Tag: Automobiles
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A car in its (Prius) Prime
So in case you were wondering, in late March I bought a Toyota Prius Prime. It was one of three models I had narrowed down as a viable choice. It was a pragmatic choice. I wanted a car that did not exist yet, which had to be fully electric but which I could conveniently recharge…
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The Craigslist economy, Part 2
I can see now why newspapers like The Washington Post are hurting. It used to be that if you wanted to sell something big, like a house or a used car, you called up The Washington Post classified desk, gave them your credit card number and a couple of days later your ad would appear…
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Kissing the Rust Belt goodbye
If you want to know why the Republican Party is rapidly becoming the party of the Deep South only, you only have to observe the votes this week by Senate Republicans to block a bailout of our domestic auto industry. Thirty-five Republican senators blocked the bill, which actually won in a 52-35 vote. However, Republicans…
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Asleep at the wheel
Based on reading news reports yesterday, it seems the SUV’s days may be numbered. Yesterday, General Motors announced plans to close four truck and SUV plants by 2010 as a result of shrinking sales for these vehicles. Ford Motor Company has also cut production of trucks and SUVs. Sales of large and midsize sports utility…
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She’s got a ticket to ride
A gray Monday. It came with a spattering of rain, but that was not necessarily bad. If that meant that fewer people were at the local Department of Motor Vehicles office, then we would be on to enjoy the rest of the day all the sooner. Luck was with us. The parking lot at the…
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Mediocrity abounds on the rental car lot
Has anyone else noticed that rental car lots are stuffed with cars that you would never actually buy? This has happened so often to me that I have begun to think it is more than coincidence. The one exception was one Toyota Camry that I rented some twenty years ago. More often, when I rent…
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The Virtues of Small Cars
I’m wondering how much longer it will be before small cars became chic again. They were popular in the 1970s but only because gas cost so much. The current high cost of gasoline is now making many reconsider their love affair with their SUVs and consider the merits of smaller cars and hybrids. Perhaps in…
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Driving the Hybrids
There are two hybrid cars in my driveway at the moment. There’s my new 2005 Honda Civic Hybrid but there is also my Dad’s 2005 Toyota Prius. The latter sits in our garage until he gets back from California where he is visiting his sister. I’ve driven both cars and I can tell you that…
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The Slimy, Icky Business of Car Buying
The last straw was when the air conditioner went out. I was fifty miles out of Raleigh heading back to my Northern Virginia home when the compressor died. If it had been a good day it would have been no big deal. But it was a hot and sticky day and it was interstate driving…
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Our next car
Ah car shopping. Ack! Car shopping! My wife and I hate it. That’s why for years we’ve talked about replacing one of our aging cars and haven’t done anything about it. But the law of diminishing returns hasn’t been repealed. Last year we spent big bucks to continually fix up our aging cars. Nonetheless we…
Occam's Razor 