Auto Trends

Photo by James B. Brauer

If you happen to own either a Cadillac DTS or Escalade, Buick Lucerne or Enclave, GMC Yukon, Sierra, or Acadia, Chevy Silverado, Avalanche, Tahoe, or Suburban, Hummer H2, or Saturn Outlook with a HotShot windshield washer system, then this post might to be of particular interest to you.

It seems that GM and Microheat (the manufacturer of the HotShot) have been having a mite problem with the nifty system. Short circuits have reportedly caused three engine compartment fires in consumer vehicles so far, plus another 31 other warranty complaints about the units function.

The problem appears to be a relatively easy fix of adding an in-line fuse to the works, which GM will be happy to do free of charge up until November 1^st, 2008 (so get down there is you have one of these). There is some 944,000 vehicles involved in the recall, which will cost GM about $20 million dollars of which they are trying to pass the buck onto Microheat, which is already practically waiting in line at the bankruptcy courts.

This fiasco could be the end of the HotShot system and Microheat all together. For those who have never had the pleasure to have used this system, it actually works like a dream (when it isn’t on fire that is). The unit heats up your washer mixture, which in turn makes it a breeze to remove bug guts, tree sap, and especially those thick layers of windshield ice that would normally take up to 10 to 15 minutes of idling just to clear off using a defroster and windshield wipers.

Yeah, we know that you should use an ice scrapper on those cold wintery days, but sometimes we are just to darn lazy to stand out in the freezing cold with a $2 ice scraper glued to one mitten and a piping hot coffee in the other. But if GM is able to pass the buck (er, rather $20 million bucks), this little convenience will be no more, as there is no other company at the moment with a similar gadget on the market…

Don’t go throwing out your $2 scrappers just yet, all you future customers to GM!

There was a school of thought a few years ago that told us that a used car was a better buy than new. The reasonings were quite simple and hard to argue against:

1. Today’s Vehicles are Reliable- There was a time back in the eighties, when a smart consumer would be wise to unload their vehicle every time the warranty ran out. Why? Because the cars weren’t built so great and needed a lot of attention. Today, most cars are built to last well into the upper 100 to 200 thousand mile range (especially Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Ford, and GM).

2. Used Cars Reduce your Drive the New Vehicle off the Showroom Floor Penalty- You’ve heard the saying that once you drive that new car off the showroom floor, its automatically worth several hundred to several thousand dollars less… well its true.

3. Used Vehicles Give you More Vehicle for the Money- When you are talking about a new car, you can get a brand new bottom end Chevrolet Cobalt for around $16,000. But if you are willing to go several years older, you could be looking at a clean BMW (with all the bells and whistles) for around the same price.

In Comes the 2008 Stock Market Flush

This advice has not necessarily changed… but the state of the economy has altered the fate of most new cars. You see, as the stock market continues to flush, so does the sales figures for most automakers. This means that dealerships are sharing the same dismal outlook as the manufacturers. The only way around such a situation is to offer consumers a deal that they cannot refuse. Such deals as of currently are special financing (0% APR), cash back, and major discounts off the current pricing of certain models.

The only catch, is if you don’t qualify, you won’t even be invited in on these deals. So if you’ve got good credit, now is not a bad time to get in on a new car deal. If you’ve got bad credit, then you should follow the above advice and get a good solid used car. The APR really is where it is at when it comes to the purchase of a new vehicle… and if you can get in on a 0% deal, it would be hard to find a used car deal that would be much better.

Here is a current list of a few of the new car deals currently going on through October 31, 2008 (via U.S. News & World Report). Get in on them while the getting is still good!

BMW-  0.9% APR financing on most 2008 models.

Buick, GMC-  0% APR on most 2008 models.

Jeep-  Up to $4,500 cash back on selected models.

Ford-  0% Financing on selected 2008 models. Up to $7,500 cash back on some trucks and SUVs.

Kia-  Up to $5,000 cash back, or 0% financing on many 2008 vehicles.

Mazda-  $2,750 cash back, or 0% APR financing on 2008 Mazda6. 0% financing on 2008 CX-7 and CX-9 SUVs.

Nissan-  0% financing on some 2008 trucks and SUVs. Up to $5,000 cash back on 2008 trucks and SUVs.

Subaru-  Cash back and 0% financing on many 2008 vehicles.

Toyota-  Up to $1,000 cash back on Corolla and Camry. Up to $5,000 cash back on pickups and SUVs. 0% financing on most 2008s and 2009s.

If you are any kind of a fan of the Ford Mustang, chances are you have heard that the season premier of Knight Rider (2008) is airing tonight on NBC. Several months ago the pilot of the new series aired and must have been successful enough to give it a go on Wednesdays evenings.

Not to snub Justin Bruening, but we are sure he already knows that the true star of the show will undoubtedly be Val Kilmer (the voice), err, we should rather say “KITT”, the multi-transforming Ford Shelby Mustang.

What Will the New KITT be able to do in the New Series?

While the Shelby Mustang alone would almost be cool enough to lead the show (as in the Dukes of Hazzard), but in a world of talking GPS units and high-tech drivers licenses, they couldn’t leave things too simple. The new KITT has far more abilities than the old 1983 Trans Am, change the paint color gag. The new and improved (unless you don’t like Mustangs, then it’s the new and degraded) KITT now has shapeshifting abilities.

Shapeshifting-

The new KITT now has several transportation modes.

• Regular stealth Mustang mode- Like an all black Ford Shelby Mustang GT-500 could ever be considered inconspicuous anywhere it goes.
• Attack mode- which adds a more aggressive body kit to the Stang to make it look more ferocious and powerful.
• 4X4 truck mode- For those times when that aggressive body kit would drag all over the mountainside, the Mustang can shift itself into a truck.

Windshield Touchscreen Technology-

A simple LED touchscreen in the dash would never do with a super high tech Shelby Mustang. Instead the new KITT has a windshield 3-D screen that allows information to be passed through the driver while they can also keep their eyes on the road. This technology is currently in the making, so we may see similar designs someday in the future.

Artificial Intelligence-

While some of us could use a little bit of this feature ourselves, the new Shelby is equipped to learn and grow as an individual. This has said to be the main mystery of the first season. KITT has been given this great gift for a reason and it will take the whole first season (to Episode 13), to figure out why. Will this be enough reason to keep us glued to our seat for the remainder of 12 episodes after tonight?

Maybe not… but watching the grace of the Shelby Mustang just might!