A flicker from the distant past brings a glimmer of hope to our near  future!

Most people do not remember a whole lot about the Decepticons, Megatron, Bumblebee and Optimus Prime. But to be quite honest, I doubt it will really matter, as the main stars of the Transformers movie were the awesome cars… and in particular the smooth-lined yellow concept Camaro.

Even Jon Voight, Tyrese Gibson, John Turturro and Shia LeBeouf had to take a back seat to the awesome Transformer machines.

Of one of the most talked about rivalries in the car fanatic forums was between Barricade, the Ford Mustang Police Pursuit vehicle…

*photo courtesy of jalopnik.com

…and Bumblebee, the yellow/orange Chevrolet Camaro!

*photo courtesy of michiganclassics.com

The battle between the Mustang and Camaro has been fought since the late 60’s and now with the new Camaro set to resurface, they definitely made the obvious choice for sworn enemies!

In the past, Bumblebee has always been depicted as a Volkswagen Bug…

*photo courtesy of Peter Borner

So the thought of using the New Beetle must have ran through the mind of Michael Bay at the onslaught of this idea. But just imagine the battle that would have entailed; a very small and round friendly looking yellow bugster against a rather menacing and beefy looking Saleen mustang.

It is clear to see why Michael Bay chose the Camaro, and you can also bet that Chevrolet was probably pretty keen on the idea to receive a little free advertising from a summer blockbuster movie. And a summer blockbuster hit, it certainly was.

To many of the real car fanatics that went to see the movie, you could probably expect them to remember as much as it was called the ”whats-a-ma-call-it’s” and the battle of the “who-sa-ma-trons”… but the yellow Camaro, yeah, they probably remember that one by name!

The Camaro was born in 1966 and faded into the distance in the early 2000’s. The plan to focus on their average line of sedans and SUV’s was brilliant, as that is actually where the brunt of most car manufacturers make their real money. Everybody looks at and raves about the “kewl” cars, but very few actually go out and buy one.

After 7 years… which will be approximately the wait we have had for the New Camaro’s unveiling, they are expecting to rival Ford’s success with the new Mustang, and are currently right on target with their plan. They have certainly been known to do this a time or two in the past.

Chevrolet hasn’t let too much out of the bag about the Camaro, but we do know that it should have a V-8 engine rated around 400 horsepower. At best guess, it will be the 2008 Chevrolet Corvette’s 6.2 Liter LS3. The V-6 is going to be no slouch either using their 3.6 Liter V-6 out of their Holden Commodore. The V-6 will have about 275 horsepower, which is 65 more than the platform Mustang to date…

Ford better up the anty, or they will be at a loss come the first quarter of 2009 when the Camaro Concept is expected to launch its attack… on the showroom floor!

If it Seems too Good to be True… It’s probably Bologna!  (Such as this for example)

*Photo Courtesy of Woodsy at Stock.xchng

It is that time of year again, when dealers are clamoring to drum up business with a few choice advertisements and “special” offers. It is getting closer to when the new models will be coming out and they do not want to be stuck with a stock pile of the old, while everyone is wanting the new.

Especially if a model is going to be discontinued for the next year, they know that they will get increasingly difficult to sell. There is just something poisonous to the thought of buying a car that the manufacturer is pulling the plug on. Is it unsafe? Are there serious component issues? Not very appetizing to the average consumer.

This is the time when all the wacky television and newspaper commercials and advertisements will start coming out with these infamous lines meant to pull in unwary customers:

“No money down!”

“This weekend only!”

“Minimum $3,000 trade-in; just push, pull, or drag it in.”

“We will match your tax return as a down payment!”

“Low, low interest rates

“$100.00 for everyone who takes a test drive.”

And then they reel you… hook, line, and stinker (oops, I mean sinker)!

Do not fall for these lines. There is hidden meaning between each one and it actually has a lot less to do with saving you money than it does to get rid of a stock pile of new (and soon to be thought of as used) cars.

“No money down!” This is always a bit of a gimmick, because most people know that by putting money down, they will saving themselves in interest and also bring down their overall monthly car payments. Sometimes by as much as $100, depending on the amount of savings or the worth of the vehicle you are trading in. This is no favor to you at all. They stand to make more money from you with this arrangement. Sometimes they also give you a higher interest rate in response to the no money down deal, so make sure you know all the factors before signing on the dotted line.

“This weekend only!” Not to mention the weekend after that, then the one after that. And if you are really, really lucky; they just might extend it through the rest of the year! Dealers know that the item of pressure not only gets you to sign a contract quicker, but will also get you through the doors a lot quicker too. It is a lot like those stores who have a going out of business sale for three years straight and are obviously still buying inventory. The best deals you will find that may have a time limit will be manufacturer incentives and you can check their websites for the most current offers. Not that local dealers can’t have their good deals, but that shouldn’t be the biggest factor tempting you. A dealer will try to pressure you into making the deal right then because they know that once you walk out the door, the chance of you coming back are slim. But the chances of them being there the next day with the same deal are pretty good too!

“$3,000 cash back.” Be sure to read the fine print on this one, because more than likely there is a minimum value of the car you need to purchase before you will be qualified. This is also sometimes known as the “bait and switch”. They bait you with their top cash back award, which is usually for the $50,000+ line of new cars. Then once you are in their office ready to sign, they let you know that you are only qualified for $750 cash back for your particular vehicle.

“Minimum $3,000 trade-in.” This is a very common dealer ploy. They keep your mind focused on the great trade-in deal they are giving you, so you will be less likely to scrutinize the actual cost of the car. You may be getting the highest trade-in, but it means nothing if you aren’t getting a good deal on the vehicle itself. It is actually sometimes the best idea to not even mention your trade-in until you have actually made a final deal on the vehicle. Take it one step at a time and make sure you are comfortable with the deal before talking trade-in incentives. And also, do not let them go back into the original deal once you do start talking trade-in value, that is only going to confuse the situation all the more.

“We will match your tax return as a down payment!” This is probably the same gimmick as the $3,000 minimum trade-in. Keeping you focused on the money down, rather than the actual deal itself. More often than not, there will be so many fine print items to these deals, you would be better off sitting down to haggle a good old fashioned price and incentive package.

“Low, low interest rates.” Absolutely… All you need to do is put down between 50% and 80% of the cost of the car, present perfect credit and the 0% financing is all yours! These interest deals are unfortunately the most beneficial for those who (in some ways) need them less. People who have flawless credit and a huge chunk of cash waiting to put down on the new vehicle. Any black marks on your record are going to haunt you here. There is truth to the saying that it takes money to make money and if you are in a poor credit bracket, you can’t expect to receive the best deals that the dealer is going to have to offer. A used car may be your best bet in situations such as these.

“$100 for everyone who takes a test drive.” The $100 will be nothing more than a coupon book. This is simply a ploy to get you in the door. Nothing in this world is for free anymore and if it does happen to actually be free, that is probably about all it is worth!

You may have heard, in addition to the possibility of a recession, that we are dealing with stagflation. Stagflation is the combination of rising inflation and the decreasing job market. This type of economic problem has to be dealt with very carefully, or certain actions could make matters worse.

The problem is that in order for the Federal Reserve Board to help the problem of unemployment the money supply would have to be increased so that more jobs can be created. The only problem with that is that when the money supply is increased, inflation is likely to go up. Then, in order to help the problem of inflation, monetary policy would have to tighten, which would reduce the available money for more jobs. This in turn could increase the unemployment rate. A sole focus on either recession or inflation could worsen the other.

Investors and economists are obviously divided on the issue. Is it more important to focus on employment growth or keep prices from rising too high? Should the Fed try to address both issues at once? How would they do it?

The employment rate has slipped ever so slightly in different regions of the United States in recent years. The national unemployment rate, however still seems to be hovering around the same 4%-4.5% average. The availability of jobs weighs heavily upon the next changes in monetary policy.

Inflation due to the cost of energy, imports, and money infused to liquidate the markets is a continued issue. Board Governor Frederic S. Mishkin stated in a recent speech: “…as long as a central bank has an independent monetary policy–that is, it is not locked into a fixed-exchange-rate regime in which its hands are tied–the rate of inflation is determined by monetary policy.”

Governor Mishkin also said, “What determines the overall inflation rate is not relative prices for one category of goods and services but rather the balance between overall demand and supply in the economy, which ultimately is influenced by monetary policy.”

His discussion on inflation was relative to his speech on globalization. Simply put, globalization is the interdependence and integration of countries around the world for economic, technological and ecological support. Instead of being self-reliant, the United States depends several factors on other countries. Mishkin stated, “Globalization, because it makes markets more competitive, also has the potential to spur productivity growth. Higher productivity growth can lead to a reduction in inflation because it directly lowers prices if monetary policy does not become more expansionary.”

Once again, all we can do it wait and see what the Federal Reserve will decide. We know now that recession is not inevitable, neither is high inflation. We are possibly looking at some hard months ahead.