It's a tough'un. CNN reports: Car options: Value added, or not. OK, so they pick a bunch of options (safety equipment shouldn't be an option) and decide which are worth getting. We generally agree with the list, but we think the whole built-in DVD stuff is wicked cool and should be on the must have. It's hard to choke up the $2k for navigation when a decent external dealie is just $300.
What do you think is a must have and what's a waste of money?
Autoblog reports: OMG! Washington first state to ban text messaging while driving. We love kids. We love our kids. We love a certain kid's mom. But sometimes enough is enough. Same goes for everyone is the world.
See, the reason we drive is not to go food shopping, buy a pair of pants, or pay our lawyers because once again the judge says we got too close and the restraining was violated. How can we show restraint!? There's tight jeans, shoulder action... Uh-oh, there we go violatin' again.
No, the reason we drive is to get the hell away from everyone. We don't want to talk to anyone about their problems or text with anyone about their stupid problems. No, we want to be alone.
So, here's the deal. If a parent gets into an accident because of texting and they have children in the car, the child gets to roshambo the parents every Friday for the rest of the child's life.
Jalopnik reports: Most Amazing Porsche Crash To NOT Result In Death. Pretty amazing: this multi-time flippin' crash. Not-so amazing: the driver was generally unhurt. Sadly amazing: many are still dying on roads because we don't have cars as safe as these. Why is that?
Autoblog reports: See? A car company can turn around. Just ask Fiat. Ha! We knew as soon as GM and Fiat parted ways that Fiat would be OK. In fact, we said: Fiat Wins!.
Autoblog reports: BMW reportedly interested in buying Volvo? This will happen. Watch.
Consumer Reports reports: Why Sweden rules in road safety.Stats:
For instance, they have reduced traffic deaths among children younger than 15 years old from over 100 in the 1970s to fewer than 10 per year nationwide since 2004.The article continues:
"If what we are doing isn't working, then maybe doing more of it won't get us very far. So maybe let's try some things that are radically new." Starting 10 years ago, Sweden embarked on a program called Vision Zero, which combined conventional approaches such as speeding and drunk-driving crackdowns.Wow, if what we're doing isn't working, do something really different. That's some crazy hippie thinkin' there, Rog. You're never going to get to be CEO of Exxon Mobil that way.
Seriously, read this over. It's clear that this way of thinking is not at all related to the knee-jerk reaction responses we do over here in the states. The designers didn't not finger point only at the drivers, but did a round or two of self-reflection asking serious questions of road designers and car designers as well as drivers. Go show, lads!
The Detroit News reports: Seat belt guard may prevent tragedy. Ha! Fucking ha! So there's this article dealie about a woman whose child keeps unbuckling her seatbelt. So the woman asks her own sisters what they did:
Has this ever happened to you, she asked. "All the time," they responded. What do you do, Mandarino asked. One sister suggested using duct tape to cover the red buckle release to keep Marilyn from unlatching the belt.That's funny stuff! And, sweetheart, it's a Cadillac. You'll be using duct tape on it sooner than later. Oh, stop. How could we resist that swipe?"I have a new Cadillac SRX," Mandarino said. "I'm not going to use duct tape on my new Cadillac."
Physorg reports: New brake light system could mean fewer collisions.
Looks like it's all an optical illusion, which is very interesting:
"In the real world, we can’t manipulate the retinal images of cars," said [University of Toronto mechanical engineer Paul] Milgram. "But we thought we could change the image of taillights. We guessed that if we could make a taillight system that appeared to change in size, it might have a significant effect on braking behaviour."In unrelated news, images of Alison Krauss have proven to change the size of more than just the retinas of the C!C!C! staff.
From Consumer Reports: How our car seat tests went wrong. It's a long read, but it seems to be an honest mistake. Kudos for CR for owning up (mostly) to the mistakes and even following up on what happened.
Or is this legit? The New York Times reports: A New Legislative Push for Safer Power Windows.
Should manufacturers be required to add safety features regardless of the cost and amount of lives it will save? According to The Times "Kids and Cars, a safety group in Leawood, Kan., has documented 54 power-window-related fatalities since 1962."
It's clearly not an epidemic, but we do wonder in this age of excess (lighted and heated/cooled cupholders) why automakers are complaining of costs. Yeah, those extra features in cars are not required by government -- only by the competition.
This "automatic reverse" technology already exists, so it's not a major hassle to include it if the car is already being equipped with power windows. Manufacturers should include it standard on any car with power windows. If manufacturers feel it would push the cost too high, then replace power windows with manual windows. These conveniences come at a price, but children shouldn't pay it.
Speaking of safety, we'd sure like to see a vehicle occupant warning system in place. Summer's coming and you know some children are going to die while strapped in their car seats.
The Detroit News reports: Car crashes: A deadly story we keep missing. Actually, we shouldn't kid about this stuff. About 44,000 die every year because of accidents on U.S. roads.
We've recently read that some think one of the causes for so many accidents is, get this, the increased safety equipment in today's cars. What the?! The idea is the increase in safety equipment leads to more reckless behavior. We never thought about it that way, but... hell.
Anyway, 44,000 will likely die in 2007. Hey, slow down, folks.
CNN reports: Small Nissan Versa aces crash tests. We like the Versa. It's cheap (more or less), roomy, and apparently safe! Woohoo! Of the three we checked out (Fit, Yaris, Versa) we liked the seats in the Versa the best.
If you want to check out your car (or an upcoming purchase), visit the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's site. They haven't reviewed every model (no Mazda5 for example), but they do give you the skinny in chart form.
You gotta be careful with the Versa, however. Nissan didn't see fit include all the safety equipment as standard (weak and stupid of Nissan), so make sure you check all the appropriate boxes before purchasing.
