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Vehicle Weights and Vehicle Overload

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Overloading can significantly impair the stability of a vehicle. Not only is it dangerous, but the extra weight causes excessive wear to your automobile and the roads it drives upon. In addition, overloaded vehicles are illegal, and can affect your safety and insurance coverage.

It is not difficult for a weights and standards officer to determine if a vehicle is overweight. If a vehicle is sitting low or crooked, the tires look strained or flat, or even if it seems excessively packed, the officer can stop you and weigh the vehicle using portable scales under each axle. If the weight exceeds the gross vehicle weight (GVW), a ticket will be issued, and you may be prevented from carrying on with your trip until the problem is corrected.

So how do you know what the weight capacity of your vehicle is? A vehicle specific certification/tire label is usually indicated on your DMV registration and also attached to the rear edge of the driver’s door. The label will show the ‘Gross Vehicle Weight Rating’ (GVWR), which includes the weight of the vehicle, occupants, fuel, and cargo. This label will also tell you the maximum weights for the front and rear axles. Other weight information that is good to know when loading a vehicle is the ‘Curb Weight’. This is the actual weight of the vehicle with standard equipment and all necessary operating fluids, including a full gas tank. It does not include passengers or cargo. You should be able to find this in your owners manual, or online auto sources. Keep in mind that the weights include ‘standard equipment’ only and weight for additional equipment should be added.

Remember, the loading of the vehicle is the driver’s responsibility. Ensuring that tire pressure, load distribution, and total weight of the vehicle is within specifications will help to make your trip safe and trouble free.

Toyota Recall For Steering System Problems

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Toyota announced Thursday that they will be recalling 373,000, 2000-2004 Avalon sedans as well as 39,000 2003-2007 Lexus LX470 SUVs for two unrelated steering system defects.

The defect in the Avalon Sedan is being blamed on an improper casting in a component of the steering lock system. If the steering is turned hard to the right, the component may break, resulting in the steering locking up. There have been six reports of the problem in the U.S. Three resulting in accidents with no injuries.

In the Lexus LX479 SUV, the snap ring on the steering shaft may disengage when the vehicle experiences an impact to the front wheel, such as hitting a pothole. Over time, this may cause the steering shaft to disengage. Toyota was not aware of any accidents resulting from the Lexus steering-shaft problem.

In announcing the latest recall, Steve St. Angelo, Toyota’s chief quality officer for North America, said the automaker was “continuing to work diligently to address safety issues wherever they arise and to strengthen our global quality assurance operations so that Toyota owners can be confident in the safety of their vehicles.”

2010 Los Angeles Auto Show

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The Los Angeles auto show is one of the most anticipated auto shows in the world. It attracts thousands of media from around the globe to view new vehicles from top car manufacturers. This year’s show will feature a record of debuts. Twenty world debuts and another twenty North American premieres bringing the grand total to forty.

The LA Auto Show will provide a look into the industry’s present and future as it transforms to meet the changes in economic conditions, environmental factors and changing consumer preferences. The large variety of innovative vehicles, from high end sports cars, ‘green’ concepts, to minivans and sedans, will feature advanced technologies in fuel economy, safety and telematics.

Two of the highly anticipated debuts are the introduction of the Chevrolet ‘Volt’ and the Nissan ‘Leaf’, the electric cars that will be offered to the general public later this year. As well, there will be a number of other manufacturers showing their electric vehicles, due to come out in 2011.

The show will be held this fall at the Los Angeles Convention Center. November 17-18 will be opened for the press (Media registration opens in September), and on November 19-28 the doors will be opened to the public.

GM – Nissan Electric Car Wars

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As both GM and Nissan get ready to release their electric cars later this year, the electric car wars are starting to heat up already, resulting in benefits for the consumer.

GM announced the Chevrolet Volt would start at about $41,000, $8,000 more than the Nissan Leaf, but GM will also match the $349 per month lease deal that Nissan is offering on their car. Nissan fought back by announcing they would match GM’s battery warranty of eight years, 1000,000 miles.

Both vehicles will cost more than a comparable gas engine car, but the lease deals make them quite competitive. If you take into consideration the savings at the pump, the federal tax credit, and the additional tax breaks offered in some states, the new electric vehicles are in the budget of mainstream buyers.

Both Nissan and GM say the base models of their cars will come nicely equipped. Both have navigation, multiple air bags and premium audio systems standard. Options for both include backup monitoring cameras, leather seats in the Volt, and a solar-panel spoiler that generates electricity on the Leaf.

Tesla Motors IPO Loses Fuel

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When Tesla Motors was first introduced as a public stock offering, the demand was so high that the size of the IPO was raised to 13.3 million shares up form the planned 11.1 million, and the price was set higher than the originally planned $14-$16. The stock did really well the first two days hitting a high of $30.42 only two days after it was offered.

But, investors hunger for Tesla faded fast as the IPO fell back quickly below its offering price. Whether it was the lack of long term investors, or the fact that the company will spend a lot more cash before their Model S will be mass produced in 2012, it is expected that the stock will go down even further before it stabilizes.

David Menlow, head of IPOfinancial.com in Millburn, N.J., said he believed that Musk had the “right formula” for an electric-car company in the long run. Interested investors should be patient, Menlow advised: “Let the momentum play itself out.”

Ford Profits In Second Quarter

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Ford is bragging a 13% profit rise, the best in six years, thanks to the strong sales of their fuel efficient cars such as the Fusion and the redesigned Taurus, and high tech features such as their in car communications and entertainment system, the Sync.

Ford, which did not file for bankruptcy protection or receive a federal bailout like rivals General Motors and Chrysler, has been saddled with huge debt. It ended the quarter with $27.3 billion of debt even after it paid down $7 billion.

“Overall, our performance this year gives us great confidence going forward,” Ford Chief Executive Alan Mulally. “We are ahead of where we thought we’d be.” With improving profits, the company said it was on track to have more cash than debt by the end of next year.

Subaru Windshield Oily Film Problems

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An oily substance on the windshields of Subaru vehicles is creating visibility problems for many Subaru drivers. The yellowish chemical haze has been reported as being so bad that driving the vehicle is made impossible especially in very bright or night time situations. Solutions offered by dealerships have been to clean the windshield, but the oily film is difficult to remove, and returns in a very short time.

Rumor is that there has been a technical service bulletin issued on the problem, but my searches have come up empty handed. Unofficially, the problem is being blamed on the material used in a rubber seal on the heater box. The material used is “off gassing” to excess causing the build up. The problem is expected to clear up after extended use, but some people with respiratory problems may experience health issues when breathing the fumes.

GM Back In The Auto Financing Business

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In 2006 when GM was faced with $10.5 billion in losses, they decided to sell their credit business, GMAC, so they could use the money to pay down some of its restructuring costs, shut assembly plants and buy out employees. Even though this deal helped GM restructure their company, the bailout in 2009 showed that GM had not learned from their mistakes.

GM announced Thursday, that they would be getting back into the credit business in a recent plan to buy AmeriCredit Corp., in an all cash transaction valued at about $3.5 billion. GM executives have said for months that they were missing sales opportunities due to lack of credit for lease deals and financing for sub prime buyers and that this is an opportunity to bring more people into the showrooms and help them with finance.

The two companies have had a financial relationship for years. AmeriCredit, which already works with about 4,000 GM dealers, now gets about one-third of its business from financing new and used GM vehicles. Overall, the auto financing company has about 800,000 customers and $9 billion worth of auto loans on its books.

The automaker says that its partner, Ally Financial — formerly known as GMAC Financial Services Inc., will continue to finance GM’s dealer inventory and make loans to buyers with good credit. GM says it is not considering a purchase of Ally’s auto financing unit in which GM sold controlling interest in 2006. The company eventually had to be bailed out by the U.S. government because of problems with its home mortgage loan unit.

Many feel that GM’s purchase of AmeriCredit is another multinational corporation finding loopholes to exploit, and that the credit practices that collapsed the sub prime housing market was actually started in the auto finance credit business. The recent Financial Overhaul bill that was just passed by Congress will not be of any help either, since automakers were exempt from it.