You know we all do it. Sure, we try to patronize the local grocer, but sometimes Wal-Mart is cheaper or more convenient. If you want the cheapest gallon of milk, a quick quart of oil or even a reasonably priced LCD TV, Wal-Mart has everything you need. In the next few years though, you may be able to head down to Wal-Mart, CostCo or your basic “big box” store to buy your next car. Right now, if you want to buy a car in Mexico, that’s where people go. Well, maybe not any car,but at least one particular brand, GS Motors.

Wal-Mart, CostoCo, Sam’s and similar stores are known for their ultra efficient supply chain management. They are able to ship things more efficiently than smaller stores and thus, are able to sell them cheaper. Analysts and car makers who make ultra-cheap cars (the Chinese) will be able to utilize these amazing supply chains to market to a huge number of people (people visit Wal-Mart over 130 million times per week).

However, these big box stores will have the same problems with these cars as they do with many of their toys. Quality. In the same way Korean cars like Kia and Hyundai had very sketchy beginnings in the US, the likes of Chery and BYD will have a tough time selling to Americans who have a higher expectation of quality. Their price will no doubt fund future generations of Chinese cars that are sure to have better quality and more mainstream design.

What does this mean for dealers today? It means that a bad economy might be the least of your worries. A combination of a falling dollar (with all the “stimulus” money Washington will print out of this air) and resultant lower purchasing power of our next generation will push buyers to look for alternatives to Hondas and Toyotas. The Chinese car makers will make an absolute killing with the favorable exchange rates and domestic brands will suffer without cheaper, better built cars.

So, how will dealers “deal” with everything going against them? In this writer’s humble opinion, tax brakes are the only hope we have. Right now, the corporate tax rate in the US is the highest in the world. Makes it pretty tough to compete when you’re cars have a 35% (plus state and local taxes) premium over that of your competitors. It makes sense to most economists that killing this tax rate will allow for car companies to sell cars cheaper and hire more people to make these cars. The government will in turn make money through the income tax revenue of those employees, thus recovering the money “lost” through lowing tax income. Cheaper cars means its easier to export them to foreign nations which, again, leads to more cars sold and more revenue for the Government. So the question is this: are we going to keep killing our manufacturers and dealers by keeping the corporate tax rate high (and in turn, allowing unemployment to stay high), thus empowering China and their economy or will we lower our tax rates so our companies can compete with the rest of the world and we can take the fight overseas? The current administration and congress seem to think they can will the economy through distribution of funds into “creating” wealth. Unfortunately, the more you fight economics, the more you will suffer. And by you, I mean the American people.

Inspiration: GasGoo

vs.

Lock up your GMs! Seem as if criminals have it out for you this year. Between Cadillacs and Hummers, GM hold 4 of the top 8 spots on this list. In fact, if you have any large American car, you might want to think about building a small shed to house it.

Car: Claims Per 1,000/Average Loss Payment Per Claim

10. Honda S2000 Convertible: 8.1/$13,624
9. 2005-2007 Dodge Durango: 8.1/$9,682
8. 2005-2007 Hummer H2: 8.7/$18,791
7. 2005-2007 Dodge Magnum: 9.9/$8,926
6. 2005-2007 Hummer H2 SUT: 10.0/$23,771
5. 2005-2007 Ford F-350 SuperCrew: 10.7/$20,138
4. 2006-2007 Dodge Charger: 11/$7,047
3. 2007 Cadillac Escalade: 11.3/$14,657
2. 2005-2007 Ford F-250 SuperCrew: 13.1/$19,250
1. 2007 Cadillac Escalade ESV: 15.0/$13,060

For the same reason American car makers love to sell large SUVs and truck, thieves are seeking these behemoths out. They are large, cheap ways to get a nice car that will allow you to put expensive stereos, large rims and other accessories on that are easy to steal and resell without too much worry. Dropping 24s on your Hummer may say, “You’re ballin’” to your friends, but it says, “Come steal me” to every car criminal out there.

On the other hand, should be you be looking for the most inconspicuous (boring) cars on the road to protect your insurance premiums and pimped car stereos, you might want to check out the list below. To be honest, not all of them are boring or lame. Some of them just have excellent security systems and car-jackers know that it’s not worth the time to steal the car or there will be no way to re-sell the expensive parts off the car. As you can see, most of the cars are people carriers though with a preponderance of SUVs. The interesting thing is that whereas some of the cars are rather popular (Ford Focus, VW Beetle, Toyota Prius) some of the cars are the most obscure models available (Buick Terraza, Saturn Relay).

10. 2005-2007 Ford Freestyle
9. 2005-2007 Saturn Relay
8. 2005-2007 Toyota Prius
7. 2005-2007 Volvo V70
6. 2005-2007 Ford Focus
5. 2005-2007 Volkswagen (New) Beetle
4. 2005-2007 Buick Terraza
3. 2005-2007 Subaru Forrester
2. 2005-2007 Buick Rainier
1. 2005-2007 Mercedes-Benz E-Class

Source: Highway Safety and Highway Loss Data Institute

Well, it’s another turkey day and EasyAutoSales is in full swing! With recent updates of new feeds like VINAssist and AutoDealerTraffic, EasyAutoSales is still fleshing out our sites inventory with as many clients as possible. If you would like your feed or site to be listed on EasyAutoSales, please email us at service@easyautosales.com. Also, we’ve finally gotten our first financial partner with the addition of Web2Carz! If you’re looking to finance your next car, please check out http://www.easyautosales.com/finance and follow this to our credit application form. Web2Carz will then match you up with the best lenders!

With all this said, we have many things to be thankful for. We at EasyAutoSales are thankful that so many of you chose us every day to shop for your next car online. We are also thankful for all the great cars that are for sale today. No matter what you do or what your needs are, there’s car or for you! So, with that said, here’s my “What Cars I’m Thankful For” in honor of Thanksgiving 2008:

1. The Audi Coupe GT – This was the car I learned how to drive and my first real car I drove in high school. It was a super sweet ride that came over as a grey market car in 1986. I believe there were something like 500 of them brought over to the states. With an inline-5 engine and a slick 5-speed (and some awesome quality leather), this was a super rare and stylish ride at the time. Though the car was originally supposed to be giving to my brother when he graduated college, it got caught on some black ice while I was driving and ended up t-boning a Lincoln. RIP Audi.

2. The BMW E30 3-Series – This was my first car ever that I bought myself. I’ve had 3 of them thus far, including a 1991 318is that’s sitting in my garage. In my spare time, I’ve been taking it apart with plans to restore the car and get it out autocrossing. The car is super light, super cheap, efficient and a significant portion of the cars were build before the fall of the Berlin Wall, so they were built like a German tank. There will always be a special place in my heart for these cars.

3. The BMW 850CSi – This was my first “dream” car. While other kids had Lamborghinis and Ferraris on their wall, I remember watching a MotorWeek on TV back in the early 90s and recall the review of the ultra-exclusive BMW 850CSi. With a supurb 5.6L 12-cylinder engine (later derivatives of the V12 from this BMW were dropped into the McLaren F1), the 850CSi was the peak of german GT performance in the 90s.

4. The McLaren F1 – This was my first “dream” super-car. This was it. This was the car that embodied everything I wanted in a car. Speed. Handling. The look and a it had been the fastest production car for an incredibly long period of time. Even by today’s standards, there’s only a few cars that can match the F1’s performance. I’ll take mine in LeMans Orange. Now, all I need is the $4 million these cars are going for these days.

5. “New” Mini Cooper – It’s one of the most fun, efficient and safe cars I’ve ever had the chance to drive. In terms of pure performance, it’s not the fastest car in the world. However, it runs like it’s on rails, it’s got tons of low end torque and it just gives you the feeling of being in a much faster and more expensive car. They are just an all around great car! Though the new turbocharged Coopers are fantastic, there’s something really sweet looking about the previous generation’s GP edition. Just make sure and get yours without run-flat tires. Just no good…

6. Ford F-150 – Used to have a 1997 Ford F-150 and like the Mini Cooper, there’s something fun about driving it. You get a king-of-the-road type feeling, super hauling power and the great sound of a rumbling American V8. Due to some “lemon” issues with the car, I had to return it to the party I bought it from, but it’s on my list of cars that will tow my eventual race cars. The F-150 has/had been the best selling car for many years in a row and it’s no wonder. Though the older cars interior is pretty shady by modern standards, that’s not why you get a pickup truck.

7. Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder – In my opinion, one of the most beautiful cars made today. The overt and absurd styling of Lamborghinis crossed with the sex appeal of a drop-top (and reliability of an Audi) make this car exactly what I want to drive along the A1-A on a sunny day with my wife by my side. A car like this is also an investment, as quality Lamborghinis like the Gallardo are sure to keep their value in years to come. Though the Murcielago is the “big brother,” many have described it as a powerful, 4WD Elise due to its compact size. I love small cars and this one acts much larger with it’s 5.0L V10.

8. Lotus Elise – Proof you can have a car that has super-car performance and get well over 30MPG. Not much to say about this car, as it’s legend in its own right.

In a few short months, 2009 will be upon us. So, EasyAutoSales.com thought it would be nice to prepare those of you looking to purchase a new car at the beginning of the year with the most fuel efficient vehicles sold in the United States (since fuel efficiency and saving money seems to be American’s primary automotive goals currently). To help come up with our list, The Environmental Protection Agency just released their 2009 EPA Fuel Economy Guide (Click here for the 2008 version). This guide only gives a list of fuel mileage but gas guzzler taxes on cars, annual estimated fuel costs and information about topics like alternative fuel tax credits, biodiesel, ethanol, environmental protection and numerous other helpful topics when you’re looking to buy a car and care about annual fuel costs. Interestingly, cars like the Tesla and the Honda Clarity FCX are in the report, though their ranges are missing, oddly enough. As for regular petrol cars, the top 10 list is as follows:

1. Toyota Prius (Hybrid) 48/45

2. Honda Civic (Hybrid) 40/45

3. Nissan Altima (Hybrid) 35/33

4. Ford Escape / Mazda Tribute / Mercury Mariner FWD (Hybrid) 34/31

5. Smart ForTwo Coupe/ Convertible 33/41

6. Toyota Camry (Hybrid) 33/34

7. Volkswagen Jetta / Sportwagon (manual, diesel) 30/41

8. Volkswagen Jetta / Sportwagon (automatic, diesel) 29/40

9. Toyota Yaris (manual) 29/36

10. Toyota Yaris (automatic) 29/35

With the list above in mind, what car would you take? There’s quite a few Toyotas in there so you know you’ll get super reliable cars there. The Volkswagon’s are amazing highway cars that have dead reliable oil burners. What can we say about the Smart cars, with their quirky looks and super small foot print should get you around the city with ease. With gas pricing coming back down to reasonable levels, gas mileage has become less important that is was when we were all paying $4.00-5.00 a gallon. Check the answer you’d go with?

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Lastly, if you’re looking for a specific class of car (you need that pickup for work or you have a family that needs a 4-door sedan) then check the following list:

Two Seater – Smart Fortwo Coupe / Convertible 33/41

Minicompact – Mini Cooper (manual) 28/37

Subcompact – Toyota Yaris (manual) 29/36

Compact – Honda Civic (Hybrid) 40/45

Midsize – Toyota Prius 48/45

Large – Hyundai Sonata (automatic) 22/32

Small Station Wagon – Volkswagen Jetta Sportwagen (manual, diesel) 30/41

Midsize Station Wagon – Kia Rondo (2.4 L engine) 20/27

Sport Utility Vehicle – Ford Escape / Mazda Tribute / Mercury Mariner FWD (Hybrid) 34/31

Minivan – Mazda 5 (manual) 22/28

Small Pickup Truck – Ford Ranger / Mazda B2300 2WD (manual, 2.3 L engine) 21/26

Standard Pickup Truck – Chevrolet Silverado / GMC Sierra 2WD Hybrid (automatic) 21/22