Categories: Miscellaneous

With the year coming to an end it’s time for car manufacturers to tally up their numbers. The government shutdown did not affect sales by much. Consumers didn’t pay much attention when all was said and done. So who came out on top? Most makers had at least something to smile about.

Cars are more than a means to get from one place to another. Nowadays they also serve as social centers, study halls, and even dining areas. That’s why it’s so common to find ketchup, soda, and other stains on auto interiors. 

Fortunately, most of these marks can be removed with a little elbow grease and some common cleaning products. So here are some tips for keeping your vehicle’s interior looking great.

These days the news is filled with stories about alternative fuels. Whether it’s biodiesel, ethanol, electricity, or what-have-you, it seems that someone, somewhere has built a car that will run on it. But, long before the modern environmental movement, steam-driven vehicles were common sights on American roads.

Are you a good driver? Most of us think so, but traffic accidents accounted for 33,808 deaths in 2009. That number has risen since. Crashes cost Americans $200 billion a year according to the Department of Transportation. The question is, are these really “accidents” or could they have been prevented.

An automobile is more than just a way to get somewhere. It’s also an expression of your personality and status in life. So it just makes sense to keep it looking as good as possible.

But that doesn’t mean you have to pay costly fees to detail shops. With a few dollars’ worth of supplies and some “sweat equity,” you can get the same results for a fraction of the cost. Here’s how to get professional results the next time your wash your car or truck.

I have opinionated children. Everything from what I put on the table to which clothes they consent to wear. Children pay attention to friends, television, and parents to determine how they feel about things and how they choose to do things. Even things you don’t notice yourself are absorbed by your children and mold them into who they will be.

I’ve always felt sorry for crash test dummies. I have anthropomorphism, which is the assignment of feelings to inanimate objects. It got worse when all those commercials came out featuring self-aware and auto-ambulatory dummies. The first dummies produced and used to test automobile safety were made in the 1950s, but the ones we are used to seeing came into use in the 1970s.

In order for any manufacturer to be successful they must give us a product that is useful, dependable, and safe. We count on automobile makers to provide us with transportation that we can count on and which will not harm us, unless we do something stupid. It’s in their best interest if they want us to continue to buy. The government also checks in to approve safety measures in vehicles. Unfortunately, unforeseen defects happen and even though recalls are continuous, sometimes the problem is noticed too late.

If you’re among the particular subgroup of people for whom driving can be more than just a necessity, then you probably hanker after a car with “sporty” qualities. Something like a BMW M3 or a Mistubishi Evo. The problem that you’re inevitably faced with, however, is that sporty cars tend to be expensive; automakers levy a “performance tax”, if you will, on the keen driver, and you end up paying not just the dealer, but the insurance company, a premium for the privilege of sharp handling and roaring, snorting engine noises. Even at the bottom of the chart, your least expensive options are things like the Mazda MX-5, Subaru BRZ or Ford Focus ST, all of which will run you $25k at the very least, and for a lot of people, especially in my age group (and let’s face it, the younger you are, the faster you probably want to go), that’s just too much. Allow me, then, to posit a solution that obviates the need for a single purchase in favor of a simple attitude adjustment.

You may have read my previous article on self-driving automobiles. The government is now getting involved in this new technology. As I’ve said before, this sort of progress was inevitable and the government agrees. There are far reaching benefits to computer-controlled vehicles.

Most of us depend on our vehicles for daily transportation to and from work and to run errands. Most towns are not small enough to handle everyday tasks on foot or bicycle. What do you do if you don’t need a car every day? Maybe you work from home, have no children, and the expense of a personal vehicle is just not worth it. You could use public transportation, taxis, or impose on a friend. Or you could rent a Zipcar. This is not really a new concept. It’s been around for years, but recent mergers have now given the convenient automobiles nationwide availability.