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

Hot Rod Jakob

Hot Rod Jakob is a unique combination of classical car-building craftsmanship allied to modern technology and design. In February 2008 the car will be unveiled at the Volvo Museum in Göteborg before setting off on a tour of the Nordic region and the USA.

1925-1926: The prototypes of what would eventually become the first Volvo slowly take shape in a simple workshop on the island of Hisingen in Göteborg on Sweden’s west coast. Volvo’s enthusiastic founders Assar Gabrielsson and Gustav Larson and their skilled craftsmen proceed with immense skill and precision. They design and engineer all the parts themselves. They test-drive and make changes in preparation for the next prototype. And in doing so they lay the very foundation for the excellent quality reputation that has been a Volvo trademark over the decades.

On April 14, 1927, the very first series-produced Volvo car leaves the factory that was built alongside the workshop. The model is called the ÖV4 (the Swedish abbreviation for Open Car, 4 cylinders), but it soon gains a new pet-name - Jakob.

2005-2006: In Leif Tufvesson’s workshop in the rural south of Sweden, work gets under way in earnest. After documenting the original in detail, his company Caresto starts building a car that will develop into Hot Rod Jakob - his personal interpretation of that very first Volvo. He harnesses the full width of his knowledge, which has already won him awards such as “Hot Rod of the Year” and “Most Innovative Car” in that Mecca of Hot Rods, the USA.

On December 18, 2007, in a perfect grand finale to Volvo’s 80th jubilee celebrations, the car is first revealed to Volvo Personbilar Sverige’s highly impressed top management.

[read more]

Environmentally-friendly sports and performance vehicles took center stage at this year’s North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit. While some manufactures are focusing vehicles that can reach speeds of 200 miles-per-hour, others are researching ways to make high horsepower a little more responsible. Two examples include the Corvette ZR-1. Built entirely of lightweight material, aluminum, magnesium and carbon fiber, General Motors reports it has one of the best fuel economies in its class. Another fuel-efficient vehicle at the show included the Cadillac CTS V, a car with 550 horsepower and 550 feet of torque.

News of the U.S. subprime mortgage market meltdown has dominated most of the business and finance headlines in the last quarter of 2007. Consumer spending has slowed down and its effects have rippled across all sectors in our economy: the automative industry is no exception. Sales figures from most car manufacturers in the US and abroad (with the exception of Chrysler and Honda) all indicate a downward trend in consumer spending on new vehicles.

[read more]