I have been a petrol head for as long as I can remember. Since I was a little girl I have been admiring pretty cars in the street – although the pink girlie cars and retro minis that I loved back then have been replaced with much more technically respectable cars, of course! I remember sitting in my dads car dealers, which was just a little business back then, and playing with all my toy cars whilst my dad got on with selling the real ones.
My favourite car was a blue one. I can’t go into any more depth than that, I am afraid, as there was no brand or name to remember even if I knew what they meant at that age. It was a little metal car, with wheels that were actually made of rubber and which turned. It was painted in the most fabulous blue shade, with a hint of metallic sparkle and, dare I say it, glitter. Even better than the way this pocket sized car looked was the fact that the tiny little doors opened to reveal a miniature set of plastic seats and even a little steering wheel – although I regret to say it didn’t turn!
Playing with this little car no doubt set me off onto a road that led me to where I am today. I would sit and play for hours and hours, driving it up and down the rivets in the carpet of the reception area, and even better was zooming the little blue machine up and down the metal banisters, and sometimes letting it fly off across the dealership, in the throes of gravity! I would even construct multi story car parks out of left over cardboard boxes, and if my dad had some free time he would sit down with me and create something magical. The boxes had windows chopped out, and he used a pair of scissors to create entrances and exits, ramps and pillars, and on one memorable occasion he even gave me a piece of tubing to use as a chute for any cars that wished to leave that way.
It is funny – whilst nowadays it would take a lot more than a length of tubing to keep me entertained (or at least I hope it would!), back then it seemed like the best toy ever known top man, and it could keep me happily ensconced in a imaginary world for hours and hours and hours. And whilst nowadays I would probably think that little blue car is ugly and far too retro, back then it was the start of a budding obsession, and as such I honestly believed that it was the best and most beautiful cars I would ever be lucky enough to see.
I honestly believe that this car is what set me off into the world of automotive bits and pieces. OK, so my dad being a car dealer probably did it too, but really it was playing and seeing the possibilities that made me aware of cars and all that they could be!
Pete J Ridgard is a writer and a car enthusiast. He currently writes for the automotive industry. Here he discusses Car Dealers cars.
The Swiss Auto Show just ended in Geneva yesterday, with over 287,000 new auto entries. Among these new entries, there were a large number of new models and concept cars for the environmentally, and ecologically minded consumers. Even top notch car manufacturers such as Audi, and Porsche are getting into the act with concept hybrid cars. The concept of a powerful engine sports car which also incorporates alternative energy sources seems to be what some manufacturers were attempting - ‘attempting’ being the operative word.
Many exhibitors such as Honda, Toyota and Nissan already offer production ready gas to electric or purely electric engines. Other companies such as Kia have released their hybrid concept cars at this years show with great interest. All of these manufacturers offerings being marketed to family styled/sedan type vehicles. Consumers in Japan and North America have already seen and tested the hybrids presently on the market through Toyota. In Europe however, the auto industry is wondering when consumers will start buying hybrid and electric cars in large enough numbers to make their production profitable.
It seems the European markets loves the idea of alternative fuel vehicles, but are too concerned about its reliability to actually make a purchase. Consumers believe an electric vehicle is great for a spin around the city for range, but not so for family trips. Also, the cost to their pocketbooks still out weighs the cost to the environment. One manufacturer did design a long distance hybrid to address this concern with the Rinspeed UC. It’s still in its concept stage.
Everyone believes that hybrid and alternative fuel vehicles are the wave of the future, manufacturers are counting on it. But consumers are not yet sold on the efficiency. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, most hybrids are priced higher than their counterparts; that affects the slow market – duh. In Europe, especially Switzerland, car sharing systems seem to be the alternative to buying an over priced hybrid for their environmental impact. Switzerland has the highest per capita rate of car sharing, or pay as you go ownership with rail companies joining the group with integrated transportation which allows users to take a train to the city and pick up a car share there. It seems people are tired of waiting for the perfect ‘green’ vehicle to arrive and are choosing instead car sharing clubs. In Germany alone, car sharing numbers increased by 15 percent or 158,000 last year and the prospective for next year could reach 1-2 million.
Back here in North America, the market is still in flux. North Americans love their cars and are not ready to put down the freedom the car keys provide and car share. There is too much ego involved with our relationship with our vehicles. Like our European consumer counterparts, we are looking to be more environmentally and ecologically minded. However our wants from our vehicles has not been appeased by the options we have at this point. What it seems to come down to all over the world is the bottom line, price. Until auto manufactures here in North America can build a vehicle which is environmentally sound, and affordable (on par with their gas guzzling counterparts) people will always fall on the side of caution and buy something trusted and affordable. Who can blame us? It’s a worldwide phenomenon; we are on the cusp of a new transportation highway. One which will undoubtedly be referred to years from now as the pre or post gasoline age. It’s an exciting time for all of us if you’re not in too much of a hurry.
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It is an all-too-common sight: a person pulls up to a dealership in a beat-up old jalopy, walks into the showroom, and immediately starts asking the salesperson about safety features on the intended new car. Then, pending the purchase, the person will continue to drive around in a car that may have bald tires, worn-out brakes, a leaky exhaust pipe, a loose steering assembly, and worn-out shock absorbers. Sound familiar?
This is a typical case of misplaced concern: that person (and there are thousands of such people on roads) is genuinely concerned about safety, but will neglect to maintain the current car sufficiently to ensure even a minimum of safety on our roads.
All of the laboratory crash testing and safety improving in automobile and safety improving in automobile engineering in the world cannot make up for a set of brakes which cannot stop a car in lime, for tires so worn-out that the car could skid at the first sign of rain, or a leaky exhaust pipe that is sending toxic fumes into the passenger compartment. Even the so-claimed safest cars on the road are a time-bomb if not properly maintained.
Although this docs cost money (and what are a couple of hundred dollars where human lives are concerned?), a yearly safety inspection, best done in the fall before our worst road conditions hit, can be a life-saver.
Here’s a survivor’s safety inspection list of crucial components: the braking system; front suspension and steering components; tread depth on tires; exhaust components, including the exhaust manifold underhood; windshield wiper blades.
Most cars are equipped with all-season tires. In most conditions, when they’re new, they provide an excellent balance of summer handling and winter traction—but only when they have more than 50 per cent of their tread.
If you drive in snowy areas in the winter, nothing beats a good set of snow tires. They should be installed as follows: on front-wheel drive cars, snow tires go on all four wheels. If one installs them on front wheels only, the rear wheels which have little weight on them, will tend to remain skittish, especially when one is trying to stop on a slippery surface.
The basic cost of producing the car varies very little but, at the retail end, the more fully-equipped version is going to sell for thousands of dollars more. The manufacturer can sell the car for more to the dealer, and the dealer can sell the top-of-the-line car for more to you and me. In other words, the higher the car’s trim level, the more money everyone is going to make when the vehicle is sold—that is, everyone but you.
In some cases, the top-of-the-line model is the one you really want, and may well end up getting. In most instances though, there is a middle ground where one can save lots of money and still get a car that has enough comfort, safety and convenience features to make you feel as if you’ve got more than a monk’s cell on wheels.
For example, as is the case with most cars in the low and mid-priced categories, the Honda Civic hatchback was sold in four versions, the base, the ‘CX’, the ‘DX’ and the ‘Si’. (While the precise details may change over the years, the basic idea doesn’t.)
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