I realize I never actually have mentioned what I drive.  I’m certainly no posterchild for fuel saving vehicles, but I have to say I absolutely love my car, a 2006 Infiniti G35.

My G35 is a 2006, which is the last year of the old body style.  I have to say I much prefer the old body style to the new, the lines are too curvy in my opinion on the 2007+.  I have to say I don’t think I’ve seen as many on the road with the new style, so I wonder if they will change that soon.  My version is actually the sport, which as far as I can tell only means different wheels… but I think these wheels do make a world of difference in terms of look.

I chose the G35 over the comparable Altima 3.5 due it having rear wheel drive and the little nice features that Infiniti offers.  For example, I love the analog clock.  Also the perforated leather seats are extremely comfortable, and I love the embroidered Infiniti logo on them.  The price wasn’t all that much more compared to the Altima, so I figured why not.

Infiniti has super high customer satisfaction, and I understand why.  The car has had no problems whatsoever in 2 years (I can’t say the same for my previous vehicle, a 2002 Saab 9-3 Viggen), and feels overall incredibly well built.

Hopefully I will have some more pictures to follow.

Now that gas is under $2/gallon, I wonder if people’s driving habits will change.  Will people buy their monsterous Ford Expeditions and Toyota Land Cruisers, or have people learned that moderation is important?  Not that some people don’t need these huge vehicles, but the argument is that the reason sales slumped for these in particular is that gas was insanely expensive.

I believe we will see around $2 gas for at least the next 6 months.  It could go even lower.  As the economy finally starts to pull itself out of the hole it’s dug for itself, I wonder if we’ll repeat the same actions we made before.  That’s not to say these actions were mistakes, but it did help drive the price of gas up.  We will be buying an SUV in the next year or so, with 3 dogs and a child at some point in our future, but I can’t help but wonder even myself if I’m considering it only because gas is back down to $2.

Hyundai has launched an all new vehicle that for all intents and purposes is not a Hyundai in the traditional sense.  The Hyundai Genesis is simply an incredible leap in luxury and of course price for the Korean automaker.

Even though it’s claimed this car is competing against cars like the Chrysler 300, they built this car with Mercedes and BMW in their crosshairs.  This car is the first by Hyundai to offer a V8 option, and no slouch of one at that with an estimated 368HP and speeds that can get the car from 0-60 in under 6 seconds.

The car has luxurious amenities galore, many of which included, such as proximity entry with push button start, bluetooth hands free phone system, and dual heated mirrors with turn signal indicators.  When you consider against the something like the BMW, where you can get nickeled and dimed for some features you’d figure are standard, you can see that the luxury car companies may have to rethink how they offer similar features to compete.

The one thing we don’t know is how the driving experience compares.  I have to say there is something about driving a BMW or Mercedes that is unlike anything else.  It is a total driver experience.  It’s not really tangible, but you know it when you feel it.  You are almost an extension of the car.  If Hyundai can get close to this feeling in the Genesis, look out.

For a V8 model, you’re looking at about $38k, which is a bargain when you consider other cars that are the same size and price, the BMW 550 is $58k and the Mercedes E550 is $61k.  With this economy being in the toilet, I would not be surprised to see quite a few of these drivers jump ship to save about $20k.  I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

GM made big news last week stating that they could run out of cash if government doesn’t step in and offer them some sort of package similar to what financial institutions are receiving during this crisis.  This may be true, but as a country we have to draw some sort of line as to where we stop helping businesses.

All car companies have had massive sales drops this year.  Toyota, Honda, and really just about all companies are hurting.  But there is a major difference - these companies are surviving.  The reason?  Better management and fewer expenses.  I would say one huge advantage is that they are not fighting the unions like GM.

The sad thing is that it may take something catastrophic such as the collapse of GM to get the unions and the auto makers on the right page to profitably move forward.  The auto market isn’t going anywhere.  Demand is down of course, just like home sales, but the major difference is that you don’t need a new home every 10 years.  The need for cars to enter the market is there.  Just like new homes the inventory is exceeding the demand, but cars are less durable than homes.  Homes will last practically forever.  Cars eventually need to be replaced.  It’s also a smaller expense than a home… which means it’s easier to purchase and more likely to be purchased.

What needs to be done?  A complete overhaul of the big 3.  They need to find a way to make cars for less.  They also need to make cars that people are buying today.  One way I think is to bring some of the European models into the US?  Why not?  In many cases these cars are more fuel efficient which speaks to many of today’s buyers.  And I imagine synergy of processes and using more of the same parts won’t hurt.  They also need the unions to understand that there is just no way to survive with their current model.  It would be great if we could all get pensions and huge salaries, but that’s not the way business today runs.  I don’t know the average assembly line worker’s salaries, but from the information I’ve gathered, it’s around $55-60k.  That is more than many of my college friends are making today 5 years later with degrees.  If a $50k education gets you $50k per year, I can’t see how assembly line work that requires no formal higher education can make more.  It means they are overpaying.

This won’t be a popular post among many that are in the industry, but it is the hard fact of business.  The US auto makers are behind the curve to start, so without making up some of this ground they are going to be in big trouble in the next 12 months.  Without MAJOR change, we may see one of the big 3 go under never to return.