November 21, 2008

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Florida Joins States Urging FTC to Strengthen “Used Car Rule”

TALLAHASSEE, FL – Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum today joined Attorneys General of 41 other states and territories to ask the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to strengthen “Buyer’s Guide” notices. The Attorneys General are asking that the notices indicate if used cars, trucks or SUVs for sale have been assigned titles indicating past flood or collision damage.

Under the FTC’s “Used Car Rule,” Buyer’s Guide notices must be posted on used vehicles offered for sale. The current rule requires Buyer’s Guide notices on used vehicles to tell prospective buyers whether the car is offered with a warranty, or is being sold “as-is” without a warranty.

“While the warranty information is valuable for used car buyers, the rule’s value is limited by the fact that it does not require notice about a vehicle’s damage history and prior use,” said Attorney General McCollum. “Nothing diminishes the market value of a used vehicle more than detrimental history.”

Amending the Buyer’s Guide to require this information would help prevent fraud and omissions of material facts, including a used vehicle’s damage, title, and Lemon Law History. According to the participating states, such damaged vehicles also may pose safety hazards to consumers and manufacturers void warranties on vehicles with damage histories.

“There simply is no excuse for the national Buyer’s Guide to fail to include vehicle history and title brand information” as is done in Wisconsin, the states said. “That information is readily available to dealers through private data sources and through title records accompanying vehicles they purchase at auction or take in trade. If Wisconsin dealers are required and can determine facts sufficient to make that disclosure, so too should dealers in the rest of the nation.”

The Attorneys General filed their comments with the FTC. In addition to Florida, the following states and territories joined the comments: AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, DE, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MS, MO, MT, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, ND, OH, OR, RI, SC, SD, TN, VT, WA, WV, WI, WY, the District of Columbia, and the Northern Mariana Islands. A copy of the comments may be found online at: http://myfloridalegal.com/webfiles.nsf/WF/MRAY-7LLLNP/$file/FTCUsedCarRule.pdf

The Florida Attorney General’s Office oversees the Florida Lemon Law Program in association with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. The Florida Lemon Law does not apply to used vehicles, only to new and demonstrator vehicles sold or long-term leased in Florida. More information about the Florida Lemon Law and Arbitration Program is available online at: http://myfloridalegal.com/pages.nsf/Main/5F1DDC32E4EDCBC885256CC900599FB4.

Technorati Tags: FL, Florida, Used car, used car rule

When it comes to vehicles, the streets, and performance in general, there is nothing quite as erotic and as fascinating as speed. Many racers have risked their lives in their pursuit of ever faster speeds and more effective ways of accelerating to such heights. Others have even given their lives in the pursuit of these superlatives such as the legendary racer Ayrton Senna who will forever be remembered as one of he greatest figures in motor racing as well as one of the most tragic. But in spite of the dangers, people still shoot for the stars and attempt to eclipse past records.

Our society has an addiction for all things fast. We use speed to refer to things that are fun and dangerous: fast hookups, fast women, quickies, quick fixes etc. And not only is speed important but perhaps much more memorable would be the way we accelerate to such heights. And of course, this would reflect in the cars we develop. Here are the perfect reflections of this amazing phenomenon, the fastest accelerating cars in the world:

- Ferrari F50 GT: Not only is this one of the fastest accelerating cars in the world, it is also one of the most iconic and stylish. Though built way back in 1996, the F50 GT is still one of the best performing cars anywhere. It can accelerate from zero to sixty in 2.9 seconds. Very respectable feat, especially for a car that is more than a decade old!

- Porsche Dauer 962 LeMans: Another flashback from the 90s, the Porsche Dauer 962 LeMans is one of the fastest accelerating street-legal racing cars in the world. It was built by car maker Jochen Dauer with support from Porsche and can reach zero to sixty in approximately 2.6 seconds.

- Caparo T1: This car is so low that it once had trouble getting over speed bumps. This is so because it is a two-seater, mid-engine, two-rear drive vehicle inspired by Formula One cars. And because of this, its acceleration times are phenomenal. It can reach zero to sixty in 2.5 seconds and costs about half a million dollars.

General Motors and Chrysler are likely to merge, no matter how crazy this idea seems on the surface. Both companies are financially beleaguered, suggesting that the combined entity would have an even greater chance of failing than if the two automakers were to go it alone.

Federal intervention to the tune of a multi-billion dollar loan and aid package will likely expedite the sale. Certainly, the United Auto Workers (UAW) union will have a say in the merger especially as tens of thousands of Chrysler workers will likely be unemployed as a result of this business deal. On the other hand, Chrysler may not have any leg to stand on if GM doesn’t come to the rescue, suggesting that the UAW may have to hold its nose on this one and accept whatever is being offered.

Along with federal help, private investors are beginning to warm up to a GM-Chrysler merger and could play a significant role in the company going forward. As GM gains access to low cost loans and is able to offload poor performing assets with government backing, a leaner and much more efficiently running General Motors is suddenly much more appealing than the current bloated corporation.

For its part, General Motors has several things going for it that make it an attractive buy, especially as stock prices hang around at historically low levels. These attributes include:

Size - as the second largest automaker in the world, General Motors’ strength could lie in its diversity. The company is very strong in several Asian markets, particularly China, and has seen strong growth in Latin America, Australia, and throughout the Pacific Rim. Sales are down in Europe and North America, but as the economy begins its rebound in 2009, GM’s fortunes in those two markets is expected to change.

Technology - no one is quite sure just how well GM’s electric car technology will turn out with the Chevrolet Volt, but a lot of investors understand that if it does succeed, it’ll be a game changer for the industry. Featuring lithium-ion technology, a successful Volt will find that technology spreading to vehicles across the GM spectrum including cars built in Europe, Australia and the Americas.

Future - No smart investor will put his money in a company they don’t think will be around for the long haul. With new technologies coming online, old plants closed, and a trimmed down workforce, a renewed GM will be freed from past encumbrances, enabling it to move forward using its renewed role as the world’s largest automaker to set the trend for the industry.

Of course, any merger is fraught with problems including GM management screwing things up royally as some contend they’ve been doing all along. Still, when your back is to the wall and both the federal government and private investors are willing to help out, then moving forward under these conditions may be the wisest move to take. (Source: The Detroit News)

Technorati Tags: Auto Dealers, Chrysler, GM

This is a test post.

For those of you lurking around, the site is nearly finished, I never realized how overwhelming building it would be. Playing with code when your not a programmer can be a daunting task, one fat fingered move and you can blow the entire site up. Top that with a corrupt backup and you get to start over which is what we had to do this week.

Feel free to offer opinions or suggestions for the site, criticism is fine also which doesn’t appear to be a problem for most who have contacted us so far. We however will not tolerate vulgarity on this blog, lets be civil.

Regards,

David G.