Auto Trends

While not much has changed under the hood, Mitsubishi is preparing itself for the coming of the Dodge Challenger and Chevy Camaro by upgrading its already fairly new Eclipse design yet again.

Following along the popular styling cues of Audi, Mustang California Special, and the Lancer, the 2009 Mitsubishi Eclipse will get a “wide mouth”, blacked out grille and lower intake combo. The wide grille has been made popular with the turbo and supercharged vehicles that usually requires a large grille opening to accommodate the large intercooler to keep the charged air at a cool temperature.

While the Eclipse will not be offered with a turbo or supercharger, it looks as if it might have one lurking behind the grille. Speaking of behind the grille, Mitsubishi keeps everything rather simple with only two trim options and two engines, which is a nice change of pace from the Mustang that seems to have a never ending number of trims and upgraded versions year after year.

The Eclipse comes as a basic GS and the potent GT. The GS gets the respectable 2.4 liter 4 banger with 162 horsepower and 162 lb-ft of torque, while the GT features the mighty 3.8 liter V-6 with MIVEC variable valve timing and all new dual exhaust set-up. The dual exhaust boosts the engine of the V-6 a whole 2 horsepower from this years 263 to 265.

Obviously, the duals weren’t much for performance, but they sure do add some nice stereo sound to the already sporty exhaust tone, as well as give the rear end a more balanced look. The exhaust looks especially good with the new blacked out lower valence portion of the bumper, which matches the blacked out front end.

The overall body for both versions has been designed with a considerably stiffer chassis than the 2008 model and comes standard with 17 inch allow wheels for the GS and 18’s for the GT. Following their competition for 2009, the GT models will see a stability control system that will help the driver handle its additional ponies, even in difficult weather conditions.

While the manual would give the driver the most control of the GT’s performance capabilities on the open road, the Sportronic automatic is a close second best. It offers the driver an optional manual control over the gears without a clutch, all in a nifty looking gearbox that is easy to change from automatic to manual mode.

The New Eclipse Design looks like it is going to be a hit for the low-cost sport car bracket. While some naysayers may still call the 2009 Mitsubishi Eclipse underpowered, I dare them to find much better for the lowly cost of around $25,000 for the GT. It is scheduled to start appearing in lots late Spring/early Summer, so be on the lookout!

Ford…

With Chrysler and Toyota as the runners up.

Ford Motor Company (Recall 07V336, 07V553, and 07V156)

• Recall 07V336 (August 13, 2007) involved 3.6 million Ford vehicles, including the Bronco, Crown Victoria, E-150, E-250, E-350, E-450, Explorer (Sport and Sport Trac), F-150 Lightning, Ranger, and Taurus SHO.

• Problem- The speed control deactivation switch was found defective through 1,472 complaints and 65 full-on accidents and/or fires. Whether engine is running or turned off a short circuit develops that in turn causes a fire in the engine compartment.

• Recall 07V553 (January 2008) involved 1.2 million Ford vehicles, including the F-series Super Duty, E-series, and Excursion with 7.3-liter diesel engines.

• Problem- The camshaft position sensor was found defective through 1,595 complaints and 14 full-on accidents and/or fires. The most significant danger occurs if the switch malfunctions and stalls the vehicles engine, the driver will be left with the potential of an accident.

• Recall 07V156 (April 23, 2007) involved 446,460 Ford vehicles, including the Escape Sport Utility equipped with anti-lock brakes.

• Problem- The anti-lock braking module connector was found defective through 120 complaints that all resulted in either a accident and/or fire. The electrical short first causes the warning light to illuminate, and then as heat builds in the unit it can begin to smoke and then actually lead to an eventual fire.

Chrysler Corporation (Recall 07V555 and 07V092)

• Recall 07V555 (December 2007) involved 576,418 vehicles, including the Dakota, Durango, Ram Van, and Ram Pickup Truck with automatic transmission.

• Problem- The ignition/park shifter interlock system can malfunction, allowing the shifter to move out of the park position, which ultimately could lead to the vehicle taking its own trip down the road without owner consent. Chrysler has not allowed the data to be publicly released as to exactly how many cases have been documented.

• Recall 07V092 (April 2007) involved 328,424 vehicles, including the Durango.

• Problem- A circuit in the instrument cluster controlling the interior lights was found to overheat through 213 complaints and 78 occurrences of accident and/or fire. The overheating in some cases led to an instrument panel fire that was within range of the front passengers.

Toyota (Recall 07V013)

• Recall 07V013 (February 2, 2007) involved 533,124 vehicles, including the Tundra and Sequoia

• Problem- The front suspension ball joints were found to wear prematurely through the complaint of 120 consumers (14 confirmed failures and 6 injuries). As the ball joints wear overtime, they can eventually malfunction completely, leaving the driver with little control of the vehicles steering.

There were also a few cases of serious recalls by Volkswagen and Nissan, but none of them had any public confirmations to actual incidents. So, either they were caught in time, or the danger associated with the recall had a low possibility of actually occurring.

Nobody likes to hear or see the word “Recall”, but those manufacturers that admit to the problem quickly and take swift public action should be commended. There have been many injuries and deaths throughout the United States history that could have been avoided if only the maker would have taken care of the situation immediately, rather than covering it up until being forced by the government to make the changes.

There have been many experts over the years who have broken down the different scenarios of purchasing a car and have come up with a few simple rules and techniques to follow in order to receive the best deal possible.

Look towards the Beginning of the Month and Buy Towards the End- Similar to the end of the month when local law enforcement officers park out front of school zones to boost their “ticket sales”, car dealers also have their own brand of monthly quotas to reach. You see, car dealers get a bonus at the end of every month from both their dealership and many times also from the manufacturer. These bonuses range from number of cars sold, to the most expensive. With such incentive, towards the end of the month, a dealer who is one or two cars away from reaching one of these goals may be a little more likely to cut a low deal if it will bring them closer to reaching a bonus check.

Beyond the dealers themselves, the manager of the dealership has their own set of incentives towards the end of the month. Many manufacturers divide their newly released cars out to dealers, by giving the best selection to the best sellers. This means that the dealerships who can unload the greatest amount of cars will receive the most sought after cars to sell, which will in turn boost their selling capability for the next month. This is pretty good incentive for the manager to allow a few extra good deals to flow through towards the end of the month, so that they can reach their quota and receive a good inventory.

A good way to tell if a dealership may be willing to offer an extra good deal is if you notice several models of the same car on their lot. While the dealer is held by the manufacturer to selling their cars at a certain amount over their actual cost to make, you have to consider the amount of money they make through their service department. For every car they sell, they are introducing a new service customer into their system, so even if they don’t make a big profit on the car itself, they will certainly be making profit over the years in service. This rule does not always apply to every situation, but it certainly never hurts to go shopping towards the end of the month.

Keep Your Mouth Closed, Ears Open, and Discussion Simple- There are good things to say to a dealer and bad. There are rule books that go over the entire spectrum of things you should and shouldn’t be saying, but to make things simple, keep the discussions simple. You don’t need to be talking about monthly payments, incentives, trade-ins, or anything other than the total cost of the vehicle sale in question. Once you mix monthly payments and trade-in values, you can quickly lose track of the actual deal you are getting for the vehicle. As long as you know the general value of the vehicle in question, then you know approximately what you are willing to spend.

Dealers love to start out by knowing what kind of a payment you can handle per month. They can usually give you what you need by manipulating the length of your lease rather than the overall price of the vehicle. This makes the dealer richer and the consumer poorer, so don’t fall into this. This is the same reason that you won’t want to mention a trade-in, because the dealer will attempt to sweeten the deal with a “better” trade-in value, which will generally translate into a worse overall deal. Dealership transactions work best under the KISS principle which states, “Keep It Simple Stupid”.

Have a Pre-Approved Loan Before You Get on the Lot- But don’t tell the dealer too much about this. You see, dealers can make a lot of money behind the scene of the price of the car if they are able to finance the deal. This means that if they think they have a chance to finance the deal, they might be willing to give you a better price on the vehicle. Use your pre-approved loan as a way to let the dealer know that you know what rate you are capable of receiving. This should knock-off that second round of negotiations where the dealer gives a higher percentage rate you will have to deal down.

To get the best interest rate out of dealer financing, it is always a good idea to know where you are as far as your credit rating goes. You can always change your mind after receiving the quote and tell them you would prefer to go through another financing source, but it is to your benefit to keep their hopes up. If your credit rating is bad (under 550), then you can expect not to receiving financing unless you can find someone willing to co-sign for your purchase. Sometimes it is best to wait a year and repair credit rather before you shop, rather than accept a poor deal.