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Auto Q & A
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Posted by editor Mon Dec 18, 2006 13:27:28 PST
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0 responses 0 comments Dear Q & A: My daughter recently bought a used 2005 Chevrolet Aveo hatchback for (she says) $13,400. She wanted an American car. I heard from family sources that figure didn’t include various taxes, etc., that probably brought the real cost up closer to $14 thousand. She bought it from a rent a car agency, and it has some 35 thousand miles on it. Now that the 2007’s are out, that makes her “new” car two model years old. Also, and this is my main complaint, I’ve actually seen this car advertised NEW for $11,370 and $12,140!
I know you’re supposed to be able to get good deals on retired rental cars, but this doesn’t seem like any kind of deal to me. She did say they put on a set of new tires for her. But how about this “deal”?                           - Field Man

Dear Field: People do funny (and not so funny) things when in the hands of persuasive salespeople. Seems daughter may have gone into the dealership already convinced the deal was going to be a good one and therefore never gave the bottom line a further thought.

The “Chevy” Aveo is really a re-branded Korean car, formerly and elsewhere known as the Daewoo Kalos. It’s minimum transportation, with hand-cranked windows, one-at-a-time door locks, and 14-inch wheels. Even its EPA fuel economy estimates of 27 city/35 highway are no great shakes for a dinky 2,340-pound vehicle.

There’s not a lot to admire about this Daewoo/Chevy, unfortunately. With the automatic transmission (preferable to the sticky 5-speed stick shift), its 103-horsepower four cylinder engine is barely adequate. Maybe an okay city car. Did she pay too much? Looks that way. Some brand new Aveos have been advertised for under $10K.

Dear Q & A: I heard one of the political candidates say a few weeks ago something about how Brazil has become energy-independent. If that means they don’t have to buy gasoline and oil from Saudi Arabia any more, what do they use in their cars and trucks instead — propane? Brazil is a big country nearly the size of the US, according to my atlas. How come we can’t do the same thing, if it’s true they did?                                         — E. H. N.

Dear EH: This is the year Brazil achieved oil independence, according to credible reports. It now depends heavily on its domestic ethanol — alcohol — made primarily from sugar cane refined domestically. In 1975 its foreign oil dependency was nearly 90 percent of consumption, yet our neighbor to the south achieved this feat in only 31 years. Could we do the same? Of course we could. But Big Oil fans are now in the White House, and oil-friendly government rules, laws, and subsidies are firmly in place here. Overcoming our own current 60 percent foreign oil dependency needs a crash program unlikely to get traction until they’re gone. The new Congress almost certainly will push it, although having to deal with foot-dragging Presidential vetoes is expected to be problem.

By the way, sugar, while Brazil has found it to be excellent, is only one possible source of ethanol. Corn, despite Iowa farmers’ current pitch for it, is not nearly as economically feasible a source. Alcohol from ordinary prairie grass weeds will do the job just fine. If and when this change away from expensive foreign petroleum finally does occur, the Saudis will have to start looking for some other export. How about sand?

(Send your automotive questions to Auto Q & A, Box 2222, Tehachapi, CA 93581.)

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