Motorist.org - MAP News http://motorist.org/news en-us Motorist <![CDATA[Millennials Turn to DIY]]> Millennials turn to DIY car repair to save money. According to new research from The NPD Group, the Millennial generation (those born between 1980 and 1994, representing the largest generation of car drivers since the 1960s) have been hard hit by the recession and are increasingly turning to DIY auto service and auto repair to keep their vehicles running.

An analysis of sales from more than 18,000 parts stores showed that stores located with a high Millennial population had 11 percent higher sales of hard parts as well as filters, hand cleaners, hand tools and spark plugs than those stores with a low Millennial population. In order to capture a market of 65 million influential young drivers, the challenge of marketers is gaining a better understanding of what Millennials are likely to buy today.

- Automotive Week 10.29.10.p1

]]> http://motorist.org/millenials-go-DIY 2010-10-29 16:53:39 http://motorist.org/millenials-go-DIY <![CDATA[Cars that Fly]]> A flying car is finally in the showroom, price tag $1 million (including your parachute). Transit enthusiasts yearn for new ways in how Americans get around. From a high-speed rail network to urban people-movers that use small electric podcars, the way we get around is changing faster than we realize.

America is a highly individualized country are too spread out to emphasize mass transit  for better or worse we'll still be mostly about cars in 2020.

General Motors plans to have a self-driving car by 2018. Futuristic thinker, Tom Frey of Davinci Institute, predicts that vehicles will be available on demand, like taxis without drivers. Can you imagine getting into a car, punching into a computer where you want to go, and then sit back while the car takes you there?

- AARP 10 BreakThroughs for 2010

]]> http://motorist.org/cars-that-fly 2010-12-31 17:28:50 http://motorist.org/cars-that-fly <![CDATA[DIYers Do More]]> DIYers are doing even more of their own auto repairs than in 2008 due to the lingering economic downturn. According to the ?2010 DIY Report from AutoMD.com based on retail auto parts website surveys. Seventy-seven percent of confirmed DIY'ers cited ?saving money as the top reason for performing their own car repairs, with 97 percent noting that doing their own repairs is saving them money.

One in three DIYers claimed savings of more than $1,000 yearly and nearly 70 percent said they saved $500-plus, while 87 percent claimed savings of more than $300. More than a third of the DIYers surveyed said they are doing more auto repairs than two years ago (prior to the recession), with more than half saying they are doing ?significantly more.

Of those DIYers doing more of their own repairs, the majority cited ?the bad economy and ?holding onto my vehicle longer as reasons. Two-thirds of DIYers said they perform both basic and complex repairs. The most often-performed repairs were basic, with battery, air filter, windshield wiper blade, antifreeze and spark plug replacements performed by more than 90 percent of the DIYers.

- Service Executive 10.27.10.p4

]]> http://motorist.org/diyers-do-more 2010-10-27 17:29:57 http://motorist.org/diyers-do-more <![CDATA[HD Radio Makes AM Radio Sound Like FM]]> HD radio makes AM radio sound like FM, gives FM the same quality as a CD. Developed by iBiquity of Columbia MD, HD radio was launched in 2005 and has steadily grown in acceptance by over-the-air listeners.

Today more than 2,000 radio stations provide their broadcasts in HD radio and there are more than 3 million HD radio receivers. HD radio receivers are now capable of providing traffic reports in real-time and iTunes tagging which allows the listener to press a button to automatically place an order for that song from the iTunes website. Initially only a couple of car companies offered HD radios as an option, sometimes charging as much as $500. There are now 15 car companies offering HD radio options as a standard option or for a little as $20 extra.

BMW, Rolls-Royce offer it as standard and it is an option on Ford, Hyundai, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lincoln, Kia, Mercury, Mini Cooper, Mercedes, Rover, Volkswagen. Toyota only offers it on the Scion.

- Automotive News 08.23.10.p16

]]> http://motorist.org/hd-sounds-like-fm 2010-08-23 17:32:01 http://motorist.org/hd-sounds-like-fm <![CDATA[License Plate Readers Have GPS]]> License plate readers scan a vehicle plate number and record its GPS coordinates. Using two cameras attached to a patrol car one on the left and on the right up to 3,600 plates a minute can be scanned.

A list can be uploaded into the local Parking Violation Office for collection of parking violations; the Department of Motor Vehicles for expired, canceled, and suspended license plates; and the FBI National Crime Information Center of wanted people. Two patrol cars in Greenwich CT were outfitted for about $40,000 ?two months later $5,000 in outstanding parking fines had been collected.

Coming soon will be surveillance-type license plate readers that will attach to telephone poles. The new police technology give cops an extra set of eyes. Nutz sez, ?Science fiction is no longer in the future, it here now!

]]> http://motorist.org/License-Plate-Readers-Have-GPS 2011-03-03 04:44:50 http://motorist.org/License-Plate-Readers-Have-GPS <![CDATA[Distracted Driving Contest]]> Distracted driving contest seeks message ideas. Traffic crashes are the number one cause of death among US teens, with 5,000 young people killed annually.

The National Road Safety Foundation and National Organizations for Youth Safety (NOYS) are launching the Drive 2 Life PSA contest to find the best ideas for a public service message for National Youth Traffic Safety Month next May.

Young people aged 13-21 may submit a 15- or 30-second PSA concept that addresses distracted driving. Five finalists will win a mini-camcorder to create a rough video of their PSA concept. From those, a winner will receive a $1,000 cash scholarship and an expense-paid trip to New York City to work with a professional producer.

Two runners-up in each age category will receive a $500 cash scholarship. A quarter of all teens admit to texting behind the wheel and, in 2009, the highest proportion of distracted drivers in fatal crashes was under the age of 20," said Department of Transportation secretary Ray LaHood. "We know we have to engage teens in order to put an end to distracted driving, which is why reaching youth with the youth summit and PSA contest is so important. With their help, we can educate teens about making  smarter choices that will save lives."

For more info visit noys.org.

- Highway & Vehicle/Safety Report 10.18.10.p8

]]> http://motorist.org/distracted-driving-contest 2010-10-18 08:04:35 http://motorist.org/distracted-driving-contest <![CDATA[Rural Highways are More Dangerous...]]> Rural highways are more likely to kill motorists than urban roads, yet Americans feel much more relaxed and prone to risk taking on rural roads.�  About 21 percent of Americans live in rural areas, but the Federal Highway Administration has found that 57 percent of highway deaths occur on rural roads.

However, 69 percent of those surveyed said that they felt safe on multilane freeways in urban areas, while 79 percent felt safe on two-lane highways in rural areas. Thirty-eight percent responded that they felt relaxed on rural highways, and just 19 percent felt relaxed on urban freeways. Among rural residents, 69 percent felt relaxed on rural highways, vs. just 13 percent who felt relaxed on urban freeways.

Drivers are more likely to feel safe eating, using cell phones, and drinking and driving on rural highways than on urban freeways. Among rural residents, 44 percent said they feel safe using a cell phone on a rural highway vs. 14 percent who feel safe using a phone on an urban freeway. Survey respondents who felt safer on rural highways than urban freeways were asked why they felt this way. The most common answer (51 percent) was that there were fewer things on the road to worry about-less traffic, less congestion, and fewer people. The second most common answer (31 percent) was that the driver knew the area and felt more comfortable.

- Ibid 08.16.10.p4

]]> http://motorist.org/rural-highways-are-more-dangerous 2010-08-16 08:07:54 http://motorist.org/rural-highways-are-more-dangerous <![CDATA[Teenage Driving Distractions]]>
The survey found 73 percent adjusted their radio/CD/MP3 player, 61 percent ate food, and 60 percent talked on a cell phone while driving. Texting teenage drivers sent an average of 23 text messages a month while driving.

Their excuses given varied: 41 percent think their action will only take a split second; 35 percent don't think they'll get injured; 34 percent said they're used to multitasking; and 32 percent don't think that anything bad will happen to them. Thirty-eight percent say they have been afraid they were going to get hurt because they were the passenger of a distracted driver. Thirty-six percent believe they have been involved in a near-crash because of their own or someone else's distracted driving.

NHTSA reports that nearly 6,000 people died in 2008 in crashes involving distracted or inattentive drivers and more than a half million were injured.

- Ibid 08.16.10.p4
]]> http://motorist.org/teenage-driving-distractions 2010-08-16 11:47:02 http://motorist.org/teenage-driving-distractions <![CDATA[Tire Pressure Monitoring]]> Tire pressure monitoring systems (TPMS) have had an unexpected consequence; it has made the need for a spare tire practically nonexistent. However, the car companies answer to eliminating the spare tire was the advent of the run-flat tire. But the improvement in call in emergency roadside assistance and proliferation of cell phones coupled with TPMS has obviated the need for spare tires.

In fact, most newbie drivers have no idea of how to change a tire or even to operate a tire jack. For these reasons the car companies are no longer offering spare tires not even space-saver spare tires on their new cars. BMW started this trend by eliminating the spare tire and instead equipping their cars with a can of fix-a-flat and portable air compressor.

- Automotive News 10.18.10.p27

]]> http://motorist.org/tire-pressure-monitoring 2010-10-18 11:50:26 http://motorist.org/tire-pressure-monitoring <![CDATA[Kia Soul Scrutiny]]> Kia Soul comes under scrutiny by NHTSA. The investigation is based on one very serious complaint that the steering shaft decoupled from the hand wheel, resulting in complete loss of steering.

In addition, the shaft reportedly fell in a position that interfered with brake pedal application. The complaint vehicle was only two months old with 4,300 miles when the incident occurred. NHTSA is very concerned about this failure in that it occurred without warning on a new vehicle at low mileage and resulted in complete loss of steering as well as a compromised brake system," the safety agency stated.

The defects office reported that an estimated 51,182 affected vehicles were produced by Hyundai-Kia America Technical Center Inc. So far no crashes or injuries.

- Ibid 10.06.10.p6

]]> http://motorist.org/kia-soul-scrutiny 2010-10-06 11:57:35 http://motorist.org/kia-soul-scrutiny <![CDATA[Plug-in Electric Vehicles will Grow]]> Plug-in electric vehicles will grown to 3.2 million worldwide by 2015 according to a new report from the market research and consulting firm Pike Research.

Worldwide adoption of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) and battery electric vehicles (BEVs) will grow quickly over the next five years, with sales totaling 3.2 million between 2010 and 2015. PHEVs and BEVs will complement, rather than [displace], the market for conventional hybrid electric vehicles, said Dave Hurst, Pike Research senior analyst.

Electric vehicles will follow the lead of hybrids and will be launched in the small car segment for consumer markets initially, with the small SUV segment close behind. Boulder, CO-based Pike forecasts that China will be the largest market for electric vehicles, with more than 888,000 PHEVs and BEVs sold by 2015, representing 27 percent of worldwide sales. The US will be close behind with 841,000 vehicles sold, or 26 percent of the global market.

- Service Executive 09.15.10.p6

]]> http://motorist.org/plug-in-electric-vehicles-will-grow 2010-09-15 12:04:40 http://motorist.org/plug-in-electric-vehicles-will-grow <![CDATA[Recycled Car Parts]]> Recycled car parts have come a long way since scrap iron and aluminum were collected during WWII to build battleships.

Some examples of recycled car parts include: Batteries are recovered for their lead and plastic to be made into new batteries. Bumper covers are made from polymers that are made into outdoor furniture and containers.

Catalytic converters are recovered for precious metals of platinum and palladium and steel. Brake fluids and other fluids such as coolant, oil, windshield solvent and gasoline are recovered and recycled.

Glass windshields and windows are recycled into tile flooring, countertops, and made back into glass again. Tires are shredded and processed to produce steel from the belts, road bed material and mulch. In some parts of the country the rubber is turned back into petroleum or converted into heat.

- Autoweek 04.19.10.p32

]]> http://motorist.org/recycled-car-parts 2010-04-19 12:06:15 http://motorist.org/recycled-car-parts <![CDATA[Texting Bans don't reduce Crashes]]> Texting bans don't reduce crashes but actually increase the frequency of the number of insurance claims, according to the Highway Loss Data Institute. HLDI compared claims in four states (California, Louisiana, Washington, and Minnesota) before and after texting was made illegal and used nearby states for comparison.

In all four states, crashes increased among drivers younger than aged 25 after the ban took effect. Noncompliance is a likely reason texting bans aren't reducing crashes.

Many drivers, especially younger ones, ignore bans.

Among 18-24-year-olds, the group most likely to text, 45 percent reported doing so anyway. HLDI points out that if drivers were disregarding the bans, then the crash patterns should have remained steady.

So clearly drivers did respond to the bans somehow, and what they might have been doing was moving their phones down and out of sight when they texted, in recognition that what they were doing was illegal. This could exacerbate the risk of texting by taking drivers' eyes further from the road and for a longer time.

- Highway & Vehicle/Safety Report 10.18.10.p2

]]> http://motorist.org/texting-bans-don-t-reduce-crashes 2010-10-18 12:08:52 http://motorist.org/texting-bans-don-t-reduce-crashes <![CDATA[Jeep Gas Tank Trouble]]> Jeep gas tank fires on 1993-2004 involves a potential 3,037,000 million Grand Cherokees. The location of the gas tank between the rear axle and rear bumper (fascia) causes the problem, which Chrysler eliminated in 2005 by relocating the tank in front of the rear axle.

The exact cause of the fire is still under investigation, but since 1992 fire has been reported in 44 Grand Cherokee crashes resulting in 55 fire-caused deaths. Ten of the crashes and 13 fatalities were attributed to rear-end crashes. The Ford Pinto rear end crashes of the 1970'scauses the gas tank to split open, but this time there is question that the metal fuel filler hose comes loose from the plastic tank and allows gasoline to spill out.

The design and location of the tank has the filler hose going through the frame rail, which causes the hose to move in relation to the tank.

- Automotive News 08.30.10.p3

]]> http://motorist.org/jeep-gas-tank-trouble 2010-08-30 12:15:48 http://motorist.org/jeep-gas-tank-trouble <![CDATA[Used Motor Oil = Solid Waste?]]> Used motor oil will be considered as solid waste if the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)'s gets their way.

This change in specification would devastate the used oil recycling system and cost both consumers and shop owners dearly. Under EPA's new proposal, off-specification used oil could no longer be recycled as fuel.

Since the current recycled fuel oil market depends on the use of both on and off-spec used oil, eliminating off-spec used oil would mean that the viable market for used oil feedstock would suddenly be reduced to re-refining only.

Repair shops not in the vicinity of a re-refiner would have to pay exorbitant fees to transport their used oil for licensed waste incineration. In addition, fast lubes would have to either test DIY used oil to determine specification or automatically manage it as off-spec, which means both increased cost and no burning in space heaters. If, that is, space heaters are allowed at all.

Using a commercial incinerator and testing DIY used oil brings added costs small business owners simply cannot afford. And the larger shops (e.g. dealerships) will simply pass on the costs to the consumer.

- American Oil Change Association

]]> http://motorist.org/used-motor-oil-solid-waste 2011-03-21 12:19:32 http://motorist.org/used-motor-oil-solid-waste <![CDATA[Adults & Texting While Driving]]> Texting while driving by adults is just as likely as teens and are substantially more likely to have talked on a cell phone while driving.

Eighty-two percent of adults (those aged 18 and older) now own cell phones, up from 65 percent in 2004. About 58 percent of adults send or receive text messages. By comparison, 75 percent of teenagers (aged 12-17) own a cell phone, and 66 percent text. Forty-nine percent of adults say they have been passengers in a car when a driver was sending or reading text messages.

Overall, 44 percent of adults say they have been passengers of drivers who used their cell phone in a way that put themselves or others in danger, 75 percent of adults say they have talked on a cell phone while driving, and 52 percent of teens aged 16-17 reported talking on a cell phone while driving.

Studies at Virginia Tech and elsewhere show that drivers using phones are four times as likely to cause a crash as other drivers. NHTSA research found that in 2008 there were 5,870 fatalities and an estimated 515,000 people injured in police-reported crashes in which at least one form of driver distraction was reported.

- Ibid 07.05.10.p5

]]> http://motorist.org/adults-texting-while-driving 2010-07-05 12:22:44 http://motorist.org/adults-texting-while-driving <![CDATA[Toyota Prius also Pollutes]]> Toyota Prius may be a clean machine when it comes to some pollutants, but it is a bigger polluter with other harmful emissions.

While the Prius Hybrid is greener than other motor vehicles by producing less carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon Monoxide (CO), nitrates of oxygen (NOx) and sulfur dioxide (SO2), the production of electrical parts such as the batteries, inverters and electric motors consume more energy and produce more emissions.

The overall picture for hybrids when it comes to the production of these components creates more harmful nonmethane hydrocarbons as well as particulate emissions.

- Automotive News 10.18.10.p27

]]> http://motorist.org/toyota-prius-also-pollutes 2010-10-18 12:25:29 http://motorist.org/toyota-prius-also-pollutes <![CDATA[Teacher Finding MAP Auto Service Helpful]]> From time to time, we get Motorist fans that write us letters and share their gratitude for this non-profit service. We are always very happy to get these letters, because our service is for you!

This time we got one from a teacher talking about her students finding Motorist.org to be helpful for their research.


Here is her note...


Good Afternoon,

Just sending a quick email to say thank you for your web page http://motorist.org/resources?. A few of my high school students came across it while doing research for their personal health and safety projects.  Because so many of my students will soon be driving, if not already, I thought it would be a useful and practical lesson for them to look into the issues of driving and car safety.  Although for most of them, this is just a class exercise for now, there will eventually come a day when they will need this real world knowledge and experience.  We found some of the information on your page very helpful and I didn't think it would hurt to pass along the positive feedback! :)

Best Wishes,

Cassandra


...


Thank you Cassandra! We are happy your students found our website helpful.

]]> http://motorist.org/teacher-finding-map-auto-service-helpful 2012-03-21 14:05:39 http://motorist.org/teacher-finding-map-auto-service-helpful <![CDATA[More Older Cars on the Road]]> SCHAUMBURG, Ill. (June 27, 2012) — The number of light-duty vehicles seven years old or older registered in the U.S. grew by 17.3 million in the past three years, according to an analysis of available data by Experian Automotive .

The growth in older vehicles pushed the number of such vehicles on the road to more than 175 million, or roughly 71 percent of the 245 million light-duty vehicles registered, Experian said, and raised the average age of a vehicle in the U.S. 1.9 percent to 11 years. By contrast, the average vehicle age in Canada is 9.6 years.

“An increase of later-model vehicles on the road is a positive sign for the industry because it creates growth opportunities in the important aftermarket sector,” said Jeffrey Anderson, director of consulting and analytics for Experian Automotive.

“With lower scrappage rates, historically large sales of older-model vehicles and an increase in incentives for maintaining vehicle ownership, aftermarket part manufacturers and retailers will see an influx of shoppers looking to extend the life of their vehicle.”

The findings are part of Experian’s Q1 2012 Vehicles in Operation market analysis.

Other findings from the analysis show that light trucks made up 50.8 percent of the U.S. car parc in the first quarter, and hybrid/electric vehicles make up just 0.9 percent.

Full-sized pickups make up the greatest percentage of vehicles in operation at 14.6 percent overall, Experian said, with vehicles from General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co., Chrysler Group L.L.C. and Toyota Motor Co. making up 98.7 percent of the total.

In Canada, cars make up the majority of vehicles registered, 53.2 percent, Experian said.

Experian Automotive is part of Experian P.L.C. of Dublin, Ireland, a global information services company
]]> http://motorist.org/more-older-cars-on-the-road 2012-06-28 10:08:44 http://motorist.org/more-older-cars-on-the-road