Who was it that came up with the idea of putting $5,000 rims on cars that only a grandmother would drive? I have always been fascinated by the types of cars that end up with some of the gaudiest wheels imaginable. The fact that a cottage industry has formed surrounding the wheel is somewhat humorous to me. From DUB magazine to the sale of “spinners” at Wal-Mart, there is just something about rims that drives people crazy.
I only realized how zealous this blood lust for hubcaps can be when I was working in Law Enforcement. Read the Rest…

Tags: Auto Transportation by Christopher - 1 Comment »

My personal favorite foreign car is the MGB. Something about its lines, its class, and most importantly, it’s charm, has always won me over. I was looking at Buy Classic Cars and found my favorite came in at #9 on their list of the Top 10 classic foreign cars.
The list contained the following cars:

VW Beetle
Triumph TR3
Austin Mini
Jaguar XKE
MG TD
Triumph TR6
Mercedes 280SL
Austin Healey 3000BJ8
MG MGB
Datsun 240Z

These websites, and similar websites devoted to specific autos are an amazing tool that allows classic car aficionados from around the country to exchange insights, stories, and their individual passion. Perhaps, Read the Rest…

Tags: Auto Transportation by Christopher - 2 Comments »

Have you ever been driving down your local highway, happen to look out the window and uttered the words: “That is the ugliest car I have ever seen. Who would drive that thing?” I know that this thought has entered my mind on numerous occasions. Car designs are rarely unique, and those designs which are distinctive are sometimes distinctly awful. That said, if you have ever visited the website for Car Talk, NPR’s wildly successful program about all things humerously automotive, you may have stumbled upon their ugly car vote.
The list is comprised of the Hummer Read the Rest…

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The United Auto Workers union is voicing their support (no surprise) for Barack Obama, while foaming at the mouth with anger at John McCain. It seems that the pro-union Obama is more than happy to take your tax dollars and subsidize the auto industry. Obama hopes to send $25 billion of our tax dollars to Detroit to help struggling domestic auto makers.
This situation begs the question: Why support a failing venture? While it is nice to say that America has some manufacturing jobs, the simple fact is that American car companies are behind the times. The Read the Rest…

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If you remember the onslaught of automotive ads from years past advertising “employee pricing,” prepare for round two. GM unveiled a new plan that sounds not-so-surprisingly old. All GM models will be featuring the employee discounted rates that helped transport units years ago. Jamie Lareau of Automotive News writes:
In a memo to Buick-Pontiac-GMC dealers, GM said the sale would run Aug. 20 through Sept. 2. For the B-P-G channel, the employee pricing would apply to all 2008 models and the 2009 Pontiac Vibe. Customers could get up to $6,000 cash plus the employee discount.
The gimmick reminds me Read the Rest…

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The future looks a lot greener for those who are wheelchair-bound. Sometime this year, the UK will release the first ever electrically powered vehicle designed specifically for those who are wheelchair users. According to the website, the Kenguru is “the car [we] have all been waiting for”.

Some of its features include but are certainly not limited to:

ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY
Driven directly from the driver’s wheelchair
No special handicapped spaces required (since car can be backed up to pavement for entry)
Only a “scooter driver’s license” is required since this is how the Kenguru is classified
Equipped with motorcycle-type handlebar controls for driving
Cool Safety Read the Rest…

Tags: Auto Transportation by Janelle - No Comments »

I used to live in a townhome community where there was a lot of traffic that would flow in and out. Eventually, the complaints started flowing into the townhome community about the number of speeders, which brought up the subject of speedbumps as a way to slow the drivers down. People wanted to slow down the speed of people zipping in and out of the community, but in the same breath, they didn’t really want to put speedbumps in either.
Speedbumps are Bad?
Many people want to implement the use of speed bumps in their communities where they live so Read the Rest…

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Bad habits are like a comfortable bed; easy to get into and hard to get out of. This is especially true if you are a licensed driver. There is no better (or worse, depending on how you look at it) place to develop bad habits than on the roadways that you share with other drivers, pedestrians and cyclists. Jennifer Steinhauer wrote a great article for the New York Times about how the state of California is doing something to help curb the bad habits of motorists. In her article, she states:
…California became the fifth state to Read the Rest…

Tags: Auto Transportation by Janelle - 1 Comment »

Despite the fact that gas prices have gone down a little in recent weeks, people are still bitter about getting their paychecks and then turning them right over to the attendant at the gas station. But not everyone is being affected so harshly by the high cost of gas. For instance, many of us would probably assume that in a major city like New York, where you have such a diverse group of people from all sorts of different socio-economic backgrounds, the price of gas wouldn’t really be such a big deal because most people either walk, bicycle, Read the Rest…

Tags: Auto Transportation by Janelle - 1 Comment »

[special thanks to one of my readers, Steve Auger, for suggesting this topic!]
Have you ever used a roundabout and actually sat there rather than moved? The whole point of using a roundabout is to help traffic flow more smoothly. If this is the case, then why is it that so many of us are confused when we first approach one? Didn’t they have roundabouts in driver’s education classes?
According to Wikipedia,
Overall, roundabouts are statistically safer than both traffic circles and traditional intersections, with the exception that cyclists have a significantly increased crash rate at large roundabouts. Roundabouts do Read the Rest…

Tags: Auto Transportation by Janelle - 2 Comments »