This week we are back on track with our normal blog carnival, where we
take the very best out there in the automotive blogosphere and we put
it all together for your enjoyment here at Ask Patty! Thank you to all
of our contributers this week and last week. We have a new contributer:
Craig from AutoFix! Welcome! This week we will cover some of the
highlights form the Consumer Electronics Show this past week, as well
as some Good Housekeeping-approved products and some great women out
there making a difference in the industry! Get your motor running!
Good Housekeeping is the ultimate in consumer research and testing. I
actually have a pal that works for the company the owns the magazine
and she said they have these amazing and intense testing rooms where
they hand test everything they discuss in their magazine—so you know
they are telling you the truth. Well, they tested out portable
navigation under $600. According to Automotive.com, “Good Housekeeping found the Navman ICN 530 was fast, accurate, and has other features to boot.”
Understanding the differences among drivers in different gender and age categories
is crucial to preventing serious injuries, said researchers in a new
study showing stark statistical differences in traffic-accident
injuries depending on the gender and age of drivers. One of the studies
main findings: Accidents involving an overturned vehicle increased the
likelihood of a fatality by 523 percent for older women and only 116
percent for young women.
As women impact eight out of 10 vehicle sales and purchase more than
half of all Goodyear tires, automotive dealers and repairmen that
understand how to interact with women stand to reap the benefits of
sales and repeat business. Skip Merrick, automotive chairman at Alfred State College,
created an ethics training program to help students understand the
vulnerability and intimidation that many women experience when buying a
car or seeking repair services.
Who wouldn’t want to be a car pin-up girl for one day? Especially if it
benefited the environment and promoted a cleaner burning fuel? Count us
in! Sienna Wildwind, creator of the Women of Biodiesel calendar, had
plenty of women volunteer for the opportunity to be one of 12 models. Check out the whole story!
Speaking of great for the environment, we all know little cars are
particularly friendly to our planet—at least more than their larger
cousins. Brazilian carmakers took the word “small” to a new meaning
with their hybrid vehicle, the Obvio. It only seats three people and doesn’t look like it will win any races, but it sure is cute as a bug’s ear!
Jalopnik
covered the fun new gadgets that debuted at the Consumer Electronics
Show this past week. One of the new items covered was the integrated
system in the Ford Edge, called Sync. It is a unit within the vehicle
that can hold your MP3s and works seamlessly with your Bluetooth setup.
Will these cool gadgets never stop?!
We all know it is a bit distracting to use our cell phone while
driving. Jury is still somewhat out on whether or not it is actually
worse than some of the other distractions you deal with while driving.
Of course, we can all agree that typing up an email while driving would
be much worse than yakking. The Intelligent Mechatronic Systems iLane is a hands-free, eyes-free email solution for your vehicle. Now you can be “at the office” even while commuting!
And to think, we could even add internet browsing to that equation!
Dash Navigation, Inc. announced it won "Best of CES" awards from both
CNET and LAPTOP Magazine at the 2007 International Consumer Electronics
Show for its Dash Express, the first Internet-connected GPS device. No you can email your boss you will be late, while using the spare time to check out clearance items on Overstock.
Craig on Autofix.com says he has to hand it to his right-hand woman,
Belinda. He says women are “definitely an intuitive bunch that’s for
sure and when it comes to your vehicle I don’t think that you should
ever ignore your instincts.” Hmm, we definitely knew that already
didn’t we? Check out his fun story and how Belinda’s instincts saved the day!
People convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol (especially
repeat offenders) have often been required, as part of their sentences,
to install clunky alcohol ignition-interlock systems in their cars that
will refuse to start the car if alcohol is detected on the driver’s
breath. Toyota has developed sensors
on the steering wheel that can detect alcohol in a driver’s bloodstream
by analyzing the sweat coming out of the driver’s fingers. What happens
if you wear gloves?
That’s it for this week! Thank you for all of your submissions! Make sure to submit next week! Please remember to submit your article using the online form or by emailing Breanne at Breanne@askpatty.com.