New BMW 7 Series Costs $160,000

The Stock Market is tanking, not just in the US, but markets around the world, too. Our IRA, 40lK and Keogh investments have lost significant value in the last few weeks. We are worried about losing our homes, keeping our jobs, and getting the kids -- even the grandkids -- through school. And smack in the middle of these dismal headlines, BMW wants to sell us a $160,000 7 Series sedan. That's not a great drive -- that's a great insult.

In all fairness, this is a special edition Beemer, being sold through the Neiman Marcus Christmas Book. In past years, this annual catalogue of conspicuous consumption and over-the-top excess has offered things like matching his and her helicopters. And, in all fairness, this limited edition six-figure BMW was planned before the world economy slammed on its brakes.

This 7 Series is based on a 750Li, customized by BMW Individual. Only 31 of these limited edition cars are being produced -- that's to honor the 31st anniversary of BMW's flagship 7 Series. Yay! Happy $160,000 birthday, 7 Series.

Okay, so part of the riduculous price includes a European vacation that begins in Munich, where owners pick up their new Beemer at BMW Welt, the company's factory and auto museum complex, including a behind-the-scenes VIP tour . The lucky 31 then get to drive on what BMW describes as a "multi-city lavish vacation in the South of France," including Monaco, Nice and Cannes. And when this lavish vacation is done, BMW will ship your 7 Series to the United States. Hopefully, they'll put a pretty ribbon on it.

$160,000 for a car and a vacation. Something those Wall St. guys with the golden parachutes can afford. Not the rest of us.

Top Five Wagons for 2009

Forget the minivan. Forget the SUV. The newest great drive is the old-fashioned family wagon, updated with modern styling, plenty of power under the hood, plenty of room for the kids and the dog, plus excellent handling and state-of-the-art safety features.

The 2009 models are arriving in showrooms now. Here are the five top wagons, as chosen by the editors at NADAguides.com, the vehicle pricing and information website.

1. 2009 Mazda MAZDASPEED3 GT
The top wagon pick is for its fun and sporty styling, spacious interior -- enough to haul friends, family, groceries and golf clubs in one shot -- and a racy turbocharged inline 4-cyl that generates 263 hp under the hood. The MAZDASPEED3 GT -- pictured here -- easily jumps off the line as hip and practical. And, it's a best buy at under $25K competition.

2. 2009 Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen 2.0L TDI
If you're looking for a new station wagon that will run forever and gets great gas mileage, this is the model for you. The TDI in the name indicates it's a diesel. This one gets impressive EPA estimates in the 29 City/40 Highway range). And the SportWagen name tells you this model will give you traditional German performance and handling. NADAguides.com also was impressed with its top-notch interior, and its sub-$25K price tag, which only seals the deal.

3. 2009 Saab 9-3 Aero AWD Wagon
When they say engineered from jets, they mean it. The 2009 Saab 9-3 Aero SportCombi Wagon has a 280 hp 2.0L turbocharged V6 and optional AWD. In this category, people might opt for a BMW, Audi, or Mercedes badge, but they'd be missing out on something special, according to NADAguides.com, which calls this a great looking wagon with a laundry list of standard equipment.

4. 2009 BMW 5-Series Sport Wagon 535xi
Handling and performance make it hard to believe this eager Beemer is a wagon, but it is and, according to the editors at NADAguides.com, "every bit what a BMW should be." The AWD-equipped, 300 hp-enabled, twin turbo-charged inline 6-cylinder-powered luxury car offers more than 58 cubic feet of space when the back seats are folded -- larger than some mid-sized SUVs.

5. 2009 Mercedes-Benz E Class 6.3L AMG Wagon
Rounding out the top five is this wagon, priced at $86,000 plus, thanks to its AMG heritage. Steep, for sure, but what you get is thrill-a-minute driving performance with beautiful styling thrown in. A sports wagon, for sure, with a 507 hp 6.3L V8 that generates 465 lb-ft of torque, as well as a 7 paddle-shifted automatic transmission, a sport suspension for improved handling and optional seating for seven. Make sure they are all buckled in, and then floor it.

Ford Model T Celebrates 100th Birthday

It was one hundred years ago today -- on October 1, 1908 -- that Henry Ford put the very first Model T on the road. So happy birthday Model T. For better or worse, you changed the world -- an iconic vehicle, a great drive with lasting impact on all of us.

Here are some of the ways --

The Model T officially ushered in the age of the "horseless carriage", and a burst of technical innovations that jump-started the aumotibile industry. More than 15 million Model T's were produced, including the 1924 Tourer pictured here. By 1921, the Model T accounted for an astounding 56% of the world's automobile production, and since it was manufactured in several countries and had dealerships in six continents, you could call the Model T the world's first global car.

Henry Ford essentially invented the assembly line to produce the Model T, and that manufacturing efficiency lowered the price of a car enough that most people could afford. In 1908, the first Model T cost $825. By 1925, it sold for only $260.

The Model T is responsible for establishing a minimum wage and the eight-hour work day. The factory work also gave jobs to people who usually could not find work, such as immigrants, women, minorities and people with disabilities, and helped create a middle-class.

Model T owners were able to personalize their vehicles with accessories. Now, that is called the aftermarket supplier industry, and it's a $38 Billion industry. So any time you see a car with custom hubcaps or pin-striping, or a dealer-installed audio system, you can thank the Model T, which started the customization trend.

By 1925, Ford was building its first factory-produced domestic pickup truck - the Ford Model T Runabout - with a pickup body. There also was a heavier-duty, one-ton-rated Model TT pickup that is a grand-daddy of today's F-Series Super Duty.

The Tin Lizzie had a top speed of 40-45 mph, from a front-mounted, 2.9-liter, four-cylinder, engine, and it was the best-selling vehicle ever, until 1972 when the VW Beetle finally surpassed it. More than 20 years later in 1999, a panel of 126 automotive experts from 32 countries still chose the Model T as the most influential car of the 20th century.

So Happy 100th Birthday Ford Model T.

Corvette Museum Honors Military Veterans

The National Corvette Museum hosts the first “Vets ‘n Vettes” event to recognize the American men and women, many of who are Corvette owners, who serve in uniform. The event is schedule for November 7-8, 2008, as part of the museum’s Military Appreciation Month and Veterans Day.

The event is open to everybody, whether you own a Corvette or wish you did, or if you just want to participate in the two day festivities and tour the museum and Corvette Assembly Plant, in Bowling Green, Kentucky, including the annual Veterans Day parade on Saturday. There's also the opportunity to take a great drive -- a scenic road tour -- to Ft. Knox to tour the Patton Museum of Armor.

The Corvette Museum features more than 70 rare and classic 'Vettes plus concept models that never made it into production, plus the one-millionth Corvette produced. A current exhibit is called Three -- it features one Corvette of each model year ending in the number "3" - 1953, 1963, 1973, 1983, 1993, 2003 -- including the 1983 Corvette pictured here.

By the way -- the National Corvette Museum is not a General Motors museum. This is a member-driven, non-profit foundation dedicated to "continuing the mission of education, preservation and celebration of the Corvette’s past, present and future heritage" The mission statement does not use the words 'iconic American sports car'. It should, because it is.

Chrysler Goes Electric and It's a Gem

Clean and green gets a new meaning with this great drive from Chrysler, through its GEM division.

GEM electric carts are popular transportation on golf courses and sprawling resorts where guests and their luggage need to be shuttled to far-flung villas, and for shuttling employees and supplies on college and corporate campuses. In the the famous Alpine village of Zermatt, Switzerland, where vehicles are not permitted, call a taxi and what you get is an electric cart.

But those don't look like the new Peapod design -- shown here -- that will be produced starting in 2009. GEM is headquartered in Fargo, N.D. It was founded ten years ago.

This is a pure electric vehicle -- just plug it, charge it up, and go. No gas, no emissions, no fuss.

Designs like this used to be called NEV -- for Neighborhood Electric Vehicle, and the neighborhoods included planned communities like retirement communities where people drive them to visit neighbors and get to the supermarket. But Chrysler is re-designing the NEV tag, too. The new name is 'GreenEcoMobility' - how clever for Chrysler to use the GEM acronym for the new generation of an existing concept -- the electric golf cart.

Yes, it is sleek and streamlined. Reminds you of the Smart fortwo, doesn't it. Maybe the success of that energy efficient little gem -- marketed by a division of Chrysler's former corporate mate, Daimler-Benz -- inspired and encouraged the 'divorced' Chrysler.

And just as Smart fortwo is now available in a four-passenger version, there are plans for larger Peapod models as GEM expands its 'no-gas, no-emissions' clean vehicle lineup. Regular GEMs are available in two-, four- and six-passenger models, as well as a utility vehicle. They have a top speed of 25 miler per hour and a range of 30 miles per charge -- more than enough to get you to and from the supermarket and the commuter rail station, although they are not street-legal everywhere because of their limited speed. Stay off the Interstate! And they can be recharged overnight in any standard 110-volt outlet.

Unlike ordinary golf carts, the new GEM Peapod has a trend-setting center console that will offer iPod integration and hands-free iPhone use.

GEM vehicles have been driven a combined 200 million miles and prevented more than 150 tons of pollutants from reaching the air, while saving 10 million gallons of gasoline.

Sweet Peapod!

Seatbelt Use Reaches Record Level

More Americans are buckling up than ever before. That's good news! It means our great drives are also safe drives.

According to the U. S. Department of Transportation, 83 percent of vehicle occupants are using seatbelts during daylight hours, slightly more than last year. Simply, the seconds it takes to buckle up can mean the difference between life and death.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that some 270 lives are saved for every one percent increase in belt use.

The 83% seatbelt usage is an average. According to the report, 84% of passenger car occupants are buckling up, and even more people - 86 percent, are buckling up in vans and SUVs. The lowest seatbelt use is in pickup trucks, where occupants buckled up 74 percent of the time. So, come on you truck drivers and passengers -- get with the program. You won't be any less macho if you buckle up, but you will travel a whole lot smarter.

DOT also broke down the seatbelt numbers by geography. The highest use was reported in the West (93 percent), and the lowest in the Midwest and Northeast (79 percent). The South was in between at 81 percent.

A growing number of states now have what's called 'primary' seat belt laws. That means you can be stopped and cited for not buckling up. In states with 'secondary' seat belt laws, you have to be stopped for something else, and the law enforcement officer can add in the seat belt violation. So, it's not surprising that in 'primary' states, seat belt use is around 13% higher than in 'secondary' states -- 88 percent vs. 75 percent).

The report also notes that belt use on expressways is now at an estimated 90 percent while belt use on lower-speed “surface” streets remains at 80 percent. Also makes sense -- we travel faster on highways. Okay, maybe not in rush hour, on the I-405 in Los Angeles, or on New York City's Long Island Expressway, which locals call 'the world's longest parking lot'.

Remember, these figures are for daylight use. I wonder why NHTSA doesn't collect information on night-time use of seatbelts. And I also wonder how different that would be.

If the numbers here aren't enough, you can see the full report on the NHTSA website.

Ford Ka Stars in Latest James Bond Movie

007 is more famous for driving -- and wrecking -- luxury cars like the Aston-Martin than he is for squeezing his hunky frame into a sub-compact. We'll have to wait for the latest James Bond adventure epic, "Quantum of Solace" to see his relationship with the tiny Ford Ka, a model popular in Europe and Latin America, but not sold in the United States.

Ford's cheeky little Ka makes its screen debut alongside the film's beautiful but feisty leading lady, Olga Kurylenko, who plays Camille, a woman with her own personal mission and who quickly becomes an unlikely ally for Bond.

The movie star Ka is unique with metallic gold paint and an exclusive exterior graphics and interior trim combination. Ford of Europe's Chief Operating Officer, Stephen Odell describes it as the "perfect match for the character of Camille - adventurous, individual and thoroughly modern." A proper gentleman, he does not describe any of Camille's features as sub-compact.

This is not the first Ford to star in a James Bond movie. The Ford Mondeo appeared in the 2006 blockbuster, 'Casino Royale', which introduced blue-eyed Daniel Craig as the latest in a long line of actors portraying Mr. Stirred-Not-Shaken.

'Quantum of Solace' opens in the UK and France on October 31st, then elsewhere November 7th.