Auto Trends

While most people are holding onto their wallets right now and rightfully so, but if you are in need to ditch your clunker and get a new car… now couldn’t be a better time!

Yeah, you heard right…

Just like the real estate gurus (Robert & Kim Kiyosaki for example) of the housing market have been professing, there is really no better time to get rich off of great deals than during a recession. It is like there is a giant nationwide sales event!

Imagine yourself as if you were at your local grocery store and the butcher announced a sale on prime rib at $.01 a pound. You’d probably be one of the first to head over there, barring you aren’t a vegetarian of course. Well, the housing market is offering quite the sale opportunity these days and so is the new vehicle market.

Now bare with us as a new car purchase could hardly be called a good investment, so we are not advocating that in the least. We are simply reminding you that there are some great deals if you are going to be in the market to buy soon anyway.

There will be one key factor to your success rate however… credit. How is your credit?

If it is pretty squeaky clean then dealers will be ready to sit down and bargain a deal of a lifetime. Car sales have tanked for the most part and dealers are currently more than willing to “deal” if it means getting rid of some of their lingering inventory.

If it is not squeaky clean, then quietly fold that wallet back up and continue with your day and pretend you never heard the words “new car”. You’re going to be stuck with that clunker for a few more years. Similar to the mortgage scene, vehicle lenders have increased their scrutiny on who can qualify for a loan, and you will pay dearly on your interest rates if you would try to get a loan now.

For those of you with your wallets still out, you’ll need to concentrate on getting the best deal you can on the sale price and sale price only. Don’t get caught up in their recession gimmicks, like free gas, etc. Especially don’t let the dealer fool you into thinking you are getting a better deal by stretching out your loan term. This is a common tactic (up to 80% of loans today are over 4 years) that dealers have used during a slow economy to give themselves a boost in sales.

This not only ensures you will be paying more interest, but you will also be upside down (owing more on your car than it’s worth) for some time.

There are a few better cars to purchase then others right now, so if you play it smart and do your homework you can walk away with a once-in-a-recession kind of deal!

Every now and then there comes a car that is so hideous, so breathtaking, so ridiculous, so different… that it becomes a runaway success. And this is exactly what appears to be happening for the 2008 Honda Ridgeline.

Despite many consumers who are calling it one of the most hideous creations ever to roll off the assembly line since the 2002 Chevrolet Avalanche, the ratings for the Ridgeline are actually quite high. According to J.D. Powers and Associates, the best selling vehicles are usually the ones that illicit some kind of strong response. It doesn’t really matter whether it is a good or bad response, so Honda is taking all criticisms in stride.

While the reviewers and consumers are either loving or hating the new Ridgeline, one thing is for certain. It is not a BAD truck. It just happens to have one of those mugs that only an owner could love. So, without wanting to get into a battle of what looks good, we’re going to put a brown bag over the Ridgeline’s exterior and look at some of the features that nobody can deny.

One of the first items of impressment that the Ridgeline offers is a completely independent rear suspension. This boosts its handling characteristics considerably. Combined with the Honda’s patented one-piece unibody and steel ladder bar, the Ridgeline is claimed by Honda to have 20 times the strength of a traditional truck.

With such an overly strengthened body you might expect the Ridgeline to have an impressive load handling capacity as well, but it doesn’t. Respectable, but not impressive by any means. We’re talking a 1,550 lb payload and 5,000 lb towing capacity.

The Ridgeline’s lack of hauling capability has more to do with its 247 horsepower/245 lb-ft of torque V-6 engine than anything else. While the engine may be reliable, it is not particularly powerful. But opinions vary on this subject. Forbes and Consumers Guide call the engine “gutsy”, “reliable”, and “refined”, while others (AutoWeek, Edmunds.com), say it needs “more ponies under the hood”.

If the Honda’s engine was getting good gas mileage, we might be willing to let it off the hook with just a slap on its fender, but 15 mpg city and 20 mpg highway is rather pitiful. This is comparable to some of the big V-8 Chevrolet and Ford full size trucks with 300-plus horsepower packed under the hood.

But not wanting to leave on a bad note, we are impressed with the lockable in-bed trunk feature of the Ridgeline. It offers 8.5 cubic feet of space and even has a drain plug that gives the consumer the option of turning it into an oversize beverage cooler, or mini bathtub for the kids or pets.

Some reports have suggested that if the bed is weighed down with a heavy load during a rear flat it may make it difficult to reach the spare tire in the trunk. But you would have to be having one unlucky, horrible, very bad day for this combo to get you down.

Yeah, it maybe ugly to some… but with a paper bag over its exterior, it just might almost be drivable by most!

Continuing with out salute to the best of the 2008 American domestics… next we come to the pickup trucks. Once again, GM pulls the win with their Chevrolet Avalanche and Silverado.

2008 Chevrolet Avalanche

Okay, so the looks on the Avalanche may not have always been to everyones taste. It is a bit less “plastic” looking these days ever since GM listened to its consumers and stopped wailing on it with the plastic ugly stick… such as the 2002 model:

But then again, pickup trucks were meant to be used and abused, rather than perused… and the Avalanche is a very multi-functional work truck.

Another complaint of the old Avalanche was the relatively short bed due to the extra passenger capability up front. For 2008, the Avalanche contains a “midgate” between the cargo area and rear passenger area that allows the driver to open the cargo area up to full capacity, or close it off to accommodate more passengers. This one addition has made a world of difference with the functionality of the new Avalanche.

The Avalanche is designed for premium hauling ability and this shows through in both its price ($34,000 base price) and fuel economy rating. The Avalanche can tow approximately 8,200 lbs, but all this comes at a price… and at $4.00 per gallon, that can be a pretty steep price indeed.

You won’t be seeing more than about 20 mpg during highway trips, and you’ll have to drop its 4-wheel capability to even see the likes of that much. In general, the Avalanche comes with either a 5.3 liter V-8 with 320 horsepower and 340 lb-ft of torque (14/20 EPA fuel economy), or the big 6.0 liter with 366 horsepower and 380 lb-ft of torque (12/17 EPA).

2008 Chevrolet Silverado

We dare you to find a really bad review of the 2008 Chevrolet Silverado. It just rarely happens. This truck has seen more awards than Mary Lou Renner. In particular, the big three auto sources do nothing but praise this full size truck, and we’re talking about Car and Driver, Motor Trend, and Motor Week.

The Silverado has traditionally been praised for its strong work ethic (10,500 lb towing capacity), but slammed for its lack of sex appeal and refined materials. The 2008 however is a slightly different story with its smooth classy lines, soft comfortable interior, and higher quality overall build.

Unlike the Avalanche, the Silverado has a bit more selection. When it comes to its powertrain options, you’ve got the functional and economical, 195 horsepower 4.3 (Big) V-6, 295 horsepower 4.8 liter V-8, 315 horsepower 5.3 V-8, and the King Daddy 367 horsepower 6.0 liter. The Silverado is considered to be one of the more economical full size pickups with 15 to 16 mpg for the average consumer.

When it comes to body style, the Silverado has just about any cab to bed configuration you can dream of. While it may not be quite as flexible as the Avalanche as far as changing the configuration, you can dial in a custom build that can be used for the majority of your hauling needs.

Yeah baby, America knows how to build them heavy duty trucks!