Demand For SUVs Falls

Mazda SUVs lined up

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Consumer demand for sport utility vehicles is weakening, according to recent transaction data from the Power Information Network (PIN). The data show that the number of days SUVs sit on dealer lots before selling has increased substantially over 2003. SUV prices have also declined while average new-vehicle prices have increased. To counter the downward trend manufacturers have increased incentives more on SUVs than they did on any other type of new vehicle from June to July. Read more . . .

Are Certified Used Cars For You?

If you have been considering buying a used car with auto manufacturer certification, you’re not alone.   The programs have grown in prominence, and they have been the subject of both a study and an awards program by IntelliChoice, an auto cost-analysis research firm.

Inside the car's hood

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So who offers the best program? For the fourth year in a row, Jaguar was selected as the best Luxury program and Volkswagen received its first recognition as best Non-Luxury program. The winners are featured in the fall issue of IntelliChoice Magazine can be found online at IntelliChoice.com. Read more . . .

What’s Your Car’s Re-sale Value?

A black Volks Wagen

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A key factor in overall transportation cost is the re-sale value of your vehicle. But while many consumers research the prices of new vehicles to the nth degree, they often don’t even take a stab at finding out how that used vehicle’s value over time. But now a new online tool will make obtaining that information easier. The J.D. Power Consumer Center, a Web site that provides voice-of-the-customer ratings on a number of products and services, has introduced a new feature on its automotive site called PIN Retained Value. Read more . . .

Payment Driven Car Lease

Not all vehicles are created equal, and that goes double when it comes to re-sale value, a key component in determining automotive lease rates. Because of this phenomenon, monthly lease payments for some expensive vehicles can actually be less than those for lower-priced vehicles.   But tracking down these “deals” was a hit-and-miss proposition until now.   Recently, Automobile Consumer Services (ACS), a leader in online, direct-to-consumer auto leasing, has added a new service to its popular leasing services. Read more . . .

Your Car In The Future?

In the late 1950s a cover of a leading do-it-yourself magazine pictured helicopter-like flying cars and predicted we’d all be driving one by the year 2000. Ten years later a similar magazine suggested that we’d all have cars with turbine engines under the hood that could run on salad oil or kerosene as easily as on gasoline. By the 1980s those supposedly in the know predicted that technology would conquer the problems associated with the electric car. New batteries, they said, would finally take electrics out of the horse-and-buggy era and make them viable. Read more . . .