About Me

Be careful out there, people. I can only control these mad driving skills for so long.

RSS Feed

Recent Posts

November 2009

SunMonTueWedThuFriSat
1234567
891011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
2930

Archives

Categories

Friends

fezo

rscamaro

ergsum

roadburner
See all 188 friends

CarSpace

This Jam Factor Goes to 11

Regional traffic flow improvements ahead.

Jul 28, 2009 - Deception is 9/10 of the law - C4C

Cash for Clunkers - sure, it is doing something to stimulate the sale of new automobiles short-term, but is that really enough? Even up to the official start date, both consumers & dealers were still unclear on some of the program details. The program was so hastily- and poorly-written that it failed to address many common scenarios. And, of course, it was reportedly written almost entirely by the domestic automotive industry.

And apart from economic stimulus, some of the purported goals don't seem to make sense - you can take a vehicle that gets poor fuel economy and trade it in for brand spankin' new vehicle that gets... poor fuel economy.  Huh?  What about the environment?  Many of us thought, in supporting this program, that we were helping take gas guzzlers off the road.

But here's the huge kicker - the program was announced, oh, sometime in early June, I believe. A "clunker" was defined as a vehicle rated as having 18 MPG or lower fuel economy on fueleconomy.gov. Upon the announcement, millions visited the website to determine whether their vehicle qualified.

Based on the vehicles & numbers listed, Hyundai began offering the program several weeks prior to the official start date, and a couple other manufacturers started a few days early. On Sunday, the day before the official start date, the EPA changed how they calculate combined MPG. Guess what? A LOAD of vehicles that had previously qualified at 18 MPG were re-rated at exactly 19 MPG.

So consumers who were counting on the deal are screwed. Dealerships who made deals early are screwed - I can't really blame them, as NO ONE knew about the 11th-hour recalculation, since calculations were static for months.  However, it is kind of like touching a hot stove one more time - and this time they made us believe... really believe... that this time it wouldn't burn.

IMO, that is like the "bait & switch" tactic that consumers complain about dealers using, and doesn't go very far in instilling or restoring trust in the government.  

8:31 am | Categories:
Comments (0) | Permalink | Alert Administrator		  
Add to:     

 

Jul 16, 2007 - Prepare to stop

Should you (foolishly) be planning a trip through St. Louis this summer, you'll want to avoid the tragedy known as The New I-64 Project.  Sound easy enough,? Ah, but in order to trap unsuspecting road warriors, "our people" have cleverly changed the name of the road to "Highway 40" as it passes through the City & County (adding further confusion, it turns into 40/61).  Parents travelling with small children, please heed the "last rest stop" warnings before proceeding.

Temptations to take this route are plentiful and well-signposted to boot.   Along this multi-monikered roadway, you'll find exits to the Missouri Botanical Garden; the fabulous and free-admission St. Louis Zoo; the Science Center (general admission also free); Forest Park, site of the 1904 World's Fair; and further afield, my personal favorite, The Butterfly House.  So, the best that the area has to offer will take some (road)work to get to.  For those of you not willing to sit it out, you can always occupy a good 15 minutes staring at The Arch.  It's on I-70, which is bound to be construction-free this summer :)

 

7:11 am | Categories:
Comments (3) | Permalink | Alert Administrator		  
Add to: