Archive for May, 2008
Saturday, May 31st, 2008
In today's London Times, Sarah Vine argues that fuel tax increases are something women should be worrying about. She writes of the male tax protestors " They certainly make an impression, these tough guys with their big hands and their bigger beer bellies. But if you thought fuel excise duty ...
Posted in Green | No Comments »
Friday, May 30th, 2008
Oprah Winfrey endorsed the Garmin Nuvi 250 on one of her semi-annual top picks episodes recently. She said ""If you watched Gayle and me on our road trip last year, you know there's nothing worse than getting lost," Oprah says. "And we got lost a lot—but you don't have to. ...
Posted in Gadgets | No Comments »
Friday, May 30th, 2008
A Washington State "mother was charged Thursday with vehicular homicide for the death of her 3-year-old daughter in a car crash earlier this year." Read more.
Posted in Accidents | No Comments »
Thursday, May 29th, 2008
If you are one of the consumers looking to buy a vehicle with better mpg than you should also consider purchasing a vehicle that has electronic stability control. ESC has become a very important safety device, some consider it second to seat belts, and should make your insurance payments slightly ...
Posted in Gadgets, Insurance | No Comments »
Wednesday, May 28th, 2008
According to Reuters, "Iranian women who suffer injury or death in a car accident will be entitled to the same insurance company compensation as men under legislation passed by parliament, the judiciary said on Tuesday." To read more, go here.
Posted in Insurance | No Comments »
Wednesday, May 28th, 2008
Not only are motorists facing record high prices for gasoline but they are now having to deal with crooks stealing gas from vehicles and prices are increasing for routine maintenance of their vehicles. Not only are thieves siphoning off gas but they have become even more brazen and drill directly ...
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
Friday, May 23rd, 2008
Results from the 2008 GMAC Insurance National Drivers Test were released yesterday and the results, as always, were shocking. Some of the highlights:
- 84% could not identify the correct action to take when approaching a yellow traffic light
-73% could not properly identify a typical safe following distance from the car ...
Posted in Insurance | No Comments »
Friday, May 23rd, 2008
As gas reaches $4 per gallon and consumers start to question each journey they make in their vehicle, car makers and other businesses are looking at ways to encourage consumers to spend their money. U.S. News has a good roundup, as does Consumer Affairs.
CNN has some helpful tips on saving ...
Posted in Green | No Comments »
Thursday, May 22nd, 2008
Consumer Reports has just released its June report on GPS brands. It found that "despite the influx of several new brands and models, longtime GPS brands—Garmin, TomTom and Magellan—are still ...
Posted in Gadgets | No Comments »
Thursday, May 22nd, 2008
More news about the Ford Flex, the crossover vehicle that's replacing the Freestar and Monterey minivans, has been released. The Flex is due on dealer lots this summer and has a number of unusual design elements.
Anthony Prozzi, a former DKNY designer who now works for Ford, says about the ...
Posted in Design | No Comments »
Wednesday, May 21st, 2008
Honda President Takeo Fukui outlined the company's plan to re-energize its 'green' vehicles In North America, Europe and Japan. The gist, as outlined by Michelle Krebs in AutoObserver, "Honda plans to introduce four new hybrid models by 2015 to meet its eventual goal of selling 500,000 hybrid vehicles a year, ...
Posted in Green, Pricing | No Comments »
Wednesday, May 21st, 2008
There has been many articles this past few weeks looking at the boom in sales of old used cars. They are in demand because " A 1993 Geo Metro XFI, a subcompact imported by General Motors, is EPA-rated at a 46 miles per gallon average. That's the same as a ...
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
Tuesday, May 20th, 2008
Now that Spring is here, and summer is on its way, a number of articles about road trips have been published. CNN-Money has an article about the best cars for a road trip, the Toronto Star has a story about road trips in general and Wall St Journal has a ...
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
Tuesday, May 20th, 2008
Volkswagen is recalling close to 70,000 A6 models, specifically the 2001-04 Quattro and 2001-05 Allroad Quattro models, to repair faulty gas tanks. To find out more, visit here or here.
Posted in Recalls | No Comments »
Tuesday, May 20th, 2008
"The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Monday it had opened a preliminary investigation into 1.7 million Ford Windstar vans that have a cruise control deactivation switch that's been recalled in nearly 10 million other Ford vehicles." Read more in Detroit News.
Posted in Recalls, Safety | No Comments »
Monday, May 19th, 2008
The NHTSA published figures today that illustrate how dangerous driving can be when not wearing a seatbelt. Its main conclusion was "Sixty-eight percent of drivers and passengers between the ages of 16 and 20 who were killed in car crashes at night in 2006 were unbuckled".
Posted in Safety | No Comments »
Monday, May 19th, 2008
There is a good article in today's Wall St Journal about small car safety. In the weekly Eyes On The Road column, Joseph White looks at the tradeoffs of having a small car but this was the most important point he makes: "small and minicars as a class still have ...
Posted in Green, Safety | No Comments »
Sunday, May 18th, 2008
Jil McIntosh had a good piece in yesterday's Toronto Star providing seven ways to be a safer driver.
Posted in Safety | No Comments »
Friday, May 16th, 2008
There is a funny post over at Its 2 Much about the various excuses people have written on accident claim forms of a major insurance company.
Posted in Safety | No Comments »
Thursday, May 15th, 2008
The new Sex And The City film is due out in North America in a couple of weeks and Mercedes has two vehicles within the movie. The S-Class makes an appearance as well as the new GLK, a compact SUV. For more information and photos about the vehicles in the ...
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
Thursday, May 15th, 2008
The NHTSA has just released a research note that looks at fatalities to occupants in 15 passenger vans between 1997 and 2006. The main findings are 1) In 2006, fatalities reached their lowest level since 1992, 2) Fatalities have been on a downward trend since 2001 and 3) About 50% ...
Posted in Safety | No Comments »
Monday, May 5th, 2008
Crude oil prices rose above $120 per barrel today, a new record, and many drivers are looking for ways to reduce their gas use while driving. A few stories recommending ways to improve your mpg are here, here and here.
Also, be wary of any devices or additives that claim to ...
Posted in Green | No Comments »
Monday, May 5th, 2008
A new study in the Pediatrics journal has found that up to half of injuries suffered by children under the age of three in car accidents could by cut by putting safety seats in the center of the back seat. Michael Kallan, the study's lead author, wrote "Although placement in ...
Posted in Safety | No Comments »
Sunday, May 4th, 2008
Toyota has recalled its Highlander and Highlander Hybrid models equipped with a third row passenger seat because the third row seat belts do not properly secure child restraint systems.
Posted in Recalls, Safety | No Comments »
Sunday, May 4th, 2008
AP has released a story that provides tips about how to reduce your gas costs that includes an interview with David Champion, the director of auto testing for Consumer Reports.
Posted in Green | No Comments »
Friday, May 2nd, 2008
Newsday jumps into the debate on whether you can recoup the premium consumers pay for Hybrids. In a review of the Nissan Altima Hybrid, Tom Incantalupo claims the $4,000 premium can be recovered within 3 years when combined with a federal tax credit.
Posted in Green, Pricing | No Comments »
Friday, May 2nd, 2008
In an effort to reduce "1.2 million deaths and 50 million injuries caused by motor vehicle crashes each year" Volvo is working on a new safety system that "will be able to steer, brake and find out about the road ahead from within a vast electronic bumper. And if all ...
Posted in Safety | No Comments »
Friday, May 2nd, 2008
Any Chrysler fans looking to replace their vehicles, now is the time to get down to a dealership and look at the new models. The Globe and Mail reports: "In an effort to maintain sparkling sales so far this year in Canada, Chrysler will drop prices on at least five ...
Posted in Pricing | No Comments »
