plus 4, Automobiles : TRUCKS - Frederick News-Post

Automobiles : TRUCKS - Frederick News-Post
New Car Deals – A Guide to 2009 Year End Car Rebates and Incentives - YAHOO!
China car market ousts U.S. - Hawk Eye
Tips for safe windshield ice removal - Fond du Lac Reporter
U.S. cars excluded from Japan's cash-for-clunkers program - Democratic Underground.com

Automobiles : TRUCKS - Frederick News-Post

Posted: 13 Dec 2009 08:26 AM PST

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New Car Deals – A Guide to 2009 Year End Car Rebates and Incentives - YAHOO!

Posted: 13 Dec 2009 07:57 AM PST

There's still time to discover new car deals and year end rebates and incentives being offered for 2009. autoMedia.com has done all the research so consumers won't have to.

(PRWEB) December 13, 2009 -- As the days wind down toward the end of the month—and the end of the year—automobile salespeople and dealerships across the country are monitoring their inventory hoping for it to disappear. Meanwhile, new car shoppers are eager to take advantage of new car deals, with rebates and incentives helping to obtain the best deal possible.

autoMedia has done the research for new car buyers, with a complete online guide to all the new car deals currently being offered by auto manufacturers anxious to entice buyers by offering hefty discounts in the form of cash back rebates and incentives, plus low or no interest loans on most new vehicles.

Whether shopping for an import or domestic, compact, crossover, coupe, sports car, sedan, SUV or pickup truck, consumers can find the best cash back rebates and incentives in autoMedia's recent guide, "New Car Deals – A Guide to Year End Car Rebates and Incentives."

"Our goal is to sell as much as we possibly can and drive a trend in the right direction," says Susan Docherty, GM vice president, U.S. Sales.

From Acura to Volvo and everybody in between, autoMedia's "New Car Deals – A Guide to Year End Car Rebates and Incentives" is a compilation of all automakers' best financing options and the largest cash back rebates and incentives to help buyers get the best new car deals possible on an end-of-year new car purchase. Here are just some examples:

Acura and Honda tend to not offer cash-back rebates, however, Happy Honda Days are here, and some Honda dealerships are offering such incentives as lease deals and lowered APRs, with financing as low as 0.9% to 1.9% APR for up to 36 months or 1.9% to 2.9% up to 60 months on selected models.

General Motors is offering Winter Savings incentives through January 4, 2010, on its Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC brands, with 0% APR for 72 months or cash-back bonuses of up to $4,000 on select 2009 models.

Even the IRS is offering special deductions on certain state and local sales and excise taxes and fees for purchases made by year's end.

Don't miss out on a chance to take advantage of these awesome new car deals! Only a few shopping days remain before these programs end, so find out how to make the best auto buy in 2009.

autoMedia boasts over 60,000 pages of original articles, including over 2,100 features researched and written by leading automotive experts, covering new and used car buying, maintenance and technology. Find all you need to know about pricing, rebates and incentives along with photo galleries and details on all makes and models. For automotive advice you can trust visit http://www.automedia.com

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fivefilters.org featured article: Normalising the crime of the century by John Pilger

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China car market ousts U.S. - Hawk Eye

Posted: 13 Dec 2009 08:26 AM PST

published online: 12/13/2009

By ELAINE KURTENBACH and DEE-ANN DURBIN

The Associated Press

SHANGHAI -- China has overtaken the U.S. as the world's biggest market for automobiles, the first time any other country has bought more vehicles than the nation that produced Henry Ford, the Cadillac and the minivan.

Now that the Chinese buy more cars and trucks than Americans, the shift could produce ripples for the environment, gas prices and even the kinds of cars automakers design.

More than 12.7 million cars and trucks will be sold in China this year, up 44 percent from the previous year and surpassing the 10.3 million forecast in the U.S., according to J.D. Power and Associates.

China has long been expected to overtake the U.S. since its population of 1.3 billion is more than quadruple that of the United States. But the increase in sales happened much faster than anyone expected because of China's tax cuts, its stimulus program and a depressed American market.

Two years ago, J.D. Power predicted China would pass the U.S. in 2025. Earlier this year, it forecast 2009 sales of just 9 million vehicles for China.

After a sharp slowdown in auto sales late last year, the Chinese government cut taxes on small cars and spent $730 million on subsidies to encourage sales of SUVs, pickups and minivans. A big stimulus program also boosted truck sales by pumping money into construction.

Auto sales were expected to rise with China's stimulus, but they have far exceeded expectations, said Jeff Schuster, J.D. Power's executive director of automotive forecasting.

Most experts think the top-sales title will shift back and forth between China and the United States for the next several years, with China ultimately prevailing.

Improving sales of autos and other big-ticket items is key to Beijing's strategy to promote stronger domestic consumption and lower dependence on exports.

"The government has sent a very clear message that they will not let the auto industry weaken, especially in 2010," say Jia Xinguang, chief analyst at China National Automotive Industry Consulting & Developing Corp.

Meanwhile, U.S. sales hit a 26-year low in early 2009 and remain well below the 17 million average from earlier this decade.

China's growing auto market is sure to affect the industry worldwide. Some key factors are:

China's car pollution

It's gotten worse. China's fleet is newer, and big cities have imposed emissions standards that exceed those in the U.S., but lax enforcement of standards is a major problem. Vehicles may meet standards at first but then degrade over time.

On top of that, the number of vehicles on China's roads is soaring, although it's still a fraction of the U.S.

Fuel demand

Global demand for oil is rising, fueled by China and India. Most energy experts agree that demand for crude has peaked in the U.S. Meanwhile, China's demand for oil used in transportation could more than double between 2007 and 2020, according to the World Energy Outlook, a joint study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the International Energy Agency.

At home, China struggles both with the amount and quality of its fuel supply. A study by Harvard researchers found that refiners were not supplying fuel that was good enough to meet the country's rising emissions standards.

The cost of oil is prompting China to encourage a shift to cars and trucks that are more fuel efficient or run on batteries and alternative fuels. The government has raised taxes on gas guzzlers. China is the world's No. 3 net importer after the U.S. and Japan.

Vehicle design

The Chinese will have more influence over vehicle design as they buy more cars. GM had its Chinese team design the 2010 Buick LaCrosse because the brand sells better in China than in the U.S. Buick is considered a luxury car in China.

The designers included sumptuous back seats for executives with drivers. They also used Feng shui principles and swooping designs based on Chinese art.

Chinese automakers will emerge stronger from the sales boom. BYD Co. aims to overtake Toyota as the global auto leader by 2030. Among BYD's backers is billionaire investor Warren Buffett.

China's sales may grow so large that cars designed for Chinese tastes are sold globally, the way U.S. vehicles are now. But some experts doubt that will happen until Chinese automakers become competitive on style and quality.

Meanwhile, as China's middle class expands, Chinese car shoppers are developing tastes similar to those of drivers in the U.S. and other wealthy nations.

"I talk to my friends in Beijing," says Crystal Jiang, a professor at Bryant University in Smithfield, R.I., who studies globalization. "I drive a Subaru, they also drive a Subaru."

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Tips for safe windshield ice removal - Fond du Lac Reporter

Posted: 13 Dec 2009 08:04 AM PST

Appleton – Impatient drivers trying to remove ice from windshields often discover creative ways to break the glass. Glass Doctor busts the top five auto glass de-icing myths:

1. Pour hot water on the vehicle's windshield and windows to melt the ice. Make sure it melts the ice completely so the frozen glass will shatter due to the extreme temperature change.

2. Tap the ice on the car windshield with a hammer to break the ice into pieces to pick off the glass. If that doesn't work, hammer on a screwdriver or ice pick. This usually results in an impact hole or a large crack.

3. Scrape the ice off the truck windshield with a metal ice scraper, key, spatula, utility knife or crowbar. The metal either scratches or cuts grooves in the glass.

4. Use a propane torch to melt the ice. Not only is this dangerous to the torchbearer, but this also can unintentionally melt the glass.

5. Pour a mixture of vinegar and water on the windshield so that it freezes to the glass before the rain does, thereby preventing ice buildup. Unfortunately, vinegar eats pits into the windshield glass.

"These ideas may be creative, but they can be hazardous to your health," Bill Rochon of Glass Doctor of Appleton said. "There is a better way to safely remove ice from windshields and auto glass. Gradually heat the glass from the inside while scraping and brushing ice from the outside."

1. Check to make sure no ice or snow is obstructing the vehicle's tailpipe. If it is covered, the ice or snow must be removed to prevent the possibility of carbon monoxide poisoning inside the vehicle.

2. If the car door is frozen shut with ice, pour cold water to gradually melt the ice and use a plastic ice scraper to carefully chip a crack in the ice around the door seal and the lock. Do not try to "unseal" the door by using a hair dryer, cigarette lighter, ice pick, screwdriver, propane torch or portable heater.

3. Start the vehicle and use the defroster setting to warm the glass. Wait at least five minutes for the car to start to warm up.

4. When the ice in contact with the windshield is melting, use a plastic ice scraper and a soft plastic bristle brush or broom to clear the ice. A squeegee also helps.

"There are de-icing products on the market that may shorten the time it takes to melt the ice, but they have mixed results," Rochon said. "The most important thing is to plan some extra time to remove the ice before traveling. Glass Doctor can fix the glass if it breaks, but can't fix people if they get hurt."

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U.S. cars excluded from Japan's cash-for-clunkers program - Democratic Underground.com

Posted: 13 Dec 2009 05:41 AM PST

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post...

Dec 11, 2009

The good news for automakers is that Japan is mounting its own cash-for-clunkers program. The bad news is that foreign automakers -- like Ford and G.M. -- are effectively excluded, even though half the vehicles bought under the U.S. program were Japanese.

Not amused, the American Automotive Policy Council, which includes Ford, General Motors and Chrysler, criticized the policy as "outright discrimination," the Detroit Free Press reports. The Obama administration called on Japan to open up its program.

The paper calls the complaints "more about symbolism than sales" since Detroit sells only a handful of vehicles in Japan and has no North American-built vehicles designed to appeal to Japanese customers or meet strict Japanese fuel economy rules.

So far, Detroit automakers have sold 7,901 cars and trucks in Japan through November of this year, while Japanese automakers have exported1.3 million vehicles to the United States.

Under the U.S. cash-for-clunkers program, Japanese automakers claimed 319,342 of the 677,017 vehicles sold, according to federal data.

fivefilters.org featured article: Normalising the crime of the century by John Pilger