Who wants a cars podcast that's not about classics?

 It's been almost ten years to the day (10 years and 5 days, to be precise) since I've posted here.  The reason I started this blog was simple, really:  I'm a car enthusiast, but not in the sense of loving the classics.  I love modern cars - shopping for them, comparing specs, and finding out more about new technology being employed inside the vehicle.  My experience as a driver goes back to 1996, and I always loved the idea of newer cars, not older cars.  That might be heresy to some, but where some car enthusiasts are interested in post-war vehicles taking us through the 60s, my passion is more vehicles from about 2000-present.  

There's a good reason for my focus on more modern vehicles:  around 2006 I decided to take my first plunge into German vehicle ownership, and once I did, I became obsessed with the modern luxury vehicles of the day that I could afford, starting with my tragically totaled 2000 E430, purchased in June 2006 with 77K miles.

My interest in newer cars is focused not only on drivability and what has changed as certain models of luxury and near-luxury vehicles evolve, but also the technology behind them.  This spans from lighting (in ten years, suddenly we're now all buying cars with LEDs - awesome change!) or engines (in ten years, suddenly we're now settling for 2-liter 4-cylinder turbos as the standard option in even an E-class - a not so awesome change, in my opinion).  

In the ten years since I've posted, however, there's also been a seismic shift away from blogging entirely.  Who wants to read words on a screen when one can throw on bluetooth-paired headphones and listen to Rogan or some other podcast?  And so, I am wondering if it makes sense, since this is still such a passion of mine years later, to buy a microphone and some editing software, and start posting a podcast instead of posting here. 

I have three children, and last year we traded our 2009 Honda Odyssey minivan (purchased spring 2011 with only 13K miles) for a brand new 2021 Toyota Sienna XLE.  We had a third child three years ago (actually, as of the last published post in this blog, we hadn't yet had our second child), and my wife really loves the space and practicality of a bigger car with sliding doors, so we re-upped on suburban minivan life for likely another ten years.  The reason I say all this, is to highlight that were I to publish a podcast, it's likely not something I could handle doing weekly with kids, job, and other demands.

If anyone is out there still reading this, I'm wondering how you feel about a podcast dealing with cars - but not race cars (though maybe we'll touch on Formula 1), and not classics (I know nothing about classic cars).  The podcast would deal more with modern cars, SUVs, electric vehicles, and yes, even minivans.  

What is attracting buyers these days?  What trends, positive and negative, do we see in the market?  What cool features, that used to be the stuff of science fiction, are now coming to fruition?  If one thing is for sure, a podcast like this would be just as much a technology podcast - automotive technology development inside and outside the vehicle hasn't slowed down.

Comments are welcome!

(Not such an) Insurance Nightmare: the sequel!

Click here to read the original manuscript of the blockbuster movie, "Insurance nightmare". 

OK, it was never a movie, but damn well coulda been.

I'm now at a point where I once again require Commerce Insurance's services.  This time, for my 2000 Lexus ES 300. 

Someone bumped me in a parking lot (didn't witness it, don't have the person's license plate # or make/model) and hard enough to bend my 12 year old plastic bumper on one side.  The tail light is also broken, and the body shop (will get to that later) says that there's likely hidden damage underneath.

The one hitch here is that we had a prior collision, when someone rear-ended the car, which only caused a few paint scrapes.  We didn't bother getting it fixed, so they paid us out a few hundred bucks and we pocketed the money. 

Fast forward to this new incident, and now that damage has occurred in the same place, they're not going to just apply our deductible but also the amount that was paid out previously.

At first I resisted this, but it does make some sort of sense:  they're not replacing a bumper that is assumed by insurance standards to be in reasonably good condition (even considering the age of the car); they're replacing one they know was damaged and I never had fixed.  Even if that damage was a little paint vs. needing a brand new bumper.  My point was, the bumper would have to be repainted regardless, and while I realize you paid me out for that already, this new damage requires a whole new bumper, which the prior claim did not - sort of a double whammy.

And so the stress begins.  The claims rep I'm dealing with sounds like she's just out of high school. Everything requires she speak to her supervisor.  When it comes to anything outside her wheelhouse, I get the stonewall  - she won't even acknowledge I'm asking a simple yes or no question; she'd prefer to avoid it entirely.

For example: I dealt with a real piece of work from Hallmark Adjustment during the original Insurance Nightmare.  He was rude to the owners of both of the shops I used, and refused to attribute my steering rack being bent to the accident, even though one of the points of impact was my turned-all-the-way-to-the-right-to-avoid-being-severely-injured driver's side wheel.  The logic is simple; with enough reverb on that point of impact, the rack will bend, as it's the last in a chain reaction of suspension components absorbing damage.  Everything goes back to the steering rack.  My alignment specialist shop-owner agreed, but this a**hole from Hallmark did not.

To summarize, I paid out of pocket for the damage and was then reimbursed later by Commerce.  About $1000 of my own money until Commerce reimbursed me.

I've indicated several times to Commerce in follow ups that I refuse to deal with Hallmark Adjustment, and this adjustor in particular.  When the original damage happened to the Lexus in 2010, I noticed they used an in-house appraiser.

This time, even after telling my claims rep that I did not want Hallmark Adjustment involved, she still used them.  Here's about how the convo went:

Me: I don't want Hallmark Adjustment used. I had a nightmare with them a few years ago.
Her: Well, all they do is take a photo and send us some info...
Me:  No, I understand that.  It was the follow-up visits that were a problem, not the initial visit.
Her:  Do you want the location of the nearest drive-in appraisal service? The ones around you are pretty much all Hallmark...
Me:  I'd like to avoid using Hallmark.  Any other way we can do this? Any other companies?
Her: Do you want us to send out a field appraiser?
Me: That'd be great!  Thanks for understanding. Not trying to be difficult.

..in all seriousness, I have kept a good-natured and professional tone throughout.

What do I see when I log into Commerce's web site to check status of the claim the next day?  There it is, Hallmark Adjustment.  The guy who drove out to my work place to appraise the car never said he worked for Hallmark; I just assumed he was employed by Commerce, as was the last field appraiser we dealt with.

I didn't get angry with the claims rep who was probably either not listening or didn't care about my issues. I emailed asking for an explanation and pretty much got stonewalling:  "We use Hallmark adjustment frequently" was the response to, "doesn't Commerce use other appraisal companies?"

I told her I didn't want to go into too much detail about a three year old case, but that I would always remember how Hallmark not only burned me on that claim and I needed Commerce to come to the rescue, but that I also complained to Hallmark to no avail about that particular adjustor.  She still has yet to answer the simple question, after a third time being asked, "which other appraisal companies does Commerce use?"  It's not as if it's a trade secret; it's a simple question.  Once I get that answer I am going to post it everywhere so people don't have to dig.

This is the last thing I wanted to think about going into having my car fixed, but it is what it is, I suppose.  The body shop - different place than the one I used three years ago, but located in the same area - has a great owner who used to work with some Mercedes specialists back in the day.  He said there's likely hidden damage under the bumper and there would be follow up appraisals, but is confident that I'll be treated fairly by the folks he usually works with. 

Time will tell.

Why you should always question Consumer Reports

Consumer Reports is a great magazine for the average homeowner / consumer.  It provides topical details about everything ranging from laptop computers to snowblowers and even services provided by companies. 

That's all well and good, but when the breadth of the mission the magazine has taken on is so great, the depth of information is sometimes lacking.

I can't reproduce the information here because I'm not an online subscriber to Consumer Reports (CR), but there was an article in the most recent issue (early October) dealing with car waxes and paint care.  Obviously, I jumped right into that article - it's no secret I've been fortunate enough to have been given a free education on these matters from the kind folks at Waxstation.com.

Essentially, CR screwed the pooch with their review of car waxes.  It's not because Mothers didn't come in first in every category; I swear.  They included cleaner waxes lumped in to the same review as top coats; they included liquid and synthetic waxes with carnauba and paste waxes.  I thought to myself - who would do such a thing?  Read my letter below to find out why this is a bad idea.

I wrote the letter to the editor below about a week ago, but haven't heard back and don't expect to.  The car wax review is just another reason I dislike CR magazine for important consumer decision-making.  When you want to buy a TV, for example, go to an electronics review site and use Google to find it; when you want to upgrade your audio system, go to Crutchfield.com.  The extra effort of typing a few keys in is worthwhile.

Also consider price point.  Consumer Reports does take into account price, so they might compare a Craftsman snow thrower to an Ariens and lead people to believe the Craftsman is just as good, because the price is lower but the quality isn't a good deal lower than an Ariens.  I love Craftsman and have a Craftsman mower that has served me well in my two years as a home owner.  But if you can afford an Ariens snow thrower with no problem, why would you not get the one with the better reputation and better build? 

CR should be renamed "Consumer Guidance", meaning, a guide for people who really have no clue what to buy when they want something new (a TV, a toaster, a blender), and who want a magazine to tell them what brand that new thing should be.

Here's the letter:

In regard to the recent Consumer Reports magazine issue dealing with car care, tires, and batteries, I found it curious that "Cleaner waxes" from several different companies, including Mothers & Meguiar's, were included in the test.

 

Cleaner wax is intended as a "step 1" for anyone waxing a vehicle - it's meant to strip the vehicle's paint of old wax as well as contaminants and grime, and thus is a preparation for a top coat, or even a step 2 before the top coat, such as Mothers Sealer & Glaze.  What CR magazine seemed to be trying to compare are "top coats", or what most people think of traditionally as "car wax".  Cleaner waxes should not have been included as standalone products to compare against top coats; in this way, I feel CR magazine misrepresented certain products in this comparison.  The only comparison where it would make sense to include cleaner waxes are product *lines* that are intended to be applied in steps, such as Mothers Step1-3 and the equivalent Meguiar's products.

 

Additionally, no mention of paint color was made as far as I remember.  Mothers and its resellers, particularly those that focus on the antique car market, will tell you that you need to choose the right product for the type of paint, age of the car, and color.  I saw that synthetic liquid waxes were lumped in with carnauba paste waxes - again, these comparisons lose their meaning when it appears some random polishes are chosen off of store shelves with no regard to intended use.

Car care advice from some guy at AAA

Boston.com features car care advice from John Paul at AAA New England. It's nice that Boston.com features solid car care tips, but I've learned first hand over the years to question some of the modern logic out there pertaining to cars.  So has John, but we still differ in some respects.

Here, Boston.com created a "best of" slideshow and I just couldn't help picking some of his points apart.  Many of the slides feature good, common sense measures to save on gas, and simply be a safer driver; others I disagree with wholeheartedly.

For example:

"Putting the wipers up and away from the windshield certainly makes it easier to clean the windshield if it snows. It also eliminates the chance of the wipers freezing to the windshield. My concern is that by doing this you are putting stress on the spring that holds the wiper arm against the windshield. I don't do it on my car."

I don't understand this tip as I've never had springs on my wipers break due to heavy snow or ice.  Most cars have the springs tucked away well enough and flush with the windshield such that it would be damn near impossible for the springs to break - in fact, the concern here is ice and snow bending the wiper backward until it snaps.

My problem with this tip is it doesn't account for probabilities and cost.  Would you rather *definitely* replace your wiper blades after a few snow storms, as leaving them on the windshield will cause the rubber to become nearly unusable if you don't store them up & away from the glass during storms? Or would you rather take the small chance that a blizzard of immense proportion will come and bury your car in so much snow that the strong metal springs holding your wipers against the glass will snap off? 

One last point on this one - spring for the orange Rain-X ice-melt stuff, not the crappy gas station "ice melt".  Shell tends to carry the Rain-X stuff but most auto supply stores will also carry it.  It's by far the best brand of ice and snow melt washer fluid and I keep it in year-round on both vehicles.

"In my opinion, warming up a car wastes gas and adds to air pollution. Certainly there are times when it makes sense to let your car warm up. One example may be that the windshield is frozen and warming up the car is necessary to scrape all the ice off the windows."

I love the 'air pollution' argument. We all contribute to air pollution when we drive. What's another minute on idle? If you're penny pinching to save on gas to that degree, re-evaluate your commute.

What John Paul doesn't say is that it's plain dangerous to drive in a freezing cold car for any length of time. People who don't allow the defrosters to kick in and drive with windows fogged up until 10 or 15 minutes into their commute lower their own visibility on the roads. I've nearly been killed by some of these bozos.

He also talks about headlights and making sure they retain brightness and don't wait for them to burn out before replacing them; check them out & ensure they're not weak.  This is a fantastic tip but he doesn't take it far enough - how about some recommendations?  For me, there's no better place to go than the source - a guy who consults for the US DOT - Daniel Stern.  

Further into the slideshow, Mr. Paul talks about how it's perfectly fine to switch between synthetic and regular oil, but that synthetic oil is more likely to find leaks.  I don't understand this advice.  Who would recommend such an approach?  No mechanic I've ever spoken to.  While it may not kill the engine to do this, why would you switch between regular & synthetic oil?  Stick with one and your engine will love you back for a longer period of time.


I hate to pick on this guy and his readers, but there's also his mailbag.  Are there really people who still take the car to a $tealership to fix a couple scratches?

Observe here & below:

Q. I was cleaning sap off my car and used “Goof Off” but also used a straight-edge razor to get some of the stubborn sap off. When I did this I nicked and scratched the paint on the car. It is a 2009 Toyota Camry. I spoke to my dealer and they said to bring it in but I am afraid of what it will cost. I’m on a budget and every penny counts. Can I touch it up myself?

Really?  I'm amazed at how few people know how to use Google for simple car care tips.  You might even run into this blog if you search for the right thing...

What happened to the C-Max?

UPDATE Feb 20 2012:  Read about the official cancellation of the 7-passenger MPV C-Max by clicking here.

Yes, old news...still no less disappointing. The comments say it all, really.  Mazda must be happy to hear it, while consumers aren't.  And yet, it makes sense - even our family opted for the larger Honda Odyssey and were willing to splurge for the frills that it offered, beyond the space.  Ah, well.  Guess it will take even higher fuel prices and a worse economy to push people into smaller cars.

Original post follows:

More appropriately:  what happened to the late 2011 release of the gas-powered 2012 Ford C-Max with a 2.0L 4-cylinder engine?

I've written a couple of times about the Ford C-Max, sold in Europe for a few years now, and similar to the Mazda5 in that it is a 5-door "MPV" (small minivan).

Until recently, Ford has a minisite dedicated to the C-Max on its website, touting the benefits of its advanced technology and, important for American drivers, sliding doors that mimic those of a full size minivan.

Now, for some reason, we only see the Energi and Hybrid models on the site under Future Vehicles - without sliding doors - not the gas-powered 2.0L 4-cylinder which was supposed to launch in late 2011 as a 2012 model.  What happened?

I've written some of the PR folks and product managers at Ford with no luck.  They'd been responsive up until the late spring, when they told me that we can expect to see the C-Max in showrooms late this year, but that the Energi & Hybrid models weren't going to be out until next year.  When I was shopping for a minivan and considering the Mazda5 and C-Max as well, it was nice to know there'd be a tech-loaded MPV by the end of the year to look forward to shopping against other offerings.  I've already bought my car, but many of the hits on this site are a result of searching for information on the C-Max and, in particular, the Mazda5 vs. the C-Max, so this is likely confusing and disappointing more folks than just me.

I'd invite others to voice their displeasure to Ford by clicking here and contacting Ford's North American PR team as well as their product managers about this.  You'll have to register for the site to contact them but it's not just for media.

Even Ford's own website showing the Energi & Hybrid models, which say "Available Fall 2012" under them, show 5-door vehicles without sliding doors, which contradicts with Ford's own minisite it had up this spring for the 2.0L 4-cylinder model. 

Hopefully someone else has better luck than me, or at the very least Ford hears the displeasure of its future C-Max customers and responds with some more info.

A thing of beauty is a joy forever

Recently, we traded in our 2002 Sable and upgraded to a family hauler, a 2009 Honda Odyssey EX-L.  The more I drive this hulking beast of a minivan, the more I grow to love it.

My new commuter car is my wife's old car, a 2000 Lexus ES300 Platinum Edition.  It's essentially a Toyota Camry chassis with some niceties added.  But as the vehicle is nearing its twelfth birthday, it's been (knock on wood) very reliable, without much in the way of problems (knock harder on wood).  We even bought it with nearly 90,000 miles on it and it just passed the 120,000 mile mark.  In that time, if I remember correctly, we've done the following work that goes above & beyond normal wear items:

• replaced A/C clutch - not even sure this was necessary. I complained about a noise outside the car, a hissing/whining mechanical sound when the air conditioning was turned on, and my mechanic replaced the clutch inside the A/C unit.
• dash lights - some of the climate control lights are out.  the procedure to take them out isn't as easy as with a Mercedes-Benz, or at least MB's of the past, where one only needed mechanical keys to extract the entire climate control module out of the dash and then could get at the lights easily with simple tools. I haven't done this work, but I figure at twelve years old this is technically a "wear item".
• Throttle body cleaning - my car would start but not idle, and fool that I am, I tried to crank it with my other car's battery.  Turned out the throttle body was severely gunked up and is now fine...cost less than $200 overall even with an oil change added in when the car went to my mechanic.
• Mirror hazing - as typical with BMWs and Mercedes and just about any car that has heated exterior mirrors, my Lexus has that "mirror haze" where the seal has been broken and the driver's side mirror is turning brown on the bottom.  It hasn't infected the entire mirror...it would be nice to get replaced so the heated element works, but that comes at a price of over $400 at the Lexus dealer for the part alone, and no one makes an aftermarket glass that will fit that & allow me to keep use of my heated mirror.  So, I'll find a specialty glass shop & probably pay $100 for them to replace just the glass.

That's about it.  Not bad for 3.5 years & 30K miles of ownership at the higher end of the car's life.

I should add that while a typical front wheel drive Japanese sedan, it does come with heated seats, HomeLink (now that I have a garage, this is nice), side airbags - though not side *head* airbags, power seats, a 6-cd changer, and a tape deck - which I like so I can use my iPod via a tape adapter. Even the armrest storage & glove box seem to be done just right.  And Lexus as a company loves that half-woodgrain steering wheel & nice wood trim, as do I.

The subject heading of this post has more to do with the fact that I recently took out the baby seat recently, and gave it a complete Mothers pampering.  Washed & waxed on the outside, and on the inside I cleaned & conditioned the leather & vinyl, vacuumed and cleaned the upholstery, even used glass cleaner on the windows.  The car felt & looked nearly new on the inside (ok, at the very least, very nicely treated used).

There's nothing like Mothers detailing products & nothing like giving an old car with a couple of rips in the leather and marks on the dash a thorough detailing.  It's easy when using a car like that as a daily commuter to forget how nice the car truly is, but once it's detailed nicely, you remember that a nicely appointed luxury car, no matter how old, is a joy to drive.

2009 Odyssey EX-L: First week of ownership

After one week of ownership of our 2009 Honda Odyssey EX-L, I have to give it two thumbs up.

I took the minivan to work the other day as it was my responsibility to pick up my son after work.  While the vehicle is bigger than we need at present, even with just one more kid, I can see it being very useful for things like trips to the beach where it'll be easier to clean sand, etc. off the car's floor, and it'll be easier to take all the "stuff" with us that we want to take.  My wife is fair skinned as is my son, so for my son we take a little tent to the beach and we need the umbrella, blankets, chairs, etc.  Fitting this all in the trunk of a Mercury Sable was not pleasant last year.

In terms of performance, the 244 horsepower i-VTEC engine with Variable Cylinder Management is smooth and powerful.  During acceleration and at highway speeds, it doesn't lag a bit or leave you wanting for more.  It is a minivan after all, so it deserves a lot of power to move its heft around.

The braking performance isn't blowing me away, but it's good enough for our driving styles.  When in a minivan, as nice as the engine may be, it's still not something you want to drive in an aggressive manner.  I've heard complaints about the braking performance but in normal city driving and when not tailgating, it's fine.  Even if you do have to punch the brakes at a low speed, the brakes are very responsive.  The problem comes when you're heading off a highway ramp at, say, 60mph, and see traffic up ahead where the driver needs to suddenly slow down.  It's taking some getting used to, to figure out how much pressure to apply, so the braking in these cases isn't always smooth.  Once I get used to it, I'm sure it'll be fine.

We have only driven it a couple hundred miles, and have yet to make use of all the nice rear cargo space.  I plan on folding the third row of seats entirely flat for the summer, as there are only three of us, and it's easy enough to fold one of them back up for an additional passenger should we have one.

Typical of Honda, the EX-L trim is highly refined.  I do miss the extra creature comforts of the Mercedes E-classes I've owned, and even the driving dynamics and smoother transmission of the VW Passat wagon.  But as this is a minivan, the auto climate control for the rear, the extra vents and lights, the leather seating & refined interior are all nicer than one would normally expect in a commonly seen family hauler.

While Honda has a solid reputation for reliability, my only concern going forward are transmission issues that Honda has managed to keep a lid on in recent years.  Join up on a couple of Honda forums focusing on Accord or Odyssey, and you'll know what I mean.  This is reason enough, in my opinion, to purchase an aftermarket extended warranty from a reputable company next year, before the factory warranty runs out.

So, Mazda5 or Ford C-Max? Neither: Honda Odyssey!

Per my recent post about buying a new family car, I went and drove the 2012 Mazda5 recently. It was a great vehicle and we could have afforded it brand new.  There were some curious things about it, such as having power seating and a few other gadgets left off the highest possible trim level of the vehicle. While in-dash navigation isn't a necessity for us, getting a rear DVD entertainment system included from the factory would have been a nice option - but not really Mazda's style, so that would have been a dealer accessory/add-on.

But the way it drove was fantastic.  Really handled itself well for a 2.5 liter 4-cylinder engine with only a little bit of pep added from the first gen Mazda5.  I was impressed with the engine and the way it used its power.  I extended the test drive a bit and made sure to rev it up to a good highway speed, and it handled itself like a champ.

In the end, though, my wife, already comfortable with the minivan she has to drive for work, which is a Dodge Caravan, had said all along she wanted a full size minivan.  I told her that the Mazda5 was a great option, but admitted that there is virtually zero cargo room for our needs when the 5th and 6th seats in the 3rd row are up. That's too bad as just a little bit more length wouldn't have killed the idea of the Mazda5 and still would have made it significantly smaller than the full size minivans on the market.

While the 3rd row seats might not have been used frequently, we really wanted a long term family car with the kind of hauling capability that homeowners require at times, for that trip to Home Depot to get a big something-or-other.  It's also nicer to have the extra cargo room for beach trips, where one has a deep well of space in the Odyssey even behind the third row for things like beach chairs and bags that will get sand all over most car trunks. 

What about the upcoming Ford C-Max, you ask?  The reviews I've read indicate it will be 5 inches shorter than the Mazda5, so the cargo room with all seats forward would be even worse.

So we ended up with a 2009 Honda Odyssey EX-L with only 13K miles on it.  Hard to resist given we get the balance of the factory warranty; one full year from purchase date to think about an aftermarket warranty, etc.  The EX-L trim on any Honda comes loaded with goodies like leather, moonroof, heated seats & mirrors, auto climate control...and on the minivan, the doors on the side & rear are power operated (if one chooses to engage that option - one can turn it off and go manual instead).   Nice little gadgetry I didn't even know it had until I was pulling off the lot:  a rear back up camera appears in the rear-view mirror on EX-L models not equipped with navigation.  I asked to add backup sensors and the dealership employee looked at me with an inquisitive look - why would you need them, he asked, if you can see what's going on behind you?  I didn't know what he was talking about so had him show me.

Yes, with a more complex car and a bigger engine, fuel economy and little quirks are likely to be more of a nuisance.  But we're thrilled with our purchase and we know it will be a great long-term family hauler.  If my wife drove more than 15,000 miles per year, I would have probably not found the extra room in our budget it took to get this vehicle.  But given she typically drives 10K miles per year or less, it was a no-brainer.

Who knows, maybe after we've paid it off, I'll trade my car in for a C-Max or a Mazda5? 

The Fiat 500 has arrived in the USA

In the midst of high gas prices and a trend toward smaller vehicles, the Fiat 500 is still a head-scratcher.  One simple reason:  price.

Per this story on Boston.com, the Fiat 500 will have a 101-hp engine starting at $16,000, topping out around $21,000.

While this vehicle is not meant to compete with, say, a Honda Civic - which has grown in size in lockstep with the Accord to the point that the Accord is now a "full size" car - it'll still be difficult to find a market for the upstream trim level, which will likely surpass $20K.  For $20K, you can get a Civic with decent features and the gas mileage will be about the same in an auto transmission: 34/27 for the AT Fiat 500, and 38mpg highway for the 2011 Civic coupe.

I can understand the novelty of such a vehicle but feel it will have a limited market, appealing to hipsters looking for something different as well as the article's protagonist - Boomers who are of Italian descent or who used to own a "CinqueCento" back in the day.

Still, one can hardly blame Marchionne for not showing all his cards in Fiat's first romp back in the States since 1984.  It didn't cost Fiat much to re-enter the market, having brought no cash to the table when obtaining a stake in the bankrupt Chrysler back in 2009.  So, much like with the Alfa 8C Competezione, he's aiming for a very targeted campaign, hoping they sell out, and having this car be, in effect, free advertising for the next wave of more sensible Fiat vehicles. 

Here's to hoping Fiat sells out the 500 at all of the 130 dealerships at which it will be offered, and we see more Fiats and Alfas in the coming years.

Update, and Ford C-Max vs. Mazda5

Can't believe it's been nearly two years since I wrote in this thing.

Back then, I owned a Benz and my wife a Lexus.  My wife still has the Lexus.  After my insurance nightmare with the Benz E-320,  I sold the Benz in August of 2009, our first child was born that same month, and a few months later we were down to one car and had a new house.  That forced us to stay conservative as it pertained to vehicle purchases, so I bought a used Mercury Sable LS Premium for cheap money as my daily commuter car.  It's a nine mile commute with no traffic congestion, so it didn't make sense even to go with an older Benz where you don't know if the air conditioner or heater core is going to go at any time.  Not that Benzes aren't reliable, but I didn't want to tempt fate.

And of course, wouldn't you know it, less than a year in I had to replace the transmission on my Mercury.  I was playing with house money given the payment was so cheap and I wanted to trade it in soon anyway, but it hurt big time to have to shell out $2K for a car that cost me only three times that.  The Ford-made Duratec engine is great for what it is - not nearly as peppy as our 3.0-liter V6 in the Lexus, but torquey enough to pull the floaty whale through tough waters when necessary.  But the trannys, I heard, had plenty of problems in the Taurus and Sable in the early 2000s.  I just figured with only 63K miles on the thing when I bought it, it shouldn't be an issue - and was wrong!

We plan on trading our Mercury in this year for either a new Ford C-Max or a new Mazda5.  Both are mini-minivans and both are based on Ford's worldwide C platform.  Think longer-wheelbase Focus with a minivan rear end and the sliding doors to go along with it.

For a family that will likely grow from three to four in the next couple of years, it's a hell of a lot better price-wise than going for a huge Odyssey or Sienna - while nice, loaded up those things can cost upwards of $40K and we simply cannot afford one new with the features we want.

Before having driven either car - and I do expect the Mazda to drive better than the C-Max only because the Mazda3 has such a large enthusiast base with testimonials about how it handles as close to a BMW as any compact car has a right to - the C-Max may edge out the Mazda5.  (Both would be 2012 models as the C-Max hasn't landed for sale yet in the States and the Mazda5 skipped the 2011 model year).

One thing not considered here is price.  Let's assume that a C-Max SEL will cost roughly the same as the Mazda5 Grand Touring.  With the Mazda5, we will need to add a couple grand in for a roof cargo container, a DVD entertainment system should we opt to buy one, and any other dealer options.  Same with the Ford C-Max, but we do expect the C-Max to come with more electronic gadgets as standard in the SEL trim.

• Electronics:  if you click on the above link for the C-Max and toy around in the mini-site, you'll see a lot of cool gizmos available on the C-Max:  factory-installed DVD, factory navigation, SYNC, etc.  Ford has been pushing to really load up their cars with as many electronics as possible.  It's really neat in the Edge, and the difference is astounding when you get into a Limited or SEL with navigation vs. an SE without any cool electronic features. It's a joy to plug in a route or play with the radio in the Limited, but the SE looks very plain in comparison.  My 63-year old father uses the bluetooth hookup with ease for his cell phone, and when he calls me from the car the sound quality is great - expect more of the same in the C-Max.  The Mazda5 falls short here as you can't get factory navigation, can't get a factory installed DVD system, and has nothing like SYNC.
  
• Design:  The Mazda5 has the C-Max beat here.  Ford's new designs overall have been great; the refreshed Edge looks better than the original.  But Mazda's designs aren't so bad either, and the 5 looks fantastic compared to what now looks like its pedestrian predecessor.  The C-Max doesn't have the cool new grill gracing many of Ford's newer models.  While I understand it's hard to find room for that type of grill on a compact car with a smaller hood, there's still a stark difference, and the front end looks more like a Fiesta.
  
• Upstream features:  We are likely to get the most loaded version of either car as we can.  Beyond the interior comforts, where the C-Max wins, it will also bring the Hands-Free Liftgate, likely to be standard on the SEL trim.  This is a neat feature - all else being equal, with Mazda5 not even having a power liftgate for the 2012 model, this is pure, convenient joy.
  
• Seating:  The C-Max is being billed as a "5+2", because there is a stowaway middle seat option. It seems likely, though, that this stowaway middle seat will not have LATCH (few cars have three LATCH seats across the second row as it is).  And it may make more complicated what may already be a tight squeeze to get to the third row of seats.  Neat feature, but if I had the option, I'd probably stick with the Mazda5 orientation:  Six-seater, pure and simple.  Two kids, each with their own bucket seat, in the second row, with the third row available for kids who are in booster seats (no LATCH logos on the third row of either car, so assuming it won't be available) if necessary.  Mazda wins here, but it's not a big win because you can simply keep the Ford's middle seat in the second row stowed.
  
•  Dimensions:  The Mazda's dimensions have been published as the car is available now, but the C-Max's haven't.  Will Ford make the dimensions about the same?  It could just be the design cues, but the C-Max looks smaller to me than the Mazda5.  While we aren't buying the car for cavernous cargo room, we wanted a car with a third row that folds flat more for cargo space than the expectation we'll have three or four kids, or need to haul lots of kids around all the time.  How easy is it to get to the third row in both cars?  Does the sliding door open past the second row of seats so you could sneak back there from the outside?  These are things we'll be looking at when we hit the showroom floors.

 If the Mazda5 drives better, one thing for us to consider is that my wife will be doing most of the driving.  She doesn't care about driving dynamics, so that might not even be enough to steer us away from the C-Max given all the other goodies one can get.  This is a long term car for us, and despite the six seats, we will likely keep the third row folded flat most of the time for shopping trips.

2010 Ford Taurus: Review & Pictures

After some odd renaming of the brand, Ford finally has settled on a new design for the Ford Taurus sedan. And it looks like a real winner, per Road and Track:

Soft springs and heavy dampers absorb Michigan's ever-present potholes nicely, yet allow for crisp corner entry. Roll control is good, but if you push too hard there's a benign transition into moderate understeer that is wholly predictable. With higher cornering speeds come a proportional amount of body roll, but thankfully not as much as might be expected. The improvement is related to revised rear suspension that moves the shocks farther outboard for a better motion ratio that's now 1:1 as opposed to the previous car's 0.6:1.


Gripes are minor. The shift paddles feel plasticky, as if they were supplied by Mattel. And the standard wheels of the top-of-the-line Limited model are not alloys; they are steel wheels with plastic chrome cladding.


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If this Ford Taurus is anywhere nearly as successful as the Fusion has been in the mid-size segment, we'll finally have a great American 6-cylinder car that people want to buy over a foreign counterpart. Many drivers will chime in that they have been loyal to American brands even despite the awful cars coming out of Detroit for decades now, but I'm talking about mainstream appeal for, of all things, a Ford Taurus that was thought to be dead years ago.

If I were in the market for a new car, I'd run to a Ford dealership and test thing out to see if it's as good as the review indicates. Judging by the brand new 2008 Ford Edge that a relative of mine recently purchased, all I can say is, Ford is on the right track. And yes, there definitely is a correlation between their recent success and not taking any bailout money.

Wow, I Miss Royal Ford

I live in the Boston area and the only use I've had for the Boston Globe (the hard copy) in recent years has been to read the automotive section. I always enjoyed Royal Ford's weekly column in the Globe. He struck a great balance between giving important information to everyday drivers when reviewing a vehicle, but also pointed out some of the more specialized aspects of the car for enthusiasts. Sure, he'd take the occasional jab at German companies for higher prices and higher expected maintenance costs in some cases, but the banter was always playful and he also gave a nod to the excellent way those cars drove. He is a journalist to be respected.

In complete contract to Mr. Ford is Sherrice Gilbash. Let me start by saying I think she fits in wonderfully for the website she writes for - Motherproof.com. The articles she writes are clearly geared toward Moms who are shopping for a grocery-getter but maybe with some niceties attached that Moms can appreciate - and surely, even some Dads.

But some of her articles have shown up in the Boston Globe lately, front and center in the automotive section where Royal Ford's (and then Cars.com journalists') used to reside - and strangely, they have not been republished on Boston.com. Even reviews by Cars.com folks will show up on the Boston.com website a day or so after the review is published in the paper. Not so with those written by Sherrice. Not too important, but odd and of note.

Here are some of the bits and pieces published in the Boston Globe recently:

For the 2009 Volkswagen CC 3.6L 4Motion review:

From the outside, the CC is incredibly smooth-looking — think stilettos and a black mini dress. This car turns heads and even gets people to point; that’s something I usually discourage my kids from doing, but in this case I told them it was a compliment. I started feeling guilty for being in sweats with no makeup when I was driving the CC.

Combine that punchy power with VW’s 4Motion all-wheel drive, and the CC proves you can look sporty and sexy and still plow through the snow like it’s nobody’s business. Too cool!

Stilettos, black mini dress, sexy, and the full sentence (?) "Too cool!". Again, clearly geared toward a female demographic, and that's fine for Motherproof.com, but for the Globe?

Here's more from her 2009 Audi A4 quattro review:

From the outside, the A4 has an incredible presence. It exudes style and sets the tone for the complete image of what and who an Audi driver is. I certainly wanted to be seen in the A4. For me, it was like wanting to be seen on that one day each month when I actually do my hair and makeup to pick the kids up from school. Darn it, I worked hard on my look and I want to reap the rewards of recognition!

This car may carry carpool by day, but by night — look out! My husband and I enjoyed a night out on the town while I had the A4. Getting ready, we felt as if we had to dress to the car’s level of class — definitely strappy heels with this one! As we hid the booster seats in the trunk, we glanced at each other with glee and said, “No kids!”

Sherrice goes on and on about the snack space given in the A4's rear armrest too. She focuses on what the driver should be in relation to this car instead of taking this car on a track and seeing what it can actually accomplish, and how it compares to its rivals and current technology in the marketplace. Honestly, anyone halfway familiar with German cars will surely find the armrest storage feature useful, but a little nod in that direction is all that's needed - not paragraphs worth of praise. An Audi is something you want to drive, and again, while her articles are useful for readers of Motherproof.com, I'm not sure why The Boston Globe switched from Royal Ford's more technically oriented articles with still a dash of his excellent, witty personality, to just about anyone on the internet who reviews cars. Maybe they'll ask me to write a review for them next?

By the way, there doesn't appear to be an official Royal Ford website, so here I'm linking to the closest thing I found in Google...enjoy!

http://labs.daylife.com/journalist/royal_ford

Supreme Court Delays Sale of Chrysler

The sale of the core Chrysler business to Fiat is at the heart of Barack Obama's plans to save the automaker from liquidation, something which the administration's lawyers argued is inevitable if the Italians walk away. Under the terms of the agreement, the deal must be completed by 15 June.

Fiat will emerge with management control and with an initial 20 per cent ownership of Chrysler under the deal, hammered out ahead of the bankruptcy filing at the end of March. A union-run healthcare trust will own most of the company, while unsecured bondholders will get only a sliver. Mr Obama condemned hedge funds holding the bonds for refusing to sign up to the deal, but a trio of Indiana state pension funds continued to try to block it.

They lost in bankruptcy court, and in an appeals court ruling last Friday, but were given permission to pursue the matter at the Supreme Court. They argued that the interests of unsecured bondholders had illegally been placed behind those of the union.

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The Obama spin here is laughable: Chrysler is being sold because, since 1979, it has needed bailout after bailout & is in the business of providing pensions to former and current workers, instead of making great cars people want.

While I definitely want to see Fiat & Alfa vehicles sold here as soon as possible, I didn't know the majority shareholder of the new entity would be a union-run healthcare trust. This spells trouble, and this is exactly why Fiat refuses to put up any of their own cash to be part of this deal: because even Fiat knows subsidizing healthcare pensions and union corruption with their own money coming into this deal means that money disappears and is never heard from again.

Much as I hate to see the union be any part of this, I still want Ginsberg to finally let Chrysler die - in part, at least - and allow Fiat to take control to send the message that American car companies need to be more like Ford if they want to survive.

UPDATE 6/11/2009: It appears Chrysler is finally going to die, for the most part, as Fiat has been approved to take over all of Chrysler's assets. Let's hope this leads to a rebadging of the brand to Fiat and Chrysler finally dies a decent death, as should have happened in 1979.

New Corrupt.org commentary on 2010 Honda Insight Hybrid

I wrote a blog post about the new 2010 Honda Insight hybrid for the website Corrupt.org. Check it out here.

Vehicle lighting: Daniel Stern Lighting Consultancy and Supply

Vehicle lighting (headlamps, fog lamps, tail lights, and especially directional bulbs) is more important than most people realize. In the US, we're so used to options on the shelf that when we see a blue-looking headlamp at AutoZone and the manufacturer tells us it'll allow us to see better at night, we take the info at face value, and buy the lamp, thinking we look cool with blue-ish headlamps.

There's also the issue of use: today, on my way to work, it was raining hard and there was a lot of mist & fog in the air, such that visibility was down below 50 feet or so. There were many people who didn't even have their tail lights on, let alone fog lamps. So if you were driving and a person stopped suddenly in front of you, you may not have even known they were there until you saw their brake lights, and by then it would be too late if you were unknowingly following too closely. Unfortunately, fog lamps are used as an odd fashion statement here: "hey, my vehicle came with these cool extra lights, so I'm going to use them!" This is particularly a problem with pickup truck owners: they're already too high up, and have fog lamps, so instead of using their low beams, they use their parking lights (big no-no) and fog lamps. Simply odd; not sure where pickup truck drivers learned this or why they do it, but it's dangerous as almost no one sees your fog lamps, particularly not anyone behind you or directly in front of you.

Then there's directional bulbs. Of course, many people don't even use them when they should. But they cast a wide beam and have little in the way of glare (when they are yellow - fashionable white or red tail lamps are just a bad idea). As such, they should always be used as appropriate.

In Europe, lighting regulations are much more strict. In many countries, all vehicles come with fog lamps, and you can be fined for using them outside of the normal use. My 2002 Mercedes-Benz E320 comes with a rear fog lamp, which some Audis and Volvos also have here in the States (BMW has opted not to include rear fog lamps in their US inventory). The rear fog lamp on the Benz lights up on the driver's side tail light assembly, so an approaching car knows which side of the car they may hit if they approach too quickly, and can effectively maneuver to the appropriate side.

There's an entire science behind vehicle lighting and its effects on the eyes, as well as its effectiveness in certain situations, which depends on which area of the country you live, etc. Daniel Stern Lighting Consultancy & Supply was recommend to me on a Benz board a while back, and Daniel has been great to work with & buy from. He gives his time via email to explain to you what types of bulbs one should use depending on your car and in which area of the country you live. Drop him a line if you're shopping for lighting.


Click here for Daniel Stern Lighting Consultancy and Supply

2009 BMW 1-series

After reading this review of the 2009 BMW 1-series coupe on Boston.com's Auto section, I'm scratching my head. What, exactly, is wrong with this vehicle? The reviewer attempts to explain but loses me:

The price. Our 128i started with a MSRP of $29,200, plus a destination charge of $825. If you could stop there, we could see this as an entry-level sports coupe. However, an array of ``normal'' BMW options pushed the final price to $41,345. We had the Sport package ($1,300), Premium Package ($3,700), Steptronic with paddles ($1,425), Xenon headlights ($800), and Navigation system ($2,100) as the major add-ons. For comparison, a comparable 3-Series has a base price of $33,600 and would be about $45,500 similarly equipped.

The two-part starting "system" is pretentious. Push the key fob into the dash, and then hit the start/stop button. How about reverting to turnkey vehicles?

The cup holders. There's a big one – MINI-style – on the passenger side and another tucked half under the center armrest. It's a bit on the sparse side for Mrs. G who's inclined to embark on a three-hour morning trip with hot tea, Diet Coke and a bottle of water, almost always guaranteeing a pit stop.

Talk about nitpicking...

So my understand after reading his review is that "it drove just great, but man, they need to give me more cup holders, give me the car for less money, and give me more rear seat room in the smallest BMW ever sold that had a rear seat in the first place". Sounds like this reviewer is asking a bit too much out of what's supposed to be not an entry-level luxury car, but a small, sporty coupe that harkens back to the 3-series of the past.

And that's just the problem with this vehicle, isn't it? Positioning.

The 1-series follows in the footsteps of the redesigned 3-series - bigger, wider, and more luxurious than the 3-series vehicles that defined a genre, especially in the early - then late - 1990s. Those cars were sports cars first, sports sedans second - the suspension & handling were perfect for a true driver's car. Then BMW realized at redesign in 2006 that they had millions of potential 3-series buyers and it was BMW's top-selling car stateside. I won't go so far as to say that BMW "sold out" by making the 3-series more consumer friendly, but there was definitely a niche that was vacated when the new 3-series came out. Thus, the 1-series - which delivers, apparently, in all aspects of what 3-series loyalists want that car to be, even today.

Back to the review, cup holders and iPod adapters simply aren't standard equipment in Germany, so they can't be standard equipment here. Not every Benz and BMW that rolls off the factory line in Germany is supposed to be a "luxury car" the way we define it here - piled to the top with electronic gizmos, cup holders, etc. - basically the "living room on wheels for people who kinda like to drive sometimes" mentality we have here in the US. Lexus & Acura, by contrast, made luxury vehicles strictly for the American market, and they were supposed to sit on the same chassis as Camry & Accord vehicles, but deliver in better handling and luxury options. This is more of a history lesson than a car review, but the lesson is that German luxury cars will always require more options to make an equally equipped Lexus. And personally, I'd rather pay more & drive the German car than the Lexus or Acura, after owning & driving all types & realizing that you're paying for a true autobahn-capable vehicle no matter what model you buy (1-series, C-class, S-class, 5-series - even VW Passat).

German cars will always take this kind of heat from reviewers because of the "you get more by paying less" attitude the media maintains toward Japanse counterparts. Still, the 1-series seems to be doing quite well in filling the niche left behind by the current-gen 3-series: a true driver's car that will transport two - and maybe 3, sometimes - adults very comfortably while having that basic, sports-like feel on the interior (a couple cup holders, maybe a fancy stereo if you're willing to pay for it). You're supposed to enjoy driving this car, that's the message BMW is sending, even if it doesn't translate well here in the US.

(Not quite a) Review: 2008 Ford Edge Limited - AWD

Earlier this month, my father decided his 2000 Ford Windstar minivan had had enough. A respectable and reliable little van, it served his small business purposes well and was much more fuel efficient than any silly and huge SUV, like a Yukon or Suburban. It probably had just as much cargo room too, but the savings from being more fuel efficient was the big reason for staying small.

Fast forward 9 years and 140,000 miles later. This car was always left outside and was never properly cared for. As such, it began to rust a bit. My father had already planned on getting rid of it, and Ford had done him well in the past, so why not go with another Ford? Particularly in this type of economic climate, any American auto dealership would bend over backward to get his business, he figured. Turns out he was right.

He was able to pick up a 2008 Ford Edge Limited - AWD (navi, leather, all those goodies - even option 18" chrome wheels!) for about $12K below MSRP (as I understand it - never saw the bill of sale or anything).

More than just the price, though, the car is actually pretty solid. I drove it briefly and it seemed pretty sturdy. The options are great, the interior quality is very nice, and the exterior styling isn't anything to laugh at like some of the Buick or Oldsmobile models of the 1990s. The reason for the deep discount was more than just the fact that it was an American car, of course; it had been sitting on the lot for well over a year and a half by this point and the dealer wanted it gone.

This is how Detroit can win American car buyers back: shed inventory for low cost, make what people WANT to buy like this Ford Edge, give up the addiction to huge trucks and atrocities like the $50,000 GMC Yukon Hybrid, and stick to making sensible vehicles people can be proud of when parked next to foreign competitors like Honda and VW. Pretty soon, if they can make this work, it will be the American auto owners laughing at folks who paid too much for a foreign car instead of the other way around.

Begging for socialism

Note: this was already posted on my other blog but as it involved the auto industry it belongs here too.

In a shameful move by a shamefully & poorly managed US auto company, GM is now asking the government to completely take over the company so it doesn't have to run itself - nor confront the unions it plans to phase out:

GM is living on $15.4 billion in government loans and faces a June 1 deadline to restructure and get more government money. If the restructuring doesn't satisfy the government, the company could go into bankruptcy protection.

GM said in a news release that it will ask the government to take 50 percent of its common stock in exchange for canceling half the government loans to the company as of June 1.

If both are successful, the government and UAW health care trust would own 89 percent of the company's stock, with the government holding over a 50 percent stake, Henderson said.

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I would rather see GM go out of business or at least substantially reduce its product offerings (more than just slashing Pontiac; think much bigger - or smaller, as the case may be). The government should not be in the business of making cars for profit. And since the government will realize this soon too, taking over 50% of the company's stock (read: operational & financial decisions) means we're slowly getting on the path of government taking over all industry. Alarmist? Apocalyptic? OK maybe a bit too much melodrama to make such a leap, but it's still frightening for those of us who value good old fashioned hard work in our industry here in the States.

My only hope is that a strong state like Texas secedes from the union and shows the other 49 how it's done. Only that type of action will finally convince people that a heavily centralized federal government, which should not be in the business of bailing out or taking over industries to the point where those companies are given a lifeline just long enough to BEG the government to put it out of its misery as an independent for-profit going concern, has no place in this country.
If this (or something like it) doesn't happen? I fear the socialism bug that has infested too many countries in Europe, and spread all too easily via the EU.

Car care products: Mothers Reflections Advanced Wax vs. Turtle Wax

When I stumbled upon Waxstation.com on the recommendation of someone on a Honda board a while back, I didn't realize just how lucky I was at the time. What I heard from the sales reps & owner at Wax Station - who deal almost exclusively in detailing products made by Mothers - is that Reflections Advanced Wax goes on easy, buffs off easy, and leaves a lasting shine. I didn't know quite what that meant until I used Reflections for years, and then tried to wax my sister's car the other day with some Turtle Wax product that I can't even find on their site at the moment (this link gives you the closest product I could find).

The Turtle Wax polish went on fairly easily, but not nearly as easily as Reflections - not by a mile. It did behave when being pushed around by the microfibre waxing cloth I used (no automatic buffers here - I do it by hand). So okay, step 1 (after using some Mother's Pre-Wax Cleaner on certain areas that looked particularly dirty - remember, there was no existing coat of wax to strip off) was finished.

Buffing off the haze was a bit of a tough task when compared to how the product went on. Keep in mind her Accord is a smaller car than my Benz, thus there's less of an area to wax, so the amount of time it took me to wax the car was shorter. I also ensured her car was NOT in direct sunlight.

When I took a clean cloth to try to buff out the haze, it was like I had covered the car with Rain-X and had left it out in the sun too long. It was simply impossible to get it all off, and streaks abounded. Even on 100% dry panels, streaking still occurred because I couldn't put enough pressure on the paint to get that gunk off! It was very disappointing after I had worked hard to get the stuff on. I'll have to go fix it this week by using some Mothers wax.

Overall, I'd give that Turtle Wax product a huge thumbs down when compared to Mothers waxes I have used.

Repair Shops: European Auto Solutions in Waltham, MA

There are a few shops in Massachusetts which are very good at what they do, and this is by no means a comprehensive list:

Accel Automotive - they work on just about anything - including antiques, Ferrari, Alfa Romeo ( they are located right next to where Alfa used to be in the 90s in Waltham, MA). Good people & honest. I have used them for years and if they have ever made a mistake, they own up to it and pay for it. What else can you ask for from your mechanic? We have a Lexus ES that will likely never see another shop again outside of Accel, and the following shop for tires & alignment.

Donovan Alignment - now a franchise of American Car Care Centers but again - very fair & honest, very talented when it comes to diagnosis. I've never been disappointed.

As good as these two shops are, for our Mercedes-Benz, I recently started using European Auto Solutions. Due to copyright issues they can't actually have Mercedes in the name, but they work solely on Mercedes-Benz vehicles.

The short history is that the owner, Tim Allen (no, not that one), a former Fidelity big-wig, had a passion for Benzes. A specialty Benz restoration shop that worked on all Benz model years and types, located nearby in Wayland, and named Hatch & Sons, was closing up shop (they would eventually re-open in Hudson). Tim was at the point of needing a new challenge in his life, so he left Fidelity and under a year later, the former Hatch & Sons service coordinator was working for him in a new shop in Waltham called European Auto Solutions.

I have used them for a few jobs now. The insurance nightmare posts (look in the archives - I'm sick of even linking to them at this point) speak to some major door issues after my driver's door needed replacement, and EAS brought me in from the cold: they replaced faulty wiring, connected the window regulator properly, aligned the door properly, replaced the contact switch, etc. All for a very reasonable rate, and just knowing my car was in the hands of people who had a passion for the brand and who never touched other cars, that gave me a level of comfort I hadn't had in my vehicle since the accident in January 2009.

I also needed rear coil springs done, and those were done without a hitch.

During my last visit, the owner, Tim, had to give me a ride to and from work. He was telling me about his passion for the W124 chassis, or the 300E (and 500E) of about the mid-80s to 1992 or so. Speaking with the service manager, Ed, is cool enough, but having 10-15 minutes of time alone with the owner of the shop and talking Benzes with him was very cool. He had no issue at all with giving me a ride to work after their loaner car wasn't back in time for me as promised, which showed me he's a down-to-Earth guy who values his customer base. Being the son of a business owner who's been located up the street from EAS for the past 35 years, this is very important to me when selecting shops to whom I will give my business.

If you're in MA and have an old or new Benz, give them a shot, you won't be let down!