Auto Trends

Christmas Car, originally uploaded by See El Photo

The automotive experts have spoken again, and guess what they have said? Yup, this holiday season could be the very last of the really great car deals that have been floating around for the past few months. They have been saying this since the end of Cash For Clunkers, clear back at the end of August this year.

Well, this time they really mean it, and here is their reasoning. The surplus of 2009 vehicles is finally tapering down to manageable numbers. Nowhere more is this true than with the extinct Pontiac franchise, who has seen many of their popular vehicles dwindle to the hundreds over the past couple months.

With that said, there are some pretty good deals heading up the holiday season that would look awfully nice in your driveway come Christmas morning. Let’s take a look at these deals from manufacturer to manufacturer:

Audi
Scrooged.

BMW
Throughout the 2009 holiday season BMW will be offering holiday finance credit for those who qualify, up to $2,500. The deal will be covered by most models, offering a minimum of $1,500 credit, lasting through January 5th, 2010.

Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, HUMMER, Pontiac, Saturn, Saab
Nothing much has changed here. Still just the same old 0% APR financing we have come to expect. They just might have something else up their sleeve come December, as the current financing incentives are set to diminish at the end of November (11/30/90).

Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep
Chrysler is planning on a running start to their 5-year plan this month, ramping up deals just in time for Thanksgiving shoppers. They have increased consumer cashback, anywhere from $1,000 to $1,500, over top of existing incentives. This means if a vehicle was already $1,500 off the sticker price, you can go ahead and pull up to an additional $1,500, for a grand total of $3,000 off. They are also offering 0% financing (60 months), lease discounts on minivans (up to $1,000), and cut rate financing for all 2008 and 2009 Dodge Vipers. Deals are set to last through January 4^th, 2010.

Honda
Honda gets in the holiday spirit with 1.9% APR financing up to 36 months on select models through January 4^th, 2010.

Ford, Lincoln, Mercury
Ford continues to pull new customers through their doors despite the economy, and shows no signs of stopping with its current holiday incentives. Through January 4^th, they will be celebrating their “Year End Sales Event”, which translates to $1,000 cashback on most models, and 0% APR financing.

Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes is offering 2.9% APR financing for up to 36 months on select models through January 4^th, 2010.

Toyota
Toyota has scrooged out a bit, pulling back from its prior 0% APR financing, now only offering a 2.9% APR through the magical date of January 4^th, 2010. They do however redeem themselves slightly with cashback offers up to $2,000 on a very select few models, varying from region to region.

Mazda
Scrooged.

Volkswagen
Scrooged again!

You only have until the beginning of January for most of these deals, so its best to get out there… while the gettin’s still good!

Sources: Auto News and U.S. News

2011 Chevrolet Cruze, originally uploaded by Cars dot com

There are a lot of rumors sorting around behind the Chevrolet Cruze. We do know that it looks a lot like the Chevrolet Cobalt, and was engineered with the idea of eventually phasing it out it. With that said, the Chevrolet Cobalt will probably continue to see the light of the showroom floor, at least for a few more years.

Like the Cobalt, the Cruze is approximately the same size (five passengers), front-wheel-drive, and will be powered by a turbocharged four-cylinder powerplant. Unlike the turbo Cobalt SS, featuring a 2.0-liter powerhouse with 260 horsepower and 260 ft-lbs of torque, the Cruze will use its turbo towards a different cause. Not speed or power, but rather moderate go-power and maximum fuel savings.

The slated 1.4-liter turbocharged powerplant of the Cruze has been confirmed at somewhere around 140 horsepower and 130 ft-lbs of torque. This is pretty equivalent power numbers of the standard Cobalt’s 2.2-liter 4-cylinder. The biggest difference, beyond the noticeable space around the hood thanks to its 1-liter deduction in size, will be an increase of 5 mpg. The Cruze is speculated to achieve 40 mpg+, putting it in line with many hybrids currently in production today.

The actually specs of the Cruze have so far been kept pretty hush-hush, but we do know that production should begin sometime around the late summer/early Fall of 2010. Chevy originally had it slated for this coming summer, but decided to delay in favor of an impeccable launch. If its mileage capabilities prove as impressive in real life, the Cruze could set a new standard for compact gas vehicles, which has formerly been held by such vehicles as the Toyota Yaris and Honda Fit.

While the Yaris and Fit, both can grace the 40 mpg mark, neither of them offers this kind of mileage, with the performance capability of 130 horsepower. Part of the plan of the Cruze will also be to utilize some of the lighter materials available today, to give it a slight weight to power advantage over many other compact vehicles. The Cruze will offer the kind of pep, handling, and fuel economy most consumers crave, at a price they can afford.

Who says you can’t get excited over 130 horsepower?

IMG_1053 TOMS, originally uploaded by Look.

This has always been a very good question, and depending on who you ask, you will get different answers. Over the years I have heard that certain brands have better gasoline than others. Beyond the politics involved with each brand, that is not always true.

Where Does Your Favorite Gasoline Really Come From?
The base gasoline that comes to your favorite station may come from anywhere. While it is true that each brand of gasoline has its own blend, refineries, and source for oil, the base gasoline at the pump may not always come from where you think. In other words, a Texaco station may occasionally use Shell base gasoline, and vice versa.

It doesn’t make sense for refineries to ship their gas hundreds of miles, if there is a competitor’s refinery within miles. During these occasions, brands may use each others base gasoline. This is not to say that each brand has the exact same gas, because they don’t. The difference is what additives are mixed with it.

Each brand has its own brand of additive, meant to protect valves, burn off deposits, and keep fuel injectors clean. Every brand’s additive works just as well as another, but there is a catch.

There’s always a catch…

The Truth of Fuel Additives
For every fuel additive you use, you are cleaning certain power robbing and fuel economy reducing deposits at the expense of adding new ones. Additives in themselves are known to leave trace amounts of themselves on your spark plugs and in your oil, etc. There is no escaping this.

The only way to truly keep your vehicle clear of the residues left behind from these various chemicals is to alternate brands. Alternating the chemical additives found within each brand, will discourage excessive deposit build-up by allowing each additive to clean up after the other. In a sense, the additives of the various brands work best when used along with each other.

Premium vs. Regular
There is a big debate on which gasoline is better for a vehicle. Of course if your vehicle requires premium, it is a good idea to follow the manufacturers advice. But if your manufacturer advises regular, will using premium offer any benefit? Well, yes, and maybe no.

The Additives found in gasoline today are meant to even the score between premium and regular. Premium gas in its base form is a cleaner burning fuel, and leaves behind less deposits. It is just the way it is refined that gives it that quality.

However, the additives used in regular gas give it the same advantage, leaving less deposits. So in general, there is no real advantage to using one over the other, other than perhaps more piece of mind, which is sometimes worth its weight in the premium price.

If you have a strong allegiance for certain brands of gasoline than others for one reason or another, you can decrease the chance of deposit build-up by switching between two or more of your preferred brands every few thousand miles. Doing this should give your engine the best chance of remaining deposit-free over its lifetime.

The General Rule of Thumb
There is no one gasoline brand that offers better performance and fuel economy than another, but you can take advantage of their slight differences by switching brands often.

Moderation in all things, including your brand of gasoline!