The first blog I ever wrote for The Daily Record, in August 2007, was about the first time in more than 26 years that I bought a new car from a non-family member.

So this weekend, my wife and I ventured into the used car arena.

One word: Oy.

The salesman at the first place we stopped was a complete dope. After telling him what we wanted to spend ($10,000), we admired a 2006 VW Jetta. The prices weren’t posted on the cars (which bugged me), so the salesdope had to run to get his price sheet. The Jetta was $15,000. I told him I was skeptical that he could get to $10,000, but he assured me he would check with his manager.

At the salesdope’s insistence — and against my better judgment — we test drove the car before he got the real price. And finally, about an hour later, he came back with the real price: more than $13,000. We walked out.

At the next dealership, things actually went well, up until the end. We found a Kia Spectra that we liked, that fit our budget (a little bit more than $10,000, but not 30 percent more). We struck a deal.

Then came the paperwork. And the paperwork showed a $750 “reconditioning charge.”

I didn’t think I had “sucker” stamped on my forehead.

I told the salesman I was very close to walking out. That we had a deal. He trotted out the, “well, I gave you the Internet price when you walked in, and we’re not making any money on the deal” line. (Does anyone actually believe that line?)

I told him I didn’t care. That he gave me a price, and that’s the price I would pay.

He offered to cut the reconditioning fee in half. I offered to walk out the door.

The reconditioning fee disappeared.

No names of dealerships here (although I thought long and hard about it). Not even any locations or brand names.

So is this typical? Am I just discovering what everyone who doesn’t have a relative in the car business already knows?

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If electric cars are the wave of the future, Genovation Cars just took another step closer to that future.

The Rockville-based designer and builder of environmentally friendly cars has enlisted Tata Technologies, an affiliate of India’s Tata Motors that helped with the creation of the tiny and cheap Nano car, to design and prototype its G2 model, an electric car with a sustainable frame.

The car will include the research that Genovation used to develop its G1 model, which converted Ford Focus cars into electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. The car would be manufactured with green materials — the company is looking into bamboo, flax seed and resin from soybeans — and recycled steel.

Genovation’s eventual goal is to become one of the top providers of electric vehicles in the United States — and make a profit selling around 1,000 cars a year by departing from the Detroit model.

Photo of the G1 from Greencar.com

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According to a book by two researchers from New Zealand, because of what they eat, dogs have larger carbon footprints than SUVs.

Researchers Robert and Brenda Vale studied the composition of the most popular dog foods and found that the land it takes to produce all of the meat and grains is larger than the land it takes to produce the energy to fuel an SUV.

The book “Time to Eat the Dog? The Real Guide to Sustainable Living,” has gotten a lot of buzz. While the title may be provocative, the researchers don’t exactly suggest eating your pup, rather changing its diet to reflect a more sustainable food regimen.

However, they say a more eco-friendly pet choice would be a rabbit or a chicken. They find it socially acceptable to eat those pets.

But the book has left a lot of dog lovers and environmental types snarling over what they call shoddy figures.

The Vales say a typical medium sized dog eats 360 pounds of meat and 209 pounds of “cereals” each year, using about 2.07 acres of land. The SUV (they used a Toyota Land Cruiser) driving about 6,200 miles a year uses 1.01 acres of land.

But Clark Williams-Derry, director of research for the Sightline Institute, a nonprofit research center focusing on a sustainable economy and lifestyle in the Pacific Northwest, points to U.S. Department of Energy numbers that show that Americans drive our SUVs about 13,700 miles a year. He also says the energy consumed, plus what it takes to produce the gas and the car, are underestimated.

Then there’s the issue of the dog data. According to a study done by the Animal Protection Institute, a nonprofit animal advocacy group, dog food is made up from the scraps of human food — the stuff we wouldn’t deign to eat.

Pet food provides a place for slaughterhouse waste and grains considered “unfit for human consumption” to be turned into profit. This waste includes cow tongues, esophagi, and possibly diseased and cancerous meat. The “whole grains” used have had the starch removed and the oil extracted — usually by chemical processing — for vegetable oil, or they are the hulls and other remnants from the milling process.

Williams-Derry says that because most of what dogs eat are the scraps of what we eat, considering the carbon footprint of their food as completely additional to ours is inaccurate. He recognizes that dogs do have an environmental impact – just as SUVs do, but he takes issue with the Vales’ suggestion that owning an SUV isn’t so bad for the planet.

He says the idea that dogs are worse than SUVs is invalid. It might be time to put that idea to sleep.

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Not that you would do this, dear readers, but the Maryland Insurance Administration wants you to know that setting your car on fire for the insurance money isn’t the answer to getting out of auto debt.

We are apparently in the tail end of “National Arson Week,” and MIA Commissioner Ralph S. Tyler says burning up your car for the insurance reimbursement is “both dangerous and illegal.”

I guess that’s why some people hire someone else to do the job. According to the Wall Street Journal, the going rate for having someone else drop a lit match on your car is $500.

Read the rest of this entry »

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The Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association wants you to know that a program known as “Cash for Clunkers” being considered for the president’s economic stimulus package “is really a wolf in sheep’s clothing.”

The program would allow owners of sports utility vehicles to trade them in for federally-funded vouchers (up to $4,500, depending on the year the vehicle was made) to purchase cars with better fuel efficiency. The idea is to get money in the hands of people who would go out and buy new cars, and get the old cars off the road so fewer emissions are produced.

Sounds pretty good, right? The AAIA clearly doesn’t think so.

Because the “clunkers” would be used for scrap, the automotive group says the consequences of such a program would be that taking those SUVs out of the used car market would raise the price of all used vehicles and mean that people with low or fixed incomes won’t be able to buy them.

Steven D. Levitt, who writes the Freakonomics blog for the New York Times, wrote in an August post that the clunker program would likely only pull in cars that people rarely drive, meaning that the cut in emissions would be minimal. Levitt also agreed with the AAIA’s stance.

“In response to the program, the price of nine-year-old cars would have to rise enough to offset the increased value associated with a near-clunker someday becoming a clunker that can be sold to the government. The benefits of the program will actually be spread widely over all car owners, not narrowly focused on the poor.”

It sounds like Congress has a lot to think about.

DANIELLE ULMAN, Business Writer

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Goucher College has teamed up with Zipcars to offer students and others on the college’s Baltimore campus round-the-clock access to two Honda Civic Hybrids.

As a recent Goucher grad, I was proud to see the school continue on the road to going green. When I was a student, our environment group installed a solar panel on campus. Soon after another one was installed.

But when I took a closer look at the press release, I noticed that it costs $35 to join Zipcar, and then an additional $7 per hour or $60 per day to use one of the hybrids. Ouch.

Wouldn’t students be more inclined to ask fellow classmates for free rides, rather then spend an additional $14 for a trip to the supermarket?

In light of the controversy over the University of Baltimore’s parking rate hike, do you really think Goucher students—especially those who purposefully don’t bring cars to school in order to save–will be willing to spend that kind of money?

RICHARD SIMON, Multimedia Reporter

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For those of you interested in taking a look at one of the many possible cars of tomorrow, you’ll have your chance at tonight’s Baltimore the Region networking reception.

In addition to the schmoozing that usually accompanies such events, there will be a sneak peek of the GM Escalade Hybrid, and even the chance to ride in one of the GM Fuel Cell Vehicles.

I have to admit I’m interested in finding out how quiet they actually are. I’m also not that surprised that the American version of the “Car of Tomorrow” is still a giant SUV.

The big show is from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. tonight at the Baltimore Museum of Industry, and will set you back $35.

JOE BACCHUS, Web Specialist

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Have a concern about driving safety in your neighborhood?

If so, the University of Maryland has set up a free, web-based anonymous survey that lets Marylanders highlight what concerns them the most about traffic safety in the state (i.e. speeding, drunk driving, and cell phone usage).

The survey, which more than 4,100 people filled out last year, helps local task forces identify the needs and issues of their county.

The survey takes less than 10 minutes to fill out, and can be found here. It will be available starting Monday through August 10.

RICHARD SIMON, Multimedia Reporter

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What do you get when you cross Al Gore with oil changes and tire rotations? That’s right, Earth Day at an auto mall!

Apparently, Fitzgerald Auto Malls have gone “green” crazy. There’ll be lots going on there during the eco-friendly week of April 14-19, including an energy-efficient auto show, energy-saving products mini expo, Healthy Food Day, and the old reliable standby of all public exhibits of environmental enthusiasm: tree planting.

Also, all Fitzgerald locations will be accepting recyclable materials from the public — including oil, antifreeze and vehicle batteries, some of the nastiest stuff for the planet to digest.

To be honest, I’m kind of burned out from this “green” environmental lovefest that has been dominating the media for quite a while now. I mean, come on, press people, let’s at least pick a new color — or a rotation of colors — to attribute to someone caring about the planet.

Our new color-cycle designation for the media to celebrate eco-consciousness could look like this: blue, yellow, green, of course, and then Gore (I think he’s done enough for us humans that we can create a color in his honor).

Does anyone else agree with my creative color pattern, or is my “green fatigue” the result of me being one of those self-absorbed media types?

FRANCIS SMITH, Special Publications Assistant Editor

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On its media blog this week, beleaguered carmaker Chrysler points out that the once ubiquitous transport of choice for soccer moms and dads everywhere, the minivan, might not be a very sleek or sexy choice compared to other offerings, but it is still a “big hit” with consumers.

So what if minivan sales are down 18 percent. That’s no reason to put the kid haulers down for the count.

Chrysler’s manager of sales, service and dealer communications urges people to, “think twice before buying into the conventional wisdom. The truth reveals itself when you dig a little deeper.”

As proof, he offers:

-The new Chrysler Town & Country long wheel base model has increased at retail more than 75%, and the new Dodge Grand Caravan has increased more than 25%.

-The total reduction in minivan sales is because of “planned fleet reductions” – not any wishy-washy consumer trend. In fact, consumers are demanding more minivans.

Will ’08 see a resurgence of minivan sales, or will they get plowed under by hybrids, cross-over sport utes, or still-strong-selling big SUVs like Land Rovers and Escalades?

BEN MOOK, Assistant Business Editor

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