To crowbar open the pocketbooks of newly thrifty shoppers, carmakers are getting more creative. For instance, if you finance a new Hyundai after Jan 3 and lose your job, supposedly the car maker will let you return your vehicle, with no further financial obligation, and no damage to your credit. Intriguing, but definitely one to scour the fine print on.
cars
Beverly Hills Plastic Surgeon Uses Liposuctioned Fat As Fuel For Car
By 12.30.08
And here’s number 16 on our grossest stories of 2008 list: an LA plastic surgeon is in trouble for powering his car with “lipodiesel” from his patients’ fat. Ewwww.
Cars: Is It Worth It To Buy American?
By 12.24.08
Should consumers snap up some of the best deals ever on American-made cars, or is there no price low enough to encourage buying from a business so close to ending it all?
GM Hooks Up With Midwest Credit Unions To Offer Low-Interest Car Loans
By 12.12.08
GM announced a deal with 1,200 credit unions in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio to make $10 billion in low-interest car loans available to shoppers.
POLL: GM Sorry It Disappointed You, Do You Forgive Them?
By 12.10.08
General Motors took out an advertisement apologizing for “disappointing” consumers on Monday, asking your forgiveness for years of incompetance. Do you forgive them?
Avoid Airport Rental Car Fees
By 12.9.08
Upgrade: Travel Better has good some ideas on how you can avoid those excessive airport rental car fees (you know, the ones like “facility fee.” What is that, you have to pay a fee for the rental place having a roof? Can I choose the place without a roof then?) One idea is to rent at the airport, then drop the car off the next day downtown. This way you only pay extra airport fees on the first day. Just make sure the place isn’t going to tack on a one-way dropoff fee. This is even better in Europe, which isn’t as into one-way fees as America is.
What Would $40 A Barrel Oil Mean For Travelers?
By 12.4.08
Oil is now nearing a 4-year low as the world’s economic crisis keeps on truckin’, says the Wall Street Journal. Light, sweet crude (don’t you just love that term?) is now trading at 44.56 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. “The price was the lowest since January 2005 and more than $100 below oil’s record close July 3,” says the WSJ. So, what does that mean for travelers?
Auto CEOs Promise To Ditch The Private Jets And Drive To Washington
By 12.3.08
The big three auto CEOs Bob “Big Bob” Nardelli, Alan “Leavin’ On A Jet Plane” Mulally, and our personal favorite Rick “The Station” Wagoner are apparently going to drive to Washington to beg for your money. Previously, they all flew on private jets.
Steve & Barry Auto Industry Fail Shirts On Sale
By 12.3.08
Steve & Barry’s is in Bankruptcy, and the Big 3…
Buy One Dodge Ram, Get One Free
By 11.21.08
“Buy one new dodge ram, get a second dodge ram at no additional cost,” reads the ad for Rob Lambdin’s University Dodge. The auto industry is officially totally fucked. In response to the ad, a commenter on Bimmerclassics.net quipped, “Well at least one of the Big Three is admitting that if you buy one of their new cars you will need a second one as a parts car for the first.” I can’t read the asterisks but our tipster says the deal is you buy one Dodge Ram Quad Cab 1500 and you get a Dodge Ram Single Cab for free. Full ad inside…
Dealership Demands BMW Back, Then Claims You Never Returned It
By 11.20.08
Two years ago, an arbitrator ordered a car dealership in Queens, NY to refund a customer’s money under the “lemon law.” You’d think that would be the end of the story, but no… it’s the beginning. Jessica Harrison says she returned the “lemon” 2004 BMW to “Planet Auto Mall” but the dealer claims that they don’t know what happened to the vehicle. Now Jessica has to keep making payments on the missing BMW.
CarX Auto Service Will Change Your Oil, Give You A Puppy
By 11.19.08
Kari sent us this photo she took last night in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. We’ll give them points for finding a unique promotional angle, but we wonder if they saw sales increase or drop off? Update: is it legal to give away animals as a store promotion?
GM's Prez Begs Customers To Plead On GM's Behalf
By 11.18.08
Consumerist reader Darkrose writes, “I just got this in my e-mail. Thought you guys might be interested in it.” In the email, GM’s president Troy Clarke is in high PR mode, pointing out the grave consequences and emphasizing that GM wants not “a bailout but rather a loan that will be repaid.” We thought other readers who aren’t GM customers would find it interesting.
Never Get Locked Out Your Car: Drill Hole Through Key, Screw To License Plate
By 11.13.08
On Meghann’s post about a reader who fell for a locksmith scam, the aptly named commenter “yetiwisdom” left a great tip for never getting locked out your car again:
Video: JiffyLube Caught Upselling Car-Damaging Repair Services
By 11.13.08
KNBC undercover cameras caught local JiffyLubes and EZ-Lubes upselling customers to buy engine-flushing and fuel-injection cleaning services, services which have been forbidden by auto-manufacturers because they’re unnecessary and can severely damage your engine. One guy’s engine died while he was driving on the highway, and it cost him $5,000 to replace his engine.
