Bayside Auto Blog

We Americans sure do love the freedom of owning our own automobile, but the price of that freedom is climbing. AAA has released its 62nd annual “Your Driving Costs” study, which shows a 1.9-percent year-over-year increase in the cost of auto ownership. That’s an average of $8,946 per year per car, with costs including monthly payment, fuel, maintenance and insurance.

Given the sharp rise in the cost of a gallon of petrol, it’s no surprise that prices at the pump are up 14.8 percent, or an average of 14.2 cents per mile. Tire prices are up 4.2 percent, in part because material prices have skyrocketed. The average insurance policy jumped by $33 versus 2010 numbers, with an average rate of $1,001 per year.

Interestingly, used cars are worth more than they were a year ago, with a depreciation drop of 4.9 percent, which means a new car purchase may hold its value a little better than before.

If $8,946 is too rich for your blood, AAA shows that the best bet could be a smaller sedan. Compact models average $6,735 per vehicle, while 4WD SUVs top the charts at $11,360. Large sedans are close to the SUV numbers, with an average of $11,324. AAA based its findings on a driving cycle of 15,000 miles per year.

Cost of owning cars increasing

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“The past four months have been really tough for us,” admits Lotus CEO Dany Bahar to Autocar magazine. “We were working at a pace nobody had seen at Lotus for many years,” Bahar continued, alluding to the British sports car maker’s planned rollout of four models over five years that recently had recently hit the skids thanks to a 60-day financial freeze at Malaysian parent DRB-Hicom. “The shut-down, as I call it,” Bahar continued, “was very hard for us,” but the Lotus boss forcefully rejects media reports that his company is being shopped to potential buyers.

Production at Hethel is reportedly swinging back into action within the next few days now that DRB-Hicom has slid money across the table to re-start Elise, Exige and Evora production. Lotus will also reportedly continue to develop the new Esprit and its V8 engine and automated transmission. Bahar went on to dispute reports that KPMG was looking for a buyer to take on Lotus, though there are likely to be management shuffles and continuing developments between Lotus, DRB-Hicom, Youngman, and who know what other parties, as the re-start doesn’t completely short-circuit the rumors of a possible sale.

In fact, resuming production could potentially even position Lotus more attractively for a potential suitor, rather than putting a shuttered, down-at-the-mouth boutique carmaker on the block.

Lotus to continue production

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Come see the full inventory at Bayside Auto Sales in Everett including:

Used Cadillac • Used Chevrolet • Used Chrysler • Used Dodge • Used Ford • Used GMC • Used Honda•Used Hyundai • Used Jeep • Used Mercury • Used Nissan • Used Toyota • Used Volkswagen

2012 marks the 50th anniversary of the Shelby Cobra, and it seems ol’ Carroll and his band of hot rodders are intent on celebrating the legendary roadster for the entire year. Back in January, Shelby kicked off a series of nationwide 50th anniversary events with the debut of the Anniversary Mustangs at the Detroit Auto Show, and earlier this month, the company showed off the very first Cobra and the new 2012 Shelby 1000 at the New York Auto Show.

The most recent celebration happened this past weekend at the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum in Pomona, California, where dozens of Shelby Cobra owners gathered for a 50th anniversary reunion put on by the Team Shelby Pacific Coast Division. All kinds of Cobras crowded into the parking lot in front of the museum, from 289-powered slab-sided Cobras to original 427 side-oiler models to the modern continuation Cobras.

In addition to the Cobras gathered outside, the NHRA museum also had a display of significant vehicles dubbed the Speed Merchants of Venice. The collection included the very first production Cobra CSX2001, generously loaned to the museum by collector Bruce Meyer, as well as a Cobra used at the Shelby School of High Performance Driving, an FIA Cobra race car, a “Dragonsnake” Cobra drag car, and an original daily driver Cobra with more than 130,000 miles.

Cobra's 50th anniversary

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Come see the full inventory at Bayside Auto Sales in Everett including:

Used Cadillac • Used Chevrolet • Used Chrysler • Used Dodge • Used Ford • Used GMC • Used Honda•Used Hyundai • Used Jeep • Used Mercury • Used Nissan • Used Toyota • Used Volkswagen

Automotive Paint

Types of Auto Paint

There are different types of automotive paint, each with benefits and drawbacks. Lacquer is forgiving and hides application mistakes, such as over- or under-application. However, 25 or more coats is often required. Urethane and acrylic enamels, on the other hand, are more common and are applied in two or three coats. Urethane and acrylic enamels are the paints you are most likely to find at an auto parts store.

Selecting a Paint

Which paint you choose depends on your own preferences and abilities. If you choose a lacquer paint, prepare to spend several hours applying it. A lacquer finish may look better than enamel; however, the paint is becoming harder to find due to environmental concerns. For the beginner, an acrylic enamel is the best choice. It will provide a smooth finish and does not require an extensive amount of application skill.

Priming

The first step in painting a car is priming it. Automotive primers are used to add a sub-layer of paint to the car, one that is sanded smooth and receives the final top layer. Typically, primers are an enamel-based paint applied with a spray can or spray gun. General automotive primer is available at any auto parts store. Priming is an absolute must when painting your car. Sealing Another step in painting a car is sealing the primer. This sealant is similar to a clear coat. There are several types of sealers but the most common is a polyurethane sealer. The sealer protects the primer coat and it is applied directly after the primer.

Tools

Automotive paint is usually applied with a spray gun. This provides an even stream of paint and a smooth, consistent coat each time. The spray gun utilizes air to blast paint onto the car surface through a special nozzle. The spray stream is adjusted by twisting the nozzle to open or close the inner valve.

Safety Concerns

When applying any type of automotive paint, protective clothing must be worn. Full length paint suits offer the best protection. A paint mask is required when applying urethane or enamel paint and a respirator is required for lacquer. When working in lacquer, thinners are used to allow the paint to pass through a spray gun. This means the paint must be applied away from fire hazards. Always apply automotive paint in an open, well-ventilated room.

Make sure to get your automotive paint at the best supplier in the northwest, Top Secret Coatings/Super Floor Coat!

After being confronted with a petition against the money that the GM Foundation gave to the Heartland Institute – known as one of the biggest funders of climate-change denial – following an exposé on DeSmogBlog, CEO Dan Akerson said earlier this month that he would review the situation. Based on a press release put out by the group that organized the petition, Forecast the Facts, it appears that GM will no longer give the Heartland Institute any money. In 2011, the GM Foundation donated $15,000.

Forecast the Facts’ petition was signed by over 20,000 people, including 10,000 who own or owned a GM vehicle. Following the announcement, Forecast the Facts campaign director, Daniel Souweine, said in a statement, that, “We applaud GM’s decision and the message it sends: that it is no longer acceptable for corporations to promote the denial of climate change, and that support for an organization like Heartland is not in line with GM’s values.”

GM cutting off science denyers

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Come see the full inventory at Bayside Auto Sales in Everett including:

Used Cadillac • Used Chevrolet • Used Chrysler • Used Dodge • Used Ford • Used GMC • Used Honda•Used Hyundai • Used Jeep • Used Mercury • Used Nissan • Used Toyota • Used Volkswagen

Formula One may, to outsiders, seem like a monolith, but it is in fact a gathering of rather disparate parties. There’s the FIA which governs the series from a sporting standpoint, there’s the collective of teams competing in the series, and Formula One Management, the company that holds the sport’s commercial rights under the direction of one Bernie Ecclestone. The only way they all get along is through the terms of the Concorde Agreement – the contract that divides up the spoils, namely television revenues and prize cash, between the parties. And that contract is coming up for renewal.

Ecclestone is eager to please the teams and get them to sign what will become the seventh Concorde Agreement when the current one expires at the end of the year. And to get there, rather than negotiate with all the teams equally, Bernie has been offering big incentives to certain teams. Those include in particular Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull – the teams which have, in the past dozen years or more, accounted for the lion’s share of the titles (both drivers and constructors). F1 would suffer a tremendous blow if any of these teams were to leave, so Ecclestone has reportedly offered them such incentives as cash bonuses, shares in Formula One Management and seats on its board, and performance incentives that would in theory be open to any team that achieves them but would in practice favor those three top team.

One team being left out of those incentives is Mercedes, one of the largest automakers participating in the sport – running its own team and supplying engines to two more (including McLaren), not to mention the safety and medical cars used at each grand prix. According to The Telegraph, Mercedes is now threatening to take legal action under European competition laws (regulations that are formulated to prevent the abuse of a dominant position) if it gets left out of the incentives being offered to other top teams. Ecclestone may be forced to cave to Mercedes’ demands, lest he find himself back in court while losing a top team and engine supplier from his roster.

Formula One desperately trying to make another year

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Bayside Auto Sales used car dealer serving Everett, Seattle, Lynnwood, Edmonds, WA

Come see the full inventory at Bayside Auto Sales in Everett including:

Used Cadillac • Used Chevrolet • Used Chrysler • Used Dodge • Used Ford • Used GMC • Used Honda•Used Hyundai • Used Jeep • Used Mercury • Used Nissan • Used Toyota • Used Volkswagen