Jen, who was left stranded in another city recently when her Zipcar lost its zip, managed to get through to the New York area general manager for Zipcar this morning:
cars
Zipcar Ceases To Zip For Temporarily Stranded Customer
By 8.19.09
We’ve always heard good things about Zipcar—the biggest complaint from friends here in NYC is that reserving one in the summer requires a lot of patience. Jen and her friend, however, just had an experience that was so bad that Jen finally had to dispute the charges on her card, and now she says she’ll never do business with them again. Based on her encounter with them, we think she has a good reason to feel that way.
Enterprise Removed Air Bags From Cars, Sold Cars, Forgot To Tell Customers
By 8.16.09
New safety innovations for automobiles can be impressive. Side-curtain airbags are a great development for protecting people in a side-impact crash, and are standard on many models, including the Chevrolet Impala. Unless you’re driving an Impala in the Enterprise Rent-A-Car fleet, in which case the airbags were never installed in order to save Enterprise $175 per car. This wasn’t really a problem until Enterprise went to sell their used Impalas, and sort of forgot to tell people that the airbags had been removed.
Using A CARS Rebate? Know Your Rights First
By 8.15.09
Jim decided to take advantage of the Cash For Clunkers program and trade his Crown Victoria in on something a little more fuel-efficient. Unfortunately, the dealership where he bought the car wasn’t quite ready to handle one of the most frightening of all creatures: an informed consumer. They counted on their customers to not fully understand all of the program’s rules.
By 8.11.09
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Chevy Volt Will Get 230 mpg In The City GM claims more than 100 mpg overall for the Volt, with a city fuel economy rating of 230 mpg based on proposed EPA methodology for labeling plug-in vehicles. [Consumer Reports]
The NYT Offers Budgeting Advice For Would-Be Car Owners… In 1907
By 8.7.09
We were poking around the NYT archives when we stumbled across this gem, car maintenance budgeting advice for people interested in owning a car … in 1907. Some of the advice remains the same. Other parts, like how much to pay your driver and how much to budget for repainting the car once a year — not so much.
Senate $2 Billion Approves Cash For Clunkers Extension
By 8.7.09
The Senate has approved $2 billion in additional funding for the CARS or Cash for Clunkers program. Of course, the perennial buzzkills at Consumer Reports Cars had to find a downside to the program’s continuation.
Congress May Limit Cash 4 Clunkers To Those Making Less Than $50k
By 8.6.09
As Congress debates whether to add an additional $2 billion to the broke-due-to-extreme-popularity “Cash 4 Clunkers” program, several amendments to the program are being considered. One of them, according to the NYT, is an income limit of $50k per year for individuals, and $75k for joint filers.
Honda, Toyota, Ford Top Cash For Clunkers Sellers
By 8.5.09
Some initial statistics are in on the vehicles traded in and purchased in the “Cash for Clunkers” program. Unsurprisingly, 80% of the vehicles traded in are trucks or SUVs, and the top sellers among car-buyers come from Honda, Toyota, and Ford.
Is It Me or Do All Hyundais Look Alike?
By 8.5.09
What’s wrong with this Hyundai ad (which appeared on Huffington Post earlier this week)?
Wild Teenagers To Inherit America's SUVs
By 8.4.09
Move over soccer moms and drug runners. Now that SUVs are heading for junk piles, the latest face of the SUV driver is the American teenager. As Abram Sauer reports at TheAwl, this is not good:
By 8.3.09
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GM is planning massive layoffs. Shockingly, just asking people to quit for money didn’t work. A job in this economy is apparently worth more than cash payments of $20,000 to $115,000 and $25,000 toward a new-vehicle purchase. [NYT]
Airbag Defect Prompts Honda To Recall 440,000 Cars
By 8.1.09
If you own a Honda and don’t like getting shot in the face with jagged metal fragments, you may want to keep an eye out for a recall notice. The automaker announced yesterday that it would recall 440,000 Civics, Accords, and Acura TL sedans sold between 2001 and 2003.
Cash For Clunkers Restarted With $2 More Billion
By 8.1.09
Earlier today, the House approved an additional $2 billion for the Cash for Clunkers program. Don’t celebrate yet, though. Consumer Reports Cars warns that it’s best to wait a while before trying to trade in your inefficient car to make sure that the program stays in place, and that you really will get your rebate. (Photo: G Travels)
Why Cash For Clunkers Was Doomed
By 7.31.09
Cash For Clunkers never had a chance. It was smothered at birth by a pile of paperwork and ever-changing rules, as this dealership worker reveals, using a combination of the words “cluster” and “fudge,” except, of course, not fudge.
Cash For Clunkers Runs Dry In 4 Days
By 7.30.09
The government announced this evening that the Cash For Clunkers program is fantastically successful. So successful, in fact, that the program ran through its almost $1 billion budget in four days, and has been suspended.
Use Google Trends To Find The Best Time To Go Car Shopping
By 7.29.09
Engine Industries used Google Trends to map the frequency of search terms like “used car,” “new car,” and “buy car” through Google. They found that “people search car-related keyterms most in the summer and least in the winter, with a small spike right before Christmas.”
Cash4Clunkers Admin Responds To MPG Switcharoo, Says Nothing
By 7.29.09
PREVIOUSLY: EPA Tweaks Official MPGs Prior To Cash4Clunkers, Shafting Some (Photo: morsteen)
