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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2009 Subaru Forrester Test Drive

Seattle Auto got our hands on a new 2009 Subaru Forrester – winner of the Motor Trend 2009 SUV of the Year award. We took the car out for a spin on the streets of Seattle and along the I-90 corridor to the slopes to get a feel for the car.

Car Rental Tips from a Traveling Journalist

Between a career which has traveled me all over the U.S. and an adventurous spirit that leads me to wander off in my free time, I’ve probably rented more cars in the past five years than most people will rent, collectively, in their lifetimes.

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The Best 2009 Cars for the Money

Everyone is looking for value. Gone are the days when you spend too much on features and buy something loaded with items you don’t need. The Seattle area driver for the most part is smart. In today’s Seattle car market, most people looking to purchase a vehicle are educated, and aren’t willing to spend frivolously. Read more

Ten Easy Tips for Defensive Driving

You’ve heard the term defensive driving tossed around a lot, but what does it really mean? Many people conjure up images of a slow, hesitant driver that only drives in the right lane and signals a block before turning. In reality, defensive driving is a set of good habits on top of your existing driver skills.
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Pemco Insurance Ads Have Seattle Drivers Figured Out

“We’re a lot like you, a little different,” claims Pemco Insurance.

The insurance company’s local ads have been memorable and effective in capturing the different kinds of people in the Northwest.  While some might be close to instigating a Seattle stereotype, such as Profile #76 – Super Long Coffee Orderer – they are creative and well thought out.

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The 2009 Subaru Forester Review

After driving the 2009 Forester 2.5XT for one week, we have come to many conclusions as to why Subarus and the Forester in particular are so popular in the Seattle area. In short, the vehicle does many things well. Read more

Seattle Test Drive Review for the 2009 Toyota Venza

After reading and hearing so much about the 2009 Toyota Venza, I wasn’t sure what to expect. When driving most cross-over type vehicles it’s either one or the other. Either it feels like a truck but looks like a sedan, or handles like a sedan and looks like a SUV. It’s rare to get a true combination of both. But after driving the 2009 Venza, I know why Toyota waited a while to get into the crossover market, they wanted to get it right. Read more

Driving in Flood Waters, Dont Do it!

If you’ve ever lived in the Midwest or part of Texas, you know that many fatalities happen when people try and drive through high waters in a car. It takes just ankle to knee-high water to stall your vehicle. Avoid high waters at all costs.

Here are some sobering facts when it comes to driving in floods.

• Over 50% of flood related drownings are vehicle-related
• In Texas, the nations leader in flood related fatalities, 65% of those fatalities happen when a vehicle is in the water.

Check out this excerpt from Floodsafety.com

Ironically, many drivers rescued from flood waters report that they were in a hurry to get home– to safety — as a reason for tempting the danger of driving into water. However it looks, and despite what car commercials depict, driving into flood waters may be the most dangerous things one might ever try considering the following:

Just because the truck/car in front of you can drive through the water, doesn’t mean you can. If you can’t see theyellow  line in the middle of the road, you shouldn’t be driving on it. Another thing to remember is that even with your high beams on, it is nearly impossible to see the road when there’s a lot of water on it.

Floodsafety.com also suggests that in 18-24 inches of moving water, most cars and trucks will be swept away. Trucks and SUVs have only about 6-12 more inches of clearance. If in doubt, don’t drive thru water that’s over 6 inches deep.

The 2009 Toyota Venza Sounds Perfect for Seattle

In a year when automakers are desperate for something to catch the attention of weary buyers, Toyota may have found it. The new 2009 Toyota Venza is a mixture of different cars and SUVs rolled into one. Think the engine efficiency of an Avalon, the capacity similar to a Highlander, and performs like a RAV4 on steroids.

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Chevy SUV Dies During PR Stunt to Crush Japanese Car

Last Friday, in an attempt to send a message to buy American cars, a Chevrolet dealer arranged to have a modified Chevrolet Suburban drive over a Honda Accord. The stunt was derailed however when the SUV blew a hose and failed to crush the truck. Utterly stupid?  Just a little.  Here’s the excerpt from the full article:

HILO, Hawaii – A Hilo Chevrolet dealer who tried to crush his Asian auto competition found the stunt a little harder to pull off than expected.

Island Chevrolet general sales manager James Severtson arranged for a Chevrolet Suburban SUV outfitted with massive tires costing $5,000 apiece to drive over a Honda Accord.

On the first attempt Friday, the monster truck blew a hydraulic hose and leaked vital fluid while the Honda remained intact and ready for more.

I drive a Suburban and I also drive an Accord. I would never want to crush either one of them, because they serve different purposes. That’s why it irks me to no end to see this type of cowboy attitude, especially in the middle of the auto bailout. We don’t need more chest thumping about American cars, we need reflection and re-organization.

And seriously, who in their right mind thinks the Japanese make bad cars? The era of the 70s and 80s where American automakers and consumers laughed at shoddy Japanese cars is nearly three decades ago. The fact that anyone can even think that the Big Three make more reliable cars than Honda or Toyota is laughable at best and plain sad at worst.

If Americans want to take pride in their vehicles, then it’s time for the automakers to sit back and do some reflection on why the industry they created from scratch is now in the dying throes of bankruptcy. The problem is that the automakers are not doing that reflection, but instead, blaming just about anyone they can for their current problems: the economy, the union, gas prices, picky consumers and yes, now the Japanese. It’s a sad day when a proud American industry is so in denial of it’s own faults that it resorts to pointless name calling to save face.

Domestic car enthusiasts are probably wondering where are the Henry Ford or Lee Iacocca of our modern times to lead us through this financial mess among our automakers. The answer, unfortunately, may be that those comparable visionaries are here today – they just work on the other side of the ocean.

Consumer Alert: Snow Chain Price Gouging

It’s come to our attention in the last few days that there have been a number of incidents around Seattle involving auto parts stores gouging customers on the sale of snow chains. In Redmond, one local shop was charging $89.99 for a standard set of generic snow chains. Is your store ripping you off? Read more

The 5 Worst Parkings Lots In the Seattle Area

5. Southcenter Costco
Just the number of people alone make most Costco parking lots a nightmare, it’s even worse on weekends or during the holidays. But the Southcenter Costco tops them all. It’s kind of on the side and the parking is just all over the place with a weird side entrance which is a one way I believe. All the makings of a complete nightmare especially if you’re trying to get that big box of diapers before the coupon expires. The other Costco stores are fine, in fact they normally have roomy parking stalls.

4.Sea Tac’s Cell Phone Waiting Lot
First time, I could barely find it it was so small. If you’ve actually found a space consider yourself lucky. It’s a great idea, I wish they would expand. Or have they done this already? If they haven’t they should.

3. Renton Walmart
It feels like a you’re a lab experiment when you drive in there. The drivers would be the mouse and the parking lot is the maze. It’s always crowded and the spaces are tight and there’s never enough room. Better just park at Popeye’s grab some spicy chicken and walk to Walmart(Dont do it, I’m sure the Popeye’s people would tow you) I don’t shop there just because of the parking lot, forget saving 2 bucks on laundry detergent, someone just dinged my door!

2. Qwest Field Parking Garage(After a Seahawks Game)
When it comes to sporting events and parking garages it’s always bad. But considering there’s just one way in and one way out, the Qwest field garage is the worst. If you’re the unlucky soul parked on the top level. Better leave in the 3rd quarter or go to the Pyramid after the game because the wait will be long. I swear I was in the car for about a half hour just to get back onto Royal Broughm(sp?) Compare it to the Safeco garage, they have it down there are multiple exits and you can get out quickly(unless it’s a Yankees/Red Sox day game).

1. Bellevue Whole Foods
You’ll see some sweet rides in that lot, it’s just a terrible set up. All the spaces are right in front of the store and it is super cramped. Why design such a flawed parking lot when it’s Range Rover, Mercedes SUV, and a BMW watering hole? You will undoubtedly yell at some upper crust mom who just came from the tanning salon/gym and wanted to stop and get a quick bite and a shot of wheat grass (about $22.95 for that lunch). Better just park somewhere else, and let someone else lose it.

These are solely my opinion, I’m interested in hearing others.

Al Gore on Auto Bailout: We Gave then $1 Billion 15 Years Ago and They Walked Away

In a recent Newsweek interview with Al Gore, here’s a telling quote on what US automakers have really thought about clean and efficient cars this whole time: Read more

Why Toyota Wins From the Auto Crisis

From a blog posting I just read:

Do you know how many hourly jobs GM has laid off from 2006 to July 2008? Take a guess. How about 34,000? And now, they’re talking about another 5,500 layoffs.

…

OK, here’s a better question. How many hourly jobs has Toyota’s American production system laid off in the same time frame? Zero. That’s right. ZERO. How? Isn’t Toyota experiencing the same slow down in auto sales as GM is? Yes, it is. And yes, Toyota has halted production at its Texas and Indiana plants for the past 3 months. But the 4,500 people who work at those plants have not been laid off. 

 

The answer: Toyota has a special culture, deep-rooted values, and respect for their workforce. Toyota’s tradition is to NOT lay off employees during hard times. This tradition hasn’t really been put to the test until now. And Toyota has stuck to its guns and its values.

“This was the first chance we’ve really had to live out our values,” says Latondra Newton, general manager of Toyota’s Team Member Development Center in Erlanger, Ky. “We’re not just keeping people on the payroll because we’re nice. At the end of all this, our hope is that we’ll end up with a more skilled North American workforce.”

 

For the full article: What Toyota knows that GM doesn’t

My thoughts on this is two fold. First, I’m impressed with Toyota as a consumer. Second, I’m sentimental to the fact that this really is the end of the American car industry. 

Back in the 80s, when America stopped importing “cheap” Japanese cars and Lee Iacocca was making history at Chrysler, the American car industry seemed pretty much unstoppable. The “Big Three” were called that because they were actually the biggest – not because they are the only ones left standing – as is the case today. 

Through mergers and acquisitions, the industry, even with all it’s clashes with the union, the auto industry had the history of supporting it’s workers and ensuring a career out of tens of thousands of skilled laborers at a time that many corporations dumped their workers en masse. 

But that was then and this is now. 

In a surreal flip, it would now appear that those clunky Japanese car companies are the industry leaders today; and have been for more than a decade. While Detroit was drinking the oil-is-forever koolaid and pumping out beefier and bigger engines, the Japanese were hard at work perfecting their engines and builds to six-sigma and improving efficiency.

With gas hitting $4 a few months ago and the credit crisis, it wasn’t so much that the Japanese won the bet, but rather, Detroit found itself with an empty hand. Saddled with factories meant to churn out beefy SUVs, Hummers and trucks, the new paradigm in energy and economics poured cold water all over the roaring party up until this point. 

GM is losing a billion dollars a month and will likely buy out Chrysler. Layoffs in the 30,000 – 40,000 range are to be expected, along with 12 factories closing. Morale is no doubt at an all time low, with every worker wondering if he’s next on the cutting block. Even if GM is able to magically survive with an infusion of cash (bailout), the Volt is still years out and a grasp for straws.

Meanwhile, Toyota has taken a page straight out of the American automaker book by proving its loyalty to the company workforce. Though Toyota is halted on much of its production, they are taking the down time to train their workers to be even better skilled, educated and efficient workers. When the economy picks up again, Toyota will be the equivalent of a fully rested team going to the playoffs against a miserable and beat-up team that has just played 10 losing games in a row. It’s no contest who will win. 

If the Seattle Auto Show was any indication, the consumers have already voted, as we saw crowds around Toyota, Honda and Jetta. All the while, the sprawling 2-ton Ford F150 rotating 360 degrees might as well been invisible. Chevy and Escalade Hybrids were looked on more with a sense of derision or perplexed bewilderment rather than consumer curiosity (though this is Seattle). 

The new automotive landscape is already here – it’s just across the sea. 

 

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