Contact Leikin Volvo for more information.
AMG Academy: Drifting 101
During a recent Mercedes-Benz training class, Robert Daschil showed this video about the 3 stages of ESP in a Mercedes-Benz AMG car. Watch the video and you’ll see how the third setting allows you to drift around corners. Looks like some serious rear-wheel-drive fun!
Mystery Car 103 Revealed
Mystery Car 103 is a French economy car with a distinct front end. But who could guess this one? Well, if you had driven your car to Half Price Books and picked up Car Emblems — The Ultimate Guide to Automotive Logos Worldwide by Giles Chapman, you would have known it!
In any event, Mystery Car 103 is a Panhard Dyna Z. The Duna Z was an economical car which began as a lightweight aluminum car. The original model weighed only 1,430 lbs. But as the cost of aluminum increased, the company switched to steel panels to save money. Even so, the car was able to provide 30-40 mpg from its diminutive two-cylinder engine. But how powerful can a 850 cc two-cylinder engine be? The little engine produced 42, 50, or 60 hp depending on the setup. “To put this into perspective, the VW Beetle of the era had 40 bhp from 1200cc, the Morris Minor managed 37 bhp from 850cc” (Citroenet). Surprisingly, the little engine could reach 90 mph coupled to its four speed manual transmission. (Just don’t ask how long it took to get there!)
I’ve always wondered if a car with a lawnmower-sized engine would be feasible for modern day driving. When I see interesting cars like this, I begin to wonder if I could make it work for my daily drive to work. With the unreliability of old cars, it probably wouldn’t work very well, but I’ll keep wondering anyway.
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“Panhard et Levassor : 1891 – 1967 Dyna Z” at Citroenet.
1959 Dyna Z16 picture from Motortopia.
Couple of Links
If you are a member of Facebook, here are a few pages that might interest you:
We also have a Leikin Volvo blog with short articles and videos about Volvo happenings.
www.clevelandvolvo.leikinvolvo.com
The nice thing about “liking” these Facebook pages is that a summary of each short article is posted right into your news feed. That way you save time by visiting just one website. In any event, I hope the articles we post are helpful to you. Let me know if there are subjects you would like covered in the future.
QOTD #20 : What brings you back to your car dealership?
As we have been considering our marketing strategy for the future, this is the question that comes up. What brings you back to your car dealership? Any ideas would be appreciated.
When Shaker SAAB was still in Shaker Heights, I kept going back for a number of reasons: (1) the parts guy was very knowledgeable, (2) the service writer listened and seemed trustworthy, and (3) they had old collector SAABs parked in the service area (I’m a SAAB nut). The dealership had some negatives though. It was located in a poor neighborhood, the building was old and unimpressive, the lot next to the dealership was gravel, and they didn’t have free Cappuccinos or donuts. But something kept me returning to that dealership. I actually wanted my car to have a problem so I could visit as often as possible. They got me to drive from Painesville to Shaker Heights for repairs. I think that says something about their rapport with customers.
P.S. Another related question: What keeps you from returning to a car dealership?
Could the Volvo P1800 make a come back?
As you may recall, the P1800 was a two seat coupe produced by Volvo from 1961-73. It was one of those cars that you can’t miss when it drives by. We’ve had several proud owners brings their P1800 to the dealership in original condition. But the most notable visit was from Irv Gordon who has now driven over 2.9 million miles in his 1966 Volvo 1800S! As a testimony to the longevity of Volvo cars, we still have this autographed picture of Irv and his car in our service department.
The P1800 was a great car way back when, but could it ever make a comeback? Some people at Volvo are asking the same question. Back in December, The Leikin Volvo blog reported that “Volvo’s chief designer at its Monitoring and Concept Center has drawn up … sketches of what the iconic sports car might look like if it were in production today.” It reminds me of the continuing desire to bring back the SAAB Sonnet. There’s no guarantee that it will ever happen. But if it did and was based on these sketches, would you buy one?
What’s the Scoop? — 1/24/12
- The entire SAAB museum in Trollhättan has been saved!
- According to Forbes.com, five of the nine safest 2012 vehicles are sold at Leikin Motor Companies!
- Is the Volvo S60 T6 R-Design a valid successor to the S60R? Andy Stonehouse thinks so.
- National Geographic is writing winter car tips? Sure enough.
QOTD #19 : How can I get to a $300/mo car payment?
After careful consideration, you have $300 per month to finance your next car. How much of a car can you afford? Quite often, customers contact us expecting to finance a $30,000 vehicle for $300/mo. While that would be a very good deal, it just isn’t realistic. Do the math. Sixty payments of $300 per month totals $18,000 before taxes, interest, and fees. You would actually need more than $16,000 as a down payment to get to a $300 monthly payment on a $30,000 car. And most people are not prepared to put down that much money. While you may feel a bit disappointed or even cheated at the dealership, the truth is that a little homework will save you a some embarrassment.
For example, let’s say that you are looking for a $300 payment including all taxes, fees, discounts, etc. You have $2000 to put down and want a 60 month loan and a 4.99% interest rate. Assuming that your credit score is 730 or better, how much car can you afford to finance?
Using the USBank auto loan calculator, you’ll quickly find the answer.
|
SALE PRICE |
16,565.06 |
|
DOC FEE |
250.00 |
|
SALES TAX @ 6.25% |
1,050.94 |
|
TITLE/FILING |
35.00 |
|
TOTAL |
17,901.00 |
|
DOWNPAYMENT |
2,000.00 |
|
AMOUNT FINANCED |
15,901.00 |
|
MONTHS |
60 |
|
INTEREST RATE |
4.99% |
|
MONTHLY PAYMENT |
300.00 |
Is that different than you were thinking? If so, you may want to use the calculator before giving the evil eye to your local car salesman.
Mystery Car 103
One of my sisters gave me a great book for Christmas, Car Emblems — The Ultimate Guide to Automotive Logos Worldwide by Giles Chapman. It’s a good bathroom reader as most brands are covered in two to four pages (and half of that is pictures). That book introduced me to this interesting car noted most for its interesting front end. Have any idea what it is?
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Serving the Greater Cleveland Area since 1968