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23.8.10

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1) Create a budget, obtain your credit report, get your car financing in order.
2) Use car buying sites for new car dealer invoice price, new car price quotes.
3) Get financing online before you go to the dealership.
4) Visit new car dealers or their web sites to view new car model configurations.
5) Use new car pricing info from internet.
6) Negotiate your new car purchase via phone, fax, email, or in person based on our spreadsheet.
7) Close on your new car purchase, avoid needless extras, use the internet to buy an extended warranty.
8) Wreck your new car on the way home, Go back to step 1.


4 Ways A Car Dealer Profits From Your New Car Purchase

1) Offers you $3000 to $4000 below market price for your trade-in.
2) The new car purchase price when buying a car.
3) Marking up the rate they give you for new car financing.
4) Environmental package extras and new car extended warranties.

21.8.10

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Keeping Your Car Cool When the Heat is On


It is one of those 90-plus-degree days, hot, hazy and humid. Isn't it great to be able to get in your vehicle and enjoy the comfort your air conditioning system provides for you and your passengers?

The Mobile Air Conditioning Society (MACS) Worldwide wants all car owners to understand how their vehicle's air conditioning system works, be able to recognize problems and optimize performance so they can enjoy maximum comfort while driving.

To achieve the quickest interior cool-down:

• If possible, leave the windows down slightly on hot sunny days. Temperatures in a closed car can exceed 140 degrees F. An air conditioning (A/C) system works by removing heat, so the cooler the interior is to start with, the easier and faster the A/C will do its job.

• When you first get in the car, roll all the windows completely down, or even better, open the doors for a short period of time. This helps the hot interior air escape quickly.

• When you first turn the A/C on, set the controls to "MAX" and/or "REC", and use highest blower speed. This moves the greatest volume of air, recirculates cooling air for even faster cool-down, and prevents hot outside air from entering. As soon as you are comfortable, switch the system to "NORM" or "OUTSIDE," and select a lower fan speed. The lower the blower speed, the colder the air from the system.

• Applying window tint can help reduce interior temperatures. The tint does not have to be dark to reflect sunlight - some tints have a metallic substance within them for this purpose. Always check your local and state regulations; window-tinting products may not be legal in some states or municipalities.

MACS advises all consumers to take their vehicle A/C problems to a professional service facility that is certified in proper refrigerant recovery, recycling and recharging methods.

To learn more about your vehicle's air conditioning system, contact MACS Worldwide for an informative 32-page consumer booklet, "Getting to Know...Your Car's Air Conditioning and Engine Cooling System."

20.8.10

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MILTON KEYNES, UNITED KINGDOM Mercedes-Benz has been recognised as being the best automotive manufacturer in the country for providing excellent customer service in the latest UKCSI survey published by the Institute of Customer Service.

No other automotive brand was considered to serve its customers as well as Mercedes-Benz following the results of the not-for-profit organisation’s latest survey, which is compiled every 6 months through an online questionnaire of 26,000 UK consumers.

In addition to winning the Automotive UK Customer Satisfaction Award outright, Mercedes-Benz was placed 15th best Company in the UK for customer satisfaction. Other companies that featured in the top 15 included John Lewis, Waitrose and Virgin Atlantic.



Consumers were asked to rate a company on a host of criteria, which spanned from its products, how it handled customer enquiries to its reputation and the value its services represent. Much emphasis was placed on a company’s employees with consumers commenting on every aspect from their appearance and helpfulness to their competence and friendliness.

Mike Belk, Managing Director Customer Services Group Mercedes-Benz UK, said: “This award underlines our commitment to providing our customers with an unrivalled automotive retail experience and not only proves that we are class leaders in our sector, but also shows that we are one of the best companies in the UK for keeping customers satisfied.

“Our employees are continually working to raise the bar, both in the construction of pioneering vehicles and in the provision of exceptional service to our customers. So I am particularly proud that this survey recognises the quality and performance of all our UK employees.”



19.8.10

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Porsche Boxster growing to make room for small two-seat model, The next-generation Porsche Boxster will get a longer wheelbase and measure nearly 173 inches long (4394.2mm) overall, British magazine Autocar says on its Web site.

Why is the Boxster growing? To create room at the bottom of the Porsche lineup for a new two-seat model based on the Volkswagen BlueSport concept shown at the Detroit auto show in 2009, the report says. The current Boxster is 4342mm long.

VW needs Porsche and Audi to sell versions of the BlueSport, along with a VW version, to make the project financially viable

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Coda's self-titled debut sedan is small in stature but carries ambitious goals for the upstart California electric-car maker.

The five-passenger electric car is expected to launch this December in California, and Coda Automotive wants to sell the cars across the nation by the end of 2013. It's the first product for a company that is banking on the battery: the 33.8-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion unit powers a small motor for a range of 90 to 120 miles.


Coda brass are candid: It won't be the only car for most people, but it can meet the daily needs of most people. And in plain English, it's a “real car.” There's a trunk. It has fairly bland, universal styling and is roughly the size of a Chevrolet Cobalt. The ambitious goal is to sell 14,000 Codas next year with a sticker in the mid-$30,000 range after the $7,500 federal tax credit and other potential incentives.

“Consumers want real range,”
said Mike Jackson, Coda senior vice president of sales and distribution.

Still, the company faces obstacles, including offerings from established companies like the Chevrolet Volt and Nissan Leaf. Its business plan also is centered heavily on importing key elements from China. The chassis and body will be built in there at a factory run by Coda. The batteries also come from China, via a joint venture with a company called Lishen that also supplies batteries to Apple and Motorola. Final assembly and inspection of the cars will be completed in at Coda's Santa Monica, Calif., base. The batteries carry an eight-year, 100,000-mile warranty, and the rest of the car has three-year, 36,000-mile coverage.

The car will be outfitted with an eight-inch navigation screen with available real-time traffic and weather updates.

A longtime former General Motors marketing executive, Jackson was part of the discussions on naming the Volt and is acutely aware of the climate for all things green.

“The core consumers would be interested in technology and kind of early adopters,”
Jackson said.

Power comes from a small engine making 134 hp and 221 lb-ft of torque mated to a single-speed transmission. Maximum torque is present at launch, Coda says, and the batteries are located under the seats and can be charged in two to six hours. The Coda is based on a Mitsubishi platform but is mostly redesigned. It rides on 17-inch forged aluminum-alloy wheels and a four-wheel independent suspension with front and rear MacPherson struts. Top speed is limited to 80 mph.

The company is taking a fairly untraditional approach for distribution and will offer the cars in informational stores in high-end shopping centers. The final purchase is then made online. There also will be a flagship store in a former Saturn dealership in Santa Monica. A car is expected to be displayed later this year at the Los Angeles auto show.

18.8.10

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The case of the withdrawal of a major car Toyota cars in the U.S. making the U.S. Congress was outraged. In their view, Toyota and the Board of National Traffic Safety United States or the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is party to blame.

Hearing held in Washington time Wednesday or Thursday, February 25 in the morning, members of Congress asked the security of their Toyota car use.

In the present hearing President Akio Toyoda, Toyota Motor, Toyota North American President Yoshimi Inaba and U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

U.S. Congressman Eleanor Holmes Norton asked if the Toyota Camry hybrid car that uses safe.

Paul Kanjorski even doubted cars from Japan. And he used to believe the security of Japanese cars.

While condemning Kanjorski President of Toyota North America since Yoshimi Inaba Inaba’s name appears in an internal memo stating that Toyota save U.S. $ 100 million in a car make a withdrawal.

“It’s very embarrassing for you, sir,” said Kanjorski told Inaba told Reuters.

U.S. congressman Dan Burton brings another pair of the accelerator. One is made in the U.S. only made in Japan anymore. He wondered how come the same for cars, spare parts made in different countries.

Akio Toyoda in read in English again expressed remorse. However, Toyoda use translator services when the question and answer session took place.

“I’m really sorry that some people actually have an accident when using a Toyota,” Toyoda said that like his Inaba, his face a bit tense in the face of hostile questions members of the U.S. Congress.

While U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood instead replied with a loud tone when the U.S. Congress Members questioned the role of NHTSA institutions, regulatory agencies or the watchdog which oversees the distribution of cars in the U.S.

“In my supervision, we are not any dogs,” said the former congressman was snapped.

LaHood is originally from the Republican Party, but eventually went into Obama’s cabinet is to convince members of Congress if he’s not going to ’sleep’ until he was absolutely sure that Toyota is safe.

“We work not for the people who boarded horses or using a skateboard. We work for people who drive cars. And our job is to make sure people are safe when 100 percent of their driving,” LaHood said.

A tense situation for about 3 hours to melt a bit when one member of the U.S. congressional Democrat Dian Watson greeted with a Japanese Toyoda.

“Konnichi-wa (good afternoon), Arigato GOZAIMASU, thank you for coming here,” Watson said Toyota executives reported.(source)