Car Rentals Tips From a Traveling Journalist Part III

Sometimes we forget the basic common sense and/or courtesy rules when we’re in the happy haze of being away from home. Remembering what your parents drilled into when you first got your license, can save you from car rental hell.

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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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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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Subaru, Seattle’s Unofficial Car Maker!

Train Spears a Car in Kent!

(Kent, WA) January 30

Around 1:15 pm this afternoon a train hit a semi truck carrying cars in downtown Kent. Two of the vehicles on the truck were struck, this one was dragged a few blocks. Luckily the driver of the semi escaped the collision and no injuries reported.

Any idea what kind of car that is the photo?

It looks like a KIA.

Photo courtesy the City of Kent

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

Where to Find a Working Bare Bones Used Car

This is the second part of SeattleAuto.net’s series on Buying a Used Car for Under $1,000.

It’s hard to think that it’s possible to buy a working, semi-reliable car for under $1,000, but if you cut out the plush comforts, it’s still a reasonable goal. Read more

How to Buy a Used Car for Under $1,000

In one of the worst automotive sales years on record, auto dealers are slashing prices on new cars to entice buyers. However, for the buyer on the shoestring who is looking for the ultimate deal, we’re going to tell you how to buy a used car for under $1,000. And to prove it, we’re going to do it.
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The Bad Boy Buggy is All Good

How would people describe a typical off-road vehicle? Maybe loud, possibly rugged, but certainly gas burning. That’s where the Bad Boy Buggy comes in. 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. 

 

The Smart Car is a Smart Move!

 

“Hey what’s that?!”

 

That’s usually what you hear when people see the Smart Car Fourtwo in the Seattle area. The size, the way it handles, and overall appealing looks makes the Fourtwo a unique vehicle for the road. Read more

Reckless Driving Causes I-5 Truck Accident

Traffic on I-5 was jammed both ways this afternoon due to an accident near the ship canal bridge, south of NE 45th.

The Seattle PI reported that a witness saw a white passenger car cut in front of a large container truck, causing the driver to swerve into the concrete median Read more