Who needs a car when you can fly your way to work

After 30 years of research, a California company unveiled plans for a $90,000 hovercraft called the M200G Volantor. Moller’s machine can fly up to 100 mph at 10 feet off the ground. The disk-shaped craft runs off of ethanol and is an ultra-low emissions vehicle. It predicts making about 250 a year. Start saving for one now! The price is down from its $1 mil predecessor. The firm said the craft is relatively quiet, registering about 85 decibels from 30 feet away. Though a whisper compared to a jet taking off, 85 dbs. is the threshold for hearing loss if exposed to it for a period of time. Sign me up!

August Was Solid, But The Rest of the Year ….

New-vehicle sales in August were surprisingly robust but the outlook for the rest of the year is clouded, as the housing slowdown and lending crunch threaten to reduce people’s interest new cars. Sales of cars and light trucks (which includes pickups and SUVs) have been up and down this year as strong employment and low inflation have offset high fuel prices and the tough housing market. Today’s numbers did little to clarify the overall trend.The rise in home foreclosures and the falloff in home sales has hurt auto sales because many people were using proceeds from refinancings to purchase cars.

However, there is little evidence so far that the collapse in the market for lending to home buyers with spotty credit records is directly affecting vehicle sales, the auto companies said. The drop in gasoline prices last month may have helped boost pickup and SUV sales, which were up 3.8% in August compared with a 5.3% drop in car sales.

How To Kick A Scammy Car Dealer In The Nuts

While we spend a lot of time on this site talking about the importance of writing a good complaint letter, of finding the executive contact info, and cc’ing letters to appropriate regulatory bodies, sometimes the best way to win is to stop playing Mr. Nice Guy and start playing hardball. In the book “Unscrewed: The Consumer’s Guide To Getting What You Paid For”, the author’s first story is about how he himself got screwed, and then unscrewed, on the first car that he bought. Here goes:

“I replied, “What do you mean? You advertised the special. The sale representative should have told me about it! It’s just not fair.” “That’s our policy. I’m sorry.” “It’s a bad policy,” I said, for lack of any other words, and hung up the phone. I was livid. I’d just been screwed out of $1200… Something had to be done.”

That day, Burley typed up a notice and printed out tens of copies. He went to the dealership manager’s office, who continued to try to stonewall him and refer to their “internal policy”. Burley opened the envelope and placed the flyers in front of the manager. “What do you intend to do with those?” he asked.. “Mr. Smith,” I said coolly, even though my hands were sweaty and shaking, “at this point, it doesn’t really matter to me whether I get my money back or not. I am going to exercise my First Amendment right to stand on that public sidewalk in front of your dealership. I’ll hand one of these flyers to anybody walking onto your lot. I’ll be carrying a picket sign with the same message.”

The notice said: “AKAMAI MOTORS LIES TO ITS CUSTOMERS! They advertised a car at one price and then sold it to me for $1,200 more. For details, please call Ron Burley at [redacted].” I continued, “I’ll bet that, in just a handful of Saturdays, I can convince a couple of dozen people to shop elsewhere. It could end up that, by not paying me what’s due time, you lose ten times that much in future business. It won’t put any cash in my pocket, but I’ll feel a lot better about things. What do you think?” Mr Smith returned to let Burley know that bookkeeping was cutting his check at that very moment and he could pick it up on his way out. NICE!

Burley could’ve filed complaint letters and made calls up the management food chain, he could’ve cc’d letters to the Attorney General and the FTC, and maybe even eventually been forced to take the dealership to small claims court, where he would’ve won, as it is actually the law that merchants have to honor their advertised price. Instead, he chose a direct course of action that in broke the problem down to terms that any simple business could understand.

Mexican Truck Driver Program Already Hitting Speed Bumps

U.S. transportation officials have made progress in complying with congressional conditions for opening the border to long-haul Mexican truck traffic, but more improvements are needed. The administration is preparing to begin a one-year pilot program to test the impact of opening the U.S.-Mexico border to trucks from either country, as required by the North American Free Trade Agreement. The Department of Transportation’s inspector general said the law enforcement database used to look up Mexican drivers’ traffic violations needs to be improved because of “data inconsistencies and reporting problems.”  

Currently, Mexican trucks are allowed to travel only within a 25-mile border zone. U.S. trucks are not permitted in Mexico. Identifying another weakness, the report urged the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to make sure controls are in place to ensure the validity of specimens collected from Mexican drivers for alcohol and drug testing. Sounds more like An Excuse To Get Across The Border!

25 of the Most Frustrating Traffic Jams

You might have heard that your commute is killing you. What’s really taking a toll on your health is the polluted air you’re breathing, lengthy traffic delays and dodging accidents to and from work. Even as the stress mounts, we put up with it, since most of us can’t afford to or don’t want to live near our offices. To figure out which region is faring worst, Forbes Magazine looked at three issues facing the country’s 25 largest metropolitan areas.

1. Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario
2. Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta
3. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana
4. Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown
5. Washington- Arlington- Alexandria
6. Detroit-Warren- Livonia
7. Chicago- Naperville- Joliet
8. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington
9. San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos
10. St. Louis

For The Complete List

A Highlight For Buying A Six-Figure Car: No More $12.95 Monthly Bills Forever

Aston Martin V8 Vantage and DB9 consumers will be privileged to start receiving a lifetime subscription of Sirius Satellite Radio with their new car. There’s nothing like listening to Howard Stern while determined women hunt down your chick magnet on wheels.

Why You Shouldn’t Own A Car In NYC

In Houston, $225,000 will buy a three-bedroom house with a game room, den, in-ground pool and hot tub. In Manhattan, it will buy a parking space. No windows, no view. No walls. While real estate in much of the country languishes, property in Manhattan continues to escalate in price, and that includes parking spaces. Some buyers do not even own cars, but grab the spaces as investments, renting them out to cover their costs. Spaces are in such demand that there are waiting lists of buyers. Eight people are hoping for the chance to buy one of five private parking spaces for $225,000 in the basement of 246 West 17th Street. The developer, meanwhile, is seeking city approval to add four more spots.For developers in New York, parking is the highest and best use for below-grade space and fetches about the same price per square foot as actual living space, which costs much more to develop. The average parking space costs $165,019, or $1,100 per square foot, close to the average apartment price of $1,107 per square foot. Those are averages, of course. A $200,000 parking space is about $1,333 per square foot.

Parking in new developments is selling for twice what it was five years ago. Although spaces in prime sections of Manhattan are the most expensive, even those in open lots and in garages in Brooklyn, Queens, Riverdale and Harlem are close to $50,000, although at least one new Brooklyn development is asking $125,000. In other densely packed cities where space and parking are at premium, parking spaces in condos also tend to trade at high prices. In Boston, they can sell for as much as $175,000, and they go for as much as $75,000 in Chicago. But in other cities, like Los Angeles and Dallas, most condos include parking in their prices.

And It Looks Like It Might Be: An Antigouging Bill Voted

The House yesterday voted 284 to 141 to pass a bill that would make gasoline price gouging a federal offense. In the Senate, Democratic leaders were scrambling to introduce an energy bill, the first since they took control of Congress. A committee also held a hearing on whether oil industry mergers have contributed to higher fuel prices. Many Republicans seemed prepared to support the bill despite a White House veto threat. The 284 House members who voted for the bill included 56 Republicans.The legislation would give federal authorities the power during presidentially declared energy emergencies to investigate and prosecute anyone selling fuel at a price that is “unconscionably excessive” or “indicates the seller is taking unfair advantage of unusual market conditions.” The measure would give the Federal Trade Commission the power to investigate price gouging and punish violators.

“I think it could be one of the most important things we’ve ever developed.”

Robert A. Lutz, vice chairman at General Motors, has long been considered one of Detroit’s ultimate “car guys,” for whom no vehicle could be big enough, powerful enough or fast enough. Now Mr. Lutz, known by his “Maximum Bob” nickname around Detroit, says he has a new dream car. Mr. Lutz declared Thursday night that the Chevrolet Volt, the hybrid-electric concept car that G.M. unveiled at this year’s Detroit auto show, may be among the most important vehicles that G.M. has ever developed. With the same enthusiasm that he has long used to describe high torque ratings and engine displacements, Mr. Lutz touted the Volt’s mileage, which he estimated will reach 151 miles per gallon, fueled by a combination of electricity and gasoline.

The prospect of Mr. Lutz going green represents a sharp reversal. After all, he has often mocked environmental advocates, saying that except for “a few nuts in California,” no one cared about the impact of cars on the environment. In 2003, he described Toyota’s hybrid-electric Prius as a public relations stunt — although he admitted he wished General Motors had a similar model — and declared G.M.’s most important car to be the Chevrolet Corvette. Hah! Who’s the biggest nut now?

When most industries have production problems, profits suffer as a result. But not the Gas Refining Industry!

AAA asked the U.S. Senate Tuesday to investigate why oil companies are making huge profits at a time when glitches at gas refineries have caused pump prices to soar. “We are concerned about the number and frequency of refinery outages this year in light of the large profits the industry has been reporting,” AAA Public Affairs Director Geoff Sundstrom told the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, suggesting the industry should be better able to project and meet demand. Sundstrom spoke at a Senate hearing at which lawmakers asked energy experts to explain the spell of unplanned refinery shutdowns that have thrown gas supplies into disarray from coast to coast, boosting average pump prices to a record $3.09 per gallon in the United States and to $3.61 in the SF Bay Area.California Energy Commission spokesman Bob Aldrich said his agency does not investigate the industry but does track its practices. This year the big story was a series of glitches in the annual switchover from winter gas to a differently formulated summer gas, a process that occurs every spring. “This year (the switch) was particularly troublesome at all the refineries in California,” said Aldrich, adding that the state — which must import gas even when the system works flawlessly — “is kind of stuck when the refineries have problems.” UH HUH!

How Institutions and The Auto Industry Are Taking Advantage of People The Legal Way

In recent years, a range of businesses have made financing more readily available to even the riskiest of borrowers. Greater access to credit has put cars, computers, credit cards, and even homes within reach for many more of the working poor. But this remaking of the marketplace for low-income consumers has a dark side: Innovative and zealous firms have lured unsophisticated shoppers by the hundreds of thousands into a thicket of debt from which many never emerge.

Federal Reserve data show that in relative terms, that debt is getting more expensive. In 1989 households earning $30,000 or less a year paid an average annual interest rate on auto loans that was 16.8% higher than what households earning more than $90,000 a year paid. By 2004 the discrepancy had soared to 56.1%. Roughly the same thing happened with mortgage loans: a leap from a 6.4% gap to one of 25.5%. “It’s not only that the poor are paying more; the poor are paying a lot more,” says Sheila C. Bair, chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. The liquidity lapping over all parts of the financial world also has enabled the dramatic expansion of lending to the working poor. CompuCredit Corp., for instance, aggressively promotes credit cards to low-wage earners with a history of not paying their bills on time. The recent furor over subprime mortgage loans fits into this broader story about the proliferation of subprime credit. In some instances, marketers essentially use products as the bait to hook less-well-off shoppers on expensive loans. “It’s the finance business,” explains Russ Darrow Jr. of J.D. Byrider Systems Inc., used car franchisee in Milwaukee. “Cars happen to be the commodity that we sell.” In another variation, tax-preparation services offer instant refunds, skimming off hefty fees. Attorneys general in several states say these techniques at times have violated consumer-protection laws.

Some economists applaud how the spread of credit to the tougher parts of town has raised home- and auto-ownership rates. But others warn that in the long run the development could slow upward mobility. Wages for the working poor have been stagnant for three decades. Meanwhile, their spending has consistently and significantly exceeded their income since the mid-1980s. They are making up the difference by borrowing more. Nearly half of Byrider sales in Albuquerque do not result in a final payoff, and many vehicles are repossessed, says David Brotherton, managing partner of the dealership. Byrider dealers say they can generally figure out which customers will pay back their loans. Salesmen, many of whom come from positions at banks and other lending companies, use proprietary software called Automated Risk Evaluator (ARE) to assess customers’ financial vital signs, ranging from credit scores from major credit agencies to amounts spent on alimony and cigarettes.Unlike traditional dealers, Byrider doesn’t post prices (which average $10,200 at company-owned showrooms) directly on its cars. Salesmen, after consulting ARE, calculate the maximum that a person can afford to pay, and only then set the total price, down payment, and interest rate. Byrider calls this process fair and accurate; critics call it “opportunity pricing.”

Last year, net income on used cars sold by outlets Byrider owns averaged $828 apiece. That compared with only $223 for used cars sold as a sideline by new-car dealers, and a $31 loss for the typical new car, according to the National Automobile Dealers Assn. Nationwide, Byrider dealerships reported sales last year of $700 million, up 7% from 2005.

Dealers now post prices somewhere on their premises, though still not on cars. Doing so would put them “at a competitive disadvantage,” says CEO James Devoe. Sales reps flip through charts telling customers they have the right to know prices. Even so, Devoe says, buyers “talk to us about the price of the car less than 10% of the time.”People are being encouraged to live beyond their means by companies that are preying on low-income consumers. Mainstream financial institutions are helping to fuel this explosion in subprime lending to the working poor. Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC ) and U.S. Bancorp (USB ) now offer their own versions of payday loans, charging $2 for every $20 borrowed. Based on a 30-day repayment period, that’s an annual interest rate of 120%. Once, major banks and companies avoided the poor side of town. “The mentality was: Low income means low revenue, so let’s not locate there,” says Matt Fellowes, a researcher at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C. Now, he says, a growing number of sizable corporations are realizing that viewed in the aggregate, the working poor are a choice target.

Much of these problems are also due to the fact that many ignorant Americans wont take the time to learn about what they’re getting themselves into. “I don’t know whether I was more bothered by the ignorance of the customers or by the company taking advantage of the ignorance of the customers,” says Kehinde Powell, who worked during 2005 as a preparer at Jackson Hewitt, a tax prep firm that soaks up fees not just by preparing returns, but also loaning money to taxpayers too impatient or too desperate to wait for gov’t returns.

Do you agree with what Forbes.com says about your taste in cars?

Forbes looked into over a dozen cars from the Monte Carlo to the Rolls-Royce Phantom, asking their manufacturers to tell us a bit about the cars’ buyers. The information in this story comes from buyer demographics and from what carmakers call “psychographics”–or customers’ beliefs and attitudes. Ask a Chevrolet dealer what kind of message a $22,000 Monte Carlo coupe puts out. He’s likely to say that Monte Carlo buyers are “motor sports enthusiasts who want to show off and stand out from the crowd; Monte Carlo is the sport coupe that embodies legendary American performance. You are between 45 and 55. Your income is between $65,000 and $75,000. There is a 40% chance you graduated from college. These motor sports fans are image conscious, responsibly self-indulgent and looking for an acceptable way to rebel.” If your driving a Lexus, LS drivers are usually in their 60s, are family-oriented and value politeness. You enjoy exercising, reading books and taking classes for personal self-development. How about Corvette drivers? General Motors says the car’s drivers are “aggressive and in control” and seek adventure. The Corvette “represents freedom and what is best about America.”

Honda Motor reports that the car’s owners like to vacuum their garages. You can’t say they’re not clean. Your biggest hobbies are watching TV, going to the movies, reading, domestic travel and conversations with friends. Your biggest emotional desires are feeling secure, feeling in control of your life, having fun, having your needs met and having a sense of freedom. Wow! The Honda Odyessy Minivan drivers biggest hobbies are domestic travel, family gatherings, church functions, conversations with friends and reading. Your biggest emotional desires are feeling secure, feeling safe, making smart choices, feeling in control of your life and feeling proud of your achievements. The Bentley buyer wants an understated heirloom that he or she can pass down through the generations; over 80% of all Bentleys ever made are still on the road today. Cadillac Escalade SUV scream you make around $175,000 a year. You speak your mind and are unapologetic. You enjoy life and do a lot of entertaining. Chrysler Town & Country minivan designed for married couples two or more children over the age of six at home and a household income of around $80,000. Dodge Viper Two-door cars are 96% of Viper owners are guys. You are an executive, manager or business owner. Driving is one of your favorite things to do, and you want to stand out in a crowd. A Ferrari F430 states that you are rich, passionate and highly educated. Owning an Italian car means a lot to you, as does commanding technology imported from Ferrari’s world-championship winning race cars.

Jeep Wranglers SUV says you can and do experience adventure with activities such as backpacking, mountain biking and kayaking. You have always wanted a Wrangler. You are outdoorsy and seek excitement, physical challenge and freedom. Mercedes-Benz S Class drivers: 76% of S-Class buyers listed “fine dining” as their favorite recreational activity, but only 49% listed “conversations.” 57% listed domestic travel, 54% listed foreign travel and 44% listed watching sports on TV. Nissan 350Z two-door drivers are younger and have a smaller chance of being married. You have a higher chance of being black or Hispanic, and a higher chance of wanting to own a pet. Porsche 911 two-door drivers are 81% male and most likely a doctor or a lawyer with your own business or practice. You are about 51 years old. Volkswagen Jetta sedan drivers are 98% more likely to have a job in technology, 70% more likely to listen to music in your free time, 40% less likely to be divorced, 37% more likely to use sunblock, 154% more likely to snowboard, 51% more likely to think your car should catch people’s attention, 65% more likely to drive faster than normal and 30% more likely to recycle. Want to see all the listings? Here’s the slideshow.

Yes, Size Matters

Along with your own driving record, your ZIP code and the demographics of the drivers in your household, the make and model of your vehicle can have a big effect on your insurance bill. Of all of those factors, the type of vehicle you put in your garage is the only variable you can change immediately. Oh and of course, the driver really does make all the difference.

Collision-damage costs are one of the main factors in differentiating the cost of insuring one type of car over another.  To a lesser extent, you also want to look at how attractive the car is to thieves.

Never plead guilty or no contest, especially if it’s your first ticket. If you have a clean driving record, your chances of keeping it off your record are much better

If you’re on your second offense, you may have to fork a whopping $700 out of your pocket over the next three years because, on average, a driver’s insurance premiums can increase by 25% after a second violation. Most traffic courts rely on the fact that 9 out of 10 drivers will just pay their tickets and move on. Established to expedite cases quickly and efficiently, traffic courts serve as vital sources of revenue for many counties.Their desire to get you in and out can work in your favor when fighting a ticket.

Attorneys who specialize in traffic court cases have very high dismissal rates based simply on technicalities. In many cases, with a little effort and research you can obtain the same results.As a former courier that was “basically paid to speed,” author Alex Carroll has beaten 8 out of 10 of his tickets. Those who have successfully beaten a traffic citation all agree that one should never immediately pay the fine — it’s an automatic admission of guilt. Even those who are honest about their guilt will find that many counties offer special pleas for first-time offenders that will keep the violation off the driving record under probational conditions that can often include driving school.

• Carroll recommends going to the courthouse to file a discovery motion or a public records request. You can check the ticketing officer’s notes, calibration records for radar guns and verify that all data was recorded correctly. Many people are successful by simply contesting their ticket through the mail (also known as “trial by declaration“) with a detailed and well-thought-out defense.
• When faced with a court date, try to delay or postpone the trial as long as possible. In many courts, it’s not uncommon to have a court date three months after the offense occurred. At the very least, a postponement in the trial is postponing a conviction and the resulting increase in insurance premiums. Try asking for a trial by jury because it places a further burden on crowded courts and increases the chances of dismissal.
• Another advantage in postponing the court date is that it can significantly increase the odds that the officer will not be present during the trial. Because a defendant always has the constitutional right to question their accuser, most judges will drop the case if the officer does not show or submit testimony.  You always want to make it more difficult for them to show up. Never go with the date on your ticket. That’s usually a ‘gang date’ for the officer. Why does that sound dirty?  If you schedule for an extension that falls on a different day, chances are they aren’t going to come in on their day off just for you.”
• Camera-issued tickets are often the easiest to beat because a defendant has a constitutional right to question their accuser. Courthouses will rarely go through the trouble of bringing the video or picture to court, and even if they do, there is no human subject to question other than the officer who viewed the it. Most people just don’t have the courage go through with this. That’s why some of these cities are making millions of dollars per camera. They know you’re not going to bother.
• While one can always hire a lawyer, the fees aren’t always worth it for minor violations, especially when it’s a first offense. Texas, California, Florida and New York have thriving traffic ticket law businesses with low fees, but in most states, legal representation for minor violations isn’t cost effective nor worth it.

The Highest-Paying Blue-Collar Jobs Left in America.

More than 3,000 workers who signed up over the last year to leave Ford and G.M. subsequently decided to stay. These are, after all, the highest-paying blue-collar jobs left in America. Even so, workers are departing from the auto industry en masse, escaping — as they put it in interviews — increasingly difficult working conditions at companies they fear will desert them. Skilled auto workers — electricians, millwrights, tool makers — are similarly disheartened.Communities are fragmenting, families are relocating, and years of individual choices tethered to the notion of a certain kind of job in a certain kind of place are giving way to uncertainty, regret and loss of control.

“The question is, Are we seeing a final end to what we have called blue-collar aristocracy?” asks Sheldon H. Danziger, a public policy researcher at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. “Big Steel is gone, coal is gone, shipbuilding is gone — all the big industrial unions are gone or going, except the auto workers. These are the people who had the strongest ability to fight, and now they seem to be giving up the struggle.”Two years ago, the Big Three announced their intention to shed tens of thousands of workers by 2008. The buyouts, negotiated with the United Automobile Workers, are an attempt to orchestrate a huge downsizing in a kindlier, more orderly manner. Ford Motor in particular has told its younger employees, through a series of job fairs, that good incomes await them in other industries, especially if they avail themselves of one of the tuition subsidies that Ford offers as a buyout option. On a more ominous note, however, Ford has no other choice but to lay off or buy out workers if the company hopes to remain competitive.