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Not All Odometers Are Created Equal

AS researchers who test the accuracy of odometers know, your mileage may vary, and when it comes to a car’s warranty, that could cost an owner money.

An odometer that piles up mileage faster than it should will push a car out of warranty quicker than an odometer that is calibrated correctly.

That is what was happening to many Hondas and Acuras until the problem was noticed by a lawyer in Arkansas, who, along with several other lawyers, filed a lawsuit against Honda in 2004, according to The New York Times.

A final settlement was approved last December, but the deadline for owners to file a claim is approaching: June 26.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 11:55 AM to Consumer rights | Permalink | Comments 0

Smart ranks low on U.S. crash test

WASHINGTON -- The Smart Fortwo two-seat minicar received one of the lowest crash-test scores among 2008 car models for protecting passengers, according to federal test results released Thursday, according to The Detroit Free Press.

While the other tests of the Smart produced better results, the scores highlighted the high safety hurdle Smart's U.S. sales team has to climb in order to overcome American buyers' fears about driving the smallest vehicle on the road.

Smart said the results were as expected, although

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 11:35 AM to Mercedes-Benz , Safety | Permalink | Comments 0

Smaller, less-thirsty, cheaper cars enjoy big sales boom

The smallest, cheapest, cars are the biggest, brightest spot in the dreary auto market, reflecting continuing buyer flight to fuel economy and lower prices, according to USA Today.

Sales of all types of small cars in March were at year-ago levels, Autodata says — a big success in an industry that sold 12% fewer vehicles overall than in March 2007. The small-car segment was the only one not showing a loss.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 11:32 AM to Fuel economy , Sales | Permalink | Comments 0

Gas Prices Hit Record on Low Supplies

NEW YORK -- Retail gas prices surged to a new record above $3.30 a gallon Friday and appear poised to rise further in coming weeks as gasoline supplies tighten, according to the Associated Press.

Oil prices, meanwhile, supported the gas price rally by jumping more than $1 to around $105 a barrel after a dismal employment report sent the dollar lower.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 11:27 AM to Gas prices | Permalink | Comments 0

Backseat Driver: What's up at VW and Hyundai?

So, what's up with Volkswagen and Hyundai?

With every other auto maker reporting losses in U.S. sales in March, VW comes in with a cheery 7.8 percent gain over March of last year, according to Autodata which includes sales of subsidiaries - in VW's case, those of Audi and Bentley.

And Hyundai reported a 1.9 percent gain, so it should also take a bow. Ferrari and Maserati both reported gains, but supercars hardly count as their totals are so low. Ferrari, for example, sold 163 cars in March compared with VW's 27,832 and General Motors' 280,713.

Indeed, when it comes to the big producers, the losses were nasty: GM sales were down 18.7 percent, Ford's were down 14 percent, Toyota's were off 10.3 percent, Chrysler's were down 19.4 percent, Honda's were off 3.2 percent and Nissan's were off 3.8 percent.

So what accounts for VW's success? The company said little beyond the ract that sales of its Jetta, which it described as its top sales performer, were up nearly 20 percent with Passat sales up 13 percent and New Beetle convertible sales up 14.1 percent.

Unfortunately, no relief appears to be in sight and with nearly 75 percent of Americans now believing the economy is in recession, according to a recent CNN/Opinion Research poll, folks are not going to be in a buying mood, especially for big ticket items. That, of course, feeds on itself as so many producers are dependent on the auto - and housing - industries.

So this is a time for manufacturers and dealers to gird their loins and ride it out - like many other businesses.

It would just help to know what pixie dust VW and Hyundai are sprinkling on their cars.

- Peter C.T. Elsworth

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 10:43 AM to commentary | Permalink | Comments 0

Backseat Driver: What was Jerry Seinfeld driving when he crashed?

By now you’ve probably heard the news – comedian Jerry Seinfeld narrowly escaped being seriously hurt in East Hampton, Long Island, on Saturday when he crashed his 1967 Fiat BTM after the brakes failed.

Everyone reported the news, and The New York Times printed the Associated Press story.

One problem: There is no such car as a 1967 Fiat BTM.

Indeed, the Internet is alive with bloggers asking about the car and sounding off about its non-existence. One went so far as to print all the cars that Fiat produced in 1967. They are: the Fiat 1100 R, the Fiat 125, the Fiat 125 Special Berlina, the Fiat 1500 Cabriolet, the Fiat Dino Coupe 2.0 and the Fiat Dino Spider 2.0.

A number of things spring to mind about this story. One is the happy fact that Seinfeld was not injured despite the car rolling over. Another is the reminder that old cars are old and need special attention when being taken out on the road.

Then there is the issue of a story being reported and printed with a crucial piece of information being wrong. That reflects a tendency in this profession to take other people’s reporting and editing at face value and go with their facts without perhaps asking obvious questions.

In this case, the source for the information was the town police chief and one can well imagine him getting garbled information about an old collector car from a shocked Seinfeld.

But that is not necessarily a bad thing. For it reflects the trust we have in each other in this profession. Most of us went through a hazing early in our careers when we got a fact wrong. I certainly did while working for Reuters News Agency in New York 25 years ago. I got a number wrong when British Petroleum reported its quarterly earnings and my ears are still ringing.

Finally, for me the silver lining is that the Internet immediately picked up on the mistake, with a bunch of people chiming in with their doubts and questions. So rather than castigating my profession, I prefer to be reassured that in this modern age of instant access to information, mistakes are quickly spotted and called.

The only question that remains is: What was Seinfeld driving?

- Peter C.T. Elsworth

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 10:39 AM to commentary | Permalink | Comments 1