A Kia Rio Roundup at Snoqualmie Falls

Kia Rio

My lovely wife captured this gaggle of new Kia Rio models with Ontario plates at Snoqualmie Falls in Washington. They were probably part of a press drive. I remember those days.

For a very inexpensive car, the Rio is good looking. What do you think?

I'll be checking them out at the dealer soon, but I fear my days as a luxury car owner have spoiled me for a smart bargain ride like this.

There's an App for Podcasting on a Crumbling Bridge

Car sales are next week, but we are excited because Ford is predicting a strong month for sales.

We talked about OnStar last week and we were split on how terrible their tracking of people's vehicles was. Well, GM listened. To someone, and the company said it will stop tracking vehicles where OnStar has been turned off, and allow drivers to opt-in, rather than opt-out.

Be happy about the economy.

Traffic is an indicator of economic success, according to a new study. So, you should feel comfortable about your job as you sit in traffic.

If you are sitting in traffic on a bridge, you should be worried about the U.S.'s crumbling infrastructure. A bridge linking Indiana and Kentucky has to be closed because is cracked. We're worried that many more bridges and roads are falling apart.

While the infrastructure is getting more dangerous, giant SUVs are getting safer, according to new data.

We have lamented the unpleasant experiences that many folks have at dealers and now a new Spike TV show will follow struggling dealer who need to turn things around in 5 days.

We're testing out a new Facebook app called Car Town. If you play, look us up. Here are some tips to get started.

Finally, the holiday shopping season is coming and a new toy let's kids drive on an iPad. Check out the video:

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Tesla Goes to the Mall and Asks for a Government Loan

Tesla plans store in Bellevue, Wash.

Tesla Motors appears to be a great place as its new Model S sedan gets closer to appearing on streets on showroom floors. One of those showrooms will be in the ritzy Bellevue Square mall, where rents are probably extremely expensive, but where many of the electric-car maker's customers and potential customers live.

But with the company's recent defense of the the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Program, which it has been a beneficiary of, could make it's mall shopping problematic.

Especially if the rumors that Tesla is looking for more government loans are true.

It's interesting that Tesla would open in the mall where rents are high and test drives problematic, when there are thousands of empty car dealerships across the U.S. causing headaches for local governments.

But Bellevue Square was one of the first places to install charging stations for electric cars, which was very smart considering how many Nissan Leafs are in the area. This will be Tesla’s 15th store in the U.S. and the 2nd store in the greater Seattle area.

Gas Prices Begin to Ease at Pump

Oil prices remain high by historical standards, but gas prices are slipping at the pump. Tom Kloza of the Oil Price Information Service estimates that U.S. drivers are on course to spend nearly half a trillion dollars on gasoline this year, which would break the record set in 2008.

Since Sept. 1, wholesale prices have tumbled 40 cents a gallon. Prices at the pump have dropped more gradually, but the nationwide average on Thursday was $3.56 a gallon, down a dime over the past two weeks.

Perhaps I wouldn't be crazy to check out that Audi S6 Avant that gets 12 mpg in the city?

Podcasting Your Every Move

GM has annoyed drivers by changing their policy about tracking vehicles using it's OnStar technology. The auto maker also plans to sell the data, which is anonymous.

September is the height of the end-of-year car sales, and TrueCar has come out with its list of the best deals and the best day to buy.

Suzuki and Volkswagen have been linked together for the last couple of years, but the tie-up has gone sour and now Japan's Suzuki wants out. But VW won't sell.

It will cost you.

Car sales in the U.S. have been hampered by the effects of the earthquake in Japan which damaged factories. Well, car sales in Japan are now taking off -- particularly for used cars -- as drivers replace damaged vehicles.

Why do we have carpets in cars? We have a feisty debate, sparked by the fact that some car carpet factories in the U.S. were damaged by floods and it might affect auto production.

Subaru has an interesting new model coming for the Los Angeles show and revealed a transparent version that shows everything but nothing about the sporty car.

Massachusetts's Supreme Court ruled this week that drivers who fight a ticket and win can still be charged court fees, which are often almost as much as the original ticket.

Finally, did you see Drive yet? Any good? Let us know.

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Gas Prices Remain High: This Is Why I Don't Let the Tank Get Empty

This is while I don't let the tank get empty on my luxobarge Mercedes S500. $4.07+ for Supreme at the local station for 20 gallons.

Painful at the pump. 

Fat, Poor and Unhappy Is No Way to Car Cast Through Life

We wish we were just coming back from Germany. That's where the Frankfurt auto show is taking place, where car makers are showing off some interesting new models and dramatic concepts. David's favorite is probably among the most boring, but has the most realistic chance of ending up in his driveway.

Audi's /urban Spyder concep

Ford showed off a concept that is connected to the cloud and learns the driver's preferences. At the same time, Ford has teamed up with Bug Labs to develop a new open-source platform that would increase integration for third-party software and hardware for its vehicles.

Another company is rolling out an Android-powered aftermarket infotainment system, which had us debating whether modern cars can handle aftermarket stereos.

Teen driving is fraught with risk, and mobile phones and texting are a big issue. Sprint is rolling out a new service that aims to prevent teens from using their phones while driving. There is a big problem: the cost. Meanwhile, driving schools are failing their students, but mainly because the driving tests are so easy that they only need to do a bare minimum of teaching.

Do you commute? Are you fat, poor and unhappy. Well, that's a big risk if you do commute, according to a new study.

Parking is an issue in many cities, and now the cost of parking spaces is starting to rise faster than the value of housing. Would you pay $125,000 for a parking space?

Are you disappointed that the cars of today aren't anything like the promises of the car of the future from the distant past? Doc Brown and Michael Knight are.

Would you buy a car without test driving it? That might be crazy but not unheard of these days.

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Photos From the Kirkland Concours

I took the kids to the Kirkland Concours and saw some absolutely spectacular vehicles. For those who don't know, a concours is a very high-end car show with either perfectly preserved or restored vehicles.
Other than the extreme heat (hands down the hottest and sunniest days of the year here in the Pacific Northwest) it was an impressive show.

There were vehicles from the very early 1900s, including a 1913 Waverly electric car that was in rough, but original condition.

The featured marque was Pierce-Arrow and there were at least a dozen examples of this high-end brand from the 1910s-1930s.

A small collection of motorcycles and even several gorgeous wooden speedboats made it a complete show. Even the cars in the parking lot were interesting and there were some new cars in the promenade including an Aston Martin Rapide sedan and the Lamborghini Aventador in flat black.

My favorite part of the concours was the "Working Girl" display of commercial vehicles that included a mail truck that was exactly from "The Seven Little Postmen" book that I loven when I was a kid. I chose it as the best in show, while my daughter preferred the bakery truck and my son the orange single-axle Corvette.

Check out this slideshow with some of the cars and imagery of the concours.

Fondness for the Frankfurt Auto Show

This week is the Frankfurt Auto Show in Germany, which is one of the biggest shows in the world. The show is held every other year, with the alternating year's car show held in Paris.

Frankfurt auto show in 2003

Obviously, the German car makers dominate the show with BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen all introducing significant models and building massive displays in the sprawling, multi-building complex.

I had the pleasure to attend the show in 2003, when my wife and I were living in Belgium. It was a spectacular experience, except for the absurdly long time it took to get lunch at one of the frankfurter vendors.

This year's show will feature some 50 automakers and specialty builders unwrapping upwards of 100 new models during the press days. The NYTimes points out that the size and scope of the show illustrates that the auto industry has rebounded from the dark days of the global economic collapse. But as much as this European show is a big deal, the industry as whole has become much more global, with China. Eastern Europe and even Brazil factoring more into the landscape than ever before.

GTSOTR will be tweeting out interesting news that we find during this week and of course we'll discuss the new models and concepts in this week's podcast.

Our Show Is Back From the Road

And we are back from a long summer break, that was enhanced by vacations, hurricanes and earthquakes.

We missed car sales, but got to see lots of car commercials as the end-of-model-year sales get going in earnest.

Drive, don't look at the screen.

Unfortunately, deals on Saabs might be great because the Swedish car company filed for protection from creditors, but might not get liquidated.

Telematics, infotainment, connectivity and the like are all the rage for auto makers and they are racing to develop new services to vehicles. Mercedes, Ford, Kia and even software company Nuance are getting in on the act.

Car games are always big on consoles, but how about a Sim City style online game that allows you to design cars and build a car company? Try Automation.com.

Gas prices are holding steady, despite weaker demand, as refiners export gasoline. At the same time, car makers such as Chrysler and Porsche are adding more gears to their transmissions to squeeze out even more efficiency out of their drive trains.

Finally, car collecting is an ongoing passion around the world and as new generations get into the hobby, different vehicles become more popular to collect. The newest collecting trend: Country cars.

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