Cash For Clunkers in Seattle

After the recent announcement that the Cash for Clunkers program was active again, we at Seattle Auto have been fielding lots of emails from visitors wondering if their car was eligible. To be honest, even we were unsure of how the program worked, so we did a little research and here’s what we found out.
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Seattle Car Drivers are Spending Less Time in Traffic?

Gas prices go up, more people out of work equals fewer folks on the road? It would seem to make sense. And according to a national study done by the Texas Transportation Institute, those factors have caused for less congestion around the country. Read more

Your Driving Stinks! The Worst Driving States in America

The Big Apple! Home of Broadway, the Empire State building, the New York Yankees, and the worst drivers in America. Read more

In the Car with the Go2Dog

I drive around with my dog a lot. And when I say “a lot,” I mean most all of the time. So much that when I don’t take him, he looks at me with that “Where-in-the-heck-are-you-going-without-me look.” Read more

You Always Remember Your First Car

Whenever I’m in one of those conversations where people get to reminiscing about their first car, I sometimes will say my first car was a Mustang. Thing is, that’s not really true. I wanted a Mustang, just like any teenage boy of my generation, but what my Burger King salary could actually afford was a 1979 Mercury Capri, the bare bones “twin” of the Mustang. Read more

Are Seattle Car Dealers Getting Desperate?

“I got my Civic at $100 over invoice!” beams Leonard L., a Redmond resident who picked up a new 2009 Honda Civic earlier this year. Leonard is among the growing group of recent car buyers who have snagged up great deals as local Seattle car dealerships have begun feeling the economic recession.

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Cars that Are Selling…or Are They?

Seattle drivers, for the most part, are smart. They follow the beat of their own drum and rarely do we follow any type of national trend. But seeing between the lines of national statistics can tell you a lot.Take into consideration the Top 15 Cars Americans Are Still Buying by Forbes.com.

Numbers can be deceiving. They can be manipulated to serve a purpose by just about anyone. In terms of the Forbes story they used recent sales numbers provided by Autodata based on sales each month. They compared the number of sales from February 2008 and February 2009. But take it with a grain of salt. While individual models made gains, it wasn’t enough to save the overall losses by the company.

According to the Forbes.com story written by Hannah Elliot:

Despite the gains, individual models don’t reflect the industry at large; most of the cars with the strongest gains come from brands that lost ground last month. Audi’s A5 and S5 coupes, for instance, gained 28.6% in sales from February 2008, but the brand declined 24.4% in overall sales. Models like the Audi A3 (down 51.6% in February), Audi A6 (down 47.5% in February) and Audi A8 (down 67.5% in February) did more than their part to drag Audi down.

Similarly, the Nissan 350Z’s 33% gain couldn’t fully mitigate the brand’s 37.1% loss compared to February 2008. All told, only Kia (0.4%), Smart (28.5%) and >Subaru (1.4%) posted overall gains last month over February 2008.

Manipulation of individual numbers is a good way to avoid the doom and gloom of the overall auto industry. Take the BMW M3 convertible, according to last years sales there was only one sold in February 2008! All they had to do was sell two and it would’ve doubled their sales for 2009.

Therefore, the best thing to do is eliminate the sales that are less than 1,000 and take a look at the rest. When you do that, what’s left is a better overall picture of cars that sold better to the masses.

If you go by that method, Hyundai is making a lot of waves this year with the Genesis, Elantra, and Accent. This isn’t the first “top” list they’ve made this year. Check out these individual sales for Hyundai models in the United States from last year to this year.

Hyundai Accent
MSRP: $9,970

February 2009 sales: 4,334
February 2008 sales: 3,335
Increase: 30.0%

Hyundai Elantra
MSRP: $14,120

February 2009 sales: 8,978
February 2008 sales: 6,750
Increase: 33.0%

See the entire article and list at Forbes.com.

Understanding a Vehicle History Report

As a follow-up to our earlier article on Ten Reasons to Get a Car History Report, we’re now going to walk you through the process of actually reading and understanding vehicle history reports. You’ll quickly learn how to spot the good, bad and the ugly, so that you can be one step closer to buying your used car.
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Washington Cracks the Top 10 in Uninsured Motorists!

‘What do you mean you don’t have any insurance?’

If you’ve ever uttered this phrase after a car accident, chances are you weren’t happy about it. Surprisingly this happens a lot in the state of Washington.

According to the Insurance Research Council, in 2007 Washington had the 10th highest uninsured motorist rate in the entire country. The national average for uninsured motorists was at a rate of 13.8% in 2007, with the state of Washington owning a rate of 16%. Read more

Subaru, Seattle’s Unofficial Car Maker!

The 2010 Toyota Prius is in Hybrid Heaven in Seattle

It’s rare when a vehicle actually lives up to the hype. But by all accounts, the 2010 Toyota Prius will do just that and maybe more. Unveiled at the Detroit auto show, Toyota made a big splash, and maybe even sent a message to other hybrid automakers. Read more

Car Winterization Guide – Part 2

Now that Seattle residents have survived the first (and hopefully last) snow storm of the region, it’s a good idea go back and review tips on how to winterize your vehicle. Read more

Zip Code Determines Auto Insurance Rates

When it comes to auto insurance, your zip code is your identity. Just because you live in an expensive downtown loft with with a secure garage doesn’t guarantee lower auto insurance rates.  Read more

The Big Automakers Take a Hit, Subaru Shines!

Reminiscent of an Oklahoma City Thunder game, the numbers were just plain brutal and ugly. 2008 auto sales were at their lowest in over a decade. Even old reliables like Toyota and Honda couldn’t escape the bad economy and lack of consumer confidence.

All of the major US and Japanese auto makers finished the year with a thud, a very quite thud. The only company to offer a little sunshine was Subaru. The Japanese based company was the only one to see a positive increase in December sales.

According to an Associated Press article Chrysler sold 30 percent fewer cars in 2008. Ford sales numbers were down 21 percent than the previous year. While Toyota dropped 16 percent and Honda was also down at 8 percent in overall 2008 sales. The only major automaker who saw positive gains in 2008 was Japanese company Subaru.  Subaru sales went up 0.3 percent, not a lot of gain, but an improvement non the less. Buyers flocked to top selling models like the Forester and Impreza.

What’s all those sales numbers mean for Seattle drivers? Maybe more deals to be had, and maybe more Foresters and Imprezas on the road. Subaru could end up being the unofficial car of Seattle – just don’t forget the canopy.

No Surprise: Cell Phone Ban Not Working

In news that’s probably unsurprising to most Seattle motorists, the cell phone ban passed 6 months ago has not been effective. According to Sgt. Freddy Williams of the State Patrol, who spoke with the Seattle Times, nearly 1 in 3 drivers on the road are using their cell phone. Read more

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