March 2015 - Greater Cincinnati Automobile Dealers Association

Restoration of a Triumph from Britain

A.J. Baime of the Wall Street Journal has told the story of Tim Olson, a retired school teacher from Illinois who purchased and restored a 1960 Triumph Herald.  He bought it off of Craigslist in 2012 for $4,000 and then began a full restoration.  He didn’t know much about the car’s history when he first started the restoration; it was when he began taking it apart that he learned more about it. 

Because the car was only made for a short period of time, the parts were hard to find.  However, with the help of the internet, Olson was able to find parts oversees in New Zealand, Australia, and Norway.  Olson later found that the car originally came off of an assembly line in Britain, on April 2, 1960, and was then sent to the Chicago area.  The mystery of his car’s history was unfolding as more time went by.  It all came together when Olson took the car to a nearby town for a car show, and a stranger recognized it from his childhood.  He told Olson stories of the car – about his time spent with it on family trips, and was later able to show photographs of himself at 6 years-old with the car!  Pretty neat coincidence, huh?

Olson says the full restoration of his 1960 Triumph Herald took 2 years, and that it was hard!  While he says he’s glad he did it, he also admits that he’d never do it again.  Interesting way of putting it.  Guess there’s something for everyone!

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GM launching Teen Driver system on 2016 Chevy Malibu

General Motors Co. (GM) has announced that they’ll be debuting a new system that promotes safe driving for teens on its 2016 Chevy Malibu called Teen Driver.  The new system has a number of features that should satisfy parents and the concern of their teen being behind the wheel.

Teen Driver has of number of safety features for drivers including muting the radio when front seat passengers haven’t buckled up.  What seems to really interest parents in Teen Driver is its report card function, which gives parents a nice report of their teen’s trip.  This function can tell parents the distance the car was driven, its maximum speed during the trip, the number of speed warnings, stability control events and antilock brake events.  If equipped with the right technology, the system can even tell if the car had any forward collision alerts and forward collision braking events.  With this system, teens also get an audible and visual warning if they drive over pre-set speeds by parents.  Another interesting feature, is the radio volume can be set to a lower level that can’t be exceeded. 

GM says its Teen Driver system is a first in the auto industry that can let parents view on the car’s display how their teen drove the car.  “We developed this system so parents could use it as a teaching tool with their kids – they can discuss and reinforce safe driving habits,” said GM safety engineer MaryAnn Beebe.

As it turns out, GM isn’t the only one with a system tailored to parents who want to make sure their teen is driving safely.  Since 2008, Ford Motor Co. has had something similar called Ford MyKey.  This feature does a number of things such as muting the radio when the diver or passengers aren’t wearing a seatbelt.  Its controls can limit radio volume and speed, and something pretty cool – a “do not disturb” feature which lets parents block incoming phone calls and hold texts messages on a synced phone while teens are driving.

Some insurance companies offer similar programs that utilize GPS or other devices to monitor teens’ driving; and for some, good habits may be used for insurance discounts.

Given that car crashes are the leading cause of death for ages 5-18 in the U.S., GM’s new Teen Driver system is one more safety mechanism that is of great value to parents.  Teen Driver will be standard on the Premier trim model and optional on LT models with GM’s convenience package and up-level radio.  According to the NADA, the 2016 Malibu will be unveiled in early April at the New York International Auto Show.  To view the full article, click here.GM Teen Driver report card display

Best and worst truck concepts never built

For every good idea there were some bad ones preceding.  MSN’s auto page has compiled a list of some of the best, and not so good truck concepts from automakers over the years.  “…although many eventually make it to production, some never make it to the showroom floor.”  Take a look here!

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He wants the Lexus!

What do you get when you mix hit television series, House of Cards, and automobiles?  Lexus, apparently!  According to Jamie LaReau with Auto News, Lexus recently got a lucky surprise when their brand name was mentioned, in good context, in an episode of House of Cards.  During this episode, fictional Russian President Petrov briefly pontificated about cars stating, “The first time I…in a Lexus. You could never do that in a Lada. No space. You see, Mr. President, I want the Lexus and you’re trying to sell me a Lada.”

Twitter users wasted no time buzzing about it – as many tweeted the phrase “I want the Lexus and you’re trying to sell me the Lada.”  What a lot of viewers wanted to know, was whether this reference was clever product placement, or if Toyota’s luxury brand just got lucky.  Turns out, they got lucky!

“This is totally organic, nothing we placed,” said Maurice Durand, a Lexus spokesman.  However, what makes matters a little more interesting, is that this isn’t the first time the Lexus brand and a house of cards have linked up.  “Lexus made an iconic commercial in 2009 featuring houses of cards to demonstrate that the 2009 Lexus ES has an engine so smooth it emits no vibrations.”  Durand has admitted that he doesn’t think the 2009 commercial influenced House of Cards to hold up Lexus as a metaphor for desire and world dominance, but who’s to say?

Check out the 2009 Lexus commercial with a house of cards on our home page!

Best used cars come from new car dealers

Though the Cincinnati Auto Expo has passed, Expo Season is still upon us!  For many, seeing the new 2015 and 2016 vehicles got us excited and ready for something new.  So is your wallet ready for that?

MSN’s Auto section has shared a list from Consumer Reports, Used Vehicles for Every Budget.  According to them, buying used is the best way for consumers to get their money’s worth.  It’s finding a good used car with all of the bad ones around that’s the hard part.  A good thing to remember, is the best used cars come from new car dealers.

Consumer Reports has compiled a list of reliable, affordable, and safe used cars for model years 2005 through 2014 to help consumers find the best small car, sedan, or SUV.  MSN has highlighted some of the best ones in four price ranges from $10,000 or less up to $25,000.  Check it out, here.