TTAC commentator greenblood has a question for the group:

Since our first child was born, we don’t have time for everything we used to do. So my wife has been taking her ’09 Escape to a Valvoline instant oil change location nearby. They have been pushing fuel injector cleaner every 3,000 miles. Although we aren’t dumb enough to pay the add’l labor charge to dump a 1/2 qt of cleaner in the fuel tank, I am wondering about the benefits of fuel injector cleaner in general and the need to use it periodically. Something tells me every 3k is ridiculous, but I would like to know what the Best & Brightest have would recommend.

Closed course, semi-professional drivers. I’m told.

Eagle-eyed TTAC commentator CommanderFish saw this placeholder for a possible Caliber sedan on a Dodgy website. Heaven forfend?

Pundits across the spectrum are still aflutter over the alleged final-honestly-we-mean-it-this-time-it’s-for-real-fer-sure sale of Opel to Magna and their Russian Sberbankers. Along with the geopolitical impact thereof. What they all miss: The deal may not go down. Especially not after GM laid down some outrageous “conditions” for the sale . . .

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That’s Porsche-sha. And how hard is it to say VW? Jeez.

TTAC Commentator gntlben writes:

I’m currently in the market for a new car, and noticed a local Subaru dealer has a pair of new ’08 Legacys (a 2.5GT Limited and a 3.0R Limited) gathering dust on the lot. Both are being advertised with a big discount (down to $25-$26K) that puts them in my price range. Both have VA inspection stickers that expire this year (2.5 in August, 3.0 in October), which leads me to believe that, considering they’re ’08’s and VA has a yearly inspection, they’ve been at the dealership since 2007. My question is this: what possible trouble spots/wear should I look for on a new car that’s been sitting for such a long time?

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So I get an email from my Mercedes dealer, one of those “throw a bunch of marketing stuff together and call it a newsletter” deals. Fair enough. Times are tough, even for the upmarket marque. And like many a pistonhead, I like to treat my vee hickle to something nice every now and then. Hmmm. Rubber floor mats. Mercedes-branded, tailored to my GL. As this will be the Guzzler’s first New England winter, yes, please! I know they’ll cost a fortune. But I don’t want to buy them from you-know-who and support Car and Driver more than I have to (which is not at all). And I’m too busy ethical to sleaze some for a review (which I would have to write). So I make the 25-minute trip to Inskip. The parts department’s Mercedes-branded product area is a mess. The shelves are mostly empty and thoroughly uninteresting. There’s a whole case of M-B caps—obscured by their plastic wrappers. The parts guy is on the phone. No eye contact. And I wait. And I wait. And I wonder why a car dealer can treat people like shit and neglect a potential profit center and then blame the economy for lousy business.

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Ecco! Ferrari edition Fiat 500 prototype spotted in the wild. It’s preproduction, 180bhp, Ferrari authorized (with Ferrari shifter), for only 40,000€. It was supposed to be covered up, but being an American, I accidentally pulled the cover off trying to get a BMW CSL out. It was sighted at a racing company in Kelburg, next to the Nurburgring. The owner of the racing shop said it’s overpriced, but drives like a demon.

Last year, Fiat delivered 200 Fiat 500 Ferrari editions to Ferrari dealers for customers to use as courtesy cars while their F430 Scuderia (or whatever) was in for service. However, what was parked casually in the corner, is something completely different. Abarth, in conjunction with Ferrari (styling) tuned this little beast up from its original 100bhp to the screaming 180bhp claimed. A Renault Clio Cup, Megane R26.R, and similar creations all run low 8-minute Bridge-to-Gantry times with a good driver, so a sub-8 minute BTG time for the wickedest 500 yet should be possible… with slicks, and not the street tires fitted to this prototype.

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[Thanks to Ron Larsen for the link.]

In three day’s time, General Motors customers can (may?) buy a new car from any of the nationalized automaker’s four remaining brands safe in the knowledge that they can (may?) return the car for a full refund. The exact details of the deal will hit GM stores this weekend. While we await a look at the fine print (a.k.a. “other restrictions”), I called up GM to get as much inside dope as I could snort. GM’s Director of Communications for Vehicle Sales, Service and Marketing, Pete Ternes, told me dissatisfied car owners can return their GM whip between 30 and 60 days after purchase, as long as the customer doesn’t damage the car or put more than 4k on the odo. The refund covers the purchase price and sales tax and . . . that’s it. If you’ve got negative equity rolled into the deal, you’re still on the hook to the finance company. If you go for any dealer add-ons, kiss that cash goodbye. This much we knew from the press release. Here’s the new bit: GM has budgeted for a three percent return rate, although Ternes says New GM expects the number of bounce-backs to be “one percent or lower.” So, what happens to the car and who pays for the depreciation?

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GM’s “May The Best Car Win” campaign is beginning to take shape, and it’s turning out to be every bit as gimmicky as you might guess. In a conference call with the motoring press, GM’s Bob Lutz challenged all comers to beat him around the Mazda Raceway at Laguna Seca. Lutz will be driving a Cadillac CTS-V, and he promises to beat any production four-door sedan as a way of proving that Cadillac does build world-beating cars. Jalopnik‘s Wes Siler has taken up the challenge, and will be facing Lutz in a Mercedes C63 AMG. So we’re curious: what unmodified sports sedan would you mount up in to send Lutz back to the RenCen with his tail between his legs? Myself? I believe water skis are the traditional conveyance for shark-jumping competitions. Meanwhile, TTAC would like to take this opportunity to pit our own Jack Baruth in this competition for the ages. Do we have a deal, GM?

What’s happened to MINI’s advertising? The car company that defined clever TV commercials, highly effective viral marketing and rockin’ real-world signage has dropped their cute ’n‘ quirky post-modern arched eyebrow cock-a-snook-at-SUVs play up the handling and performance in a “less is more” kinda way branding message—most recently exemplified by their MINI Cabrio campaign. Now MINI’s going for simple shock tactics. Note to BMW: a brand is a terrible thing to waste. Note to MINI girls: fuck you, too. [Thanks to Seth L for the link.]

I’m neither Republican nor Democrat. To paraphrase the late Frank Zappa, I realize that stupidity is indeed the building block of the political universe. Thanks to a long line of political careerists at all levels of our fair land, we now have speed limits laws that encourage a lack of respect for the law and a strong hatred for governments. We also have thousands of police officers who aren’t pursuing bad guys anymore. They’re busy being meter maids for the state. The same is true for code enforcement officials, toll booth collectors, and the ever lovable camera brigade. What’s the solution to all these unproductive resources that are used to subsidize our government’s (cross out safety) activities?

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Virgil writes:

What has been your experience selling a car privately? My recently widowed sister in California has a 2003 Infiniti Q45 with 10,000 miles. Yes, ten thousand. But I live 2000 miles away. An ad in the paper or Craigslist would certainly bring riff-raff to the door. A simple test drive could turn into a missing car.  The dealer offered about half of market value, a private sale could make both parties happy.

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The number two photo enforcement company in the United States has expanded, as its arch-rival faces an internal power struggle and financial difficulties. On wednesday. American Traffic Solutions (ATS) announced that it had acquired the bankrupt photo ticketing company Nestor Traffic Systems for $7.1 million. ATS will take over Nestor’s existing contracts boosting the number of cities and counties in which ATS controls traffic enforcement from 170 to 200. Nestor recently went into receivership after the company’s debt became unsustainable. Despite heavy annual losses, top management at the Rhode Island company continued to enjoy lavish salaries and bonus packages. Nestor’s future came into sharp doubt earlier this year after subcontractors began complaining that the company was not paying for services rendered. ATS will now take over Nestor free of these debts.

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