The debates over fuel economy and tailpipe emissions have been going on for so long that they're now as all-American as sleazy political attack ads and trying to outthink the Vegas line when betting on NFL games. And we shouldn't expect any of it to end any time soon. The fuel-economy debate flared up again in the last few weeks. In early October, the Department of Transportation's (DO
A significant majority of Americans appear to be happy with their auto insurance companies – at least when it comes to how efficiently their claims were handled. That’s according to a recent Consumer Reports survey, which reported that 86 percent of customers were highly satisfied with the handling of their claims by 22 of the nation’s largest auto insurance companies. “But
When it comes to building more environmentally friendly vehicles, American carmakers have made gains in the last few years, but three Asian carmakers again topped the "2010 Greenest Automaker" rankings. This list and accompanying report is produced semi-annually by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), a nonprofit organization headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In a "photo finish," Hond
If you spend any amount of time behind the wheel, the results of a recent national drivers test should scare you. And if they don’t, they should. In late May, GMAC Insurance reported that nearly 1 in 5 drivers -- or about 38 million Americans -- could not pass a written drivers test if they took it today. That’s according to the insurer’s annual National Drivers Test survey, whic
Distracted driving remains a huge problem in America, despite various cell phone laws banning texting and talking while driving. In fact, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood convened a national summit on the issue in late September, the second such event in as many years. But thus far, it remains a problem without a consistent, reliable solution, according to two recent reports. Indeed, a report i
Fuel economy is always a hot topic, because it factors into so many other issues: climate change and the environment, the viability of the auto industry, and the nation's dependence on foreign oil and those inherent national security implications.
It’s a mad, mad, mad, mad world. And by that we don’t just mean angry -- we also mean crazy. You can see it on the road, daily. We have a problem with aggressive driving, one that manifests itself in many disturbing and dangerous ways, from road rage to fatal traffic accidents. It’s gotten worse in recent years, as the population has increased -- leading to more cars on the road,
On Wednesday, Sept. 8, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety announced its seat belt “fit test” ratings of 72 models of children’s booster seats, and the results showed a big improvement over last year’s ratings. These “fit tests” rank the boosters based on how well-positioned a vehicle’s seat belts are on the child’s body when the booster is be
Believe it or not, the summer travel season is winding down and unofficially comes to an end this Labor Day weekend. That's when many folks will pile into their vehicles and hit the road -- bound for their favorite cottage, campground or resort town. Today, the topic is tires and tire safety. Labor Day weekend travel aside, this is also a good time to address that subject, in light of recent
Whoever said that only men have the need for speed? Not Tracey Richardson of Lexington, Kentucky, who drives a 2010 Corvette Grand Sport with a 6.2-liter V8 engine that rides herd over 430 ponies. And not Tamara Wong of Dublin, California, who gets her motoring kicks behind the wheel of a 2006 Dodge Charger SRT8, which is powered by a 6.1-liter V8 that delivers 425 horsepower. It’s true
Call it a sad commentary on our modern world, but we’ve grown accustomed to tales of identity theft. It seems that those unwilling to woodchip their credit card receipts have a decent chance of opening up a Visa bill full of pain. A new twist on this sort of criminal activity is making its way through the used car market, however, but it doesn’t involve stealing identities from individ
What do women want? Well, given that “gender war” tales have become such a fertile source of debate in recent years -- with whole books devoted to the topic -- the temptation to crack wise is a powerful one. "If I knew the answer to that, I’d still be married." "What do they want? Everything, near as I can tell." Okay, I’ll stop the riffs now, before I dig myself in any dee
U.S. carmakers are in full-tilt-boogie mode in their efforts to add smaller, less costly, more fuel-efficient cars to their stables. Ford’s all-new 2011 Fiesta sub-compact began arriving in dealerships in late June, while the redesigned Focus comes to market in early 2011. GM, meanwhile, launches the compact Chevy Cruze in September. That focus on small cars means that auto engineers have be
Let’s face it: Most motorists just drive too fast. Too many people are in too big a hurry to get where they’re going. Safety experts and law enforcement agencies are constantly admonishing the lead-footed to “Just Slow Down!” And to underscore that point, a recent study by a Canadian research team has determined that driving decreases life expectancy. According to the study
Gasoline. Sweet, glorious, beautiful gasoline. Liquid gold. The magic elixir. The source of life. It might sound foolish, but is there any other precious commodity whose prices so drastically impact our daily lives? It was the dizzying spike in fuel costs in the summer of 2008 -- when gas prices took a rocket ride to more than $4 per gallon -- that caused a profound shift in car buyers’ pref
A wise man once said that the hardest thing in the world to predict was the future. To which we would add: “Especially gasoline prices.” Fuel prices have indeed been a moving target over the last couple of years. Now, summer is upon us, a season when gas price increases are as commonplace as beery backyard barbecues and melting ice cream cones. Many economists have been saying for mont
It's well known that if you've purchased a defective vehicle, you might be able to receive a replacement or a refund under state or federal "lemon laws." As has been shown recently in Wisconsin, however, some extreme cases can even bring about larger reward payments, although they require patience on the part of the consumer. Just ask Marco Marquez. He bought a new Mercedes-Benz E320 sedan i
It’s no understatement to say that this is a critical year for Chrysler. The struggling automaker will be bringing several refreshed or redesigned vehicles to market, the first updating of the company’s lineup since it went through multiple traumas. The last two years have seen the smallest of the “Big Three” limping along on government assistance, sparring with debt-holder
For decades now, auto dealers have been down in the trenches, lobbying state and federal officials against any proposed legislation that they think might impact their bottom line. But in a battle brewing on Capitol Hill this week, dealers are facing a more formidable opponent: The U.S. Department of Defense. The issue at hand is a proposed Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, part of the large
Toyota’s recent recall woes have drawn attention, once again, to the role played by auto industry lobbyists and their relationship with lawmakers and regulators. Coming hot on the heels of a national uproar over the role lobbyists played in the deregulation that led to the Wall Street meltdown, not to mention lobbyists’ attempts to scuttle health care reform, the public seems concerned
As cars become more digitized, from the futuristic LCD displays in our dashboards to the electronic systems that control acceleration and braking, are drivers at risk? Electronics and computerized systems have almost completely replaced the mechanical systems that once controlled most of the functions in our cars. The core of that debate is over whether this almost total dependence on electronics
