Bad Economy, Good Deal

A bad economy and slow sales means that it's a buyers market in the automotive market.  Dealerships are in a hurry to push old inventory to make room for the 2010's that will start showing up any minute.  Furthermore, the slumping economy means there are less customers even walking through the door, so they will be more willing to make a deal on the spot.

Let's also look at the threat of dealerships being closed by the manufacturer themselves.  Already in the news there have been reports of General Motors and Chrysler closing dealerships all over the US.  Typically these are smaller volume dealers where their territory is grouped into a larger dealership organization.  When these places are closed down, usually all the receive is a letter in the mail from the manufacturer, and a lot of inventory to unload before they close their doors.

This last example is a sad state of affairs that we are currently faced with.  But it gives buyers a strong opportunity to go out and buy brand new GM and Chrysler vehicles for a fraction of what they would have cost even a few months ago.  A dealership doesn't want to take an even lower cost from a competing dealer buying inventory, so if they can unload on customers, they will.

If you are in the market for a new car, start making some phone calls.  Also, watch the news, find out what dealerships have been notified they are closing, you might just find a deal and a reason to buy new over used.

Hyundai has already been throwing buzz words around like Turbo Charge and direct injection when describing the 2011 Hyundai Sonata.  The manufacturer has been very committed to the creation of the all new Sonata and stating that efficiency and power will be the focus of their engineers.

More interesting to this post is the spy pics of the 2011 Sonata and it's covered skin but exposed lines.  It resembles a more expensive BMW, but time will tell when we finally get the bra off these mammaries.

Ferrari is in the process of developing an all new supercar, the Ferrari 599xx.  Like any other Ferrari it oozes sex appeal, smells like wet panties, and makes every man in the room's pants a little bit tighter.  Yes, mine included.

The Ferrari 599xx is being developed within Ferrari's own customer ranks, meaning with a small buy-in you could be testing this street demon.  According to industry analysts, for a few million dollars you could be playing with prototypes of the 599xx and contribute to it's development.

The track inspired Ferrari 599xx is lethal at a red line of 9000 rpms and over 700 horsepower courtesy of a v12.  This will be the fastest
Ferrari ever built and as it stands now IS the fastest.  Until final production we will hold judgement...and records.

Predictions

Every car manufacturers goal is to release a vehicle with zero recalls, but unfortunatley bugs make it through the system.  No doubt the upcoming release of the new Camaro will expose some problems, which will lead to a recall.  I decided to look back at the Camaro, to see if I can guess what kind of recall we might expect for the buyers of the all new hyped Camaro.

The very last year the Camaro was manufacturered it only had 3 recalls.  There were two exterior lighting problem and a structure frame issue.  The frame member recall with the Camaro was fixed by placing a few extra rivets into the frame, supposedly to conform to a specific safey requirement.  The exterior lighting recall on the 02 Camaro was simply an issue with not containing Amber reflectors, which failed to meet code of certain states.

The final hoo-ra for the Camaro was a good one, in terms of insignificant recalls.  Although safety is always important, the recall on the Camaro was not as serious as tire issues, combustible problems, which seem to plague other manufacturers.  And the exterior lighting problem has been an ongoing problem for the Camaro since 1997.  You'd think these guys would learn by now.

So, I predict that the first recall for the 2010 Camaro will be for an exterior lighting issue.  I'd also like to add that I suspect there will be more than 3 recalls on the newest release of the Camaro, considering it's 'all new'.  The last time we saw the Camaro it had already been through the gauntlet, so most bugs were worked out.  The end of this year, when the 2010's start showing up on our roads, will be a whole new ball game.

Discuss 2010 Camaro Recalls and Your Predictions

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Audi has released information on the upcoming update to their fresh faced Q7 SUV.  The Audi Q7 will be going under the scalp for 2010 and undergo some tweaks in the optional diesel power plant.  The newly designed Q7 will offer crazy luxury, high end technology, performance, and efficiency being demanded by the big spenders.

The Audi Q7 seems to answer the question,  'What can I buy that's BIG, shows I'm important, but maintain a green appeal as not to piss off my customer base?'

The 350 horsepower V8 will reportedly get just over 18 miles per gallon.  Not too shabby considering all the options you can cram into the large Q7.  Think interior bicycle mount, electric luggage cover, pivoting trailer hitch, and all sorts of combinations of roof carriers.  If James Bond ever aged, had a high maintenance wife, and 3 kids that had to get to soccer practice, the 2010 Audi Q7 is what he would drive.

2010 Audi Q7

Oh yes, I am a child of the internet, but it seems that the internet is growing up faster than I am.  Information is readily available and there are plenty of tools available to start archiving and presenting that information in a way that's usable.  One online tool that I cannot live without is my Google Reader, that allows me to pull RSS feeds from all of my online news sources.

The-Grayline.com Automotive Blog provides an RSS feed so that you can add it to your reader and stay up to date, even though you may not have the time to actually view the site.  Furthermore, unlike some official news site feeds, our automotive blog RSS feed is full.  This means that you can view the entire automotive article plus all the auto pictures attached to that post in your RSS Reader.

It's easy to sign up to our automotive blog RSS feed.  Simply click on one of the RSS buttons in the side bar or click here.  Fromt his screen you can choose your favorite RSS reader to view our feed in the future.  Also, if you don't like using a Reader and prefer to get updates via e-mail, we have those available as well.  Please simply sign up below, you will be asked to verify your email address, and under no circumstance will your contact information be sold or used for spamming purposes.

By signing up to The-Grayline.com RSS feed you are showing support for myself and other guest writers. Thanks for signing up and please share any comments or questions you may have.

Boston.com is quickly becoming a popular source of great photo sets and slowly creeping up in world popularity in regards to news reporting.  However, the latest article, about the 2009 Honda Fit has me perplexed.  The reviewer focuses on the Fit's ability to handle a curvy highway, more suited to a super cars review platform.

Giving into the fact that the Fit has looks only a mother could love, since I wouldn't think 'Bug Like' is a positive remark, this brief review seems to give more life to the 09 Fit than deserved.  It's articles exactly like this that make me question, who paid for this review, and what relationship does the author have to it's local Honda dealership?

I can't put any faith in such a review, no matter the trim the 09 Fit may be wearing.  Furthermore, if the author was this impressed, how many vehicles has he actually driven on a perfectly curvy road with suspension worthy of such a review?  Nevertheless, the review has been done, and has done little to convince me that the 09 Fit is anything more than a throwaway car.

Yeah, yeah, I can already hear the negative comments and horrid emails from people who love their reasonably priced Fit.  Personally I think any throwaway car over the $10k mark is too much and the Fit tested was closer to the $20k price point.  No, I have not and will not drive a Fit, I'm scared of tiny spaces with wheels and the idea of a gas tank in the front seems like a bad idea.  Maybe really did want to start 09 boom, but I don't think this is what they had in mind.

GM Restructuring

Does the President of The United States of America really know what's best for the auto industry or more specifically GM?  I suspect he does not, nor does his appointed Auto Task Force, but that's not stopping him from taking control and throwing more weight around in the free market than I feel is justified.  It's a difficult political stance to take in the face of growing government and strong liberal support, but I say, let them fail.  But let's take a look at what it means to let domestic car manufacturers, like GM, go under.

The first argument always brought up is the threat of losing so many jobs at one time.  GM, not too long ago was one of the largest employers in the world and going under inevitably meant thousands of lost jobs.  However, this seems to be a misguided opinion on the face of what bankrupt means in the US.  Just because GM may file for some chapter of bankruptcy, does not mean they will stop making cars.  What bankrupt means in the US, is that they will be allowed to restructure, renegotiate, and hopefully get the company moving in the right direction again.

Most important to GM's potential restructuring plan would be the ability to renegotiate their Union contracts.  It's been proven for years that the payout to GM employees per hour is far above what competitors are paying, yet still satisfactory wages.  Pile this unnecessary expense on top of the money they spend on pensions and it spells a huge disaster in a failed auto market.

These are just a few examples of what could potentially happen with GM failing and I don't think it means closing doors and never making cars.  But what kind of impact will Barack Obama have on GM at a time when the automotive market is as unpredictable as ever.  Contrary to popular belief, not everyone is buying little hybrid cars.  So what will the Auto Task Force appointed by Barack Obama instruct GM to do?

For starters, as part of the bail out, CEO Rick Wagoner will be required to step down from his position.  The COO Frederick Henderson will be assuming the CEO's vacated position.  But since Barack Obama specifically asks for Rick's resignment, who really is the CEO of GM if everyone answers to Barack?

Twilight car decals are now available from The-Grayline.com automotive store, with 3 styles to choose from.  Twilight only decal, I drive like a Cullen, and I heart Edward Cullen are available and in stock now.  Buy for only $1.95 each.

Twilight I heart Edward Cullen

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Twilight Car Decal

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Twilight I Drive Like A Cullen

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Each Twilight Vinyl Decal is roughly 7" x 3" and made of high quality vinyl that will resist fading and last for years.  Each car decal purchase will also come with detailed instructions on how to install.  Furthermore, the vinyl will adhere to almost any surface, so can be applied to more than just your car.  This twilight sticker will also work on notebooks, computers, or anywhere else you feel like confessing your love for the Twilight Series.

For quite some time there have been rumors abound that Toyota is working closely with Subaru to create a rear wheel drive car, to be released in 2010.  According to the blogosphere and forums where rumors get started, it will bear the badge name Celica.  Can you imagine the ricer reception!

2010 Toyota Celica Concept

This rumor seems to originate in some French automotive website, who claims to have contacts.  Of course, would it be possible to keep news like this a secret?  Could this possibly be the illigetimate son of the infamous Toyota Supra?  Hell, if they make it half the car the Supra was, I'll buy one.