Good Read: "Long Way Round"

I love travel memoirs. They're the next best thing to traveling yourself. If you have a desire for adventure lurking within you (especially if you love everything and anything to do with motorcycles), check out "Long Way Round" by Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman. Both men detail their travels from London to New York on their BMW bikes. It's well written and easy to get sucked into. I've read it a couple of times and always like going back to it every now and again.
 

Also be sure to check out their follow-up adventure called "Long Way Down". This time they travel from Scotland to South Africa.

-Michael

Black Car Ban?

OK, not really but hearing word that California Air Resource Board (aka "CARB") was considering a ban on black car caused me to do a quick web search. Here's the actual report (make sure you have Adobe PDF reader). So, in attempt to reduce solar energy that is absorbed by car paint, CARB is considering imposing regulations that would have to increase the amount of heat car paint reflects back in an attempt to reduce the amount of solar energy absorbed here on Earth. Here's the issue that has many up in arms: black paint absorbs the most solar energy of any paint color. I think we all know that especially those of us who have or currently own a black car. CARB wants to regulate the amount of solar energy that is reflected back and black paint can not meet the minimum their regulations would mandate.  

You can read the report for more details and make a decision. Listen, I'm all for the environment but I'm also for sensible approaches. I have to be careful here in what I'm about to say but I will say that I don't always agree with the regulations that CARB comes up with. They can be very short sighted. I personally don't think this attempt at reducing the amount of solar energy absorbed will fly with the people. There are many more efficient ways of reducing the amount of heat absorbed. If they really want to consider this regulation, do we stop at black cars? How about dark blue or dark gray? How about roads? Roads absorb far more heat than cars do. Should we mandate that roads are anything but black? There are many more efficient ways of reducing global warming... wait, let me take that back. There are many ways of reducing pollution. We are straying away from the real heart of the matter. Global warming has become the buzz word while pollution has been pushed to the side. We need to cut down on pollution which means we need to not only improve efficiency but to consume less and throw away less. With this economy, I think we are all doing this whether we like it or not. I think that's a good thing for ourselves and our future. 

Cleaning and Conditioning Leather

Want to clean and condition your car’s leather interior? And while you're at it, maybe your leather jacket and leather shoes too? Before you head to the store and grab the first leather conditioner you see, let me ask you, have you heard the term finished leather before? No? That’s okay because most people haven’t. Most of us think that cleaning and conditioning leather is a long arduous process of washing the leather and using leather conditioner to moisturize it. What seems like a long drawn out process is the reason why many people tend to not care for their leather as often as they should - if at all. 

Here's the good news... caring for leather is a lot easier than you think. There were days when you had to wash your leather with special leather soap than condition it with a special leather conditioner called hide food. For the vast majority of leather goods on the market including your car's leather interior and other items like leather jacket, shoes, belt, and furniture it's no longer required that you care for the leather in this way. As a matter of fact, it hasn’t been this way for almost 20 years. So what's changed?

Most of today's leather goods have a clear coat finish applied on the surface of the hide. It’s coated to protect it from the elements, help it stay looking new longer and with less maintenance. Now if you apply these traditional leather soaps and conditioners (including leather hide food) on the leather, you end up with a really oily finish since the oils never get past the coating and into the leather hide. Apply this on your car's leather seat and you’ll find yourself slipping and sliding as you drive. It's similar to applying these oils on your car's paint.

What’s the solution? You have to use a leather cleaner and conditioner that is formulated to treat the finish on the leather rather than trying to treat the leather itself. 

 

When you use einszett Leather Care on today’s finished leather including car leather interiors, leather furniture, jackets, and shoes it will clean the finish coating and keep it conditioned so it maintains its original finish. There’s no greasy finish, no harmful cleaners and it won’t leave a powdery residue around the stitching like other brands. It also has a light lavender and sandalwood scent. We recommend you apply Leather Care at least twice a year. While finished leather doesn't require nearly the same amount of care as unfinished leather, it's not maintenance-free. Left uncared for, it will dry out, lose its luster and eventually crack. So spend no more than 30 minutes twice a year and taking care of your leather and it will continue to look and feel great.

For a more details on how to care for leather including how to tell whether you have finished or unfinished leather with a simple water drop test, read my article titled Proper Leather Care. It was originally written as part of the Keep It Clean series on detailing for the Porsche Club and now you can read the entire series at http://www.1z-usa.com/.

Bring the Affordable GT Back

The idea of Fiat and Alfa Romeo coming into the US puts a big smile on my face. I love Italian cars... Alfa Romeo, Maserati and of course Lamborghini and Ferrari. Not for their badges but for their looks. The Italians know how to place a curve and a crease in precisely the right places. I especially love two door GT cars. GT- Grand Tourers or Gran Tourismo. Italians seem to know how to do these right. GT's are built to eat up large stretches of road at high speeds in great comfort while fully capable to take on the curves with finesse. Think Aston Martin Vantage and DB9, Ferrari Modena and Scaglietti, and Alfa 8C and Brera, Audi A5/S5, Nissan GT-R and Infiniti G37 to name just a few. 
 

Back in '97 I got my hands on a '93 VW Corrado VR6. German car, Italian designed and built at the highly regarded Karmann coachworks in Germany. I didn't know it at the time but it was a GT. Sure, there was no badging that said "GT". Still, it was a GT. It was a sports car and yet it wasn’t. It was built more for driving long lengths at high speed but had the GT ability of taking on the curves without a fuss. 

The Corrado is the reason I am where I am. I was always a car lover but this car made me a passionate enthusiast. It led me to detailing which eventually led me to einszett and eventually introducing it into the North America market. Yes, one car is responsible for it all.

 

The Corrado is a perfect example of an affordable GT that combined timeless design, excellent power to weight ratio, practicality (I could throw a couple of mountain bikes in the back thanks to the lift back design) and affordability into one package. 

Now let me clarify "affordability" because this is the reason for this post in the first place. In the last few years, the term affordability has seemed to change. Many of you would say that the Audi A5 is an affordable GT. Sure that's affordable compared to an Aston Martin Vantage. At $50K plus, I don't really consider that affordable especially since I'm not considering lease terms. Finance it and you’re talking $1000/month with good credit terms. That’s the mortgage of your average house in over 90% of the country! It may have been considered affordable in years past when everybody’s idea of affordable was skewed, but not these days. I'm talking about a range of $20-$30K. This is a price range that requires a monthly payment of $300-$500 per month. So within this price range, what options do we have here in North America? Thinking... thinking... still thinking.... yeah, I got nothin'. 

Here’s where I think the entry of Fiat and Alfa Romeo into the US market is worth getting excited about. Alfa Romeo has the Brera and the GT. Two examples of affordable GTs, especially the Brera which reminds me of the Corrado as far as weight, power, design and pricing. I do prefer the sharp edges of the Corrado compared to the curvaceous (understatement) rear of the Brera but it's close enough. It’s still a very sexy car and has been acknowledged for it with an award.

 

If Fiat and Alfa do come here, it just might encourage other makers to create the affordable GT again. Who knows, maybe we'll even see VW resurrect the Corrado or a create a successor. With the more favorable Euro/USD currency exchange rate, it is possible.

In recent years, car makers were running mad trying to one-up each other in the horsepower wars since customers were more than happy to upgrade their car every 2-3 years. Well, those days are over and everyone is holding on to their cars longer. The good news about this economy is that it's causing everyone to take a deep breath and re-think their objectives. Car makers are going to have to create more value in their products. No longer can they rely on customers buying multiple cars to fulfill different moods. Instead one car will have to satisfy most moods.

In my case, I would love to have a car that takes me to the local store with comfort and ease but if I feel like taking the long way home it’ll satisfy my quick fix for a little fun. And maybe on the weekend I’ll want to take the road up to Monterrey enjoying every twist and turn Highway 1 has to offer. It should have a timeless look because I don’t want it to look aged in a few years once the new model replacement arrives. After all, when you really fall in love with a car, you’re less likely to trade it in so quickly. Bottom line, I’m looking for a keeper. All the best! Michael http://www.1z-usa.com/

Used Is the New New

Everyone is holding on to their cars longer. In the last 10-15 years, leasing dominated new car purchases while financing went in the opposite direction. With cars being traded in every two to three years, there was a negative effect on the car care industry. Not just car care product manufacturers but mechanics. It was difficult to explain to a car owner why it was important to polish, wax, and condition the leather in their car or its condition and appearance would deteriorate in three to four years. The response became "so what?". Sure enough, why did the customer have to care? They weren't going to see the car after two years, let alone four! Now I'm not necessarily talking about the enthusiast who is diligent about maintaining the appearance of their car regardless of how long they have it. But rather I'm talking about the 'less enthusiast' person. This downward trend of detailing maintenance was easily seen with a lot of detailers. They began to see their customer base dwindle and only seeing customers at the end of their lease asking for a miracle revitalization just prior to turning in their car. But now things are different. Looks like economic circumstances are forcing us to revisit our habits that wasn't uncommon just 10-15 years ago when it was the norm to hold on to a car for 5-10 years and accumulate over 100k miles. Now, due to the credit crunch, car makers are reducing their lease offerings or not offering them altogether. Also, a recent report mentioned that mechanics are seeing a 20% increase in their business. Folks, the shift has started. einszett has always been a company about creating products that protect your car's value. Looking good just happens to be the byproduct. We were never in the business of making dressings - you know, products that make the car look great until after the first wash and all the shine literally washes off. When a car is maintained on a regular basis, it retains its value much better than a car that doesn't. From personal experience, when selling a car as a private party, I've had potential buyers tell me that they didn't need to see the car's maintenance records because the car's appearance was so well maintained. I remember one person who eventually bought my car told me "If your car looks this good, I'm sure you took care of all the oil changes...". Think about it, if a person has a clean appearance, well-dressed, hair in place and shiny white teeth, chances are good that they also take care of their inside by eating right and exercising. The same with cars. I believe the appearance of a car (regardless of whether it's an economy car or an exotic) reflects who we are. Honestly, I've seen Toyota Corollas better maintained than some BMW 7 series... but I digress :) With a detailed car, it's not difficult asking for Kelly Blue Book price or in some cases higher. You can increase your car's value by a significant amount with a small investment in both time and car care products. And if you think it's nothing but hard work, you need to try the einszett line of products. You'll find that the polishes and waxes do not require the same kind of elbow grease that other brands require. It's not magic it's just a result of concentrated product and using only the best ingredients. A little goes a long way.

Plan on selling your car? These days, the listings for used cars is HUGE. How are you going to differentiate yourself when all the cars you're competing with might have the same features, mileage, and so on? I'll tell you... it's the one that is best maintained on the inside and outside. When selling a house, you' don't sell it when it's poorly maintained and dirty.

Or how about buying a used car? Consider buying one that might have all its service records but needs some help in the appearance section. Make an offer knowing that you can easily revive the car's appearance with einszett. Bottom line is this... I believe it will be many years before we return to what we saw in the last 10-15 years. When I say many years, I mean MANY years. Re-think how you will take care of your second largest investment after a house. With a full detail twice a year with einszett polishes, waxes, and cleaners, your car will always look its best and when it's time to move on, you'll have the confidence to sell it at a price you know you can command. All the best! Michael http://www.1z-usa.com/

Hi

The name of this blog is einszett Reflections. Yes, pun intended but I also chose the word 'reflections' because it's often what I do - reflect. Every now and then I'll share my thoughts on life, the car care industry, the automotive industry and whatever's happening in the world around us. These are challenging times and I know there will be plenty to reflect on. Feel free to be in touch with me and comment any time. All the best, Michael www.1z-usa.com