Hybrids Are Retaining Their Value: Cars as an Investment? GASP!

My friend is Beverly Hills hairdresser- stylist type to the stars. She has always been conservative, well spoken and beautiful! (One time we went to the beach together with the kids and as I sat next to her in my one-piece while she was in her Chanel red RED bikini and I felt like the hairiest creature since Planet of the Apes). Mind you she does weigh under 105lbs and wears jeans called Filthy Rich.

Point is that she is-a-changing. Die hard Republican actually thinking of voting for the other side would have been enough shock to last me a life time. But a Mercedes driving person of that ilk who is married to perhaps the most conservative guy I know who drives a Porsche Cayman and they HUH? Want to buy a HYBRID? They want me to help them? They don't even read the interwebs. At all. Evar. 79% of all hybrid owners fit a very particular type of creative personality currently and neither of this couple fit that profile so that must be a changing percentage.

I was so excited to delve into this. New territory for me- lease, buy, hybrid and no idea what is available? Bring it!

First I went to Twitter and asked @ageekgal who runs WildTexas.com for advice. She is great for info about hybrids as she owns the Ford Escape Hybrid, is an enthusiast, and is active on GreenHybrid.com. She said that she has very few hybrids in her great state and even said that it is difficult to find them there so she wasn't aware of how much they cost used. We did establish through our Twitters that in California the state law require 150K mile warranties because the batteries can fail and if they do, are quite expensive. Great incentive for buyers to feel protected!

Then I called a dealer I know who had 5 Prius on his lot. When I told him the plight of my friend he did say that going from the Cayman to a hybrid Toyota is like going from a Porsche to a golf cart. (Sure, I thought but the Porsche isn't green! Well, they haven't delivered one yet but will.)

Apparently, as the dealer continued to tell me, the new Prius is about $26K for the base model currently and the used ones? Still are going for about $24K. Wait. What? The average depreciation on a new car in the first year alone is about 35%. The second year it is at about 45% of the original cost and from there depreciation does slow down but hybrids actually almost maintain their value!

So, for all of the naysayers that claim that the MPG saved does not outweigh the initial cost, I would argue that is actually not the case because they maintain their value so well that they act more as a financial investment than a rapidly depreciating piece of equipment. Okay- granted they will never gain in value unless the fuel situation gets even worse (which is possible). But then there is the extra bonus of offsetting carbon footprints.

All very interesting! Back to my friend though: her husband didn't like the Prius but did decide that he likes the Ford Escape or the Mercury Mariner hybrids. My friend seems fine with that because she will get to drive the Cayman. It does suit her better. But then, so would a Tesla.

More hybrid resources: CleanMPG.com and HybridCars.com

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199 Lives: Subaru's Love Letter to Travis Pastrana

Film Review

Let me first say that this is a glorious, glamorous, elegant, heart wrenching trailer. When I watch it it makes my heart soar and wrenches the momma part of me. The love that Sal Masekala enthuses is nothing for what I feel when I watch any of this. I want what this kid has.

After sitting on an leaked copy for a full month of the new movie 199 Lives: The Travis Pastrana Story,which is finally released today across the country in theaters, I can write a review of this documentary with a clear conscience.


Pastrana is a fascinating story. He has many enthusiast loyal followers and as he has transitioned from SuperCross and freestyle motocross, through Nitro Circus and shenanigans of such epic proportion that even critics just can't look away as he jumps out of airplanes without a parachute and ramps flips into the Grand Canyon on his bike with a parachute.

This film highlights previously used footage of all of that but includes a lot of nice coverage of 24 year old Pastrana's latest passion: WRC for Subaru's Rally Team. But the really special parts of the film are the interviews with his parents, friends and industry experts/fans and Pastrana himself discussing his view take on risk management and speculates why he suffers from night terrors so severely.

Pastrana is an inventor, an athlete and I would even say a performance artist. From his parents to all of his sponsors (Red Bull, Suzuki and Subura) to his friends and family, all show him unconditional support and love while he risks his life with every thing he tries. Pastrana has changed every sport that he has touched and will move WRC into a whole new realm of popularity.

In the last month I have watched this movie no less than 8 times. I had it to show my daughter who is a 14 year old scaredy-cat, my post-teen nephews who are Pastrana's generation, my pre-teen neighbor who plays hockey, my earth-mother best friend....all because I wanted to see their reaction to someone who is living life without fear and is surrounded by people who not only let him live like that but wouldn't expect anything less for him. It isn't a the best documentary ever and it will probably stay in limited release in theaters but the story is an inspiration of how someone can live by choice in danger and completely without fear. It means something to me to see that.

If my daughter broke free and chose to be fearless, could I let her unconditionally live and just be grateful for her time on the earth that I gave her? If I lived my life as he does could I get by with it? Maybe we don't have to take it to his extremes but we both were so elevated and inspired. At what cost? I hope his parents never are fulfilled with what they both expect. I hope he loses his night terrors. I started to say that I hope that he lives a full life but I think that he is every day.

Jason at mota.net told me today that Travis should be the host of an American style Top Gear. Isn't that what Nitro Circus is? When some sponsor figures out how to wrestle this guy to the ground we will miss him.

For theater locations visit: 199 Lives

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On Breakaway Gas Pumps and Not Listening to Your Children

Okay- it wasn't so funny but read and beware if this should ever happen to you!

One day I decided that I wanted to go to a plant sale at the Huntington Gardens.

We got a bit of a late start. Dogs , kid, hair (mine)...you know how it is! We needed gas so I drove to our corner store and start to pump the daughter "helps" by smearing the dirt/washing the windows. I paid at the pump but ran inside for a soda. Then I remembered I needed the ATM. Then daughter comes in and wants bubblegum.

I am flustered. I jump in the car, make sure everyone is in, tell daughter to stop talking to me until I get out of the station. She was saying, "Momma! ....Momma!......MOMMA!!" I start to drive away and hear a WHAP! as the pump hose snaps because it was still in my gas tank. She was trying to tell me that the pump was still in my gas tank. I had not listen to my daughter tell me that the pump was still in the gas tank.

And the plant sale starts without us.

I have to be honest here- this was the second time that I had done this. The first time the attendant told me to wait while the manager reattached the hose because if I left my info and hurried away red-faced I would get a $200 whether I had damaged it or not. That time I hadn't damaged it and didn't have to pay because I waited around. If you ever do this, if you fill out the form that they have for these occurances, make sure to write on it that you will not accept charges for damages nor will your insurance company until they reconnect and test the pump in front of you or someone from your insurance company.

This time I followed my own rules but this gas station would not attach it in front of me! Thinking that I am on to their little ruse I pester them that they have to call me when they put it back together again. When they rang I ran down the street to find a repairman replacing the entire hose. Wait! These are made to break away! Turns out, as he patiently explained to me, that in California the law is now that they have to replace the entire hose all the way into the tank every time this happens because of environmental concerns. Next thing I know I have a bill from the parent company for some ungodly amount of money. Fortunately my car insurance covered it.

We did make eventually make it to the Huntington and we made some great purchases that made our hearts happy. And the hour we spent waiting in line to pay was a great reminder that we need to just slow down some days.

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Cosigning Issues in the Current Economy: Testimonial About the Dangers

One of the most popular things that I have written and gets read a ton has been because so many people search online for cosigning on car loans and the potential pitfalls. I want to explain that when I write about issues like these my expertise comes from personal experience. Some of my expertise is really just opinion but on this topic, I have the inside scoop because it has happened to me. Twice.

A few years ago I decided that I wanted to buy a house. A little nest for my golden canary, Little Miss Mota Mouth, and I. Single mom (ex-husband lives a joyful life between France and the Amazon) with no income except what I make on my own, my parents were encouraging me to get something "of my own" rather than rent. The market was low, interest rates low and it was a good idea. So I fell in love online with a house in an area that was up and coming. The object of my obsession was this 1916 Sear's Catalog House in a historic district that was like walking into the farmhouse from Field of Dreams. All sun and light and in the middle of an urban area. If you build it....

So here I was making decent money, owned my car, had no debt (no credit cards)...okay? Can we talk about credit scores? Guess what- It isn't like the major credit reporting agencies think about Life Optimistic like I do which is everyone gets to start with 100 points and any lowering of the score is because they have done something wrong! They actually score you on what you owe! Start with zero and the more you owe the better your score is with some weird algorithms thrown in just to keep you confused. Weird. My broker tells me that my score is *okay* but "Hey! If you have a friend or family member that will cosign, you will get a better rate!". Hrm. Family is out of state which means that they will not qualify me for a good rate because out of state financing means "vacation home" and that is a higher rate. Broker says, "Don't you have a boyfriend?". Well yeh and not that he was at marriage level yet but he has better credit than me (read: more debt) so I put him on the loan. I pay a significant down payment and closing costs and he contributes nothing. Woo hoo- great rate so everyone lives happily ever after, right?

NO.

So boyfriend doesn't last which is okay but a few months after he isn't around he calls and tells me that I have to sell the house (which has now doubled in value) because he is on the title so drats. Legal hell. I feel like I bought a green card because I have to pay this loser to get off title. (I am skipping over years of legal bills here because I am still in denial) but more about that cosign hell in a second.

Meanwhile my best friend needs a car. A car. I help him shop and after taking him by a dealership I used to work with we find his car. He doesn't have any credit history because he is a musician but has a gotten a great job so when the sales guy says, "If you will cosign for him he will get a better deal". Now who wouldn't try to help their best friend? So I cosign. Sweet 2005 Mustang in yellow. He was one happy guy! They TOLD us that this would help him build credit.

Now after of the *helping a friend get a car* mode, my legal battles start getting resolved but the conditions are that I have to refinance my house alone which all lawyers and brokers agree shouldn't be a problem. But it was.

Turns out that even though I owned my cars (2 at this point) and had no debt and was making a good income, those crazy reporting agencies saw my debt to income ratio as being too high because actually the cosigned car that my friend is paying for and insuring is reporting as me being the primary on the loan! So getting a refi on the house was nearly impossible. Especially in the current lending market- getting a loan is hard.

What I learned is this: The real estate broker was no different than the car dealership. When they tell you that you will get a better rate it is because *they* will get a better rate and can mark up the points to you which makes them more money. They essentially get quotes that they then mark up- put more interest on- and that is how they all make money. That real estate broker was making a living and some would call it greedy. I didn't understand to know differently and with the car I didn't understand how they worked either.

Moral of the story is do not cosign because you will never know when you will need access to your own credit. I am lucky that my friend would never bilk on his payments on that car but if he did, my life would be difficult. Many a story has come past my desk of cosigning nightmares where friends and family have renegged on paying on co-signed cars.

Knowing that this has caused me hardship, my friend has volunteered to give me back the car so I can sell it but unlike these sales people, I made a commitment to my friend and would never try to screw anyone.

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Men Like Women Who Like Cars- Especially Online

For the last couple of years if it rained, the wind blew, the sun shined or the moon was circling the earth, my internet connection (DSL & VoIP) would go down. Sometimes my little outages would last just a couple of minutes and some days I would be without access to part of my world: the internet and the telephone. Since the phone box was installed on the house about the same time that running water was put in the house (I am not kidding) and I had run the phone wires into the house myself (yes, through the windows), I just assumed that it was my wires and my fault.

Finally last week I called my ISP for the billionth time because I couldn't get any work done for lack of internet. The tech support guy was in India and he admitted that there was a problem with the loop (?) that was their responsibility. He had a phone tech to my house within 2 hours and everything got fixed, lickity split. The same tech called me back to close the trouble ticket and while he was running diagnostics he politely asked me what I do for a living. I told him, "I write. About cars. Online."

I thought that the man was going to cry.

Never being out of a chance to get a good anecdote I asked him about the Tato Nano. Yes, he likes the Nano. Who wouldn't? It is cuddly wubbly cute and cheap (my words). Then we just had to talk about Tato buying Jaguar, Rover and the subsidiaries. I asked him if he was proud that an Indian company now owned the British luxury brands and he said "Absolutely. The entire country is proud." Pretty darn cool, in my book. He then decided to interview me:

Him: Have you ever driven a DB9?
Me: Yes.
Him: Have you ever driven a Vanquish?
Me: Yes.
Him: Were they fast?
Me: Hmm, yes- I took off so fast in the DB9 that I knocked the breath out of myself.
Him: (fits of giggles) Can I have your private IM?
Me: Why?
Him: In case I have a question about cars?
Me: Just go to Yahoo! Answers and look for Miss Mota Mouth. Ask me there.
Him: Oh. Okay. Are you sure I can't have your IM screen name?
Me: No, you cannot.

(At this point I am thinking about the fact that not only does he have my personal email address, he knows my home phone number, my cell number and my password.)

And now he keeps calling to "follow up on my internet service". Hm. I guess, as I have been told before, I give good phone.

That evening, while on Twitter, I had a direct message from a Follower that went like this:

Him: Thanks for the follow! How did you find me?
Me: Um, you were having a convo w/someone I admire. [ed: Do you know how many people are on Twitter these days? I digress...]
Him: Can we IM on Yahoo or AIM?
Me: That is like asking my for my phone number if I wandered thru the office looking for the copier.
Him: Nooo! I would never do anything like that ::innocent look:: ;)

Does my avatar make me look sexy? Is it the vector glasses or the hexidecimal #FF0000 lipstick I put on? Or is it that I write about cars?

There is just something strange about the car industry when women enter the picture. Granted there are a lot of really great female car sales people, dealership general managers and even owners! There is a slew of wonderful female mechanics and service department managers. I wonder if they get attention like they are holding lap markers at a dirt track in a pair of Daisy Dukes too.

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