This year’s Detroit Auto Show is remarkable for featuring eco-friendly cars.  Gone are the huge SUVs and gas-guzzling vehicles of the past.  Instead, the show is filled with small autos like the Smart ForTwo.

Fuel economy is one of the major innovations for many of these six new cars.  In addition, performance is also a priority in many models.

The Honda CR-Z, a new hybrid offering from the Japanese automaker, is based on the CR-X of the 1980s.  However, while the CR-Z won’t get the incredible gas mileage of the CR-X, it will have safety and performance features that the old model didn’t have.  And at 38 miles per gallon on the highway, the fuel economy isn’t too shabby either.

Lincoln also has a new offering, the MKX.  The crossover has an impressive 3.7-liter V6 engine, which is capable of 305 horsepower.  In addition to the performance specs, the car boasts a version of Ford’s new Sync software system.  The Sync system provides voice activation and hands-free operation of music players, cell phones, and other mobile technologies.

The redesigned Ford Focus is expected to wow car buyers with both its performance and fuel economy.  Up to 10% more efficient than previous iterations of the Focus, the 2011 model also features a 2.0-liter engine and a six-speed automatic transmission with dual-clutch shifting.

Even though it’s a standby when it comes to American sports cars, the newly redesigned Ford Mustang will probably turn a few heads.  The 5.0-liter V8 engine will generate an impressive 412 horsepower, and the redesign also delivers improved steering and suspension.

The Cadillac CTS-V Coupe was unveiled in November at the L.A. Auto Show, and it already has Cadillac enthusiasts excited.  The car is a lighter, leaner version of the CTS-V sedan will be available with a manual or automatic transmission.

Perhaps the most exciting new development for exotic car fans is the Mercedes-Benz E-class Cabriolet.  The convertible coupe features a cloth top and impressive sound insulation.  It also has several design innovations to protect occupants from wind.  The 382-horsepower E550 Cabriolet will hit showrooms this spring.

Luckily, if you’re anxious to drive a Mercedes, you don’t have to wait for the E550 to go on sale.  You can avoid the expense and hassle of ownership, including car payments, insurance, and vehicle storage, if you join an exotic car sharing club, rent an exotic car, or participate in an automotive dream tour.

Kate Miller-Wilson is a professional freelance writer, specializing in web content and technical writing.

And like most Americans, I’m hoping for some painless way to take the weight off.

You know sort of like the big three automakers are hoping that the Obama administration will pay their legacy health care costs or loan them billions of tax dollars when they have a cost structure that makes them non-competitive.

We’re Americans; we believe that there is an easy answer.

We can take two maxislimdetatrimfasts and the pounds will just melt away while we sleep.

Forgive me for being in such a foul mood, my college roommate keeps sending me things that make me think we’re all doomed and that we are sinners in the hands of an angry God.

Naw, we’re just suckers for someone who tells us what we want to hear.

One of the greatest recent examples has to be a new — I kid you not — cookie diet from Dr. Siegal.

Forget exercise, more veggies, or 45 minutes with a German personal trainer named Helga.

Have a cookie. The pounds will come right off while you’re sleeping. The cookie diet lets you eat your choice of chocolate, blueberry, banana or coconut cookies.

Shut up. They’re meal replacements. Letters are flowing in from everywhere with news about the cookie diet.

(Images in today’s post courtesy of talented photographer D. Sharon Pruitt. See more of her pictures in her Flickr photostream. Images licensed under Creative Commons attribution only.)

The cookie diet slogan: “Controls your hunger so that you can stick to your diet.”

Uh-Huh. Nothing like replacing two of three meals with cookies to break you of the desire to eat.

Only in America. The place where people believe the government can borrow (or worse, print) 850 billion dollars and spend it on buying votes and that will create prosperity.

You can have free health care and a first time home buyer mortgage that you don’t need to repay. We’ll tax the rich to pay for all of it.

Have a cookie, no really, they work.

What next? The thick cut bacon diet?

These meal replacement cookies are low carb and low calorie, but according to Jodi Mallender-Farrell‘s article in the Miami Herald, the cookies might be dry and not taste good.

They may even taste so awful that you’ll be able to control your hunger.

Fat chance.

(Image courtesy of DFW Elite Car Club, a car sharing club in Dallas, TX.)

Wake up America! No one is going to take your beater on a trade for a dream car or let you experience driving a Ferrari for free. No tooth fairy and no Santa Claus.

Actual results may vary. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results.

You can have a cookie if it makes you feel any better.

I’d recommend the thin mints from the Girl Scouts. Grab the milk container, open a sleeve and watch bikini girl on American idol. I heard she got that body from the cookie diet.

This article written by SEO web copywriter Eric Anderson. His recent writing projects include a Fort Worth car storage site and a Tampa Florida mortgage website.

GM has decided to keep mum about some of the significant differences between a few of these cars and their production counterparts. As Jeremy Korzeniewski, writing for autoblog, noted in his post, some collectors have hired Mark McPhail the recently retired head of GM Performance Engineering as a consultant to advise them about the GM Heritage Cars.

Having superior information on a car up for bid certainly will give some bidders an edge in determining its true value.

I have to agree with one of the comments that followed the autoblog story. What sense does it make to keep quiet about what makes the GM Heritage cars significant?

Presumably, the point for GM should be to generate as much interest among serious car collectors in the cars up for auction.

Would it not, then, make sense to release very specific information about the place of the car in GM’s history and how they differ from the standard production model?

It might cost a retired GM executive a nice consulting gig, but car blogs would write about the cars, forums would discuss them, and collectors would be much more engaged and much more likely to bid.

As noted in a previous post about the Heritage Collection Cars being auctioned, I think it is quite sad that GM has to sell off cars from its Heritage Collection to stay in business, and it is even sadder that the Congress and our outgoing president think it a good idea to give the failed American auto companies billions of our tax dollars.

I hope that these cars will end up in car museums and in the hands of car collectors and car sharing club owners. Certainly, I’ll tune in to watch the Speed Network coverage of the Barrett Jackson auction.

Now, with oil plunging below $60 per barrel and gas hovering comfortably at around $1.50 per gallon, announcements of new ultra-efficient concept cars are becoming less frequent.

Well, just such an announcement came recently.  And it came from an unlikely source.  The Chinese company BYD announced they are releasing a plug-in hybrid called the F3DM. Kudos to the marketing genius that thought up that name.

BYD wasn’t even in the car business until just recently.  They were, for the most part, a battery maker. That may explain the marketing departments knack for memorable car names.

The F3DM will be differ from many plug-in hybrids because of its small price tag.  Initial models are scheduled to go on sale late 2008 or early 2009 for around US$22,000.  The F3DM will reportedly travel approximately 60 miles on a full charge before the backup gasoline engine must kick in.  Charging uses a standard outlet and takes about 9 hours.

On the down side, the F3DM isn’t exactly a stylistic marvel.  With a look that is Toyota Corolla than exotic dream car, the F3DM is not likely to thrill the exotic car aficionado.

To do this, one might be better off looking at the Tesla Roadster, another plug-in that trends more to the Ferrari side when it comes to appearance.  Of course, the downside there is the price tag.  At about US$100,000 the Roadster is definitely targeted towards a different type of consumer.

Many car experts think that the car market is heading towards greater practicality.  More and more families will place a greater emphasis on efficiency in the future.  But what does this mean for the exotic car market?

Well, for those that can afford to, a marriage of both exotic flair and practicality like the Tesla Roadster may be an option.  For the rest of us, it could mean a practical automobile in the driveway and accessing exotic cars through other outlets.

Exotic car clubs, for example, are one way people are finding to enjoy the use of exotic cars without the expense and hassle of direct ownership.  These clubs have been around for a while and are located all over the country.  Check out http://www.exoticcarclubs.com for a nationwide directory.

DFW Elite Car Club (http://www.dfwelitecarclub.com) is a car club that distinguishes itself by offering classic, luxury and exotic cars.  Additionally, the DFW car club allows members to choose their own level of participation by choosing exactly the amount of points to purchase.

These points are then used to drive exotic cars in the Dallas club’s collection.  With no large up front joining fees and monthly membership programs for as little as $700 per month, DFW Elite Car Club is a very practical way to drive exotic cars. The clubs more than 20 car paddock includes a Ferrari F430, a pair of Lamborghini Gallardos and even a 150k newly added bright red 2009 Audi R8.

Yeah baby! Consult your local tax professional, but a corporate car club membership at DFW Elite Car Club.com just might be this year’s most enjoyable tax write off.

Written by G.D. Gregory. If you are interested in having me write stories for you or seeing my SEO web copywriting portfolio, please contact me at ggpsu@yahoo.com.

As billions of dollars in bad loans are foreclosed upon, banks are apt to become much more conservative about lending money and even the well-to-do are going to see their access to credit restricted. It isn’t going to be nearly as easy to borrow to buy goods that depreciate, such as luxury or exotic automobiles.

“There is very little that is good news in the credit crisis and bailout,” said DFW Elite Car Club.com President Ron Sturgeon. 

“The only small consolation for the exotic car sharing clubs is that some people who would have been buyers of Lamborghinis and Ferraris will take a harder look at exotic car sharing clubs as an alternative to the high costs of exotic car ownership,” said the Texas entrepreneur and small business consultant.

“Few exotic car owners drive the cars they have invested six figures to acquire more than a day or two a month. Spread over a few driving days, the costs of depreciation, maintenance, secure storage, and insurance can make owning more expensive than first time buyers anticipate,” said Tom Warren, Director of DFW Elite Car Club.com.

Warren anticipates an uptick in interest in the DFW luxury car sharing club as an alternative to ownership. “Belonging to DFW Elite Car Club.com is a wonderful way to drive a Bentley GTC to chauffer a major account customer and a drive a Ferrari F430 F1 for a thrilling weekend in the same month,” noted Warren.

Membership in the DFW club is billed monthly and costs between $750 and $2000 a month. Members enjoy access to a dream garage of more than two dozen elite vehicles, detailed, fueled and ready to drive. To learn more about the Dallas-Fort Worth exotic car club, visit http://www.dfwelitecarclub.com. 

The luxury car sharing idea has caught on throughout the United States because it gives auto aficionados a smarter alternative to outright ownership of an exotic car.

For far less than the cost of owning a single exotic, members enjoy the experience of driving all of latest models. To locate a club where you live, visit a free online directory of car sharing clubs at http://www.exoticcarclubs.com.

Written by G.D. Gregory.  If you are interested in having me work for you as a web copywriter or in seeing my portfolio, please contact me at ggpsu@yahoo.com.

According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, real disposable personal income, that is, the money a person has left after taxes have been taken out, is down for the third straight month.  People have less money to spend, so in order to the cars they aspire to drive, they need to think creatively.

Ron Sturgeon, owner of a Dallas exotic car rental company, says that creative thinking is what exotic car rental is all about.

“People just don’t have the money they used to,” he says, “so finding a way to make dreams come true means thinking outside the box.  People with significant disposable income used to spend the money to buy a Lamborghini, but now a tighter economy makes the wealthy more hesitant about doing that,” said Sturgeon. 

That doesn’t mean they can’t drive a Lamborghini, though.

For many people, driving an exotic car is one of those life dreams.  But owning an exotic car comes with the high initial price tag, exorbitant insurance fees, pricey secure storage, and the significant cost of maintaining an elite vehicle.  In other words, when the true cost of owning an exotic car is tallied, ownership isn’t realistic.

However, there are several other options for those who want to drive cars like the 2008 Lamborghini Gallardo and still remain solvent in these difficult financial times.  One of those options is joining an exotic car club.  Members of exotic car clubs share an entire garage of unbelievable exotic cars.

“Basically, car clubs bring together people who love cars,” says Sturgeon.  “Members can then drive the cars they love without having to worry about the price tag, storage, and all the other hidden costs.  It’s a great deal,” insists the Texas entrepreneur.

Exotic car rental is another great deal for car enthusiasts.  Rather than committing to a single, expensive automobile, renting exotic cars allows people to drive several different luxury, classic, or exotic cars.  Driving your dream car does not require owning your dream car in the same way that you can enjoy a round of golf without owning the club.

The US Census Bureau reports that while there has been a slight increase in median household income in the last year, many families still aren’t making as much money as they did in the late 1990s.  Part of making the best of this difficult situation is finding ways to still get what you want without paying crazy amounts of money.  Exotic car rental and membership in an exotic car sharing club are two practical alternatives to buying an exotic car.

Kate Miller-Wilson is a freelance writer living in the Twin Cities.  Visit her website or email her for information about her freelance writing services

In an attempt to spur flagging car sales, GM is releasing the 2010 Camaro. GM executives are optimistic that the Camero will play a key role in restoring GM to its former place in the pantheon of automakers.

The sporty 2010 Camaro will be available as a 3.6L LS or LT with a 300 hp V6 or in the 400 hp SS model with a 6.2L V8. MPG in the 20s. Not Prius-like, but the target demographic for the new Camaro doesn’t wear Berkies or buy organic and isn’t worried about the polar bears.

Forgive me, I digress.

The Camaro concept created a sensation at the 2006 Detroit Auto Show. Camaro5 has good picture of the production model of the Camero. Notable changes: the addition of the B pillar.

Some auto industry observers think that the new Camaro will not play a large role in GM’s resurgence. They think that increased fuel costs will drive buyers irresistibly toward smaller, less powerful cars.

GM does not think so, nor do I. Jim Peper, Chevrolet’s General Manager states “[a] vehicle like the new Camaro is a very emotional purchase.”

Certainly, the V8 SS Camaro is more appealing as a daily driver in a world of $2 gas than right now, but the nameplate has appeal to those who remember the original. Many who drove a Camaro in high school in the 80s (or wished they did) now have the disposable income for a fun weekend car.

I believe the 2010 Camaro will do well with the mid-lifers because of nostalgia. It should also get its share of buyers among younger drivers looking for a car that’s exciting to drive.
“Chevrolet has made some fantastic muscle cars. The new 2010 Camaro is a great way for people who weren’t old enough to drive when the Camaro was in its heyday to experience the thrill of driving a 400HP V8,” says Tom Warren, GM of DFW Elite Car Club.

Many car enthusiasts are finding ways to drive a variety of the latest sports cars without owning them. Car sharing clubs deliver a means for enthusiasts to drive dream cars without the hassles of ownership or maintenance.

DFW Elite Car Club in Dallas-Fort Worth bills members monthly for access to a fleet of more than 25 dream cars. To locate a car sharing club in your city, visit http://www.exoticcarclubs.com.

“Variety is the spice of life and a car club lets members enjoy more of the best cars in the world from Ferrari, Bentley, Aston Martin—without ever worrying about depreciation, maintenance, storage, or any of the other direct or indirect costs of ownership,” says Tom Warren.

Written by G.D. Gregory. If you are interested in having me write stories for you or seeing my portfolio, please contact me at ggpsu@yahoo.com.

“In a slowing economy rocked by increasing prices for staples such as gasoline and food, the willingness to spend on big-ticket items took a dramatic turn in March, when new-vehicle sales plunged 12 percent from a year ago, confirming skittishness among consumers and pointing toward more difficult days ahead.  This is shaping up to be the worst year for vehicle manufacturers in at least a decade, and analysts don’t see a return to form until 2010 at the earliest.”

Although luxury car brands tend to feel the pinch a little less during a downturn, the awareness of costs have been driving changes even at the top of the car market. For several years, car enthusiasts in Dallas with a desire to drive the latest exotic cars have been doing it in a financially sound way: by joining DFW Elite Car Club.com, a car sharing club in Dallas-Fort Worth dedicated to luxury and high performance cars.

“With an increasing variety of exotic cars costing well over 200k, it makes sense for those with a passion for driving the best cars in the world, to join a car club,” says Tom Warren, General Manager of the two-year-old DFW car club. An excellent online directory to exotic car clubs (http://www.exoticcarclubs.com/) can help you find a car sharing club near you.

“I don’t believe that the economic downturn will cause the typical Lamborghini Gallardo buyer to consider a used one,” says Mr. Warren. “The high cost of maintaining such cars and the value of the dealer’s coverage that comes with a new exotic car makes a new 2008 Lamborghini Gallardo attractive to those who might otherwise buy a used one,” says the Dallas car club executive.

“We’re very fortunate to have a clientele that appreciates that value of the innovative products that we have created for car enthusiasts throughout Texas,” says Mr. Warren. “Our full day exotic car driving tours continue to sell out in Dallas, Austin, Houston, and San Antonio,” reports Warren.

DFW Drive Your Dream tour participants get a chance to drive five supercars in a single day. For upcoming tour dates call 214.247.4700 or visit http://www.dfwdriveyourdream.com/

The trend toward used vehicles isn’t doing anything to help the ailing American automakers, says the Chicago Tribune article: “New-vehicle sales were down 8 percent in the first quarter, to 3.6 million vehicles, and J.D. Power predicts calendar year sales of 14.95 million, the lowest since 1995. Power’s original forecast for 2008, issued in December, was for 15.7 million sales.”

Read the rest of this story by freelance writer Kate Miller Wilson on our exotic car rental news page.