Having a car collection has always been a dream of mine…

Here’s an interesting look behind the scenes of what’s parked in the driveways of our two Presidential candidates.

Nothing political, or partisan, just a interesting post about what’s in their driveway.

McCain has 13 vehicles. Obama only has one.  Read the intire article here. [McCain has vehicles that are almost 10 years older than me.]

Obama had the coolest car: A Chrysler 300c.  Looks like he made a politcal move by picking up a Ford Escape Hybrid.

It would have have funny to see either candidate go through the process of buying their cars. Haggling with their sales person over payments - or better yet, how much they were going to get for their trade-in…

Newsweek also did an article on the Presidential whips.

Financial giants such as GMAC financial Services and Ford are cutting back the amount of leases in the US; GMAC stopped leasing in Canada and Chrysler said it will cut them out completely.

Leases are simply a terrible product for the manufacturers. Chrysler Financial loses, on average, 5k on each lease turn in - probably a wise move to plug that hole.

Another major reason is the low residual values released by the company setting the baseline for the industry, Automotive Lease Guide.  Their new residual values are based on the forecast of gasoline being as high as $6 per gallon in the upcoming years. This anticipated forecast is the reason for lower residual value on new vehicle. Low residual values make the manufacturers more uncomfortable than Shaquille O’neil trying to driving a Smart car.

I wonder if Automotive Lease Guide CEO John Blair gets invited to many new car industry functions? He’d probably be the guest of honor at a used car function though. As lease options dwindle, residual values plummet and new car prices continue their rise - automotive shoppers will surely turn more of their attention to shopping for the best used car values possible.  The Northeast and the Midwest may see the highest concentration of shoppers considering their options within the used market. (28% of sales in the Northeast are leases; 24% in the Midwest)

Obviously the hardest hit vehicles are Pickup trucks and SUV’s.  Small cars will actually see an increase in their residual values. Check out the these new value projections after 36 months: (incl. ‘07 residual values after 36 mos.) Source: Automotive Lease Guide.

Full-Sized Pickup Trucks

Nissan Titan: 2007:  41% | 2008: 30.2% [projected worth;  % of sticker price after 36 mos.]

Dodge Ram 1500: 2007:  35.9% | 2008: 26.5%

Full-Sized SUV’s

Ford Expedition: 2007:  44.3% | 2008:  32.6%

Chevrolet Tahoe: 2007:  42.1% | 2008:  31.7%

Mid-Size SUV’s 

Ford Explorer: 2007:  42.7% | 2008:  31.8%

Chevrolet Trailblazer: 2007:  35.2% | 2008:  27.2%

Small Cars

Honda Civic: 2007:  51.8% | 2008:  57.5%

Ford Focus: 2007:  37.7% | 2008:  46.7%

Automobile consumers have to ask themselves: “Do I want to throw away up to 73% of my vehicle’s value?”

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Are you trying your best to contribute to the Green movement?

Here’s the Top 10 items identified by the National Automobile Dealers Association and Green Maintenance Tips. Many dealers have started performing “Green Checkups” as another method of reducing both greenhouse gasses and your gas pump expenses. Do your part by checking as many of these as possible.

• Your air filter needs to be clean. An old air filter can’t do its job if its tattered and worn. The US Dept. of Energy has shown up to a 10% improvement of gas mileage with new filters in place.
• Every engine has evaporative emission controls. When these aren’t working properly gas vapors escape and degrade the quality of our air. A checkup will help ensure these vapors are secured and recycled into the fuel tank.
• Overall engine efficiency is important; tuning and replacing items such as the spark plugs always help improve performance.
• Brake maintenance will help eliminate potential drag. Too much drag and your fuel economy can drop by up to 25%.
• The EPA states that you can increase your fuel economy by up to 2%; when appropriate, switching to synthetic oils can boost economy even more.
• Make sure your tire treads are not too worn and that you’re using the proper size and type of tire recommended for your vehicle to improve your economy performance. Your 22’s may look cool, but they’re costing you even more than you realize.
• Transmission fluids, system controls and drive components all need to operate smoothly and efficiently. Lack of attention to these areas cause some of the worst economy performances and also prevent even larger maintenance issues. (Trust me, you don’t want to have a faulty transfer case. Waiting for a replacement part can seem like an eternity)
• Along the same theme - make sure your engine warning lights are taken care of right away. These can be triggered by so many different factors. The one time you ignore it will be the time your engine needs major repair work.
• Everyone has heard it before - inflate your tires to their proper pressure levels. Put simply: Less air in your tires equals more trips to the gas station.
• Lastly - a common sense item: Lighten the load in your back seat and/or trunk. Too much weight in your small car can result in large SUV-like fuel economy.

What other steps have you taken to improve the performance of your used cars?

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