A8 is Enough

All eyes this week will be on the Los Angeles Auto Show where a dozen 2011 models will be making their debut. Among them will be a production model of the long awaited Chevy Volt and the new Ford Mustang.
But wait, not ALL eyes will be focused on California. In fact, a lot of folks will be checking out an event tonight in South Florida where Audi unveils its new A8, a car that is expected to attract a lot of attention.
Tonight's event is invitation only and will be surrounded by a lot of hoopla. The new A8 is a car that will have a great look and word is that will be a bit more stylish and coupe like than its predecessors.
LA may have a lot going for it this week, but here in South Florida the A8 is enough - at least for now!

Deals on Wheels

If you're one of those folks who keeps a car for a long time, today may be a great day to buy a new car, well a 2009 model, if you can find one.
According to the car buying website TrueCar.com, today is not just a great day to pick up a gift for aunt Millie, its also a great day to get out and pick up a 2009 Hyundai Sonata or even a 2009 Buick LaCrosse.
One reason for that is that there are amazing manufacturer incentives being offered right now on lots of 2009, especially those models that are going away. GM for example, is offering $4,000 back on a Saturn Vue or an Aura. Add to that what ever the dealers are willing to offer in order to move the vehicle and you might be able to get a fairly good deal on those vehicles for well under $20,000.
There is one thing to consider, however. If you're one of those folks that might want to change cars in two or three years, well, buying a 2009 might not be your best bet. A 2010 will have better value when you go to trade it in. But if your plan is to run the vehicle into the ground, well you might want to take a look at truecar.com and check out incentives.

Don't Leaf Us Out

The Nissan Leaf is a car that could have a major impact on the way we drive.
Unlike the Volt and a lot of the other plug in hybrids that are on the way, the Leaf is entirely electric and capable of going 100 miles on a charge and can go more than 85 miles per hour. It even seats for or five.
Expected to hit showrooms within the next year, the Leaf is going to be a big attraction. There's only one hitch. South Florida isn't on the list of areas where the Leaf will debut, according to Motor Trend.
Instead it will be in a lot of West Coast cities that have a network of charging stations already in place or that are building them. Despite the best efforts of Charles Whalen and the Florida Electric Auto Association, South Florida doesn't appear to be on the list.
But there's good news.
There Leaf will be in Florida in February as part of the national tour and you'll have a chance to check it out. The visit to Orlando is Feb. 1 and 2. And soon after the stop - maybe a couple of months - Nissan will begin taking reservations for the leaf.
There's still a lot of questions but one thing is for sure, Florida is a great place for the Leaf and the Leaf is a great car for South Florida.

All Couped Up

There's no doubt that the Cadillac CTS is one of the top cars on the market. It's a great looking car, its well built and the ride is extraordinary. If you like a larger car, this is a great vehicle.
Yesterday GM unveiled the latest addition to the CTS family, the long-await CTS sports coupe, a car with sleek lines and a little more get up and go than the CTS sedan or wagon.
The coupe, which will officially be unveiled next week at the Los Angeles Auto Show, is expected to be in showrooms in the middle of next year.
While the price of the coupe is planned to be the same as the sedan – somewhere in the neighborhood of 40 grand – customers will be getting a little less metal for their money. The couple – which has that same sleek design we're seeing the vehicles like the Buick LaCrosse and the new Jaguar XJ – is about 2 inches lower and two inches shorter than its sister but size doesn't matter when it comes to power. The coupe comes with a 304 horsepower V6 and a mileage rating of about 27 mpg on the highway.
While this car is billed as a sports luxury vehicle, it might not be the car you want to drive on the family trip to New Jersey. Sure you can show it off when you get to Aunt Mary's but your passengers may be feeling a little couped up if their stuck in the back seat of this coupe for too long.
On the other hand, this is a great car to have if you want to make a great impression.

Good CARma

They say what goes around comes around and some car dealers are discovering that helping a good organization in the community can indeed be good for business.
Recently Napleton's Hyundai in West Palm Beach agree to be a sponsor of the Horses and the Handicapped of South Florida's Horseshoe Hoedown. Thanks to supporters like Raul Gomila, the GM of Napleton's, the organization was able to cover its costs ahead of time so that all money raised the night of the event, about $50,000, will go to scholarships.
So how does this benefit the dealer? Well it won't be long before Hyundai unveils the Equus, a car with a name that horse lovers are going to love. When that happens, you can bet Horses and the Handicapped will do its best to let its hundreds of supporters, parents and volunteers, know that Napleton's Hyundai was there for them.
Call it good carma!

Competition in a Can

Sometimes the bottom line and the goal line don't have to be synonymous.
Sometimes a company can do the right thing just because it is the right thing and if it doesn't have a positive impact on the ledger, oh well.
This week's On the South Florida Road column is about a company that did that and a CEO who reached into his own pocket to help make a point about the importance of community involvement.
The CEO is Colin Brown and the company is JM Family Enterprises, which already is known as one of the best places in South Florida to work.
JM was in the midst of a food drive when Brown heard that there was a need for more protein. So he put out a challenge. For every can of tuna an associate brought in, Brown would match it.
The bottom line is that there was no tuna anywhere to be found in a 20 mile radius around JM Deerfield headquarters. You'll have to get a Sun Sentinel if you want details.
But here is what you won't read in the column. JM had to reduce its staff a few months back for the first time in the company history. It was about as painful as it gets. Those who remain are working harder than ever to get the jobs done. The tuna challenge was fun and it got everyone pulling together as a team. It boosted morale. JM even donated $10 grand to a food bank.
Will this help them sell more Toyotas to the dealers who they supply in the Southeast US? No, probably not. Will it add to the revenue side of the ledger? Probably not. But in many ways it will help people who have a good job be more grateful, it will help people become more aware of the hunger in our community and it will make a bunch of people feel like they really made a contribution. If that doesn't trump the bottom line, nothing will.

Who Knew About Subaru Safety?

What manufacturers make the safest cars on the road?
Toyota, Volvo, Mercedes?
Nope, at least not according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
In its annual safety ratings, released yesterday, the institute gave kudos to Subaru, which had top safety winners in all four vehicle categories in which it competes.
But that's not the biggest surprise on the list. It's what's missing that is unusual. Toyota didn't have any cars with top ratings, although in fairness, the Camry came close. Also not on the list, the Motor Trend 2010 car of the year, the Ford Fusion. And how about this: BMW, Mazda, Mitsubishi and Saab also were absent. Didn't see any Hyundais on the list either.
Some notable winners were the Buick LaCrosse and the Lincoln MKS, another great car in the large car category. VW did well in the midsize category with both the Jetta and Passat. The Malibu and the Dodge Avenger also made the list. VW's Golf was on the small car list as was the Nissan Cube as was the Honda Civic. VW's Tiguan was listed as a safe small SUV as was the Jeep Patriot.
So does this mean you shouldn't buy a car not on the list. Of course not, but you might want to go to the institute's site and download its brochure on shopping for a safe car while you're checking out the list.
go to www.iihs.org and click on news.

New to Used

One of the signs of a difficult economy is that more people who in the past would only buy a new car are turning to used cars.
Demand for used cars is up significantly and supply is down. As a result, used car prices are up about 16 percent from about a year ago.
What's driving this trend?
Well, a lot of folks will point the finger at Cash for Clunkers and there's something there. But the bigger picture is more about the economy as a whole, drops in residual values, and the tightness of credit. There's kind of a interesting cycle here with fewer people buying new car resulting in fewer trade ins at a time when used car demand is high. The used car market is also feeling a tightness in leasing, with fewer cars coming off leases because companies haven't been leasing as much as they had in the past. Then there's the credit issue. Getting a hefty loan, even if you have good credit, might be tough because lenders want to be sure you'll have the money to pay them back down the road.
What does this mean to car buyers?
Well, if you have a decent car to trade in, you might get more for it when you decide to buy a new car. As for used cars, South Florida dealers are seeing supplies increasing slightly and demand waning so that should lead to prices falling. If you can hold out, you might want to wait until after the holidays, when there might be more trade-ins available.

Fusion, No Illusion

So Motor Trend, which last year awarded its coveted car-of-the-year honors to the Nissan GT-R, a hot performance car that most of us probably couldn't afford and wouldn't think of as practical, switched gears this year - so to speak - and gave the award to a mid-size sedan.
It wasn't a Toyota, wasn't a Hyundai, nor was it an Audi or Volvo.
Motor Trend's 2010 car of the year is the Ford Fusion, the first Ford to win since the T-Bird got the award in 2003.
If you've driven the Fusion you understand why it got the Motor Trend award. So maybe it's not the most stylish looking car but this is a comfortable car. The Fusion is to cars what meatloaf and mac and cheese are to supper. It's everything you want without the fancy stuff and it is comforting and affordable.
This car is solid and reliable, whether you're driving a 4-cylinder or a six with all wheel drive or even the hybrid. It's got torque and pickup, its got decent gas mileage and its got a lot of cool technological gizmos.
If there is ever a car that will lure back those who went over to the dark side - buying Japanese imports when American cars were poorly made – this is it.
Ford has the product, it's getting the recognition, now it just needs to keep getting buyers into the showroom.
Congratulations to the people in Dearborn for this award. Of course, it really is just an affirmation of what we've been telling everyone already. This is one great car.

Billions and Billions

Here's the good news:
GM only lost $1.2 billion in the last quarter. You know, the last time we only lost $1.2 billion, we were celebrating too.
But seriously folks, GM is making a come back and that is good news for a lot of folks, including taxpayers, local car dealers and in turn, our local economy.
What's really important here is that car buyers begin to see products made by the big three as competitive with those from Europe and Asia. GM and Ford have made great progress in improving quality and in their designs. Take a look at that CTS or the SRX. Look at the LaCrosse and keep an eye out for the new Buick Regal. These are good cars that should help GM increase its market share, which in turn will help a lot of the local dealers.
Read between the lines at what the GM folks like Bob Lutz say and you get the sense that there is a dramatic culture change going on in Detroit. Bankruptcy may have been a humbling experience and the philosopy may have shifted from "We're No. 1" to the old Avis Rental Car Tagline, "We Try Harder."
What do you all think?

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

The South Florida automotive retail community was rocked this week when news broke that Ed Morse, who built a local automotive empire, was reportedly conned out of $58 million by his attorney, a guy who right now is in some pretty serious trouble facing accusations that go way beyond his dealings with the Morse family.
The fact that an 88-year-old war veteran was bilked by a man that he trusted – who reported forged signatures of federal judges and faked documents – is tragic enough. But what is even more disheartening is that because Mr. Morse was a car dealer, some find it hard to be sympathetic.
The reality is that the Morse family has given millions of dollars – through their dealerships and probably personally – to organizations throughout this community. Like most of the other car dealers, they are important members of the communities they live in and they are strong supporters of everything from local chambers of commerce to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Broward County. The dealerships that the company owns will not be impacted by the deceit but it is safe to say that the Morses will. And no matter what you think of car dealers, you have to agree that it is a sad and disheartening situation. One can only hope that the Morses recover some of their losses.

Deductible Reasoning

Okay, so we're heading toward the end of the year and really, not too many folks are thinking about their taxes, right?
Well, maybe we should, especially if we're thinking about buying a new car. On top of end of the year incentives being offered by manufacturers, your Uncle Sam might be willing to help give you some "green" if you go green.
And, here's the best part. You don't have to buy a little puddle jumper to qualify for government tax credits. If you've read earlier posts on this blog, you know that we're big fans of diesel-powered vehicles as alternatives to traditional gasoline-powered vehicles. It's proven technology and for folks like us – who want to be driving a car for 20 years – the engines last forever.
In a few months, when a tax refund sure would come in handy, it might make sense to buy a diesel with a $1,700 tax credit, like the VW Golf/Rabbit TDI or an Audi A3 TDI with a tax credit of $1,300. You can get a $1,800 tax credit on selected Mercedes and BMW SUVs and $1,150 on the Audi Q7 TDI.
To see the whole list, go to http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/taxLeanburn.shtml
Make sure you click on "all" in the chart.

No conFUSION here!

You won't often find us issuing superlatives or saying great things about one car or another on this blog because, in all honesty, most of the cars out there today are pretty good. Just like people, some are better looking than others, some have more personality and some are more reliable. And they're a little bit like your kids – you appreciate them all for what they have to offer.
Still, its hard not to say good things about a car that stands out above all the rest in its class - especially when everyone else seems to have caught on.
Ford today announced that it has sold 150,000 Fusions this year. a new sales record and the year isn't close to being over. You can say Cash for Clunkers had something to do with it, or you could say that maybe more Fusions are being used by fleets or rental companies. But here's the bottom line.
It's a great car at a great price.
And the price might be getting even better thanks to year-end incentives of up to $1,500 that Ford is offering. With an MSRP just under $20,000 before rebates, the Fusion is very affordable. And here in South Florida, where Ford is trying to gain more market share and dealers are trying to survive, you may find even better pricing.
Even if you're one of those folks that loves the imports, you should check out the Fusion before buying a car. It's worth the test drive.
Be interested to hear comments from Fusion owners or those who rented one and drove it for a while.

"Braking" the Cycle

Okay, here's a number that will scare the daylights out of just about anyone with teenagers who are driving. The number one killer of teens in our nation isn't violence. It's not cancer, falls or even any other illness. Vehicle crashes are the number one killer of teens in America.
If you remember just how good a driver you were when you first got your license, then you can see how this statistic makes a lot of sense. There are a lot of reasons why kids get into more accidents and they range from the obvious – inexperience – to the physiological – their brains aren't fully developed.
There's a lot being done to address this problem but one of the best programs out there is the Ford Driving Skills for Life. Aside from the fact that it is a national program with top-notch proven instructors, what makes this program so good is that it is FREE.
The Ford team will be in South Florida next week – Wednesday and Thursday – and there are still a few spots open in the afternoon . They'll be at the Homestead Speedway, which is, as my mother would say, "a schlep" but it's worth it.
If you have kids between 15 and 19, or you are a kid in that age group, you should check out the website www.drivingskillsforlife.com
Maybe, just maybe, the folks at Ford will like South Florida so much that they'll bring this program back – a little farther north – during winter or spring break.
Meanwhile, if you're a young driver and you have time, check out the website and if you can, sign up. It's fun and it's an easy way to make your mother happy.

Charging up Cadillac

If you were at the South Florida International Auto Show a few weeks ago, you may have seen the Cadillac Converj, a concept car that is actually a plug-in hybrid. Well, the scuttlebutt around Detroit is that the Converj is going to go into production for 2011 or 2012.
And that begs what you might call the $75,000 question.
Will anyone buy it for about $75,000?
The answer is "who knows?"
Conventional wisdom says that an electric Cadillac is something of an oxymoron. Most folks who drive a CTS or an SRX like the power that comes with bigger engines. But the brain trust at GM thinks there's a market for these luxury plug-in hybrids. So the Converj, it seems, could end up being the Chevy Volt's rich sister. But is there really a need for two plug-in hybrids in the same family?
If they're smart, the Cadillac folks will keep an eye on the sales numbers of the new Lexus hybrid. Although it is a traditional hybrid, it's still could be a great barometer of how luxury hybrids will do. And there's no better place to look than here in South Florida, where there seemingly is a luxury vehicle everywhere you turn.
Maybe GM will recognize that the Converj is a great car and will be a great car even with a traditional gasoline powered engine. Or better yet, how about diesel?
If ever there was an American car that be a great fit for a diesel engine, well, the Converj might be it.

Top of the List

Automotive News, the top trade publication for those in the auto retail industry, came out with a list this week of the 50 visionary auto dealers who "turned up new ways to satisfy customers, move metal, boost profits and get along with the factory."
Top on the list are three names familiar to anyone in South Florida who knows anything about cars. Jim Moran the Courtesy Man who built JM Family Enterprises tops the list and then just below him are Mike Jackson and Mike Maroone, the pair at the top of AutoNation. Interestingly, another household name to South Florida residents, Wayne Huizenga is also recognized, an rightly so. Yeah, he's an entrepreneur who made a name for himself with trash, but he was also the guy who brought us public auto dealership companies. Also on the list is Ed Mullinax, who was one of the first to sell his dealerships to AutoNation and who was also one of the first to implement no-haggle selling.
Of course this reinforces what those of us who live in South Florida and follow the car industry already know and that's that some of the smartest folks in the business are right here in our backyard.

A World of Hope

Carlos Ghosn, the head of Nissan, was the bearer of good news today.
Ghosn sees the global automotive market rebounding thanks to increased demand.
Here in the U.S. there is an expectation of growth and the same holds true for India and China.
But Europe, not so much.
One bright spot for us here in South Florida is the belief that the South American market for cars will increase. That could be good news for our region which benefits when South America is doing well.
One of the interesting things about the automotive business is that for many companies, Ford especially, overseas can be critical. Ford is not the strongest competitor in the US market and when things were going south, it depended highly on its overseas sales to survive.
The folks running Ford are smart - and obviously GM is seeing the value of overseas sales since it decided to keep the Opel brand and grow that business.
Once again, optimism about the future of the car market is a good thing. Lets home the car buyers don't disappoint us.

The oily bird catches the . . .

Next time you need an oil change, you might want to drive right on by you local quickie lube or tire store and check out you local car dealer.
In fact, you might be wanting to read the paper – The South Florida Sun Sentinel, of course – to find out what dealers are offering what because even if you drive a Nissan, you might get a good deal on an oil change at the local Toyota dealer.
Across the country, car dealers are offering great prices on oil changes at their "Express" stations. They know that if you're there at their dealership for an oil change, you might come back when its time for, say, a new A/C system or a new radiator. And they also know you might be inclined to be looking at a new car in their showroom, while you wait.
In the car business, it's all about relationships and most of us will go back to folk we trust and think are interested in doing what's right for us.
If your car is under warranty, it's important – no matter where you bring your car for an oil change, to make sure that you are getting the grade of oil specified in the owner's manual. There are warranty companies that will deny coverage if you put in 10W40 instead of 10W30 so be sure to check and convey that to your dealer. Most dealers are honest and will do it right. When it comes to oil changes, not everyone is slippery.

Another Belt for the Road

You have to love new technology - and you have to love Ford's desire to get out in front of the universe when it comes to harnessing new technology in well, a harness. Ford's wacky thinking engineers - the folks who came up with SYNC and other cool stuff, have figured out how to put an airbag in a seatbelt.
The airbags in a seatbelt are set to debut in the 2011 Ford Explorer and will be available for rear seat passengers only. The logic is this: kids and older folks are more likely to be in the back seat and they're the ones that can be hurt the most in a collision causing head and neck injuries.
The airbags in the seatbelt inflate a little slower than traditional airbags but form a cushion that keeps the passenger's head from jerking forward and to the side.
The best way to understand how it works is to go to the video on YouTube, which shows the seatbelts in action and has a couple of talking heads explaining why it's so cool. Here's the link.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJ5dFCveh2c
This is just one more example, if you ask me, of how smart companies are making vehicles safer. Although the airbag in a seatbelt is optional, if you have kids and they ride with you a lot, well, there really isn't much to think about.

Buying the Numbers

The October numbers are in for car dealers, and the news is - drum roll please - pretty darn good. If you follow the auto news, you know that GM had a really good month, with car sales up 5 percent. The company actually sold 176,630 cars last month compared 169,700 last October, a month that in all fairness wasn't a very good one for any business.
But the fact that auto sales overall were up last month, without any government programs or incentives, is good news for dealerships, good news for the economy overall and good news for car buyers.
It also shows that maybe some of the knucklehead on TV who blasted the government for helping the car companies don't know what the heck they're talking about that. But we already knew that.
While there's a lot of interesting stuff in the numbers, one thing that pops out is how well luxury brands did -- and that's good news here in South Florida.
Porsche was up 15 percent over last October, Mercedes up 9 percent and Jagular/Landrover up 5 percent.
Don't have local breakdowns yet but I can tell South Florida Hyundai dealers led the nation when it came to selling the Genesis, the closest thing the company has in the U.S. to a luxury car.
Coconut Creek Hyundai and Napleton Hyundai in West Palm shared top Genesis sales in the nation, further reinforcing that this is indeed a great luxury market.
Lets hope that next month's numbers are just as good.

Keeping Your Cool

Here in South Florida, auto air conditioning isn't an option. It's a necessity.
But with gas prices climbing, running the a/c can be costly.
The good news is that it doesn't have to be.
Once again our friends in Europe are one step ahead of us, driving cars with something called variable displacement compressors. In most cars here in the US, our A/C compressor is always on. With the variable compressors, the key to your cool only runs when it senses that the cabin temperature is warming up.
Europeans will tell you that these compressors are 20 percent more efficient than the standard ones.
According to a story in Automotive News, we may be starting to see these compressors coming our way soon. Already, the Audi A3 comes with them, as does it's fraternal twin, the VW Passat.
If you get a chance to get one of these on your new car in the next few years, well, grab it.

A Horse in the House

Want to see one of the coolest cars not yet on the road?
If so, you'll want to get over to Rick Case Hyundai at 441 and Sunrise Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale before 9 p.m. tonight to see the 2011 Equus.
Now, if you were lucky enough to see the Equus at the South Florida International Auto Show last week or while it was on display at one of the local dealerships in September, you know that this is a one-of-a-kind luxury car.
Want reclining seats in the back? This car's got it.
Want just about every luxury you can imagine? This is the car for you.
And the best part – you don't have to be loaded to afford it. And even if you are, people won't figure it out cause you're driving a Hyundai, for crying out loud.
But check it out, this is a car that people will be talking about for a long time once it hits the road.
If you want to know more, call Rick Case Hyundai at 954-581-5885

Cutting Edge

There was good news for Fort Lauderdale-based AutoNation last week as the company reported that it earned $65 million in the third quarter of this year, compared to a big loss last year during the same time period.
But while the bottom line looks good, the top line - well not so much.
Sales revenue was down about 13 percent for the year, and that was bolstered a bit by cash for clunkers.
So how does the nation's largest auto retailer make money when its sales revenues are down?
Well maybe some of the profits came from other parts of the business - service, finance and insurance and maybe used cars.
But the big difference maker was cost cutting. Expenses for the period fell 10 percent to $380 million. It's good that AutoNation could find areas to cut but the problem is simply this.
You can't save your way to prosperity.
And eventually you're going to have to cut to the bone, which could impact your effectiveness.
AutoNation is a good company led by very smart and talented people. How they do in the coming year will be the real test of just how good they are. All of us in South Florida should be pulling for them.