If you are tired, hungry or in a hurry, postpone your visit.
Chances are that by the time you’ve been brought over to the F&I desk, you’ve been at the dealership for a while — perhaps even longer than you’d planned. You may be tired or hungry or have people expecting you at home or work. If that’s the case, seriously consider postponing your visit to the desk. It’s rare that a visit to the F&I desk is short, and in some cases, dealers actually extend the time it takes hoping to wear you out so they’ll be able to get you to buy more extras.

Simply tell the dealer that you have another appointment (or some other plausible excuse) and that you will stop in later or even tomorrow to finalize things, then coordinate a specific time. They may tell you they can’t hold the car for you or create some other sense of urgency, but it’s highly unlikely anything will change if you wait a few hours or even until the following day to finalize your car purchase; be wary of a dealer who rushes you.

If you are uncomfortable, don’t hesitate to walk away.
It’s not unusual for car buyers to feel pressure — sometimes subtle, sometimes strong — while they are at the F&I desk. If this happens to you, don’t hesitate to walk away. Make an excuse that you need to get somewhere quickly and make an appointment to return, or walk away from the deal entirely. While the dealer will try to create a sense of urgency to keep you there, if you walk away you will end up with the upper hand, since you’ll communicate that you are not afraid to lose the deal. Unless you are buying a car that is in very high demand or very limited production, you’ll most likely be able to find what you want at another dealer if necessary, though it’s unlikely it will come down to that.

Above all else, remember that you are in charge of your money. If a particular fee seems suspicious, get clarification or get the dealer to remove it.

If you are tired, hungry or in a hurry, postpone your visit.
Chances are that by the time you’ve been brought over to the F&I desk, you’ve been at the dealership for a while — perhaps even longer than you’d planned. You may be tired or hungry or have people expecting you at home or work. If that’s the case, seriously consider postponing your visit to the desk. It’s rare that a visit to the F&I desk is short, and in some cases, dealers actually extend the time it takes hoping to wear you out so they’ll be able to get you to buy more extras.

Simply tell the dealer that you have another appointment (or some other plausible excuse) and that you will stop in later or even tomorrow to finalize things, then coordinate a specific time. They may tell you they can’t hold the car for you or create some other sense of urgency, but it’s highly unlikely anything will change if you wait a few hours or even until the following day to finalize your car purchase; be wary of a dealer who rushes you.

If you are uncomfortable, don’t hesitate to walk away.
It’s not unusual for car buyers to feel pressure — sometimes subtle, sometimes strong — while they are at the F&I desk. If this happens to you, don’t hesitate to walk away. Make an excuse that you need to get somewhere quickly and make an appointment to return, or walk away from the deal entirely. While the dealer will try to create a sense of urgency to keep you there, if you walk away you will end up with the upper hand, since you’ll communicate that you are not afraid to lose the deal. Unless you are buying a car that is in very high demand or very limited production, you’ll most likely be able to find what you want at another dealer if necessary, though it’s unlikely it will come down to that.

Above all else, remember that you are in charge of your money. If a particular fee seems suspicious, get clarification or get the dealer to remove it.

If you are tired, hungry or in a hurry, postpone your visit.
Chances are that by the time you’ve been brought over to the F&I desk, you’ve been at the dealership for a while — perhaps even longer than you’d planned. You may be tired or hungry or have people expecting you at home or work. If that’s the case, seriously consider postponing your visit to the desk. It’s rare that a visit to the F&I desk is short, and in some cases, dealers actually extend the time it takes hoping to wear you out so they’ll be able to get you to buy more extras.

Simply tell the dealer that you have another appointment (or some other plausible excuse) and that you will stop in later or even tomorrow to finalize things, then coordinate a specific time. They may tell you they can’t hold the car for you or create some other sense of urgency, but it’s highly unlikely anything will change if you wait a few hours or even until the following day to finalize your car purchase; be wary of a dealer who rushes you.

If you are uncomfortable, don’t hesitate to walk away.
It’s not unusual for car buyers to feel pressure — sometimes subtle, sometimes strong — while they are at the F&I desk. If this happens to you, don’t hesitate to walk away. Make an excuse that you need to get somewhere quickly and make an appointment to return, or walk away from the deal entirely. While the dealer will try to create a sense of urgency to keep you there, if you walk away you will end up with the upper hand, since you’ll communicate that you are not afraid to lose the deal. Unless you are buying a car that is in very high demand or very limited production, you’ll most likely be able to find what you want at another dealer if necessary, though it’s unlikely it will come down to that.

Above all else, remember that you are in charge of your money. If a particular fee seems suspicious, get clarification or get the dealer to remove it.

In this installment, we head to Ford Motor Company to meet Judy Curran, vehicle line director in charge of the very well-received 2013 Ford Fusion.

Judy and her husband are both engineers, and all three of their children, two daughters and one son, grew up to become engineers as well. One even works at Ford today alongside Mom and Dad.

shopautoweek.com: What was your first car and how did you find it?

Judy Curran: My first car was a yellow AMC Pacer, for sale in the local newspaper for $1,900. Manual three-speed. It was the most affordable set of wheels available to a high school student in the late ’70s, although perhaps not the best looking set of wheels!

shopautoweek.com: What drew you to a career in the automotive industry?

Judy Curran: After graduating from college with a degree in electrical engineering, I worked in Connecticut at Hamilton Standard, a division of United Technologies. We were converting turbine-engine controls from hydromechanical to electronic controls. After three years, I moved back to Michigan and started at Ford. 

I wanted to move back to the Midwest for family reasons and was intrigued by the advancements being made in electronics in vehicles. My first position at Ford was working on the replacement of carburetors with electronic fuel injection/controls using software and electronics experience from the aerospace industry.

shopautoweek.com: How do family/friends shape your opinion of vehicles and vehicle design?

Judy Curran: I’m always interested in hearing what consumers say about our vehicles as well as competitor vehicles: What features they like, what drives their purchase decisions, their package/comfort comments, etc. Lately, it seems the first questions are around fuel economy.

shopautoweek.com: Favorite feature of your current car?

Judy Curran: Heated seats! I use them in the winter and the summer (with the air conditioning), too! So comfortable.

shopautoweek.com: One feature of the future you can’t wait for?

Judy Curran: I can’t wait for the next generation of active safety features like active park assist, adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping aid, blind-spot monitoring, etc. I predict/hope the industry will continue to develop features until we have full autonomous driving capability, cars that mostly drive themselves and totally avoid collisions.

After sending three 16-year-olds out on the road and worrying like crazy for their safety, nothing would be better than giving parents more comfort when their kids start to drive. And of course, these technologies benefit all drivers.

The base Sport model has a six-speed manual transmission, 17-inch aluminum-alloy wheels, daytime running lights, power side-view mirrors, automatic headlight shutoff and a roof spoiler.

In the interior, the Mazda CX-5 Sport gets cloth seating upholstery, push-button start, power windows with one-touch auto open/close on the driver’s side, cruise control, a tilt-and-telescoping steering wheel, steering-wheel-mounted audio controls and a stereo system that is MP3-compatible.

If an automatic transmission is more your style, the CX-5 Sport can meet your needs for a slightly higher price of $22,890; add AWD for a starting price of $24,140.

Jumping up to the Touring trim level makes an automatic transmission standard and will cost you $24,690 for front-wheel drive ($25,940 with AWD). Touring models add an upgraded Bluetooth audio system, fog lamps, a six-way power-adjustable driver’s seat, a rearview camera, a leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob, a rear-seat armrest with cupholders and a blind-spot-monitoring system.

If ultra-lux is the only way to go for you, consider the Grand Touring trim. It comes complete with leather seating upholstery, 19-inch aluminum-alloy wheels, automatic headlights, heated front seats, an eight-way power-adjustable driver’s seat with power lumbar support, dual-zone automatic climate control, a Bose audio system and Sirius satellite radio, and the same blind-spot-notification system featured on the Touring trim level. Pricing for the front-wheel-drive Grand Touring starts at $27,840, with the AWD version running $29,090.

All CX-5 trims include an array of safety features (six airbags including side curtains, dynamic stability control, traction control, electronic brake-force distribution, hill launch assist, antilock brakes and a tire-pressure-monitoring system) and the 2.0-liter Skyactiv-G gasoline engine. The efficient four-cylinder engine produces 155 hp and helps give the CX-5 a 2,000-pound towing capacity.

With a manual transmission and front-wheel drive, the Mazda CX-5 is EPA-rated at 26 mpg city/35 mpg highway. All-wheel-drive automatic models drop to a still-impressive 25 mpg city/31 mpg highway.

See more coverage of the Chicago auto show at www.autoweek.com.

By including average insurance premiums issued by six large insurance carriers (Allstate, Farmers, Geico, Nationwide, Progressive and State Farm) including more than 900 vehicle models across all 50 states, Insure.com determined drivers in Louisiana pay the most while drivers in Maine enjoy the lowest insurance premiums in the country.

According to Insure.com, a variety of factors affect a state’s car-insurance costs including:

• Having a significant number of uninsured drivers on the road.
• Insurance laws that vary state to state.
• The level of competition among insurance carriers.
• Severe weather that may have caused a jump in car-insurance claims during the previous year.

“Many of these problems are outside the control of drivers,” said Amy Danise, editorial director for Insure.com. “But even if you live in an expensive state, you can hold down your insurance costs by keeping your driving record as clean as possible and selecting a car that is cheap to insure.”

Other states in the top five most expensive category were Oklahoma, Michigan, West Virginia and Washington D.C. Of the top five, only Washington D.C. came in less than $2,000 per year for average annual car-insurance costs.

Residents of Maine, Iowa, Wisconsin, Idaho and North Carolina enjoy premiums that are half those listed in the most expensive states, with average annual car-insurance costs varying between $800 and $1,000.

Where does your state fall? See Insure.com’s complete ranked list here.

We kick off our series with Christine L. Barman (featured in the front row on the left side of the photo above), Chrysler vehicle line executive for the Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger and Dodge Challenger. In her role, she’s in charge of everything including current and future planning, engineering, development and product launch management.

shopautoweek.com: What was your first car and how did you find it?

Christine Barman: [The] first car I drove was a 1987 Ford Ranger. It was one of the work trucks on our family farm. 

shopautoweek.com: What drew you to a career in the automotive industry?

Christine Barman: The dynamic and competitive nature of the business. There is a continual need for new ideas and solutions, which is exactly what keeps an engineer energized.

shopautoweek.com: How do family/friends shape your opinion of vehicles and vehicle design? 

Christine Barman: I often solicit input from my family and friends on what they like or dislike about their vehicles. I also like to observe how they use their vehicles to better understand what unmet needs exist that they may not even be aware of.

shopautoweek.com: Favorite feature of your current car? 

Christine Barman: I appreciate the active safety features such as electronic stability control and blind-spot monitoring. Any feature that will assist me in avoiding an accident is a favorite to me.

shopautoweek.com: One feature of the future you can’t wait for? 

Christine Barman: The ability to have e-mails read to me and dictate a response while safely driving. Safety is a top priority, but the ability to become more efficient is highly desirable as well. Being able to address important e-mails while driving is my next desired feature.

It may not cause a breakdown, but a car with holes in the carpet can create safety problems for the driver, like a stuck high heel. A car with a shoddy interior will also suffer when it comes to resale value.

Jim Lafeber, founder of the Chicago-based detailing business Simon’s Shine Shop, sees the unfortunate results when people don’t address auto-interior mishaps quickly enough.

“The longer you wait, the harder it is to fix,” Lafeber said.

One of the biggest everyday problems: Kids’ spilled drinks — milk, especially — when they seep deep into cars. If the milk gets past the carpet, Lafeber says the seat might have to be removed so the car can be thoroughly cleaned. Otherwise the spill can “fester and get moldy,” creating a big stink.

Kids’ stickers are another pesky problem when they are applied to the inside of windows, says Lafeber, who is also the International Detailing Association’s vice president of operations. Detailers can usually get them off fairly easily with straight razors, unless there’s aftermarket window tint on the inside of the windows. Then, either the stickers can’t be removed or the plastic tint gets ruined in the process.

But kids are hardly the only culprits when it comes to car-interior mishaps. Dyed clothes like jeans can stain light-colored upholstery, which must be cleaned immediately to prevent permanent blemishes. Another of Lafeber’s customers was applying cologne on his way to a big date. It spilled, got on his blue hairbrush and the subsequent colored liquid got all over his light-colored seats.

Keeping a car interior clean will only add to the value when it’s time to sell. Here are some maintenance tips to keep your car’s interior in top-notch shape:

• Use a fabric, vinyl or leather cleaner to remove dust and grime from seats and interior components. Even if you use a sun shade, it’s still a good idea to apply protective creams to the vinyl and plastic surfaces inside the car. Heat can evaporate the “plasticizers” in vinyl and plastic, leaving them dry, brittle and prone to cracking. Avoid pedals and the steering wheel because the products can be slippery.

• Keep an eye out for rips or tears while you’re scrubbing down the car’s interior. The material that covers the roof on the inside, known as the headliner, should be repaired as soon as tears become visible. The same rule applies to sun visors and dashboards. Ripped fabrics and upholstery can usually be easily repaired, while damage left too long could necessitate replacement of the entire component.

Murphy said the new Volkswagen Jetta and Honda Civic have been spotlighted due to decontenting recently.

“In both cases, consumers and journalists have ripped on those interiors because they feel cheaper, and the materials no longer feel premium,” Murphy said. “People have gotten used to buying Jettas and Civics with interiors that were a cut above the competition. When automakers cut corners the way VW and Honda have, people feel let down.”

Murphy said both vehicles offer updated technologies in the interior, but often it’s hard for consumers to see them.

VW cut costs with the Jetta by switching from a multilink rear suspension to a torsion-beam setup, and critics said the Jetta lost its “German-ness,” its crisp European handling, Murphy said.

“Say what you want about the Jetta, but U.S. sales were up 43.9 percent in 2011, to 177,359 vehicles,” Murphy said. “It outsold the [Ford] Focus and the [Hyundai] Elantra, both new, as well as the [Toyota] Corolla.”

Ed Armbruster, shopautoweek.com’s dealer insider, has seen vehicles roll in lighter than their previous models.

The Cadillac DTS initially came with standard heated leather seats. In 2009, that feature became an option.

"However, the price of the car didn’t change," he said.

The 2005 Buick Rendezvous had a glovebox light, but the 2007 model year did not.

"Also the Rendezvous got notably louder in 2007 due to a reduction in sound-deadening material, again with no change in price," Armbruster said.

Murphy says car shoppers really don’t seem to mind if content is missing from vehicles, as long as it is reflected in the price.

“Decontenting might be a bad word to some automotive enthusiasts, but consumers clearly have no problem with it,” he said. “They’re grateful that the Jetta’s base price is down $1,740.”

J. D. Power and Associates recently looked at what features shoppers want compared with what they currently have.

Raffi Festekjian, J. D. Power and Associates director of automotive product research, said what he sees going away in current models are features that have become irrelevant. He said the main technology features that are going away–CD players, for example–are no longer desired by consumers.

“Those types of traditional features that are going away are making ground for the new, complex kind" of infotainment systems consumers are shopping for, Festekjian said.

So, what does decontenting mean for the everyday car shopper?

Murphy says that answer is subjective, since each shopper sees something different in a vehicle.

“Some consumers are thrilled to save money on one of their most expensive purchases,” he said. “Others may find certain aspects they dislike. If that consumer is completely turned off, he shops another vehicle.”

Don’t think decontenting is limited to just cars. Next time you’re at the grocery store, stop by the freezer case and check out your favorite carton of ice cream. Most brands have quietly gone from a half-gallon (two-quart) container to 1.75 quarts–without changing the price.

Review Summary:
The only difference between the standard Navigator and the L model is the additional 14.9 inches at the back.

Review:

Like the standard Navigator, little has changed on the L model for 2012. The standard equipment consists of a voice-activated navigation system, a THX surround-sound system and a SiriusXM satellite radio receiver. A power moonroof is optional, as well as a list of accessories including a locking fuel cap and trailer-hitch bike rack.

Standard safety features include dual front airbags, roll-stability control and electronic stability control. A trailer sway control system also comes standard. The L model is powered by the same 5.4-liter V8 engine found in the standard Navigator. The powerplant creates 310 hp and 365 lb-ft of torque.

The L model is the way to go if you’re a Navigator fan who wants more cargo space.

Key Features:

• More interior space than the standard-length Navigator
• Poor driving dynamics and gas mileage
• Just as luxurious as the regular model

Review Summary:
Arguably the best mass-produced roadster on the market.

Review:

All 2012 Porsche Boxster models come in a convertible bodystyle with rear-wheel drive and a standard six-speed manual transmission. The standard engine is a 2.9-liter six-cylinder that creates 255 hp and 214 lb-ft of torque, which is plenty to go out and have fun with. Optional equipment includes a seven-speed dual-clutch automated-manual transmission. The upgraded Boxster S model offers a 3.4-liter, six-cylinder engine that makes 310 hp and 266 lb-ft of torque, perfect for blasting back roads or strapping on a helmet for a track day.

The top-of-the-line Boxster Spyder has a different body and top setup. It is powered by a tuned 3.4-liter, six-cylinder engine that produces 320 hp. It is clearly the fastest Boxster available with a 0-to-60-mph time around 4.6 seconds with the dual-clutch transmission. The overall fuel economy is 22 mpg in mixed driving, same as the other trim levels.

Simply put, the Boxster is the best two-seat, drop-top out there. If you’re looking for driving fun with the wind blowing in your hair, then this is your car.

Key Features:

• Pure open-top driving at its finest
• The most wallet-friendly Porsche on the market
• Power, handling and fun that will keep you smiling all day long