1. Be patient during the break-in period
You’ve bought your dream car and now you want to make it last at long as possible in top condition. Here are some things to remember as you pull it out of the dealer’s lot:

* During the break-in period, typically the first 1,000 miles (1,600 km), keep your speed under 55 mph (88 kpm) or to the speed recommended by your car’s manufacturer.

* Avoid heavy loads on the drive train, such as towing trailers, and loading the roof rack or trunk with heavy construction materials.

* Do not allow your new car to idle for long periods — this is good advice for the life of your car, but especially during breakin. The oil pressure generated by doing so may not be sending oil to every part of your engine.

* Use only light to medium acceleration, keeping the engine rpms below 3,000 for the first few hours of driving.

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1. Always maintain a calm, collected tone
Keep your voice even, keep your tone low, and do not lose your temper. If you find yourself getting upset, place the person on hold for a moment, take a slow, deep breath, and pick the phone back up. If they have hung up on you, mention it when you call back.

2 . Before you call, outline the situation for yourself, and decide how you want it solved
Write down several options you would be willing to accept, and keep the page in front of you when you call.

3. Always get the name of the person who answered the phone, even if you speak to them for only a moment
Write the name down, as well as any other person you connect to. Keep notes of who said what.
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I post this one with all appropriate snark and commentary.

Maybe in NYC Barbara can still move $10 million dollar penthouses with ease, but in the rest of the country, there’s a very good reason your house isn’t selling.

Hey Barbara, how about reason number 9: Your house is unsellable cause no one out there is buyin right now!

8 reasons why your house is unsellable (MSNBC.com)

1. If you can slip two fingers between your neck and the buttoned collar of a new dress shirt, the shirt will fit comfortably after laundering.
2. The shirt placket, the belt buckle, and the trouser fly should all line up.
3. Speaking of belt buckles, the point of your tie should never fall below it.
4. Rent no clothing.
5. Ninety-dollar shoes last half as long as $180 shoes, but $360 shoes will last you your whole life.
6. Three-hundred-sixty-dollar shoes will not last your whole life if you break their backs by refusing to use a shoehorn.
7. Three-hundred-sixty-dollar shoes without a shine can look like $90 shoes.
8. Women notice shoes. (more…)

According to car site, MonsterAuto.ca, vehicle cloning is all the rage: “Here is how it works. Thieves steal a car, usually a high-end “desirable” car or SUV. Then they take the vehicle identification number or VIN from a similar vehicle and slap it on the stolen car. Because each VIN is unique like a fingerprint, the stolen vehicle become a clone of a legitimate vehicle. Add some fake papers, and the thieves are ready to sell you a vehicle that looks perfectly legal.”

When the police come knocking on your door, you have no legal recourse – you have to hand over the stolen property. Statistics show that this horror story is happening to more and more people ever year. In 2007 there were over 1.3 million cars stolen cars in the US, with over 250,000 or 1 in 5 of these stolen vehicles sold to unsuspecting victims. In the UK, this is being called that fastest growing car crime. And Canadians are being hit just as hard.

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1. Go contrarian: Wall Street is biased, trust no one
The vast majority of business, economic and stock-market forecasters are not looking out for your interests. They’re biased, favoring their employers on Wall Street, Corporate America and Washington. The past few years they made huge bucks hyping the credit/subprime bubble. Witness their bonuses. In 2008 their rosy forecasts will continue. They can’t help misleading you, it’s in their DNA: “Greed is good.”
2. Do-it-yourself: You’ll make fewer mistakes
Remember Buddha’s advice: “Believe nothing, no matter where you read it or who has said it, not even if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense.” You are the only “expert” you can trust: All brokers and money managers, newspapers, magazines, online and newsletter pundits, all television anchors, and every other special-interest guru is “selling” you something. Don’t buy “it.” (more…)

Bestselling Products

The following is a list of the bestselling products on Amazon.com in 2007 by total units sold:

– Books: “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” by J.K. Rowling

– Music: “Noel” by Josh Groban

– DVD: “Planet Earth: The Complete BBC Series”

– Electronics: Canon PowerShot A570IS 7.1MP digital camera

– Home & Garden: Pyrex storage sets

– Health & Personal Care: Omron HJ-112 digital premium pedometer

– Grocery: Senseo Douwe Egberts dark roast coffee pods (more…)

Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller home price index dropped 6.7 percent in October, the largest monthly drop recorded since 1991.

“No matter how you look at these data, it is obvious that the current state of the single-family housing market remains grim,” said Robert Shiller, who helped create the index, in a statement.

• Atlanta -0.7%
• Boston -3.6%
• Charlotte +4.3%
• Chicago -3.2%
• Cleveland -4.5%
• Dallas -0.1%
• Denver -1.8%
• Detroit -11.2%
• Las Vegas -10.7%
• Los Angeles -8.8%
• Miami -12.4%
• Minneapolis -5.5%
• New York -4.1%
• Phoenix -10.6%
• Portland +1.9%
• San Diego -11.1%
• San Francisco -6.2%
• Seattle +3.3%
• Tampa -11.8%
• Washington -7.0%

Source: Standard & Poor’s
Data through October 2007

October Home Prices Post Record Decline (AP)

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