Here's the deal with hybrids. You pay a few thousand dollars more than you would for the gasoline-only equivalent of that car and you get a few miles per gallon more. How long before those gas savings pay for the extra cost of the hybrid version?
That depends on the car. The Ford Fusion Hybrid is the best bet, according to The San Francisco Chronicle...with the next best taking more than twice as long to put you in the black. But that's the nearly identical
(and not significantly higher priced) Mercury Milan Hybrid.
You just can't make this stuff up, folks. Toyota's rounding up 2003 model year Sequoias because the traction control system is defective and can cause the vehicles to slow down suddenly, without lighting the brake lights, which...yeah, can cause rear-end accidents.
Big props to the 67 year old driver, too...who admitted that his "foot got caught on the gas pedal". Not sure how that happens, but at least he 'fessed up that it was his problem and not a phenomenon caused by floor mats, electronic gremlins or Satan.
Six months after a 2-car crash that killed four (including a Harvard professor), the NHTSA says it's launching an investigation.
The reason? The car that caused the crash by swerving into oncoming traffic was a Toyota Highlander. And while local authorities say they were unable to pinpoint the cause, the Feds say they want to see if a sticking gas pedal might be involved.
How's this for a used car sales pitch: " Only driven by a little old man on his way to kill people".
Yep...just in time to cash in on the HBO movie "You Don't Know Jack" starring Al Pacino, a 1968 VW Bus purported to be the one owned by Dr. Jack Kevorkian, who assisted in more than 100 suicides before being sent to prison for 8 years, is up for bid on eBay.
From the auction description:
The vehicle drove in under it's own power but the engine had a rod knock. The vehicle most likely is not roadworthy and if anyone were to try to use this as a vehicle used on the road, it would have to be brought up to current standards. We are telling you that this bus is absolutely not safe to drive. All safety systems on the vehicle would have to be completely overhauled. Although the vehicle may actually move and stop under its own power, it's not being sold as a drivable bus.
Vehicle is in substantially "as used" condition with the exception that it does not have the original steering wheel. VIN numbers etc. etc. match the title. All paperwork is proper and signed with Jack's signature.
Want in? The auction ends Thursday (4/29) at 12:01:02 PDT. Go here.
Optimism is alive and well in Royal Oak, Michigan, where this week SAAB (under new ownership) had a grand opening for its North American headquarters and announced that the new 9-5 will launch with a turbocharged V-6 and a price tag of $49,900. It won't be until 2011 that the 2-liter model with a price tag expected to be "under $40,000" will debut.
I got this e-mail from a friend this week...forwarding the story of a 2007 Suburban owner who left his iPhone charger plugged into the power outlet (cigarette lighter for those of you over 40):
As some of you may know, we had a pretty scary incident recently. Attached are pictures of what remains of our 2007 Suburban. We are all okay but I wanted to warn everyone not to make the same mistake I did.
This fire resulted from leaving an Iphone charger/docking station plugged into the car outlet. It overheated and started a fire, while parked in our garage. PLEASE unplug anything you have in your car outlets once you turn off your car!
We were VERY fortunate that we accidentally found the fire, at 11pm, before going to bed and before it spread to the house. Feel free to pass this along to anyone you want. Better safe than sorry.
Good rule of thumb...if you're not using it, unplug it.
Say hello to the car that changed the world. It looks unassuming and frankly very small now, but from 1976 through 1981, this was the Accord that showed that Japan in general and Honda in particular was deadly serious about making very good small cars.
Five years after exploding Ford Pintos and imploding Chevy Vegas, the idea of a small car built to a standard and not to a price was an appealing one to American drivers. The first-gen Accord was jewel-like. And the demand was huge. Dealers were charging $1,000 over sticker price...and getting it.
The LX model was added as an upgrade from the base Accord...Air Conditioning, a digital clock and power steering were standard. And while Detroit was still pushing four-on-the-floor, the Accord's manual transmission was a 5-speed.
Power? Not much by today's standards. 72 horsepower for the 1980 model you see here. But there wasn't much weight to move, either...about 2,000 pounds. And gas mileage was astonishing...35 city/45 highway...with some owners reporting far more.
And the interior was a revelation for the time...far roomier than the exterior would have you expect...with logical control layouts that were exactly where your hands would fall. This one shows the usual signs of age...which is to say, some fading and splitting of the upholstery and not much else.
For as big a seller as the 1976-1981 Accords were, they're not a common sight anymore. Though 15 years and 200,000 trouble-free miles was a common Accord owner experience, like most Japanese cars, at the 20 year point, the cost of a major repair was more than the car was worth and the owner (by then the third or fourth) sent it off to the junkyard.
As a result, the remaining ones, now between 29 and 34 years old, are starting to see values climb...one in this condition is probably $1500...you could have gotten it for $725 a decade ago. Best one on earth? The NADA guide says $3250. That's more than half what it sold for new.
As a former early 80s Honda owner (mine was a Civic), if presented with the choice of spending $3250 for a mint condition first-gen or nearly $30,000 for the current Accord coupe, I'd seriously consider going with the classic.
Yep...Toyota was able to replicate the sideways slide that prompted Consumer Reports to label the GX 460 a safety risk last week. And their engineers formulated a software update to prompt the stability control to step in sooner.
Toyota Japan issued a news release with a lot more in the way of hard facts:
TMC Announces Remedy for Vehicle Stability Control in Lexus GX 460 and Toyota Land Cruiser Prado
Toyota City, Japan—Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) announces its remedy for the problem concerning the Vehicle Stability Control (VSC) program in its Lexus GX 460 and certain Land Cruiser Prado vehicles.
In circumstances in which advanced driving skills are required, such as when a driver of the involved vehicle sharply turns the steering wheel in high-speed conditions, or when the driver negotiates a curve at excessive speeds, the vehicle could slide sideways, due to the insufficient activation of the VSC.
The following conditions combine to cause the problem:
- In the GX 460 and Land Cruiser Prado, heavy components, such as the fuel tank, are located on the left side, and in left-hand drive versions, the left side is made even heavier because of the presence of the driver.
- For vehicles with certain tires (on 18-inch wheels) and equipped with the Kinetic Dynamic Suspension System (KDSS*) and VSC, the activation of the VSC may not be sufficient in certain circumstances due to the setting of the VSC program.
- Circumstances may require advanced driving skills, such as sharp turns of the steering wheel in high-speed conditions or negotiating a curve to the right at excessive speeds.
As a remedy, Toyota will update the VSC program to enhance the effectiveness of the VSC so that the risk of the vehicle sliding, even to the point that it is almost sideways, will be reduced.
Vehicles involved are as follows:
- GX 460: Approx. 13,000 units in total Approx. 9,400 units in the United States, approx. 1,000 units in Russia, approx 1,000 units in Oman
- Land Cruiser Prado: Approx. 21,000 units in total (only left-hand drive vehicles with KDSS and VSC) Approx. 4,400 units in Oman, approx. 4,000 units in Russia, approx. 1,500 units in the United Arab Emirates. No right-hand drive units have this problem.
In total, approximately 34,000 units worldwide are involved. In North America, Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. (TMS) and Toyota Canada Inc. (TCI) each announced a voluntary recall on April 19 (local time). As for other regions and countries involved, such as in Europe and the Middle East, TMC will work to implement similar measures as soon as possible.
Six months and a few hundred thousand pageviews later, the authorities have sentenced the woman seen in the video above parking her car on....well, two other cars.
Tripta Kaushal was arrested on the evidence of that video back in October. But the wheels of justice turn more deliberately than those of her SUV, so it's only this week that the judge brought the hammer down.
A $500 fine for leaving the scene and failing to report the accident, restitution to the owners of the two cars she damaged, six months probation and she's not allowed to drive between 7PM and 7AM.
As anyone who's blown an airbag knows, replacing them is expensive. Apparently more so in Europe, because, according to the TSA Blog from the folks at the Transportation Security Administration, a lot of Europeans are flying over here, buying the new bag, putting it in their checked luggage and flying home.
Trouble is that airbag actuators are on the list of hazardous materials prohibited from transport aboard passenger aircraft.
Namely...it's an explosive that blows the bag (similar to a solid rocket booster, the TSA Blog tells us).
Not safe in the cargo hold of an airliner...any sensible person can see that. But inches away from your face and chest? There's another agency of the government that has made that mandatory for the past 18 years.
The senior Republican on the Senate Finance Committee is calling BS on GM...alleging a shell game in which GM used TARP funds instead of its own earnings to pay back Uncle Sam.
In fact, Whitacre says when it's all said and done, the US will get back its entire $50 billion investment in GM and may even make a profit. Details at The Detroit Free Press.
The five-year plan is coming into clearer focus and it looks....confusing.
Fiat's going to build a mid-size sedan in Italy. It will be sold mainly in America, replacing the Sebring. They'll also build a new compact Chrysler for the USA over there.
Meantime, Chrysler might build not one, but two SUVs for Alfa Romeo on American soil.
Police have ticketed actress Heather Locklear for a weekend accident in which a car hit a street sign near her Thousand Oaks, California home.
A neighbor reported the crash 16 hours after hearing it, but police say a surveillance camera shows Locklear's car passing by at the time and debris at the scene has been tied to her vehicle.
Bumper stickers like the one above were very common in the 70s and 80s, when American cars were in their long slide beyond mediocrity to craptasticness and Toyota and Honda were cementing their reputation as bulletproof transportation.
Well, the tables appear to be turning. A new Associated Press poll shows more Americans believe American cars are better than Japanese cars, 38 to 33 percent.
The wait between thinly disguised show car and production Camaro was so long that a lot of people were predicting the real thing would be a dud...that the public would be bored silly before the first one was sold.
Boy, were they wrong.
No, it's not going to be 1967 all over again, when 220,000 Camaros rolled out of showrooms and into driveways across America...100,000 is probably more like it. But in this day and age, that's an impressive number for a limited-use vehicle (have you tried the back seat?) with two more or less equally attractive direct competitors. Part of the appeal here has to be the magic Chevy has wrought with the base V6. At 305 horsepower, it's five horsepower more than the '09 Mustang V8, and only ten less than the 2010 Mustang V8. The fact that it can get 29 miles per gallon on the highway no doubt sweetens the deal for newly-green buyers.
And then there's the look. It takes a lot of critical thinking to get past the "Wow!" stage when you walk up to the new Camaro, especially in the right color (ours was the yellow you see above). Once that critical thinking is mustered, though, the only downer is the car seems a bit big...especially if you've been exposed to the first-gen (1967-69) car this one emulates. But the truth is, there's no way to build a car with the capabilities of this one, and the equipment the government mandates and buyers demand and have it be as light and lithe as the ones from 40 years ago.
Inside is where a lot of the "Wow!" factor evaporates. It's dark inside...and it's not helped by the high doors and low roofline that reduce glass space all around. Over time, you get used to it, but you'll never fall in love.
And the cluster of gauges down on the floor console? Well, we've learned way too much about ergonomics and keeping our eyes on the road the past four decades to think that's anything but a gimmick with no real value for the driver.
Base price starts in the 22s...our tester bottom-lined at $30,160. These days, for this kind of performance, that's a bargain. It goes a long way toward explaining how Camaro is overcoming a late start, stiff competition, a bad economy and a burgeoning "sports cars=bad" mentality with a car that draws its inspiration from before its target buyers were born.
UPDATE: Did another week in another RS recently...this one with a six-speed manual...makes a big difference in performance (which is already stellar)...and kept the price below $30K ($29,175). EPA estimates 17 city/29 highway.
If only Chevy can fix the interior darkness and visibility issues (beyond suggesting we buy the 2011 Camaro Convertible, that is)
(UPDATE: Sharp-eyed TireKicker reader Paul Duca spotted the clues that this is in fact a newer Caprice. We've been able to narrow it down to 1982, '83, '84 or '85. Hit the comments section if you can help us pinpoint it to a single year. We'll change the headline and tags once we've got the right vintage)
It wasn't that long ago that you couldn't drive a city block without seeing three of these.
Oh, wait...it was that long ago. 32 model years since this '78 Chevrolet Caprice Classic rolled off the showroom floor...20 model years since its clean, classic lines were replaced by the dumpy upside-down bathtub models that themselves are becoming (mercifully) scarce.
Hard to believe it now, but this was the downsized full-size Chevrolet...and GM was thought to be taking a big risk when it introduced this body style in the fall of 1976 as a '77 model. 637 pounds lighter than the previous generation, 10 inches shorter and 4 inches narrower.
What nobody realized until they saw the new one was just how badly the Caprice needed a diet. The big Chevy had been packing on the pounds since 1971 (kinda like Elvis at the time).
The new Caprice rapidly became its own benchmark.
Even in the desert Southwest, where these were a best-seller and where cars don't rust away, these aren't everyday sights anymore in any condition, which makes finding an intact, clean original all the more wonderful.
The NADA guides suggest $800-$2,000 would be enough to take one in this condition home, if you could find one and an owner who wanted to part with it. The best one on earth might set you back $2,500.
Back in the 90s, the buzz was that these were being bought up used and shipped by the boatload over to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, where they hated the new 90s Caprice styling even more than we did, liked the looks of this one, knew it was virtually bulletproof (in terms of reliability..."bulletproof" tends to be taken more literally in certain parts of the world) and that its air conditioning system could allow the Caprice Classic to double as a meat locker.
If true (and there do seem to be a lot of ads for them from Kuwait online), let's hope they didn't take too many and that there are plenty still here in the USA...hiding in retirement community garages...their 55-year old buyers now 87 and ready to hang up the keys after finding the Caprice a good home.
So you want a Dodge Challenger, but can't swing either the price or insurance or gas for the Hemi-powered R/T or SRT-8?
$750 buys you the cosmetics that will make your six-cylinder SE look pretty darn good.
It's called the Rallye Group. 18" aluminum wheels, a bright fuel filler door, dual stripes, a carbon-fiber looking bezel on the instrument panel and a body-colored rear spoiler.
Our tester was just as you see above...bright silver metallic with black stripes. It actually got more admiring looks than the last red Challenger that came through...possibly because those are seen so often.
Best part of the deal is the SE's base price of $22,735. Second best is the gas mileage: 17 city/25 highway. If you can restrain yourself to the SE with the Rallye package, you'll come in around $26,200 with destination charges. But the tester Dodge sent loaded it up...Preferred Package 250, Sound Group, Leather Interior Group, Power Sunroof, Media Center....running the tab up to $31,175.
With my own money? Maybe the Sound Group for $645 (the media center is $1775 and while the hard drive and steering wheel controls are nice, most of that money is for a nav system...and I'm on the record as saying those are never money well spent....not when your cell phone probably has GPS mapping)...which would land just this side of 27 large.
At only 250 horsepower, you will get smoked at the stoplights by six-cylinder Camaros and Mustangs (and that's just the 2010 models...not the steroid sixes in the 2011 models)...but if it's looks you're after, this is pretty sweet.
General Motors is expected to announce tomorrow that it is repaying $5.8 billion in loans to the U.S. and Canadian governments early. The deadline is in June.
This could pave the way to an Inital Public Offering (IPO) of stock in the "new" GM and the U.S. government getting out of the car business.
Some vehicles just produce an involuntary smile whenever I see them...the VW Type II Transporter (or Bus) is pretty close to the top of that list.
Sure, they were noisy and slow (and one stranded me and a group of other 12 year olds on a 100-degree afternoon for several hours)...but finding one in either unmolested or reasonably restored condition is a real treat.
Truth is, you don't see many of these as anything other than basket cases or hippie van re-creations (and occasionally both)...so something that looks like it's still 1966 is a wonderful thing.
The tip-off that it's a 66? There are only two clues. Can you spot them? Hit "comments" if you think you know.
Here's how stacked the deck is against Toyota. When it does respond, and respond quickly, the Feds leak it so they can say it first.
A "NHTSA official...who declined to be identified" says Toyota is about to issue a recall for the Lexus GX 460 after replicating the same stability issues that caused Consumer Reports to brand it a "safety risk" last week.
Toyota has agreed to pay a record civil fine of $16.4 million levied by the U.S. Government, which says Toyota "knowingly hid a dangerous defect".
The trouble for Toyota isn't so much the money (2% of its projected net income this year) as the precedent it sets for possible future fines and lawsuits.
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