Hello All,

Here we are, the final days of yet another year. Unfortunately our economy has been down but there is an upside too. One advantage to the current economy are some of the programs manufacturers have going on. You all know the industry buying rule; End of day, end of week, end of year. This means we are already in the middle of the time to buy

Now the manufacturers have raised the incentives ten fold. Some are offering first two payments covered (Ford and BMW) while others are putting out 0% for 60 months. Another way to add to the savings in the purchase is considering '07 blowout specials. For many makes there are minimal changes between '07 and '08 models, yet you can save thousands by purchasing this years overstock.

Either way, now is the time to do your homework and find that ride. There are several ways to get the facts on what promotions are available. Some sites online that offer quotes are actually lead providers for several dealers. These are the ones that require your contact info before giving you information. Instead play it safe and utilize a site that is more so focused on consumer information. One of the easiest I find current promotions is Edmund's. The prices are not always accurate on this site for shopping but they are an excellent resource for incentive and promotion information.
view here:
http://www.edmunds.com/incentives/RebateController?step=1&tid=edmunds.n.incentivesindex.incentives.2.1.*&setzip=93010

When your ready to take the next step and shop your local market, you can use our Star Cars program. http://cars.venturacountystar.com/. Under our new car search you can build the exact car your looking for then shoot it off to several local dealers with one click. This allows them to compete for you, why should you do all the work right?!

I wish all of you an excellent New Year and always feel free to contact me with any car questions you have.

Cheers,

Lance

Season's Greetings,

What better time for talking to kids about cars than now? I recently took a trip out to Colorado to catch up with family and to be reminded what winters feel like. While on this trip I also got to see my favorite kids in the world, my twin cousins Tasha and Tyler. While on this trip I was reminded of what it was like to be a kid again.

We always ask children what they want to be when they grow up, right? Well, what if we asked them what they want to drive when they grow up?

I immediately text the twins to get my answer to this brilliant question! Now you must know that I am a little biased due to the family connection, but I promise these are the smartest pair of 11yr. olds I have ever met. We were speaking Spanish when they were 8 years old and they are currently the top of their class, so they know their stuff.

The twins and my Aunt Elaine

First off was Tasha, I asked "what do think is the coolest car out there?" Her immediate response was an honest one, "what is the coolest car out? I'm not a car expert, sorry". Okay, time for me to rephrase "if you could have any car out there when you were old enough to drive, what would it be?�. This was replied with "okay um um um um um um a Porsche" and yes she put that many um's in the text!

The Porsche Cayman S

I followed up with a phone call to confirm and she said “a Porsche, for chisel". The second choice on her list was a "slug-bug" because they are so "neat". No matter what she says she always has me busting up.

Now it was Tyler's turn to ask the question of the day. Not one minute after I sent the same text message over to Tyler, he responded. "The Saleen S7 V8, twin turbo or the new Lamborghini Concept S". Wow is all I can say to that, I guess he got the gene. I also followed up with a phone call so he could elaborate a little more.

"So, why did you choose these cars buddy?" I asked with an impressed tone to my voice. He simply replied "well the Saleen is fast and it actually gets good gas mileage for what it is". He has a really good point although they don't list the Saleen's MPG, any car with turbos get better gas mileage. Why? Turbos make power from waist (exhaust) which means more horsepower but not more fuel.

The Saleen S7 Supercar

"What about the Lamborghini?" I asked "and don't tell me just because it's a Lambo". Tyler replied "I like the shape, it's like nothing else out there and it's a convertible". That was a good enough answer for me.

This was a great exercise and it tells me something. Girls still typically look at a car as a source of transportation while boys still look at them as a statement, a big toy, even a dream to work towards. Either way it's nice to see another generation of gearheads with the same dreams as I had.

Happy Holidays
Lance

Greetings Everyone,

I received an e-mail from a friend of mine recently that motivated me to do a "soap box" blog about the current market and the ongoing battle for bragging rights between foreign and domestic.

Our discussion started over her cousin buying an older Toyota 4Runner. She asked if there was anything to look out for. I shared that the first and second generations had issues with the V6 head gaskets. Sound familiar? The new Tundra with it's 5.7 liter is having issues snapping camshafts as we speak. I notice a trend every time Toyota puts out a new motor it doesn't seem to really be ready.

My quick point is this; every manufacturer has it's lemons and great ideas gone wrong. Rather it be your '91 Geo Prizm or my brother's Toyota Corolla. I always remind people to shop by model, not make. Take me for example, I bought A Pontiac! Nothing against Pontiac but I never in a million years would have thought I would own one someday. I bought it based on bang for the buck and build quality. Besides the Corvette drivetrain and the badge names, nothing else is "American". From design to build, my car is an Australian automobile.

My same friend just recently bought a nicely equipped used Toyota Tacoma from a local dealer. One thing she pointed out about her new purchase was "I like the truck for utility reasons but honestly my thoughts about the Tacoma are - its reliable (supposedly) and its kinda cool looking, but I LOVED my Ranger".

I find many to feel the same way as my friend. They buy foreign (Japanese) based on reliability yet many find that the service record ends up running the same financially as the domestic they had. Now I ask them this; if they are so reliable why don't they back it with a real warranty? Forget Honda's and Toyota's little 3 year 36k warranty, GM backs new vehicles up with a 100K warranty! Even Chrysler has stepped up with a lifetime warranty (non-transferable).

So why do I suggest the tides are changing? Simple, the U.S. based manufacturers have been called out and they are coming out guns blazing. They are giving us a reason to invest back into our own economy and to not lose faith in those who made the industry what it is today.

So who's really on top? Forbes just named the Ford F150 the truck of the year. The new Cadillac CTS was just name Motortrend's Car of the Year and one of Car & Driver Top 10. It sounds like we are all coming around and giving domestic a second chance. Like our friend's at Saturn say, Rethink.

Happy Holidays,

Lance