Brenda Priddy Charity Auctions: Dodge Challenger Prototypes, Michelin Tires & More!

My favorite Spy Photographer, Brenda Priddy, has launched a new series of auctions to benefit the Frank Washington Fund following his terrible attack in Detroit a couple of months ago.

Frank Washington is a journalist who was brutally attacked for no reason and has suffered a tremendous setback. Detroit has rallied behind him and in her true automotive gal spirit, Brenda has reached out to several automotive industry fans of hers who have responded with gifts to benefit Frank's recovery.

Current live auctions on eBay include:

• A series of 5 DODGE CHALLENGER PROTOTYPE PISTOL GRIP SHIFTERS from the Dodge Design Studio!
• Two ORIGINAL framed mid-engine CORVETTE sketches from the CORVETTE DESIGN STUDIO, circa 1973.
• RARE BMW 'sculpture' / model (circa 1981) donated by Jim Dunne.
• A $1200 MICHELIN gift certificate.
• A 5-hour BOB BONDURANT High Performance driving class!

All proceeds go directly to the Frank Washington Fund at Charter One Bank in Michigan.

All Brenda Priddy Charity Auctions to benefit Frank Washington.

(Apologies to all but that BMW sculpture WILL be Miss Mota Mouth's!)

Bid well and enjoy a lot!!

XOO,M

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Collector Cars Going Abroad Seen On My Corner

So the world is getting a little smaller and Norway is get a little smoggier!

Every morning after Little Miss Mota Mouth goes to school, I like to take a leisurely walk down to Cisco Burger and get a coffee or a soda and a local paper before I start doing what I call work. Imagine this barrio- 12 blocks from the ocean, a block from the LA River, across the river from the largest port in North America and home of Jesse James' West Coast Choppers. Jesse built Cisco Burger for his employees and the gawkers who come by to look at his creations so I see my fair share of people in some pretty sweet cars and riding some amazing bikes. Last Friday, as I approached the gas station on the corner, imagine my surprise to see these beauties. I just had to talk to the driver to see what the story was! Turns out these cars both were sold online by two separate sellers to two different buyers in Norway. The driver was filling each with a quarter tank and then was delivering them down at the port. The Corvette was just beautiful and generally speaking, I am not a Vette kind of girl. If I had this car then I would convert. I promise. The Barracuda was sexily simple and is a 1971. Pretty nice ride and I can see why this makes the boys' hearts go Boom Boom. Here is our new age of car sales. Not only are they online but they are international. It is difficult to imagine either of these cars surrounded by European cars but they will definitely be making a statement for their owners! Oh- and the sales prices? The Corvette was a low $30,000 and the Barracuda sold for $48,000. Given that the Krone is stronger than the US dollar, these buyers got bargains!

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How the Economy and Politics Affect Car Sales

It was recently reported in Used Car News that there has been a significant drop in sales to Hispanic buyers in the US.

While part of that drop could be the pre-shocks of the REAL ID Act of 2005 sending tremors through the undocumented or illegal population, the rest can be attributed to the slumping housing market and the aftershocks among the legal skilled labor and construction workers.

Initially started as an effort to curb illegal immigration within the parameters of a larger national security act the REAL ID Act enforces that driver's licenses be issued by Federal standards that would require a Social Security number in order to be issued a license. Several states have already adopted the policy and car dealers in those states have seen a very noticeable drop in sales to Hispanics.

From Used Car News:

Prior to 2007, North Carolina allowed residents with Mexican driver's licenses to obtain state driver's licenses. Now the state enforces a rule requiring a valid Social Security number for obtaining a driver's license.

Jody Midgette, owner of Midgette Auto Sales in Harbinger, N.C., saw a huge effect on the dealership's sales to Hispanics.

"Prior to the change, we used to do 15 percent to 20 percent of our business with Hispanics," he said. "In 2007, we did less than 5 percent."

Additionally, states that were having a burst in new home and commercial construction such as Arizona are beginning to feel the effects of the construction slump that has been long coming but fast-fueled by the sub-prime mortgage fiasco.

Again, from Used Car News:

Many Hispanic immigrants - both legal and illegal - work in the construction industry, he [Mauricio Espinosa, president and CEO of automotive consultancy G20 Inc.] said.

The downturn in homebuilding means less work, which limits vehicle purchases, especially pick-up trucks.

Mike Cunningham, owner of Payless Cars & Trucks in Tucson, Ariz., said a downturn in construction has chipped away at those values.

"Prices on truck merchandise are not what they were a year ago," he said.

Cunningham said news in Arizona has centered on the drop in construction, which provided a lot of growth in the state in recent years.

All of this is a microcosm reflection of what is hitting the rest of the economy. In this case the car market is being affected greatly which in turn will affect other areas of the economy and vice versa.

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New Craigslist Multi-City Search: Great For Finding & Buying Cars Online

Almost everyone I know just loves Craigslist! Whether they have bought or sold something it has changed the way that people shop and sell online. There are scammers on there but then they everyone, even working offline!

One of the biggest features is also a limitation; it works in regions defined by borders and borders can be false and extremely limiting. In my area I am only a few miles from the Orange County border so the perfect thing I am looking for may be hidden under the Los Angeles listings so all of my searches are doubled.

Enter a new multi-city search for finding things on Craigslist! A new site sans vowels, crgslst.com has launched and it works pretty well so far. I can see so many uses for this- especially if you are looking for a rare or collectible car online.

The Flash based navigation is pretty nifty and intuitive for setting up multiple regions where you would like to search although when testing it I did find all of the results not necessarily relevant because I searched "Z3 Coupe" and got every Z3 in the regions I selected including the convertibles. (Miss Mota Mouth does like her coupes!)

Give it a whirl and hopefully it will manage to last. Other similar sites have not lasted in the past because they violated Craigslist terms (of which I am a fairly big fan). I just hope that Craig will begin to allow a little leniency with the creative souls out there who are avid users of his site and want to create new paths of user experience.

XOO,M

PS: As I wrote this a friend turned me onto crazedlist.org Something else new to play with!

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Preview: 2008 Cadillac CTS Coupe Concept

Courtesy of GM Blogs via Twitter

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Question: How long should I keep my car?

That is a very general question and is actually one you should ask yourself. Do you really like your car? Are you bored with it? Is is always breaking down? Is it worth anything to a collector?

Here are a few suggestions:

1. Take a blank sheet of paper. Draw a line down the middle. On one side write down everything you like about the car, no matter how tiny each item is. On the other side write down everything that you dislike about the car. If your like column is longer then chances are you should keep it. If your dislike column is longer then chances are that you really don't like your car and you need to start searching for a new one.

2. Check Mota.net and kbb.com to find out what the value of your car is. A 1986 Ford LTD is going to be worth a lot less than a 1969 Dino 206GT

3. Take a look at how much it is costing you to maintain your current car. My grand-dad was religious about oil changes in his 1976 Toyota truck. When he sold it it had over 1.4 million miles on the original, legendary R22 engine. His maintenance costs were nil so it made more sense to keep it even tough he had other cars to drive. He only sold it because he stopped driving altogether.

Basically if it is costing you more and more money just to keep the pistons moving, then put a little cash into it and sell it or trade it in before it breaks again.

I am still waiting for someone to beg me to take their 1967 Shelby GT500 off their hands.

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Motachanic: Car Battery Corrosion and Cleaning It

What should I do about corrosion on a car battery?



Don't eat it.

Seriously, though. Despite the fact that it looks vaguely like powdered sugar, the white fluffy stuff that you see attached to the terminals of your cars battery should not be used to sweeten your coffee, or used as a topping for your favorite pastry. First off it tastes terrible, it isn't sweet like anti-freeze is. Second it is extremely toxic and can cause chemical burns because it is basically concentrated sulfuric acid with lead residues in it.

The technical stuff: The reason why you have powdered acid on your posts is because as the alternator of your car charges the battery the water/acid catalyst inside of the battery can become very hot. The water will evaporate and the acid will become a vapor which, due to the polarity of the battery terminals, will stick to the battery posts and other parts of your engine compartment. Over time the corrosion and powdery build up caused by this will disrupt the connection between the battery and the terminals preventing you from starting your car.

There is a really easy way of taking care of it though. You will need the following:

-1 pair latex or nitrile gloves..
-1 wrench to remove battery terminals..
-2 battery post corrosion preventative felts, preferably saturated with NCP-2 preventative compound (Noco part# D313). .
-1 can battery acid detector/ corrosion removal spray (Noco part# E404). or 1 box baking soda and a cup.
-1 wire brush
-1 pair safety glasses or goggles
-A water supply.

1. First, ensure the engine on your car is off and cool.
2. Open and secure the hood.
3. Locate the battery.
4. Put on gloves
5. Remove anything that prevents access to the battery posts. (battery covers, heat shields etc)
6. Using the appropriate wrench, remove the negative battery terminal.
7. Using the appropriate wrench, remove the positive battery terminal
8. Put on safety glasses
9. Using Acid detector/ corrosion removal spray or a thin paste of baking soda and water, apply liberally to all white powdery residue areas.
10. Using wire brush, brush battery posts where the terminals connect.
11. Using a modest stream of water, rinse off battery.
12. Put one battery felt on each post
13. Attach positive battery terminal to positive post. Tighten until terminal cannot be wiggled
14. Attach negative battery terminal to negative post. Tighten until terminal cannot be wiggled
15. Rinse off battery cover, heat shield, etc
16. Re-install battery cover, heat shield etc
17. Clean up your mess
18. Remove gloves and safety glasses.
19. Close hood.
20. Crack open a cold one, you're done!

Oh, and by the way, the spray and/or baking soda neutralizes the acid so don't feel bad about washing the battery off.

Rags and wrenches,
The Motachanic

p.s. Anti-freeze does taste sweet, but it is deadly. Do not drink or taste it. So just take my word for it.

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