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Chrysler to Challenge Legislation

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Complaints made to Congress from GM and Chrysler dealerships has led to a House approved $1.1 trillion spending bill. This bill will give dealerships a chance to dispute their closure depending on their past success. G.M. and Chrysler proposed their own review processes last week in an effort to keep Congress from getting involved, but their proposal was rejected.

Today, Chrysler came back challenging the decision, calling it ‘unconstitutional legislation’. Sergio Marchionne (CEO of the Fiat and Chrysler Group LLC and Chairman of the European Automobile Manufacturers Association) said that restoring large numbers of dealerships could cause havoc within Chrysler. “We are in a completely different position than G.M.” he said. G.M. has about $42 billion in cash in September, paying back $6.7 is easier than it would be for us.” Mr.. Marchionne also said G.M. was more focused on repaying the loans because the government owns 60% as opposed to 10% of Chrysler. Chrysler’s majority shareholder is the United Automobile Workers union’s retiree health care trust.

Chrysler is planning to make investments that would provide jobs and other economic benefits. Building a fuel-efficient engine with Fiat technology in the United States is one of three goals that each allow Fiat to gain an additional 5 percent of Chrysler.

Honda Mileage Over Inflated

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In March of 2007, John True of Ontario, California purchased a Honda Civic hybrid hoping that he could save a bit on fuel and do his part for the environment. He chose Honda because they had advertised their hybrid mileage as 49 miles per gallon in the city and 51 miles per gallon on highways. After about 6 000 miles of driving he found that it was almost impossible to reach this. Many other Honda hybrid owners came to the same conclusion including one by Consumer Reports. John filed a lawsuit against Honda claiming Honda had inflated the mileage. The settlement covers almost 160 000 people who owned or leased a 2003 through 2008 model Honda Civic Hybrid.

The class action has been settled, but more than half the nation’s state attorneys are objecting to the settlement. In this class action, Honda will send DVD’s to current and former Civic owners with tips on improving the fuel economy. Owners who trade in their Honda Civic Hybrid for certain Honda or Acura vehicles could get up to $1,000 rebate on some vehicles or $100 in cash if they had made a complaint previously. Others who no longer owned their hybrid would get a $500 coupon. “The coupons offered to consumers are of limited value: They are worth only a fraction of the price of the original car,” the attorneys general said in a court filing Monday. ” “Cars like the Honda Fit, Insight, Civic Hybrid and CRZ are the class of vehicle these hybrid owners would most likely buy, yet they have been excluded from the list.”

In the beginning of 2007 new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) tests, were unveiled to better reflect real world driving. As a result, fuel economy for all vehicles fell an average of 12% in the city and 8% on highways.

Get Your Teen On the Right Track When Learning to Drive

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Here are some facts about teens and driving:

-Motor vehicle crashes are the No. 1 cause of teen death in the United States
-Six thousand teens die each year in traffic accidents.
-Teens are 10 times more likely to die in a vehicle accident than the average driver.
-a teenager is injured in a motor vehicle accident every 15 minutes.

The best way for a teenager to learn to drive, is to practice “avoidance and survivability.”

“Avoidance” means to avoid distractions when driving — talking or texting on cell phones, talking to a friend in the car, eating or paying more attention to the stereo.

“Survivability” is simple….”Buckle Up”! In many accidents involving teens, the teen has been ejected through the windshield because they were not wearing their seat belts

The standards for teens to get a drivers license is higher today than it was when we were learning to drive. Many states now require at least 30 hours behind the wheel before issuing a license. (Most veteran driving instructors suggest at least 40 hours practice). Since most schools provide only about 5-6 hours of driving training most of the responsibility is on the parent.

Here are some tips to help you help your teen become a better driver.

When you first take your teen out, start in an area where there is very little traffic. Picking a familiar area makes it easier and more comfortable for the driver and teacher. Avoid talking down to your student or loosing patience with them, the extra stress can only hurt the learning process. Give directions well in advance. As your teen becomes more comfortable behind the wheel, less instruction will be needed and you can increase the responsibilities of your teen. Eventually taking them driving at night and then in poor weather.

Teaching your teen to drive starts before your teen even starts to drive. Hopefully, by watching your driving techniques your child should have already picked up some ‘good’ habits. Ultimately, parents should make the best teachers for their kids, but if this is not possible, there are many public and private companies offering driving instruction.

Used Car Buyer’s Guide Due for a Face Lift

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The Consumer Buyer’s Guide which hasn’t been updated since 1985, requires all used car dealers to disclose warranty information in writing before the sale of any vehicle. The Buyers Guide should be displayed on the vehicle so customers can see the front and back as they look at the vehicle. Any car dealer or person selling 6 or more motor vehicles in a 12 month period is required to follow the FTC Buyers Guide Rule. This includes posting a Buyers Guide on every car, truck, trailer, ATV, jet ski, RV, semi truck, or any vehicle with a loaded gross vehicle weight rating of less than 8,500 pounds, a curb weight of less than 6,000 pounds, and frontal area of less than 46 square feet. The only exemptions to the FTC Buyers Guide rule are motorcycles, some agricultural equipment, and any State Certified Salvage dealer selling a car for junk, salvage, or parts. All States, the District of Columbia, Guam, American Samoa, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands require dealers to abide by the FTC Buyers Guide rule. Maine and Wisconsin have there own state laws and warranty disclosure documents that protect buyers during a vehicle transaction. Special Agents of the Federal Trade Commission conduct what are called “Buyers Guide Audits”. They will come to a city without notice and inspect every dealer in the area. These agents operate all over the country to make sure all dealers are complying buy the Federal Trade Commission’s Buyers Guide Rule.

The National Association of Attorneys General says it is time to protect buyers from rebuilt wrecks. The changes involve adding additional information on whether a vehicle was badly damaged in a crash or flood or bought back by the automaker as a lemon. The current emphasis on warranty information needs to be changed as well.

The National Automobile Dealers Association, however, opposes adding such information, which it said constitutes “far-reaching changes” that would “impose significant, costly, and in some cases, impossible burdens on used car dealers.” The attorneys general association said that requiring more information, included from the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System system, would cost little “and would result in an effective and efficient federal double-faceted assault on used-car fraud.” This information system requires all states, as well as insurance companies and junk yards, to report vehicles so badly damaged they were considered totaled and not worth repairing. Consumers can check vehicle identification numbers at a government Web site, but many people don’t know that such valuable information is available therefore, adding a vehicle’s history to the Buyer’s Guide would be a great help to buyers.

Think you may be driving a lemon? Call the California Lemon Law Firm of Delsack and Associates for a Free CA Lemon Law consultation. They have been helping consumers since 1987. Call and speak with an attorney now at 888-Ex-Lemon

What’s “Up” with Volkswagen?

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VW up By the end of 2009 the Volkswagen / Porsche merger will be completed with VW purchasing almost 50% of Porsches shares. Then the real work begins! Integrating Porsche and nine other brands under the VW Group (Also known as “Auto Union”) will not be easy.

Porsche originally hoped to take over the VW Group, but due to German state laws and its own debt, it was forced to turn to VW for help. VW board chairman Martin Winterkorn described the company’s merger, saying; VW and Porsche have excellent know-how at their disposal and can use their resources even more efficiently by combining them for additional growth opportunities. Porsche’s American “cousin” would operate autonomously keeping in mind not to offend concerned Porsche enthusiasts.

Volkswagen is also said to be buying 20% of Suzuki Motor of Japan, giving VW a big step forward in compact car markets in Asia and Suzuki benefits in environmentally friendly vehicle technologies. Neither VW nor Suzuki is commenting on the proposed merger at the moment. It is suspected that they will develop hybrids and electric vehicles together

Volkswagens car industry mergers are aimed at reducing costs and developing new technologies in the face of fragile economic economy, in hopes of becoming the world’s largest car maker, overtaking Toyota, by 2018.

A Little Less Flash at the L.A. Auto Show

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L.A. convention center As the Los Angeles Convention Center prepares for this years L.A. Auto Show spectators will find a little less ‘flash’ in the showroom. Even though Southern California is one of their biggest markets, car makers like Bentley, Ferrari, Maserati and Lamborghini will be no-shows. For the consumer looking for the ‘green’ car, there won’t be many of them either.

Due to the worst automobile sales slump in decades, this year, the automakers will be focusing on affordable small cars and minivans. In fact, the main attractions is the redesigned Toyota minivan. Economy cars like the Ford ‘Fiesta’ and Chevrolt ‘Cruze’ will also be debuted in an attempt to win fuel-economy fanatics away from the Asian manufacturers. The car based SUV’s, Kia Sorento and Hyundai Tucson and the Mazda 2 will also join the lineup in an attempt to increase their sales.

For the show goer who still wants to see ‘flash’ there will be several pricey vehicles including the $245,000 Rolls-Royce Ghost, Porsche Boxster Spyder and the $375,000 Lexus LFA super car. There will also be the futuristic concept cars that often look great on auto show display stands but rarely make it to dealer showrooms. And for the green consumer, Toyota will stage the North American debut of its long-awaited Prius plug-in hybrid concept, first unveiled in September at the Frankfurt Motor Show.

Chrysler/Fiat Merger has Chrysler Awaiting New Vehicles based on Partners Technology

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After receiving nearly $13 billion in federal loans and filing for bankruptcy Chrysler is struggling with products that trail the competition in quality, styling and fuel economy. Sales have been down most of the year, while last month was the highest drop of any major car company. Its market share has gone from nearly 11 percent in the months before its May 1 bankruptcy filing to about 8 percent after it.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Fiat and Chrysler will enter an alliance in which Fiat will take an initial 35 percent stake in the troubled Detroit automaker, with an option to raise its ownership stake to 55 percent at a later date. The terms of the deal do not require Fiat to pay any cash to Chrysler. Instead, Fiat will receive equity in Chrysler for investments it will make in revamping a Chrysler plant to produce Fiat models for the US market.

Some of the Fiat models Chrysler would build in the United States, would likely include:
-Fiat Grande Punto and Linea
-A new compact SUV based on the Fiat C-Evo platform
-A four-door sedan possibly replacing the Sebring and Avenger
-Alfa Romeo version of the Grand Cherokee