Summer weather is always a wild card (as is winter weather) but the fact certain areas have been hit by wave after wave of storms (not on a daily basis but within hours of each other or for a prolonged period) has made this month a mess. Two weeks ago, our flight home from Orlando was 5 hours behind schedule because…

What’s missing from the Toyota loyalty discussion is that there were very few Toyotas for Toyota owners to purchase last year and, when they were available, they were often at insane dealer markups.  With other brands’ inventory improving, it was financially hard not to consider other options, including Teslas.

As the old saying goes, something’s gotta give. With many banks pulling back on financing terms, I’m betting a lack of financing for upside-down trade-ins (rolling the extra balance into a new loan) will be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.  Because, clearly, high rates have yet to break the car market, just…

There might be more enjoyable choices than the RAV4 but you don’t have to deal with GDI carbon buildup (because the Toyota engine has both port and direct injection) or the head gasket issues notorious with the Subaru boxer engine

While price is definitely an issue, the bigger one is a lack of EVs from manufacturers I’d buy from (a list that does not include Tesla nor the Big Three).  After that, the issue is the vehicles are not like the ones we’re used to driving as far as layout and usability - the dashes are often futuristic and cargo space…

Mitsubishi seems to have a lot of unusual colors - brown, electric blue, purple, yellow. I think it’s because the buyers don’t care about resale value, since it isn’t really good anyway.

That is correct, but you also have to try to figure out what the value of the car will be at the end of the lease at the time you sign it.  If it’s too high, you’re either overpaying or will have to exit the lease (pay any mileage/wear fees you didn’t expect to pay) and start all over again.  With EV technology…

They still kind of are like that.  Kind of like Kias - trying to go upmarket but can’t shake the shady dealer practices

Some vehicles are only being sold in states that are following California’s zero-emissions targets, so if you don’t live in one of those states, you’re automatically finding fewer options

Just got our annual renewal from our regional mutual insurer. Was expecting a 10-20% jump (as I think they filed for a rate increase of this amount in our state) but our premiums only increased 3%. Color me shocked.

The experts also say to never lease, because you never own anything and just keep making payments. However, if you want a PHEV or EV and the dealer is willing to pass on the tax credit (through the leasing loophole), might it make sense to lease and then buy out the car at a pre-negotiated price?

and how responsive the powertrain is, especially with the battery mostly depleted

With how people are driving, I really wanted to buy a dashcam but my wife isn’t sure it is worth it

If cameras in the U.S. were about safety (and not money), they would photograph the driver and sanction the driver and not the vehicle owner. Europe does this for the most part. The only state that did that consistently is Arizona, and they have also gotten rid of most of their cameras.

Love the PHEV but not the fabric on the dash

I don’t agree with vigilantes (there are too many unstable people out there that could do physical harm if triggered, guns or otherwise) but the police do need to pursue this more, especially with automated enforcement and tolling becoming commonplace. It’s not only a safety issue but a fairness issue in the case of…

Now if only the dealers would follow

Toyota dealers have been playing games since I can remember.  Everything from misleading statements about finding the car one wants to bait-and-switch after inquiring about a vehicle to not disclosing the Costco price unless you commit to buying (which is against the program’s rules).

Also dead: any carpool incentive. There was a discount plan that required a tollbooth attendant to count the number of passengers. That is gone with cashless tolling, even though there is a solution already present (E-ZPass Flex with a passenger counter device at the toll gantry).  I guess they’re concerned too many…

We rented a convertible for our wedding over Memorial Day weekend from an off-airport Avis. Two days before pickup, I received a call asking if I still needed a convertible. I said yes. The clerk said he’d call back. Five minutes later, he called back saying that there were no convertibles available in the two nearby…