But do we trust car dealers and their customers enough to go by the honor system? Many of the rejected clunker claims are being sent back to dealers because of paperwork snafus like unsigned sales agreements, mismatched serial numbers, and forms that fail to include the make, model, and year of the clunker being traded in. Hmmmm. Those are all harmless mistakes, no doubt. But if people at NHTSA weren't eyeballing every application, chances are that there would be a newspaper headline somewhere declaring "Man Gets Clunker Rebate for Matchbox Car." It still might happen.

   

  Dealer groups have been meeting with NHTSA to straighten out the foul-ups and make sure their own members are following procedures and playing by the rules. Odds are this will all get sorted out soon, the pace of rebates will pick up, and dissident dealers will quiet down and rejoin the program.

   

  Meanwhile, delayed rebates have caused tension between some dealers and their customers. Just like money to ruin a beautiful relationship.

   

  [See 8 industries that will sit out a recovery.]

   

  The government has gotten complaints about a few dealers who seem to be putting their customers on the hook in case there's a problem with the CARS rebate coming through. Now, in a negotiated deal it's always a good idea to put the financial risk on the other guy. Except that in the CARS program, dealers aren't allowed to do that. Banned practices include forcing the buyer to leave a deposit for the amount of the clunker rebate, in case the government doesn't cough it up, and forcing the buyer to sign an agreement to pay the dealer the rebate amount if the government rejects the application. In general, the burden is on the dealer, not the car buyer, to dicker with the feds and make sure the paperwork is correct (unless you lie on the application, which could invalidate the whole deal). Consumers can see the complete list of rules at Cars.gov (look under the FAQ), and buyers can report suspicious dealer activity to the government by calling 866-CAR-7891.

   

  The popularity of the program has also caught manufacturers by surprise, one reason they've run short of some vehicles that clunker traders want to buy. Some dealers have sold out of models like the Jeep Patriot and the Ford Focus, for instance. Buyers were left wondering whether they can still get a clunker deal when the next shipment arrives or should pick another vehicle. So the government has tweaked the rules to include new cars that aren't on dealer lots but are in the production pipeline. As long as the dealer can identify an actual vehicle and its vehicle identification number, or VIN, the clunker deal can go through, even if the car is delivered after the program expires. Buyers need to make sure the VIN of the car they ultimately take home is the same as the VIN on the original sales agreement and watch out for any other kind of bait-and-switch.

   

  [See why GM is ready to rebound.]

   

  If the nearest dealer has bailed out of the program, look for another. Despite the problems, there are plenty of reasons for dealers to stay involved with CARS until it expires. With the government subsidizing the cost of so many new cars, the program is obviously boosting sales. But it's also drawing other shoppers who end up buying a car even though they don't qualify for a clunker deal, and it's generating business in dealers' service departments as well. And with many buyers who qualified for a clunker deal already enjoying their new ride, the frenzy is starting to subside. That should give the government time to catch up and placate the dealers. A little haggling is just part of the process.

   

   

  - 34 - 40

• America's Most Overpriced Cars: By Hannah Elliott
  Jul 13, 2009

  These days, car buyers have the upper hand when they walk into the showroom. They have access to dealer invoice prices and day supply data on the Internet--not to mention a recession that has spurred lowest-ever financing deals and unprecedented cash-back incentives.
  
  But that doesn't mean every vehicle is a bargain; plenty are still overpriced. Right now, according to Vincentric, a firm that tracks vehicle ownership costs for the auto industry, several cars on sale now have market values far below their manufacturer's suggested retail price.
  
  The Jeep Liberty, for example, has a true market value 20.9% lower than its MSRP; the Dodge Ram 2500 is worth 26% less; and the Chevrolet Trailblazer is worth 16.4% less than its MSRP.
  
  Those three models, in particular, tell the story of the most overpriced autos currently on the market: Our entire list is comprised of vehicles manufactured by Detroit's Big Three. No foreign brands make the list, as those automakers' cars tend to be priced fairly when considering supply and demand as well as their high rankings on consumer-satisfaction surveys.

  Behind the Numbers:
  
  To find America's most overpriced vehicles, we first looked at market price figures supplied by Vincentric. These are updated each month to reflect marketplace inventory, demand, rebates and incentives, and to represent the price that a buyer typically pays. We ruled out any vehicles where the gap between market price and MSRP was less than 10%--a natural breaking point in the data that left a list of about 150 overpriced vehicles to pare down.

  We then used two pieces of customer-satisfaction information to better determine whether certain vehicles meet the expectations their brands promise--essentially, whether they justify their sticker price.

  We used J.D. Power's 2008 Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) survey results, and ruled out vehicles that won their segments or scored better than two-and-a-half stars out of five: Any vehicle that scores less than 50% is likely not delivering on the thousands a consumer must shell out to buy it.

  The list was further shortened by Consumer Reports' Owner Satisfaction results, data from a survey that asks owners--considering a wide range of factors, including price--whether they would buy a particular car again. Vehicles that scored less than 50 (on a scale of 100) made our list. We then ranked the remaining 15 vehicles by the amount overpriced (the difference between market price and MSRP).

  The three most overpriced cars are the Dodge Ram pickup (worth 26% less than its MSRP), Mercury Grand Marquis (worth 21.4% less) and Jeep Liberty (worth 20.9% less).

  Close the Gap:
  
  When it comes to the price of a car, the most important factor to consider is market value vs. MSRP, says Dave Freed, a managing partner for Vincentric. Even big cash rebates or 0% financing won't ensure you're getting the best deal on the lot, he says, and Vincentric's true-value information should give you a sense of how tough a negotiator you can be.

  After that, research the top factors that cause a price to balloon out of proportion: availability, depreciation and gas prices. These points, in particular, are why American-made models comprise our entire list. Fleet sales and overproduction by GM and Chrysler has led to a dilution of resale value--and to dealers' lots overflowing with identical models. The Dodge Nitro is one of the worst offenders of this, according to Ward's, an automotive data and analysis firm.

  Some cars tend to be overpriced partly because of their weakened brand image, which can lead to poor resale value. Vehicles that have this problem include the $17,430 GMC Canyon pickup truck, which has a resale value of 11.9% less than its MSRP; as well as GMC Envoy, with a resale value of 16.1% less than its MSRP.

  "Where you might pay a higher price for a Honda Civic, you get it back at the end because it has a high resale value," says David Zoia, the editorial director for Ward's.
  
  Lack of Luxury:
  
  While luxury vehicles cost thousands more than their non-luxury counterparts, none made our list. They all invariably receive extremely high satisfaction rates and APEAL scores. A Mercedes-Benz CL550 may cost a lot ($107,900 to be exact), and the E-Class costs a more reasonable $48,000, but the people who drive these cars think they're worth the price. It doesn't hurt that Mercedes keeps a tight rein on production levels too--you won't see a CL550 at your local Enterprise office anytime soon.

  The $29,270 Mercury Grand Marquis sedan, however, is one to watch. Its market value is 21.4% lower than its MSRP, and it received low APEAL (2) and satisfaction (43) scores as well. So someone with her heart set on this vehicle shouldn't--in theory--pay more than roughly $23,000.

  The Grand Marquis is the victim of a general move in the market away from larger, heavier sedans, says James Clark, general manager of Automotive Lease Guide, a California company that compiles automotive residual values. Those cars get worse gas mileage and cost more to insure, meaning they cost more to own in the long run. Similarly, U.S. consumers' move away from trucks and SUVs--also prominent on our list--has driven down those vehicles' true market values as well.

  "It's a shift that we've experienced this past year due to the high gas prices we had last summer," says Clark. "With trucks and SUVs, a lot of those are showing up at the top of the list in terms of the highest cost to own."
  
  America's Five Most Overpriced Cars:
  
  1. Dodge Ram 2500
  
  2. Mercury Grand Marquis
  
  3. Jeep Liberty
  
  4. Dodge Nitro

  
  

  - 35 - 40

• 6 Used-Car Traps and How to Avoid Them: By Jada A. Graves
  Mar 25, 2009

  For some used car shoppers it can be hard to be sure you got the best price, and only time will tell whether the car is dependable.

  Although most used car sales go off without a hitch, sometimes there's miscommunication or purposeful deception that can sour the experience. However, you can prepare yourself for some of the common pitfalls used-car shoppers face when closing the deal. Keep these pointers in mind as you shop. - 36 - 40

• Better Business Bureau starts rating businesses with letter grades: By Eileen Ambrose -- Personal Finance
  Mar 12, 2009

  Recently, the Better Business Bureau scuttled its system of rating businesses and replaced it with letter grades.
  
  Instead of a "satisfactory" or "unsatisfactory" rating, the BBB now issues grades F to A+. The BBB says using letters makes ratings easier to understand.
  
  But the change has sparked controversy across the country. - 37 - 40