Cash for Clunkers efficient brands list
Cash for Clunkers is coming -- so where should consumers go to reap the benefits of not having bought a new car over the past decade?
Autobytel has put together a list of the top 20 most fuel efficient brands that will qualify for the program. No surprise, Bently and Lamborghini are not on the list, the automotive marketing company notes.)
Chevy offers the highest number of vehicles qualifying for the program and Mini and Scion offer 100 percent of their lineup.
By percentage, here are the top brands fleet that qualifies for up to a $4,500 voucher for a used car, according to Autobytel.
Mini 100%
Scion 100%
Honda 94%
Saturn 93%
Subaru 88%
Suzuki 85%
Pontiac 79%
Mazda 74%
Hyundai 73%
Volkswagen 73%
Kia 71%
Toyota 62%
Mitsubishi 62%
Nissan 54%
Mercury 50%
Ford 46%
Volvo 45%
Chevrolet 45%
Audi 39%
Lexus 39%
See more about the program here.
Kelley Blue Book names top 10 cars under $18,000
Here's what Kelley Blue Book thinks are the coolest values for less than $10,000 --- and I agree with 9 of the 10 choices.
The best online automotive research website for consumers (click here to go to the site) says it used a number of criteria to determine the top 10, including driving attributes, fuel economy, safety and price. The website notes that this year personalization also played a role in determining these vehicles.
As for the Detroit spin, only the Ford Focus makes the list. So there's still lots of room for improvement out of Motor City. Little cars are playing a bigger role year after year.
Here, in alphabetical order, is Kelley Blue Book's 2009 list of the 10 Coolest New Cars Under $18,000:
2009 Ford Focus
What makes the Ford Focus cool? Surprisingly European-like driving dynamics and the available SYNC infotainment system. The affordable music and phone integration system can read your text messages and search your music library via voice commands, allowing you to easily sport some of the coolest in-car technology around without breaking the bank.
2009 Honda Fit
Redesigned for 2009, the fun, flexible Fit remains a sub-compact standout. It’s also a good example of just how far sub-compacts have come, offering features like a navigation system, paddle shifters and, of course, iPod integration.
2010 Kia Soul
You don’t have to drop the big bucks to get a car with kickin’ style and all the techie gadgets required to get by in the world today. Every Kia Soul comes with standout styling, Bluetooth phone connectivity, an auxiliary audio input and iPod integration. But the pulsing speaker lights are the first things you’ll show your friends.
2010 Mazda MAZDA3
The first-generation MAZDA3 made our Coolest Cars list every year of its existence and now its successor is continuing the streak. Whether you want a sedan or a sporty five-door hatchback, the MAZDA3 guarantees a fun driving experience while still being fuel efficient and versatile.
2010 Nissan Cube
High fashion and a low price make the Nissan Cube an excellent choice for buyers who want to look cool on a budget. The Cube takes the compact box concept and elevates it with distinct details like asymmetrical rear styling and a supremely roomy and flexible interior.
2009 Scion xB
The second iteration of Scion’s out-of-the-box box is larger, more powerful and more softly styled than the first, but remains conspicuously left of center. The Kia Soul and Nissan Cube may be the new kids on the block, but they might not have found their way to North America if not for the groundwork laid by the xB.
2009 smart fortwo
For drivers that place a premium on the look-at-me factor or drive and park in congested urban areas, smart’s tiny two-seater delivers serious bang for the buck. The convertible version also starts under $18,000, making it the most affordable drop-top on the market.
2009 Subaru Impreza
The Subaru Impreza is an excellent choice for car buyers with cool, active lifestyles but not a lot of cash. The Impreza’s shape recalls Subaru’s rally-car dominance while its standard all-wheel drive system makes it easy to get you and your gear to wherever the action is happening.
2009 Suzuki SX4
This roomy crossover easily garnered a spot on our list for a third year running thanks to its stylish design and designation as the least-expensive all-wheel-drive vehicle in America. For 2009, Suzuki upped its game by adding an integrated Garmin navigation unit to the standard equipment list of all front-wheel-drive SX4 models, providing you with the means to travel somewhere new without losing your cool.
2009 Volkswagen Rabbit
The fun, refined and versatile Volkswagen Rabbit has found its way onto our Coolest Cars list yet again. This will be the last year, though, as a new, sixth-generation version of VW’s venerable hatchback is set to show up for the 2010 model year and will again sport a “Golf” nametag.
Crashes in Flat Rock
Saturday night was golden at Flat Rock Speedway. Aside from the bus races (which I will finish editing the video today), I was able to see the bonus feature of the Roll Over Contest.
Each driver gets two attempts to roll his vehicle and the sum total of 360 degree rolls creates the driver's score. It this topsy turvy world, nothing could have been more fitting.
You may note that there are only three videos -- despite the two people competeting. In video No. 3, you'll see why the driver didn't make a second attempt. The SUV may have been able to keep going, but he was riding in an ambulance.
Category: Technology
Posted by Scott Burgess (The Detroit News) on Wed, May 27, 2009 at 3:39 PMVery cool technology coming in new Mercedes
Mercedes always has cool new features. But this one really struck me as something special.
Hella KGaA Hueck & Co. will debut its new continuously adjustable headlight in the European edition of the Mercedes E-Series.
Instead of traditional high beam/low beams, these head lights can adjust as a car approaches it. Check out the picture.
When the approaching car is about 2,600 feet away, the headlights adjust (in miliseconds) and keep the glare out of the other driver's eyes. (The system uses a camera to adjust the lights.)
Typical low beams have a range of just over 200 feet, according to Hella, but these, using an adjusted highbeam can reach out more than 900 feet.
I've spoken to Hella about some of their other innovations that could come in the future, such as a LED headlight that could track something on the side of the road as the car moves closer to it. (It has a series of LEDs that switch off and on to "track" the object, such as a person walking along the side of the road.
Hella was the company that installed the some of the first LED highbeams last year in the Cadillac Escalade.
This new feature puts a twist on luxury cars that used a camera to automatically turn off high beams as the oncomig traffic appeared. Now, the system sounds like it's even better.
Cadillac announces pricing for SRX
The 2010 Cadillac SRX will start at $34,155 when it rolls into dealerships later this summer.
GM claims this is an aggressive price, and, its right. The interior feels much like that of a CTS -- though the ride is higher and the interior much more spacious.
Also, Cadillac announced that the new CTS wagon -- a vehicle I'm really looking foward to driving -- will come with the 3-liter direct injection V-6. This will help the wagon achieve 28 mpg on the highway.
See more on these new Caddys at: www.cadillacstudiolive.com.
Category: Design
Posted by Scott Burgess (The Detroit News) on Tue, May 19, 2009 at 10:31 AMMichelin Design Challenge
Lost in the mix of last Tuesday's discussion about electric vehicles at the Michelin Automotive Design Luncheon at the Detroit Athletic Club was an announcement that the Michelin Challenge Design already has nearly 300 entries.
It's a challenge that just keeps growing since it began nine years ago. Last Tuesday, Michelin announced that there were 291 entries from 59 countries, all vying for display space on the floor of the North American International Auto Show in Detroit next year. This past show, 35 displays made it onto the floor of the show. The displays can include full size vehicles, scale models and renderings.
This year, the challenge is what top designers talked about Tuesday: Electric vehicles.
This challenge is open to everyone from professional studios to individuals with a passion for all things automotive. For information on how to enter, visit the Michelin Challenge Design website.
The deadline to enter is June 24.
During every auto show in Detroit, I always find myself wandering through the challenge entries. There's something inspiring to their futuristic look and feel. Quite often, some of the most interesting vehicles shown upstairs are the concept vehicles and these are no different.
Additionally, it's no mistake that the Michelin display, which is downstairs in Michigan Hall, is only a few steps away from where the North American Car and Truck of the Year are named every year to kick off the show.
It's as if the future and the present meet for a brief moment, because great, innovative and original design can win you spot in the Michelin Challenge Design space or the one of the highest awards in the auto industry.
$15K Fusion hybrid? Not by Ford
Ford issued a release today saying that an email claiming the company is selling 500 2010 Fusion hybrids for $15,500 is a hoax.
"Unfortunately, the offer is not legitimate and the email is a hoax. Also, the sales manager listed in the email is not a company employee," the company said in a news release.
Goes to show you, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Six Speeds to seperation
GM plans to give more cars and trucks six speed transmissions in in effort to make its vehicles more fuel efficient.
The move will help improve many of GM's vehicles mileage, especially on the highway. Last year, GM became the first carmaker (the second was Ford) to mate a four-cylilnder engine in a car to a six speed automatic transmission on the Chevy Malibu. (It later applied the same powertrain to the Saturn Aura.) Since then, Ford has followed, providing the same set up for its Fusion sedan.
Really, it's been a long time in the making. For years, foreign carmakers have offered more advanced transmissions for their cars, while the Americans kept pushing four-speed transmissions. Now, Detroit seems to be catching up, and in some cases, passing the competition.
Here's a recent post by GM about its gearboxes.
And below is a video the company recently made. Enjoy
Lincoln MKZ crashes with success
Lincoln just released info on its 2010 MKZ -- the sibling to the new Ford Fusion. And, like the Fusion, the MKZ just received a top pick by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
The private organization is one of two crash-testing entities. (The other is the governement-run National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration.)
I haven't driven the new MKZ, but I get to next week.
Here's Ford's release on the crash test.
Star Wars Day and EcoDriving
Two things happened today: Well, a lot of things happened but one thing I learned was Monday, May 4 was Star Wars Day. The reason: May the 4th (be with you). Get it? If you didn't, say it out loud.
This is why I have a twitter account; to learn things like this.
Also, during the day, I got a note from EcoDriving USA, which has declared May was National EcoDriving Month. (Yes, a touch self serving.)
Now the principles of driving economically are noteworthy.
Here are some points the group likes to point out:
• The U.S. Department of Transportation estimates that using cruise control for 10,000 of the miles driven in a year could save a driver nearly $200 and more than 60 gallons of fuel.
• Observing the speed limit and not exceeding 60 mph, where legally allowed, can improve mileage by up to 23 percent.
• Traffic lights are often synchronized so that a motorist driving at a specific speed will pass through a series of green lights without stopping. Driving at a steady speed can help drivers avoid red lights, therefore keeping their vehicles moving more efficiently.
Read more of the group's website here.
Sadly, EcoDriving USA sent the announcement out on Stars Wars Day, which celebrates a cast of characters, who, mind you, have some of the worst driving habits in the galaxy.
Let's see (I had to look up their names for correct spelling):
Luke Skywalker: Randomly drivers around the desert and flies his X Wing fighter with reckless abandon.
Han Solo: Can you say, "cash for clunkers"? Also, how much CO2 was released when Han was frozen/unfrozen.
Chewbacca: Total enabler to Han.
Obi-Wan Kenobi: Wastes energy in the afterlife talking to Luke.
Princess Leia Organa: Getting captured was the reason Han and Luke flew all over the galaxy in the first place.
Darth Vader: He blows up planets for fun and tailgates. In his early days he just liked to drive fast.
R2D2/C-P30: At least that pesky battery problem is finally figured out.
