Auto Trends

Tacoma Sale 018, originally uploaded by roverboy

Toyota has announced today that it will be recalling a total of 3.8 million of its vehicles, including the 2007-2010 Camry, 2005-2010 Avalon, 2004-2009 Prius, 2005-2010 Tacoma, 2007-2010 Tundra, 2007-2010 Lexus ES350, 2006-2010 Lexus IS250, and IS350.

Their greatest number of recalls prior to this was nearly 900,000 vehicles in 2005, due to front suspension defects on their Tacoma, Tundra, Sequoia, Landcruiser, and 4-Runner (May 2001- December 2003).

The 2005 issue was a serious issue involving the ball joints which tended to wear quicker than expected, causes steering issues, that could lead to a loss of control of the vehicle. Today’s recall, is a serious one, yet involves such a simple fix, that just about any consumer should be able to handle this one on their own.

The process of recall repair is as simple as these three steps:

1. Walk out to Toyota vehicle and open drivers side door.

2. Reach down and grab the drivers-side floor mat, and yank it out.

3. Do not put mat back in vehicle!

This simple recall is due to an issue reported by Toyota that involves the drivers-side mat binding itself underneath the accelerator pedal, causing it to snag and interfere with normal vehicle operation (mainly, unwanted acceleration). These accessory mats are reportedly too large for the floor area, and have already caused four occupant deaths in at least one Lexus ES.

This will be Toyota’s largest recall in its history as an automotive manufacturer, and could very well also be one of the simplest recall fixes in history! Of course, this do-it-yourself fix is only temporary, as Toyota will replace the mats once the recall notices are official. How much this will cost Toyota is unknown, but the real fear is how much it could damage their brand recognition for the future.

Source: The Car Connection

2009JUL010758, originally uploaded by bootload

The Big Clash of the Clunkers battle was fought and lost last month by many dealerships, and now as they wait out the rest of September to receive their government refund, you can expect the following four things:

One, a lot of car lots will be relatively barren, due to the magnitude of vehicles that were sold. Two, a lot of folks in the market for a new vehicle have already purchased, so new customers should be almost as barren as the available vehicles themselves. Three, the big clunker deals that emptied many car lots, will most certainly keep many new customers at bay, as they wait for the inventories to rebuild. Four, all of the above scenarios stands to produce some pretty desperate dealerships, who will be willing to make some pretty good deals this month, especially on select vehicles.

But to get in on the good deals, the September customer needs to be aware of a few things. Last month depleted a lot of gas sipping economy vehicles, but the big SUV’s and luxury vehicles remained rather untouched. This will result in some great deals for anyone who is currently in the market for one of these vehicles. The September customer also needs to be aware that just because a dealership lot is empty, certainly doesn’t mean that they cannot go in and order a vehicle at a great price. Manufacturers are busy building vehicles to replenish the depleted lots, don’t you worry about that.

In addition, if you have a trade-in vehicle, you might find that dealerships will covet its worth (in certain circumstances) just a little more than usual, since most of last months Clunker trade-ins are already rusting away in some junkyard. Not only are new car lots empty, but many of their used lots are also a bit sparse. With that said, let’s take a look at some of the highlights for the month of September 2009:

Audi
Nope, don’t come a knocking here if you are looking to deal.

BMW
The big news this month at BMW is the 2009 BMW M3, which is currently being unloaded at a very reasonable 0.9% APR financing for 36 months. This is of course in preparation of its 2010 brothers and sisters to take its place at the helm of the showroom floor. There are better deals to be had out there, but for a world class luxury sports cars, this is about as good as it is going to get. Offers last through the end of September 2009.

Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, HUMMER, Pontiac, Saturn, Saab
These eight brands are obviously ready to deal. This month you will find a multitude of various discounts and cash-backs offers which are so varied by state to state, I can’t even begin to list them out. However, many areas will have 0% financing available for those who qualify, but keep in mind that all these various discounts cannot be combined, so you will have to choose wisely. These deals will be in effect through the end of September 2009.

Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep
Chrysler didn’t have quite the turnout they had hoped though Cash For Clunkers, but they aren’t about to be left in the dust this month. You can expect to find deals on many popular models in the form of rebates of up to $4,500. 0% financing will also be a popular draw for some consumers, but the offers once again vary greatly from state to state, so check with your local dealer to see just how desperate they are. Offers set to run through the end of September 2009.

Ford, Lincoln, Mercury
Ford has been kicking some sizable butt this year, and they aren’t letting up anytime soon it would appear. This month you can find various rebates up to $5,000 on various 2009 models, and you can also count on 0 % APR financing for up to 60 months (as long as you qualify, that is). These deals are set to run through October 5^th, 2009.

Mercedes-Benz
Down from the 1.9% APR financing Mercedes was offering just a few months ago, you can still get a 2.9% APR for 36 months through the end of September on most models. Nothing to get too excited over, but if you are just jumping out of your skin to slip in a new Mercedes, this may not be a bad month, as their deals appear to be slipping by the wayside faster than the dodo bird.

Toyota
Toyota is holding their National Clearance Event this month, which means cash-back rebates as much as $4,000, and 0% APR financing with no limits on the loan term (36, 48, 60, 72, take your pick). Once again, Toyota has not announced an expiration date for these deals, so you’ll at least have through the end of September, barring any unforeseen Toyota tragedy.

Mazda
Not much here.

Volkswagen
Not much here either.

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

Source:
U.S. News & World Report: Best Car Deals, September 2009

Technology is growing in leaps and bounds these days. While many consumers are happy to have a vehicle that keeps track of the ambient air temperature (automatic climate control), Nissan is poised to take that type of luxury to the next level.

Many cars air-conditioning systems still function via a knob. You drive along and manually adjust the air temperature inside the cabin of the vehicle by adjusting the amount of warm or cool air allowed through the ventilation system. This is considered to be comparable to getting out of your chair to change the channel on your television set, or even using the word “television” for that matter.

One step up from this type of caveman technology, is the automatic climate system. This allows the driver and passenger to dial-in a particular air temperature, and the vehicle will then attempt to hold that temperature by automatically adjusting its cold and heat cycles accordingly.

Improvements Over Standard Air-Conditioning

Nissan thinks that it can offer its buyers something much better that automatic climate control in their new Forest AC air-conditioning system. The Forest AC is an improvement in a variety of ways. First, it not only automatically controls the temperature inside the cabin, but also the humidity.

Humidity is a big comfort factor, and the new Nissan system will regulate it in order to keep the cabin from becoming excessively dry from the conditioned air. It will do this by keeping the vehicle somewhere between 35 to 55 percent humidity depending on conditions. Second, the system will function off of what could be considered a smart filter.

Ultra Filter and Sterilizing Filters

Not only does the new Nissan smart filter system have an ultra-fine filter (great for pollens and other allergens), it also monitors the outside ventilation to determine exactly how much filtering is necessary. If you have a smoke billowing diesel truck in front of you during bumper to bumper traffic, the system will automatically adjust to keep the driver and passengers from being intoxicated by the fumes.

The next part of its design will be to eliminate odors through a combination of ion sterilization and aromatherapy. The Forest AC will produce what Nissan is calling, “plasmacluster ions”, which kill bacteria as well as remove unpleasant odors. In addition, the air can then be treated with a hint of fragrance (aromatherapy).

Aromatherapy and Natural Breezes

The aroma used will be a combination of many natural fragrances, such as Kapur, the wood essence of a tropical rain-forest; lavender, which is believed to produce both focus and calmness, and finally, leaf alcohol, believed to reduce both fatigue and irritation. All of these are designed to offer the driver improved safety and a maximum comfort level during their commute.

In addition, the entire cabin will be monitored for slight temperature changes, such as where the angle of the sunlight is entering the vehicle, etc. The system will then attempt to compensate for these slight variations, by producing different amounts of breeze through the vents. These are called “natural breezes” and will ensure each vehicle occupant is nestled within the most perfect air-conditioning digitized society is capable of.

Of course all of this will also give the driver several more items in which will need to be maintained on a regular schedule. In other words, along with the oil, tire pressure, and windshield washer fluid, the ultra-fine filter and aromatherapy cartridges will now need to be kept track of. To what extent, expense, or cost is unknown at this time.

Forest AC to be Introduced in the New Nissan Fuga

This system will debut with the Nissan Fuga, which is also said to also have a computerized traction control system that will determine the appropriate speed the driver should be traveling (by pushing up on the gas pedal) in order to safely execute a turn. This is all accomplished via eternal GPS coordinates preset in the vehicle.

It’s happening folks, whether you think it a good or bad idea, our ability to function our own vehicle is slowly being taken away, one task at a time. Computer aided/piloted vehicles is almost an inevitability at this point!

Source: nissan-global