Archive for November, 2008
Sunday, November 30th, 2008
In an effort to reduce the number of vehicles in its downtown core, the Maryland city will supply a bunch of vehicles in key locations that people can use for a reasonable charge. You pay a monthly fee to be part of the group and then a per-hour or per-mile ...
Posted in Driving Matters, Is There A Lesson Here?, Pricing, Program For Change, Save Money | No Comments »
Sunday, November 30th, 2008
If you really want to attach pretty much anything you like to the outside of your car so you can exhibit your artistic genius or just get people to stare at you, then you can probably get away with it. Some of the examples of this will amaze or disturb ...
Posted in Cute stories, Design, Program For Change | No Comments »
Sunday, November 30th, 2008
By Susan Winlaw
Here are 10 reasons why you should ignore those over-ripe stories about the "Top Safety Picks" from the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS) you can find on the internet, and one reason why you should pay attention.
Posted in Advice, Buying Tips, Is There A Lesson Here?, Our View, Program For Change, Technology, Warnings | No Comments »
Saturday, November 29th, 2008
The world's first "accident-avoidance feature" becomes a noise nuisance around the world as more new motorists discover a popular venting method in ever-greater traffic jams.
Posted in Accidents, Cute stories, Driving Matters, Is There A Lesson Here? | No Comments »
Friday, November 28th, 2008
By Alex Law
Crystal Windham's recent appointment was pretty much lost in the flood of coverage given to the ongoing financial crises at the three US-owned car companies.
That's unfortunate, because GM's decision to make an African-American woman the director of design for the company's North American passenger car products is a ...
Posted in Buying Tips, Is There A Lesson Here?, Our View, Program For Change | No Comments »
Thursday, November 27th, 2008
You can finance a 750iL luxury sedan for less than it costs to finance BMW's Mini electric car. In a sensible world a monthly payment of $850 for a two-seat car (there's a big battery where the second row would normally be) might silence all those people who are always ...
Posted in Green, Is There A Lesson Here?, Pricing, Technology | No Comments »
Thursday, November 27th, 2008
With very little to live on following a bad car crash, a Buffalo woman has made her life richer by sharing it with two foster kids who have even less.
Posted in Accidents, Children, Cute stories, Is There A Lesson Here? | No Comments »
Thursday, November 27th, 2008
So many people wanted to take part in the caravan of cars from Detroit to Washington for the hearings on the auto industry bailout that organizers had to cancel that and set up a giant rally in DC instead.
Posted in Driving Matters, Program For Change | No Comments »
Wednesday, November 26th, 2008
If you have to watch movies about speeding across Europe in an over-priced German car, it helps if the endless crashes might provide you with a laugh.
Posted in Accidents, Advice | No Comments »
Wednesday, November 26th, 2008
This article describing the economics of the auto industry should be instructive for anyone who thinks it's as simple as just building a small electric vehicle. At long last, the vastly over-hyped Tesla Motors may do something worthwhile by showing the uninformed how incredibly difficult it is to actually build ...
Posted in Design, Driving Matters, Green, Is There A Lesson Here?, Pricing, Program For Change, Technology, Warnings | No Comments »
Wednesday, November 26th, 2008
The idea that the US auto industry is in trouble because of its own faults is easily disproved, but knowing that the folks who take excessive amounts of money from the people who buy its imported products are also in big trouble should just make the reality even clearer.
Posted in Driving Matters, Is There A Lesson Here?, Marketing, Sad stories | No Comments »
Wednesday, November 26th, 2008
The answer there is a "best before" date, which means you shouldn't use a car with tires more than six years old no matter how many miles you have on them. This sounds like marketing hype, but it's actually true.
Posted in Accidents, Advice, Buying Tips, Driving Matters, Is There A Lesson Here?, Parts, Safety, Warnings | No Comments »
Tuesday, November 25th, 2008
A bunch of folks in the domestic auto industry (but not the car companies themselves) are organizing a drive from Detroit to DC in fuel-efficient models made by GM, Ford and Chrysler to show the government they deserve financial support.
Posted in Driving Matters, Green, Is There A Lesson Here?, Program For Change | No Comments »
Tuesday, November 25th, 2008
This story tempts you to say "Only in LA," but with the ongoing growth of exercise and personal expression and all that, it simply may not be true any more. However, being rousted by the cops for working your abs on a road overlooking the Pacific Ocean can only be ...
Posted in Cute stories, Green, Is There A Lesson Here?, Law Enforcement, Program For Change | No Comments »
Tuesday, November 25th, 2008
For the third quarter of the year, loan delinquencies are up about 8 percent over 2007. That's bad for the people who can't afford to pay, but it's also bad for people looking for a new loan since the banks tend to get tight-fisted when existing loans go unpaid. About ...
Posted in Financing, Program For Change, Warnings | No Comments »
Tuesday, November 25th, 2008
No information on who the writer is, or if she's really a cop or even a woman, but the advice is pretty good and while you've probably seen it before it doesn't do any harm to look it over again. The story about the guy with the crutch is a ...
Posted in Advice, Children, Is There A Lesson Here?, Law Enforcement, Sad stories, Safety, Warnings | No Comments »
Monday, November 24th, 2008
UAW bashing is a popular sport in the right-wing media and other places right now as Detroit struggles to stay alive, but this long, fact-rich article argues that the men and women who actually bolt the cars together have little to do with it.
Posted in Is There A Lesson Here? | No Comments »
Monday, November 24th, 2008
If the experience of Terri Miller is anything to go by, not everyone is getting the message about how to keep her car safe from theft -- or even seems to want to. The Michigan auto theft expert provides a bunch of good tips anyway.
Posted in Advice, Is There A Lesson Here?, Law Enforcement, Program For Change, Safety | No Comments »
Monday, November 24th, 2008
An interesting perspective on how our quest to eradicate boredom has changed our lives, and maybe not for the better. He suggests perhaps no entertainment in the car during a long trip is a place to fight back.
Posted in Advice, Is There A Lesson Here?, Program For Change, Warnings | No Comments »
Monday, November 24th, 2008
For reasons unknown, the people who run this website went to a lot of trouble to pull together endless jokes featuring cars. It has to be of use to someone out there, even if we can't immediately think of who it might be. A child who loves cars, perhaps? We ...
Posted in Children, Cute stories, Lists | No Comments »
Sunday, November 23rd, 2008
While it's true that newer small cars are safer than previous small cars, the stark truth is that you're still more likely to die in a small car than you are in a big one. What the article doesn't mention is that you are also much more likely to be ...
Posted in Buying Tips, Is There A Lesson Here?, Safety, Warnings | No Comments »
Sunday, November 23rd, 2008
What life's like for many women in Nigeria, where asking for help when your car breaks down drives men crazy.
Posted in Is There A Lesson Here?, Sad stories | No Comments »
Sunday, November 23rd, 2008
One woman's memory of how impressive her mother was through a long life.
Posted in Children, Sad stories | No Comments »
Saturday, November 22nd, 2008
Those of you who want to use one of those web-based services to find out what a bunch of companies will charge you to insure your car should try www.InsWeb.com to start. That's the opinion of Kiplinger's, which also names a bunch of good websites to find reliable financial advice ...
Posted in Advice, Insurance, Lists, Save Money | No Comments »
Saturday, November 22nd, 2008
There's a desire for a little fun in the decision, but there's also a sensible side as women look for ways to reduce their transportation costs.
Posted in Buying Tips, Driving Matters, Pricing, Program For Change, Sales | No Comments »
Saturday, November 22nd, 2008
Unless you've got the kind of credit rating that usually only goes to the kind of person who doesn't have to borrow money very often, it's going to cost you extra for automobile financing. But no matter who you are, there are ways to play the system to your advantage.
Posted in Advice, Buying Tips, Incentives, Is There A Lesson Here?, Marketing, Pricing, Save Money | No Comments »
Friday, November 21st, 2008
Leaving stuff inside your car (even when it's locked) is an invitation to have it stolen. You've heard this before and it's still true, as recent experience in Salt Lake City shows. Car prowls are on the rise.
Posted in Advice, Law Enforcement, Sad stories, Warnings | No Comments »
Friday, November 21st, 2008
The first thing people will want to do when this recession is over is buy a new car, says the man in charge of Nissan and Renault, so he and his colleagues at other car companies are busy making sure there'll be something new and trendy for you when the ...
Posted in Design, Driving Matters, Marketing, Product News, Program For Change | No Comments »
Thursday, November 20th, 2008
Various car companies are promising to have EVs on the road in a couple of years, but they'll still come with very limited range and long recharge times. Pricing should also be a problem as well, but they don't burn any gas if that's critical for you.
Posted in Buying Tips, Gas Issues, Green, Marketing, Product News, Program For Change | No Comments »
Thursday, November 20th, 2008
An overview of the situation surrounding the cash-flow problems facing the US car companies and why helping them now makes the most sense for the country.
Posted in Advice, Buying Tips, Program For Change, Warnings | No Comments »
Thursday, November 20th, 2008
Car companies from all around the world are rethinking their plans for greener vehicles in the light of the ongoing collapse of new vehicle sales. Without the cash from those sales, they can't afford to research and develop more fuel-efficient technology.
Posted in Design, Gas Issues, Is There A Lesson Here?, Product News, Technology | No Comments »
Thursday, November 20th, 2008
Various changes in the world cause one couple to consider and reject the big vehicle they had planned to buy, and now they're reconsidering their entire way of life.
Posted in Buying Tips, Children, Dealerships, Gas Issues, Is There A Lesson Here?, Program For Change, Save Money | No Comments »
Thursday, November 20th, 2008
A young writer who is too familiar with the misconceptions her fellow Americans have about Detroit-based cars writes to set the record straight.
Posted in Buying Tips, Driving Matters, Gas Issues, Is There A Lesson Here?, Marketing, Program For Change, Warnings | 1 Comment »
Thursday, November 20th, 2008
By Susan Winlaw
A new version of the Ford Mustang and a revised Lincoln MKZ sedan may get the glamour coverage, but most consumers will be interested to see what Ford's doing to its Fusion mid-sized sedan line for early next year.
Posted in Design, Marketing, Product News, Technology | No Comments »
Thursday, November 20th, 2008
Taking old cars, repairing them and giving them to needy families is a fairly straightforward idea, and it has immediate affects on their lives and the local economy.
Posted in Employment, Is There A Lesson Here?, Parts, Program For Change, Repairs, Save Money | No Comments »
