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2004 Archives | Homepage
What Would Santa Drive?
The question, "What would Santa drive if he lost his sleigh?", has been hotly debated by motorists and automotive experts for decades. This year Kelley Blue Book, a vehicle information resource, offers the following solution:
Every December Santa embarks,
On a reindeer-guided journey around the globe in the dark.
He delivers toys in his trusty red sleigh
From house to house before the light of Christmas day.
But what if there were no sleigh in which to arrive,
He'd jump in a car but which would he drive?
He'd need a vehicle with all the right gear
What would be on Santa's wish list this year?
Kelley Blue Book researched the latest cars
To determine which will take Santa beyond the stars.
All-wheel drive to conquer terrain with glee,
Like on the CADILLAC ESCALADE EXT
A vehicle with power and lots of "go,"
Can be found in the PORSCHE CAYENNE TURBO
A vehicle with room for hauling elves with grace,
Like the CHRYSLER TOWN & COUNTRY with Stow n' Go and cargo space
With an in-dash navigation system to guide his way
The NISSAN QUEST directs without delay
To deliver boats and ponies Santa will need to tow
Behind FORD's SUPER DUTY, Ho Ho Ho!
To land on rooftops without a tip or roll
Maybe a VOLVO XC90 with stability control
One with heated seats keeping Santa toasty and warm
Like the AUDI ALLROAD cruising through every storm
But only one vehicle in all the land
Will make this Christmas fine and grand
The LEXUS LX 470 with all this and night vision too,
To determine who's been naughty or nice, in the dark, out of view
To keep Santa singing while flying alone,
Its satellite radio offers carols in every time zone
With trimmings in leather and hardwoods throughout,
Santa rides in style without a doubt
But what color would he want as the winds whip and whirl?
It's not hard to pick when it comes in Blizzard Pearl.
Charlie Vogelheim, Kelley Blue Book's executive editor says,
"When shopping for a new car, pick out features you'll need,
and that will be the best car for you, indeed."
Posted on December 23, 2004
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Bestselling Luxury Cars of 2004
Forbes has a feature and slideshow showing the top selling luxury cars of 2004. Some of the cars featured include the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, the Jaguar XJ, the Cadillac Escalade, the Cadillac Deville, the BMW 3 series and the RX 330. About BMW, Forbes said, "BMW's best-selling model is available as a coupe, sedan and convertible. A high-performance version, the M3, is available as a coupe and convertible."
Posted on December 17, 2004
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Vehicles of the Future
The BBC reports that Toyota has unveiled some unusual and inspiring vehicles. These futuristic vehicles are "worn" by the driver and will be shown at the Expo 2005 in Aichi, Japan, in March 2005. Toyota calls the vehicles personal mobility devices and they include a personal egg-shaped cars and the i-foot which the BBC described as "a two-legged mountable robot-like device that can be controlled with a joystick." The i-foot looks almost like a Robocop contraption. The user can even climb stairs while using the device. Devices like these could be useful for people with disabilities or for jobs where people need extra strength or protection -- like emergency services, security and the military.
Posted on December 10, 2004
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Diagnostic Aids from Game Boys and Palm Pilots
USA Today is reporting on a new trend in the $30 billion automotive accessories market. The latest innovative software tools turn your Game Boy or Palm Pilot into an automotive diagnostic tool. USA Today reports that the Australian company TXS offers a device called the TurboXS DTEC (data transfer engine console), that "uses the Game Boy platform to assess and display performance attributes such as an engine's air-fuel ratio." Another product from a company called Injectoclean turns a Palm Pilot into a mechanic's diagnostic tool.
Posted on December 6, 2004
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60-mpg Cars Approved for U.S.
Tiny cars that get 60-mpg have been approved for distribution in the United States. A distributer called ZAP was able to get approval from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to sell the cars. ZAP has an agreement with smart-automobile to sell 15,000 of the cars in the U.S. MSNBC.com reports that 6,000 of the tiny cars have already sold through pre-orders.
Source: MSNBC
Posted on November 26, 2004
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America Awaits the Microcar
Tiny cars that get about 70-mpg may be coming to the United States. Already a hit in Europe the small cars like the diesel Smart Fortwo get great gas mileage, put out less pollution than most cars and can easily park in spaces for compact cars. However, the Smart Fortwo is seen as too big for big-car-obsessed America. Instead Fortwo will offer a slightly larger model in the U.S, called the Smart SUV. Wired reports that, "the Smart SUV will debut in January at the Detroit Auto Show and arrive for sale in 2006 for about $20,000." For those interested in the smaller Fortwo, Wired reports that car buyers might be able to buy one in Canada.
Source: Wired
Posted on November 18, 2004
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Discouraging Speeders With Frowns
Traffic tickets are meant to discourage people from driving too
fast. Tickets are effective on the individual who gets them but
they cannot be given to everyone that speeds. In England sign
designers have come up with a novel solution: a sign that frowns
at drivers moving too fast. A Popular Mechanics article suggests the signs
could be coming to the United States. They would certainly be a welcome
relief if they can slow down traffic on some of America's highways where drivers seem to go 10-15 mph above the speed limit and blast past cars
trying to obey the legal speed limit.
Source: Popular Mechanics
Posted on November 4, 2004
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Gas Prices Above $2 Again
After falling slightly between June and September gas prices are now rising quickly and have once again eclipsed the $2 a gallon mark according to a CNN/Reuters article. The cost of oil, which is trading around $55 a barrel, is the main reason behind the rising gas prices.
You can keep up with high gas prices online but unfortunately it looks like the pain at the pump will continue into the Winter months and beyond.
Posted on October 18, 2004
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Don't be a Fool When Buying a Car
When buying a car it is important to be a tough sell (not a fool) and make sure you don't end up dissapointed or even completely waste your money. A recent Motley Fool article offers some quick checks you can do on the car after test-driving it including: review the interior and checking the fabric, buttons, driver's seat etc.; examine the exterior of the car for color and style, examine the engine; and look in the trunk for space considerations. If you are a total novice to car buying or need a refresher The Motley Fool also offers an Introduction to Car Buying
Posted on September 15, 2004
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Pain at the Pump
Gas prices are continuing to rise and costing consumers nearly $2 at the pump on average nationwide. The impact of the summer driving months is increasing demand which is also not helping with gas prices. You can keep up with high gas prices online but unfortunately there is no escape from them -- at least in the immediate future.
Posted on May 15, 2004
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Jesse James and Monster Garage
He has the same name as the infamous Western gunfighter, and Monster Garage star Jesse James does carry a bad boy image to his working man television show on the Discovery cable network. The show which began in 2002 now gets big numbers from gear heads attracted to the tattoed James' knowledge and persona. And how was the show pitched to Discovery? According to Car and Driver Magazine the pitch went something like, ""A school bus turns into a pontoon boat! An Explorer turns into a garbage truck!"
Posted on March 15, 2004
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Americans Judge People By Their Car
An international survey by Yahoo! Autos,
found that Americans are far more likely to judge
someone's success based on the car they drive compared to other countries, and often
base their automotive purchasing decisions accordingly. The survey also found that
Americans identify most with their vehicles and attribute a personality to them more
often than the other countries polled in the survey. The survey polled seven countries
around the globe, including the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany,
Spain, Italy and China, to better measure consumers' perceptions of automotive buying
and usage in several regions of the world.
Some of the interesting findings:
- Americans and the Chinese talk to
their vehicles the most (69 percent and 57 percent respectively). In contrast, Italians
are the least likely to hold a conversation with their cars at 29 percent.
- Americans take this a step further, with 52 percent giving their cars names.
- Most countries,
however, will attribute a gender to their cars. For example, most American cars (49
percent) are considered female by their owners while in contrast, some German and
Chinese respondents believe their vehicles are male (22 percent male vs. 7 percent female
Germany; 44 percent male vs. 16 percent female China).
- Americans (62 percent) love to flirt
with other drivers while they are behind the wheel. Next to Americans, Germans are
most inclined to flirt while driving at 41 percent. Italian respondents are the least
flirtatious behind the wheel at 18 percent.
- Silver is the most popular color in three
of the countries and makes it into the top four color choices across all countries
surveyed. Blue was the next most popular color and was the top choice in Germany, while
Americans picked black as their top choice. -- France (24 percent), Spain (22 percent)
and Italy (26 percent) listed silver as the top color option. -- The UK (22 percent) and
Germany (22 percent) picked blue for their first choice. Vehicle Social Status and
- The majority (52 percent) of Americans tend to
judge someone's success based on the car they drive. -- Only 12 percent of Italian
respondents and 15 percent of Germans base people's success on vehicle types. -- China
(46 percent) and the UK (39 percent) were closer to American drivers in viewing a car as
a measure of success. Similarly, cars are one of the top items by which Americans base a
person's social status, with almost one third (32 percent) of Americans using cars to
rate a person's status. -- The UK responses (18 percent) came the closest to the American
perception of vehicles as status symbols compared to other regions. -- Only 4 percent of
Italian respondents and 6 percent of French respondents relate status to vehicles.
- Out of all the countries surveyed, Chinese respondents
(74 percent) tend to find the opposite sex more attractive if they drive a nice car. --
Americans come to a close second with 62 percent. -- Germany (21 percent) is the least
inclined to base a person's attractiveness on vehicle choice.
Posted on January 15, 2004
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