It will take less than 60 seconds to get all this information.  Below is a graphic that you will receive on the 2nd page.  This is what I received when I asked 01CarPrices for the best price on a 2010 Dodge Charger.

]]> http://cargeek.com/cars/the-best-car-quote-form-ever-check-it-out/feed/ http://cargeek.com/cars/gm-chevy-volt-hope-hype-or-hot-potato/ http://cargeek.com/cars/gm-chevy-volt-hope-hype-or-hot-potato/#comments Tue, 11 Aug 2009 16:00:00 +0000 CarGeek http://cargeek.com/cars/?p=97

GM Chevy Volt

More news was issued today on the Chevy Volt. More mis-information coming out of the government propaganda machine. The headlines announced on CNBC earlier this morning:

230 MPG in City Driving!

300 Mile Range Electric Car

Operations cost = Three (3) cents per mile

Drive Coast to Coast on one tank of gas.

230 MPG?

Let’s do the math. First, after they got past the headlines they admitted that the range was actually 40 miles if used in pure electric (plug-in) mode. If you drive the 41st mile, you better be charging your battery with the electric motor as you go.

They referenced a conversion that the EPA uses to convert power consumption to MPG. Snake-oil? How can you dispute the EPA? By the way, they own General Motors. Can you spell conflit of interest?

300 Mile Range Electric Car The CarGeek is scratching his head on this one. The headlines also said you could drive coast to coast on one tank of gas. If this is correct, why is there a 300 mile range?

Operations cost = Three (3) cents per mile OK, the price is not set yet, but whisper numbers are set at $40,000.00 per car. Based on the last 100 years of whisper numbers for cars not yet in production, they have NEVER has a release less then the whisper number that the CarGeek is aware of. So keep in mind that this number is probably optimistic. Nevertheless, you would have to drive a $40,000 car 1,333,333 miles just to pay for the investment, not to mention the electricity, gas, tires, maintenance (that could be considerable), insurance and taxes. This number is so wrong, the author of the propaganda should be arrested. Is it possible that they might encourage someone to buy one that thinks it will only cost 3 cents a mile to opperate?

Drive Coast to Coast on one tank of gas - Note to self - Have a lot of friends located along old Route 66 with lots of free electricity. They probably will not mind if the Voltcomes out before the Cap and Trade bill passes the US Senate and electrical rates triple.

Happy Driving!

The Bush administration carried forward, with the initial “bail-out”, a failed plan.  The Obama administration has not done anything to make the situation better.  In fact, in an act of socialism, the Obama administration practically completed the take-over of the GM organization.  The CarGeek is not sure why.  There are existing laws on the books dealing with bankrupt companies.  GM should have fallen under these rules early in their troubles.  There are rules that apply to debtor/creditor relationships and for some reason the Obama administration did not want to follow them.  It was only after they made a complete mess of the situation that they reverted to the rule of law.

Oh yes, after Obama spent approximately 50 billion dollars of US taxpayer money to save the unions.  How much is that?  Well if there are 300 million Americans, say 100 million are working adults.   That is $500 per working American.  That is on top of the money spent on AIG and the other sweetheart bailout deals.  The $500 per person  is the cash value.  Naturally we do not have the money to pay it, so we borrow it from China and other countries.  The total ticket is likely to be in the thousands per working adult.  If we were asked to write personal checks to maintain GM’s creditors and unions, how many people outside of Detroit would have agreed?

So, is it normal to ask the US public to walk up and buy from one of these companies, GM or Chrysler. Ask, yes.  Buy, NO!  It is the same as investing in a scheme your black sheep brother-in-law suggests, while he is out on parole.  I think not.  Only time will tell the fate of GM and Chrysler, but the CArGeek thinks that the public has too many other options that will interest them.  But wait, what about the NEW Camero? Won’t it revive GM. No, neither will the next car that runs on water, fusion, hydrogen, baked beans, beer or fried chicken grease.

America is all about choices, and GM and to a lesser degree Chrysler, will not likely be part of it.

You know the drill.  Usually the salespeople are lined in the cubical lined showroom.  They usually see you when you drive up.  They see you when you get out of your car.  They might even see you when you approach the intersection.  Not now.  In my local area, in a market of 250,000, the Chrysler has reduced his sales force.  Where there were once dozens of salespeople, now there are three.  Did he say three.  Yes, 3!

Pure economics are at work here.  CarGeek looks forward to the time when you can see dozens of eyeballs looking at you from the showroom window.  No, I hate the “pitch.”  I just want the economy and the automotive industry to be healed.

• 5 Year / 100,000 mile warranty
• Payment protection for unemployed buyers for up to nine $500 payments, or $4,500
• Equity protection on your vehicle.

When President Obama said the American people would stand behind the warranties of GM, he clearly did not assume that the warranties would be extended the NEXT DAY!  This cost combined with the unemployment payment adjustment could represent possibly $20,000 per vehicle.  It is the “Buy Now / Let the Taxpayer Pay Later” plan.  The government oversight committee should have stopped the press conference in mid stream today.  If the US government was complacent in the deal, they are knowingly committing taxpayer funds in later years to fund sales now.  Congress should step in and stop the madness.  Where are taxpayer groups?

Is it arrogant to pledge things you do not have?  If your are being forced into bankruptcy because you operated on credit all of your career, how prudent is it to pledge the good will of the American people?

Americans want cars of exceptional value that are well made, sold at a fair price and retain their value.  They will buy them all day in great numbers.  The US has tried to help GM survive.  What GM did this morning was similar to a homeless person receiving a gift from a stranger he could never pay back, and leveraging it into a loan that the donor will have to pay for the for the next 5 years.  Incredible!

The Car Geek at CarGeek.com has helped car buyers find pricing and financing on new cars since 2003.

Other common problems today include sinking values of larger vehicles, SUVs and Crossovers.  Small and compact cars, especially hybrids, are being reported as selling for as much as $10,000 OVER the sticker price.  CarGeek can help.  We’ll shop for the best price nationwide for your new car, truck or SUV.  This may be an opprtunity you cannot afford to pass-up.

1. The plan was not smart.
2. The plan was a lease plan.

Nevertheless, GM convinced thousands of buyers to “trade-in” their existing vehicles to “SmartBuy” themselves into a new vehicle. Some owners knew they were trading equity for the right to lease. Based on the blogs, however, many were not convinced.

Kim Mouse wrote “You can turn in the vehicle before the contract ends without any over-miles fees or termination fee if you buy another GM product. Our payment for the vehicle was the 18th and we turned the vehicle in on the 25th of the month. We were lead to believe we would receive credit for the remaining balance of our payment. No. We basically drove the vehicle one week for the entire month’s payment. GMAC refused to give us any credit. They are the reason we waited. We received the runaround from them on another SmartBuy and financing. Crooks. They stole several hundred dollars worth of car usage from us.”

GM changed the name of the plan from SmartBuy to SmartLease. Now it is only half-wrong. GM recently reported, “Consumer automotive finance retail revenue accounted for $6.5 billion, $6.8 billion and $6.6 billion of our revenue in 2005, 2004 and 2003, respectively.”

$6.6 billion does not sound so large, until you think of it as 6,800 million dollars. Buy your next vehicle with both eyes open. Do your research through a respectable source such as Edmunds.com. Price your car through the CarGeek.com or DealerCarPrices.com. Shop alternatives to financing including through your credit union. Be aware that the credit union guidelines have changed in recent years. You may be able to join that credit union that you have been driving by twice a day for the last few years.

Shop SMART and do BUY, but avoid the SmartBuy plan.