BMW manufacturer loves to put latest gadgets in their cars like they did with iPod. Now, they’re doing it again with Google, putting their local Map search in. Google has a competitive advantage over other GPS providers with their fast-loading Map pages and relevant searches.
BMW is the only automobile manufacturer to offer the Google local search in the car - available now. For the first time, you can use this search function to look for local information everywhere in Germany with the world’s most famous online search engine. When you find what you want, the details are transferred to the navigation system and car phone at the touch of a button. The system identifies the location and destination of the vehicle automatically and displays the results in the vicinity with details of address, phone number and distance.
As for now, I own three cars under my name—Subaru, Honda, and BMW. Yikes. I’m becoming like a junkyard guy now. So that’s why tomorrow morning, I’m gonna clean and fix up the BMW a bit, make it look clean and nice. Then park the car at my uncle’s workplace where he said it will be sold within a week, guaranteed. So we’ll see about that.
Then in the afternoon, I gotta pick up my friend at the airport, and zoom to Gallaudet (where his dorm is) to watch NFL playoffs games and have some beers and Chinese food. It should be a good time especially with my WRX :-)
Just a little quickie post here to keep the blog streak going. As seen by the picture below, I got the WRX! It’s like a dream come true to own the car. I’ve been hearing/reading about WRX ever since they came out in 2002 and was widely known for their World Rally Championship success. Now that I own one, I gotta learn how to drive like one. Making U-turns, drifting, heel-braking. I’m gonna swap uppipe, downpipe, and exhaust because the factory-made pipes have catalyst converters in them, slowing down the air flow. Man, I’m so excited. This is how you enjoy life!
Saw this in the discussion thread on shopping for a car.
“If you want to bargain really hard, come to the dealership on
Saturday, 2-3 hours before it is supposed to close, take it for a test
drive, come back and bargain with your checkbook in hand. It can take
until 9 pm, but salesman’s “manager” will go home, and people that are
left will be willing to go home much more than you.”
“Even better, do this on the last day of the month. Car Dealerships are
taxed based upon the number of cars on the lot on the 1st of each month.
They have an added incentive to see you drive away in that new vehicle
before the 1st.
Also, leave the check book at home. If they think your going to finance,
they’ll cut a deal on the vehicle thinking they can make up the profits on
the loan. Just make sure there’s no early repayment penalty and pay it off
the following day.”
Auto Express said checks in England showed 25 per cent of drivers speeding at speed camera sites, but only 16 per cent at flashing speed limit signs.
Now, this is something to consider! Do you have any idea how many cameras does DC have? More than fifty but not all of them are used for speed ticketing. The largest automotive organization, AAA, has declared DC as a top strict enforcement area, which is the first time in 105 years. Last October, DC fined $2.9 million dollars from flashing at speeding vehicles and since 1999, it has earned more than $122 million dollars. The officials keep saying it’s to make the area safer. Yeah right! Dear DC officials, what do you have to say after this article? Doesn’t that contradict your point of making the area safer? You’re just using us to take our money out for your own benefits.
“We’re making it a more wholesome place for tourists by telling them to slow down,” he said. “The District does a excellent job in enforcing these laws.”
Oh pul-eeze…
In about 6 months or so, I’m gonna be out of here!
On the way to work this morning, I happened to see two hybrid cars rolling next to each other on the highway. Obviously, one was a Toyota Prius and the other a Honda Civic Hybrid. It occurred to me that hybrid cars are becoming more mainstream ‘cuz, like on the HOV lane , one in every 5 car is a Toyota Prius. It’s only going to go up with the gas price (although it’s being cheaper right now but $3.00 a gallon is going to be a fixture in the near future) and urban houses being ridiculously expensive, people are going to have a long commute to work. Anyway, while I was able to look at two hybrid cars at the same time, the new 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid is much better-looking than the Prius. Aside from being a Honda loyal owner, I really like the new look of the Civic and if you are going to get the car, you better be able to afford it (duh). So I was already thinking how can I get my hands on the new Civic. So, look at what I have here:
1. 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid MSRP: $21,850. I’ll negotiate for 20k, although that probably will be very hard due to high demand and stupid dealership markups.
3. Federal Tax Credit - $2,100 (that’s a CREDIT to you, not a mere deduction. )
4. Washington DC sales tax waiver and discounted vehicle registration - abt $1,000.
So, Estimated Final Price = $11,900. Plus if i sold my car for $13,000. Well, I’ll be damned, Who thought I’d actually get some money for getting a hybrid car? And not to mention, years of saving money on gas, which comes in thousands, not just hundreds.
Wow, someone has taken a scientific approach to examine if you really saved more with a hybrid car. The conclusion? hybrid cars are still too expensive, gas prices aren’t high enough (hard to believe, I know), and you actually save more if you bought an economy car (even better if you bought it used) than a hybrid, at least for now. The point of this? wait 5 years when hybrid cars become more mainstreamed, gas becoming more expensive, and when you are in market for a new car. The link here.
Oh yeah, anyone has seen this link? It’s awesome, you now can track who’s visiting your blog and how much traffic you get a day. Google is on a roll. And I can see it’s slowly developing into its own brand familar image, other than the google search. Google Analytics and Google College .
Ouch, I feel sorry for those shareholders. Better start buying Toyota and Honda stocks. Toyota Corp. is on pace to overtake GM’s status as the largest automaker. Toyota says they will put hybrid engines in all of their vehicles. When a 4runner comes out with a hybrid, I’ll be the first on the list. :-)
This morning, I was reading my RSS newsfeeder and saw this article that made me somewhat sad. Some of you may know I own a 2004 Honda Civic Si (wish it’s a Type R, dammit), but someday it will be! All hatchbacks were assembled in the UK as shown below. While reading this artcile, it said that this Type R hatchback was a massive success, quadrupling the original UK forecast to 35,190 sales and was consisently voted What Car? Hot Hatch Of The Year from 2002 to 2004, BBC Top Gear’s Best Hot Hatch 2002 and Auto Express’s Best Sporting Car 2003.
Now, I wonder why couldn’t our hatchbacks be as successful as it did in the UK. They should have used the Type R engine or a K20A2, same engine found in the RSX Type S. The U.S. Honda Marketing was probably afraid to use the same engine cuz it would hurt the RSX sales. :-(
Here’s to a future engine swap!
my car. you can see some difference like the red seats, headlight projectors, LED indicators on the door mirrors, red emblem logo, and ofc the driver seat on the right side.
Interesting, the top 4 vehicles aren’t a car but a truck. Toyota Camry and Corolla outsell Honda Accord and Civic. No sight of any germany vehicles in here.
I’ve never been a fan of Jeep except for the Wrangler but every next model seems to get worse and worse…till I saw this pic.
This is looking really nice; I’m seeing more SUVs coming out with more car-like platform. Guess people do spend more time on the concrete than off-road.
*update* more pics of this near-production concept suv
I get a feeling that this suv is gonna be a big hit, it has 2.4 liters, which should put the mpg at around 25 highway.
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