Smart Car Shopping
So, you want to buy a new car. You know you are likely to own it for at least 7 years or longer. That’s pretty typical these days. So, you not only want to get the best deal today, you also want to make sure it remains a smart choice for many miles and years ahead. Our FYI reporter Lauren Morrison knows the ins and outs of smart car buying, and she’s up next to give us the lowdown.
LAUREN MORRISION: Today’s savvy car buyers know that spending quality time online, researching models, specs and prices...
... ”will save time and money here, on the dealership lot. Doing your homework ahead of time is key, and there are plenty of shopping tools available to help guide your decision.”
Stephen Dupal and his fiancee Sherryn Daniel are in the market for a small, economical commuter car to replace Stephen’s aging Corolla. Before heading to commercial web pages for option packages and pricing info, several federal government sites helped narrow their search in the areas of fuel economy, safety and alternative fuels, three of their key parameters.
The joint Department of Energy and EPA Fuel Economy website provides convenient, one stop shopping for everything most buyers will ever want to know about maximizing mpg in their next car.
Here, consumers can compare up to four different vehicles at a time, and their fuel economy ratings, energy and environment scores, basic engine and transmission size, driving range, and annual fuel costs, along with real-world fuel consumption data provided by actual owners. The web-site had over 25 million user sessions last year!
STEPHEN DUPAL: I like to have like those charts and plots and graphs to kind of compare things in a numerical basis so I know what I’m looking for and then I can verify..oh yes, this car will have what I need based on these metrics..
LAUREN MORRISION: Other useful content on the website, and free fuel economy mobile app, includes driving and maintenance tips to help you get the most out of your vehicle, easy-to-understand descriptions of new vehicle technology, information about available tax incentives for advanced-technology vehicles, trip calculators, and more!
In the area of safety, you can start with the government’s “safercar” website (safercar.gov) for how a car fares in mandated crash testing and rollover ratings. The site spells out which vehicles go beyond requirements, and have cutting edge safety technology.
SHERRYN DANIEL: What I like about the safercar website is there’s just so many little applications, where all we have to do is enter the make and the model of the car, and we can see if it was recalled, we can look for certain safety features, I even learned about rollover that this is the most lethal type of car accident and that with the best type of car, you can prevent damage.
LAUREN MORRISION: But, you’re a consumer or a fleet manager that is up to date... Maybe even ahead of the crowd. So, perhaps a plug-in hybrid or even full electric car fits your lifestyle or business. Or, a vehicle that runs on another non-traditional fuel like e85, bio-diesel, natural gas, propane, or even hydrogen.
Now, you need to know not only the specs, but the pros and cons, and practicality of each fuel. Well, for that, more than 1.5 million users a year check out the Energy Department’s “Alternative Fuels Data Center” website (afdc.energy.gov).
The afdc website and alt-fuel app are designed to eliminate your confusion over the various types of alternative fuels and their vehicles. And now that plug-in and alt-fuel vehicles are being sold with ever increasing range, the website’s fueling station database is enjoying increasing popularity as well.
SHERRYN DANIEL: …there’s this link where you can just type in your state so, if we bought like a hybrid, or a car that uses natural gas or something like that, we can look up stations nearby ahead of time when we travel.
LAUREN MORRISION: The end game in all this is to be the best informed new car shopper you can possibly be. And ultimately, to buy or lease a new car, SUV, or truck, you can live with today, and way into the future. These commercial-free, dot-gov websites can help you to avoid costly mistakes and surprises, before and after you visit the dealership.
Goodwood Festival of Speed
Held annually in West Sussex, in the South of England, the Goodwood Festival of Speed is best known for its iconic hill climb track, and as a celebration of the world’s most alluring and exotic cars. So, Bentley Motors invited our Stephanie Hart to experience this year’s Goodwood first hand.
STEPHANIE HART: I’m in England at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Sixty-thousand people a day over three days flock here to see modern and historic racing vehicles
Eye candy on four wheels, one after another. Despite the soggy weather, car enthusiasts from around the world soaked in all of the sights– hundreds of cars, everything from dream machines to daily drivers. I am really excited to be here!
There’s so much history here at Goodwood?
WAYNE BRUCE: Essentially, we’re in the back garden of the Duke of Richmond’s house. Many global manufacturers are here, not just Bentley, making their global debuts. You’ve got luxury lifestyle brands here as well entertaining customers. All walks of society are coming here to Goodwood.
STEPHANIE HART: One of the truly unique things about Goodwood is that people can experience the cars at speed, driving up their famous hill climb. There’s nothing else like this in the world.
I’m going to be a passenger in the Batur. It’s a one of two prototype. I’m going to be headed up the hill. It has 740 horsepower. This is gonna be quite an experience
And a huge honor! This is the most powerful Bentley ever made.
PAUL WILLIAMS: And these are very unique cars which are a coach-built body and a unique powertrain on top of a standard Continental GT.
STEPHANIE HART: Built by Bentley’s bespoke division, 18 were produced and each sold for about $1.8 million dollars. Behind the wheel of our Batur, is Andy Marson, Functional Manager- Vehicle Dynamics for Bentley Motors.
ANDY MARSON: So, he wants to see your wristband again.
STEPHANIE HART: Sure.
ANDY MARSON: Here you go.
SECURITY: Okay, thank you.
ANDY MARSON: Thank you.
STEPHANIE HART: In order to make good time up the Goodwood hill, we would have to hit 125 miles per hour. I have never done a hill climb before at racing speeds and I could feel the fear of the unknown creeping in.
ANDY MARSON: If on the run you’re not comfortable with how fast I’m going then just put your hands up so I can see it.
STEPHANIE HART: Oh, okay.
Our Goodwood hill climb in the Batur is part of Bentley’s celebration commemorating 20 years of its mighty W12 engine, which has been the performance backbone of the brand since the launch of the Continental GT in 2003.
Sounds like that tell me we’re getting close to launching. Then this happened:
SECURITY: Sorry, you’ve got to have trousers on.
STEPHANIE HART: Oh I do, miss.
ANDY MARSON: She has, she has.
SECURITY: Oh, that’s right. Okay, have a good day.
STEPHANIE HART: Thank you. Alright, we’re now crossing the starting line now…
ANDY MARSON: Top of the hill..
STEPHANIE HART: That was so much fun! *Laughing*
ANDY MARSON: Was that good?
STEPHANIE HART: That was a blast.
ANDY MARSON: You weren’t too scared?
STEPHANIE HART: No, that was great! That was great!
ANDY MARSON: And we were on the live stream as well so we will watch it back.
STEPHANIE HART: Yes, that was awesome! You are an amazing driver! I’m so glad I did it.
What a fantastic way for the Bentley Batur to officially debut in the UK! Plus, it did it on renewable fuel. What that means is there’s an 85 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions compared to ordinary gasoline.
The 2023 Goodwood Festival of Speed was incredible! An unforgettable experience celebrating the speed and glamour of the automobile- past, present and future.