One MPG Win, How Many to Follow?

When buying a new car we expect that almost everything on that window sticker is accurate. If it says there is a car cd changer in the car, we expect there to be a car cd player in the car. The same goes for other advertised options such as power windows, heated seats, or maybe even hybrid technology. The price is the only thing on that sticker we expect (and hope) is not 100% accurate. There always seems to be wiggle-room when it comes to the pricing of the vehicle, but one Californian woman discovered another ambiguous number advertised: the MPG.

When Heather Peters bought her 2006 Hybrid Honda Civic she was excited like most new car owners. Gas prices were shooting up and she now had herself a car Honda promised would get her 50 miles per gallon. So she drove and drove and drove, but she never saw 50mpg. After some time, she was only getting 30mpg. Well, fast-forward some time and she has actually sued Honda for this misrepresentation. This week she won the smalls claims lawsuit which means Honda has to pay close to $10,000 for not living up to its advertised gas mileage to Peters (and maybe some of the 200,000 other 2006 Hybrid Honda Civic owners).

I understand frustration with not getting high gas mileage, especially if you’re paying for a car with that specific purpose. But on the other hand, one MPG number can’t be taken accurately across the board. Living in Southern California myself (like Peters), I understand my car’s gas mileage probably suffers a bit from the hilly landscape and the fact that 85% of the time I’m driving in stop-and-go traffic. Peters has now created DontSettleWithHonda.org trying to get other owners on board, while Honda is standing firm that they are required by law to post the highest mileage the car could get. With this victory, I’m interested to see how many others come out with the same complaint on the Civic and on other vehicle models. But for now it seems like the score remains, Hybrid Owners: 1, Honda: 0.

In House Tuning Companies, are They Worth It?

Everyone knows the major players in the automotive world but what about their tuning houses? They make parts as small as a mass air flow sensor to a complete turbocharger or supercharger set up. A tuning house is a company that modifies vehicles for a specific purpose. An in-house tuning is a company that works with a specific brand exclusively such as AMG for Mercedes Benz.

Most of the time a few small upgrades are not a huge investment with a car but is it worth it to buy the completely reworked car or do the upgraded that are desired individually. There are many factors to consider when it comes to purchasing these kind of upgrades not the smallest of which is the money. A great example of this is the mighty Honda Civic which comes in lots of configurations the top of which is called the Mugen edition. Now Mugen is a company that specifically makes performance parts for Honda's and they make some great ones at that. On the other hand a fully loaded Civic SI would set a person back about 23 grand...pricey for a civic. It is not that bad for the performance that one can get compared to that of the base model Civic. The Mugen Civic though would set someone back close to 33 thousand dollars which is 10 grand for a body kit, special wheels, a paint job and not much else.

So where should the line be drawn, the fact of the matter is that for all the gear heads out there modifying their cars is a way of life, a costly one. Any serious modification will almost instantly void the warranty on a vehicle and there for lower the resale significantly. So for this we have in-house tuners, they are able to give the performance that we all want while still keeping things under warranty. Not to mention in California it will keep the emissions man off your back. So in the end the Mugen is a good deal but sometimes the ends don't seem to justify the means. There is a company called Brabus and they specialize in Mercedes benz, they are the ultimate expression of automotive crazy. For example  they will take a 2005 Mercedes SL600 and add $45K worth of modifications to it and consider it a lightly modified car. A few times a year they will sell a Merc that has close to a half a million dollars worth of modifications without even breaking a sweat. The amount of money that is spent to create a custom high end ride is truly insane but still it has to be said that their cars are some of the more stunning on the road today.

So is tuning worth it? in short...YES! ever penny is worth it if you are a motor head.