Governor Kicks Off Car-Free Week – In His SUV
After declaring this “Car-Free Week” in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Governor Deval Patrick was caught by Boston’s CBS affiliate being driven to work in the back of his Chevrolet Tahoe. In classic do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do political form, Patrick was quick to point out that he was merely carpooling with his state police assigned driver.
Car-Free Week was declared in Massachusetts as an extension of Car-Free Thursday, which is a worldwide initiative to do without the automobile on Thursday, September 22. Some 1,000 cities, spread across 40 countries are participating.
Taking public transportation would have been a legitimate possibility for the governor, who lives within walking distance of three transit stations. Some would point out that this poses a security risk, but the governor, unlike regular commuters, would be accompanied by his state police bodyguards.
Patrick acknowledged his gaffe, chalking it up to a busy schedule this week and calling Car-Free Week a “great initiative for people who can make the most of it.” In other words, common people without busy schedules, state-issued cars or state police chauffeurs.
This story originally appeared at The Car Connection
2012 Hyundai Veloster: First Drive
Hyundai chose to give us the first drive of its all-new 2012 Veloster in Portland, Oregon, a city that's seemingly flooded with the young, educated, creative types that many other cities are trying so hard to attract.
It's absolutely brimming with (often underemployed) 20- and 30-something hipsters. And it seemed appropriate, as that's largely the same crowd Hyundai is trying to attract with the Veloster. While some automakers position sporty cars a little higher up the economic ladder, that's not the case here.
According to Hyundai VP of corporate and product planning Mike O'Brien, the Veloster functions as a sort of "reverse halo" for the lineup—emphasizing accessibility and 'non-traditional' factors.
Hyundai doesn't try hide its demographic intent with the Veloster in design, either. From the outside, its roofline calls itself out as an abbreviated sport coupe. Meanwhile, from the side we saw an unmistakable likeness to the Kia Soul, which also has blacked-out A-pillars and a roofline that peaks at the top of the windshield. And when seen from the back—or up above—the Veloster looks like a sexy grand-tourer—further enforced by the chunky wheelwells and just-perfect proportions.
A 2.5-door coupe, a 4-door hatchback?
But then you might notice that there's a small back door, only on the passenger side—giving it some gawky credibility in the way of oversized glasses. And that blacked out lower airdam can be seen as the type of sinister grin you might carve into a jack o' lantern—especially when you're looking at a Veloster that's the burnt orange—or maybe it's just an ironic moustache. And in the palette are American Apparel-like colors like Electrolyte Green, 26.2 Yellow, Vitamin C, and Boston Red.
The Veloster, as Portlanders will often say, with pride, it "lets its freak flag fly," a little bit.
But just before you say, "Sorry, man, that sounds a little too...out there," consider this: While the Veloster flaunts it a little bit on the outside, there's nothing ironic or faddish about the interior; what you get is an interior that truly blends some of the racy feel of a sports car with the versatility of a hatchback. There's also a lot of performance influence, outside and in, from sportbikes—including V-shaped center stack that was contoured to look like a motorcycle fuel tank, a center console inspired by sportbike saddles, and vents modeled after exhaust tips.
Likewise, all those sportbike-related cues underscore a point that starts to emerge after you've had some time behind the wheel: The Veloster is far more than just an uber-hip body thrown over an economy-car chassis. Hyundai has given this little three-door some serious chops.
Some goodness for driving enthusiasts
First off, the Veloster can handle really well, putting it a league above the Elantra sedan, with which it shares substantial pieces of body structure and chassis. Hyundai has thankfully given it more goodness for driving enthusiasts; the Korean automaker green-lighted a U.S. engineering team to shelve the Elantra suspension and instead design and test a new, performance-oriented rear-suspension setup for the Veloster; they went with a V-torsion beam configuration, which includes an integrated (and large) 23-mm stabilizer bar, plus monotube shocks—in all, a huge improvement over the Elantra's twist-beam-axle rear.
What this means is that you can really throw the sub-2,600-pound Veloster around tight corners, yet it stays composed and doesn't exhibit the secondary motions you'd get over less-than-perfect surfaces with the twist-beam. Like a number of today's more sophisticated small-car suspensions, like the Ford Focus and Mazda3, it feels remarkably responsive and balanced for a front-driver; simply hunkers down evenly, shifting its weight back with no snap but an even, predictable attitude—without any more road harshness, which is really a triumph in the design. It's no sports car, but it's genuinely a sporty drive.
(more...)A-, B-, C-Class: Mercedes Bets Big On Small Cars In America
Is America ready, really ready this time, for a small Mercedes-Benz?
Or, many of them?
From the old 190E to today's C-Class, Mercedes' luck with its smallest cars has been mixed. The C-Class is a core product in the lineup, and has been a mainstay for more than a decade, but the C-Class hatchback offered briefly in the 2002-2004 model years was a flop. At the end, sales were so slow, the company decided its then-new B-Class hatchback would meet the same fate, and would be ignored by U.S. drivers. It never made the American lineup, though the B-Class did go on sale in neighboring Canada.
Now, as fuel economy requirements change, and as premium small cars become more common in the U.S., Mercedes is ready to give small cars another chance. And they're committing to them in a big way--not only with a new B-Class, but with five different vehicles from that new global compact-car family, and with a new range of American-made C-Class cars to boot.
New platform, new eraSome of those five versions were outlined by Mercedes executives introducing the B-Class and an ambitious fuel-cell F125! concept car to Frankfurt audiences. The first, due to arrive in 2013, will be the B-Class tall wagon introduced for the first time in Frankfurt. It's to be outfitted with a four-cylinder turbo engine with direct injection and start-stop technology, and teamed with a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox. A sliding second-row seat and a fold-flat front passenger seat are said to give the B-Class the flexibility of a small minivan--something akin to the seven-passenger C-Max that was touted, then dropped, from Ford's U.S. product plan.
A bigger package and new drivetrains are key to the new B-Class, and so are connectivity features proliferating across the car world--features like USB ports and Bluetooth, even the ability to access the Internet, tap Google Maps for directions, or update Facebook status while on the go. Dr. Joachim Schmidt, global marketing chief, says it's added more features than ever in a single Mercedes-Benz model remake with this new B-Class.
(more...)Uninsured: One In Seven U.S. Drivers Cost The Rest Of Us
In a frail economy, families are surely looking for ways to cut costs. So drivers have downsized, changed vehicles, and tried cut their fuel budget by limiting their driving.
But there's one tempting solution that might just end up biting you hard in the end: Canceling your insurance.
More Americans this past year have been driving outside of the law. According to the Insurance Research Council's latest report, this past April, about 13.8 percent of U.S. motorists are without insurance.
And the situation could be getting worse. A survey from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) report, from earlier this summer, found that nearly one out of every five vehicle owners reported canceling or reducing their insurance coverage for immediate financial relief, while nearly 20 percent also reported trading in one of the household vehicles for a cheaper one, or getting ride of it completely.
But before you go cancel your policy, keep in mind that in the U.S., if you're driving uninsured, you're playing against some stacked odds. After an accident, you could have your vehicle seized, depending on the place, or you run the risk of penalties that most states structure so that they'll cost the driver a lot more than skipping out.
It's costing all of us
You're also driving up rates for everyone else. According to data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, uninsured motorists cost the rest of us about $10.8 billion a year (based on 2007 data), a figure that's reflected for most of us in the "uninsured motorist coverage" portion of our premium notice—and possibly due to rise because of the trend.
Massachusetts has the highest level of law-abiders (four percent), while in Mississippi—typically one of the most poverty-stricken states—more than one quarter of all drivers (28 percent) are uninsured. Maine is a close second place, while New York also has one of the lowest rates of uninsured drivers (despite being known for quite high premiums). Other states with high rates of uninsured drivers include New Mexico (26 percent), Tennessee (24%), Oklahoma (24%), and Florida (24%).
One of the key differences might simply be a paperwork check; as USA Today points out, Massachusetts requires drivers to show a proof of insurance before they can register a vehicle, while many other states only communicate the requirement for insurance.
All states except New Hampshire require drivers to carry insurance, although the type of insurance and minimum amounts vary greatly by state.
High-risk drivers: Skipping insurance is even riskier
And if you have a poor driving record (or live in a high-risk area, with a performance car, for instance) and can't find affordable coverage, there are other options. Most states run risk-pool systems, and some companies have non-standard policies with other exclusions that keep you legal and financially protected.
Curiously, Americans aren't the only ones bucking the law and driving uninsured in droves; the Telegraph today reported that in some areas of Great Britain, nearly a third of motorists are driving uninsured.
The U.S. rate of uninsured motorists fell from 2004 to 2007 and then spiked to nearly 15 percent in 2008, with the economic downturn.
For a useful state-by-state summary of how many motorists go uninsured in each state, take a look at this useful USA Today infographic.
This story originally appeared at The Car Connection
Play Hide And Seek, Win A 2012 Dodge Journey
When you were a child, did your mother yell at you to get off the couch and go play outside? Dodge is now doing the same thing, only the reward is a whole lot better than a glass of milk and a freshly baked cookie.To promote the 2012 Dodge Journey crossover (which it calls a “search engine for the real world”), Dodge is giving away three copies for those who like to play outside. Winning one is simple: all you have to do is find it. Dodge will post clues to the location of the hidden Journey on a dedicated You Tube page, beginning on September 10. The first Journey appears to be hidden in the Western United States, so it’s likely that the next two will be hidden in the Midwest and East, respectively.
The second Journey goes “live” on September 16, followed by the third Journey on September 23. Dodge will promote the giveaway both online and on television, so chances are good you’ll face some stiff competition in bagging a free Journey of your own. The contest ends when all three Journeys are found, or on September 27, whichever comes first. Only U.S. residents (not employed by Dodge or its subsidiaries) are eligible, and you have to be at least 18 years of age to win.
If you can’t win one, there’s still good news if you’re in the market: the 2012 Dodge Journey, which the automaker refers to as the “Swiss Army Knife of vehicles,” starts at a lower price than the 2011 Dodge Journey did.
[Dodge]
This story originally appeared at The Car Connection
Hackers Are Targeting Cars, Says Antivirus Software Company
![Trinity, professional hacker [from The Matrix]](http://images.thecarconnection.com/sml/trinity-professional-hacker-from-the-matrix_100312595_s.jpg "Trinity, professional hacker [from The Matrix]")
It's no secret that cars have become increasingly dependent on computers, and there's no sign of that trend slowing anytime soon. But are computer hackers a threat to today's drivers? Antivirus software manufacturer MacAfee seems to think so.
MacAfee has issued a report called "Caution: Malware Ahead", which argues that many software systems used in today's cars are vulnerable to attack. The report offers a handful of potential scenarios in which hackers could unlock doors and generate false alarm signals using high-tech equipment.
The problem is that these hacks work only "if physical access to the vehicle’s electronic components inside the passenger cabin is available". Translation: for your vehicle to be affected, a hacker would need access to the inside of your car. As worries go, that puts hacking on par with snipping brake lines.
This is the same point that was brought up in last year's study of auto hacking by researchers at the University of Washington and the University of California, San Diego. As that report indicated, the primary means of hacking a modern automobile is through the on-board diagnostics port, which is, of course, located inside a vehicle.
So, can car computers be hacked?
Yes, it's possible that baddies could futz with your car's on-board computer, but you're unlikely to see that happen. Why? Simple economics: the payoff for hackers isn't yet big enough.
For starters, our cars aren't fully networked. The reason that email viruses work so beautifully is because they propagate quickly through networks, jumping from one computer to another, one server to another. But cars aren't yet wired like that, so remote hacking isn't viable. To fiddle with our cars nowadays, hackers need direct access to them, which is messy, dangerous, and time-consuming. When vehicle-to-vehicle technology becomes more commonplace -- as it undoubtedly will -- the potential become much more real.
Second, although automakers are toying with a number of protocols for existing in-car software, they've reached no consensus yet, meaning that automotive software works on different operating systems. So even if hackers were to write a virus for vehicles, it probably wouldn't work on computers from different manufacturers, or even different model lines. That makes the payoff of hacking pretty minimal. This is why, in the computer world, so few baddies write viruses for Macs; they'd rather build viruses for PCs, which are far more common -- especially among corporations with delicious bank accounts.
Despite all our naysaying, we understand why MacAfee would publish such a report. Even though it's pretty vague, "Caution: Malware Ahead" will no doubt generate interest in antivirus software for automobiles -- and potentially, interest in MacAfee products.
We also understand why some media outlets would take MacAfee's report at face value. After all, in a 24-hour news cycle, you have to write about something.
But in all, "Caution: Malware Ahead" seems alarmist at best. We're not saying that computer malfunctions aren't a danger: just this week, we saw that software gone awry can cause vehicles to do very unpleasant things. And certainly, if you've raised the hackles of a very dedicated hacker, she could take a swipe at your on-board computer (if she has the keys to your car). But for the average driver, there are much more important things to worry about -- for now, anyway.
[MacAfee PDF]
This story originally appeared at The Car Connection
Swedish Court Denies Bankruptcy Protection For Saab
Swedish Automaker Saab has been denied bankruptcy protection by a district court in southern Sweden. The decision opens the door for both labor unions and creditors to proceed with bankruptcy filings against the automaker.
The Vanersborg District Court denied Saab's filing for creditor protection, saying it was unclear how the automaker would secure the funding necessary to ensure continued operations. Saab had claimed some $351 million in committed funding from Chinese partners Pang Da and Youngman, but both deals were dependent upon Chinese government approval. As with the failed acquisition of HUMMER by a small truckmaker, the Chinese government has shown reluctance to allow domestic firms to partner with outside manufacturers, as it goes counter to their desire to create a handful of Chinese automakers who can compete with companies like Toyota and GM on a global basis.
The next step is up to the labor unions, whose employees have not been paid since July. It's expected that they will pursue bankruptcy filing against the automaker to recover lost wages, and other creditors will likely follow suit. We'll keep you posted on this breaking story, but the future of Saab looks very bleak at the moment.
This story originally appeared at The Car Connection
GM Insists The Small Block V-8 Is Here To Stay
With automakers focused on hitting fuel economy standards for 2015 and beyond, it seems like the days of the small-block V-8 are surely numbered. After all, most automakers are downsizing engines and introducing hybrids and electric vehicles at an astounding rate; could it be that the storied small-block-Chevy will soon go the way of the dinosaur?Not so, says Mark Damico, GM’s small-block design system engineer. In fact, General Motors has invested some $890 million to produce the next generation of its small block V-8, which should arrive sometime in 2013. Expect to see plenty of fuel-saving technology in the new engine, including gasoline direct injection and cylinder deactivation.
Expect GM to use lightweight aluminum engine blocks for more applications in the future, too. In 2010, GM manufactured 955,200 small-block V-8s, of which only 267,456 used aluminum blocks. The weight savings of aluminum versus cast iron is significant, but aluminum adds cost to producing an engine. GM will likely find a way to reduce production costs on their next-generation aluminum blocks, since the weight savings (and associated fuel economy gains) are critical to meeting future CAFE targets.
Since the first small block V-8 was built for the Corvette in 1955, GM has built nearly 100 million examples. Power output has ranged from anemic (like the 110-horsepower, 4.3-liter V-8 used in the 1975-76 Chevy Monza) to stupefying (the 6.2-liter, 638-horsepower V-8 from the Corvette ZR-1). For GM, the small-block V-8 remains an essential component of their pickup truck, full-size SUV and sports car lines, so don’t expect that to change any time soon.
[Ward’s Auto]
This story originally appeared at The Car Connection
Northeast Drivers Most Crash-Prone: Survey
If you live in the Northeast or visit there with any regularity, we’ve got some bad news for you: eight of the ten U.S. cities with the highest crash averages are in the Northeast. Only San Francisco, CA and Glendale, CA represent for the west coast, and there are no top-ten dangerous cities in the Midwest.The most dangerous city should come as no surprise to anyone who’s ever driven there: it’s Washington, D.C., where you’re 107 percent more likely to have an accident than the national average. Other cities in the top ten, with their enhanced odds of an accident are:
- Baltimore, MD (89 percent)
- Glendale, CA (81 percent)
- Newark, NJ (71 percent)
- Providence, RI (67 percent)
- Philadelphia, PA (60 percent)
- Hartford, CT (60 percent)
- Jersey City, NJ (58 percent)
- San Francisco, CA (57 percent)
- Alexandria, VA (56 percent)
Surprisingly, New York City came in well outside the top ten, ranking 22nd out of 200 cities. So much for the urban myth that driving in Manhattan is more dangerous than driving in, say, Basra, Iraq. Boston, MA is also absent, but we suspect that has more to do with Allstate not offering auto insurance in Massachusetts than it does with Boston drivers being safe (or even sane, for that matter).
On the other hand, if you really want to minimize your chances of being in an accident, the safest city in the country is Ft. Collins, CO. You can expect to go 14 years without having an accident there, since the city’s accident rate is 29 percent below the national average.
(Autoweek)
This story originally appeared at The Car Connection
2012 Buick Verano Priced From $23,470
Buick has high hopes for their Acura TSX and Lexus IS 250-fighting Verano compact sedan. It’s Buick’s first new compact car since the demise of the Skylark in the 1990s, and it’s the best chance the automaker has at luring a younger demographic to the brand.Based on the same platform as the Chevy Cruze, the Buick Verano focuses on entry-level luxury at a mainstream price point. Three models will be offered, with the least expensive starting at $23,470, which includes an $885 destination charge. That money buys you leatherette (not leather) seating, a seven-inch touchscreen LCD infotainment system, 10 airbags, automatic climate control, remote start, power windows and steering wheel audio controls. It also buys you Buick’s comfort-focused ride quality and tomb-like sound isolation; in fact, the Verano boasts a dozen different noise reducing or noise canceling technologies used throughout the vehicle.
The top-level Verano comes with leather seating, based on the same materials used in the Buick LaCrosse. Not only does this version get heated seats, it gets automatically heated seats; start the car remotely when the outside temperature is below 45 degrees F and the seats automatically warm for the driver and passenger. The car also defrosts the rear window and outside mirrors, and a heated steering wheel is an available option on higher-level Veranos. The top trim level starts at $26,850, including a destination charge of $885.
More proof that the Verano is aimed at a younger demographic can be found in Buick’s IntelliLink system, which integrates a driver’s smartphone to the touch-screen infotainment system. The system allows voice control of the phone and also permits audio streaming with applications like Pandora or Stitcher.
All Verano models come powered by a 2.4-liter, four-cylinder engine mated to a six-speed automatic transmission. The engine produces a competitive 180 horsepower and 171 ft-lb of torque, and is expected to deliver fuel economy of 23 mpg city and 31 mpg highway.
This story originally appeared at The Car Connection
