2008 RED DOT SALE!
With savings up to $10,000, all of our remaining 2008 model year vehicles are ready to go. We have 2009’s rolling in daily that we need to make room for. Save thousands by taking a look at our remaining 2008 inventory. They are all NEW; cars, trucks, SUVs and vans with substantial savings that we are giving you. Hall Automotive has over 300 new 2008 vehicles that have been discounted! These vehicles are clearly marked on our lots with RED Dots. Click here for more details on all the New 2008 cars, trucks, SUVs and vans. There has never been a better time to SAVE $ thousands and own a new vehicle.
2009 Honda Element
The restyled 2009 Honda Element entry-level SUV builds on its spacious and versatile character by adding a more chiseled exterior appearance and a refreshed interior design with an expanded selection of available high-tech and functional features. Manufacturer Suggested Retail Pricing (MSRP1) starts at $20,175 for the 2009 Element 2WD LX, plus a destination and handling charge of $670.
For 2009, Honda has enhanced each of the three unique Element styles that range from the rugged and simple Element LX, to the more refined Element EX, to the sporty Element SC. Available new features on the Element EX and SC include the Honda Satellite-linked Navigation System2 with Voice Activation and a rearview camera (automatic transmission-equipped vehicles only); USB digital media connectivity; and improved overhead console storage areas with modular compartments.
Significant exterior styling changes include a new front grille and bumper design, restyled front fenders (now metal, previously composite material), a new hood design, squared wheel arches, and new headlight and taillight configurations.
"The Element’s key strength is a spacious, versatile and rugged interior that adapts quickly and conveniently to people and cargo," said Dick Colliver, executive vice president of American Honda
New interior changes include new, brighter color schemes with titanium-look side linings, new fabric patterns, and revised switchgear designs and meter graphics. A restyled low-profile center console is standard on the Element LX.
The Element EX adds a new convertible center console with a removable cooler/storage box while the Element SC retains its exclusive center console. For additional storage, the Element EX and SC are equipped with a modular three-compartment overhead console based on the Railport™ Vehicle Personalization System, expanding the vehicle’s hidden storage versatility compared to the previous version. The new overhead console includes two large storage bins that can accommodate CD cases and similar items and a rear storage area for sunglasses.
The 2.4-liter i-VTEC® 4-cylinder engine is available with either a standard 5-speed manual transmission or an available 5-speed automatic transmission. Real Time 4WD™, available on the Element LX and EX, enhances all-weather traction. The Element LX and EX continue to be available in two-wheel-drive and four-wheel-drive configurations, while the sport-tuned Element SC continues to be available exclusively in two-wheel-drive. EPA city/highway fuel economy ratings3 range from 20/25 for two-wheel-drive models with an automatic transmission to 18/23 for manual transmission models with either two-wheel-drive or Real Time 4WD.
Versatile and Accommodating Interior with Available High-tech Features
The interior provides seating for four people along with a cargo area that quickly adapts to large items with its flip-up rear seats that fold flat, fold up and to the side, or can be removed altogether (64-plus seating arrangements). The Element LX and EX have a water resistant urethane-coated utility floor that quickly wipes down and seat fabric that resists moisture; the Element SC has a carpeted passenger area. Air conditioning with micron air filtration is standard on all models.
The Element LX has a 4-speaker AM/FM audio system with a CD player. The Element EX and SC feature a 270-watt high-output audio system, an AM/FM tuner, CD player with MP3/WMA™4 capability, auxiliary audio input for MP3 players or other audio devices, steering wheel-mounted audio controls, seven speakers including a dynamic linear phase 6.5-inch subwoofer (located in the bottom center of the instrument panel). XM® Satellite Radio5 is standard on the Element EX and SC.
The Honda Satellite-Linked Navigation System becomes an available feature for 2009 on the Element EX and SC (automatic transmission models only), and includes a rear backup camera and a USB audio interface6. The navigation system features a 6.5-inch motorized display that opens and closes for access to an internal single-disc CD player and a digital audio card reader that can play MP3 and WMA® files from CompactFlash® cards. The navigation system contains more than 7 million points of interest and can control the audio system. The voice recognition is capable of recognizing and entering numbers, street names and cities.
Numerous storage bins and beverage holders provide places for cell phones, CDs and super-size drinks. Available storage areas include: a large three-bin tray above the glove box (ideal for mobile phones and portable music players); a modular 3-compartment overhead storage bin (EX, SC); seat back storage (EX, SC); six hooks for strapping down bikes or other bulky gear; and door storage pockets on all four doors.
Exclusive Element SC interior appointments include passenger-area carpeting, a center console with storage, piano black trim pieces and unique fabrics and patterns. The center console provides an enclosed storage area in the vehicle and integrates the auxiliary audio input jack and two beverage holders. Meter styling color on all Element SC models is copper-hue, replacing the blue backlit illumination on the other models.
Restyled Exterior with Stronger Character Lines
For 2009, exterior styling changes to the front of the vehicle provide a more substantial and bolder look. Changes to the front fascia and side profile involve a new hood line that follows a continuously horizontal plane extending from the A-pillar to the front of the vehicle. The new design replaces the downward slope that began mid-fender on the previous models and results in a more vertical front appearance. Steel front fenders replace the composite body panels on all models (the rear fenders retain composite construction). The new grille design provides a consistent appearance similar to other Honda truck models. The rear skylight, previously exclusive to Elements equipped with RealTime 4WD, has been discontinued.
The Element SC provides an exclusive appearance with street custom-inspired styling with a lowered stance and exclusive premium features. The Element SC’s exterior styling exhibits a performance-oriented attitude with a monochromatic color scheme and exclusive features that include custom front and rear painted bumpers, large alloy wheels, custom grille, and a lowered stance. The lowered stance is achieved by lowering the ride height and by using uniquely shaped painted side sills and slimmer roof moldings.
Refined Chassis Design
The Element’s fully independent suspension uses a front MacPherson strut design and a rear compact double wishbone design for responsive handling and a comfortable ride. A 101.4-inch wheelbase contributes to a compact exterior size and an ultra-tight turning diameter of 34.9-feet (36.9-feet, Element SC) provides maneuverability in tight places.
Chassis safety highlights include Vehicle Stability Assist (also known as Electronic Stability Control) and four-wheel disc brakes with ABS, Electronic Brake Distribution (EBD) and Brake Assist. Vehicle Stability Assist helps sense oversteer and understeer, and can adjust brake pressure at each wheel and/or reduce engine power to help restore the driver’s intended course. Electronic Brake Distribution helps to balance braking forces depending on dynamic loading. Brake Assist helps apply full braking force in some emergency braking situations. A Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) alerts the driver when tire pressure is significantly under-inflated.
Element LX and EX models are equipped with 16-inch wheels (steel on LX, alloy on EX) with all-season P215/70R16 tires. Additional LX and EX standard features include power rack-and-pinion steering and front and rear stabilizer bars (30.0x4.5 mm tubular front / 21.0 mm solid rear). The Element SC adds 18-inch alloy wheels, P225/55R18 tires, exclusive spring and damper tuning (30 percent firmer), a lowered ride height (approximately 0.7 inches) and increased rear stabilizer bar size (25.0 mm, solid). Compared to Element LX and EX, the solid front stabilizer bar is 25 percent stiffer and the rear stabilizer bar is 30 percent stiffer. The steering rack also provides a 6 percent faster ratio (2.94:1 compared to 3.26:1).
Efficient Powertrain
An all-aluminum, 2.4-liter, DOHC i-VTEC engine produces 166-horsepower at 5800 rpm and 161 lb-ft. of torque at 4000 rpm. The Element’s i-VTEC system combines Variable Valve Timing and Lift Electronic Control (VTEC®) and a cam position-adjusting Variable Timing Control (VTC) system to enhance low rpm torque while extending high rpm horsepower. The result is a broad torque curve that starts early at low RPM’s while still delivering high-RPM horsepower.
The five-speed manual transmission features a lightweight and rigid aluminum die-cast housing. Multi-cone synchronizers used on first through fourth gears contribute to a smooth, fluid shift feel while reducing throw distances. Inside, the instrument panel- mounted shift lever facilitates quick, direct gear changes. The five-speed automatic transmission (available) delivers exceptional smoothness, economy and intuitive shift points. Grade Logic Control minimizes "gear hunting" on hilly roads.
Available on Element LX and EX, the Real Time 4WD system aids traction in snow, rain and sand. Real Time 4WD sends power to the rear wheels when the front wheels experience traction loss.
The vehicle maintenance schedule is calculated by the Maintenance Minder™7 system. Maintenance Minder automatically indicates when to have standard service performed based on actual driving conditions (tracked by the ECU) and minimizes the guesswork in determining standard or severe use conditions for maintenance interval purposes. The display indicates when to change the oil, air filter, transmission fluid, spark plugs or coolant, as well as when to rotate the tires. The Element requires no scheduled tune-ups for 100K+/- Miles.
Honda Safety
The Element is equipped with dual-stage, dual-threshold supplemental restraint system (SRS) airbags for the driver and front passenger. The airbags are designed to minimize the potential for airbag injury while providing head and chest protection for the occupants in the event of a frontal collision. The front airbag system features front passenger seat weight sensors and a driver seat position sensor designed to further enhance occupant protection.
Seat-mounted front side airbags help safeguard the driver and front passenger from side-impact injury. An innovative Occupant Position Detection System is used to assure that the passenger’s side airbag has a clear path for deployment. In the event that a child (or a small-statured adult) leans into the deployment path of the side airbag, a seven-segment "antenna" system built within the seat back signals this condition to an electronic control unit (ECU) and the passenger’s side airbag is switched off.
Both rows of occupants are protected by Honda’s Side Curtain Airbag with rollover sensor system. The side curtain airbags deploy from modules in the headliner in the event of a sufficient side impact, providing a significant level of head protection in the window area. In the unlikely event of a rollover, a roll rate sensor and multiple G-force sensors determine the rate of roll and deploy the side curtain airbags accordingly.
Both front seat belts have automatic tensioners and load limiters that work together to help protect the driver and front passenger in a collision. A LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for CHildren) child-seat mounting system is standard for the two rear seat positions, allowing two outboard child seats to be installed. For pedestrian injury mitigation, design features in the front of the vehicle can help absorb energy in the event of a collision with a pedestrian to help minimize injury. New for 2009, active front seat head restraints have been designed to help reduce the severity of neck injuries in the event of a rear impact.
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Happy Holidays from Hall!
At the Holiday Season, our thoughts turn gratefully to those who have made our progress possible. It is in this spirit that we say, Thank You and best wishes for the holidays and a happy New Year.
Congratulations to Brian Culp for completing Honda Master Tech Training.
Congratulations to John Dobbins for completion of Express Service Training.
Congratulations to Patrick Bryan for completion of Express Service Training.
Congratulations to Jonathan Dickey for completion of Express Service Training.
Congratulations to Robert Marsh for becoming Licensed Virginia State Inspectors.
Congratulations to Stan Brumley for becoming Licensed Virginia State Inspectors.
My Garage, With Jay Leno
Ken Gross
Jay Leno, popular host of The Tonight Show, may be one of America's funniest comedians, but he is also a serious car enthusiast. His three garages near Burbank are packed with sports and special-interest cars, antiques and classics, old motorcycles, oil company signs and "automobilia." He hasn't counted everything up recently, but he owns more than 50 cars and about as many vintage and modern bikes.
When you walk in, you don't know whether to dive for the bright yellow 1913 Mercer Raceabout, complete with monocle windshield, or ogle his five stunning Duesenberg Js, parked together in a row. Further on, there's a rare 1915 shovel-nosed Franklin with a California-built body by Earl (as in Harley Earl and his father, before the younger Earl headed to Detroit to start GM's Art and Color department).
Is there a theme in his collection? "If there is a theme," Leno says, "it's probably a car that's ahead of its time. Everything here does a hundred with a few exceptions. There are no Model Ts. I like a reasonable level of performance."
Among other vehicles, the Leno garage houses a 1939 Lagonda V-12, a brace of Bentleys, including a handsome Speed Six, a dignified 8-liter sedan and a 1926 roadster with a twin-turbocharged eight-liter Bentley engine. Built especially for Leno by a team of British craftsmen, it'll light up its skinny rear tires in any gear. Ask Leno what the horsepower is and he just grins: "Probably over 500," he says.
No car or bike in Leno's collection is a museum piece; he drives everything and nearly everything runs at all times. Blessed with an assigned parking space at NBC Studios, Leno takes a different vehicle to work every day.
Two full-time mechanics help keep things in shape, although Leno (who once worked at Foreign Motors of Boston, near his hometown of North Andover, Mass., before his comedy career took off), likes to do things himself. He's capable of starting and running even the ancient machinery, like his two Stanley Steamers, which require a delicate combination of priming, heating and lighting--like starting up an old-fashioned furnace.
While Leno isn't averse to modern cars, he doesn't own many. There's a Turbo R Bentley and a pair of mildly modified Dodge Vipers, plus a stealth car--a souped-up Renault LeCar with a Ford Taurus SHO motor and a nitrous setup.
Leno likes horsepower, lots of it. While he'd never admit to being a hot rodder, there are vehicles here that could only be called hot rods. Take his Cobra replica. It started life with a pushrod 427 side-oiler. Now it has a gleaming 429 SOHC Ford V-8 under its hood.
"Yep, that's the cammer-motor," he says, lifting the hood, with a knowing leer. "It pulls like a train. I got this engine out of a powerboat. It's a much better engine than the 427. And it runs a lot cooler. You ever heard one-a these things go to eight grand? Oh geez... 'Whee, whee, wheeeeeeeeee!'" Leno expertly imitates the noise. "It's a frightening sound," he says.
Although Leno's a stickler for originality on his Pebble Beach Concours-winning Duesenbergs and his two real Bugattis, he also owns two replica Bugattis: a Type 37A that's all Bugatti parts but they didn't all come from the factory at the same time, and a stunning Type 57SC Atlantic that you couldn't tell from Ralph Lauren's Pebble Beach prize winner, except for the paint color. And who really cares? The real thing (they only made three) is arguably too valuable to drive.
If you want to see Leno get really enthusiastic, just ask him for a ride in his 1934 Rolls-Royce Phantom II with its 1,000-horsepower Merlin V-12. His eyes light up like Mr. Toad's in The Wind in the Willows: "I mean it's so stupid!" With Leno, stupid is sometimes a compliment. "It's got 1,806 pounds of torque. There's nothing like it. That's real power."
Does it have some sort of tank transmission to handle all that torque? We're surprised to learn it's a Moss four-speed, just like on a 1950s Jag XK120. "It's pretty strong," says Leno, "But you're not dumping the clutch. Once you're rolling, you put your foot down and Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!; it just keeps pulling like a train."
Leno would rather hang out in the garage than do almost anything else--except write and tell jokes. So his spare time is spent tinkering with his cars, or riding his bikes. He turns up at local car shows, rides one of his bikes up to the Rock Store on Sundays and often invites friends over to look at new acquisitions.
Leno's passionate about his cars, but ask him which one is his favorite and he gives you that sideways look familiar to so many fans of The Tonight Show. "Which one of your children is your favorite?" he retorts.
However, Leno is partial to Duesenbergs. "This car is not a myth," he insists, pointing to a J. "Any 70-year-old car that can keep up with modern traffic in L.A. and drive like a normal car is pretty amazing. At a time when the speed limit was 45 mph, a Duesenberg could go 120 mph."
How does he decide what to buy next? "I just see something. If it catches my eye, it's like a pretty girl...But I'm quite happy with everything I have. I don't lust for new things. But, if I do see one and think, 'Oh, that's nice...' Well, that's cool, too."
And his wife, Mavis, is tolerant of this passion? "Yes. It's cheaper than hookers and cocaine," he jokes. "Most guys in Hollywood have 20 girlfriends and one car and I have 20 cars and one girlfriend. She always knows where I am. I'm here in the garage.
"'What's that fragrance?'" Leno says in a fake falsetto voice? "'It's gasoline, honey. It's not cheap perfume.'"
"Having these cars is great fun," Leno says. "And there's a sense of history to all this stuff. We don't really own these cars, we just keep them for the next owners."
The Norfolk-Virginia Beach-Newport News Metro Area (Hampton Roads) has a population greater than the Charlotte, New Orleans, Memphis, and Jacksonville Metro Areas.
__True
__False
See answer under Car Doctor.
Your Blizzard Emergency Kit
Many of us can recall news stories of families stranded in their cars in heavy snow. Some motorists, in desperation, have abandoned their vehicles, tried to walk and died. Others, equipped with an emergency kit, have survived the ordeal. In addition to a good spare tire (properly Inflated and a working jack, your trunk might Include some or all of the following:
Bottled water
Matches & candles
Blankets
Window scraper
Paper towels
Spare wiper blades
A red flag or cloth
Flashlight w/spare batteries
Basic tools (screwdriver, pliers, adjustable wrench)
Extra windshield washer fluid
Traction chains or a bag of salt or sand
Canned fruits or nuts and a can opener
An emergency supply of any medication needed regularly
Extra warm clothes (mittens, overshoes, and ski caps)
Transistor radio with spare battery
First aid kit
Flares
Jumper cables
Small shovel
Make sure that your automobile is up to date on its service schedule.
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The correct answer is True.
The Hampton Roads Metro area has a population of 1.6 million residents. Charlotte, NC metro has about 1.5 million, New Orleans, LA has 1.34 million, Memphis, TN has 1.14 million, and Jacksonville, FL has 1.1 million residents.
