Archive for September, 2008
Tuesday, September 30th, 2008
Canada's largest province brought in some serious legislation to reduce excessive speeding and street-racing in general a year ago, but now there's meaningful debate about what affect it had on safety.
Posted in Accidents, Driving Matters, Is There A Lesson Here?, Law Enforcement, Safety | No Comments »
Tuesday, September 30th, 2008
In Flash of Genius, Greg Kinnear plays the man who invented intermittent windshield wiper and then spent decades trying to prove that Ford stole the idea (he won, sort of). To say that the Detroit auto firm looks bad in this movie is to put it lightly, and some people ...
Posted in Is There A Lesson Here?, Marketing, Technology | No Comments »
Tuesday, September 30th, 2008
The failure of Congress to reach a deal on the banking bailout has left a bunch of car owners in a bad spot, as this column from the Huffington Post makes clear.
Posted in Driving Matters, Is There A Lesson Here?, Program For Change | No Comments »
Tuesday, September 30th, 2008
This TV commercial for an insurance company in Australia that specializes in policies for women (Sheila's Wheels) is pretty funny. The blog comments at the bottom of the page make one think that not everyone in the world has a fully functioning sense of humor.
Posted in Cute stories | No Comments »
Tuesday, September 30th, 2008
What do you want to bet some lawyer doesn't claim the car owner's at fault for this mess because she or he let this happen by carelessly leaving the keys in the ignition? Learn a lesson from that.
Posted in Children, Driving Matters, Is There A Lesson Here?, Law Enforcement | No Comments »
Tuesday, September 30th, 2008
A teenager who was well enough to call her mother after a car crash in Maryland was one of four people who died when the helicopter that was flying her to hospital crashed in bad weather. Needless to say, questions are being raised and fingers pointed.
Posted in Accidents, Children, Is There A Lesson Here?, Law Enforcement, Safety | No Comments »
Monday, September 29th, 2008
A British writer with no children thinks she doesn't get the credit she deserves for doing more than most people to help save the planet. She reasons that kids only add to the demand for things that aren't good for the environment, like meat, hot baths, the packaging and distribution ...
Posted in Children, Cute stories, Green, Is There A Lesson Here?, Program For Change | No Comments »
Monday, September 29th, 2008
At first blush the very idea that there's something wrong with inexpensive gasoline might seem totally ridiculous, but this writer fears that lower prices will make it easier to ignore the environment again.
Posted in Gas Issues, Green, Is There A Lesson Here?, Technology | No Comments »
Saturday, September 27th, 2008
The best way to avoid problems with bad gas is to stay away from "off-brand" stations (those that don't have a national name) that may charge you a few cents less a gallon. If you get a bad batch, it could cost you hundreds to repair the damage. This problem ...
Posted in Buying Tips, Gas Issues, Is There A Lesson Here?, Repairs, Save Money | No Comments »
Saturday, September 27th, 2008
This story speaks volumes about the difficulties facing a move away from gasoline-powered vehicles even in ultra-green Portland, and says a lot about Toyota's desire to go trolling for publicity just the same.
Posted in Buying Tips, Green, Is There A Lesson Here?, Technology | No Comments »
Saturday, September 27th, 2008
There's a flap unfolding in California over charges that people who support a fund for the families of state highway patrol officers get exceptional treatment if they're stopped for traffic violations. How surprised would you be to find out that's true?
Posted in Driving Matters, Is There A Lesson Here?, Law Enforcement | Comments Off
Saturday, September 27th, 2008
This is the kind of situation and behavior you couldn't make up or wouldn't believe if you saw it in a movie, but it actually happened and the person responsible died as a result.
Posted in Accidents, Is There A Lesson Here?, Safety | No Comments »
Saturday, September 27th, 2008
This story out of southern California has issues that will upset and distress many people for many reasons, but it's the kind of situation that could turn up anywhere so it deserves your attention.
Posted in Accidents, Driving Matters, Law Enforcement, Safety | No Comments »
Saturday, September 27th, 2008
What's in a name? A tow by any other name won't feel any better if the truck's name suggests an eco-conscious business. Everyone wants to save the environment, this writer says, but you need to do more than give your money to the firm with the best marketing trick.
Posted in Buying Tips, Driving Matters, Gas Issues, Is There A Lesson Here?, Marketing | No Comments »
Saturday, September 27th, 2008
These things may not fit into everyone's living room, but there are lots of places where these couches and loveseats could work well and make someone happy.
Posted in Cute stories | No Comments »
Saturday, September 27th, 2008
In the arcane way that government works, GM says it has achieved preliminary approval for its Chevrolet Volt Electric Vehicle to get a rating in excess of 100 miles per gallon. Since the Volt's still two years away, there are likely to be amendments to this, but the claim does ...
Posted in Buying Tips, Gas Issues, Green, Is There A Lesson Here?, Marketing, Program For Change, Technology | Comments Off
Saturday, September 27th, 2008
Using old, beat-up junkers in an endurance race might sound like the latest form of insanity for race geeks, but in truth its ironic view of the pomposity of traditional racing holds out a chance for some fun for real-life people on a modest budget. Besides that, the fabulous title ...
Posted in Cute stories | No Comments »
Friday, September 26th, 2008
As semi-helpful as hybrids are at reducing the amount of gas we use, none of the current models will actually move us away from gas and on to another fuel. But this environmental writer explains what the best hopes for doing just that might be.
Posted in Buying Tips, Gas Issues, Green, Program For Change, Technology | No Comments »
Friday, September 26th, 2008
A recent survey claims that women make most of the important decisions when it comes to buying something, and that most men are just fine with that.
Posted in Cute stories, Save Money | No Comments »
Friday, September 26th, 2008
Being in a car is the most dangerous avoidable risk that a pregnant woman can subject her unborn child to, and this horrible story out of rural Michigan shows why. It's not made clear in the story, but it looks like the mother wasn't wearing a seatbelt.
Posted in Accidents, Children, Is There A Lesson Here?, Safety | No Comments »
Thursday, September 25th, 2008
Sure, you can get some surprisingly hypnotic video of your drive down the Pacific Coast Highway with a video camera inside the car (we've done it). But the race-freak man in your life will appreciate a camera that attaches to the outside of the car (or on his motorcycle helmet) ...
Posted in Buying Tips, Gadgets, Technology | No Comments »
Thursday, September 25th, 2008
With more people turning to used cars as a way of saving on transportation costs, it's probably a good idea to revisit your opinion of Carfax and similar companies offering vehicle title information.
Those car history reports are simply not anywhere near as thorough or useful as people think they are, ...
Posted in Buying Tips, Driving Matters, Is There A Lesson Here?, Our View | No Comments »
Wednesday, September 24th, 2008
If you're a film geek or like off-beat commentary on the zeitgeist, this strange blog about today's economic climate might amuse you.
Posted in Accidents, Cute stories, Driving Matters, Law Enforcement | No Comments »
Wednesday, September 24th, 2008
The names of the Arizona State frat house and the boys involved are being withheld, probably so it won't embarrass their mothers too much.
Posted in Accidents, Children, Safety | No Comments »
Wednesday, September 24th, 2008
While women often seem to play second fiddle to men when it comes to automotive marketing in North America, it's nothing to how they're treated in the UK, Europe and (especially) Japan and Korea. So this story about the car execs in Britain moving more toward a female-centric reality is ...
Posted in Advertising, Marketing, Program For Change | No Comments »
Wednesday, September 24th, 2008
For a long time now a lot of cars have had data recorders that serve as something of a "black box" to record what a car's doing at a precise moment. This is either a safety item or a nefarious, unconscionable intrusion of our civil liberties by the forces of ...
Posted in Accidents, Driving Matters, Is There A Lesson Here?, Law Enforcement, Safety | No Comments »
Wednesday, September 24th, 2008
To show you how deeply strange men who love cars can be, consider this column in the NY Times (there's probably nothing serious going on in the auto world right now) about whether Don Draper of TV's Mad Men did the right thing when he bought a new Cadillac in ...
Posted in Advertising, Cute stories, Is There A Lesson Here? | No Comments »
Wednesday, September 24th, 2008
The primary reaction to the idea of TVs behind cash registers in service stations showing ads is that those cars that run on electricity and can be recharged at home or at work (like the Chevrolet Volt) can't come fast enough.
Posted in Advertising, Gas Issues, Marketing, Technology | No Comments »
Wednesday, September 24th, 2008
Apparently tired of being the only major car company on the continent not openly dedicated to inventing an alternative-fuel vehicle, Chrysler has announced it's testing three electric vehicles and will put one into production by 2010. If the company picks the EV version of its Town & Country minivan, it ...
Posted in Green, Marketing, Program For Change, Technology | No Comments »
Tuesday, September 23rd, 2008
Thanks to a lot of really, really bad advice on the internet and from established writers who should know a lot better, too many consumers think a clean bill of health from Carfax or a similar firm means a used car is free of damage or other concerns. Well, that's ...
Posted in Accidents, Buying Tips, Insurance, Law Enforcement, Program For Change, Repairs | No Comments »
Tuesday, September 23rd, 2008
For over 15 years the federal government has been diddling around with a law that allows the public to have more information on cars that are written off ("totaled" is the popular term) by insurance companies but still sold. Now a judge has put them on a timeline to do ...
Posted in Accidents, Dealerships, Insurance, Program For Change, Safety | No Comments »
Tuesday, September 23rd, 2008
Thanks to the new gas price reality and the growing tend to higher interest rates, car owners and others are looking at different ways to get by.
Posted in Buying Tips, Is There A Lesson Here?, Save Money | No Comments »
Tuesday, September 23rd, 2008
Thanks to various problems in the financial industry, it's going to be harder than ever for many people to qualify for a new car loan. Without a FICO score of 720, this story suggests, you may be out of luck.
Posted in Buying Tips, Dealerships, Pricing | No Comments »
Tuesday, September 23rd, 2008
If you're looking for a solid base of information for how to keep all ages of kids safe during a car crash, this website operated by the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia is a pretty good place to start. But don't forget that safety in cars involves more than surviving a ...
Posted in Accidents, Children, Is There A Lesson Here?, Law Enforcement, Safety, Technology | No Comments »
Monday, September 22nd, 2008
Once upon a time Volvo was indeed in the forefront of auto safety, but the Swedish firm relinquished any claim to that title when it gave up its plan to install a crash-notification system like GM's OnStar at the behest of its Detroit owners at Ford. As for its desire ...
Posted in Accidents, Buying Tips, Is There A Lesson Here?, Safety, Technology | No Comments »
