When it comes to buying fish, stocks, bonds or cars, timing is everything. The factors determining a savvy buyer’s ideal window of opportunity are mercurial. And, like the mystery surrounding a good fishing hole, there are plenty of industry professionals whose livelihood depends on shrouding the “inside line” in secrecy. For example, you won't find prices for “leftover” ’07 Chevrolet Malibus on Edmunds or kbb. Of course, when it comes to car buying advice, The Truth About Cars is on YOUR side. We’re here to help.  

In the old fairy story, con men convince a naked sovereign that he’s wearing fine clothes. Applying that cautionary tale to General Motors is not as straightforward as it seems. Is GM CEO Rick Wagoner aware that the enormous automaker is tumbling towards bankruptcy? Or is he living in a dream world, demanding that his "kingdom" admire his invisible finery? Whether Wagoner’s deluded or deluding, his ”GM Statement on Turnaround Plan” indicates that GM is still buck naked.

Once upon a time, GM had to pull a TV spot for the Corvette because the media nannies thought it would encourage 10-year-olds to drive America's sports car recklessly. And now the Canadian Press reports that Ford's yanked a newspaper ad in Saskatchewan and Manitoba because the (thought?) police says it encourages auto theft. The full-page ad showed the rear of a Ford SUV with a bumper sticker that reads "Drive it like you stole it," with "Built for life in Manitoba" underneath. Ford of Canada spokeswoman Gina Gehlert has throw herself on her PR sword (guaranteed non-fatal), saying "It was never our intention to offend anyone." But Gehlert refused to comment on whether the ad will appear in other markets or be reworked into something that doesn't lead Canadian youth into a lifetime of crime. May I suggest a bumper sticker that says "Drive it like you rented it?" No, that's not it. Any suggestions?

Whenever TTAC publishes a less than flattering review of a domestic nameplate, fans of the brand (or model) accuse us of being "import bigots" or "biased." So I went through our rated reviews and broke them down by nameplate (regardless of country of origin). The average rating (rounded to two decimals) for domestic brands: 3.17 stars. So-called imports: 3.43 stars. Three five-star imports are out of the reach of mere mortals (Gallardo, 911 Turbo and AMG CL63), so I took those out and re-calculated the import score; it dropped to 3.35. If you round any of these scores to star ratings, domestics average three stars and imports average, you guessed it, three stars. Taking it one step further (I gotta get a life!), 23 percent of the imports reviewed received ratings lower than three stars; only 17 percent of the domestics fell into that category.

I didn't crunch the numbers for editorials. Suffice it to say, TTAC's been critical of The Big 2.8, Toyota, Lexus, Porsche, Jaguar and the entire Chinese auto industry. If someone in this industry is doing something dumb, we're going to point it out. Period. As for our Detroit Death Watches, they cover the most important automotive story of our time; a story that's been largely ignored or improperly analyzed by the majority of the mainstream media. If that makes us "import bigots" or "anti-whatever," then so be it. TTAC's going to continue exposing the truth, wherever we find it. [NB: you are free to discuss TTAC's editorial stance or style in this post without restriction, within reason. If you know what I mean…] 

According to the Federal Highway Administration, drivers over 75 years old have the second-highest fatality rate after teens. CNN’s “When Dad Should Stop Driving” (what about mom?) warns that taking the keys away from an aging parent raises “tricky issues of independence and role reversal.” Marion Somers, author of Elder Care Made Easier (note: not “Easy”), provides a list of 10 question for sibs considering seizing the keys from Mom or Dad. Unfortunately, a lot of them apply to most drivers (e.g. "Does he or she do well driving locally but struggle at higher speeds or when directions are needed?"). She suggests a gradual curtailment for the old folks, rather than a single, indigestible dish of cold turkey (e.g. no children in the car, no highways, no driving above 45 mph). Somers knows of what she speaks. She says convincing her father to surrender the car keys was “one of the most serious and complicated issues that I've had to deal with." In the end, Dad’s “lady friend” was happy to pick him up for their dates. Which is nice, and all, but how old was she?

At first there was one. Now there are many. This week, BMW was proud to herald its new status as "the world's first car maker now offering a seven-speed Double Clutch Gearbox [DSG] especially conceived and designed for a high-speed power unit." The German cog-swapper's high hp capability is an important distinction; VW trumped Bimmer with its low-horsepower seven-speed DSG gearbox late last year. Other new dual clutch transmissions in the news: Mitsubishi is giving long lead buff books and the internet megaliths a taste of their new six-gear dual clutch "SST" box (Edmunds reports that it's not ready for prime time yet). Volvo has just announced details on its dual wet clutch Powershift transmission (also six gears). Although the box is currently reserved for Volvo's European diesel cars, you can bet some version of this transmission will make it into Ford's U.S. passenger cars. At which point dual clutch-loving pistonheads (ipso facto) might implode from all the choice. But where oh where is Porsche's DSG? I mean, c'mon.

Over the years, I've noticed that TTAC flamers arrive in groups. Usually, it's down to a reader posting a particularly blunt TTAC editorial or negative review in a fanboy forum. While these single-minded venues usually prefer to kick the snot out of TTAC in the psychological safety of their own website, an emotionally charged individual or two (or three) often feels compelled to vent their home site's collective ire in the forum that gave rise to it. Needless to say, I gently remind them of our policy, issue a warning and invite them to write an 800-word rebuttal– which is WAY too much work for most. Recently, as The Big 2.8's blunders have escalated from dumb moves to farce, the flamers have reappeared in force. I take it as yet another sign that the domestics are facing "the end of days." Later today, I'll pen a Death Watch on Rick Wagoner's pronouncement that his turnaround plan is working. Meanwhile, I noticed that USA Today published a review of a plug-in electric hybrid Toyota Prius– some two years ahead of GM's now we say it, now we don't launch date for the Chevrolet Volt. Yes, it's different technology. But surely we can conclude that it's all over bar the shouting. Which is, of course, our job.

Not technically. Technically, commentator Nick Goddard's smart is the first official U.S. smart car, following on the heels of a number of gray market imports. Never mind. We're delighted that one of TTAC's best and brightest was first in line for Mercedes' four-wheeled accoutrement– I mean, city car. That can drive on the highway. In fact, during our podcast (below), nick2ny admitted that he'd taken his new smart up to 95mph on the highway. (Which is not too smart a thing to say to the media, but I'm sure he meant to say "if" somewhere in there, and change his sentence structure accordingly). Judging from our interview and the number of exclamation marks in Nick's original email, the man is over the moon with both the car and smart Prez David ("I don't share a first name with Farago") Schembri's personal service. But Nick said he'd come down to low Earth orbit long enough to answer any questions y'all might have about his box-fresh, first-out-of-the-box smart. And yes, I tried not to rain on his clown car parade. Doh!

The fifth gen Mustang's retro-inspired design was inspired; it was the miracle Ford needed to resurrect the spirit of the 'Stang. The fact that the formula was immediately– well, eventually– replicated by Chrysler (Charger, Challenger) and GM (Camaro) is just one measure of the new old-looking Mustang's success. Aesthetics aside, it's time for some fresh blood; '07 sales of the two-plus-two are (at best) stalled at 134,626, down 19.2 percent from '06. Going with the whole déjà vu all over again only better motif, I imagined the Mustang as the same as it is now, only more so. A 2010 Ford pony should remain a paean to Pony cars. I'm thinking dual air intakes next to the front lights, followed by the turn-signals; clean and simple lines underlining the muscles underneath (with Twin-Force V6 reality). Now, if Ford can find a way to add a few inches and make those back seats usable…

[For more Avarvarii photochopistry, click here.]

All right– enough with the nay-saying and snarking at GM Car Czar Maximum Bob Lutz. He promised a Volt by 2010 and by George, Chevy's made good on that promise! You, yes you can now buy your very own Chevy Volt! Unfortunately (or fortunately for you!), they're only building 7,500 in this production run. So if you want your very own zero emissions automobile, you need to get your order in right now! Yes, it's a little cramped. Sure, luggage space is limited. But you can park it almost anywhere. And the best part? Its affordable! Be the first on your block to own the new "gas free" Chevrolet Volt! (Batteries not included.)

Website analysts compete.com have compiled a chart of '07's biggest winners and losers. The stats reveal that three automotive websites have the dubious distinction of sharing the title of biggest loser, site traffic-wise. Autobytel clocks-in at number eight, with website traffic falling 82 percent to 556,938 uniques per month (UPM). Motor Trend sits in fourteenth place; its visitorship cratered by 71 percent, to 902,684 UPM. Carsdirect's traffic fell down 69 percent to 3,396,388 UPM. Not surprisingly for a company competing with Google to provide site stats, compete ain't got nothin' to say about the losers. But its commentators are asking a whole lot of questions about the data's integrity. Meanwhile, Paul Kedrosky's Infectious Greed blog reckons the numbers may reflect a scary equation. "Fewer new cars purchased = less traffic required to car purchasing sites, right? Possibly, but there is no way that you'd see, say, a 5% drop in car purchasing turn into a 90% traffic drop." One might also conclude the drop simply reflects the quality of the sites involved, but I couldn't possibly comment. Oh, and TTAC has just crested 1.4m page views for the first time, racking up 477,783 uniques per month. Just in case you were wondering… [thanks to deanst for the tip]

Allstate can't sell new auto insurance insurance policies in Florida. The Chicago Tribune reports that the Florida Insurance Commission has revoked their certificate of authority to write new business because The Good Hands People refused to hand over documents on how they set rates in light of the company's relationships with trade groups and risk-modeling and insurance-rating firms. Allstate faced the same situation in Missouri and opted to pay fines rather than submit similar documents to a court. In the near term, industry experts don't expect Florida's actions to have much effect on the company. But Allstate's strained relationship with the state's regulators could impact them over time. Allstate said it was "surprised" by Florida's actions and is "evaluating its options."

Buried in a report on the plug-in hybrid electric hybrid (PHEV) spinstorm about to descend on the Washington, D.C. auto show, USA Today reports that the U.S. Energy Department will fork-out up to $30m for PHEV projects. Apparently, the money is headed for boffins bent on building cars that "deliver up to 40 miles of electric range without recharging." Companies dedicated to created plug-ins that are "cost-competitive by 2014 and ready for commercialization by 2016." So who gets the dough? GM, Toyota, small start-ups? USA Today ain't sayin'. But they do have a killer quote from Ford's chief engineer for plug-in and fuel-cell vehicles. "If we can't decide within five years whether we can do this, something is wrong," Greg Frenette pronounced. Question: when did/does that five-year time frame start?

Gasgoo reports that China's largest independent auto manufacturer is on the march. They've announced they're going to introduce 38 new models over the next five years: eight in 2008/2009, nine in 2010, 10 in 2011 and another 11 in 2012. When Chery's finished, they will have every major passenger car market segment covered, including minivans and SUVs. That's in addition to the small car they'll be building for Chrysler, and the Fiats and Alfa Romeos they'll assemble under a new agreement with Fiat. With so much development going on, you can bet they're taking American and European safety and emission standards into consideration. Chery has been China's biggest sedan exporter for the past five years; they aren't about to surrender that crown to no one, no how.