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DETROIT — A General Motors spokesperson told SubPrime Auto Finance News this morning that the automaker kicked off a 72-Hour Sale today that features zero-percent financing for up to 72 months on select 2008 models. This offer is only available for qualified buyers.

“This program, similar to other annual selling events, such as the Presidents’ Day Sale and the Red Tag Year-End Event, is designed to stimulate sales during traditional automotive selling windows,” said John McDonald, a GM spokesperson.

“GM’s combination of offering terrific MSRPs and great incentives during these merchandising windows offers customers a unique value opportunity,” he continued. [click to continue...]

“Sports Activity Coupe”… now I’ve seen everything.

Welcome to BMW’s newest offering, the 2008 BMW X6 xDrive35i Sports Activity Coupe (SAC). Admittedly, my pre-test drive opinion of this thing was that it must just be an X5 with a smaller trunk and a few more bells and whistles… but the Product Specialist at local dealer BMW Of Darien was quick to point out that the X6 is an entirely different approach to sports utility, and as he finished rattling off all the differences between the two models, I started looking around for a dunce cap to stick on my head.

The X6 really is a different breed, pretty much from any other vehicle out there. One look at the shape of it tells you that much, but the visual effect of the X6 isn’t just an exercise in design - it’s a clue to the entirely unique approach that BMW took with this model. You’d be hard-pressed to find an SUV out there boasting 300 twin-turbocharged horses from an inline-6 like the X6 can claim, and if that’s not enough, the V8 will soon make its debut and bring another hundred horsepower along with it. On top of that, BMW’s xDrive system has been upgraded for the X6 specifically. No longer simply a front-to-rear distribution of wheel power under duress, the X6’s system also allows left-to-right power distribution, putting it on par with some of the better all-wheel drive systems available.

The uniqueness continues inside, with the rear seats split into two full-on buckets, with bolsters and optional sunshades and seat heaters. And given the generous legroom, it’s safe to say there isn’t a bad seat in the house of X6. Of course, it ain’t all gravy… that coupe-like roofline makes headroom fairly awkward for 6-footers or anyone with an 80’s hairdo.

Enough talk, let’s get to driving.

With 300 horses on tap and turbo lag nowhere to be found, the X6 can haul its big bubbly ass past pretty much anything on the road. And trust me, in front of the pack is where you want to stay, because the view out the back of that tiny rear window is Lamborghini-sized. BMW did resolve this issue from a parking standpoint, with Park Distance Control (sonar sensors) standard and a backup camera available on the Technology Package.

Having driven BMW sedans as well as the BMW X5 SAV, I can say that the X6 definitely shoots the gap between car and SUV quite nicely - its ride is taut and steering feel is direct like any good BMW saloon, but at its limit, you’re still going to take a curve 5 mph slower in the X6 than you would in a 3-Series. Not a bad compromise considering the extra capability and space you get with the X6, whose trunk is surprisingly large I might mention.

Now it’s not just that you can drive the X6 like you stole it… rather, BMW expects you to. There are a million ways to configure gearshifts on this car, which isn’t the kind of thing you’ll find on its competitors’ resumes. You can throw the shifter into automatic and let the 6-speed tranny do its thing; you’ve got paddle-shifters on the steering wheel and in this case, they can be used to make an immediate up or downshift, before the trans returns to auto mode. If you pull the shifter over to the left, you’re in Sport mode… it’s still automatic, but now the shift pattern is more aggressive. Once you move the shifter up or down from that point, you’ve moved into Manual mode, which can be utilized either through the shifter or the paddles. It’s a bit too much fun eminating from a 4,900 pound sculpture whose rear hips monopolize the view from your side mirrors.

The 2008 BMW X6 starts at $52,500, and with typical options and packages as tested here, retails for $57,000. Find out more about the X6 at BMWUSA.com.

I recently came across this post by ‘rivetergirl‘ commenting on her mother’s recent car buying experience. What surprised me was that they were dealing with 2 Subaru Dealers: Valley Subaru of Longmont Colorado and Vista Subaru in Glenwood Springs Colorado. The “surprise” is that the Longmont dealer was more than 200 miles away. Using the DealerDex Dealer Locator, there aren’t any subaru dealers near Glenwood Springs - so they were basically keeping the local guy honest. It sounds like the Longmont dealer was willing to give the customer the best price AND deliver the car, only to have the deal slip away because the consumer called Glenwood Springs and they matched the deal. Local guy wins.

I know things like this happen all the time in the car business. A Blue 2009 Subaru Forrester is a commodity. I’m not sure why the consumer didn’t give the Longmont dealer their business (location, service, price, etc). I guess another factor to consider is that if the consumer lives near Glenwood Springs, they will probably use this dealer to service their car - so giving them their business may have been the best choice. I hope the writer reads this post and comes back to leave a car dealer review of both dealers for future buyers.

Given current gas prices, you’ve probably heard people all around you harping on their tips for saving gas and improving fuel economy. Some of them are obvious (like coasting whenever possible), and some of them are quite illogical (like driving the speed limit… if 65 is bad for MPG in a 55 zone, why would 65 be good for MPG in a 65 zone?). But you know what, all those tips are for wusses. DealerDex is going to arm you with some MPG improvement tips that throw practicality and legal repercussions to the wind… we’ll leave the discretion up to you.

1. Run yellow lights no matter what. You don’t need a calculator to figure out the gas mileage of a car that’s sitting at a red light. So make sure to speed through every light you can, and you’ll keep that average MPG nice and high.

2. If you get pulled over for implementing Tip #1, shut your car off. Just a reminder. Make a note of it for the rest of the tips as well.

3. Strip your car down like you’re about to go street racing. Weight is the enemy of everything we love about cars - speed, handling, and MPG. The typical car has to push 15 - 20 pounds per single unit of horsepower, so emptying everything you can out of your car means the engine has to do less work to keep things moving, and less work means better MPG and performance. But why stop at emptying out your trunk? If you’re always driving by yourself, why not take out the seats? Or, you could really roll the dice and ditch the spare tire. Feelin’ lucky?

4. Swap out those big, sexy rims for some skinny rubber. Every manufacturer is pushing big fat rims and tires on their cars as options nowadays, and as cool as that may look, it’s bad for gas mileage. If you’re rolling on some of these wide tires, put those puppies up on eBay and go pick up the skinnier, downgraded versions that came as standard equipment. And don’t worry about losing your visual appeal, because nothing looks sexier than 35MPG on the dashboard display, right?

5. Drive in the left lane at all times. Smoother roads make for better gas mileage, and on almost any road in the country, the smoothest section of a road is the one less traveled: the left lane. 18-wheelers are usually forbidden from driving in the left lane, and as you hopefully know from driving school, the left lane is only for passing, not for cruising - which means less cars eat up that lane’s pavement. So go ahead and ignore what I just said about not cruising in the left lane, and cruise in it all day long.

6. Quit your job and work from home. If you’re like me, you watch most of your TV at 4am, therefore you’ve surely seen all the millionaires who quit their jobs to make money on this new fad called the Internet. Why not do that? Then you wouldn’t even have to buy gas in the first place. You’re welcome.