It seems like there has been a lot of bad news in the air for Toyota recently.  The auto giant has been forced to recall 1.4 million vehicles including the popular Yaris due to problems with seat belts.  According to news.cnet.com the recall will be on a global scale:

“About 830,000 cars in Europe, North America, and other regions are being recalled, and another 536,000 in Japan. The defective models include the Yaris (called the Vitz in Japan), Belta, and Ractis models built between January 2005 and April 2008.

The recall concerns the tensioner on seat belts that may melt or catch fire in some collision situations. On some models, there’s also concern that the exhaust pipe will crack under extreme heat.”

This is actually only one in a recent string of recalls for Toyota.  The auto maker has recently had to recall Corollas and Matrix autos numbering upwards of 500,000.  Besides the Corollas and Matrix there was also a recent recall of around 200,000 Lexus model cars.  This could not come at a worse time for Toyota.  The car maker had recently posted large losses, the first in the company’s history. 

I hope that these recalls do not permanently effect Toyota’s reputation as a fine auto maker.  Given all the recent bad press it seems that some people might reconsider the choice to get a Toyota, but I hope that is not the case as they have and will continue to make fine automobiles.

For more information about how to rent a car during 2009, contact Triangle Rent a Car today!

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Clean in terms of emissions that is.  In a move that is sure to make environmentalists happy, Barack Obama has told states that they are in control of the emission standards on their respective land.  According to globeandmail.com this move has some important ramifications:

“Mr. Obama’s decision will let California and other states set their own auto emission standards in their drive to slash greenhouse gases, an official familiar with the decision said Sunday.

The move is significant on two fronts: It could empower states to set tougher standards in targeting emissions, which are blamed for contributing to global climate change; and it would be another swift reversal by Mr. Obama of Bush administration policy, this time on energy.”

It might come as a shock that Obama chooses this period in time to change the standards of the game.  This move will undoubtedly mean that GM, Ford, and Chrysler are going to have to spend more on research and development and start cranking out cars that meet muster across the board.  I guess some of that bailout money is going to be going right into these smaller cars so that the big three can really keep up in the market.  It will also be interesting to see how automakers like Honda and Toyota react to the new legislation.  Will they now be forced into making mostly small eco-friendly cars?

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It seems like the US isn’t the only place in the world that is having a tough time with their auto market.  It seems that Germany and France are also struggling to turn a profit in the car market.  Germany has gone so far as to cut hours for thousands of employees, while France is getting ready to pump 6 billion euros into their failing car market.  Bloomberg.com is reporting that BMW and VW are going to be cutting major hours for workers:

“BMW, the world’s largest manufacturer of luxury cars, will drop shifts for 26,000 employees in February and March, trimming its automaking by 10 percent, while Volkswagen, Europe’s largest carmaker, will shut five German factories from Feb. 23 to Feb. 27, affecting two-thirds of its 92,000-strong German workforce.”

This gives rise to one simple question: What is the point of all this?  If the governments of the world insist on pumping money into the car companies, don’t they understand that people who work for car companies aren’t generally buying cars?  What they need to do is have massive tax cuts for the population on the whole.  When the general population has more cash they will spend more on small and large ticket items.  If however you take that money in the form of increased taxes to bail out EVERYTHING you will see consumer spending dry up and die…which it is already doing.  Just my little bit of advice.

For more information about how to rent a car during 2009, contact Triangle Rent a Car today!

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Chrysler will soon be offering no interest loans for prospective car buyers around the country.  No interest loans have, in the past, helped struggling US automakers compete by slightly improving sales.  The only problem with this new plan is that you are paying for it.  This is just another instance of the American tax payer taking a ride, something that has been happening at an alarming rate lately.  The treasury has already cut a 1.5 billion dollar check for Chrysler so they can offer this new round of loans according to Bloomberg.com:

The aid from the bank-bailout program lets the finance company help boost sales at Chrysler, which was rescued from collapse by $4 billion in U.S. assistance. Chrysler U.S. sales plunged 30 percent last year, the most among major automakers. Industry deliveries slid at least 27 percent in each of 2008’s final four months, in part because of a credit crunch.

“Chrysler’s sales were down 53 percent in December,” said Tracy Handler, an analyst in Troy, Michigan, for economic forecasting company IHS Global Insight Inc. “With more money to lend, sales probably would have been down 30 percent.”

I can’t say that I am too happy with this latest round of “saving the big three car companies.”  When you are forced to have the government subsidise loans for a car maker you are really stepping into some dangerous waters.  This is the kind of thing that a communist country would do…not a free market one.  We are, in effect, paying Chrysler to make cheaper cars for the world to buy. 

For more information about how to rent a car during 2009, contact Triangle Rent a Car today!

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Why higher gas prices you ask?  Because the UAW and SEIU gave Barack Obama millions of dollars.  Let me explain.  According to usatoday.com, execs at GM are looking to push gas prices back up to the 4 or 5 dollar area:

“The carmakers acknowledge that raising the gas tax is an unpopular idea, but they also saw how fast consumer preference shifted toward small cars when gasoline prices topped $4 a gallon last summer. Without that economic incentive, the tide is turning back to bigger cars, crossovers and trucks.

And that could be a problem for automakers such as General Motors, (GM) which are investing millions to get fuel-saving technology on the road. At the North American International Auto Show Monday, GM CEO Rick Wagoner said taxing gas or providing rebates on fuel-efficient cars “is going to be the most effective way to move the needle fast.”

GM, Ford, and Chrysler “retooled” to start making smaller cars, and now no one wants them!  Solution: Make the Americans pay on the front end to keep the companies going, and have them pay on the back end in the form of massive gas taxes.  Why do I suggest that Obama might do something so stupid?  Because the UAW supported him with labor and money.  Not only that, but the UAW gave more then a million dollars to congressmen who voted for the bailout, while giving only around 1/10th that amount of money to those who opposed it.   Money buys influence…next stop, your pocketbook!

For more information about how to rent a car during 2009, contact Triangle Rent a Car today!

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Ah, the poor folks at GM just can’t catch a break.  It seems that ever since the gas prices have started to drop car sales have started to revert back to the usual SUV/Truck buying patterns.  I am left to wonder if Americans will ever learn from their mistakes.  I will explain that comment momentarily, but first I must mention that GM execs are none to please with the current turn of events.  Since GM, Ford, and Chrysler have been retooling themselves to be the eco/green/fuel efficient car company that 2008 called for, what now that 2009 will have the few people who are buying…buying trucks?  According to chron.com GM Vice Chair Robert Lutz is very frustrtated with the current events:

“Gasoline prices “are completely messing it up,” Lutz said today in a Bloomberg interview, referring to demand for small vehicles. “Nobody wants them.”

His comments reflect the swing back to pickups, sport- utility vehicles and vans at the end of 2008. The light trucks accounted for about 52 percent of vehicles sold in the U.S. in each of last year’s final two months, as gasoline tumbled to $1.62 a gallon from its $4.11 peak on July 15. For the year, cars outsold light trucks for the first time since 2000.”

It is amazing how everything is a worst case scenerio lately.  Let me explain what is going to happen.

1) People are going to buy more trucks and SUVs thinking the gas price change is going to be long term.

2) The “big three” are going to starve to death after having retooled away from these big vehicles, taking the American tax payer with them

3)Consumption will rise for gas, gas prices will go up, and we will be left with a bunch of people with worthless big vehicles that no one wants, high gas prices, three destroyed car companies, and a bunch of tax payers footing the bill for the whole thing.  Excuse the phrase but: Save us from ourselves!

For more information about how to rent a car during 2009, contact Triangle Rent a Car today!

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When I think about people driving and talking on their cell phones I think “scary.”  When I think about people driving and watching TV, I think “I need to start taking the train and stay far away from the roads.”  Well, this dream may soon be reality.  Apparently AT&T is planning to put more then twenty channels into that car driving next to you, according to PCworld:

“On the heels of Audiovox’s announcement of an automotive version of the MediaFlo TV service for cell phones, AT&T has revealed plans for its own robust, satellite-based in-car TV service. AT&T Cruisecast, slated to launch this spring, promises 22 channels of satellite TV at launch and 20 more of satellite radio-but will cost serious money: $1299 for the system, and $28 a month for the satellite TV service (developed in conjunction with satellite industry veteran RaySat”

It seems like the in car programming is catered to the younger family crowed and includes such channels as  Disney Channel, Disney XD, Discovery Kids, Animal Planet, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network Mobile, USA, COMEDY CENTRAL, MSNBC, CNN Mobile Live and CNBC according to PCworld.  I suppose it is a good thing that they aren’t tailoring all of the programming for the drivers, but why CNN, MSNBC and CNBC?  I really worry about situations like this.  People can’t drive as is.  Do we really need to be throwing more distractions into the mix? 

For more information about how to rent a car during 2009, contact Triangle Rent a Car today!

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Does the poor state of the economy have you worried about that next big purchase?  Do you want that new car but find yourself thinking “what if”?  Have you read the stories about banks suing people who they lent money to for car loans because the value of their repossessed car was in the red?  Well, if these concerns sound familiar perhaps auto maker Hyundai has a solution for you.  According to MSNBC Hyundai has a new policy that will last the year, that policy states that if a customer loses their job, they can return the car they bought:

“The program is available for one year on all remaining 2008 and new 2009 models.

Since every new customer qualifies, Hyundai hopes it’ll convince people to sign on the dotted line.

Tom Hollett says “they’re looking for a good product and a good warranty, and something that gives them good piece of mind that the product they own at a fair payment is going to deliver.”

Would a sales pitch similar to this one make you more apt to buy a car or less apt?  I think it could go either way.  Some people might view the policy as working in their favor and getting rid of some of their fears.  Others might think of it as just a reminder that things can really go wrong.  Either way, it will be very interesting to see the end results.

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In Virginia a six year old boy missed his school bus and decided to take mom and dad’s Ford Taurus to school.  The boy, who is unnamed because he is a minor, made several hazardous maneuvers before finally wrecking out, according to the AP:

“The boy, whose name wasn’t released, missed the bus, took the keys to his family’s 2005 Ford Taurus and drove nearly six miles toward school while his mother was asleep, police said.

He made at least two 90-degree turns, passed several cars and ran off the rural two-lane road several times before hitting an embankment and utility pole about a mile and a half from school.”

The parents have been charged with endangering the welfare of a child and the boy in question, along with another sibling, are in the custody of the state.  The boy was apparently in a rush to have breakfast at school and go to gym class.  Apparently when asked where he learned to drive the boy stated that he had learned from a monster truck video game and “Grand Theft Auto.”  What parent is letting their six year old play a video game that involves basically driving around town and killing people?  The good news is that the boy escaped the wreck with only a bump on the head, and even more amazingly, he didn’t kill anyone else while attempting to get to school.  If you ever meet Jacqulyn Deana Waltman, 26, and David Eugene Dodson, 40 of Virginia…tell them that their parenting skills are in question, just a little bit.

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There are certainly many classic cars in the world from Fords to Ferraris, but perhaps the most esteemed of all classic cars is the Bugatti.  It was a rare vehicle in it’s day and had performance that was truly head and shoulders above most of the the competition.  Given the rarity of these cars it should come as no surprise that they are expensive…very expensive.  Given the cost it must have come as quite a shock for one family to discover an original Bugatti in the garage of a recently deceased relative, according to the New York Times:

“Dr. Harold Carr, an orthopedic surgeon in England, was a recluse in his later years, according to relatives. He never married or had children. So when the doctor died in 2007 at the age of 89, few knew what to expect inside his dusty garage. The last thing Dr. Carr’s relatives expected to find was one of the rarest cars in the world, a 1937 Bugatti 57S Atalante, which The Associated Press said was one of 17 in existence.”

The family is planning on auctioning off the vehicle next month and bids are expected to reaching into the millions.  I believe the exact estimate is around 4 million dollars in fact.  Dr. Carr bought the car from Lord Ridley in 1955, who was one in a line of owners.  Whoever the next owner will be should be a man with very deep pockets to keep this classic car in pristine condition!

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