1
auto
auto
Texas Ups Speed Limit To 85 MPH
By Ben Popken on September 1, 2011 4:00 PM
197 Comments
Put the pedal to the metal and get it in gear, today the max speed limit in Texas was officially raise to 85 MPH. Woohoo, yee-doggy! More »
What Do I Do With A Flood-Damaged Car?
By Ben Popken on August 30, 2011 12:00 PM
27 Comments
Your car took a big bath during Hurricane Irene. Now what? More »
Went To Firestone To Fix Flat, Got $1,600 Estimate
By Ben Popken on August 3, 2011 2:00 PM
165 Comments
A Redditor has posted images of his repair estimate he got from Firestone after taking their car in to fix a flat. The Firestone mechanic said they couldn't just put a plug in, they needed to replace the whole tire. And while they were at it, they said the Redditor should overhaul their electrical system for $1,600 because the blinkers didn't work, even though they did work. More »
Want Cheap Gas? Try Costco
By Ben Popken on April 11, 2011 4:00 PM
91 Comments
For a good price on gas, try your favorite purveyor of bulk-sized butter barrels. WSJ reports that Costco tries to sell gas at or below the lowest price in the neighborhood. More »
Used SUVs & Trucks Costing More Than New Ones
By Ben Popken on November 10, 2010 12:00 PM
65 Comments
In a counter-intuitive turn of events, the way the market is now, a used SUV can end up costing more than a new one. More »
How To Give An Electric An MPG When They Don't Run On Gas?
By Ben Popken on October 15, 2010 11:00 AM
92 Comments
Cruising the electric cars on the showroom floor, consumers could soon be faced with an array of new numbers and stats on the piece of paper in the car window. Until now we've just had the traditional city vs highway MPG, but how do you give a rating that makes sense to car that doesn't run on gas? More »
What Are The Common Car Mechanic Scams?
By Ben Popken on October 4, 2010 12:00 PM
299 Comments
One of our readers recently complained about a shady dealership mechanic trying to sell him on replacing his whole rear differential on his car for $3,800, when all he really needed was his fluids to get flushed for about $160. More »
Toyota: Sorry We Made Your Soon-To-Be-Recalled Lexus Out Of Crap
By Meg Marco on July 3, 2010 10:15 AM
29 Comments
Just kidding, they didn't actually apologize. They did say that the new recalls are the result of small valve springs that were made from "low-quality" metal that could crack and cause the engine to stall. Whoops! More »
Heated Wiper Fluid System Wants To Light Your GM Car On Fire
The Detroit Free Press says that GM kept monitoring the part in question — the so-called HotShot system made by supplier Micro-Heat. After the first recall, GM withheld payments to cover its costs, which forced the company to liquidate. Now that the supplier is out of business and the product is still a potential fire hazard, GM is offering to remove the system and compensate owners with $100. More »
By Meg Marco on June 8, 2010 12:11 PM
29 Comments
1.5 million GM vehicles are equipped with a heated windshield fluid system that was previously recalled due to fires— but that apparently is still smoking even after being fixed. The Detroit Free Press says that GM kept monitoring the part in question — the so-called HotShot system made by supplier Micro-Heat. After the first recall, GM withheld payments to cover its costs, which forced the company to liquidate. Now that the supplier is out of business and the product is still a potential fire hazard, GM is offering to remove the system and compensate owners with $100. More »
Toyota Wants To Kiss And Make Up, Wants You To Keep Buying Toyotas
By Chris Morran on February 15, 2010 3:23 PM
67 Comments
Now that Toyota has almost nearly completed its time in the naughty spot for dumping a few million potentially deadly vehicles on the market, the world's largest auto manufacturer is looking to make nice. But instead of flowers, candy or poetry, Toyota is making plans to woo you back into their showrooms with increased cash incentives and improved maintenance plans. More »
Toyota Recalls More Than 400,000 Cars For Faulty Brakes
By Meg Marco on February 9, 2010 3:25 AM
23 Comments
Hey! The rumors were true! Toyota is recalling more cars! This time they are hauling you back to the dealer for a braking problem that is affecting several of their hybrid models — including the 2010 Prius, the Sai, which is not sold in the U.S., the plug-in version of the Prius, and the Lexus HS250h. They are also recalling 7,300 Camrys for a completely different problem. More »
Report: Toyota Will Recall 270,000 Prius Hybrids Over Brake Problems
By Meg Marco on February 5, 2010 1:35 AM
34 Comments
The Associated Press is reporting that a top Japanese business newspaper (that we don't understand because our Japanese reading comprehension really sucks) says that Toyota will recall 270,000 Prius hybrids over complaints about "inconsistent" braking. Consistently being able to brake, of course, is something you tend to want in a car. The braking problem is unrelated to the floor mat and the "sticky pedal" issue. More »
(Photo:frankieleon)
Epic Toyota Cluster#$@% Continues: Repair Kits Shipping To Dealers
By Meg Marco on February 1, 2010 1:44 PM
47 Comments
2.3 million Toyotas will need to be repaired and the kits to do so are being shipped to dealers this week, says Bloomberg. The repair should take about 30 minutes and Toyota says they are "confident" the problem isn't electronic. More »
Zipcar Pulls Recalled Toyotas From Service
More »
By Meg Marco on January 29, 2010 5:45 PM
9 Comments
Zipcar is concerned about the runaway stuck pedal Toyotas of doom, and so they have pulled all the recalled models from their fleet until Toyota gets their #@$% together.More »
(Photo:pbm.)
GM Reaches Deal To Sell Saab To Spyker
By Meg Marco on January 26, 2010 3:28 PM
27 Comments
Spyker, a specialty car maker that makes only a dozen cars a year, has actually managed to come to a deal to buy Saab from GM, says Dow Jones. More »
(Photo:more lumens please)
Ford Doing Well. Chrysler... Yeah, Not So Much.
By Meg Marco on January 5, 2010 1:59 PM
130 Comments
So after sucking for quite a while, Ford ended the year with higher sales, says the NYT. Meanwhile, Chrysler still sucks. More »
Magic Auto Additive Makes Your Service Contract Refund Disappear
By consumerist.com on September 1, 2009 5:49 PM
32 Comments
—>Auto service companies in St. Louis have found a way to avoid issuing refunds when customers cancel vehicle-protection contracts: by selling warranted vehicle additives in place of service contracts. More »
A Guide To The Bull#$@% They Say In Car Commercials
By Meg Marco on August 31, 2009 4:11 PM
64 Comments
—>The folks at Bankrate and Yahoo! Finance have put together a guide that translates the silly things that are often said in car commercials. More »
Toyota Will Recall 95,700 Vehicles That May Experience Brake Problems At Very Low Temperatures
By Meg Marco on August 27, 2009 9:12 PM
77 Comments
—>Toyota has announced that it plans to recall 95,700 2009 and 2010 model year Toyota Corolla, Corolla Matrix, and 2008 and 2009 Scion xD vehicles all equipped with 1.8 liter engines. The company is only notifying owners in states "affected" by extremely low temperatures: Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. More »
"Cash 4 Clunkers" Will Reach Vanishing Point Sometime In September
By Meg Marco on August 20, 2009 1:26 AM
74 Comments
—>If you're planning on taking advantage of the Cash 4 Clunkers program you'd better do it sooner rather than later, says Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. The program is running out of money and the administration says that in the next two days they will outline a plan to gracefully wind it down. More »
