The best of times for new car buyers

I have the privilege of being the "car guy" in a lot of people's lives. When I was at Intergraph, I'd get three or four calls a year from across campus from people I didn't know who'd say "yeah, I'm thinking about a car and I hear you're the guy to talk to." I read the rags; I drive the cars when I can; I start conversations about B-pillar design out of the blue. I'm that guy. Selecting a vehicle is a big decision that to some significant degree, people trust me with, and I take that seriously.

I'm pleased to announce that these are heady times for new car buyers. 2007 America is Valhalla. Plain family sedans make more power than many sports cars did 20 years ago. Full-sized trucks turn in fuel economy numbers that were once unthinkably high. The true economy cars turn in astronomical numbers, and will still do fine on an on-ramp. All manufacturers have answered the consumers' collective call for cars with personality. And so it goes. Apart from the financial (more on that below), it's essentially impossible to make a mistake. There are simply no truly bad vehicles on the new market.

There are stars and there are second-stringers, of course. For example, there are better choices than GM's and Ford's current minivans. At the same time, the Chevrolet Uplander and Ford Freestar are competent vehicles that will likely give fine service. That they are not particularly competitive in their segment speaks to the excellence of the Chrysler vans, the Toyota Sienna, and the Honda Odyssey, not to any huge flaw in the Uplander or Freestar.

The bottom line is that if you've driven a new vehicle, if you like it, if it meets your needs (space, fuel economy, and the like), and you can afford it, get it.

But (you knew there would be a but), the financials have to be solid. If you're one to turn your vehicle every two or three years, buying it new every time is by far the worst thing you can do. People who keep cars for a very long time (10+ years) are really the only broad demographic for whom it makes any sense. If you like swapping your car often, there are almost always attractive leases available, and of course there's the used market. (More on both in future posts.)

The happy result of this all-around goodness that shopping multiple vehicles head to head, you can drop to appearance as a criterion guiltlessly. So a large part of it is finally really about what the manufacturers have wanted to you to believe it was about all along--style!

When the reality of the product has caught up with what marketing's been telling you all along, we're having good times, folks. Enjoy.