Don't Be a Fool, Take Your Smart Phone Or iPad Or Laptop Along With A Data Assistant To Input Real-Time Car Test Drive Data

Editor's Note: With the news of GM (shame on them) providing car buyers the opportunity to complete a vehicle purchase on line, it is important to remember that if you buy a car without test driving it you are a fool, and the less time you take for research, the more time you will spend regretting your hasty purchase decision.

In an article in the Wall Street Journal October 7, 2013, a woman from Gladwin Michigan bragged that she bought a new Chevrolet Camaro online and proudly pro claimed "I never even test-drove it"...huh? I'll be she never bought a sofa without sitting in at least 10 of them, and never bought a pair of shoes without trying at least 5 pairs before she bought.

The guys an gals here at our editorial offices discussed what would have happened after the car was delivered (from a dealer 125 miles from her home no less) if the proud buyer couldn't comfortably and safely reach the brake pedals or if the driver seat hurt her back when she drove it home that day.

It must be something to be so busy or hate car dealers so much that she would rather risk 10 years of unhappiness with her new car than take a couple of hours to test drive it? What ever happened to a customer relationship?

The article was originally published on November 25, 2011.

More Information How to buy a car or truck

The Auto Channel's free "My Test Drives" app gives serious car shoppers the help they need to make test drive evaluations accurate, effective and meaningful.

"My Test Drives" leads car researchers through a one two three step method to record their clear and accurate evaluation of each of 30 factors of their test driven vehicle through an easy to use template that allows for “real time” during the drive rating and later ranking and comparison of every facet of every vehicle they are testing.

The Auto Channel has always preached to our audience that in order to become a smart and happy car buyer, before you even consider a vehicle for purchase you must test and compare every vehicle on your short consideration list…. Every one!

But before the "My Test Drives" tool, evaluations of even a single test drive and most definitely test drives of multiple vehicles became just a jumble of thoughts and divergent feelings rendering ineffective the time invested and the weight given to each test drive.

And even more problematical, any useful discovery or observation made during the test drive disappeared in the opaque jumble of foggy “now which car was that?” memories, scattered thoughts and misremembering’s, just minutes after every test drive, thereby making the test drives useless to determine which was or is the right vehicle to buy, and increasing the potential long term tragedy of buying the wrong vehicle.

Before "My Test Drives" when it came time for a buyer (test driver) to conduct their post-test drive analysis and to evaluate and rank their thoughts concerning the hundreds of facts and feelings they gathered during their test drives... no matter how smart or clever the driver, no matter how many notes they made, they couldn't accurately save all of the data in a form that was coherent and interactively manageable.

This cacophony of fleeting and amorphous thoughts is why The Auto Channel’s professional auto reviewers have developed methods to remember exactly how each element of the car rates while they are testing...and now you can too.

Using "My Test Drives" on an iPad or Smart Phone demands that test drivers observe and rate over 30 exterior and interior features, comfort levels, performance ratings, and qualitative feelings, rated, ranked and recorded during each test drive,

Now after the test drive and your recording the results of your test drives, the real and meaningful research begins.

Every "My Test Drives" observation and recorded comment will be accessible on your iPad or IPhone or PC, so along with each of your test drive rankings and comments are links to The Auto Channel's auto buyers tools which will allow you to easily research, compare and rank every vehicle's complete specs, prices and reviews (1993-2013 models) from our auto journalists, no more bouncing to multiple web sites to get the needed facts, because they will be all right there on The Auto Channel helping you become a smarter car or truck buyer.

There are two ways to establish your own "My Test Drives" drive account.

1. The “My Test Drives” app for both the IPad and iPhone is available for free on The Auto Chnanel app found in the Apple App Store. Download it to your iPhone or iPad (just click the 2x button to fill the iPad screen)
2. "My Test Drives" is also available online at http://www.theautochannel.com and http://www.perfectnewcarmatch.com .

Remember buying the wrong car is a long term pain, both emotionally and economically… don’t do it!