Chrysler today paid back $5.9 billion it had borrowed from the U.S. government, along with another $1.7 billion due to the governments of Ontario and Canada. No, Chrysler isn’t suddenly flush from selling cars. The money to pay back the governments comes from bonds the automaker sold to banks and private investors last week. [More]
cars
Experts: Don't Buy A Car This Year
By 5.23.11
In recent years, auto manufacturers have stumbled over themselves attempting to give customers reasons not to wait to buy cars. But due to a seller-favoring market, low or zero-interest financing, rebates and discounts may be fading away in the short-term, making it wise to wait if you’re considering a car purchase. [More]
Gas Prices Drive People To Buy Homes Closer To Work
By 5.20.11
A survey by Coldwell Banker of its realtors finds that gas prices are figuring big in the calculations made by new home buyers of where to live. 75% said the spike gas prices is influencing decisions made by their clients, pushing them to choose homes closer to where they work. [More]
Calculator Tells You How Much You Can Save By Biking To Work
By 5.20.11
Riding a bike isn’t an option for every commuter, but for those within a reasonable range, high gas prices and the approaching summer mean there’s no better time than now to consider pounding the bike pedals rather than the gas pedal. [More]
The Hidden Fee That's Adding Thousands To Price Of Your New Car
By 5.12.11
You’re not supposed to know about it. It’s a secret fee that dealerships across the country are charging customers, that can add thousands to the cost of their car. KHOU got their hands on insider documents provided to them by a former dealership worker that shows how it works. [More]
Honda Spokesman Gets Screwed By Honda Dealer
By 5.9.11
An actor who pitches Honda cars in their ads says he got screwed over by a Honda dealership when he tried to get the very same deal he helps sell on TV. [More]
Analysts: Gas Prices Should Drop In June
By 5.9.11
By next month, $4 gas may be in our rear-view mirrors. Falling oil commodities prices will translate to less pain at the pump if analysts’ predictions come true. [More]
Tire Shop Spits On Investigative TV Crew
By 5.5.11
When CBS Sacramento’s Call Kurtis went to investigate consumer complaints that a tire shop was advertising super low prices and then jacking up the price with the final bill, the store didn’t do a very good job of living down their reputation. Especially when they spit on the camera crew twice and gave them the middle finger. I also enjoyed the part where Kurtis asks who owns the store and the guy behind the counter says, “your mom.” [More]
Higher Gas Prices Leading To Increase In Stranded Drivers With Empty Gas Tanks
By 5.5.11
Now that it’s more expensive to fill up your gas tank than it is to take a family of six out to the movies, folks are trying to stretch that fuel dollar as thin as they possibly can. Unfortunately this has led to a jump in the number of stranded motorists in need of a few drops just to get them to the next gas station. [More]
Bin Laden's Death Greeted By Falling Oil Prices, Market Gains
By 5.2.11
Looks like the death of Osama Bin Laden this Sunday took some “fear factor” out of markets, which greeted the news favorably. Pressure at the pump could be relieved a bit with oil falling 0.7% to $113.23. Gains were seen across several markets, with the Dow Jones up .5%, the S&P up 5 points and the Nasdaq moving forward 7 points. However the surge could evaporate easily, even by end of day, as the euphoria wears off. And if Bin Laden’s death leads to retaliatory attacks, you can be sure those gains will be erased, and then some. [More]
Save On Mid-Grade Gas By Mixing Regular And Premium
By 4.28.11
If you put mid-grade gas in your car, it’s actually cheaper to pump in a mixture of premium and regular to get the same octane level. But how much of each do you use to get the right blend? As will some day be with all things in life, there’s an app for that. [More]
Find Your Car's Most Fuel Economic Speed
By 4.25.11
As a former long-haul trucker, Jason knows a fair amount about saving money vs saving time when it comes to deciding how heavy to put your foot on the pedal. And it all come down to this: ” “Speed destroys your fuel economy,” he writes. “I routinely drove 3,000 plus miles per *week. The faster you go, the more gas you burn.” Here’s some quick math to back up his claim [More]
Toyota Announces Lower Production Until November
By 4.22.11
Toyota says it will take until the end of the year before post-quake production levels return to normal. [More]
Don't Fall For These Gas Saving Myths
By 4.16.11
The economic hardship brought on by gas price increases is a spawning ground for silly, ineffective conventional wisdom on how to cut down on fuel use. It’s important to distinguish between genuine gas-saving maneuvers and moronic wastes of time and effort. [More]
Want Cheap Gas? Try Costco
By 4.11.11
For a good price on gas, try your favorite purveyor of bulk-sized butter barrels. WSJ reports that Costco tries to sell gas at or below the lowest price in the neighborhood. [More]
3,900 School Buses Recalled For Fire Risk
By 4.11.11
The wheels on the bus go round and round. The starter cables on the bus rub against the power steering hose, rub rub rub. 3,900 Bluebird school buses have been recalled for a defect that could result in a fire. The affect buses are model year 2004 through 2006, made from June 26, 2003, through December 9, 2004. Recall notices will start to go out to owners May 11, but if they don’t feel like waiting they can call the NHTSA hotline at 1-888-327-4236. [More]
Reasons New Cars May Be Better Buys Than Used
By 4.9.11
Because new cars lose a sizable chunk of their resale value once you drive them off the lot, conventional wisdom says it’s wiser to buy used. [More]
