Old Trucks Still Sell
I’ve often wondered whether people would buy a new vehicle available without all the new stuff — especially the over-the-top electronic nannying stuff but also just over-the-top stuff generally, including such things as ASS, direct injection and 48 Volt electrical systems. Well, we have an answer. FCA is selling new as well as old/new versions […]
Teen Drivers are like Veal Calves
You have probably read about the younger crowd who are more interested in their cell phones than in cars. The statistic most often cited in support of this claim — which is true — is that about a fourth of those in the 18-30 bracket don’t even have a driver’s license. Which is also true. […]
Doomed: Pontiac G8 (2008-2009)
The following post is an excerpt from Eric’s forthcoming (eventually) book, called Doomed. There are many examples of too little, too late in the automotive world. The 2008-2009 Pontiac G8 is perhaps the only example of more-than-enough when it no-longer-mattered. Pontiac was practically on the embalmer’s table when it twitched for a moment, just before […]
Don’t Get Taken on Your Trade-In
Buying a new car is not the way most people end up paying more than they should have. It’s trading in their old car that often ends up costing them the most. Here’s why: *Multi-tasking – It’s hard for most people who aren’t finance people to effectively keep track of two complex transactions simultaneously. On […]
The K-Car Reconsidered
Lee Iaccoca gets blame — or credit — for the 1981-1989 Dodge Aires and Plymouth Reliant K-cars, but unlike the minivan, this one’s really not his fault. He simply took the ball and ran with it. Though Iaccoca touted the virtue of K-cars aggressively once on board as Chrysler’s newly installed chairman (after having been […]
Ford & Firestone Revisited
When does cancer start? At the cellular/molecular level, probably. Which makes discovering the moment of conception — so to speak — difficult to pin down. Political cancer is easier because we can see it and sometimes even touch it, at the critical moment when it could have been given a bleach bath or something else […]
The Airbag Body Count Upticks – And Will Again
Sixteen actual Americans have been killed by Takata air bags so far. The latest victim in Buckeye, AZ. As opposed to the hypothetical Americans not actually killed by VW’s “cheating” on Uncle’s emissions certification tests. More actuals are going to die, too — from the air bags. It’s inevitable; the odds are heavily stacked. There […]
The Last Diesel
Jaguar has decided — and just announced — it will no longer offer a diesel engine in the XE sedan, which was one of the last passenger cars still available in the U.S. with a diesel engine. Mercedes, BMW, and Audi having dropped their diesel offerings well ahead of Jaguar. The reason why they dropped […]
Elon’s Three Card Monte
Elon is in the news again — but not for the right reason. The SEC is angry with him over his Tweets — which ought to anger Tesla shareholders even more (not because of the SEC’s investigating Elon but because of the effect of Elon’s Tweets on the value of their stock). But why isn’t […]
Millennial Repo
An interesting data nugget percolated the other day about a “sharp worsening” — that is to say, an increase — in the number of car loan defaults among borrowers under 30 years old. According to Bloomberg Financial News, the rate for the Millennial demographic was 4.04 percent last quarter vs. 2.36 for the general population, […]