The Worst New Cars Ever Made

For every crown jewel and diamond in the rough that auto manufacturers create, there are countles flops.  Well they were countless until they decided to count them!   So without further delay, the absolute worst cars ever made.  

 

 List of Cars:

Amc Pacer
Chevrolet Vega
Citroen SM
Fiat Strada
Ford Bronco II
Ford Edsel
Ford Pinto
1978 Honda Accord Hatchback M
1971 Mazda RX-2
Oldsmobile Delta 88
1984 Pontiac Fiero
Renault Duphine
Sachsenring Trabant P50
Yugo GV

Did you drive one of these cars?  Has time healed old wounds, or is this like fresh salt being poured in?

Cocoa Hyundai A Look at Dealer Marketing (Below)

 

In the post below this one, you’ll find a recent advertisment by the car dealership Cocoa Hyundai.  

Every July for the last 5 years, Cocoa Hyundai has run a sales event called “Huge”.    Typically the sale generates a lot of traffic and sales.  In it’s first years,  Cocoa Hyundai and it’s sister store Coastal Hyundai did nearly  1500 units in combined sales.  (1 unit = 1 car.)   That’s a whole lot of cars!

Suffice to say,  during the “huge” event Cocoa Hyundai looks to do volume and assuming they are able to do that, they can afford to sell their cars vastly cheaper then their competitors during the month.

One of the main draws of the “Huge” event are the big prize giveaways.   In the past Cocoa Hyundai has given away  brand new Jacuzzi’s,  Harley Davidson Motorcycles,  Plasma and LCD Tv’s, and much more.       For the current Huge event at Cocoa Hyundai for July 2008,  Cocoa Hyundai is giving away a new 2009 Hyundai Sonata at their dealership.

In addition Cocoa Hyundai offers 10,  $1,000 drawings through out the month.  As of this writing several of these prizes have already been given away.   The nice thing about entering at Cocoa Hyundai’s huge event is that you don’t need to purchase a car.    The purpose behind the sale is of course to sell cars, but also build relationships with future customers.      Which is why in addition, they are giving away free six packs of coca cola, just for taking a ride in one of their cars.  

So the concept behind this advertisment and sale is two fold.   First to sell cars. That’s obvious. 

The second point is to ensure that people who aren’t familiar with Hyundai’s or the store,  become so.  By offering no obligation test drives,  people learn about the services and cars at Cocoa Hyundai and then become more likely to revisit the dealership  years down the road when they are infact shopping for a car.

In this way Cocoa Hyundai is able to reach out to future potential customers.    Later in this month you will also be able to see the New Hyundai Genesis at Cocoa Hyundai as well.    Six Pack included if you drive it…. where do I sign up?

Gas Price Blues? Effective Fuel Saving Tips & Myths

 

Tip #1 Moderate Driving

You can save up to 37% by driving less aggressively, such as accelerating more slowly from stop lights and intersections.  The average savings according to Edmunds.com is around 31%.  You could potentially cut your number of fill-ups by almost 1/3rd.

Tip #2 Avoid Excessive Idling

If you turn off a light bulb as you leave the room you’ll save electricity. If you turn off your car you will save gas.
 
The question is if you’re going to stop for just a minute, is it worth it? Idling can provide wear and tear on automatic transmissions (it’s often advised to shift into neutral while idling to reduce wear), but if you will be idling an extended period of time turning the car off can help you save gas as well.

Tip #3 Keep your Tires Inflated

Maintaining proper tire pressure for your car will not only extend the life of your tires, but can help your fuel economy as well.  We recommend frequently checking your tire pressure to ensure proper inflation.  In the long run a few minutes can save you money!

An alternative many are finding useful is the use of Nitrogen Inflation to fill tires instead of regular air.  Tires inflated with nitrogen will maintain correct tire pressure longer, and don’t react to heat the same way as regular tires.   If you are interested in getting nitrogen for your tires,  contact us and we can get things started for you.

Tip #4 Use Cruise Control

Using Cruise Control is a fantastic way to save on gas everyday.  It smoothes out your accelerator by stopping accidental  ”surging.”  It also makes the driver take the long view of the road rather than reacting to every change in the traffic around them, leading to steadier driving and better fuel economy.

Tip #5 Fill your Gas Tank in the Morning

Remember that all service stations have their storage tanks buried below ground; and the colder the ground, the denser the gasoline. When it gets warmer gasoline expands, so if you’re filling up in the afternoon or in the evening, what should be a gallon may not be exactly a gallon.

Number One Gas Saving Myth:  Are you turning your AC off for no reason?

The widely held belief has been that turning the AC off, and rolling your windows down will help you to save on gas.  It’s true that using the AC does take power from the vehicle and increases the amount of gas you use, but by rolling down the windows for ventilation you may be losing any benefit.

When you roll the windows down on your car it becomes less aerodynamic and creates drag.  When this happens it takes more power for your car to drive,  largely countering the effect of turning your AC off in the first place.

So unless you plan on keeping your windows up and your AC off, you might as well enjoy the cool AC rather then sweat for little if any savings on fuel with it off.

One great way to save fuel would be to upgrade to a Hyundai from Cocoa Hyundai, where we have the fuel efficient Hyundai Accent Compact, Elantra Sedan and larger Hyundai Sonata sedan that competes with Honda Accord and Toyota Camry.   All 3 of these Hyundai I mentioned get over 30MPG.

If a new car isin’t in the budget, you can always find more ways to reduce your fuel consumption by checking out the EPA’s website at http://www.fueleconomy.gov/FEG/drive.shtml

 

 

Cocoa Hyundai – New Genesis vs. Audi A8 Crash Test

The all-new Hyundai Genesis will be here soon! If you haven’t heard about the Hyundai Genesis yet, it’s the latest Premium Luxury offering from Hyundai USA. It’s designed to compete with the likes of the Audi A8 and other luxury makes.

So how does the Audi A8 stack up in a head to head battle with the New Hyundai Genesis? Learn more below…

In this high speed collision the Audi A8 is no match for the strength of body and design in the New Hyundai Genesis.  A true testament to Hyundai engineering.  

Learn more about the New Hyundai Genesis at Cocoa Hyundai, Orlando’s Premier Hyundai Dealership.

Just what is Holdback?

In the car Business the most common question I get outside of work is “What is Holdback?”

It’s a fair question, but one which the average person may not like the answer.

First let’s start with what Holdback technically is.   When a car dealer orders a vehicle they have to pay the factory upfront,  not when the car is sold.  Manufacturers don’t stock dealership lots for free, they want their money first.    As you can imagine,  buying several hundred new cars, averaging around $20,000 a piece would be incredibly expensive.So instead car dealerships goto the financial bank of their manufacturer, such as Hyundai in our case, or to their local bank.  This is called “floor plan” another term you may have heard about.  Because dealers must finance these cars,  they just like you pay a monthly payment for every new car on their lot, whether the car sells or not.

In order to help new car dealers manufacturers started giving them “holdback”.  A holdback is a single payment per car paid to the dealer,  usually enough to cover about 90 days of “floor plan” (about 3 payments)  Sometimes less.

 

 

So can you get the dealer to release the holdback?  Maybe.   A high volume dealer may consider it if it will allow them to hit a high level bonus, but your average dealer depends on this subsidy called holdback to allow it to pay for it’s high monthly loan costs.If a car has recently arrived from the factory it’s possible a dealer will dip into the holdback for you.  However if the car has been sitting on the lot for longer then 90 days, or is a model from last year,  you can forget about it.  The dealer has long since exauhsted it’s holdback on that car and every month that has passed has erased more and more profit that the dealer had in the car.

 

 The bottom line is that dealers lose their holdback almost immediately which is why dealers don’t bring it up.   In the end if a car dealer will do whatever it can with discounts to try and make a great deal for someone to buy, but in the case of holdback it’s already been spent and you can’t give what you don’t have.

 

Hyundai Leading the Pack: Car Buying Tips

 

When you it’s time to consider a new car, many people are skipping the ‘tire kicking’ trek of going from dealership to dealership in order to find the right car.  

Even on the best days,  it’s easy to lose several hours at each car dealership and if you have a dozen or so new car makes on your list,  that can waste time you don’t have.

Today many people are turning to the Internet to find their next new car. People are researching online at an increasing rate     One carline I recommend you taking a closer look at is Hyundai.

Yes I am biased,  but once you have done your research and driven a Hyundai you might be too.   BUT – Don’t take my word for it,  check out these resources and give your local hyundai dealer a chance to show you what they can do.       You’ll be surprised, I promise you that.

For instance,  do you think Hyundai quality is a issue? Unproven technology or brand?  Think again!

According to JD Power & Associates,

“Hyundai ranks among the top three nameplates (Porche, Lexus then Hyundai -  Beating Toyota, Honda and everyone else) in the study for the first time in the history of IQS. Highlights include a top ranking for the Hyundai Tucson in the compact multi-activity vehicle (MAV) segment, and top-three segment performances for the redesigned Sonata and all-new Azera, as well as the Elantra and Tiburon.”

When your ready to consider a new Hyundai, and you want to save some extra time you can always use a website like Orlando Hyundai Dealers that can help you speed up the process for shopping for a new car.   Local searches via Google will help you find local car dealerships (Hyundai hopefully) in your area!

Buying a Hyundai in Central FL? Save time online!

Shopping for a new car is stressful.   I’ve purchased many cars over the years for myself and my family, and while I can say that having insider experience does help there is one fact that remains.  It’s STILL stressful.   

Shopping online can be helpful, but you MUST read the fine print.   As a dealer I always try to be open and upfront with my customers.   Other dealers may try to hide the fact that they are using rebates you might not qualify for,  or they may just give you the base price of the car minus rebates and charge you extra for options or packages.

Not a good way of doing business, but if a person sees a lower price they often don’t read the fine print and think they are getting a better deal when they’re not.   

I see many car buying websites dedicated to showing you the “true vehicle price” and the “secret invoice”.   The truth is there is no secret invoice price.   Every car dealer pays the same price for the car,  all that changes is freight and ad fees which are based on market.    

What these websites should really be dedicated to is showing you how to communicate honestly with a dealer and see through common misconceptions.   Some of these websites tell you to write letters to dealers telling them you will be shopping them against their competition and that you want to pay $20,000 out the door and not a dollar more.

Doing this you are certainly going to get dealers to say “Done! Come on in!”    Whether they can actually put the deal together or not,  all you will do is learn to dislike dealers more.  (Perhaps with reason,  but in reality had a dealer responded with an actual #, many just ignore it)

Using the Internet you can save a lot of time and headaches, but you need to use the same common sense from your home computer that you would use sitting in the actual car dealership.   Deep down you know if your offer is unreasonable,  and if it is why would a dealer jump on it so eagerly rather then giving you a good counter offer? 

The Internet makes negotiation easier,  don’t try to skip negotiating because you risk losing your greatest advantage from home when you come into the store.

 

May Hyundai Rebates at Hyundai of Melbourne and Orlando

Every month Hyundai of America, like every auto manufacturer rolls out a new set of rebates and incentives to help their dealers sell cars.    I am often asked whether the rebates will get better or worse in the coming months.   The answer unfortunatly is,  we just don’t know!  

Hyundai doesn’t focus on the calendar as much as the sales for it’s current vehicles compared to the competition and how they are doing in achieving their goals.

For the month of MAY - Hyundai has released some great new incentives that our Orlando and Melbourne Hyundai visitors can take advantage of great savings all through May!

 

Hyundai Veracruz:   2007 $1000 Cash Rebate or 2.9% Financing*

Hyundai Tiburon:     2007 $1000 Cash Rebate or $500 Rebate on 2008

Hyundai Elantra        2007 $1500 Cash Rebate or $1500 Rebate on 2008

Hyundai Tucson      2007 $1500 Cash Rebate or $1500 Rebate on 2008

Hyundai Azera        2007 $3000 Cash Rebate or $2500 on 2008

Hyundai Santa Fe    2007 $2500 Cash Rebate or $2000 on 2008