July 31st, 2006 by admin
Reassuring the Reliablility of Your Auto Warranty
The last difficulty you desire after making an investment like that of an automobile is a warranty that doesn’t cover your original expectation. If vehicle buyers find it necessary to have an inspection performed on the vehicle prior to dropping the sum or filing a loan, then consider it as much a priority to do the same for the warranty.
To ensure that you are investing not only in a reliable vehicle, but also a warranty guaranteed to see it through some wear and tear, make sure it meets a set standard and do not settle for less. Fortunately, consumers are aided by a Federal Trade Commission Law that states requires availability of a warranty for the scrutiny of a potential buyer.
Many automobile customers are swayed by a seller’s implications about the warranty on a car. A dealer may mince words when it comes to the vehicle’s coverage for a reason. Always read the warranty with expectation of its guarantee and then read it again for any fine print before putting down on your purchase.
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July 28th, 2006 by admin
All 2007 models will receive new warranty program
Ford Motor Company is increasing its powertrain warranty on 2007 models. The Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury brands will be affected by this upgrade.
The Ford and Mercury brands will get an increase from a three-year, 36,000-mile warranty (which remains the bumper-to-bumper coverage) to five-year, 60,000-mile powertrain coverage. There will also be complimentary roadside assistance for the life of the warranty.
The Lincoln brand gets an even larger boost, with the new powertrain limited warranty being extended to six years or 70,000 miles. Its four-year, 50,000-mile bumper-to-bumper coverage remains unchanged. Roadside assistance on all Lincoln models is also covered for the life of the powertrain warranty.
Ford Motor Company has increased these offers based on high demand from dealers. These new offers will help to quell quality concerns and increase the consumers’ perceived quality of the brand.
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July 17th, 2006 by admin
Looks like GM and Toyota Will not work together
Last week a story broke about a hopeful alliance between Toyota and GM. The alliance would combat the Nissan-GM-Renault deal. However, Toyota has now denied all reports of the GM partnership.
Toyota and GM have already been working together in a "partnership" for a few years. But, the partnership had nothing to do with business, they were trying to co-develop fuel cells, and that relationship supposedly has ended.
But as for a new business relationship between GM and Toyota, that does not seem too likely.
"They haven’t approached us, and we haven’t approached them," the Toyota executive told the News.
I Think before anyone needs to risk their own necks for GM, GM really needs to show some improvement. GM is still suffering and it would not be the best business decision to risk a healthy company for a company that’s a few billion in red ink.
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July 14th, 2006 by admin
Automaker sponsors “Star Tomorrow” on NBC.com
The title sponsor for NBC.com’s ‘Star Tomorrow’ is Nissan. The automaker has chosen to sponsor an online battle of the bands that ends when the winner gets a record label contract.
The sprawling NBC-Nissan deal covers branded integration, exposure throughout the competition’s Web site, a sweepstakes sponsorship, and placement within spots running on the NBC network to drive consumers to the Web destination.
The multifaceted sponsorship, which Nissan will use to plug its new Versa subcompact model, is an example of the emerging "content-surround" tactic, in which marketers look to follow a show by attaching their brands to its various multiplatform incarnations.
Nissan will receive a pre-roll spot, set branding, banner ads and display ads on the ‘StarTomorrow’ site, a Nissan Versa giveaway and a virtual Versa lounge that will feature extra footage of the bands.
If the contest goes from online to on-tv, Nissan holds right of refusal as the sponsor there as well.
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July 13th, 2006 by admin
Mechanics Still Assert 3,000 mile interval oil change is good
How long do you go without changing your oil? My father grounded me every time I went over 3,000 miles in my car without changing the oil. Every time I came home from college, he would check the mileage and oil of my car to see if I had disobeyed his command. He always told me that oil is the lifeblood of my car, and I believe him and still do; however, I’m not so sure I think my vehicle needs an oil change every 3,000 miles. (but old habits die hard, I’m afraid)
The reason I bring this up is that Valvoline conducted a study saying that the majority of certified mechanics still believe the 3,000 mile mark is the best mileage to get your oil changed without doing damage to your car. However, beware of a "study" done by an oil company. Each of the mechanics they surveyed also said Valvoline was the best choice, so obviously the study was partial toward Valvoline.
Many people today are starting to think the 3,000 mile mark is antiquated because of better oil and better engines that cars use. I am one of those people, however, I still get the oil changed every 3,000 miles just because that’s what I’ve done my whole life and I feel like I owe it to my father (crazy, huh?).
I would imagine that engine erosion varies largely from car to car and driver to driver. Maybe this Valvoline study/survey will persuade a 3rd party non-biased group to conduct another survey.
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July 12th, 2006 by admin
Delphi’s future looks bleak
Sometimes in the auto world and in the business world, bad news is always delayed and that happens to be the case with Delphi Corp. Delphi has been delaying their annual report for months, however, when the report finally dropped Tuesday, their total loss for 2005 was 4.8 billion.
That’s a magnificent number. Not too many companies can pull that off and still be around to talk about it.
Delphi has been wrestling with unions and General Motors Corp over the past year about how to cut costs. It seems as though they failed.
About 12,600 Delphi and 35,000 GM workers already have agreed to leave their plants, giving Delphi, GM and their unions more flexibility in creating a cost-cutting plan of wage and benefit reductions without the threat of a damaging strike.
So far, Delphi is still promising to meet all pension plans, and let’s hope they do keep that promise, especially since the CEO still made 3.75 million last year and Rodney O’Neal, the president, made 2.1 million
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July 11th, 2006 by admin
Key American Auto Makers are feeding China’s hunger for cars.
While the American auto industry is struggling to stay alive, China’s auto sales have risen 50 percent for this year. And guess who’s taking the lead for most cars sold in china. You’re wrong, it’s not who you think.
General Motors is actually selling the majority of cars in China.
The data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers showed total sales in the first half at 1.8 million units, up 46.9 percent from the same period of 2005.
The main reason for GM’s success is that they have a joint venture in China, with a state owned auto maker. It’s odd that GM is losing relevance quickly in the US but gaining interest/relevance in China. GM’s sales in China, over the past year, have risen 49 percent, which accounts for the majority of what’s going on with China’s auto sales
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July 10th, 2006 by admin
Police Department begins using Ethanol
In Illinois the Morris Police Department will be introducing a new fuel flex car to their squad. The Morris Police Department is getting a Dodge Durango that uses E85, which is 85% ethanol.
This is a major step for the Morris Department, and they’re excited about the new technology. The E85 will save the police department 30 cents a gallon with the new dodge Durango. Next year the police department plans on retiring five cars, and they hope to be able to use Fuel Flex vehicles.
It will not be long until the majority of vehicles use E85, and this publicity for E85 may in fact push it a little closer to main stream use.
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July 7th, 2006 by admin
Ford is investing in hybrid tech, now that’s a suprise
Ford Plans to invest $1 Billion into hybrid technology. Since Ford has abandoned their promise to have 250,000 hybrids by 2010, they’re now trying to show they still care about hybrids.
Ford plans to build a center for developing new fuel efficient or hybrid cars in Gotenborg, which happens to be where Volvo, it subsidiary company, is located.
The center will produce new hybrid technology for all of Ford’s brands in Europe, and for Volvo models worldwide, the companies said.
The plant will be run by Volvo but will provide Ford with the new technology too. To be exact about the investment, Ford plans to spend 1.36 billion to supplement technological changes that will occur.
This is a good move of Ford’s part. Though it may be a bit late, it’s better to be late than never to do it at all. To ride the hybrid wave, Ford is going to have to really get into gear and do things right the first time; one more mistake of Ford’s part could spell disaster.
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July 6th, 2006 by admin
Ford and GM look to crossover vehicles
Detroit’s automakers, Ford and GM, will be cutting back their midsized SUV’s, and in some cases, popular mid-sized SUVs will be cancelled completely. In fact, the infamous Trailblazer will be axed by 2010. In 2009 GM was going to give the trailblazer a remake, however, it seems it will instead be cancelled.
The moves come as sales of mid-sized SUVs slump. U.S. sales of the Trailblazer and Envoy peaked at a combined 418,381 units in 2004. That dropped to 352,012 units last year.
When the trailblazer is killed off, GM will begin implementing crossover vehicles that will be more economical for larger families to buy. Most of the cross over vehicles are still in concept design, so it will be a year or two before we see any of them.
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