Stadium Automotive

Your vehicle is one of the most expensive objects you own and it loses value every year. Vehicles just about always fall in value as you “use” them for your day to day travels. To call them an investment would be a poor choice of words unless you calculated time saving.  A vehicle gets you to your destination quickly, saving your un-renewable asset called time. Over the past 43 years of maintaining vehicles I have my own theory of how to minimize the expenses of owning a car. This theory includes the top three reasons people buy new cars. The first is the same reason you buy new clothes. Your old clothes are not worn out; you just need a new “fashion” statement. The second reason for buying a new car is your old one is worn out, undependable, needs a lot of repair, has too many dents, lack of shine. The third reason is it doesn’t fit your life style anymore, family expanding or contracting, and you need for larger or smaller vehicle. When I buy ... read more

The automotive world continues to go through big changes. For one, tsunami-ravaged Japan’s carmakers can’t supply the vehicles that are needed by their dealers and it looks like this will remain true for the rest of this year. One automotive analyst says that 15,000 more Toyota Prius hybrids could have been sold in April if supplies were adequate. The good news for America is the three automotive makers are regaining profit and market share. The bad news is that new and used vehicle prices are steadily climbing. I have no doubt that automobiles are going to continue to become more expensive to buy, new and used. Quiet negotiations are going on in Washington between automotive manufacturers and the government about CAFE (corporate average fuel efficiency) standards, which one way or another will result in higher car prices. New federal fuel economy and emissions rules that went into effect Jan. 1 require automakers to hit an average of 35.5 miles per gallon for the 2016 model year. It ... read more