Jun 11 2013

Attention Drivers

Apple’s iOS Is Now At Your Fingertips

iOS_Car_02-webWell, next year anyway.  Apple announced that they are in the process of enhancing iPhone integration in cars with its latest software update, iOS 7, referring to it as the ‘iOS in the Car’ feature at the company’s Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco.

Automakers such as Acura, Chevrolet, Ferrari, Honda, Hyundai, Infiniti, Jaguar, Kia, Opel, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan and Volvo are amongst the vehicles that will offer the new ‘iOS in the Car’ feature, which will allow drivers to access key functions on their iPhone via the dashboard screen. You’ll be able to make phone calls, play music, display Apple Maps and receive iMessages, either by using the car’s controls or by giving voice commands to Siri through the car’s sound system.

“Ninety-five percent of cars sold today have integrated music playback and control from an iOS device, but we want to take this integration to a whole ’nother level,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of software and services.

And if that wasn’t reason enough to take advantage of the new feature that will be available through selected vehicles in 2014, then perhaps this might…as part of Apple’s Eyes Free feature set, Siri can read iMessages aloud and transcribe responses as well!

Jun 4 2013

Supervision Required

Why You Shouldn’t Leave Your Kids Alone in the Car

Where's Baby? Look Before you Lock
Sure, you’re only dropping some mail off at the post office, grabbing some milk from the grocery store, or picking up the dry cleaning. I mean there’s no harm in that right, especially when it only requires a couple minutes of your time, so leaving your child in the car for just a moment should be fine, right? Wrong! According to Safe Kids, 30 children die each year when they are left unsupervised in the car. It only takes seconds for something horrific to happen.

Not only is it scary for a small child to be left alone, but your vehicle’s temperature can change dramatically, and very quickly, which can affect your child’s oxygen levels, and in some cases causing hyperthermia and/or suffocation.

Aside from temperature changes, inadvertent gear-shift crashes, locking parents out of the car, trunk entrapments, or getting limbs caught in the windows, are just some of the many possible dangers leaving a child unattended in a vehicle could lead to. This is considered a misdemeanor offense; the offense can become a felony if there are resulting injuries.

Waking up a sleeping child or getting a toddler out of a car seat in the freezing cold or rain can be quite a hassle, so it’s understandable why many parents fall victim to this. But, if you need money, find a drive through ATM. If you need gas, use a credit card at the pump, or find a full-service station. Whatever you do, just don’t leave your child in the car alone!

May 29 2013

London Bridge Is Falling Down…

Can You Name These Memorable Bridges? Part I

Many of us tend to jump in our cars, rushing through life, never noticing the true beauty and nature that surrounds us. But, if you traveled any one of these fine roads you may have come across one of these beautifully constructed bridges. Can you name any? Hint: Two of these bridges are in the U.S. and two are not.

Brooklyn_Bridge_Manhattan
FOUR: Certainly one of the most well-known bridges in New York, with the least attractive architectural appearance, temporarily held the record as the world’s longest suspension bridge. This bridge became a symbol of American ingenuity and technology and is a great vessel for those traveling to and from Manhattan.

tower-bridge
THREE: If you watched the 2012 Olympic Games then you’ve probably seen this bridge a million times. An iconic symbol of London, this bridge crosses the River Thames and is 800 feet long.

Hangzhou-Bay-Bridge
TWO: It is one of the longest ocean-crossing bridges in the world, located in the eastern coastal region of China. The bridge is 22 miles long and took 5 years to construct.

golden-gate-bridge
ONE: Probably the most famous bridge ever built and instantly recognizable by everyone. It has often been called the most photographed bridge in the world. That might have something to do with its beautiful red exterior and sloping suspension cables. And when the fog rolls in…breathtaking!

 

 

4) Brooklyn Bridge 3) Tower Bridge 2) Hangzhou Bay Bridge 1) The Golden Gate Bridge
May 23 2013

Summer Fun on a Budget: Off-Airport Rentals

No time to read a long-winded BLOnG? Welcome to the Three-Second-Stop mini-Blog.

Today’s Three Seconds: Get the Best Car Rental Rates, Part 3

Budget-Vacation-wegPlanning on hitting the open road this summer? Well, if you’re one of the many looking to book a car rental for that awesome trip you’ve been waiting to take, then you might want to check our three part mini blog on how to drive away without incurring such an insane rate.

Today’s Trip Tip:
3. Off-airport rental rates. Airports charge rental companies a whole lot to have in-terminal desks and onsite lots. These rental companies make up their money by charging you higher base rates and/or mandatory extras.

 Did you miss: Get the Best Car Rental Rates, Part 1 or Part 2?

May 22 2013

Summer Fun on a Budget: Use Opaque Websites

No time to read a long-winded BLOnG? Welcome to the Three-Second-Stop mini-Blog.

Today’s Three Seconds: Get the Best Car Rental Rates, Part 2

Planning on hitting the open road this summer? Well, if you’re one of the many looking to book a car rental for that awesome trip you’ve been waiting to take, then you might want to check our three part mini blog on how to drive away without incurring such an insane rate.
money-vacation-save-web

Today’s Trip Tip:
2. Check an opaque website. Discounted websites like Priceline and Hotwire are often packed with deals. “Opaque” websites offer unsold resources, such as car rentals, at a reduced price, but hide the particular dealer until after the purchase has been made. For example, doing a simulated search at JFK Airport, produced the rate of $263 on Hotwire, compared to $411 for Hertz.

Tomorrow’s Trip Tip: Off-Airport Rentals

Did you miss: Get the Best Car Rental Rates, Part 1?

May 21 2013

Summer Fun on a Budget: Check Alternate Airports

No time to read a long-winded BLOnG? Welcome to the Three-Second-Stop mini-Blog.

Today’s Three Seconds: Get the Best Car Rental Rates, Part 1

save-money1 Planning on hitting the open road this summer? Well, if you’re one of the many looking to book a car rental for that awesome trip you’ve been waiting to take, then you might want to check our three part mini blog on how to drive away without incurring such an insane rate.

Today’s Trip Tip:
1. Check alternate airports. Rates at each airport may differ. For instance, in New York City, the $411 rate at JFK was about $40 less than the rates at La Guardia or Newark. In San Francisco, the rate at San Francisco International ($423) was $80 less than the rate at Oakland and $160 less than the rate at San Jose. Your best deal may be to fly to/from the airport with the lowest car rental rates.

Tomorrow’s Trip Tip: Opaque Websites

May 14 2013

The Not Too Distant Future

A New Drivable Aircraft For Terrafugia

Terrafugia_TF-X (3)
Like its first flying car, The Transition, which is still at least two years away from production with a tentative scheduled date of 2015, Terrafugia has unveiled a new design for a future second product, the TF-X, which will allow you to drive like a car on the ground and then take off in the air like a plane, although much more similar to a helicopter than a plane. Not to mention the best part about this whole thing is, a runway isn’t necessary! Simply head to the closest helipad, or even a parking lot, and take off using the tilt-rotor technology.

So, how does it work? In a nutshell, the four-seat plug-in hybrid-electric flying car would lift off vertically using propellers located on its wings. The props would then rotate from a vertical to a horizontal position for regular flight. Although at least a decade from actual production, its lightweight but strong carbon-fiber skin combined with the compact and powerful engine design makes the TF-X the “next logical progression vehicle.”

tf-xThe vehicle will “further increase the safety, simplicity, and convenience of personal aviation by using state-of-the-art intelligent systems and other technology,” Terrafugia said. The company’s Chief Executive and Chief Technology Officer, Carl Dietrich, went on to state in a press release that, “This is the right time for us to begin thinking about the future of the company beyond The Transition development. We are passionate about continuing to lead the creation of a flying car industry and are dedicating resources to lay the foundations for our vision of personal transportation.”

Founded in Woburn, Mass. by pilot-engineers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, their main objective is to continue building practical flying cars, and while the company’s first vehicle, The Transition is still undergoing test flights and drive tests to evaluate its durability, there will not be any specific dates set for certification and initial production of the TF-X.

“We felt this was our time to share our vision of the future. Though the new flying car design isn’t likely to take off for another decade, if you don’t start today, it won’t happen,” says Richard Gersh, Vice President of Business Development for Terrafugia.

Of course with any new and out of the box idea, especially with innovative technology advancement comes many questions and a lot of skeptics. But Terrafugia has already proven to be way ahead of the game with The Transition, which has previously gone through two design phases and has 50 hours of flight time and “quite a bit of driving on the ground,” Gersh says.

Nevertheless, there’s still a lot more work to be done in regards to the makeup, but more importantly, it has to meet all safety requirements for both an aircraft and a car. But, Paul Moller of Moller International says he knows the difficulties of building the new design, but that Terrafugia is a “pretty impressive” company that just might be able to pull it off.

May 8 2013

Land Rover Turns 65 – Still Going Strong

A Big Step For Land Rover

Road-Closed-LR4

The popular British car manufacturer, Land Rover is the second oldest four-wheel-drive car brand in the world. Something about its rugged design and big body that makes you feel completely safe and protected when driving any one of their widespread models, including the Defender, Discovery, Freelander, Range Rover, Range Rover Sport, and Range Rover Evoque. What continues to keep long time Land Rover customers loyal and new drivers of the brand wanting more is the company’s continued success in inventing new ideas and reinvented successful concepts. Their awareness to consumer demands and new trends have also kept the Land Rover brand relevant and extremely current.

Just a little over a month ago at Geneva, Land Rover announced that they are expecting to debut a new diesel-electric V6 hybrid, along with a conventional V8 turbo diesel for its 2014 Range Rover and Range Rover Sport models at the Frankfurt Auto Show in September. The new engines are expected to be available in Europe by the end of this year.

2014 Land Rover Range Rover SportThe 2014 Range Rover Sport Hybrid is expected to be powered by an updated version of the powertrain used on the 2011 Range e plug-in hybrid, which came with a 3.0 liter TDV6 diesel engine, producing 242 BHP (180 kW), mated to an electric motor generating 93 BHP (69 kW). The total output stood at 334 BHP (249 kW). Power was being sent to the wheels through an eight-speed automatic ZF transmission. The concept car had a 14.2 kWh lithium-ion battery which allowed an electric range of 20 miles, or 32 km.

According to Land Rover’s Chief Programme Engineer Stuart Frith, “the significant weight reduction of 420kg has allowed us to put an inline four-cylinder engine in the car which will come later in the life cycle of the product.” He also went on to say that the “prototypes that were made with the in-line four-cylinder engine in the car really still is truly a Range Rover; it still has the performance and off road capability, because of that weight saving.”

And although the engine range for the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport is already quite extensive, with several V6 and V8 petrol engines and two V6 diesels currently available, Frith offered some figures on the V8 turbo diesel, claiming that the engine will produce 700Nm of torque. He added, “Another addition, really a reintroduction for Range Rover Sport is a V8 diesel, so the SDV8 re-joins the line-up at the end of 2013, and that got 700Nm of torque.”
2014 Land Rover Range Rover Sport - Interior 2
In regards to the C02 emissions, Firth stated that the output on the new hybrid variant would stand at 169 g/km and despite the hybrid’s seven-seat capacity setup, the cabin and luggage space won’t be affected because all the hybrid hardware would be bolted under the floor.

When asked if the 2014 Range Rover Sport hybrid will feature a motor fitted between the diesel engine and the ZF eight-speed transmission, Firth said “it’s very safe to assume that.”

This is a pretty impressive move for Land Rover and is already being welcomed with much success and high hopes. But, until Land Rover develops a gasoline/electric motor combo, the hybrid won’t be available in the United States just yet.

May 3 2013

All About Roundabouts

No time to read a long-winded BLOnG? Welcome to the Three-Second-Stop mini-Blog.

Today’s Three Seconds: Roundabouts

Roundabout Traffic Sign

Roundabout Ahead

3 Second Stop

Here’s what you need to know when you finally come face-to-face with the formidable roundabout sign:

**Traffic entering the roundabout must always yield to traffic already driving in the circle. **

Approach a roundabout much like you would a yield sign: slow down, be ready to stop if needed, and enter the circle when safe.

Why roundabouts? They minimize those deadly T-bone crashes at perpendicular intersections and make it safer for street-crossing pedestrians who only have to cope with slower moving traffic coming from one direction.

Roundabout Round-Up

Roundabout Round-Up

Apr 24 2013

Traffic Pollution and Noise Linked to Heart Disease

The Dangers Of Traffic Pollution

Most drivers, including myself tend to blindly jump in the car and take off to wherever it is the destination takes us with no real regards to the impact that our vehicles have on the earth we live in. Yes, I know with busy lives comes busy schedules and much transportation to and from. Nonetheless, we could still do a little something to aide in the efforts of keeping the earth intact. Simply being conscious and aware of what’s going on with the environment is a start. Those of you like me who drive pretty much everywhere, as an alternate mode could take public transportation, carpool, and even ride your bike to work. Just a day or two out of the week would help a great deal. With the recent celebration of Earth Day, the one day out of the year where the community becomes more involved in the preservation of the environment, by participating in a variety of events which bring attention to the world. Created to be an environmental “teach-in” for educating people on the impact they have on the environment and what they could do to make it better, Earth Day reaches more than one billion people in more than 175 countries around the world, inspiring awareness of the environment, spreading appreciation for the Earth and educating people on how they too can help with saving our earth.

Drivers Ed Direct, a California based driving school, compiled a list of some of the best environmental-friendly ‘Green Cars’ to ever roam the roadways. That list included: the Toyota Avalon Hybrid, the electric plug-in Honda Fit EV, the spacious Volkswagen Jetta Hybrid, and both the Ford C-Max Energi and the Ford Focus Electric. Still in all, the most successful gas-electric hybrid on the market has got to be the Toyota Prius. It was the first mass-produced hybrid in the country. On a full charge, the Plug-in can travel for roughly 11 miles in electric mode, getting an equivalent of 95 MPG. It then switches to hybrid mode, for which it is rated at a 50 MPG.
Traffic pollution
Aside from saving on gas, and spewing off fewer fumes, who knew that these eco-friendly vehicles could also be a vessel in saving lives? Check this story out:

In a research study which was based on data from the German Heinz Nixdorf Recall Study concluded that traffic pollution and noise are linked to heart diseases. Exposure to traffic pollution and noise can in the long run lead to atherosclerosis, according to the study. The long-term exposure to particle pollutants of 4,814 participants who live nearby roads with high traffic volume was calculated. The study also took account of road traffic noise and its effect on cardiovascular diseases, as recorded by validated tests. The test group’s level of atherosclerosis was then evaluated by measurement of vascular vessel calcification in the thoracic aorta by computed imaging. Results showed that in 4,238 subjects, small particulate matter and proximity to major roads were both associated with an increasing level of aortic calcification. For every increase in particle volume up to 2.4 micrometers, the degree of calcification increased by 20.7% and went up an extra 10% for every 100 meter of proximity to heavy traffic.

Furthermore, the study also found an increase in atherosclerosis associated with night time noise. “These two major types of traffic emissions help explain the observed associations between living close to high traffic and subclinical atherosclerosis. The considerable size of the associations underscores the importance of long-term exposure to air pollution and road traffic noise as risk factors for atherosclerosis,” concluded Dr. Hagen Kälsch from the West-German Heart Centre in Essen. Fine particle matter and traffic noise are believed to act through similar biologic pathways, thereby increasing cardiovascular risk. They both cause an imbalance in the autonomic nervous system, which feeds into the complex mechanisms regulating blood pressure, blood lipids, and glucose level.