TOPIC 1: Best Overall Car Values Of The Year - 2007

TOPIC 2: Highest Fuel Economy In The Most Popular Classes - 2007

TOPIC 3: Highest Retained Value - 2007

TOPIC 4: Top 10 Best Selling Vehicles For The First 6 Months - 2007

TOPIC 5: PORLAND PRESS HERALD ARTICLE ON "AUTO BUYING CONSULTANTS OF MAINE"

Best Overall Values Of The Year

Selected from over 1700 2007 model-year domestic and import vehicles, the IntelliChoice BEST OVERALL VALUES OF THE YEAR(BOVY) recognize those models that are the best value in their class.

IntelliChoice’s Best Overall Value of the Year awards are the only data-driven automotive analysis solely focused on recognizing vehicles that will cost significantly less to own than would be expected at their purchase prices.

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Highest Fuel Economy in the Most Popular Classes

We bring you the 2007 vehicles—including SUVs, pickups and vans—that lead their classes for the most efficient fuel consumption, according to according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Each year the U.S. EPA publishes fuel economy estimates for most new passenger vehicles sold in the U.S. The EPA also provides best-in-class fuel economy ratings by vehicle type.

Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Also see www.fueleconomy.gov for more fuel economy information.

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Highest Resale Value in the Most Popular Classes

We bring you the 2007 Highest Retained Value top picks for the Large class. These vehicles are at the top of their class when ranked by resale value.

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Top Selling Vehicles for the First Half of 2007

From MSN AUTOS and The Auto Channel we bring you vehicles—including pickups, vans and SUVs—that are the top selling vehicles for the first half of 2007.

Chicago, July 3, 2007; Reuters published the 20 top-selling vehicles in the United States through June of 2007 as reported by the automakers.

Total sales of the top 20 vehicles rose 4 percent or 116,756 units to 3,003,179.

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DEAL MAKER FOR HIRE (from the Portland Press Herald)
By Edward D. Murphy,
Staff Writer for the Portland Press herald

Alan L. Ramsdell approaches buying a car with a slightly different mindset than most people.

"I try to make it fun. As long as we're going down the right road, we can make it pleasant," he said.

In his case, Ramsdell can mix his business with that "pleasure": He runs Auto Buying Consultants of
Alan Ramsdell, left, talks with Kathy and Terry Garnsey as they try to decide between two cars at Quirk Chevrolet in Portland. Ramsdell owns Auto Buying Consultants of Maine, a business that helps car buyers research cars and negotiate prices with dealers.Maine, a car-buying service for consumers.

Ramsdell charges $99 to help consumers find and seal the deal on a new or used car, assuming the prospective buyers have a rough idea of what they want to be driving. If the buyer is unsure of what's the best fit, Ramsdell charges $199 to help find the right models to focus on, with additional research on safety, reliability and other factors.

Ramsdell has no illusions about what's involved in buying, or selling, a car. He's owned two dealerships, managed another and was a consultant for dealerships before starting his service.

"I know the quirks very well," he said. "I've seen both sides of the fence."

Ramsdell said demand for his service is growing, and he has partnered with six credit unions that recommend him to members.

There's nothing magical about his approach, Ramsdell said, but it helps to know how the business runs in order to determine whether a price is fair.

Ramsdell, second from right, looks over figures with the Garnseys and salesman Dave Miles at Quirk Chevrolet. He said he starts by talking about the kind of car a consumer wants. For those who need the most help, he asks how the car will generally be used or how many people will typically ride in the vehicle to determine what type is best, then does the additional research to narrow down the options to a few models.

Most people, he said, will come in with a sense of the type of car they want and often the specific makes and models they're interested in. From there, Ramsdell calls around and gets dealers to provide him their best price. Knowing that he will be shopping around encourages the dealers to come up with a fair price, Ramsdell said. He usually negotiates a trade-in separately so dealers don't offer a rock-bottom price on the new car and make up for it on the trade.

Then he and the customer will do test drives at the dealers with the best offers, Ramsdell said, and he'll nail down the final price, oversee the paperwork and help check out the car when it's picked up by the customer.

"Most people like that I'm there from beginning to end," he said.

Ramsdell said there are a few people who would rather negotiate their own deals, but he said he almost always saves his clients more than the fee -- usually at least a few hundred and sometimes thousands of dollars.

For many of the credit union customers, it's a no-risk deal. For instance, at Port Credit Union, members who finance their new vehicles through the credit union are reimbursed the $99 fee if they hire Ramsdell.
Gene Ardito, president of the credit union, said he went with his sister to look at cars when she hired Ramsdell, so he knows firsthand what Ramsdell does.

"She, I'm sure, would go into a dealership and not get a good deal," Ardito said of his sister. With Ramsdell, "she didn't have to deal with anybody (at the dealerships), and we think she got a heck of a lot more on a trade than she would have gotten."

Ardito said his family was so convinced of the value that a cousin came up from Rhode Island and bought a car in Maine with Ramsdell's help.

There are a lot more resources available to car buyers than there were 10 or 20 years ago, including Web sites devoted to helping a buyer develop a reasonable idea of what they should offer for a car, but Ardito said his credit union reimburses the fee because a lot of that strategy can go out the window when a customer is dealing with a savvy salesperson.

Besides, people often don't have the time to spend hours doing research and gathering offers, and few have experience in buying hundreds of cars.

"If you have the time to do the research and go to different dealers and have those meetings and you're comfortable with that, you can do this yourself," Ardito said. "Most people today don't have the time and the energy to go through that process."

There are other options, however. For instance, AAA of Northern New England provides its members a negotiated price with several dealers in the region, free.

Andy Jensen, the nonprofit's auto buying specialist, said AAA has prices negotiated with dealers that meet its standards. Members can enter a make and model at the AAA Web site and get a list of contacts at the dealerships. Once they settle on a specific car, the dealership charges its pre-arranged price related to the invoice -- perhaps $100 more or less than the invoice price.

ensen said the dealers agree to allow AAA to mediate if there's any problem, but the association has never had to do that.

Wally Camp, owner of Rowe dealerships, said he has no problem dealing with a customer's buying representative.

"It will probably educate the customer so they're realistic, and I think that's a positive," he said.

"You can go on the Internet and get a tremendous amount of information about what cars cost and what a trade-in might be worth," he said. "Is there a need for a buying service? Some people seem more comfortable that way."

Ramsdell said he's had few problems with dealers.

"Some of the people used to work for me in the dealerships (he owned Mercedes and Subaru dealerships in Falmouth), and they know that I'm there to save my clients money," he said.

"I don't have anything bad to say about them (the dealerships) -- I was one of them," Ramsdell said, adding with a laugh, "No dealership is going to leave me (anything) in their will."

Staff Writer Edward D. Murphy can be contacted at 791-6465 or at emurphy@pressherald.com

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