2009 Volkswagen Beetle Convertible Video

When handing out reviewing assignments, it’s always best to put the 25-year-old guy into a car that will give his friends plenty of opportunity to lambast him. Thus, Cars.com reviewer Joe Bruzek had the opportunity to review the 2009 Volkswagen Beetle convertible. OK, so maybe it’s not his cup of tea, but is the Beetle convertible a car worth checking out anyway? Find out in Bruzek’s video review.

Date Cars: The Guys

Do men care what kind of car a woman drives? If she pulls up for your date in a Chevy Camaro, would that significantly impress you? Would a minivan be a deal-breaker? These are the kinds of burning questions we had, so we sent Cars.com interns Emily Maters and Lauren Makholm to the 2009 Taste of Chicago festival to find out what men really think about their dates’ cars.

Yes, Electric Cars Will Reduce Carbon Emissions

There are a lot of benefits to electrifying automobile transportation, but one of the best to keep in mind when you’re getting into debates with your naysaying friends is that electric cars will greatly reduce carbon-dioxide emissions. And yes, they will do so even if the electricity they’re powered on comes from coal.

The website Dvice did a little basic math to demonstrate that even when their power comes from coal, electric cars have a 60% lower CO2 impact than cars that burn gasoline.

There are 250 million cars in this country, so, hypothetically, let’s say that overnight all those cars become EVs with 25 kWh batteries. For some perspective, the Chevy Volt will use a 16 kWh battery and the Tesla Roadster has a 53 kWh battery.

Each kWh takes a car two to three miles, so let’s be conservative and say the average driver would charge their car twice a week, or about 100 charge cycles per year. All told, Americans would use 600 billion kWh per year, which is only 15% of our current total production of 4 trillion kWh per year.

This is a modest increase when considering the enormity of running every single car on the electric grid, but it gets even better in terms of CO2 reduction. Each kWh produced by a coal-fired power plant creates two pounds of CO2, so our car-related CO2 footprint would be 1.2 trillion pounds.

Yes, that’s a lot, but burning just one gallon of gas puts out 20 pounds of CO2 from the tailpipe. In 2008, we burned 3.3 billion barrels of gas, for roughly 3 trillion pounds of CO2. Therefore, a switch to electric vehicles would create a 60% reduction in C02 emissions, even if we only burned coal to generate that power.

Sorry, Critics — Electric Cars Really Are Greener (Dvice)

Domestic-Parts Content: Where the Automakers Stand

American-Made Index rates cars built and bought in the U.S. The percentage of domestic content used in each car plays a major role in the index; we use the domestic-parts content rating that’s been required on new-car labels since the mid-1990s. The top-placing Toyota Camry, for example, has an 80% domestic-parts content rating for the 2010 model. But where do automakers’ entire lineups rank against each other in terms of their vehicles’ domestic-parts content, particularly when you weight the cars by how many they sell?

It’s no simple task to determine — you’ll see some wrinkles below — but we took our best shot. Weighted for sales, here’s how the big players measure up in domestic-parts content:

GM: 69%
Ford Motor Co.: 64%
Chrysler Corp.: 60%
Honda/Acura: 58%
Toyota/Lexus/Scion: 44%
Nissan/Infiniti: 31%
Mitsubishi: 25%
Subaru: 20%
Mercedes-Benz: 16%
Suzuki: 12%
Mazda: 11%
Volkswagen/Audi: 9%
BMW/Mini: 5%
Jaguar/Land Rover: 3%
Porsche: 3%

General Motors, which fielded three models in this year’s AMI, leads the pack at 69%. Credit strong sellers like the Chevy Malibu and Pontiac G6 (both 80%). While we disqualified the G6 in the AMI — as it’s being discontinued along with the rest of Pontiac — we didn’t for this list because this one is only concerned with the overall level of domestic parts that automakers’ cars and trucks use. Ford comes in second, even though Volvo (which it owns) has a lineup with minimal domestic-parts content. That drags its parent down roughly 2 percentage points. Chrysler rounds out the top three at 60%. Interestingly, Honda ranks the highest among Japanese automakers, thanks in part to heavy-hitters like the Odyssey (80%), Accord (65%) and Pilot (70%). Toyota landed a record four cars on the AMI, but its aggregate parts content remains a less-impressive 44%. Why? Despite popular cars like the Camry (75% for 2009 model, 80% for 2010), Tundra (80%) and Sienna (85%), the automaker has more than a dozen models with domestic-parts content ratings south of 30%.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration publishes a list each model year for domestic-parts content. To see where car companies stand, we weighted NHTSA’s 2009 domestic-parts content ratings against each model’s year-to-date sales through June. You’ll note that NHTSA doesn’t report every brand out there: A handful of brands, from Hyundai/Kia to Smart, haven’t yet been reported. We asked NHTSA why, and we’ll let you know when we get a response.

We aren’t the first group to compile this sort of ranking. The Automotive Trade Policy Council, a Washington, D.C.-based organization that represents the Detroit Three automakers, compiled aggregate domestic-parts content ratings in 2006. Back then, ATPC found Detroit automakers had sales-weighted parts content of 76%, while Japanese companies came to 48%.

Keep these figures in mind as you read the American-Made Index. The Camry may be the most American car this year, but when you’re looking at the domestic-parts content of an entire automaker, Detroit still comes out on top.

Recall Alert: 2005-2006 Subaru Baja

Subaru is recalling 15,633 Baja sport-trucks from the 2005 and 2006 model years for faulty fuel systems. A fuel hose may crack leading to a fuel leak. Fuel leaks can lead to fires if near any kind of ignition source.

Dealers will replace all necessary parts free of charge. The recall is expected to begin in September. Owners can contact Subaru at 800-782-2783.

BMW Puts $4,500 Behind Diesel Models

It’s not likely that many folks would shop at a BMW dealership looking to cash in on the Cash for Clunkers program, which is why the company has launched a new incentive to promote its two fuel-efficient diesel models. A $4,500 “eco-credit” will go toward the purchase of either a new BMW 335d or an X5 xDrive35d, on top of current financing offers, and with no trade-in required.

A 335d starts at $43,900, so according to the government program’s rules, it could qualify for either $3,500 or $4,500 in federal funds when exchanged for a clunker, no matter how many options it was loaded up with. The 335d is also eligible for a $900 tax credit. The 335d gets combined mileage of 27 mpg, versus a gas 335i’s 20 mpg, while still delivering a thrilling driving experience. We found a few modestly equipped 335d models in Cars.com’s inventory for $45,225. Add all the above incentives, and those would end up costing $35,325. Read our full review of the 335d here.

The X5 starts at $51,200 and thus would not be eligible for the government incentive (program rules say any vehicle with an MSRP over $45,000 can’t be bought using Cash for Clunkers), but with BMW’s eco-credit it would cost less than a base X5 xDrive30i. The diesel incentive offer runs through August.

Toyota Offering Five-Year Leases to Comply With Cash for Clunkers

Part of the small print in the Cash for Clunkers legislation is that it can only be applied to leases with terms of at least five years. Most lease deals are for much shorter terms — two to three years — because the allure of a lease is that you get out of a car and into a new one quickly.

Toyota is one of the few automakers we’ve heard of that will offer five-year leases, created just for the program. The 60-month leases are available for the Yaris, Corolla, Camry, RAV4 and Tacoma. One sample offer for a Yaris lease lists a headline-grabbing monthly payment of $79 per month for 60 months. The money you’d have to pay up front is $5,229, but if you deduct the $4,500 Cash for Clunkers credit, you’d end up paying $729 up front.

How much would it cost you to buy a Yaris in the same scenario and own it outright at the end of the term? Financed at 2.9% for 60 months, with that same down payment, it would be $125.03 a month, not including tax or destination.

The lease also allows you to drive only 12,000 miles a year. Offers vary by region.

Mazda Adding $500 Cash for Clunkers Bonus

Is the government’s $3,500-$4,500 Cash for Clunkers rebate not enough to get you to buy a new car? Well, we’ve already outlined 10 great cars to spend the federal funds on, but today Mazda is making sure it gets consideration, too. The company is adding a $500 cash incentive for those taking advantage of the legislation, and that’s on top of all current incentives.

That means that on the all-new 2010 Mazda3, which only has financing offers — 3.9% for 60 months through July 31 — you’d get $500 cash back, dropping the MSRP of $15,045 to $10,045 if you qualify for the full Clunker rebate. The base Mazda3 with a manual transmission has a combined mileage of 28 mpg, so it would qualify for $4,500 under the program no matter what you’re trading in. (Clunkers have to get 18 mpg combined or worse to qualify, and new cars have to get 10 mpg better to qualify for the full $4,500.) The automatic version gets 27 mpg combined, meaning your clunker would have to get 17 mpg to qualify for the full $4,500. These are the most fuel-efficient non-hybrid models in Mazda’s lineup.

Other noteworthy deals can be had on the 2009 Mazda6. The redesigned sedan is sporty, with plentiful backseat room and a giant trunk. Plus, it has low financing of 2.9% for 60 months, plus $1,500 cash back. Add another $500, and that takes the $18,550 starting price to $13,050, assuming the $3,500 clunker rebate. Combined mileage for the four-cylinder Mazda6 is 24 mpg.

Cash for Clunkers Postponed To Monday

The government website that lists details on the CAR Allowance Rebate System (informally known as Cash for Clunkers,) has been updated this morning. While the site had said the program would start “around July 24” it now says the program will start on July 27, or Monday.

Many dealers locally are already advertising the federal incentive, and one at least one automaker, Hyundai, is advancing its dealers funds to cover the federal incentive. The company says Clunker sales made up 7 percent of sales in the first week of July.

We’d suggest consumers call their local dealers and ask if they’re already registered with the program and accepting trade-ins if they decide to go car-shopping this week.

We have been covering the program extensively since day one, and have a number of resources that can be found in our Guide to Cash for Clunkers.

Update: According to a Pittsburgh TV station, the program was delayed due to the government's computer system crashing.

2010 Acura RDX Gets New Grille, Price, Front-Wheel Drive

Acura’s new company face, a big shield fixed into the grille, has landed on the RDX for 2010. It was the last model in the lineup to get it, and we have to say, it could have been left alone. Other design tweaks to the lower bumper and headlights are more welcome and add a beefier look overall. The backside gets some work, too, but it’s harder to see the changes there. The dual exhaust pipes are now hexagonal instead of circular, and the license plate frame is slightly smaller.

Inside, hardly anything gets touched, and the engine is the same 240-hp, turbocharged four-cylinder. The biggest changes come in terms of trim levels. The RDX now comes in a base, front-wheel-drive model in addition to the previous all-wheel-drive version. There are technology packages available for both. Pricing for the front-wheel-drive model is $32,520, with all-wheel drive starting at $34,520. The 2009 RDX with all-wheel drive started at $33,895. What do you get for the extra $600 and change besides the new grille?

Basically, the base models still come with leather, a moonroof, dual climate control and Bluetooth. The standard seven-speaker stereo system now comes with iPod integration and a USB adapter.

Gas mileage remains the same for the all-wheel-drive model, at 17/22 mpg city/highway. Front-wheel-drive versions will save 2 mpg, getting 19/24 mpg city/highway. Premium gas is required.

The 2010 RDX is heading to dealerships now. A full price breakdown and more pictures are below.

Pricing

• RDX: $32,520
• RDX SH-AWD: $34,520
• RDX with Technology Package: $35,620
• RDX SH-AWD with Technology Package: $37,620

Destination: $810

Reader Review of the Week: 2009 Ford Flex

Franz from Bryan, Ohio, purchased a 2009 Ford Flex after finding that it met a long list of criteria. Surprised at the luxury the Flex offers, Franz nevertheless found fault with a few aspects of the Flex, including its less-than-stellar gas mileage. Read the full review to find out more, then post your own review here.

“I was looking for a vehicle that would fit all my needs: stylish, not plain, plenty of room for carrying passengers as well as cargo, good performance and decent gas mileage.

“Ford did a great job with the Flex, but before I bought one I had no idea how much of a luxury vehicle they were. I bought a 2009 SEL with everything except Sync and navigation (wish I would have bought Sync, though). The vista roof is great for passengers and the seating is comfortable. It is roomy enough for hauling students around to events as well as for my family on long trips.

“Gas mileage is all right with an average of 20 mpg in the city and 24 mpg on the highway, but honestly it should be higher. There is plenty of power under the hood to make the Flex get up and go when needed, but using it really affects your gas mileage.

“Handling could be a little better, but it is adequate for daily driving. The Flex is a heavy vehicle. You will feel it in the turns, but it is not top heavy at all, so that is a bonus.

“Since I bought mine, all my friends have ridden in it and love it. One even ran out and bought one for himself. They are great and I am very satisfied with the Flex overall.”

Toyota to Liquidate California Plant

According to a Japanese news agency, Toyota is pulling up stakes at its Fremont, Calif., factory, known as NUMMI. This is the plant that was jointly run by Toyota and GM before GM’s bankruptcy filing this summer. The Detroit-based automaker decided NUMMI — where it built the Pontiac Vibe alongside the Toytoa Corolla and Tacoma — was not integral to its future. NUMMI employs 4,700 people and is the only U.S. Toyota plant with UAW employees.

This would shake up Toyota’s U.S. manufacturing plans, as the company doesn’t build the Corolla or Tacoma anywhere else in the country. The Corolla is also built in Canada and Japan. Toyota recently built a plant in Mississippi that is sitting empty. It was scheduled to build the Prius hybrid, but those plans were put on hold after demand for the car fell along with gas prices.

Toyota could shift Corolla and Tacoma production there.

Update: Toyota previously moved Matrix production to Canada. The Wall Street Journal is also reporting that negotiations have begun for Toyota to pull out of NUMMI.

Update 2: L.A. Times also confirms the closing, mentions this is the last California auto plant.

Report: Toyota to end venture with GM in Calif. (Detroit News)

MIT Working on EV Rapid Recharging

If you’re a student at MIT, you’re not like every other college student in the country. No, you get to develop a prototype rapid-recharging electric vehicle. And that’s not all -- the power needed to make such a system work has to come from your university’s own power plant.

Still, the concept isn’t pie-in-the-sky academic research. Rapid recharging is the holy grail of electric vehicles. Their limited range and 3-12 hour recharging times make them impractical for long trips and relegate them strictly to second-car or commuter-car status.

The students expect the prototype — a gutted 2010 Mercury Milan Hybrid — to be up and running by 2010. They also say the engine itself isn’t the cost issue and rightly point out that electric vehicles should be cheaper to maintain for owners.

Video: MIT working on rapid recharging for electric vehicles (Engadget)

2010 Hyundai Accent Blue, 36 mpg

For the 2010 model year Hyundai is updating its lowest priced model, the Accent, in a number of ways. Chief among them is a new trim level called Blue that gets 28/36 mpg city/highway. That’s up from 2009’s best Accent mileage of 27/33 mpg.

All other Accent models — like the SE shown above — also get mileage bumps of one to two mpg and Hyundai has added an “eco” indicator to all 2010 models that lights up when you’re driving efficiently.

The Accent Blue will also be the base trim of the Accent line, costing “around $10,000” according to Hyundai. It goes on sale this fall.

One other new feature is an iPod/USB port on all trims.

Picks Best Cash for Clunkers Deals

Have you done your research and decided now’s the time to trade in your old clunker for a shiny, new car? Well, Cars.com knows there’s a dizzying array of choices out there — we’ve ranked them by make and model, mileage, car and truck — and come up with a list of 10 vehicles worthy of the government’s hard-earned money.

We made our selections based on a number of factors, including reliability, gas mileage, safety and, of course, overall price.

Podcast: 2010 Ford Taurus

This week, Ask.cars.com editor Joe Bruzek joins senior editors Joe Wiesenfelder and David Thomas to discuss the new 2010 Ford Taurus and Taurus SHO. They break down why the new Taurus isn’t your father’s Taurus, and why it might not deliver what you expect it to. They also answer some Ask.cars.com questions.

Download the podcast via iTunes here or via web browser here.

Tesla Opening Seattle, Chicago Stores in Weeks

Tesla, maker of a $100,000 electric roadster and an upcoming all-electric premium sedan, announced today that new retail outlets in Seattle and Chicago will open July 25 and Aug. 7, respectively.

Both locations will offer rides in the Tesla Roadster during their grand openings. Earlier this summer, Tesla opened outlets in London, where it will build right-hand-drive cars, and in Manhattan.

We assume that with the purchase of a storefront in Chicago, the company will replace the huge pest-control billboard that graces the building next door, which is visible from the highway as shown here in a Google image. Because we commute past it every morning, we can assure you there’s no Tesla signage in place yet and the building looks pretty much as it does in the picture.

What Would You Think of a Guy Who Drove This?

Cars.com had a question for the women at the 2009 Taste of Chicago festival: What would you think of a guy who picked you up for a date in this car? Ranging from a minivan to a Smart ForTwo, our examples spurred a lot of heated discussion about what a guy’s car says about him on that first date. Also, the words “Italian stallion” are dropped in this video. Now you have to watch it just to find out the context, right?

Data on Distracted Driving Was Suppressed by NHTSA

In 2003, researchers at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration were worried that the proliferation of cell phones was creating a severe threat on U.S. roadways and proposed a long-term study of 10,000 drivers to determine if cell phone use posed a public safety risk.

The study never happened, though, and hundreds of pages of research and data warning of the danger posed by drivers multitasking behind the wheel were kept off the public record. Officials now say it was partly because the U.S. Congress had warned the agency not to lobby states about hands-free laws.

Consumer advocacy groups like the Center for Auto Safety filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, and now the full body of research has been made available.

The findings are nothing new today. The research reiterates that cell phone use while driving poses a safety threat: A driver on the phone is four times more likely to get into an accident, the same as a driver with a .08 blood-alcohol level. It also noted that hands-free headsets do nothing to help drivers focus on the road, as studies showed that drivers using the sets were just as distracted and at risk for an accident as those who held the phone.

At the time of the study, the Transportation Department estimated that 6% of drivers were on the phone at any given time, but they now think that number has doubled. This is not reassuring, because in 2002, when there were far fewer cell phones around, researchers estimated 240,000 accidents caused by cell phones, including 955 fatalities.

For their part, the transportation officials at the time said the data was “incomplete” and “inconclusive,” and that more research was needed. The question for current Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is what to do about the growing number of distracted drivers. Of course, most regulation has come at the state and city level, with no intervention from the federal government.

U.S. Withheld Data on Risks of Distracted Driving (The New York Times)