Vehicle Leasing Rebounds

Great news on the indirect consumer leasing front. It's been a long way since the crash of July 2008.

Jim Henry reports some green shoots are beginning to show in an article posted at BankRate.com. On the heels of the Toyota debacle, this is certainly great news!

Something's Not Right

After Toyota's dramatic decision to halt sales on its eight biggest selling models, it announced yesterday that it would begin selling again - provided dealers have enough parts to repair existing customers vehicles first.

http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100205/RETAIL07/100209917/1290

Surely this is a smart decision for the manufacturer who has blundered its PR management heretofore.

However, a voice in the back of my mind is wondering how a postage-stamp sized metal shim is going to truly fix this problem.

Personally, I've used shims to shore up non-moving things like cabinets, dressers, etc... But an accelerator is a moving part, in a vibrating car that bumps its way down the road.

Am I wrong, or does this seem like the little dutch boy trying to plug the dike with his fingers?

2008 Carver 56 ft SE Voyager - Calista Ann

OK. This does not technically fall into "Everything Autos" but it is owned by one of my clients in Automotive Leasing.

I had the pleasure of taking her out last summer and she is the bomb. With just 30 hours on the Twin Volvo 675 Diesels, she's as close to new as you can get.

Combine that with a $500k savings off of a comparably equipped new model, and you've got a once in a lifetime opportunity on a truly seaworthy motor-yacht.

Sail the British Virgin Islands, make a trip from the California west coast, down to Cabo, Honduras, Costa Rica and Panama. With this gal can do it in style.