Car deals abound, and the best deals are my Cars of the Year
By Jeff Rundles
Now that we are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, shouldn’t we all emerge into the sunshine in a new car?
Why not?
One of the few great advantages of a recession, especially a recession that hits a particular market segment – automobiles – so hard, is the deals it produces. Since the auto industry in 2009 experienced one of the worst sales years in history, if not the worst, the object of the sales efforts right now is to move inventory. Want to be a V.I.P? Just slow down as you pass a car dealership and you’ll have salespeople follow you like paparazzi.
As an example, General Motors announced in late December unprecedented incentives on two of its brands that are scheduled to be discontinued almost immediately – Saturn and Pontiac – to quickly move the inventory. According to press reports, the dealers were getting $7,000 per car if they moved Saturn and Pontiac models into dealer-operated rentals or service fleets, meaning that they will mark them as “used” cars and move the discount onto consumers. The deal was to end on Jan. 4, but there’s really no way that in a week they can move all of that inventory, so if you’re looking for a great deal, visit a soon-to-shutter Saturn or Pontiac dealer.
Saturn has several models worth a look. The VUE, a small SUV, is a nice vehicle in the $23,280-$30,935 MSRP neighborhood; the Aura sedan, in gas for $22,665-$27,250 MSRP and in hybrid for $26,325 MSRP, is a solid, handsome car; and, the sporty SKY, $27,595-$33,680 MSRP, is a two-seat marvel. These are all 2009 model prices and, too bad, even on the Saturn website all they have is 2009 models for sale. These are all, essentially, rebadged Opel models from that GM-owned subsidiary in Germany, and if the deals are flying, they are definitely worth a look. GM has promised to honor the warranties through their remaining Chevy, Buick, Cadillac and GMC dealers.
At Pontiac, about the only car worth mentioning is the Solstice, which is exactly the same car as the Saturn Sky and, therefore, an Opel. The rest of the lineup – the G3, G5, G6, G8, the Torrent and the Vibe – are, like most of GM over the last several years, some variation of Chevys, Buicks, et al. I wouldn’t recommend a Pontiac at all except for all the deals that must be out there just to get the brand off the showroom floors.
Those Saturn and Pontiac deals, if they really exist, may be too good to pass up, but they certainly won’t be the only deals available over the next few months. Remember, only two car companies selling cars in the United States posted sales gains this year: Subaru and Hyundai/Kia. So every company has its own inventory problems and reason to shed itself particularly of unsold 2009 models, so look around. Heck, even hot Hyundai is offering some sweet deals – like 21% off sticker – for its solid little Sonata model.
For those of you with a little less environmental concern and who would still like to drive a pickup truck or an SUV, this is the time to look around. No other segment of the market did worse last year than light-duty trucks and SUVs, so now would be a good time to get one. Besides, what with all the concern for the environment on the rise and the car companies – all of them – concentrating on fuel economy and new technology as we go forward, this next couple of years may be the swan song for SUVs. Get ‘em while they’re hot. In doing some research on the web on car deals I came across articles saying the Ford Ranger is now being discounted 17% of sticker, while the popular Jeep models Grand Cherokee and Commander are being discounted 15% and 14%, respectively.
Cars of the Year
As an auto reviewer for more than 25 years, I really have no vested interest in any market segment or price range. I call ‘em as I see ‘em. The only thing I’m really sure about after all that time behind so many wheels is that it is particularly hard to find a bad car these days. Never in my experience have cars, trucks and SUVs meant for the consumer market been of such high quality from top to bottom. You really just can’t go wrong no matter what new vehicle you choose to buy.
Having said that, my personal preference these days – I’m a Boomer – is for smaller vehicles, safer vehicles, and less luxury.
I threw in the less luxury thing because even cheap cars these days have many of the things that not long ago defined luxury: power everything, quiet rides, peppy performance, great stereos, etc. It used to be that you had to buy a BMW, Mercedes, Lexus and the like to get the good stuff, but not anymore. Those are still great brands, and they make great cars and still push the envelope of innovation, but for my money, which admittedly isn’t much, they are too high priced. Besides, I don’t need to impress other people anymore, and I can impress myself with a great car for less money.
So the other issues – smaller and safer vehicles – are really my focus. I live in Denver, so I have a strong preference for all-wheel-drive vehicles, and this winter so far bears out why I feel this way (we’ve had more snow, more ice and more cold in November and December than we normally get in whole seasons).
So I have a couple of recommendations in this area: smaller, more fuel-economic and AWD vehicles that I also think deliver on the performance, luxury and ride side.
Until I recently drove the new 2010 Subaru Legacy, my personal Car of the Year was the Suzuki SX4 Crossover – and this is from a universe of driving experiences that goes from the very low end to the very high end. I now believe my COY is a tie between three vehicles: the Legacy and the SX4 Crossover and the 2010 Subaru Outback.
When I tell people about the Suzuki SX4 Crossover they look at me like I have gone barmy. I haven’t. It’s a small car, but not that small – trust me, in Europe it would be a mid-sized – and it drives larger, is the most quiet car of any class I have been in, and it is a beast in the snow. I love this car. Plenty of room, a perfect commuter car, parks great in tight spaces, and is surprisingly spry. The car is powered by a peppy 2.0-liter I4 engine with 143 hp, with a rating of 21 mpg city/28 mpg highway for the base AWD model. This model carries a $16,699 MSRP and you can trick it out for under $20k. A check on the Suzuki website showed the company was offering some incentives on financing and some discounts through Jan. 4, but I am confident they will cook something else up after that.
On the Subaru side, the news is just as exciting. To end years of confusion, Subaru has finally done for real what most people were doing anyway: for 2010 the Legacy is the sedan and the Outback is the wagon. Before “Outback” was really a trim, not a model. Anyway, I think Subarus are solid, reliable, safe and even sporty vehicles, but my objection over the years have really been two-fold: 1) the Legacy/Outback sedans and wagon had this ugly decorative trim running along the sides of the vehicles that, to me at least served no purpose other than to make the cars look dorky. They now look sleek and beautiful, and to be honest they now look like a mix of everything else, a cross between BMW, Toyota and Honda, none of which is a bad thing. 2) These vehicles had side windows that formed the top of the doors, so when the window was down the door was actually half a door. In the 2010 models they have finally fully framed the windows, which gives the car both a reassuring whummmpfff when you close the door and a more quiet ride. I have been in the Outback and I drove the Legacy for a week, and I wish I could buy 8 of them and give them to everyone in my family. The base Legacy (AWD is a given at Subaru) carries a MSRP of $19,995. It features a 2.5-liter H4 engine with 170 hp and a rating of 19 mpg city/27 mpg highway. Plenty of power, great to drive. The Outback starts at $22,995 with the same engine and mpg rating as the Legacy.
This year I have driven great Lexi , wonderful BMWs, nifty VWs, beautiful Toyotas, sporty Mini Coopers, and on and on. And pretty much I liked them all; usually now I give low ratings not for bad vehicles, but rather for a big imbalance between what the car is and the price.
Like I said earlier: now more than ever I’m into the deal.
