Report by Dan McKay

Ferrari GT California

The Ferrari GT is out there.

Ferrari has finally and mercifully ended speculation about its new model. After weeks of blurry and badly cropped photos of camouflaged test mules, Ferrari released the first official photos of the GT California.

This new pony will apparently be a cross between the F430 and the 612 Scaglietti. It features the F430’s V8 mounted in front of the driver in a 2+2 chassis. Other points of interest are the folding hard top and 7-speed dual clutch transmission. In what is surely a sign of times, Ferrari suggests that one of the key benefits of the new transmission is reduced fuel consumption and carbon emissions.

The price is still uncertain, yet most commenters agree that the car will probably become the new “entry level” Ferrari; competing against Porsche 911 and the Aston Martin V8 Vantage.

With gas prices skyrocketing at record rates, everyone and their grandma is looking for a way to make more efficient use of this expensive yet precious resource. Now more than ever, billions of dollars are being put into research and development to come up with alternatives to oil.

Abdolhadi Mirhejazi from Dubai has come up with a novel solution. Naturmobil sports a one horsepower engine, but through the use of clever engineering, it is able to reach 80Kph. Fuel can be any vegetation available. This is in contrast to Ethanol which uses up precious food resources and has caused the recent food crisis. The engine for the Naturmobil burns cleanly and efficiently and the exhaust can be used as fertilizer.

Click here to read more about Naturmobil

The purchase of an average-priced new vehicle took 23.9 weeks of median family income in the first quarter, according to the Auto Affordability Index compiled by Comerica Bank. The latest reading is down 0.6 weeks from the fourth quarter and 1.1 weeks compared to a year ago. Including finance charges, the total cost of buying an average-priced light vehicle was $28,389 in the first quarter.

“It’s a buyers market and the producers are being forced to offer bigger discounts in one form or another,” said Dana Johnson, Chief Economist at Comerica Bank. “Buyers also are holding down their driving costs by choosing smaller, more fuel-efficient cars. That is reflected in the fact that the average amount spent on a new car excluding financing costs was only $24,627, the lowest quarterly average in 2 1/2 years.”

This report incorporates the latest data on consumer spending on light vehicles and on the terms available on auto loans. The entire history of the index is available upon request from Dana Johnson (214-828-5970 or djohnson@comerica.com).

Source: Comerica Bank

2009 Ford Flex

MIAMI, May 9, 2008 – Ahoy, Ahoy, Ahoy; Attendees of the Ninth Annual Tom Joyner Fantastic Voyage Cruise will find more than lounge chairs and an Olympic size swimming pool aboard the cruise’s ship. In fact, they’ll find the new 2009 Ford Flex parked in the pool deck area of this luxurious cruise ship. This marks Flex’s world debut aboard a cruise and will also be the first time that most attendees will get a chance to get intimate with Ford’s newest vehicle.

Ford, who has been a sponsor of the Tom Joyner Fantastic Voyage since 2005 will give away the keys to the Flex as part of an onboard giveaway before the ship docks back into Miami on May 25. This marks the second year that Ford has given away a vehicle as part of their partnership with Tom Joyner.

Joyner will present the keys to one of four lucky contestants who will take a shot at unlocking the doors to the Flex. In addition to giving away a vehicle, Ford also provided an opportunity for two lucky listeners of the Tom Joyner Morning Show to win an all-expense paid trip aboard the cruise. Carla Niedert of Pennsylvania and Danielle Tyler of North Carolina were the two on-air sweepstakes winners.

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MKhan: Weekend Auto Auction Junkie

We recently hooked up with a local weekend auto auction junkie. On regular working days, he’s just your average geek. But on weekends, he turns into a total auto auction junkie who cannot miss the lure of a good buy. MKhan, from Atlanta, Georgia, gives us some insights into the world of used cars, big dealerships and banks (repossessions).

Small cars are flying off the auctions. Mostl Honda Civics or anything with reliability, image, and gas mileage of 30 miles is going at or beyond blue book value for trade-in.

Larger vehicles are a bit more difficult to get rid of. They are showing up in a few bank repossessions. We saw a very good looking Tahoe with barely 14k miles and all options going for under $12,000.00.

Tips

* Go early – preferably with a laptop or a friend with access to Internet at the other end of phone – pulling Carfax reports so you don’t end up with a vehicle that had more than fair share of accidents.
* Do not get carried away in the bid process. Leave your ego at home.
* Be ready for nasty surprises. Build it into your price.

And please note most auctions charge 500 fee – keep that in mind when you bid. If you end up having to dump the heap you bought right back you still end up costing money.

By Sri Narra