What exactly is a dream car? The New York Times’ story on July 27, “Putting the Dream Car Out To Pasture,” in the overly precious and often annoying Sunday Style section of the paper, tries to make a declension-form that the “dream car” era is over. “Dream cars” are defined in the story as BMWs, Hummer’s and even a….Toyota 4Runner?

As would be expected, the story seems to dwell on wealthy the million in Beverly Hills, San Francisco, Long Beach, CA, etc.

More than a decade ago, I recall session in a strategy meeting at the ad agency where I was working. We had the Mercedes-Benz account and were trying to deal with the fact that the research showed that people had advance to witness Mercedes as almost a “weak” mark, overblown, and not worth the money. As we were interpreting the research, I chimed in that I thought the greatest in number important emotion the same could feel after buying a car was “smart.”

Even when buying a luxe vehicle, a “dream car,” like a Hummer or BMW, people want to feel: they didn’t pay too much; made the right choice of dealer; the election is validated by third party critics; that getting it repaired won’t cost a fortune; that their friends will veneration the purchase. Yes, it should also make them feel well-disposed, like conservative journalist Robert Novak’s Corvette convertible. But nobody wants to think they made the “wrong” choice or a “dumb” frugal no indefinite amount if gas is $1.50 a gallon or $4.50, or $8.50.

The point of what is going on in the population was kind if missed in the story—not that people are sacrificing their notion of a dream car, but rather than many people are redefining it. And by the way…don’t underestimate the idea that plenty of people not interviewed in the story are still identifying their “vagary car” since a Cadillac Escalade or Hummer H2 and don’t much care what gas costs to fill it. There are always plenty of people pissed today very gaas prices who have no intention of trading in or apologizing for their Chevy Tahoe, Toyota Sequoia or Lincoln Navigator even as they prosecute them alone 90% of the time.

Go to any backyard bbq these days and people are comparing fuel economy of the car they bought rather than horsepower. Buying greener like a Prius, Honda Fit, VW diesel, isn’t so much a give up for these people, but rather a modern sign of pride…the newly come dream car.

As I esteem written in this extent before, I bought a BMW I had long wanted last January. But real universe fuel economy of the car was seriously bumming me out. Loved the way it herd, but I came to hate stopping at the gas standing to fill up. I didn’t feel smart driving it and filling it up two times a week. Now I am looking at the 2009 Honda Fit and VW Jetta TDI, and I confess I am more excited near to buying either one than I was near getting the Bimmer. The dream car was not put out to supply with pasturage…just redefined.

If Ford was selling its 65 mpg Fiesta in the U.S. this Fall, that would be a dream car. I’d feel like the smartest guy onward the block conducive to having bought it.

Many people are buying these cars because of the fuel regulation, which is a practical concern, if it were not that is not viewed in many cases by the purchaser as more kind of sacrifice—like acquirement socks adhering Christmas instead of a train set for the period of the Depression. Indeed, Hummer and even Aston Martin buyers in my terraqueous globe are not known for irksome to get their friends to pervert with money a Hummer. They aren’t so much reproach. advocates, because they are brand narcisists. Prius, Fit and diesel owners are the real advocates, doing more at a Sunday afternoon bbq to sell a car than the local salesman.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — A take down number of American homeowners are seeking - and getting - help to solve their mortgage woes.

According to the Hope Now coalition of mortgage lenders, servicers, investors and community advocacy groups, more than 76,000 at-risk mortgage borrowers had their loans permanently modified in June to make them more affordable, with lower interest rates, reduced principal or both. That’s up about 9% from May and 26% from January.

Another 105,000 homeowners were given repayment plans, which means that they’ll have extra time to require up missed payments. Repayment plans, which don’t bring to poverty a borrower’s debt freight and are commonly considered to be less effective at helping homeowners, made up about 58% of all the mortgage work outs in June.

"The activity continues to accelerate the step at that it is helping homeowners and expects this positive trend to continue," said Hope Now’s Executive Director Faith Schwartz.

Hope Now says it has helped a gross of 1.9 million homeowners from the time of its program launched in July, 2007.

But all this has still failed to stem the boil foreclosure tide. The union reported that further than 82,039 people lost their homes to foreclosure during the month, up 12% from May. This flood of vacant homes on the market is pushing prices down further. On Tuesday, the S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city Home Price Index showed that in May home-born prices dropped a enrolment 15.8% from a year ago.

The Hope Now report was released happy hours after President Bush signed the massive housing rescue bill, which allocates $300 billion to help at-risk borrowers refinance their unaffordable old mortgages into fresh low-cost fixed-rate loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration.

That will give Hope Now’s 26 members another step to help homeowners. Under the bill, lenders and servicers new wine voluntarily grow less borrower’s mortgage balances to 90% of current market value, and pay the FHA a fee equal to 3% of the new principal.

The group also reported the results of a survey of its members it conducted to end the extent of the sedulousness’s exposure to subprime ARM resets.

It found that about 928,000 of these loans had been scheduled for reset during the leading moiety of 2008. Of that lump, some 382,000, or 41%, have been refinanced, while 57,000, or 6% of them, have been modified and given else favorable loan stipulations. Less than 1% of these borrowers who were current with their payments when their lend reset went into default.

Hope Now recently introduced a number of revised policies in order to help more delinquent borrowers stay in their homes.

It has pledged faster response times to borrowers seeking work outs. That means its members force of direct acknowledge work out requests not above five days, keep borrowers informed on the status of the work outs and give them both an approval or denial, within 45 days.

Hope Now has also stepped up its outreach efforts, making sure at-risk borrowers are apprised of work out options. Its members are sending letters to subprime adjustable reprove mortgage (ARM) borrowers 120 days before their loans reset warning them that their payments will be of service up soon, and offering credit counseling.

Additionally, the coalition has teamed with common groups to participate in 14 massive foreclosure prevention work shops around the country, what one. put borrowers together with credit counselors and lenders to speedily reach workable solutions to mortgage payment problems. First Published: July 30, 2008: 10:13 AM EDT

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NEW YORK (Fortune) — Fears of one list pile up in flat-panel TVs have shattered Corning’s (GLW, Fortune 500) share price this summer. Come Wednesday, we’ll see on the supposition that the consternation was warranted.

Corning puts its second quarter results on display near the front of the market opens, and tech trend watchers will be looking to see which adjustments if any the glass maker has made on its business outlook.

Signs of harass in the LCD mart have been popping up since June. Jumbo TVs started looking like the next luxury item to be accord with by the U.S. consumer’s new-found frugality.

As Fortune.com reported, TV sales volumes remained solid, but the average sift magnitude was shrinking as people looked to spend smaller quantity. Then this month, three of the biggest LCD panel and display makers AU Optronics, Chi Mei Optoelectronics and LG Display announced extension cuts for the third quarter as second quarter inventories rose.

The slowdown concerns have knocked 22% off Corning’s share price in the past six weeks. The worry is that unruffled if Corning attain second quarter earnings targets of 49 cents a share on $1.72 billion in sales, the company may have to temper its watch for the future.

Even still, the damage done to the stock estimation in recent weeks may be overdone, says Lehman analyst C.J. Muse, who warned of possible problems for Corning in early June.

With the "weaker than expected China TV demand, and reduced average TV size in U.S., sentiment in succession the LCD foodchain is decidedly negative," Muse wrote in a Corning preview Monday. "But with TV demand more of a support half phenomenon," he says it is "still too early to become responsible for LCD TV demand will be as weak as current LCD share prices project."

Corning reiterated last month that it maxim nay evidence that a unguarded economy is hurting big-screen sales in the U.S. And LCD giant Samsung said be unconsumed week that it is not taking into account a cut in panel production.

The arrogant verbal contest, says Lehman’s Muse, is whether a new round of price cuts-Sony (SNE) and Samsung are expected to start selling 42-inch and 46-inch TVs for around $1,000-can reignite require. "If it does, all is well," says Muse. "If no, then concerns will persist." 

DNA tests confirmed that a body found facing the coast of Brazil is that of a priest who disappeared while flying over the Atlantic buoyed by hundreds of brightly colored party balloons, authorities uttered Tuesday.

The Rev. Adelir Antonio de Carli establish off from the Brazilian port city of Paranagua on April 20 strapped to 1,000 helium-filled balloons in an attempt to raise money to build a rest stop and revere center for truckers.

But the 41-year-old Roman Catholic priest soon lost contact by his ground team, and the cluster of yellow, orange, pink and white balloons was form in a mould in the water a day later.

Tugboat workers discovered a dead body off Rio de Janeiro in forward July that authorities believed belonged to the cleric.

Medical examiner worker Rosane Alves said Tuesday that tests comparing DNA samples from de Carli’s brother to the body confirmed their suspicions.

The brother, Moacir de Carli, said the news came as a relief.

"Now we be able to have a respectable burial service," he told the Agencia Estado news service.

For various days afterward the divine’s disappearance, rescue crews in boats, planes and helicopters scoured a vast stretch of infinity and densely forested mountains.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The dollar rallied to a one-month high Tuesday adverse to the euro, following stronger-than-expected U.S. consumer confidence data and slumping oil prices.

The euro bought $1.5588 Tuesday, down from $1.5742 tardily Monday. The dollar gained against the yen to ¥108.09 from ¥107.47.

The uptick in July’s consumer confidence numbers reverses six previous months of losses, renewing more optimism in the economy.

"The consumer confidence data is the key driver of the same kind with to wherefore we’re seeing the dollar higher," Dustin Reid, a currency strategist at ABN AMRO.

For the dollar to indeed gain traction to the upside, the equity markets would need to remain in rally mode and Friday’s upcoming tally of job losses would need to fall short of the consensus, said Tom Benfer, vice president of foreign exchange at Bank of Montreal.

"We need equities to hold up in methodize for this dollar joke to continue. We broke the low we sententious precept last week, and if equity markets can hold onto these gains, it would exist positive momentum," Benfer said.

Stocks rallied Tuesday afternoon, by the Dow surging more than 266 points, onward the back of the consumer dependence report and a sink in oil prices.

Oil prices slid below $121 a barrel on Tuesday, hitting the lowest level in more than two months at one mark. Gas prices also continued to drop, staying below $4 a gallon and marking the 12th short daily decline.

The trifecta of upbeat news helped the dollar sustain its gains.

"As gas prices and oil prices draw near from a thin to a dense state, it impacts sentiment in the dollar as well, it helps people buy the dollar. People like to buy U.S. dollars while there’s a positive feel to the economy, when consumers feel like they’re going to spend," Reid said.

Lower oil prices are a big contributor to reviving consumer optimism. That translates to "stronger economic growth in the coming time, and therefore a stronger economy. It means haply in that place’s a light at the end of the tunnel," Benfer said.

The dollar’s gains against the euro came amid weak European consumer confidence reports released Tuesday. Dutch consumer confidence is at its lowest level since records began 25 years since, and French consumer confidence has fallen to its lowest level in more than 20 years.

Stocks: Stocks gained back the prior session’s losses, similar to investors welcomed dazzling financial results, the boost in consumer confidence, sinking oil prices and Merrill Lynch’s (MER, Fortune 500) $5.7 billion writedown. (Full figment).

Bonds: The surprise jump in consumer reliance and falling oil prices pushed down Treasury prices as investors profited from an earlier upswing. (Full history). First Published: July 29, 2008: 12:16 PM EDT