Archive for the ‘Is There A Lesson Here?’ Category
Wednesday, April 15th, 2009
The fact that this study came as news to a lot of people in the general media speaks volumes about the quality of their automotive reporting and their concern for public safety, but at least they're finally getting around to reporting this story. Take particular care to note that none ...
Posted in Accidents, Buying Tips, Insurance, Is There A Lesson Here?, Product News, Program For Change, Safety, Warnings | No Comments »
Saturday, April 4th, 2009
Cheryl and Chris Jensen in the NY Times deliver a comprehensive overview of the various ideas being considered to convince consumers to get into the new vehicle market. Whatever happens, it's the best time ever to buy a new car, minivan or truck.
Posted in Advertising, Advice, Buying Tips, Financing, Incentives, Is There A Lesson Here?, Marketing, Program For Change, Sales, Save Money | 1 Comment »
Friday, March 20th, 2009
GM's struggles to survive have put its most female-friendly division at risk, but the operators of the Saturn brand and dealerships are doing their best to keep customers interested. The lineup of products and no-haggle, no-hassle sales atmosphere should still be attractive to a lot of women.
Posted in Advertising, Advice, Buying Tips, Dealerships, Financing, Green, Incentives, Is There A Lesson Here?, Marketing | No Comments »
Thursday, March 19th, 2009
People who love driving and worship cars regularly trot this theory out, and there's certainly something to be said for some of their points. But it's worth remembering that many more people died when cars were a lot more dangerous and the roads weren't as well-designed. There are some tips ...
Posted in Accidents, Advice, Is There A Lesson Here?, Law Enforcement, Product News, Safety, Warnings | No Comments »
Thursday, March 19th, 2009
When it comes to helping you with the widest range of automotive-related dangers, no service in the world comes close to GM's OnStar safety-security system, and now the 24-hour service has added specific information related to a growing incidence of poisonings involving children and pets. For direct details on the ...
Posted in Advice, Children, Is There A Lesson Here?, Pets, Safety, Warnings | No Comments »
Thursday, March 19th, 2009
All you folks who've closed your minds to the possibility that Detroit can do anything good with four wheels and an engine should read this story. It will show you how wrong you've been for some years, but does not point out that you're probably spending more money on Japanese ...
Posted in Advice, Buying Tips, Is There A Lesson Here?, Marketing, Product News | No Comments »
Thursday, March 19th, 2009
One of Germany's biggest supermarket chains is going into the business of selling small, low-cost cars directly to consumers the same way it sells canned goods or anything else, with a fixed price so there's no haggling and a warranty from the manufacturer. Lots of people in North America might ...
Posted in Buying Tips, Dealerships, Is There A Lesson Here?, Program For Change | No Comments »
Tuesday, March 17th, 2009
There's supposed to be something resembling free trade between Korea and the U.S. regarding cars, but the truth is that it's pretty much a one-way market (we buy theirs, but they block ours) and now the Obama administration and the Congress may do something about it. It's costs thousands of ...
Posted in Employment, Is There A Lesson Here?, Product News, Program For Change, Sales, Warnings | No Comments »
Tuesday, March 17th, 2009
The cars that so many experts were telling the car companies to make more of are now sitting around on new car lots everywhere, mostly because they make less fiscal sense than ever with gasoline prices so low. Even with various discounts currently on offer, it's very hard to recover ...
Posted in Advertising, Buying Tips, Dealerships, Gas Issues, Green, Incentives, Is There A Lesson Here?, Pricing, Product News, Technology | No Comments »
Tuesday, February 24th, 2009
The key tip to this story is to avoid buying auto warranty extensions if someone calls you and tells you that you need to extend your coverage.
Posted in Advice, Buying Tips, Dealerships, Is There A Lesson Here?, Law Enforcement, Sad stories, Save Money, Warnings | No Comments »
Tuesday, February 24th, 2009
At some time it will be just too dangerous to let Alzheimer sufferers take out the family car, and figuring out when that should be is a growing issue.
Posted in Accidents, Driving Matters, Is There A Lesson Here?, Law Enforcement, Program For Change, Sad stories | No Comments »
Sunday, February 22nd, 2009
They won't fight the ticket on your behalf or anything, but a new online service will do a lot of the administrative work associated with moving citations.
Posted in Driving Matters, Is There A Lesson Here?, Law Enforcement, Program For Change | No Comments »
Sunday, February 22nd, 2009
It sounds like a good idea to get rid of the vehicles that pollute the most, but the mechanics of it might not be so straightforward.
Posted in Financing, Green, Is There A Lesson Here?, Program For Change, Save Money | No Comments »
Sunday, February 22nd, 2009
It's not really a bad idea to buy a Sky from Saturn or a Solstice from Pontiac if you're looking for a sporty two-seat roadster, since GM will supply parts and honor the warranty no matter what.
Posted in Advice, Buying Tips, Dealerships, Driving Matters, Is There A Lesson Here?, Product News | No Comments »
Sunday, February 22nd, 2009
You don't have to be in a car to be a counted as a traffic fatality, as being hit by a car gets you on the list as well. That becomes a more likely happening if you tune out the traffic around you by talking on the phone or listening ...
Posted in Advice, Is There A Lesson Here?, Law Enforcement, Sad stories, Safety | No Comments »
Friday, February 20th, 2009
Either because fewer people can afford them, or because more people no longer want to appear too ostentatious, or maybe even because more people realize they're really not worth the extra money, "premium" cars are not selling the way they used to. The boss of Audi of America says: "This ...
Posted in Buying Tips, Dealerships, Is There A Lesson Here?, Pricing, Product News | No Comments »
Friday, February 20th, 2009
All those folks out there who like to brag about being "goal-oriented" either in work or their personal life ought to read this story, and so should the people around them.
Posted in Advice, Dealerships, Is There A Lesson Here?, Program For Change, Warnings | No Comments »
Thursday, February 19th, 2009
This is extremely bad news for people who want to escape the hassle and haggling of a traditional new car dealership to buy excellent new products (Aura, Astra, Vue), but General Motors says it has to be this way if the company will survive.
Posted in Is There A Lesson Here?, Product News, Program For Change, Sad stories | No Comments »
Wednesday, February 18th, 2009
A reporter in Orlando made a small mistake the other day regarding the safety integrity around her car and is paying a big price for it. The best part is she can now help other people avoid the same problem.
Posted in Advice, Driving Matters, Is There A Lesson Here?, Law Enforcement, Safety, Warnings | No Comments »
Wednesday, February 18th, 2009
The global economic problems that have forced much of the auto industry into crisis are probably going to result in the death of some iconic brands, and the many people who love Saab are afraid their favorite marque will be one of them. Right now, it doesn't look good.
Posted in Is There A Lesson Here?, Product News, Program For Change | No Comments »
Friday, February 13th, 2009
Not being able to buy a new car online costs most consumers money, consumer groups believe, so there's a push to change the way auto purchasing works as part of the overall restructuring of the industry.
Posted in Buying Tips, Financing, Is There A Lesson Here?, Marketing, Pricing, Product News, Program For Change | No Comments »
Tuesday, February 10th, 2009
This is one of those situations that makes people hate and distrust used cars dealers in general, and who can blame them? Consider this: Often when a dealer buys a used car to sell to another owner, he promises to pay the original owner with the proceeds from the sale ...
Posted in Advice, Buying Tips, Financing, Is There A Lesson Here?, Program For Change, Sad stories, Warnings | No Comments »
Sunday, February 8th, 2009
What's going on with today's new car market could be more than just a consequence of the challenging economic times, this story posits. It may in part be the result of a whole new attitude to the way people perceive cars, meaning that the age of the appliance rather than ...
Posted in Is There A Lesson Here?, Program For Change | No Comments »
Saturday, February 7th, 2009
When it comes to signs of an economic crisis, not much beats the rapid growth of a market that works on barter rather than cash, but that's what's going on in Russia today. Even big ticket items such as cars are included.
Posted in Is There A Lesson Here?, Program For Change | No Comments »
Saturday, February 7th, 2009
A popular position with many women sitting in the passenger seat apparently has serious erotic implications for some men, as this story about a new book on desire makes plain.
Posted in Advice, Cute stories, Is There A Lesson Here? | No Comments »
Thursday, February 5th, 2009
Even though female viewership of the Super Bowl has been going up in recent years, apparently the news hasn't gotten through to the companies that pay big bucks for commercials.
Posted in Advertising, Is There A Lesson Here?, Marketing | No Comments »
Tuesday, February 3rd, 2009
Higher fuel economy and lower emissions sounds like a great idea, but there are things at play that will make them harder to achieve than Obama understands, or so says this Boston writer.
Posted in Driving Matters, Gas Issues, Green, Is There A Lesson Here?, Program For Change | No Comments »
Monday, February 2nd, 2009
As this column from a venerated international auto journalist shows, sometimes the best thing to do isn't the one that people want. When it comes to saving the environment, that could mean skipping mass transit. You'll have to forgive him the Heath Ledger crack.
Posted in Advice, Buying Tips, Green, Is There A Lesson Here?, Technology | No Comments »
Monday, February 2nd, 2009
Maybe it's not Mars that men are from, but from some planet in another universe, as this story about paying money to wreck cars makes clear.
Posted in Driving Matters, Is There A Lesson Here?, Parts, Sad stories | No Comments »
Sunday, February 1st, 2009
You might not agree with any or all of these suggestions about how to make a man happy on February 14, but they might provide you with a good idea or even a few good laughs.
Posted in Advice, Is There A Lesson Here? | No Comments »
Sunday, February 1st, 2009
Given the tendency of the New York Times to get its automotive coverage wrong, this article from the grey lady of US journalism about a possible future for the auto industry is surprisingly well thought out and balanced. It describes a new world for carmakers and car buyers.
Posted in Advice, Driving Matters, Green, Is There A Lesson Here?, Program For Change | No Comments »
Friday, January 30th, 2009
As this story mentions in passing, none of the firms that sell you used car reports (Carfax et al) have all of the information that you need to make an informed choice. But a government-mandated data base is finally getting off the ground, and in due course it will deliver ...
Posted in Accidents, Advice, Buying Tips, Insurance, Is There A Lesson Here?, Law Enforcement, Program For Change, Repairs, Sad stories, Warnings | No Comments »
Friday, January 30th, 2009
This type of thing may happen in other parts of the continent, but somehow it isn't surprising that it's pretty common in Boston, particularly the south side. If you don't life there, this kind of behavior might be viewed as comical.
Posted in Advice, Driving Matters, Is There A Lesson Here?, Law Enforcement, Sad stories | No Comments »
Thursday, January 29th, 2009
This should be an important consideration if you're trying to save money on fuel by going to a smaller vehicle. It means you're putting yourself at greater risk and not saving any money.
Posted in Accidents, Advice, Buying Tips, Driving Matters, Gas Issues, Insurance, Is There A Lesson Here?, Product News, Save Money, Warnings | No Comments »
Thursday, January 29th, 2009
The importance that men put on the type of car their friends drive says a lot about what's wrong with the world, or so says this columnist in Psychology Today. It's very entertaining and enlightening.
Posted in Cute stories, Is There A Lesson Here? | No Comments »
