(Source: Chicago Tribune)
Q. I wonder how many shoppers look at the Monroney label (window sticker) with thousands of dollars in options and turn and walk away. I shopped for a General Motors crossover with no options for 15 months.
You can't imagine how many salespeople told me that they never see one and wouldn't find one for me. Finally, a salesman did a dealer inventory search and found one and didn't charge me to pick it up out of state. He also gave me all the rebates, reduced the price another $800, let me use my GM credit card points and didn't charge a DOC fee. This dealer has earned my business, and I will recommend him to all my friends.
_ H.C., Mishawaka, Ind.
A. The dealer must be happy that he can look forward to all of your friends expecting him to find a low-profit vehicle for them, too, and then discounting it more. In addition to remembering the dealer when you want to buy on the cheap, you might repay his generosity by remembering him when it comes to oil changes, tire rotations and other service.
Q. We want to purchase a Volkswagen Tiguan. Our ideal model would have a diesel engine for greater fuel economy. A diesel has been available in other parts of the world, but not in the U.S. When we contact VW or its dealers, they don't say when a diesel would be sold here because they want us to purchase the gas version they have now. Do you have "secret" information as to when the diesel Tiguan is coming to the U.S.?
_ P.M., Crystal Lake, Ill.
A. After chatting with VW spokesman Tom Wegehaupt, have to say you probably aren't going to get a diesel Tiguan unless you move to Europe. VW sells a diesel Tiguan there that doesn't meet U.S. emission regulations. And the 4-cylinder diesel VW sells here in Jetta is too small for the larger and heavier Tiguan; similarly, the V-6 diesel it sells here in Touareg is too big for Tiguan.
Q. People are saying that the V-8 engine will soon be history along with American muscle cars such as the Mustang. I presume they are saying this because of a V-8's fuel economy. Why, then, can companies such as Honda produce cars with V-6s that get only slightly better gas mileage than the muscle cars?
For example, according to Fueleconomy.gov, the Acura TL with a V-6 gets 17/25 mpg city/highway while a Mustang GT with a V-8 gets 15/23. And the Acura uses premium fuel, so it costs more than the GT to fill up. What is the benefit of Acura's V-6 over the Mustang?
_ J.P., Chicago
A. Rather than see the V-8 disappear, you'll probably see more V-6 engines with a turbo for the mileage of a V-6 and the power of a V-8.
The benefit of the Acura is the 2 mpg better city and highway mileage, which will become more important when automakers must get 35 mpg from their fleets in 2016.
Q. You stated that few people would like a rubber "rub strip" on their bumpers because bumpers are made to retract on impact. Actually, they should like rub strips because the bumpers are painted plastic. All you have to do is tap a post in a parking lot at 1 mph, and you need to take your car to a body shop to remove the scratches and repaint the bumper.
_ M.L., Chicago
A. Actually, if you don't run into posts, you wouldn't need a bumper rub strip. The problem isn't the bumper, it's the drivers bumping it.
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(Write to Jim Mateja, Chicago Tribune, 435 N. Michigan Ave., 4th Floor, Chicago IL 60611, or send e-mail to rides@tribune.com. Due to the volume of letters, only those in which the reader includes full name and hometown can be read.)
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(c) 2009, Chicago Tribune.
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