You can save money on auto insurance simply by doing a little research. If you purchased your current policy by calling a phone number posted at the end of a TV commercial, chances are you are paying too much. Read my suggestions from the experts on how to research auto insurance to maximize your coverage while getting the lowest premium possible at www.bankrate.com/finance/insurance/how-to-research-car-insurance.aspx.
Friday, 19 November 2010
Wednesday, 17 November 2010
Gap auto insurance is one of those expenses that is easy to ignore, but is well worth cost if you suffer the total loss of a vehicle. Only in an auto loan's sunset period do you stand any chance of collecting enough from your insurance company to payoff the loan in the event of a total loss. Get all the facts on gap insurance at: www.bankrate.com/finance/insurance/car-gap-insurance-is-it-right-for-you.aspx.
Tuesday, 16 November 2010
To get the lowest price on a new car, you need only be armed with a bit of knowledge and the "right" attitude when you step onto the new-car dealer's lot. Doing the appropriate research before negotiations begin is invaluable. Also key to avoid overpaying for a vehicle is the determination to walk out the showroom door if the dealer is unwilling to meet your offer. More from me about the critical information you need and how to mentally prepare yourself for the negotiation at www.bankrate.com/finance/auto/4-tips-for-negotiating-a-new-car-price.aspx.
Monday, 15 November 2010
If you've shopped for a new car lately, you may have noticed on the window price sticker a box called "Government Safety Ratings." It's filled with stars next to descriptions of different sorts of crashes.
You may have thought, what do these stars mean and how do I use them?
Here's a rule of thumb for car shopping when safety is the primary concern: Bigger is usually better.
Yes, that's right. Both of our safety sources agreed that all the crash test scores in the world don't trump the basic truth about walking away from a crash: The larger the vehicle, the better chance you have.
In a crash, size does matter. All other things being equal, safety is basically a product of size and weight. This is particularly true in frontal crashes that account for half of crash fatalities.
Of course with SUVs, there are rollover issues; however, in accidents between two vehicles or a vehicle and an inanimate object, big wins the day.
A full-size sedan provides more protection in a crash than a subcompact, and a full-size SUV provides more protection than a full-size sedan, and so forth.
The question then becomes, which models within the different size classes are the safest? This is where test scores take on real meaning.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) through its New Car Assessment Program, or NCAP, performs a series of crash tests and, based on the results, awards from one to five stars with five stars being best.
Here's our second rule of thumb: If safety is the primary consideration when buying a new vehicle, never settle for less than five stars for frontal crashes or four stars for side-impact crashes.
According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and based on 2007 statistics (the latest available), 78 percent of all fatalities are a result of either a frontal or side-impact crash.
Why do we recommend five stars for a frontal crash and only four stars for a side-impact crash? Although NHTSA uses its system of stars throughout its tests, they translate into different information from test to test.
The compete list of stars and their meanings can be found in the FAQ section of http://www.safercar.gov/. This is also where you can find the scores for all the vehicles NCAP has tested.
In frontal crashes:
***** = 10 percent or less chance of serious injury.
**** = 11 percent to 20 percent chance of serious injury.
In side-impact crashes:
***** = 5 percent or less chance of injury.
**** = 6 percent to 10 percent chance of injury.
We believe that when safety is the primary criteria when purchasing a new vehicle, the chance for serious injury in a crash shouldn't exceed 10 percent.
The IIHS attributes 17 percent of all crash fatalities to rollovers.
NHTSA's five-star system takes on yet another meaning when applied to rollover crashes.
With regard to rollover crashes the stars don't correlate to the potential for injury, but to the potential for rolling over.
Here again we believe that only vehicles receiving the five-star rating should be considered when safety is the primary criteria.
According to NHTSA, all vehicles have about a 10 percent chance of rolling over in a crash. In rollover testing the scores for rollover potential are:
***** = 10 percent.
**** = 11 percent to 20 percent.
*** = 21 percent to 30 percent.
** = 31 percent to 40 percent.
* = 41 percent to 50 percent.
To put a finer point on rollover scores, the rollover rating may also include a bar graph with a diamond in it that provides a more precise rollover score between increments for comparison shopping.
If safety is your primary concern in purchasing a new vehicle, your research isn't finished.
The IIHS also performs a number of crash tests and awards safety designations of Good, Acceptable, Marginal and Poor based on a vehicle's crashworthiness.
When safety is the key criteria for purchasing a new vehicle, only those testing as Good should be considered.
On the surface the tests these two organizations perform appear to duplicate one another, but this is not the case.
Russ Rader, spokesman for the IIHS explained, "The tests are really complimentary because by-in-large, they are measuring different crash scenarios."
For example, the NHTSA frontal test is a full-width event crashing a vehicle head on into a stationary barrier, spreading the force of impact across the entire width of the vehicle.
The IIHS version also uses a stationary barrier, but the crash is offset, so that only part of the front end absorbs all of the force.
In side-impact tests, the NHTSA uses a battering ram barrier about the height of a passenger car bumper; the IIHS places the battering ram at about the bumper height of a full-size pickup or SUV.
The IIHS rollover scores provide methodology for rating a vehicle's crash worthiness in a rollover as opposed to NHTSA rating rollover probability.
The IIHS also performs an additional crash test rating head protection and whiplash injury in rear-end collisions.
Making it easy for consumers to find its highest-rated vehicles, the IIHS publishes its Top Safety Picks 2009 on its Web site at http://www.iihs.org/. It is comprised of vehicles scoring a Good in all categories, and also featuring electronic stability control.
Sunday, 14 November 2010
Rasmussen Reports, an electronic media company specializing in public opinion polling, just released the results of a survey indicating that 41 percent of U.S. adults say that they look for an American-built car first when shopping for a new car. This shows a substantial shift from June, 2008 when that number was just 32 percent. At that time 51 percent of responders said that "getting the best deal" was their first concern. That number has dropped to 44 percent in the latest survey. In the same survey 59 percent of responders said that the Big 3 (Ford, GM and Chrysler) are the only American car companies. In an earlier survey, 54 percent of responders said they are less likely to buy a GM product because of the federal government bailout.
Saturday, 13 November 2010
Having launched the Gran Turismo Panamera models for 2010, Porsche is following up with the $75,375 V6 Panamera and its $79,875 AWD version, the Panamera 4, for 2011. This is a lot of cash for what is essentially the entry-level model, but when you consider that the top-end Panamera Turbo is $133,575, a sub-$80,000 price tag seems quite reasonable. The number of drive wheels is the only difference between the Panamera and Panamera 4.
The most notable contrast between Panamera and the $90,875 Panamera S, besides the $15,500 sticker price, is the number of engine cylinders. Panamera S has a 400-horsepower 4.8-liter V8 thrashing under the hood, while the Panamera has a 300-horsepower 3.6-liter V6.
Popping the Panamera's hood reveals about eight inches of empty space between the front of the engine compartment and the beginning of the V6. In S versions this gap is filled with the V8's additional cylinders. Basically the V6 is the V8 less the two cylinders. Otherwise the engines are quite similar. Both feature a 90-degree "V" which helps lower the car's center of gravity over traditional V configurations with 60-degree angles.
Wrangling engine output to the wheels is the seven-speed Porsche Doppelkupplungsgetriebe dual clutch transmission. For most of us attempting to pronounce its name could bring on a pounding headache. Don't worry; Porsche shorthands the name to PDK. This is a driver-shiftable automatic tranny that comes with shift paddles located on either side of the three-spoke steering wheel. Clicking the front side of the paddles forward advances the transmission, while clicking the backside of the paddles toward you down shifts.
According to Porsche, galloping from a stop to 60 miles per hour takes an impressive 6.0 seconds when two wheels are doing the work and an even quicker 5.8 seconds when all four wheels are pulling. Opt for the $1,480 Sport Chrono Package with its digital stopwatch and Sport Plus button, and you can shave another 0.2 of a second from the above times.
Fuel economy is a very reasonable 18 mpg in the city and 27 mpg on the highway by EPA estimates. Adding AWD chips 1 mpg from the highway number. Porsche threw everything it had at keeping fuel consumption as low as possible. Liberal use of aluminum in the engine, as well as the axles, doors, hood and front fenders, helps hold down the weight to 3,880 pounds in the RWD car and 4,012 pounds in the 4. Auto Start Stop, that automatically turns the engine off when not required, like at stop lights, and then automatically restarts it when the brake pedal is released, also helps maximize mileage.
A number of optional enhancements are available for the standard steel suspension consisting of a double-wishbone setup with cylindrical coil springs and twin-sleeve dampers in front, and a multilink arrangement with springs and dampers in the rear. This produces a firm ride and controlled handling. Porsche Active Suspension Management is a $1,990 electronically controlled damper system. The $5,000 Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control keeps the car flat during cornering. It also includes Porsche Torque Vectoring that combats understeer in the turns.
Monitored by an antilock system, the four-wheel ventilated disk brakes also support traction control, electronic stability control, emergency braking assist and electronic brakeforce distribution. Among the passive safety features inside the cabin are 10 airbags including dual front knee airbags as well as rear side-impact airbags.
Once inside the cabin, the spaciousness is striking. This isn't some 2+2 where the backseat is little more than a parcel shelf. Seating four, both front- and rear-seat occupants have scads of head, shoulder and legroom. Nearly 16 cubic feet of luggage capacity swallows cargo, and can be expanded to more than 44 cubic feet by folding down the rear seat.
First timers may find the acres of buttons, gauges, controls and switches intimidating as they slide behind the wheel. A Marine fighter pilot would probably find the density of buttons somewhat off putting. Porsche believes in a separate control for every function as opposed to some sort of central computer interface like BMW's iDrive. No complaints here.
Exactly what you would hope for in a sports car, the eight-way power-adjustable leather front bucket seats wrap around driver and passenger keeping them upright even during the hardest of cornering. Likewise the rear bucket seats provide optimum side support. Wood, leather and brightwork combine to create a rich, inviting environment.
Full power accessories, heated front seats and outboard mirrors, leather-wrapped tilt-telescoping steering wheel with redundant audio controls, dual-zone automatic climate control, and an 11-speaker audio system with a CD/DVD player and iPod interface are all standard.
A dizzying array of options will either thrill you or send you screaming out of the showroom. Everything from a $5,690 16-speaker Burmester Surround-Sound System to a $140 fire extinguisher are on the list.
If you want a luxury sedan with serious performance DNA, the Panamera is the real deal and an experience you can share with three friends.
Friday, 12 November 2010
Arriving on dealer lots in limited numbers the first couple of weeks of August, the 2011 Kia Sportage is larger, more powerful, more comfortable and better looking than the two generations of Sportage that have rolled into showrooms since its original launch as a 1996 model in 1995. Sportage is, in fact, Kia's longest running nameplate.
At a glance, here are a few of the myriad changes and enhancements of the 2011 Sportage over the 2010 edition: It is longer (3.5 inches), wider (2.1 inches) and lower (2.3 inches). It has 10 percent more cargo space behind the second-row seat. It's base four-cylinder engine has more power than last year's V6, yet fuel economy is notably better. A 270-horsepower 2-liter turbo four-cylinder replaces last year's 173-horsepower V6 as Sportage's high-end powerplant. Trim levels have expanded from two to four. Handling is improved thanks to a newly engineered multi-link rear suspension setup.
Sportage's initial late-summer roll out will be restricted to four-cylinder versions (Base, LX and EX). The turbo-charged SX will follow in early fall.
First seen at the 2007 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Kia's Kue concept provided the styling inspiration for the 2011 Sportage. You won't need to compare the 2010 and 2011 versions side by side to notice the changes; the transformation is abrupt. It is something akin to snatching a bum off the street, cleaning him up, giving him a shave and a haircut, and dressing him in a tux. His mother probably wouldn't recognize him. So it is with the new Sportage.
Powering the new Sportage is a 176-horsepower 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine with Continuously Variable Valve Timing (CVVT). Remarkably smooth and quiet, this powerplant generates three more horsepower than last year's V6. In the $18,990 Base version, engine output is funneled to the front wheels via a six-speed manual transmission. In the $20,990 LX and the $23,990 EX, a six-speed automatic transmission with Sportmatic clutchless shifting (Kia-speak for driver-shiftable) gets power to the wheels.
In fully automatic mode, the transmission shifts smoothly and doesn't seem to have a problem finding the appropriate gear when accelerating to pass or slugging up hill. Goosing the accelerator pedal won't pin you against the seat, but Sportage is quick enough to get you out ahead of traffic when the light goes green.
Adding $1,500 to the bottom line, AWD is available on the LX and EX. Kia says its Dynamax system doesn't just react to changing road conditions; but actually anticipates changes, making corrections before problems occur. Under normal conditions, 100 percent of engine power is transferred to the front wheels. When the system detects wheel slippage, up to 50 percent of power can be sent to the rear wheels. A locking differential can be engaged at speeds less than 25 miles per hour to keep power evenly split between the front and rear wheels.
Utilizing unibody construction and a fully independent suspension, Sportage's ride is wonderfully pliant, yet it handles well for a CUV. The front suspension consists of MacPherson struts and side-loaded coil springs. The multi-link rear suspension is an all-new. Stabilizer bars at each end add strength and control. Base and LX versions come with 16-inch alloy wheels and tires, while the EX rides on 18-inch ones.
At each wheel disc brakes monitored by an antilock system help bring Sportage to controlled stops. All trim levels also feature electronic stability control, traction control and brake assist. Other standard equipment includes Hill Start Assist that prevents the vehicle from rolling backwards when starting out on an uphill grade, and Downhill Brake Control that automatically slows the vehicle to constant speed when negotiating steep downhill grades.
Inside, Sportage is roomy and inviting. Seating five it provides plenty of head and legroom both fore and aft. Offering more than adequate side support, the front bucket seats are firm comfortable. The 60/40 split rear seat folds flat, increasing cargo-carrying space from 26.1 cubic feet to 54.6 cubic feet.
Also completely redesigned the dashboard is anything but boring. It's a cacophony of of swirling lines, round edges, dips and bulges. Large and easy to see, the center gauge pod houses key information like vehicle and engine speeds. All controls and switches are logically placed and intuitive in their operation. Redundant controls for the six-speaker audio system with its CD player, USB port and auxiliary input jack are on the three-spoke steering wheel. Air conditioning, full power accessories, LCD trip computer, Bluetooth connectivity, cruise control, and tilt steering wheel are all included in the Base price.
Moving up to the LX increases content to include keyless entry and multi-adjustable front seats. Building on the Base and LX, the EX has a leather-wrapped tilt-telescoping steering wheel, automatic dual-zone climate control and illuminated vanity mirrors. Also standard on EX is Kia's new UVO voice-activated communications system for hands-free operation of cell phones and music features.
Keeping the pressure on the competition, the 2011 Sportage is a revealing snapshot of where Kia is heading.
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