CARBIZ

It's ironic, really - while all the guts of the vehicle are vastly superior than even 10 years ago (engine, trannies, etc.) and will allow the typical vehicle to reliably sail past 200,000 miles, it will be the complexity and expense of the ancillary items that will cause the car to end up behind the wrecker's ball. I have already seen decent luxury cars (a Grand Marquis, recently) being traded in (for next to nothing, I might add) that are mechanically sound, but broken power windows, expensive power steering replacement, failed seat belt couplings ($600) are the reason the vehicle is being dumped!

I am very suspicious about any further alliances. What did the $2billion dollar kiss-off to Fiat gain?

We can laugh all we want, but this will be yet another fragmentation of the already over-crowded North American market. There were enough fools who bought Ladas 25 years ago, and if there'd been an internet in '83 we would have laughed at the Pony, too. It never ceases to amaze me at the collaborators who are so eager to sell their souls to make a few quick bucks now. These executives at DCX must be patting themselves on the backs; afterall, they can now put a few more dollars in their kids' education accounts, even though those kids will be flipping burgers in 15 years because all the jobs will be gone.

That is an entirely separate issue: toys effecting resale value. Leasing is an attractive alternative BECAUSE it isn't wise to stick around when all the toys (Nav, sensors, electronics, etc.) start breaking down. The second or third owner of the vehicle becomes the victim. Anyone remember the touch screens on the old Riviera? Digital dashes on New Yorkers? Technology does eventually become more reliable and cheaper, but the transitional process can be expensive and painful for those who want to be the first kid on the block to have one. I had a customer freak yesterday on a $250 service visit after 2 1/2 years of driving his Impala. Other than 4 oil changes and one tire rotation, this is the first money he has spent in 2 1/2 years, yet he was pissed. I wonder what he would think of driving a BMW or VW with servicing and maintenance. Someone who spent $60k for a new luxury car may be willing to spend $500 on a service visit, but the new immigrant who stretches his budget to hell to buy a used Lexus (so he can show off to his friends in Russia) is not going to be happy with a $600 sensor replacement, is he?

Patience. We're bound to be let down by the initial pics. I wasn't impressed with the initial pics of the '06 Impala either, until I saw it at Detroit I thought better of it. Remember, we are talking a sub-20k (American) price point here, not a $40k Acura! Most of the Malibus sold will be the lowly LS and LT. These initial pics are very promising, IMO.

Figures lie and liars figure. I sell the Corolla and the Cobalt. Back to back, the Cobalt "spanks" the Corolla every time. I prove that all the time with my customers. The Corolla rattles and shakes, literally. Far too much twisting in the frame over pot holes and frost heaves (and, boy, do we have a lot of those up here!). Now, the Mazda 3 and new Civic will give the Cobalt a run for its money, but NO WAY, NO HOW will the Corolla. Drive them yourself, then chime in. And the LS Cobalt has NEVER been available with the "sport package", only the LT. Not sure if that was MT's mistake or a typo. As to the transaction prices between the two vehicles - yes, indeed - the Cobalt sells for a minimum of $1,200 less than the Corolla (I am talking Canadian dollars, dearies!) and that is before all the loyalty programs, 0 financing thrown in!

I used to have that problem up until I was about 15 years old. When I was 7 or 8 I would sometimes wake up in the morning and my pillow would be soaked in blood. Not fun. I had my nostrils "cauterized" when I was 6 or 7, but it didn't help. The doctor at the time said I would grow out of it, and I did. But it wasn't fun, I can tell you! A girl slapped my face (nowhere near my nose!) one time in grade school ( I probably deserved that, at least) and my nose bled for hours! It does leave a mental scar, though. For years afterward, any time my nose got bumped, I would freeze and snap my head back, waiting for the gush that finally never came. Hopefully, you will grow out of it too. It has been nearly 30 years since I've had any decent kind of bleed! NOt that I miss it! LOL

It's all good - and inevitable. I am sure there were people who railed against electric starters when they came out 90 years ago, too! LOL. Remember: there was a time when the spark had to be manually adjusted by the driver! It costs a fortune to be state-of-the-art, but many a decent new car can be had for well under $20k. Gadgets that are expensive and exotic today are going to come down in price and complexity. The revolutions in the ignition system of vehicles today means we can go (in some cases) 100k miles before a tune up is necessary! My dad used to work on his cars every damned weekend when I was a kid! Yeah, those were the good ol' days!

Double the gasoline tax (obviously not over night or it would create a recession!), pay down the federal deficit with the proceeds (or do you think Iraq is going to pay for itself?) and help get America off the dependency of oil bought from terrorists. Look at what Russia is doing with natural gas these days? Do you not think Germany and France are getting nervous? Energy as an economic weapon - what a concept! Most of America's foreign oil (60% is imported these days) is coming from crazy countries like Venezuela and the Middle East. Does Mexico look stable these days? Canada can only pump 2 million barrels a day and we need a lot of that ourselves, so we can only be of so much help if Venezuela or the Middle East goes (more) postal.

...or Washington could double the gasoline tax to match the Rest of the World. Why is it that only in North America (or Saudi Arabia, for that matter!) do vehicles like the Expedition or Tahoe sell at all! Isn't it interesting that farmers in Germany and Australia survive with smaller, more fuel efficient trucks for their operations? I agree that CAFE ratings are silly, but Washington needs to do something and to think Detroit (or Tokyo) will voluntarily cut back production of gas guzzling trucks is equally silly. High gasoline taxes are the only proven method of influencing buyer decisions, or why else would the Rest of the World buy vehicles like the Vectra, Corsa, Ka, Fit, Uno, etc. but not on this side of the ocean?

.....but you are assuming that car companies work in a perfect world. The media, particularly self-appointed "enthusiasts" are exerting undue influence on car companies, GM in particular. Toyota has enjoyed a long honeymoon with the enthusiasts because (except for rare exceptions like the Supra) Toyota has never done anything to interest the enthusiasts. GM, on the other hand, has made fantastic aspirational vehicles in the past (some, I dare say, even now) so has drawn an unreasonable amount of ire from these so-called experts who know more about the industry than those who actually design and build the vehicles in the first place. Hence, the lowly minivan, which managed to fill a much-needed market niche in the '80s when fuel costs were a concern, suddenly fell out of favor with the "experts;" who, of late, are badgering and cajoling the auto industry into ever sillier heights with horse power and size demands. Like, get real - who needs 240+ hp minivans? Who needs a 240" SUV to get groceries? Whether "enthusiasts" like it or not, the minivan is an important "niche" and I agree that if it returned to its roots - that of providing 6 or more passenger comfort in affordable transportation, probably on a car-based platform, FWD and decent fuel economy, the customers will return in droves. In the pre-air bag and pre-seatbelt days of the '60s, there is a very good reason Chevrolet, Plymouth and others sold over a million station wagons every year: people needed them.

Now let's be clear, dears, that there are two types of fleet sales, one good and one "bad." The "good" sales are to big companies, like Coca Cola, McDonald's, etc. to their regional managers, etc. This type of sale is more like a lease and can result in good word of mouth. These cars are often high mileage and can be driven for up to a couple years. The "bad" sales are to the rental companies because these tend to be enmass (often hundreds of vehicles at at time) and because they are often auctioned back in 5 to 8 months, thus destroying resale value of the current model. At a recent meeting with local managers, we were sternly warned that the good old days of being able to have dozens of current model year Malibus, Impalas and Uplanders on our lot are over. We have beaten this subject to death in the past and most agree that sales to rental fleets is a double edged sword. Although it would be suicide to get out of the rental business, I say let Hyundah capture this market for now - their resale is in the toilet anyway.

Fly makes my point. I've already had Dodge fans flock into our show room to buy the Cobalt BECAUSE they hated the Caliber. I am talking Neon owners who actually like their Neon and want to buy a Dodge but don't like the current styling trend at Chrysler. I like the Caliber, but I can see where die hard car (read: older) buyers won't like its chiseled, truck-like appearance. The Aspen is an atrocity, IMO, but many loyal Dodge fans don't "get" the Caliber. Funny thing is, 5 or 10 years ago Chrysler was at the cutting edge of design. Many of their vehicles (last generation Grand Cherokee, the original LH sedans, for example) were both cutting edge and attractive. More recent iterations, such as the 300C, while revered by some, are a little too cutting edge for many loyalists. I think perhaps Chrysler is trying too hard. Somewhere between what Chrysler is building and what GM has been building is a compromise that will sell 400k units.

True about the Cavalier, but that was oh so two years ago. We can argue all day about the interior plastics, etc., but the Cobalt is a quantum leap over the Cavalier. Could it have been better? Undoubtedly, but then so could a Bentley! I agree that the Cobalt should have come out two or three years earlier; in fact, I heard that there was a new Cavalier replacement scheduled for 2003 but Lutz hated it, so we got the refresh in '03 and the Cobalt two years later. The trouble is that with this ever changing market GM will never again be all things to all people. It can only hope to do very well in most markets. I believe the Cobalt is quite competitive in its market. Right now in the small car market, there is quite a mix bag. The Corolla is ancient. The Mazda 3 is in need of a refresh. The Sentra is bland. The Caliber is getting poor reviews and isn't really a "car" anyway. The Civic is a good car, but has turned off some die-hard fans for being too far "out there." The real test will be whether GM lets the Cobalt rot for another 3 or 4 years before being replaced. It should get a major refresh next year and then be "all new" by 2009 or 2010, at the latest.

I admire those of you who have the balls to do your own maintenance in this day and age. For me, I've seen too many horror stories like this and the ensuing ruckus in Service over warranty repairs. I take it, Empowah, that you are relatively experienced at this, and even you can make this rather simple mistake! I used to work on my '67 Polara myself, but that was then and this is now. Besides the fact that my maintenance is FREE at the dealership as part of our demo package, I haven't had the time or patience for years before that to do my own oil changes, let alone tranny fluid, etc. I hope no serious harm was done- and I am resisting all tempation to make any parting shots about Honda's tranny problems.

Some more good news, I think: one of the domestic-hating Toronto Star's writers, Jil MacIntosh, just voted the Impala as her pick for the best car she'd like to see under her tree this Xmas. She cited its great value, decent handling and ride as being the pluses. Truly, most people that have driven this car like it. We can nitpick all day, but for the price this is an amazing value. In our area, it is selling well and has slaughtered the Malibu's sales. Yes, the 3.5 is not a race car, but that is why you have 3 engines to choose from. Take that, Toyota. For MOST people, the 3.5 is fine. At the end of the day, the absence or presence of things like ABS, split rear seat, etc. all boils down to cost and somebody just having to make a decision; otherwise, the car would cost a fortune to build. I, for one, feel the interior is very clean and understated. I mean, really: who looks at the shifter display on the console after the first week of driving it? Most people drive by feel as they shift into P or D. I like the clean look of the console without the crappy markings; besides, they're on the dash if ya need 'em! I doubt anyone uses the fold down rear seat - the trunk is so deep and massive! This car has a lot of very useful features and is a couple grand cheaper than a 4 cylinder Camry. If people stop sipping their Japanese kool aid long enough to actually drive this car, they would be very pleasantly surprised.

It's a Gift Card Christmas. I am tired of having to re-gift presents or having stuff I buy my spoiled nephews end up in a pile with the rest of their unused toys (like the amazing remote controlled Avalanche I gave them 2 years ago - it was over $200!!). I will spoil my boyfriend (iPod 30 and a lot of expensive accessories for it), but my sister's kids already have everything. To my mother in Panama City Beach: Pthhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. To her husband (is she still with the same guy?), a lump of coal. My father was smart enough to leave this earth 21 years ago.

But I guess it is what is important to YOU, isn't it? The Cobalt (base) will outhandle the Corolla, has a lot more standard features (automatic headlights, power trunk release, split rear seat, hydraulic trunk lifts for more available trunks space, etc.), but most of the pundits whine and complain about switch gear and hard plastics. News flash: those customers who ignore the whining at CR and MT don't give a flying F%$k about plastics. In the presence of a decent test drive and a knowledgeable salesperson, they appreciate the things that matter. I can understand the bitching and whining about the Cavalier, which did have atrocious plastics and fit, but other than the cheaper fabrics (which stain easily, I might add) on the Cobalts, there is nothing wrong with the interior. The LTs and higher even have a nice interior. The real problem here is that since the Cavalier's welcome was way-overstayed, the import humpers won't give GM a break now. GM was drunk on the truck bubble of the late '90s, okay? That we all agree on. They didn't give a $h! about the car market, period. NOw they have seen the light and are building quite decent, even great cars, but everyone remembers the Cavalier. Sigh. I've had customers driving 8 year old Cavaliers, who readily admit is has been problem free, but are now looking at the Civic/Corolla because they are "better." I wonder where they could have learned that from?

Ahem, those of us old enough to remember Bewitched when it wasn't in reruns, have a special place in our hearts for Elizabeth. I remember wishing that she was my mom. Being a bit of a car freak, even at the tender age of 7, I noticed even then the cool convertibles that Darren drove, but as a kid I wondered why they were all from the same company. Hmm. Anybody out there remember a commercial that Chevrolet did with all their new cars coming out from behind a water fall? It must have been from around the same time period.

H3 is not in the same price class, that is for sure. The FJ can be had for $29,900 to $40k, fully loaded, but the H3 STARTS $42k and goes up to $60k. Of course, those are Canadian rip off prices, but even the Xterra maxes out at $38k.

I like the looks of the FJ from outside. It seems to be a hit with the gay set in downtown Toronto - don't know if that is good or bad, but they (we?) tend to like "cool" vehicles and, of course, anything imported is great. I wish GM had something with the "rugged" off-road looks, like the Xterra, YJ, FJ, etc.

These rice humpers should just crawl back under their rocks. I drive the current Malibu 2.2 ecotec, and I can tell you that in real world conditions, its gas mileage is the same as the vaunted Camry 4 cylinder. These EPA numbers are total $h!. NObody drives like that, not even my great aunt. Anemic, high horsepower/low torque Civics and Corollas, especially with their crappy Japanese automatics, get nowhere near their advertised numbers in real world driving. THAT IS THE PROBLEM. Japan Inc. drags out these totally fictional numbers to "prove" their cars get better gas mileage, yet when you try and get those numbers on your own - SUPRISE! Your real-world Cobalt numbers will drop 10-14%, but the Civic numbers will drop a lot more. Take off your blinders, rice humpers, and do some real world driving comparisons yourself. Better yet, come visit me and we can drive a Corolla and Cobalt back to back. I can sell you both.

...and that is the point. Why would Pontiac be at the bottom of the chart when they are exactly the same vehicles as Chevrolet? In Canada, many of the Pontiac badges outsell their Chevy equivalent, so why would the loyalty rate be so substantially lower?

It is amazing how personal the attacks become when immigration is discussed. Even on TV shows, whether "liberal" or "conservative" the labels and name calling come out pretty quickly. Those of us with direct experience with immigrants and who live in areas where the numbers of immigrants are outweighing those who were born or acclimatized here are probably in a better position to truly know what is going on. Government studies are suspect, because their is always a hidden agenda. As I said before, there is an entire industry cropped up around immigration, both legal and illegal. Immigration of 100 years ago was different on so many levels. Most obviously, immigrants had no support system, so they really cost us nothing. They were dumped at the end of train tracks and sent packing into the factories or distant farms to sink or swim. Now, they get off their plane (or back of truck) and have an entire support system awaiting them, from free health care to English as Second Language, paid for by us. In Canada, the recent war in Beirut created another flash point: $84 million was spent to repatriate 12,000 Canadians who had dual passports. Within weeks, more than half of those people had gone back into the war zone. These are foreign born people, who lived here long enough to qulaify for the second passport, and who have returned to their real homes to have the convenience of being whisked out at our expense should things become too hot over there. I asked myself, what is the true cost to External Affairs Canada of defending, helping, asissting "Canadians" who are living abroad? We have Tamils and Sri Lankins killing each other in the streets of Toronto because they can't leave their tribal warfare back there where it belongs, and now they are dragging us into it. Do not make the naive assumption that these people come here just to make a better life for themselves and become American/Canadian. When they reach a critical mass, they simply don't need us any more. Entire neighborhoods can be found where all the signs (even the street signs!) are in a foreign tongue. Businesses that don't need us, associations that we can't join. What does that say about us that we not only allow this, but we encourage it? The social Liberals (who won't be happy until all the white, European influence is stomped out) and the financial Conservatives (whose businesses demand cheap labor and upward pressure on rents/real estate prices) make strange bedfellows. For the record, I am university educated, both my parents were born in Canada, their parents were born in the U.S. and their parents were from Wales and Germany. My same-sex partner is Brazilian and we just went through the legal process of landing him here 2 years ago. I know what I am talking about because we have a dozen or so ILLEGAL Brazilian, HOnduran, Romanian, you name it, friends and associates. Hell, there is estimated to be 25,000 illegal South Americans just in Toronto, which probably means double that. Do we really need cheap laborers that badly? My sister is a site inspector for the hydro authority (she has the power to turn off your electricity if the wiring is unsafe) and she can tell me all kinds of horror stories about contractors and how they "didn't know" the guy was unlicensed, etc. How many of our buildings/bridges/highways, etc. are on the verge of falling down because we saved a few bucks on cheap labor? This argument can go on and on forever, but please stop dragging out the same tired old press clippings. Go into those neighborhoods where English hasn't been spoken in 10 years and really find out what is going on.

Read the book by Daniel Stoffman: "Who Gets In." He spent his Atkinson Fellowship studying Canadian Immigration for the past 10 years. Very interesting reading. It dispells the myths that the immigration industry has entrenched in our media and so-called chattering classes. And make no mistake: there is an entire industry on both sides of our borders that include doctors, lawyers and other academics whose livelihoods depend on the constant inflow of immigrants. It cost me and my partner over $5,000 to legally "land" him in Canada from Brazil, so we contributed to that industry. But I have lived both sides of this issue and I can SEE with my own eyes what it is doing to Canada. Our much smaller population makes Canada far more sensitive to the recent influx; however, the millions of Mexicans and Central Americans landing on America's shores is having about the same net effect. It is interesting that the results of 9/11 are that the subject is finally being broached, albeit in the guise of "national security" issues and Liberals are having to acquiesce about the situation to a point; however, when watching Fox News and others, the Elephant in the Room that no one quite dares speak about yet is that the recent immigrants are not integrating, as previous generations have, but they are profoundly changing the fabric of the communities in which they have moved. The world has changed, thanks to the internet, $5 phone cards, internet banking and cheap airfare. A husband can fly here from a desperately poor country, such as Somalia, work for 3 years, not pay a dime in taxes, then return to his country a rich man. He need not learn anything about our culture, not even the language, he can send all his money back to his family, use free medical clinics, obtain false I.D. (very easily done), even form a "company" so he can receive legal cheques from unsuspecting companies. Don't talk to me about immigration. Many of my friends are illegals and I know how easy it is to abuse our system because we are stupid and allow it.