Archive for May, 2009
Gas Savings Equals Reliability In Recent Consumer Survey
Of the hundreds of different models of cars on the road today which ones do you think are the most reliable? Well if you pick by the brand Toyota and Honda you would be right but there is a more telling way to figure out which cars are the best: they’re the most fuel efficient ones.
In a recent survey conducted by Consumers Union the independent nonprofit organization whose mission is to work for a fair just and safe marketplace for all consumers and to empower consumers to protect themselves and published in their magazine Consumer Reports the small car segment performed quite well.
Consumer Reports found that nine hybrid models rated above average in predicted reliability with most of those produced by Japanese automakers. In the the Family Cars category the Toyota Prius the Toyota Camry Hybrid and the Nissan Altima Hybrid as well as the luxury Lexus GS450h Hybrid sedan have all been recognized among the most reliable vehicles for sale today.
The Lexus RX400h and the Toyota Highlander Hybrid are among the most reliable in midsized SUVs while the Ford Escape Hybrid and Mercury Mariner Hybrid small SUVs rated above normal in expected reliability. The report also found that the Honda Civic Hybrid is above average while recognizing that conventional gas powered cars such as the Honda Fit Scion xD Smart ForTwo and Toyota Yaris had few problems reported.
Although the report sung high praises for most Japanese makes while also recognizing the great strides in quality improvements from Korean and European brands the report also recognized some interesting trends among the three American automakers.
Specifically Consumer Reports now says that Ford’s quality nearly matches the industry leaders Toyota and Honda while General Motors offers a mixed bag of quality across its many vehicle segments. For GM some of their newer vehicles such as the Chevrolet Malibu performed quite well while its highly touted Cadillac CTS and crossover triplets Buick Enclave GMC Acadia and Saturn Outlook performed below average.
Worst were the findings for Chrysler. The report noted that the Dodge Caliber hatchback and Jeep Patriot SUV were above average but found that the company’s minivans midsize cars and Jeep Liberty performed below average. Indeed the convertible version of the Chrysler Sebring midsize car performed exceptionally bad in this survey.
So if you are in the market for a new car taking Consumer Reports’ survey into consideration should help you make a purchase you can live with. I’m not endorsing Consumer Reports per se but when you’re researching what car to buy considering what they have to say about various makes and models is a wise move.
Source: Consumers Union
About the writer: Matthew C. Keegan is a freelance writer who resides in Cary North Carolina. Matt provides magazine web content and article writing services to clients all over the world serving the automotive human interest and business communities. Matt’s Musings is his personal weblog.
Gaining Driving Confidence Is Very Important
One of the most important aspects of learning to drive is gaining an all important sense of confidence. Note however that this is vitally different from arrogance or presumptuousness. Many drivers immediately upon passing their tests suddenly feel as if they can take on any situation. Theyll think nothing of immediately going out and driving long distances or in new and unfamiliar situations such as the highway or during a rainstorm or at night. However this confidence is very often unfounded and results in the person becoming overconfident and getting into an accident. Instead of this overzealousness what is really needed to be a good driver is a solid sense of the rules of the road and an accurate knowledge of ones own ability to adhere to them.
One of the best ways to gain confidence as a driver then is to receive profession driving instruction. When you learn to drive from a qualified professional the grasp you will get on the rules of the road and on safe driving practices far exceeds that which you would gain through other means such as learning from a friend or family member. This isnt to say of course that your friends and family are unsafe drivers its just the case that only professional driving instructors can instill the immense degree of confidence in a driver that comes with total mastery of the road.
Getting behind the wheel can sometimes be a scary thing to be sure. This is especially true when driving on the highway at high speeds or practicing certain maneuvers such as merging into a high speed lane. The real problem though is that nervousness in such situations leads to inaction which can be dangerous. When youre driving its often the case that hesitating is just as dangerous to proceeding too recklessly. Its only with a calm and smooth sense of assurance that you can operate a vehicle at maximum effectiveness.
Of course it goes without saying that having confidence in your driving isnt a permanent thing. Many drivers start out confident but then get into a collision or have a dangerous near miss that suddenly robs them of all their preconceptions of their ability. They might suddenly feel as if theyre an unsafe driver and fear getting behind the wheel at all. When this happens certain steps are needed and chief among them is getting back on the road as soon as possible.
This is something else that a professional driving teacher can help you with. By refreshing you on the rules of the road and renewing your ability to adhere to them consciously driving coaches are often able to help people regain faith in their own driving ability including those who have gone through some form of trauma.
Whether youre learning to drive for the first time and want your first solo drive to be one of supreme and total confidence or youre trying to regain confidence that you once had trust in a qualified driving coach to give you the selfassuredness that you need.
About the writer: Learn how to drive step by step with Driving Plus Driving School. For more information on Driving Plus and their instructors visit Driving Schools.
Ford Increases European Market Share
The Ford Motor Company is proving to be resilient in the face of difficult times. Though Ford is losing billions in the US and market share at that the company is holding firm in Europe even increasing its share of the sales pie.
Through August 2008 Ford saw its market share in Europe increase from 7.6 to 8.0 fueled by its best August in the UK since 2003 and its best month ever in Germany. Moreover across its 19 European markets Ford has sold 5500 more cars year to date than last year an amazing feat considering the economic times we’re in.
“We are pleased to see our market share growing substantially in many markets despite lower overall volumes because of the general weakness in the industry” said Ingvar Sviggum vice president Marketing Sales and Service Ford of Europe.
“Given the difficult economic conditions and changing vehicle mix it is even more important that we offer customers an unbeatable portfolio of products and the new Fiesta and Ka models will be valuable additions to our range” Sviggum said. “Also with our new classleading ECOnetic line of low CO2 emission vehicles we are able to meet growing customer demand for more fuelefficient and environmentallyfriendly cars.
Ford calculates its sales totals through19 main European markets which includes: Austria Belgium Britain Czech Republic Denmark Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Ireland Italy Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Spain Sweden and Switzerland.
In addition the automaker serves what they call their European Direct Market where the automaker bases their share of the market on nondomestic sales volume. These markets are: Albania Algeria Andorra Armenia Azerbaijan Belarus Bosnia Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Egypt Georgia Gibraltar Kazakhstan Kyrgysztan Libya Macedonia Malta Moldova Montenegro Morocco Romania Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Tajikistan Turkmenistan Tunisia Ukraine Uzbekistan. Finally Ford includes Turkey and Russia in their nontraditional markets for a total of 51 markets across Europe and North Africa.
For August 2008 the strongest seller for Ford was its Ford Focus followed by its previous generation Fiesta. Also in that month Ford began production of its allnew Fiesta selling 800 models which will only increase in the months ahead. The Ford Focus Fiesta Transit Mondeo and CMax are the top five vehicles sold by Ford in the European market with only an Americanized version of the Focus sold stateside.
Good news for Ford of Europe will likely mean good news for Ford of America especially as Ford starts producing some of its popular European models on American Canadian and Mexican assembly lines beginning in 2009. Ford says that six European models will be built in North America radically reshaping the Blue Oval and hopefully spurring sales all across the fruited plains.
Source: Ford Motor Company
About the writer: Matthew C. Keegan is a freelance writer who resides in Cary North Carolina. Matt provides magazine web content and article writing services to clients all over the world serving the automotive human interest and business communities. The Auto Writer is his flagship car weblog.