Ask Patty Blog Carnival Week Around the Auto World: January 16th

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.