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CNN Live Today
2003's Hot Wheels
Aired November 21, 2002 - 10:45 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, if you believe that the road to happiness is best navigated from behind the wheel of a new car, then these car ratings are going to likely get your motor running this morning. "Kiplinger's Personal Finance" magazine has rated the best new rides, so buckle up for a test ride this morning.
Now we can't bring the showroom to you, but we can bring some of the star vehicles out for display, and for that, we hand the keys over to Mark Soldheim. Here's the senior editor at "Kiplinger's Personal Finance" magazine and the magazine's resident auto expert. Lucky guy. Mark Soldheim joins us from Washington. He's going to talking about the highlights of the Kiplinger report this morning.
How are you doing? Good to see you today.
MARK SOLDHEIM, "KIPLINGER'S PERSONAL FINANCE": Good to see you.
HARRIS: First of all, I just want to advise wants that we are going to talk about this morning won't be the entire list of categories that you've got, but just give folks a quick look at the number of categories, you begin with cars at different price ranges and all that, under $16,000, under $23000, under $30,000, under $40,000, over $40,000, but we're going to talk about some of the other categories, as well.
Let's start off with one you had this year that's a new category, and that is the best new sports car. You got this one, it's the Nissan 350 350z. This is a good one?
SOLDHEIM: The Nissan 350z is really an awesome car. We compared it with the Porsche 911 Carrera and just put them head to head.
HARRIS: That's a good company, man.
SOLDHEIM: It's good company.
What we found that, one, it looks quite a bit like the Carrera. It's almost as fast. The Z goes 0-60 in 5.4 seconds. The Carreras gets 5 seconds, and it's a third of the price.
HARRIS: That's a key question. How much are you talking about here?
SOLDHEIM: You can get it for upper 20s.
HARRIS: Really? Because that Carrera's going for, what, $70,000 or $80,000? SOLDHEIM: Exactly. Between $70,000 and $80,000.
We put a target price of about $26,000 on this car.
HARRIS: All right. How about the best new car here, we've got this from the $40,000 up class, the Infinity M45.
SOLDHEIM: Exactly, the Infiniti M45 That's the best new car in the over $40, 000 category. It's got a big 340 horsepower engine, and we have heard that it's tops out at 150 miles per hour.
HARRIS: You've only heard; you've not found this out for yourself is what you're trying to say.
SOLDHEIM: We have not found that out for ourselves.
HARRIS: But you'd like to, wouldn't you?
SOLDHEIM: We'd love to.
HARRIS: All right, good deal. Let's look at the best class in the minivan. You've got the Honda Odyssey there.
SOLDHEIM: The Honda Odyssey won last year as well, as this year. It's a very, very nice minivan, lots of power, does very well in safety. It gets top marks in the government's crash test, and it's nicely priced, too. Our target price on that is about $25,000.
HARRIS: And you mentioned the crash test. I want to let folks know here that that safety rating plays a big part in how you rank these cars. I saw the formula and the safety portion accounts for at least 20 percent of the points in your testing, correct?
SOLDHEIM: That's correct. Performance and value is about 2/3 of the rating, 20 percent comes from safety. Actually, from injury claims, insurance injury claims, as well as available safety equipment, traction control, inside impact air bags, and antilock brakes.
HARRIS: The more mundane stuff, but important.
Let's take a quick look if we can at the last two we've got here. The best in class for the $30,000, to $40,000 range, the Saab 9-5 Arrow.
SOLDHEIM: The Saab 9-5 Arrow is also a sweet car, it's one of my favorites. It's the only car in the $30,000 to $40,000 class with a 4-cylinder engine. So it's gets very good mileage, but it's turbocharged, and so it delivers 250 horsepower, which is one of the tops also in its class. It's got nice little features, like you can shift gears on the steering column.
HARRIS: Yes, that's pretty slick, and it's got the heated seats.
SOLDHEIM: You know something I noticed there, Mark, it's aside from that Nissan, it seems like the styling really hasn't undergone any dramatic changes in almost any of the cars that are coming out next year.
HARRIS: Not a whole lot of dramatic changes this year. OK, now Let's talk about how to get one of these cars. You've got some tips for folks who might want to go out and do some shopping.
SOLDHEIM: Sure, what you want to do is, first, log on to the Internet and do your research. Some Web sites to go to are edmonds.com, cars.com, and I would be remiss if I didn't mention kipling.com. We have quite a bit of stuff on our Web site, including the ability to build a virtual car and get updated prices.
Next you want to set your sites on the car you want. Kiplinger's provides a target price, which is the invoice price minus the hold- back. The hold-back is a rebate that dealers get from the manufacturer, and then we add about a 4.5 percent markup, and we feel that's a fair profit. The next thing you want to do is consider leasing, particularly in the luxury models, and everyone wants to drive an expensive luxury car. You can cut your payments in half if you consider a lease, and they're lots of good incentives right now on leases.
HARRIS: Sorry, Mark, we have to move on. But closing the deal, and then don't get taken for a ride. Quick tip on that.
SOLDHEIM: Exactly, close the deal, find a dealership, especially a high-volume dealership, and try and negotiate the end of the month. And then when you're with the finance and insurance people, don't sign up for things you don't need like rust-proofing or credit life insurance.
HARRIS: Unless you've got that 350Z, you might need it.
All right, Mark, thanks much. We appreciate it. We will talk with you more down the road.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired November 21, 2002 - 10:45 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, if you believe that the road to happiness is best navigated from behind the wheel of a new car, then these car ratings are going to likely get your motor running this morning. "Kiplinger's Personal Finance" magazine has rated the best new rides, so buckle up for a test ride this morning.
Now we can't bring the showroom to you, but we can bring some of the star vehicles out for display, and for that, we hand the keys over to Mark Soldheim. Here's the senior editor at "Kiplinger's Personal Finance" magazine and the magazine's resident auto expert. Lucky guy. Mark Soldheim joins us from Washington. He's going to talking about the highlights of the Kiplinger report this morning.
How are you doing? Good to see you today.
MARK SOLDHEIM, "KIPLINGER'S PERSONAL FINANCE": Good to see you.
HARRIS: First of all, I just want to advise wants that we are going to talk about this morning won't be the entire list of categories that you've got, but just give folks a quick look at the number of categories, you begin with cars at different price ranges and all that, under $16,000, under $23000, under $30,000, under $40,000, over $40,000, but we're going to talk about some of the other categories, as well.
Let's start off with one you had this year that's a new category, and that is the best new sports car. You got this one, it's the Nissan 350 350z. This is a good one?
SOLDHEIM: The Nissan 350z is really an awesome car. We compared it with the Porsche 911 Carrera and just put them head to head.
HARRIS: That's a good company, man.
SOLDHEIM: It's good company.
What we found that, one, it looks quite a bit like the Carrera. It's almost as fast. The Z goes 0-60 in 5.4 seconds. The Carreras gets 5 seconds, and it's a third of the price.
HARRIS: That's a key question. How much are you talking about here?
SOLDHEIM: You can get it for upper 20s.
HARRIS: Really? Because that Carrera's going for, what, $70,000 or $80,000? SOLDHEIM: Exactly. Between $70,000 and $80,000.
We put a target price of about $26,000 on this car.
HARRIS: All right. How about the best new car here, we've got this from the $40,000 up class, the Infinity M45.
SOLDHEIM: Exactly, the Infiniti M45 That's the best new car in the over $40, 000 category. It's got a big 340 horsepower engine, and we have heard that it's tops out at 150 miles per hour.
HARRIS: You've only heard; you've not found this out for yourself is what you're trying to say.
SOLDHEIM: We have not found that out for ourselves.
HARRIS: But you'd like to, wouldn't you?
SOLDHEIM: We'd love to.
HARRIS: All right, good deal. Let's look at the best class in the minivan. You've got the Honda Odyssey there.
SOLDHEIM: The Honda Odyssey won last year as well, as this year. It's a very, very nice minivan, lots of power, does very well in safety. It gets top marks in the government's crash test, and it's nicely priced, too. Our target price on that is about $25,000.
HARRIS: And you mentioned the crash test. I want to let folks know here that that safety rating plays a big part in how you rank these cars. I saw the formula and the safety portion accounts for at least 20 percent of the points in your testing, correct?
SOLDHEIM: That's correct. Performance and value is about 2/3 of the rating, 20 percent comes from safety. Actually, from injury claims, insurance injury claims, as well as available safety equipment, traction control, inside impact air bags, and antilock brakes.
HARRIS: The more mundane stuff, but important.
Let's take a quick look if we can at the last two we've got here. The best in class for the $30,000, to $40,000 range, the Saab 9-5 Arrow.
SOLDHEIM: The Saab 9-5 Arrow is also a sweet car, it's one of my favorites. It's the only car in the $30,000 to $40,000 class with a 4-cylinder engine. So it's gets very good mileage, but it's turbocharged, and so it delivers 250 horsepower, which is one of the tops also in its class. It's got nice little features, like you can shift gears on the steering column.
HARRIS: Yes, that's pretty slick, and it's got the heated seats.
SOLDHEIM: You know something I noticed there, Mark, it's aside from that Nissan, it seems like the styling really hasn't undergone any dramatic changes in almost any of the cars that are coming out next year.
HARRIS: Not a whole lot of dramatic changes this year. OK, now Let's talk about how to get one of these cars. You've got some tips for folks who might want to go out and do some shopping.
SOLDHEIM: Sure, what you want to do is, first, log on to the Internet and do your research. Some Web sites to go to are edmonds.com, cars.com, and I would be remiss if I didn't mention kipling.com. We have quite a bit of stuff on our Web site, including the ability to build a virtual car and get updated prices.
Next you want to set your sites on the car you want. Kiplinger's provides a target price, which is the invoice price minus the hold- back. The hold-back is a rebate that dealers get from the manufacturer, and then we add about a 4.5 percent markup, and we feel that's a fair profit. The next thing you want to do is consider leasing, particularly in the luxury models, and everyone wants to drive an expensive luxury car. You can cut your payments in half if you consider a lease, and they're lots of good incentives right now on leases.
HARRIS: Sorry, Mark, we have to move on. But closing the deal, and then don't get taken for a ride. Quick tip on that.
SOLDHEIM: Exactly, close the deal, find a dealership, especially a high-volume dealership, and try and negotiate the end of the month. And then when you're with the finance and insurance people, don't sign up for things you don't need like rust-proofing or credit life insurance.
HARRIS: Unless you've got that 350Z, you might need it.
All right, Mark, thanks much. We appreciate it. We will talk with you more down the road.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
