Free Scheduled Maintenance on the Way Out

A number of luxury car makers have offered free scheduled maintenance on their vehicles for years. However, recent trends seem to indicate that these free maintenance plans are going the way of free Internet service. The logic seems to be that the car makers want to cut costs and they feel their relatively wealthy customers don't care.

Mercedes and Jaguar have discontinued their programs on new cars, which leaves BMW, Lincoln, Land Rover, Saab, and Audi still holding on. Even though there is no indication that these other companies will drop their free maintenance plans, they are sure to be watching to see how consumers react to their competitors moves. My guess is that free maintenance will be a thing of the past in a couple of years.

So, if you are considering buying or leasing one of the remaining companies models, and you like the free maintenance plan, get your vehicle before the company pulls the plug. They won't cut you off in the middle of a plan.

Two-Trick Ponies

When car companies get in trouble, as all of the "Big-3" manufacturers are at this time, they tend to look at one or two new car models to pull them out of the ditch. It's a long-shot and mostly wishful thinking, but it's often all they've got to go on.

Buick hopes the new 2006 Lucerne, a replacement for the dull Park Avenue and LeSabre, will do the trick, along with the even less exciting LaCrosse, which replaces the Century and Regal. Not likely, but we'll wait and see.

Pontiac introduced the 2006 2-seat Solstice roadster a few months ago with a lot of hype and some pent-up demand, but limited production. It's a cute little car, but with a characteristic cheap GM interior. Not a chance.

Chevrolet is looking for the new HHR (a me-too competitor to Chrysler's once-hot-but- now-not PT Cruiser) and low priced Cobalt to help them improve overall sales. Not likely.

Ford is throwing out the old (yawn) Taurus and replacing it with the (yawn) Ford Fusion. Mercury is replacing the Sable with it's version the Fusion -- the Mercury Milan. Rental car company sales will keep these models alive, as they have done for their predecessors. Consumers will generally ignore them.

It's difficult to say what Chrysler and Dodge think will help. The new Charger is a cross between the dull 300 and even duller Magnum. I guess that makes the Charger double dull. It certainly won't pull the company out of trouble.

Value Pricing Mess

GM and Ford are playing around with "value pricing" using programs called "Red Tag Events" and "Keep It Simple", and Chrysler has a "Miles of Freedom" promotion. The problem is that consumers don't understand the programs. Even though some of the prices being offered are at or below prices in the expired "employee prices to the public" programs of a couple of months ago, consumers are having a hard time seeing it.

There's nothing like the elegant simplicity of a good cash-back rebate program or price-slashing promotion. But in their attempts to begin "weaning" customers off those costly programs, car makers are having a tough time harnessing the monster they themselves have created.

These problems are almost exclusively those of the American "Big-3" car companies, two of which just announced major employee layoffs, benefits reductions, and plant closings. Meanwhile, the Asian and European car makers are simply sitting back, selling cars on the basis of quality and features, and not getting drawn into the self-destructive price and promotion wars of their competitors.

Top 10 Lease Vehicles

LeaseCompare.com publishes a ranked list of the vehicle makes and models for which they are most frequently asked to quote leases. Their most recent list shows the following, ranked from most requested:

1. BMW 325 SERIES
2. BMW 330 SERIES
3. CHEVROLET CORVETTE
4. BMW 5 SERIES
5. INFINITI G35
6. ACURA TL
7. HONDA ACCORD
8. HONDA ODYSSEY
9. MERCEDES BENZ E CLASS
10. PORSCHE 911 CARRERA

Hybrids and More Hybrids

Seems like everyone wants in the hybrid game these days. Toyota is the leader with their popular Prius. They also sell the less popular hybrid version of the car-based Highlander SUV. Ford has the Escape Hybrid, Honda has the Accord Hybrid and Civic Hybrid in addition to the older Insight. Lexus has the RX 400h. Chevrolet has a hybrid version of the Silverado truck.

A number of other manufacturers, such as Porsche and Audi, have announced plans for future hybrids.

It's difficult to tell if this is just a knee-jerk reaction to consumers' concerns about high gas prices, or if it's really the beginning of the future of automobiles.

If you're in the market for a hybrid, compare prices, consider future maintenance costs, and take the window-sticker MPG estimates with a proverbial grain of salt.