Cars! Cars! Cars!

Hummer Done Got Itself Stuck

Here's the skinny: Hummer comes to Jeep event. Hummer gets stuck on tree stump. Old Jeep saves Hummer. World rejoices. Well, maybe not the world but the Hummer retreats with its 6,000 tail pound between its big-ass wheels.

This sorta validates our thinking (we're aware this is a pretty small sample, so spare us our illogical conclusion): Hummer drivers are total morons. Oh, we kid Hummer owners! We kid! No, it's more that Hummers aren't all that and if you don't know how to drive it properly what's the point? It's also a really wasteful vehicle.

We can debate whether these Jeep guys (or any reall four-wheel drivers) should be driving all over the freakin' place but there's one thing for sure: they know how to drive these things. Go Jeep owners!

Thanks to Matt Donaghy for submitting picture

2006 Volkswagen Passat

Tasty!

LATE BREAKING NEWS: We've added a Review Round of the 2006 Volkswagen Passat! Check it!

VW's added a lot of fun stuff to the '06 Passat. So much so that they're blabbing about it already. Check out the details for yourself.

We've been big fans of the Passat for some time now and it sure looks like trickle-down technology is at play here -- this Passat is grabbing some goodies from the (soon-to-be discontinued, we bet) Phaeton. Seems like the W8 Passat is history, too (which is just as well because it sold very poorly).

Adding an iPod to your Car

Okay, iPods are more popular than Jesus now, we get it. But do the car manufacturer's get it? No. But that's okay, they're learning. Here are the following manufacturers who can trying to integrate their car(s) and the iPod:

iPod Integration
Apple
Add an iPod to yer car

Autobytel
Autobytel iPod Center

Denison
ice>Link: Plus

Griffin Technology
Now this is pretty danged clever: control your iPod via the cassette controls. This nifty little SmartDeck not only sends the music signal to your stereo via the typical awkward cassette adapter but adds a very clever way to control the iPod by using the controls built into your stereo. And it's $25. Nice one, Griffin.

Car Manufacturers
BMW
Apple mentions adding the iPod to your BMW
BMW makes their own site about adding the iPod to their cars.
Saab
We found that Saab wants to add iPod integeration on MacNN.

Car Stereo Manufacturers
Alpine

Finally released: Alpine's iPod integration unit is available.

Got more? Email us or post below!

He Knows Where You're Going, He Knows Where You've Been

It ain't Santa, boy and girls. It's Uncle Sam. As our good friend, Car Pundit, pointed out, the ability for the government to track your car-related movement is coming. It's coming to Oregon soon. Even California is considering doing the same (Californication, indeed).

So, what's the big whoop, right? Do you send in speeding fines if you blow past the posted speed limit? Do you tell your insurance company how many miles you really drive each year? Do you currently tell the government where you going at all times? All of this data will be available thanks to government-installed GPS devices that tally up your miles and then add a tax to your total bill once you fill up with fuel.

Along with the socio-economic problems of this proposal (the poor will pay a lot of this tax), there's bias against green vehicles and a major privacy issue. A major privacy issue.

Since hybrid or electric vehicles don't use as much fuel, the government needs to recoup the lost revenue. The problem with that is, these green vehicles are lighter than most other vehicles and therefore do less damage to the roads upon which they drive (let alone less damage to our lungs). What should be created is a is tax based on how big your vehicle is (weight, number of axels, etc.) and how much fuel it uses. How about doubling the gas guzzler tax? While no one wants to pay more for fuel, how adding another tax to the cost of fuel? It would be fair if we all paid the same amount for fuel but some were rewarded because they chose a vehicle that got exceptional gas mileage.

And then there's the privacy issue. Sorry, sphink, we just don't buy the comment of, "I don't mind the government knowing what I do at all times because I'm not doing anything wrong." If you think that, here's why you are stupid: 1. We have a right to privacy -- just because you don't value yours doesn't mean others feel the same way. 2. You are just plain stupid (we know that's recursive but... what? oh just look it up!).

Here's the bottom line: Government-installed tracking devices are a bad idea. Don't roll over for it.

Read these:
What's Scary About a Car Usage Tax in Massachusetts?
Down the Road to a Driving Tax
Wacky California Considers by-the-Mile Driving Tax
Oregon to test mileage tax as replacement for gas tax
Driving While Intaxicated
(Wired covered this 18 months ago! And they had the most-clever headline. Go Wired!)

Automakers Have Record Year - For Recalls

We stole that headline directly from The Detroit News. It was either that or Automakers Have Record Year - For Us To Poop On! but we couldn't afford another lawsuit from Conan. But, anyway, it's true: 25 million cars have been recalled in 2004 (and December ain't but just started).

So, do we buy what the auto makers' reason: complexity breeds mistakes? In fact, yes, we do find that to be totally realistic. What we do have some concern about is GM. Over 10 million recalls this year. While it's true that GM ships more product than Toyota (who recalled just under 900,000 vehicles), GM doesn't ship 10x the amount that Toyota does.

Should we all start taking bets for 2005? We bet we're looking at near 30 million recalls for '05 models. What're your thoughts?

Image from FreeFoto.com, by: Ian Britton