RealTown's RealTalk

I have a Honda Pilot.  It wasn't what I wanted to buy, but for the money it was worth it. Rides well, is great in the snow, and the third row is great for kids.

My only complaint is that it's not as comfortable as I would like on long drives.  After about an hour, I find myself wishing it had better seats.  With a mix of highway and local driving, I average only 15 MPG.

Yeah Al, Halle-blankin-lullyah, I totally agree! If it's even close to a toss-up, buy American.

I also have had a few non-American cars, before I knew any better..... but ever since becoming aware of the lay-offs in Michigan many years ago, which filled me with sadness and sympathy, I would never consider buying a car not made in America and with an America company name on it..... (IOW, I don't care that they build foreign cars here, I wouldn't buy them..... and I wasn't real happy about some of our American companies putting foreign motors in their cars either, so those are "out" too....).

Sure, buy a Toyota or a Honda or Benz, but only as a 2nd or 3rd car.... Main car should be American.

And many customers DO notice stuff like that..... I only ever had two clients actually make comments, and one was quite reprimanding....  and that was my LAST non-American car.

Lindy in Houston

Bonita, I'm not sure where I got this article, probably here on RT, but maybe elsewhere.... it is a GREAT article about cars and IRS deductions.... I am including the main exerpt, and also including the link, so you can check it out..... actually this IRS deduction makes me insanely angry, but since it exists, you may as well utilize it.....

Jan 07...from SmartMoney website (which has lots of great ideas)...
http://www.smartmoney.com/tax/workbusiness/index.cfm?story=taxideas
click on the link later, the main thing (about cars) is copied for you below......

Congress & IRS certainly are looking out for us (!!!).....
This has been the butt of many comedian jokes, and commentary on many shows.... and if you
didn't know what they were talking about, now you do....  I had already heard about this in a
real estate class.... IRS gives great deductions to people that can afford a $60K car, and yet
gives people grief when they don't even make $30K a year.... and the $60K car needs to be a
gas-guzzler, so it shows a direct connection to the politicians with oil company connections.....
I try so hard to believe that our gov't is "good" & honest & fair & ethical, and that any corruption
is minimal, but every day I have to question that.... thanks to deductions like this!

This is an INCREDIBLE $32K deduction....

Buy a Heavy SUV and Save Taxes
Congress imposed a reduced $25,000 limit on Section 179 deductions for heavy SUVs. This restriction applies only to SUVs. Not to worry! The idea of buying a heavy SUV still works quite well. Why? Because the tax law allows you to claim the $25,000 Section 179 writeoff plus the "regular" first-year depreciation writeoff. For example, say you spend $60,000 in 2007 to buy a new Cadillac Escalade that is used 100% in your business. You can generally claim the following first-year deductions on your business's 2007 federal return: the $25,000 Section 179 writeoff plus $7,000 worth of regular depreciation [20% x ($60,000 - $25,000)]. So your first-year depreciation deductions add up to $32,000, or about 53% of the new Escalade's cost. This is a far better deal than if you spent the same $60,000 on a new BMW used 100% for business (in that case, your first-year depreciation writeoff would be limited to about $3,000 under the so-called luxury auto depreciation limitations).

Okay, that's the end of the excerpt....
The $32K deduction blows my mind..... it's like giving people a $60K car for $28K.... nice. Some people only make $30K a year, but IRS just gives that away like it's nothing.

My opinions aside, I hope this article helps you..... looks like could be a big SUV in your future!
Lindy in Houston