Monthly Archives: July 2006

New Cadillac Ad Aim To Sex Up Brand for Younger Demo AdAge.com (subscription) - Jul 27, 2006DETROIT (AdAge.com) -- General Motors Corp.'s first work for Cadillac from new agency Modernista, Boston, aims to "put a little lust back into the brand.". ... Team Cadillac Ventures into the Unknown for Inaugural Salt Lake ... PaddockTalk - Jul 14, 2006Team Cadillac will venture into the unknown at the inaugural Utah Grand Prix on July 15. Going where no racer has gone before, Team ... Modernista unveils Cadillac campaign Washington Business Journal, DC - Jul 27, 2006Advertising agency Modernista's first advertising campaign for Cadillac since winning the $240 million creative business introduces the new tagline, "Life. ... Utah: Team Cadillac Motorsport.com, Canada - Jul 15, 2006SALT LAKE CITY, July 14, 2006 - After two days of intense testing and practice, Team Cadillac drivers Andy Pilgrim and Ron Fellows qualified fifth and sixth ... Cadillac Escalade Seattle Times, United States - Jul 25, 2006Air Conditioning (AC), Cruise Control, Power Seat(s), Power Locks, Power Steering, Power Windows, Tilt Steering Wheel, Power Mirrors, Tinted Windows. ... 1961 Cadillac's color caught its owner's eye DetNews.com, MI - Jul 11, 2006... Pontiac before the Dream Cruise. Jerry Franchi's 1961 Cadillac convertible is a striking yellow -- very yellow. It is so striking ...

Don't Get Taken Every Time : The Ultimate Guide to Buying or Leasing a Car in the Showroom or on the Internet For fifteen years, automotive consumer expert and former auto dealer Remar Sutton has helped hundreds of thousands of car buyers to get the best deal in town. This completely new edition protects car buyers from the dealers' latest secret weapon-the Internet. Even the smallest bit of information entered on a Web site can give dealers what they need to take unfair advantage of their customers. From shopping and negotiating to financing, Sutton exposes car dealers' scams and gives you step-by-step instructions on how to get the best deal. With vital information about Internet shopping, privacy issues and how to use the Internet safely, and taking on the dealers, Sutton's guide is a must-read before stepping into a real or virtual showroom. Customer Review: Good info, but the online stuff is overblown ... This book provides some good information on buying cars, and many of the tips suggested are spot on. But when it comes to the role of computers and the Internet in this equation, the author really needs to do more research for the next edition of this book. I work for one of the bigger online car-buying sites as well as providing support for car dealerships in getting their inventory online, and I thought it important to clear the air about a few things. First of all, the way the author presents things, you would think that if you were to visit autotrader.com (or a similar site) with cookies turned on, suddenly every dealer in town knows your life history. But I'm here to tell you that these sites aren't nearly that sophisticated, and neither are the dealers. In fact, some dealers still keep their car inventory on Excel spreadsheets! And for the ones that do have some sort of server for managing inventory and sales, many of them don't even know how to use them beyond the basic essentials. In fact, I myself know more about these systems than do most dealers, and I've never personally worked with any of them. Trust me when I say that, contrary to what this book will tell you, dealers (or at least none of the ones I've seen) don't have some elaberate network of supercomputers to track your every move online. Heck, most of them could barely manage a Google search on their own :) In fact, as far as the web is concerned, dealers won't pay attention to you unless you actually go online and fill out a form requesting a price quote or further information about a car, and then they only have as much data as you give them. Once you fill out the form, your request for information goes into a 'lead management tool' (one of these I also provide support for), which is little more than an Outlook-style web interface where dealers can track their dealings with you. For example, they can log any email, phone, or personal meetings, etc that they have with you, along with reminders of appointments to test drive a car and other important events. But my question to you is, since you have obviously expressed an interest in one or more of their vehicles, why WOULDN'T they want to keep a log of their correspondance with you? It's not like they're going to sell the information. In fact, as soon as the correspondance ends (either in you buying a car or doing business somewhere else), they'll either mark you as 'sold' or 'dead' respectively and that's pretty much the end of it, untl/unless you write them again. In fact, the worst that can happen is you may get occassional spam from the dealer (something I'm not particularly happy that dealers do) about sales events and such, and you can even opt out of those. All that being said, even with the advent of car-buying websies, the best way to get a good deal on a car is still to go to the dealership and haggle (and this book will show you how to do that). If you do buy a car online without ever having visited a dealership, you're going to pay way more than you should 99% of the time. I have the luxury of seeing both the sticker and invoice prices on cars for many dealerships and it's not uncommon to see them differ by thousands of dollars. A tip I'd like to share with you (and I don't think this is in the book) is that if you find a particular option or color on a car that the dealership doesn't have, even if you're willing to live without that option or color, tell the dealer that you MUST have said item and tell them it's a deal-breaker if you can't get it. You'd be amazed at how fast the price comes down :) Oh, and if you want to get the extended warranty, NEVER do so at the price they quote you. I was able to get $800 knocked off the price without even expending any effort. In short, though most of these websites may be crap, don't let this book scare you into looking around if you wish. This is especially true for auto manufacturer websites, as looking on these sites will give you a lot of useful information about the car, such as what options come with various model packages. The only thing you need to concern yourself with is that I would STRONLY advise NOT using Internet Explorer as your primary web browser (try Firefox or Opera if you are on Windows). The reason why is not because of anything specifically to do with looking for cars online; it's just that IE is a very insecure browser and you're potentially putting yourself at risk every time you use it. See here for more info: [...] Customer Review: 20 yrs since I first read this, and it still works I first read this book back in 1985 when I bought a Mazda 626. Got it for exactly 3% over the dealer's invoice, and this was before the day when they'd share that very readily. I've bought several cars over the years with the knowledge I've gained from this book and I've NEVER felt taken. The sources of data are even better now than they were in 1985, so you can make sure you're not taken ever. What I've found is that as soon as the dealers know you know their cost and what's a fair price, you get a great deal fast. It's also one of the most entertaining books I've ever read that was teaching me something. Some of the best money you'll ever spend because it will pay you back 100 fold.

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Used Car Buying Guide 2006 (Consumer Reports Used Car Buying Guide) Customer Review: Need to know basics My quest for a recent Mercedes SL 350 shifted into an higher gear when I came upon this link and decided to buy this book. It's brimful of tips 'n tricks on buying strategies. When visiting several candidates I was able to identify 1. a (possible) leak in the rubber ring of the cilinderhead 2. a simple slipping clutch on the first two candidates (it was a tiptronic) Anyway, this book will lighten up your step in the dark when buying 2nd hand cars. Customer Review: Clearly Communicates Used Car Information Buying a used car? I just did. Buy the "Consumer Reports Used Car Buying Guide" first. Rather than depend on the advice of semi-knowledgeable friends, a mechanic biased toward a car maker and not a specific vehicle, or by looking to see what your neighbor drives, you can depend on this. I bought my last car using an earlier guide and bought my 'new' 2003 Corolla LE using this current edition. In it, I found lists of "Good Bets," which are cars the authors consider to perform well over the years. That is guiding my purchase. I won't buy a car not listed there. I also found lists dividing reliable cars by price range, which cars have had recalls, unreliable models (by year), and detailed descriptions of the pros and cons of each vehicle. That's not all. There are also articles on safety, buying strategies, batteries, insurance, towing, depreciation, tires and child car seats. It is not a complicated book. It is straight to the point, with minimal car jargon. Novices like myself are not overwhelmed by information I am not concerned with. I am interested in safety, performance, cost of repair and related information. I found all of this here. I fully recommend "Consumer Reports Used Car Buying Guide." I am confident that because I have read it and will refer to it while I shop for an auto online, I am prepared to save money and to buy a better vehicle. Anthony Trendl editor, HungarianBookstore.com

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ONLY 0.14% OVERVIEW: With 4.7 million subscribers at the end of June, New York-based Sirius is the second-largest operator in the burgeoning satellite radio sector, trailing XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc.\'s 6.9 million. CARkeys - Vauxhall Economy Run Stories about people driving from Land's End to John o'Groats - if not the other way round - on one tankful are becoming surprisingly common these days. Some older models are suddenly hot sellers An analysis of new car and truck sales at the halfway point in the model year confirms some now long-familiar trends -- but also reveals some surprising developments. Look, up in the sky. It's a bird, it's a plane no, it's a 4WD THE battle for family four-wheel-drive sales took to the skies yesterday - well, skyscrapers. -

AUTO NOTES Hartford Courant, United States - Jul 22, 2006... year-earlier level. Detroit automakers trailed their fast-growing Japanese, Korean and European counterparts, the report found. ... Report finds fuel economy still lags Kentucky Post, KY - Jul 18, 2006... level. Detroit automakers trailed their fast-growing Japanese, Korean and European counterparts, the report found. Honda Motor Co. ... Detroit-based carmakers try friendly ads Detroit Free Press, United States - 12 hours ago... Detroit automakers want you to think of them as your dear friend -- and in the process, they hope you'll buy their cars. DaimlerChrysler ... Rockwell stock down as Detroit sales fall Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (subscription), WI - Jul 26, 2006... for Asian and European automakers and their suppliers. But the company has lost $75 million in sales that normally would have come from Detroit's auto industry ... Ghosn's Nissan headache DetNews.com, MI - Jul 6, 2006... In a worrying sign for Detroit's automakers, Prudential estimates that the leading Japanese automakers are renewing their ranges faster than the domestics. ... MARK PHELAN | BEHIND THE WHEEL: Toyota's plate is getting full Detroit Free Press, United States - Jul 16, 2006... The most recent high-profile example among Detroit automakers came last year, when General Motors redirected engineering resources from a family of rear-wheel ...