Like my Dad says, "You don't know what you don't know." Until you experience the outer limits of a particular endeavor, you can't truly understand what is achievable. That experience completely and permanently rearranges your assumptions of what is possible. In other words, it causes a paradigm shift.
Remember when you were young, and you'd sit and watch a football game with your Dad? Maybe you were watching Walter Payton break off a 70-yard run, complete with three "made him miss" tackles. Sweetness. And your dad would say something like, "That young man is pretty good—but he's no Gale Sayers." Or, maybe he compared Aikman to Staubach, Marino to Griese, Plunkett to Stabler. You get the idea.
In early November, crude oil futures reached a record high of more than $96 a barrel. At the pump, the effect of high oil prices pinched consumers' wallets when the national price for regular gasoline jumped to more than $3 per gallon for the first time ever, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA). That very week, my niece, who drives a 1990 Mercury Mystique, phoned me while she was at a local auto store buying locking gas caps for her car's fuel tank and for her husband's 2007 Ranger pickup tank. The couple, married in May, had just moved to a larger apartment with a mountain view in Fountain Hills, a community north of Scottsdale, AZ. Their welcome was to find their gas tanks raided and nearly emptied.
I visit car dealerships quite often. I've gone to several dealerships in the past year to test drive the latest vehicles, to help friends and family in selecting a vehicle, or to purchase a new car for myself. In my countless visits to various domestic and import dealerships I have observed many a salesperson's reaction toward me based on my appearance. I look young for my age, and I am often mistaken for a high school senior or college freshman.
Continue reading "A Cue To Dealers From A Younger Consumer" »
Congratulations on the purchase of your new car. Now that you've had some time with your new vehicle, are you satisfied with your purchase decision? Is it the vehicle you wanted? Does the vehicle fulfill all of your current automotive desires? If you answered "no" to any of these questions, you may want to consider aftermarket parts for your car. Consider my recent car-buying experience.
Continue reading "Project Civic: The Car Buying Experience" »
My friend told me that his daughter, who turns 16 this month, wanted a Volkswagen New Beetle or a MINI for her birthday "because they're cute." My friend's daughter didn't explain why those particular models interested her, but I think "driving something stylish" was the primary, and perhaps the only, criterion. Practical issues such as safety, fuel economy, reliability, and affordability were not factors in her decision.
Many vehicle shoppers struggle with the question: Should I buy new, or should I buy used? While there are benefits and drawbacks to each, ultimately it's a personal decision, and for many buyers, non-economic factors play a large role.
Continue reading "Weighing the Benefits - Buying a New or Used Vehicle" »
Many new-vehicle buyers, when researching the latest pricing, specifications, and safety and quality ratings, overlook one very important factor: How much fun is the vehicle to drive?
Continue reading "Beyond Basic Transportation - When You Just Want to have Fun" »
