New Jersey economy on the mend

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Posted in Auto Loans & Financing News

Even as a multitude of snowstorms hammered the east coast in February, the state of New Jersey had its most economically successful month in more than two years.

Over the last six months, experts have said that the recession has ended and the economy is back on track. However, significant improvements in the job market had not been felt by the majority of residents.

Fortunately, the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development reported on Wednesday that the state added 3,700 jobs in February, all of which came in the private sector, APP.com reports. The unemployment rate is now at a five-month low of 9.8 percent.

“I’m starting to get interviews, maybe once every two weeks, whereas before it wasn’t that much,” said Justine Nardone, 54, of Ocean Grove, who is currently unemployed.

The state of New Jersey saw the jobless rate increase for 23 consecutive months from December of 2007 to the end of last year, more than doubling the unemployment rate in that time. However, as the state and the nation have put together a string of economically vibrant months, consumers and job seekers are beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel.

“It’s certainly a positive sign,” said James Hughes, an economist and dean of the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University, quoted by the news source. “I think we’re going to see an erratic pattern going forward, which happens at the end of recessions.”

Overall employment in the state grew to 3,853,400 in February, with the largest gains seen in the financial activities industry, the professional and business services field as well as the health and education sectors, according to Business Week.

Meanwhile, Michael Drewniak, press secretary for Governor Chris Christie, reiterated on Wednesday the administration’s pledge to reform the business climate in the state of New Jersey and make job creation the number one priority.

While calling the Department of Labor report “reassuring,” Drewniak also noted that the governor and his staff have plenty of work still to do.

“The governor and his entire administration are committed to restoring fiscal stability, growing our economy and reforming our business climate to secure New Jersey’s place as a place for strong, ongoing business growth and job creation,” he said in a statement.

Remembering the Ford Mustang

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Posted in Ford

Donald Frey, the former senior product manager at Ford and the co-creator of the transcendent Mustang coupe, passed away on March 5 at the age of 87.

Frey was hired by Ford in the early 1960s to lead a low-cost campaign to develop a powerful sports car following the historically colossal flop known as the Edsel, Auto Week reports. To cut costs, Frey, Lee Iacocca and the rest of the executives at Ford decided to borrow the platform and instrument panel from the Falcon, and just 18 months later the Mustang was born.

The very first Ford Mustang coupe was unveiled on April 17, 1964, at the New York World’s Fair. Although Ford expected to sell just more than 80,000 Mustangs in its debut year, over 400,000 were purchased in the first 8 months of production.

More than 45 years later, the Ford Mustang is still a hot commodity. In 2007, the Mustang GT shook up the automotive world with an aggressive exterior redesign and a shockingly powerful new engine. The ’07 Mustang GT is equipped with a 300 horsepower, five-speed V8 engine that can move from 0 to 60 in just 5.5 seconds.

New Jersey Nets guard walks away unharmed after one-car accident

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Posted in Celebrity Auto News, Ford, GMC - DO NOT USE, Infiniti - DO NOT USE

Late last month, New Jersey Nets star Keyon Dooling received an assist from the Closter Police Department after crashing his Infiniti sports utility vehicle during one of February’s most violent snowstorms.

The Nets backup point guard was on his way to practice on February 25 when he hit an ice patch, slid over the curb and blew one of his tires before colliding with a stop sign, according to NJ.com. Ironically, the Nets had cancelled practice just minutes before Dooling’s accident due to the inclement snowstorm, but he had left early to try to beat the weather and was not home to receive the call.

“I have to get here at least two hours before practice to get my body going,” laughed the veteran, who has been bit by the injury bug during each of his four stops with NBA teams.

Luckily for Dooling, who walked away unharmed after the accident, the Nets sent an intern driving a GMC SUV “with some good old American muscle” to pick up the club’s second leading assist man.

Dooling indicated to reporters after the accident that he planned to ditch his SUV for a Ford pickup, which is better equipped to handle the winter conditions in New Jersey.

Sandra Bullock’s husband involved in highway dust-up with the paparazzi

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Posted in Celebrity Auto News

Just a few days after being forced to publicly admit his near year-long affair with a notorious former stripper, bad boy celebrity Jesse James was recently caught on tape fleeing the paparazzi in his black Dodge pickup in a wild chase taken right out of a movie script.

James, who is the host of the television program Monster Garage and the owner of West Coast Choppers, was busted last week for cheating on his wife of many years, actress Sandra Bullock.

Soon after the news of the affair hit the Hollywood press, local paparazzi have been camped out around Bullock’s mansion, where James currently resides by himself.

On Saturday, in an effort to evade the swarming paparazzi while driving down the Pacific Coast Highway, James reportedly increased his speed to more than 90 miles per hour, Entertainment and Showbiz News reports.

“At one point, he went off road into the dirt and made this huge dust bowl,” an eyewitness told E News. “It was crazy.”

James then allegedly took a hard right down a dirt path, throwing his custom-built spare tire from the back of his pickup before peeling into his garage, according to the Examiner.

How to know if your car is properly aligned

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Posted in How To

Although the majority of American car owners have their wheel alignment checked by an auto care professional during routine mileage checkups, there are a few tips that can help you know whether or not it is time to have your vehicle inspected.

Wheel alignment consists of adjusting the angle of the wheels so that they are completely perpendicular to the ground and parallel to each other, Family Car Parts reports. While a recently purchased used car will be perfectly aligned, normal wear and stress can cause the front wheels to slowly become crooked, whether or not your vehicle is equipped with an adjustable or non-adjustable rear suspension.

The easiest way to assess whether your car is misaligned is to visually inspect the tire itself. If there is uneven or especially rapid tire wear, take your vehicle into the shop immediately. While tire wear is the simplest way to diagnose poor alignment, it is often the last symptom to appear. If you let the problem go unattended for too long, you may find yourself being forced to purchase four new tires.

When your vehicle is not aligned properly, you may also feel that it does not naturally drive in a straight line, or is pulling or drifting to one side of the road on its own.

A final, more comprehensive examination of your wheel alignment can be conducted using just a coin. Take a quarter and place it in the tread at the inside, outside and middle of the tire, the news source recommends.

If you find that the tread is deeper on one side of the tire than the other, it’s time to take your car to the shop. Also, if it is deeper on the edges, your tire is overinflated. If the treads are deeper in the center, you should inflate your tire as soon as possible.

Proper wheel alignment is important for a variety of reasons. Improper alignment can lead to premature tire wear, decreased gas mileage, poor handling and can even cause accidents, Hunter Engineering reports.

Industry experts recommend that you have your vehicle’s tires checked every 10,000 miles or once every year.

Report: Economy improving, unemployment numbers falling

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Posted in Auto Industry News, Auto Loans & Financing News, General Auto News

The economy took another step in the right direction on Thursday, with the U.S. Labor Department reporting that the number of people applying for unemployment benefits fell by 5,000, to a seasonally adjusted 457,000 in the week ending March 13, according to Market Watch. The news coming out of Washington marks the third consecutive week that unemployment claims have dropped.

Additionally, the report said that labor market and consumer pricing indicate that the U.S. economy is experiencing moderate growth, and that inflation has been successfully contained. In fact, core inflation has only risen 1.3 percent – the lowest figure since 2004, Reuters reports.

Meanwhile, after months of anticipation, President Obama signed into law a $17.6 billion dollar jobs bill earlier this week, giving hope to those who have yet to find employment after last year’s recession.

“A consensus is forming that, partly because of the necessary – and often unpopular – measures we took over the past year, our economy is growing again and we may soon be adding jobs instead of losing them,” said Obama.

“The jobs bill I’m signing today is intended to help accelerate this process,” he added.

2007 Pontiac Solstice: Style, affordability and performance

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Posted in Pontiac - DO NOT USE

The unseasonably warm weather this month might have some car enthusiasts clamoring for weekend drives through the country in their favorite sports car. Consumers who are in the market for a weekend cruiser may want to take a look at the 2007 Pontiac Solstice, one of the most stylish and nimble two-seat convertibles on the road today.

Equipped with a 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine capable of creating 177 horsepower and 166 pound-feet of torque, the ’07 Solstice is certainly not a beast, but with its small stature and front-mounted engine, it has plenty of pep to make any drive enjoyable.

For those interested in a bit more power, the high-performance GXP model comes with a turbo-charged V4 that generates 260 horsepower and 260 pound-feet of torque, which can move from 0-60 miles per hour in six seconds flat, according to Edmunds. All models can be purchased with five-speed manual transmission or a five-speed automatic.

While the 2007 Solstice is not as well equipped as its closest competitor, the Mazda Miata, it more moderately priced and is available with a host of optional features.

American automakers score well in new reliability survery

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Posted in Auto Industry News, Ford, General Auto News, Toyota

On the heels of a few troubling months, the U.S. automotive industry received some terrific news this week. On Thursday, J.D. Power and Associates unveiled their 2010 Vehicle Dependability Survey, which found that Ford, Buick and Cadillac all decreased the number of problems with their vehicles.

The annual survey, which rates 3-year old cars based on how many problems they average per 100 vehicles, found that 25 of 36 vehicle brands manufactured in 2007 showed improved long-term durability compared to the previous year, the Daily Finance reports.

Among the top 10 most reliable 2007 brands are Ford, Mercury, Honda, Toyota and Lincoln. In fact, all three Ford divisions finished in the top eight in the survey.

“These results, along with other consumer-driven indicators, show that we are making solid progress on our promise to deliver high initial quality, long-term durability and overall customer satisfaction,” said Bennie Fowler, group vice president for global quality at Ford.

Toyota also had an extremely strong showing, with the Prius and Corolla finishing first and second in the compact car segment. The Sequoia and the Tundra also earned high marks in the multi-activity and large pickup categories.

Local Montana musician rescued after harrowing ordeal

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Posted in Cadillac - DO NOT USE, Celebrity Auto News

On Sunday, a 67-year-old country musician was rescued after spending four days trapped in his 1996 Cadillac STS.

Louis Rogers, who has played guitar alongside a number of country music legends, including Merle Haggard and George Jones, was writing a goodbye letter and preparing himself for death when a couple stumbled across the his immobilized vehicle on a back road in Montana, according to the Associated Press.

Four days previous, Rogers was on his way to Calder, Idaho, when he decided to take a shortcut across the Bitterroot Mountains. After driving for about nine miles on the remote mountain road, the Lakeside, Montana, resident got his Cadillac stuck in a snow bank and was unable to remove it.

With no cell phone service, and being in admitted poor health, Rogers was forced to wait and see if he would ever be found. At one point, a low flying airplane passed right by the 67-year-old’s vehicle, but the repeated flashing of his headlights was unable to attract the pilot’s attention.

After several frustrating days and intolerably cold nights, Rogers had given up.

“I thought before I lose my bearings or start hallucinating, I’m going to write my last letter and tell my last goodbyes to my friends and relations,” said Rogers, soon after being rescued. “I told them to have faith in the Lord and don’t go cracking up because we are going to see each other again.”

Unfortunately for the country musician, more than 200 friends and relatives spent the weekend searching for him in a totally different location, as they were unaware of his decision to take a shortcut.

Luckily for Rogers, after several days with no food and only melted snow to drink, he was found by Scott and Penny Kalis, a local couple out for a drive in their four-wheel drive vehicle.

“She said, ‘Well, what are you doing way up here?'” Rogers said. “I said, ‘Dying, and if you don’t believe it, here’s the proof, and I showed her the letter.'”

Surprisingly, Rogers did not need to be hospitalized after the ordeal, and was up and running after just a few days of rest.

2007 Saturn Outlook: Size, versatility and safety

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Posted in Saturn - DO NOT USE

Officials with General Motors have recently announced that the automaker is currently manufacturing its last line of Saturn and Hummer vehicles.

After not producing any cars since October, GM will assemble 1,037 Saturn models over the next few weeks to utilize existing material, General Motors spokeswoman Kim Carpenter said on Tuesday, according to Auto Week.

When participating dealerships begin to close their doors in the next few months, the market for used Saturn models may start to pick up. One of the most impressive and popular Saturn lines produced over the last decade is the 2007 Saturn Outlook.

The ’07 Outlook is an oversized crossover wagon that is capable of seating eight passengers, making it one of the more popular family vehicles in its class. It is available with two second-row seating options – a 60/40 split bench seat that accommodates three passengers or two individual captain’s chairs, according to Edmunds.com. Outlook models equipped with the split bench seat can be folded down, creating a class-leading 117 cubic feet of cargo room.

Meanwhile, Saturn’s bellwether SUV is stacked with standard safety features, including OnStar, rollover-sensing stability control, antilock disc brakes, front seat side impact airbags and full-length side-curtain airbags capable of protecting all three rows.

Under the hood, the 2007 Outlook is powered by a 3.6-liter six-cylinder gas engine, which creates 270 horsepower and 251 pound-feet of torque. The V6 is paired with a six-speed automatic transmission that comes with either front- or all-wheel drive.

The ’07 Outlook “handles with more confidence than you’d expect from a vehicle weighing more than 4,700 pounds,” says the news source. Its ride is “smooth at almost every rev range and delivers enough power to handle most performance demands with ease.”

Saturn’s base model wagon comes with a variety of standard features, including full power accessories, cruise control and an MP3 player. The luxury model Outlook is available with a navigation system, xenon headlights, a premium audio system, leather upholstery and a rear-seat DVD player.

The 2007 Saturn Outlook is not the most powerful or luxurious SUV ever produced, but it is one of the more versatile, complete and moderately priced crossovers on the road today.