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How to Fix the Car-Buying Experience


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woman-car-keys
Like many of you, I’m a completely car-obsessed nut job.

I love almost everything about cars: I love driving them. I love reading about them. I love writing about them. I love criticizing them and praising them. Heck, I even love smelling them (2004 models and newer only, please).

Buying cars is perhaps the only thing that I don’t like, even though I’ve done it now 13 times in 12 years.

Last weekend I again began the process of car shopping to replace my wife’s 2002 Honda CR-V. Last night we finished the process and happily brought home a 2004 Lexus RX 330 with only 28,000 miles on the odometer. The days in between were a mix of delight, excitement, frustration, and torture. But I have a way to fix the process.

First, though, this Lexus is the first car my wife picked out herself, test drove herself, and took delivery of herself. Being the car nut that I am, I ALWAYS decided what cars we had and when we bought them. This time I was the casual observer – the friend who came along for advice, support, and negotiation know-how.

My wife is quite delighted that I hadn’t even driven an RX 330 before she did, which is a miracle, considering how many cars I’ve tested.

Lexus was the first brand we looked at and the last, with Mazda, Nissan, car-in-cartChevy, Volkswagen, Ford, and Cadillac in between. Negotiations started and stalled, we walked onto dealership lots and off them. It was during one of those walk-offs that a stroke of brilliance hit so hard I was nearly ready to go start my own dealership and change the way America buys cars. And it’s so simple it’s almost silly!

I want dealerships to negotiate whatever price they want for the trade-in vehicles they acquire. But, when a shopper comes in to look at that vehicle, the dealer has to show them what they paid for it and include a set mark-up that’s not negotiable, say 15 percent. The shopper then knows exactly what the car costs, the salesman knows exactly what his commission will be, and the dealership knows exactly how much profit it will make. It’d be like buying from Saturn, only better.  

Would you rather buy a car at a no-negotiation price, or do you like the back-and-forth experience?

-tgriffith

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“Fast and Furious”: A sneak peek behind the scenes!

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“The Fast and the Furious” recently made my list of Best Movies Ever About Cars.

The next movie in the series is “Fast and Furious” (essentially the same movie, but with the word “the” removed). Will it be good enough to make the next list of best movie cars? That’s still to be determined.

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Fast and Furious

What I do know is that the special effects behind the movie are just as stunning as the action in the movie is sure to be.

As your special inside connection to the movie world of Los Angeles, I want to share a couple of pictures from the production of “Fast and Furious.”

What do you think – will the new movie be good enough to make my next list about great movie cars?  

-tgriffith

The Best TV Cars Ever!


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Not long ago I chose my favorite movie cars of all time, and needless to say, not everyone agreed with my choices. Now I want to know about your favorite TV cars ever! First, though, here are my choices:

KITT: 1982 Pontiac Trans Am, “Knight Rider”

Forget the Mustang GT500 in the pitiful remake of the classic “Knight Rider” – the original KITT was cooler on so many levels!

The General Lee: 1969 Dodge Charger, “The Dukes of Hazzard”

General Lee

Remember how Luke and Bo would leap into the car right through its open windows? Or jump the car through barn walls? In this case, the car wasn’t just part of the show, it MADE the show!

1975 Pontiac Firebird, “The Rockford Files”

Jim Rockford lived in a trailer and drove a gold Firebird. Could he have solved his cases without the car? Maybe. But I don’t think as many people would have watched him do it!

Stair car, “Arrested Development”

Driving a portable staircase is plain funny, especially when it’s the family’s main mode of transportation. Here’s a nod to an under-appreciated classic!

Mach 5, “Speed Racer”

Hey, I never the said the cars on this list were all going to be real. The Mach 5 has been around since 1967, was the star of a recent movie, and was even put through a “road test” by Road & Track magazine. Zero to 60 in 0.6 seconds!

Which do you think are the best cars ever featured in a TV show?

-tgriffith

Small Car, Big Title: 2009 MINI John Cooper Works Performance Cabrio


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mini-jcw-open-rearMINI/BMW has announced the new JCW Convertible, one nifty car, though it will cost you $34,950 base. The standard MINI Cooper convertible, hardly plain old vanilla, had an MSRP of $24,550. What does that extra ten grand get you? With a 208-bhp turbo, the JCW should be a blast to drive (0-62 in 6.9 seconds), and it possesses an “outstandingly sporting character,” per the press release.

See it at the Geneva Auto Show March 5-15, or get one from your local dealer starting in April. Whether or not you can afford the price, we bet you’ll be tempted.

This new car has all the MINI virtues and more: a Sport button to press for more torque, plus better throttle (drive-by-wire in this car) and steering response; 17-inch alloys with run-flat tires; larger discs and Brembo brakes; and a host of options. Here are the ones for the JCW Hardtop; those for the convertible aren’t yet on the website, but may well be the same.

Neat as this car is, I still think it looks kind of lame with the top up—very much like the PT Cruiser, that is, bulky in back with blind spots.

But this baby ain’t no PT Cruiser. Beginning in 1947, the Cooper Car Company began producing those marvelous Cooper rear- and mid-engine F-1 cars that dominated racing for much of the ‘50s. (Short history here.) In the 1960s came the Classic Mini Cooper, one of the great rally cars of all time, and finally the MINI Cooper S versions, which BMW ownership of the JCW brand has only enhanced.

Of course, it’s overpriced. But would you buy it if you had the bread?

—jgoods

Should V8 Engines Get Outlawed?


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2010 Cadillac SRX
Someday the era of gasoline-powered vehicles will come to an end.

While no one really knows what technology will come forward to take over the top spot from fossil fuels, we all know the cars on the road in 50 years will be very different from the ones we’re buying now.

In the short term, carmakers obviously need to become more fuel efficient (which is the topic of major controversy recently) to maximize every drop of remaining oil. The biggest change I think will be the demise of the V8 engine, especially as higher performance V6 engines and diesels become more popular.

Take a look at the 2010 Cadillac SRX and you won’t see the fire-breathing Northstar V8 as an option, but instead a duo of V6 options. The outgoing V8 put out 320 horsepower with a 4.6-liter engine, while a new turbocharged V6 is reported to put out 300 horsepower from a 2.8-liter.

2010 MINI Crossman concept
2010 MINI Crossover concept

That, my friends, is the kind of progress we can expect to see in the coming years. I’d even go so far as to say V8 engines should be completely outlawed. With new technology like the SRX’s V6 and the clean diesel technology from companies like Mercedes-Benz, traditional V8 engines might be better suited for museums than street use.

While families who need the space of an SUV will still be able to buy them, other options such as the 2010 MINI Crossover Concept will spring up for those who need a moderate amount of space, all-wheel-drive, and the fuel economy of a 4-cylinder engine.

With options like high-performance V6 engines, clean diesels, and practical, moderately sized 4-cylinder crossovers, who needs V8 engines? Should they eventually get outlawed?

-tgriffith

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