When you buy a wheelbarrow or a table lamp or a half-gallon of milk, you probably don’t think twice about the Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price, if, indeed, there is such a thing for those consumer products. The only price that has any meaning is the price you pay to purchase most items. Every car buyer, though, keeps a weather-eye on the MSRP. For the savvy buyer, it’s the place from which negotiations begin, and for the surprising number of less educated buyers, it’s the price they pay, no questions asked, without even considering the fact they could pay less. Read more . . .
Silver rules the road. According to the DuPont Automotive Color Popularity Report, an annual compilation of data on vehicle color trends, silver retains its top spot as the most popular car color. Year after year, car buyers show their love of silver. But now there might be another reason, aside from esthetics, for choosing silver as the color for your next car. A team of New Zealand epidemiologists has recently published a two-year study of crash data compiled in their homeland, and the results say occupants of silver cars are less likely to be involved in injury accidents than those riding in cars of another color. And while they seem steadfast that the results of the study are accurate, the most vexing thing is they can’t figure out why. Read more . . .
Since many commuters feel like they live in their cars these days, they are seeking home-like conveniences and entertainment options. And the consumer electronics companies are more than ready to accommodate them. There’s only one problem–space. In most cars and SUVs, there’s just not enough room for all the electronic gizmos that could be offered, so there is a silent battle going on, the battle for interior room, not for people, but for their electronics. Read more . . .
Don’t let anybody kid you–buying a new car is not a “good investment.” A good investment is something that should appreciate in value or in some other way earn you money. Well, one thing is sure, the new car you buy today is not going to gain in value over the course of time, so you are much better off looking at a new vehicle as an expense. And good business sense suggests that you should do everything you can to minimize your auto expense. But, of course, most people don’t even come close to doing that. They have been brainwashed to believe that a brand-new car is an important symbol of their status and success and, further, that they need to acquire one of these totems every two or three years or so. That’s great for car manufacturers, not so great for your personal financial well-being. Read more . . .
It wasn’t too long ago that Korean-built vehicles were thought of as shoddy imitations of the Japanese. After a series of big quality glitches in the early Nineties, Hyundai sales took a steeper plunge than a Magic Mountain roller coaster, and Kias were the butt of Jay Leno’s jokes on The Tonight Show. But this year’s Initial Quality Study from California-based research firm J.D. Power and Associates indicates the worm is turning. In this study, those once-derided Korean cars out-paced Domestic U.S. brands and, even more surprisingly, the aggregate of European brands. And while the term “paradigm-shift” is perhaps the most-over-used term in the car industry, this turning of the quality tables is a landmark moment. Read more . . .
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