Weather switch and a big election

So, we had a beautiful Spring-like day yesterday with 50 degrees and light winds while Southern CA is getting pounded with rain and high winds. Power was lost and flash flooding caused access roads to cut off communities. 3 back to back storms are to hit the area this week with up to 20 inches of rain. That is unbelievable. And if you've ever been to LA while it's raining...you know that the dry ground and made for sunny weather infrastructure does not do well with the wet stuff. Traffic comes to a stop and major streets get flooded quickly. I hope all of my friends down there stay safe!!!


So, today is the big election in Massachusetts. I guess we will see if the Dems keep their majority in the Senate or not. I have voted for both sides in the past and really, I just want people who will not just simply vote along party lines but really try to do what is best for the people they represent. I guess it's just a pipe dream of mine.

We shall see what will happen in a couple of hours!


And just because it's a beautiful car....

The personal 1971 Plymouth Hemi ‘Cuda of the Beach Boy singer Al Jardine will be on auction block next week at the Barrett-Jackson event in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Simply gorgeous.

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Haiti 2010

Oh my dear God Almighty......

When I see the pictures on the news regarding Haiti....I can't but cry my eyes out. It's already a very poor country and then to see such tragedy and devastation. On NBC last night, they said 9 million people live there with about 2 million in Port au Prince, the capitol city where the earthquake hit. 4 out of 5 people live in poverty there.

So......I know times are tough but nothing can be worse than having no water in 90 degree heat or a child alone in the streets because he/she does not know where their mom or dad is. That breaks my heart into a billion pieces.

There are many ways to donate....please choose your favorite. Even if it's only $2 or $5 or even $10!!! I'm sure every last dollar can be used for relief. Here is a brief list from MSNBC.com. Click HERE to see the article and the websites of each of these agencies.

• Action Against Hunger, 877-777-1420
• Agape Flights, 941-584-8078
• American Red Cross, 800-733-2767
• American Refugee Committee, 800-875-7060
• American Jewish World Service, 212-792-2900
• AmeriCares, 800-486-4357
• Beyond Borders, 866-424-8403
• CARE, 800-521-2273
• CarmaFoundation
• Catholic Relief Services, 800-736-3467
• Childcare Worldwide, 800-553-2328
• Church World Services, 800-297-1516
• Concern Worldwide, 212-557-8000
• Cross International, 800-391-8545
• CRUDEM Foundation, 413-642-0450
• Direct Relief International, 805-964-4767
• Doctors Without Borders, 888-392-0392
• Episcopal Relief and Development, 800-334-7626
• Feed My Starving Children, 763-504-2919
• Food for the Poor, 800-427-9104
• Friends of WFP, 866-929-1694
• Friends of the Orphans, 312-386-7499
• Habitat for Humanity, 1-800-422-4828
• Haiti Children, 877-424-8454
• Haiti Foundation Against Poverty
• Haiti Marycare, 203-675-4770
• Haitian Health Foundation, 860-886-4357
• Healing Hands for Haiti, 651-769-5846
• Hope for Haiti, 239-434-7183
• International Child Care, 800-722-4453
• International Medical Corps, 800-481-4462
• International Rescue Committee, 877-733-8433
• International Relief Teams, 619-284-7979
• Lutheran World Relief, 800-597-5972
• Medical Teams International, 800-959-4325
• Meds and Food for Kids, 314-420-1634
• Mennonite Central Committee, 888-563-4676
• Mercy Corps, 888-256-1900
• Operation Blessing, 800-730-2537
• Operation USA, 800-678-7255
• Oxfam, 800-776-9326
• Partners in Health, 617-432-5298
• RHEMA International, 248-652-9894
• Rural Haiti Project, 347-405-5552
• The Salvation Army, 800-725-2769
• Samaritan's Purse, 828-262-1980
• Save the Children, 800-728-3843
• UN Central Emergency Response Fund
• UNICEF, 800-367-5437
• World Concern, 800-755-5022
• World Hope International, 888-466-4673
• World Relief, 800-535-5433
• World Vision, 888-511-6548
• Yele Haiti, 212-352-0552
  Wyclef Jean's grassroots org
  Text Yele to 501 501 to donate $5 via your cellphone

For those interesting in helping immediately, simply text "HAITI" to "90999" and a donation of $10 will be given automatically to the Red Cross to help with relief efforts, charged to your cell phone bill.

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Chrysler 300 S6 and S8

Ok...so the name is a little bit Audi.......but besides that, the new special edition 300 looks sharp.



The grille is blacked out, the doors are brought in a little with no line or badging on the side, the highlight bezels are darker, and the mirrors are body-colored. The interior features a "300 S" logo in the seat that is leather and suede and there are some carbon-fiber weave as accents. Of course, the S6 is a V-6 engine and the S8 is the HEMI V-8.

A slight visual difference than the regular, plain-Jane 300 but enough to turn heads....once again.

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They look pretty sharp!!!!

The Fiat 500 BEV (battery electric vehicle) and the Fiat 500 Abarth SS landed in Detroit and they look pretty nice. Of course, I am not in the position to fly to Motown for the North American International Auto Show, so these pictures on autoblog.com will have to do. sigh.



I honestly can't wait to drive one. I wonder if 2 car seats can fit in the back. Well, they probably can. I guess the bigger question is if a stroller will fit back there with the 2 car seats. I doubt it. Drat. That means Costco trips will have to be in a different car.

Here is the article with a gallery of pictures!

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Save Saab!!!

That is what the signs said in Detroit today as supporters of GM selling the brand came to picket. Or protest. Or encourage, I suppose.

I know that the government helping out 2 car companies wasn't the most popular move. Maybe a part of that is showing in Ford's December 2009's numbers as they increased sales more than 30% from December 2008.

However, I see Chrysler really trying to make some changes. We were in the worst shape post-bankruptcy because it now seems that the previous owner Cerberus had NOTHING in the works as far as future product besides some electric cars. Fiat is trying to fill in the holes and new product will be here for Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep by year's end.

GM on the other hand....I hope they are not reverting back to their pre-bankruptcy ways. First, the went back on their sale of Opel. I know that global sales are imperative and GM is doing phenomenal in China so that is a plus for them. And maybe they don't want to sell Opel because it generates cash, but isn't that a way to make GM a stronger company by focusing on their #1 goal of being profitable in the US. If GM is profitable in China and Europe (with Opel) and doing terrible in the US, then GM will not be as profitable as they could be. That's how I see it. Can they do a good job in the US and run Opel? Well, they couldn't before...but now they can?

And then they can't sell off Saab and now have decided to wind it down at the end of 2009. But then the date was pushed back and now I guess the offer isn't good enough? But make a decision here!!! Jobs in Sweden, jobs in the US, dealers, etc. are all in limbo. And then I read that there are orders for some Saabs so they might start production again. What???!!!! HUH???!!!! Does that make sense?

I understand that I do not know all the ins and outs of GM. I don't know what Opel brings to their bottom line and I don't know why the would want to build more Saabs if they are thinking about shutting down the line. However, it seems like these 2 situations makes me think that GM thinks it's doing ok now...everything is ok. If they want to beat Toyota again, then I think they need to focus on building and selling cars here in the US. Get rid of what is bringing you down quickly and stop lingering. I feel like it wastes more money than if they were to just make a decision.

Am I bashing GM? Maybe a little bit but I think this kind of corporate decision making is what makes people upset when they hear about the CEO's flying around in private jets and having lavish parties while asking the government to bail them out.

Is Chrysler perfect? No way. There have been mistakes made here too. But at least I feel no one is dragging their feet in a decision. It's more like we can't wait for the fruit from the decisions that have been swiftly made.........and we just hope they were the right ones.

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Detroit Auto Show...would LOVE to go....

There is ALWAYS a lot of buzz before an auto show begins.....and the North American International Auto Show in Detroit is NO exception. Well, with a name like that, how can it not be!!??

So, in a week, the doors will open to the public to some ohhhh and ahhhhh over new models and concept cars. I wish I could go to something where there are cool new things to look at...and not just the current model year cars for sale around town. This year...right next to the Chrysler, Dodge, and Jeep display will be Ferrari and Maserati. That's right!!! Maybe a Dodge Caliber and a Chrysler Sebring will be next to a Ferrari Spyder or something.

That would be very interesting to try and set-up a proper display of these car brands.

Big thumbs up from me.

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Happy 2010!!!!!!!!

Yes, I know it's just one day difference from yesterday but farewell, 2009...and

HELLO 2010!!!!!

We're getting new product this year and we're chomping at the bit to get it RIGHT NOW. However, we will be patient and build our business by going back to the basics and putting the customer first.

If we take care of the customer, they will take care of us. That is MOSTLY true. Of course, there are some customers that will always just be a bit grumpy. I sometimes want to tell this people that you catch more bees with honey...but I'm afraid they wouldn't get it.

We have some customers that we LOVE dearly and we would do just about anything for. Why? Well, because they are friendly, fair, and they trust us. And you might think that trusting a car dealership is a bad idea....HOWEVER, you actually get the whole dealership behind you and owners willing to do what it takes to make you happy. We trust you because you trust us and we would never do anything to take advantage of that relationship. Why would you when you know that repeat and referral business is necessary for sustainability? What do we do extra for these customers? Anything within reason.

The others that come in with their guard up and assume the worst of us? It's rocky as it starts and never gets "happy" even though we ask them what we can do to make them happy. We have a customer that doesn't think he should have to make an appointment in our service department for an oil change. Ok...sure just drive in and tell us you want an oil change. But then if there is a wait or people ahead of him???? I bet you money that he would be upset that he had to wait or that it took longer that it should. He also feels a technician should be right available at the scheduled time if he has to make a schedule. He's obviously has never worked in a service department before. We have asked him what we can do to make him happy.....but when the only thing is NOT to take appointments in our service department. What can we do??? I wish we could read his mind so we could just telepathically know when he was going to bring his car in and be ready for him.

There are also MANY people who do not want their credit pulled but would like to know what interest rate they would qualify for. Uh....um....well....you kind of need to know the credit score of the customer to quote an accurate rate and term for the loan. That is NOT something our dealership requires but the banks. Yes, call it crazy, but they want to know how good your credit is BEFORE they give you a rate. Funny, isn't it?

I appreciate all of our customers....but we have some that we have built relationships with that make our job fun. I hope to build more of those relationships in 2010.

Happy New Year!

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