New Shoes (Tires) for the Big Mercedes

Goodyear Eagle GT on Mercedes S500

After one scary hydroplane a few months back and an increasing amount of screeching from the nearly bald tires, I finally went out and purchased a new set of Goodyear Eagle GTs for my 2000 Mercedes-Benz S500. 

I shopped around for several weeks online and checked out some of the local tire shops. In the end I went with Discount Tire after -- believe it or not -- seeing an ad on the front page of the Seattle Times for a rebate. I was able to select the tires and make an appointment at a nearby shop online the night before.

On Saturday morning, I headed over to the store in Renton, Wash., expecting to drop off the car and then pick it back up later. I was surprised to find the shop busy but efficient. The initial transaction took less than 5 minutes and the replacement took less than 45 minutes. It felt like Nascar pit crew fast compared to some of the other work I've had done.

Goodyear Eagle GT on Mercedes S500

It probably helped that I had already selected the Eagle GTs after doing some research on tire sites. They seem to be the best balance between dry and wet performance, wear and noise. I've only driven about 30 miles on them, but I'm very pleased so far. I even popped the extra $60 to get the warranty from Discount Tire, which was frivolous, but might be worth it.

Goodyear Eagle GT on Mercedes S500

With all the rain we get around here, the deep channels look comforting. I'm thinking about getting the interior detailed on the Mercedes and getting new mats to replace the decrepit originals. If I can fix an annoying fault with one of the lights that keeps nagging me, I might put off serious car shopping for another year.

Of course, if gas prices continue to go higher, I might get tired of $70-plus receipts to fill the tank with premium fuel.

Car Buyers May Find July Deals This Weekend

With the auto industry on its way to a sour July, auto dealers may be more motivated to sell cars this weekend -- and it could be a boon for buyers. It may depend on what you want to buy.

We'll be talking about July auto sales next week on the podcast.

If you buy, let GTSOTR know!

A High Quality Automotive Podcast That's Also Satisfying

How do you define quality? Well, J.D. Power and Strategic Vision are bickering over what quality means and their lists of quality car brands are very different.

Should hybrid cars get kicked out of the HOV lanes? California is considering doing just that, arguing that hybrid technology is longer that unique.

A people moving box from Brooks & Bone

This weekend is Carmageddon in the Los Angeles area. Last week, we talked about flying cars being the solution. This week JetBlue is offering flights from one side of the city to the other for about the price of a gallon of gas, $4.

Most cars are style over substance, but two recent car design school grads have gone utility over style to create concepts for moving people around in urban areas. It's a box.

Distracted driving has become cause celeb for the U.S. Department of Transportation, and now Syracuse, N.Y. and Hartford, Conn., are both cracking down and doing lots of education. And it's working.

Groupon has offered deals on driving schools, car parts, auto detailing and now actual cars. A Detroit dealer is offering a $500 Groupon for $199, but those who buy, are locked in to that dealer.

Another bargain trend are penny bidding sites. One bidder nabbed a $31,000 Camaro for $5.28. Really.

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Escaping Carmageddon in a Flying Car

Perhaps you bought a new car last month or over the July 4th weekend. What did you pay? Well, the average vehicle transaction topped $30,000 in June, or almost $850 more than the same month last year. We love to talk about gadgets in cars, and those gadgets and infotainment systems are what's pushing prices higher.

Even as prices rise, auto makers are always looking for new incentives. GM's latest is free car insurance, but only in Oregon and Washington and only for Cadillac buyers. That won't benefit Midwestern car buyers, who tend to be the most loyal to U.S. brands.

Are you a patriotic buyer?

Patriotism isn't in play for electric car buyers, with Nissan Leaf sales topping Chevrolet Volt sales. The local Independence Day parade illustrated that. There were about 10 Leafs, and no Volts.

Those Leafs glided past quietly, and that has regulators concerned. They are seriously considering adding "pedestrian warning sounds" to electric and hybrid vehicles.

Something else that worries regulators, cellphones and driving. But the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) urges states to hold off on banning the practice until more research is done to gauge the effectiveness of such laws.

Even though his fortune and his job depend on selling cars and trucks, Ford Motor Chairman Bill Ford wants more efforts into developing alternative modes of transportation.

Los Angeles area residents are probably going to be abandoning their cars next weekend when a much-hyped construction project closed the 405 for an entire weekend. The expected traffic jam is being called Carmageddon.

Perhaps the expected gridlock will make the roads safer for men and women. Well, maybe more for women. A new study of 6.5 million car crashes found that women crashed into other women more often than expected.

Finally, a flying car has received clearance to take to the roads. Good luck finding enough runway to go from highway to the sky.

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Rebounding Auto Dealers Get Fancy for Car Shoppers

A dealer shows off. From Seattle Times

Auto makers are finally stable after the Detroit brand brush with death and the recent rebound in car and truck sales, and most dealers can afford to spend a little money to spruce up the showroom. So they're adding leather chairs, rich oak walls, theatrical lighting — even hair salons.


Is a fancier dealer going to ultimately improve the shopping experience or is it more about price, salepeople and negotiation -- and the actual vehicles they sell?

Electric Cars Take to the Streets for July 4th

We headed over to the Independence Day Parade in Kirkland, Wash. It was a typical July 4th parade, with lots of kids on decorated bikes, a couple of bands and floats with local sponsors.

The most surprising for me was the number of electric vehicles in the parade and the number of Nissan Leafs (Leaves?) in the parade. There were several as part of an electric vehicle groups, but also some one-offs that were related to politicians.

Perhaps its independence from foreign oil?

If 35 MPG Isn't Good Enough for You Then Wait Until 2025

After successfully getting the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) level to 35.5 miles per gallon in 2016, the Obama administration is working to push the fleet average to over 56 MPG in 2025, about double what it is now.

Wow. Even the Prius doesn't hit that and we're talking the average of all the vehicles that a car maker sells would have to be that. And that means the numbers would have to increase by about 5% a year after 2016. That also seems incredible when you consider that squeezing a couple of percentage points now is requiring auto makes to adopt radical new technologies like start/stop and electric hybrid.

But, I was going to point out that the Volt gets 93 MPG today, but I can't read it's EPA sticker.

Finally, by 2025, the fuel economy levels in Europe and Japan will be even higher than 56 MPG, so its not like car companies won't already be making super efficient vehicles for other markets.

Still, it does seem like the government is pushing for something that may not jibe with what the market will want. What if something in the energy market changes and giant fuel-guzzling vehicles become reasonable and desirable. Would it make sense for the government to mandate an out-of-touch economy rate?

Slideshow: A Birth Day at the Antique Car Races

I was fortunate enough to have three things happen on my birthday this year:

An antique race car?

One, I got an awesome new camera. A Nikon D3100. I've been hemming and hawing about taking the plunge into the big camera, and my wife was lovely enough to just go out and get one.

Two, SOVREN (The Society of Vintage Racing Enthusiasts in the Northwest) held a weekend of racing at the Pacific Raceways about 45 minutes outside of Seattle.

Three, the weather was absolutely spectacular. Hands down the best day of the year here so far.

So we packed up the Big Mercedes and the kids and headed to the races. It was a terrific day of racing. The cars are antiques, which hurts to say because they are from around the time when I was born. And the racing is competitive but not fierce. The drivers have a range of daring, but most want to preserve their beautiful classics rather than drive the wheels off of them.

A great day, as you can see from the dozens of photos I snapped from all around the track.