Got the fever . . . new-car fever
fresh vehicular meat as if begging to be enticed into a new ride. Big, full-page newspaper ads touting huge discounts and cheap lease rates on new trucks and luxury cars are all over the place. I’m captivated by them. I'll also pick up a couple of new-car buyer's guides to check out the descriptions, stats and list prices of the new models.
I suspect I'm not alone in this pre-autumnal/autumnal state of automotive twitterpation, which explains why most of the manufacturers ramp up their sales pitches. Of course they have a slew of new and improved products to promote. But what's interesting is that many of these vehicles actually went on sale last spring so they're technically not really new. However, automakers have long realized that the fall is THE season for selling their wares. In fact the word "season" is an apt term since it is also applies to the animal world at a point in time when the renewal of the species begins. Yes the desire for a fresh set of wheels can be just as strong.
Note that it's not just new-car buyers that the manufacturers and their dealers are after; they also want to clear out the remaining old stock as they load up with the newbies. Savvy buyers usually wait until fall just so they can cash in on the deals and spiffs that are ladled onto these nearly one-year-old vehicles like honey to tempt us bees.
All of that makes sense as far as it goes, but the fever also seems to affect used-car shoppers as well, or at least in my case. As I write this, I'm actually checking out some Web sites for deals. In fact, my most recent purchase was made via one such particular point-andclick auction house in October of 2012. The thrill of bidding (and eventually outbidding) on my new-to-me sedan matched my desire to buy it, kind of like double-fever jeopardy, if you will.
That was a few years ago, which seems like a lifetime for car-feverish folks such as myself. In fact my counterpart, Editor Jeff Melnychuk, keeps sending me links to old pickup trucks and new sports cars.
Now if I can only make it through to the end of the year I'll be good for another 12 months, unless I come down with a case of Spring Fever. Somebody help me.