auto parts: March 2011

Americans Don't Want Small Cars!

Today I heard part of an interview with the EPA administrator, Lisa Jackson, which made my blood boil. During the interview, she threw out the tired lie that American automakers are building too many "large vehicles which the American public do not want to buy" (approximate quote).

If the American people don't want to buy large vehicles, then why is it that the top selling vehicles in the U.S. are as follows?

Top 20 vehicles, Feb 2011

*Ford F - Series PU 37,549
*Chevrolet Silverado PU 31,728
^Toyota Camry / Solara 27,212
Toyota Corolla / Matrix 25,860
^Ford Fusion  23,111
^Honda Accord  21,206
^Nissan Altima  20,808
Honda Civic  19,121
Honda CR-V  19,096
^Chevrolet Malibu 19,092
*Dodge Ram PU  18,644
Chevrolet Cruze  18,556
Ford Escape  18,005
^Chevrolet Impala 16,290
^Hyundai Sonata  15,723
Chevrolet Equinox 15,434
Toyota Prius  13,539
Nissan Sentra  12,599
Volkswagen Jetta 12,591
Toyota RAV4  12,562

(courtesy WSJ.com)

Notice the * rows, which are large pickups. And notice the ^ rows, which are midsize or full size cars. 11 of the top 20 vehicles are midsized or large, and 8 of the top 10 are midsized or large.

Now explain this to me, if Americans don't really want to buy large cars, why aren't the top selling vehicles all small cars like the VW Jetta? Is someone twisting their arms into buying the F150's and the Impalas?

Obama and the EPA administrator need to drop the talking points. American's don't want tiny cars.

SOLD - JZX 100 - Half Cut

SOLD To Local Customer
This Half Cut Model JZX 100 - Engine 1JZ-GTE ( Single Turbo ) - Auto, Selling Together With Long Shaft / Rear Axle With Complete Frame And Petrol Tank With Fuel Pump Attached

Selling As Is Where Is Basis

To View Engine Idling, Please Click Video Below :-

General View Of The Half Cut

General View Of The Speedometer

Mileage Reading :- 147664

Engine Tag Information

Chassis Number

Front View Of The Engine

Inner Part Of The Engine

Front View Of The Single Turbo

Rear View Of The Single Turbo

Side View Of The Engine

Front View Of The Auto Gear Box

Centre View Of The Auto Gear Box

Side View Of The Auto Gear Box

Rear View Of The Auto Gear Box

Cooling Fan Blades - Broken

Replacement For The Damaged Unit

Driver Side - HeadLamp - Broken / Fender Dented

Driver Side - Closed View Of The HeadLamp

Passenger Side - HeadLamp - Good Condition / Fender Dented

Long Shaft And Petrol Tank With Fuel Pump Attached

Rear Axle With Complete Frame

Rear View Of The Half Cut

Craigslist Overpayment Scam -- My Fake Check!

To my surprise, today I received a UPS letter envelope containing a check for $2,450. From the ATP Oil & Gas Co. in Texas. Which I have never done business with. The return address on the UPS envelope was from a different location, in Minnesota, also a place I had never done business with.

Then I remembered--some guy had emailed me about a camera lens I was trying to sell on eBay, and offered to send me a check for it if I would ship it to him. I said "ok" in case he was legit, but I suspected he wasn't.

So here it is, my trophy. A ridiculously bad fake check. Note the strange mix of fongs -- Arial, Times, and Comic Sans. The smudge from my wetted finger.

Notice the signature. Look familiar? It's George W. Bush!

Bottom line, don't ever accept overpayment for a Craiglist item from a stranger, who wants you to return the overpayment via Western Union. It is 100% scam.

Bob King's Posturing

The UAW's president, aptly named Bob King, is out in the press landing punches before the first bell.

"I like Alan Mulally. But I just think it's morally wrong," said King, who assumed the leadership of the union last year. "It creates problems for Ford in both the salaried work force and the hourly work force. It seems like one individual is getting all of the gain."

This is typical left wing progressive posturing, setting up class envy as a wedge between the UAW's hourly workers and the managers of the auto companies.

"It seems like one individual is getting all of the gain". What?!? What about the shareholders? From a low of around $1.60, Ford's stock price has recovered to near $15. That is billions of dollars of value returned to stockholders, many of whom happen to be in the UAW. Not to mention jobs saved, direct and indirect. Ford dealer's didn't get crushed the way GM and Chrysler dealers did.

Alan Mullaly, though not single handedly, was a key player in keeping Ford from going bankrupt along with GM and Chrysler. As such, he is very valuable--CEOs who can save companies and preserve billions of dollars of shareholder value are not exactly hiding under every rock. Successful CEOs, like sports stars, have a market value. If Ford didn't offer Mullaly a generous performance based pay package, maybe he wouldn't have come from Boeing to save Ford. Maybe he would have been snapped up by some other company in need of a turn-around.

Maybe Ford would have gone under.

By the way, when was the last time you heard Bob King railing against the excessive pay of his unionized brethren, the professional football players of the NFL?

The PS Fluid Flush Scam, AGAIN

I got my oil changed the other day. I do it at my dealership because they give me points I can use to get free service, so it works out to be a reasonable deal. This time, they did the "we recommend you flush your power steering fluid' pitch on me, going so far as offering to show me that it was "dirty". Upon inspection my fluid (which is about 50,000mi old) was a medium cherry color, like cherry coke. Not very dirty.

Here's the truth. Power steering fluid is good for well over 100,000 miles in normal usage. It changes color because it leaches carbon black and other chemicals from the rubber power steering hoses and fittings. Just because it is dark does not mean it is damaged.

When should you flush your power steering fluid? If it gets overheated (not sure how, perhaps failing pump?), or contaminated. And you don't need to power flush it, you can simply suck it out with a turkey baster and refill the reservoir. According to an expert on this subject, who I happen to know, there has been no proven benefit from power steering pressure flushing.

When the dealer pushes you to change your power steering fluid, he is really just trying to improve his profit margin on your sale.

SPD WTF

This morning, I was driving in to work and noticed the local "Irish" bar had people huddled in the doorway, waiting for the place to open for service.

It was 8:30 am.

If I was Irish I think I would be annoyed that my cultural heritage was being used an excuse to drink all day.

SOLD - JZZ 30 Half Cut

SOLD To Local Customer
This Half Cut Model Is JZZ 30 - Engine 1JZ - GTE ( Single Turbo ) - Auto , Selling Together With Long Shaft / Rear Axle With Complete Frame / Petrol Tank With Fuel Pump Attached and One Set Original Rims

Selling As Is Where Is Basis

To View Engine Idling, Kindly Click Video Below :-

General View Of The Half Cut