If you bought a car that is 2008 or newer, you have a nice, new tire monitoring system on it.  I say that somewhat sarcastically. Sure it’s a technological advancement for our vehicles.  It helps you know when to put air in our tires and will make our vehicles more fuel efficient and the life of the tires will be better since they will have the proper pressure in them.  That’s the up side of the tire monitoring systems.

Here’s the down side of these indicators.  I’m annoyed because both vehicles that I own, have had tire monitoring system problems.  One of my cars’ monitoring system has been on non-stop for 6 months now.  I put air in the tires to the correct pressure and the indicator light is still on. I have brought the car into the shop on 3 different occasions, and they say it’s not the tire but the system, they flip a switch, and reset it.  The indicator light goes off, then the next day it goes back on.  It’s a pointless system for me, because I truly never know when the tires are low or the system is messed up.  I have to go back to the old way anyways, and use a tire gauge.  What’s the point of the tire monitoring system? As I write this, I need to supposedly have my tire monitoring system serviced.  Also, my other car has had the tire indicator light on 3x in the last few months. Once it was legit, but the other times the indicator light has come on sporadically then i check the tires and they are fine. The light comes on and then the next time I turn the car, it’s off.

I hate having these technology advances when they don’t work right. The tire monitoring system is great when it works. My parents’ indicator light came on last week, and after putting air in it and the indicator light still on, they brought their car to the dealership and there was a huge nail in the tire. That’s great, but the system just doesn’t always work, and I have 2 cars to prove that. Anyone else had problems with the tire monitoring systems in their cars??

Cars are getting more wireless everyday and this is making it easier for hackers to access your cars and mess with the signals. Some researchers from Rutgers University and the University of South Carolina found a way to hack into a car’s electronics wirelessly through the tire pressure monitoring system, which all cars made since 2008 have.  There will become more and more ways that our cars will be become more wireless therefore, we will have more problems with hackers. Scary to think that we could be driving down the road and things go haywire because someone has hacked into our cars.  Yuck!

Ford has announced the engines for its 2011 Ford F-150.  There will be a 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6, 3.7-liter V6, 5.0-liter V8, and a 6.2-liter V8.  The 5.0-liter V8 will have a rating of 360 horsepower at 5500 rpm.  That’s quite a great deal of power.

It looks as though the auto industry will be adding 182,000 manufacturing jobs through 2012.  The auto industry has 50,000 more auto related jobs than they did a year ago.  Good news for the economy and the auto industry!  Things must be moving upward.

Note to self and U.S…..let’s not try to follow/copy Spain’s electric car marketing scheme. Not working out very well for them right now.  Spain has been publicizing their plan to have thousands of electric cars on the road in the coming years. That’s great news, but here’s the problem. Currently, Spain has only sold 16 electric cars so far.  The REVE electric car is up by 15 though. They only sold 1 last year. The government’s plan was to have 2000 on the road by the end of 2010 and 20,000 electric and hybrid cars on the road by the end of 2011.  Not looking so good. We in the U.S. need to find a better way to market I guess!!

Good news! Some auto advocacy groups have asked that Enterprise Holdings Inc, which owns Enterprise, Alamo, and National car rentals, to stop renting cars that have recalls that haven’t been fixed. I found it crazy that Enterprise was actually doing this, but the good news is that now that the advocacy groups are involved, they are no longer going to use these cars that have recalls that are potentially danger until they are fixed. Duh, but I guess we need auto advocacy groups in order to prevent morons from doing stuff like this.

This is all the exciting news I could find for you tonight. Good night!

A nice bonus of hybrids these days are the quiet rides (and of course the great gas mileage!)  The days of silent hybrids are just about over.  Congress, with the help of automakers and advocates for the blind, are adding sound performance requirements for hybrids and electric cars.  The silent hybrids make it hard for pedestrians and the blind to hear them and use those cues in order to safely cross the road, etc.  It sounds kind of dumb, but makes sense.  People know the sound of an accelerating vehicle, and then to have no sounds, can definitely cause some problems and danger for some, especially the blind that use sound cues as a way of life.

Of course there are always those that don’t feel the same way.  Those people, mostly green car advocates, say that we need to reduce the noise of the trucks, buses, and motorcycles, and then you could hear the hybrids.  Noise pollution will be increased with these new requirements on hybrids and electric cars and the green car advocates say that adding noise is not the answer.

Also as of right now, each automaker is coming up with their own sound for their hybrid.  Ford feels like the sound of the hybrids and electric cars should be a standard sound and not like cell phones with each having their own sound.  “This can cause confusion” they say. I agree. I think that Congress and groups make a decision on the best sound for the hybrids and then all automakers use it.  I like that idea the best.

Well the days of silent hybrids are over.  I guess we need to just move along and accept it. The noise will be for a good cause and I’m going to bet the sound won’t be too bad. We shall see….

So, every 55 seconds a teen is injured or killed in a car accident, according to tiwi.com.  Something needs to be done to protect our children and others on the roads.  Tiwi has one thing that could make our teens hate us more, but could save lives.  Tiwi is a car tracking computer system that will monitor your teens’ driving.  You set the rules. If you want your child to go no faster than 5 mph over the speed limit, the system will announce that they’ve broken a rule and then call, email, or text the parent immediately. The purpose of this system is not to tattle on the driver, but instead help the driver to do the right thing while driving.  You, as a parent, can also log onto the account and see speeds, if there was any hard braking or accelerating.  It’s kindof crazy.

The system costs about $200 to buy and then you have to subscribe monthly for about $40. I think it would be worth it if it makes my teenager a better driver, right?  Your child will hate you more than they do at this age.  I mean this is really intrusive. The system can text you when your child gets to their location. You can log on at any time and know where they are. Not too much independence happening for your child with the Tiwi.  Is it too much?  I don’t know maybe, but what if it makes your child a safer driver. Isn’t the Tiwi worth it then. I sure think so.  Any thoughts from anyone?

The New York Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) has been looking for a vehicle to replace the current taxis that would “better fit the times.”  The TLC created a website asking for ideas for the “Taxi for Tomorrow.”  Well, one idea that was proposed was the Unicab. This vehicle is basically in the concept car stage, but hopefully it will be built in the near future.  The Unicab has seating for four passengers, and automated ramp for those with disabilities, great views for all the passengers, technology to show the intended routes and any attractions alond the way.  On the exterior, the Unicab shows the destination and vacancies.  The doors slide on both sides for easy accessibility but also for the safety of pedestrians and cyclists.  They thought of everything. It’s also supposedly going to be more fuel efficient.  You have to check out the Taxi for Tomorrow website and see the pictures. It looks really cool and people might just want to take a cab in NYC from now on.  Though it’s hard enough getting a cab there now. What will the cab situation look like when everyone wants to check out the new Unicab??

So by now everyone knows that automakers have until 2016 to get the average fuel economy of their vehicles to 35.5.  The current fuel economy is 27.5 mpg for cars and 23.1 mpg for light trucks.  Supposedly according to the government, these new fuel economy rules will cost us about $926 extra for our vehicles.  We should recover this extra money in fuel savings.  I think we will be lucky if these new cars in 2016 and up don’t cost us a great deal more than $926.

There are ways to increase the fuel economy, but obviously it’s going to cost the automakers and in turn us to have this happen. Technology will play a key role in developing systems to get the fuel economy numbers up, but we all know that technology costs big bucks most times.

Here’s an example.  The Ford Escape Hybrid currently gets 29 mpg.  That’s quite a bit off the 35.5 mpg needed by 2016.  Oh and by the way, the current Ford Escape Hybrid costs $31,610 at the base price.  How much more will this car have to cost to get it to the correct standards.  How about all of the other cars that aren’t hybrids?  They have even more to go to get to 35.5.  Automakers will have to completely revamp these vehicles to get to the new fuel economy rules. I just hope that safety and other things aren’t compromised in getting there.

If you or your child is lucky enough to have their own car as a teenager, I’m here to tell you which ones they should get in order to be the safest…..boring cars.  According to Consumer Reports, conservative sedans with many safety features is the way to go with teens. Of course they also suggest newer models which will have the best and most advanced safety features, such as antilock brakes and curtain air bags.  “Big, boring, and slow” is the “best formula for teenage drivers” according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

Since the crash risk is 4 times as high for 16-19 year olds, and the crash rate is double at 16 what it is at 18-19, the safety features are such a big deal to have on the vehicles.  The Consumer Reports feel very strongly that teen drivers need to drive cars with the electronic stability control safety feature on it.  These systems help the vehicle to recognize when it is beginning to slide and then apply the brakes to keep the car on the right track.  All vehicles will be required to have this safety feature starting in 2012.  Supposedly this electronic stability control, reduces fatal single car crashed by 50% and multiple car crashed by 19%.

Everyone knows that teenage drivers take risks behind the wheel.  They speed, might not wear their seatbelts, etc.  “Boring” conservative sedans will hopefully help to keep teenagers safe. Hey, I drove a boring car when I got my license at 16.  Of course, it was my mom’s car, not my own, but still.  I’m sorry to all the teenagers out there, who had big dreams of a fabulous car when they turned 16, and now maybe their parents will be getting them something different, against their will….

I just read an article about a company called Superchips that can re-program your vehicle’s computer to make it more of what you want.  When automakers build vehicles, they have to do a one-size fits all.  The example that the article said was you buy a pickup truck, one person just drives around town with light loads, then another person, with the same truck, drives on the highway daily and tows a heavy trailer. The person driving the pickup around town could get a Superchip that would improve mileage by about 20% for diesel vehicles and 10% for gas.  Interesting concept that works according to the article.

The actual Superchip is a hand-held device, about the size of a cell phone, that plugs into your vehicle’s computer and loads your vehicle with information specific to your wants and needs.  The chips cost about $400 or less, depending on what you are looking for.  These Superchips are only available on domestic brands, such as Ford, GM, and Chrysler from 1997 or newer.

There is a slight catch though, that seems to still in the process of being disputed.  Of course as you would expect, the automakers are not big fans of the Superchips.  They, as well as others, say that if you put these chips in your vehicle’s computer system, then your warranty can be considered null.  Others say that’s not true, and you can still be covered under your original warranty.  Personally, I think that if you used a chip and then needed to get something under warranty, there would be a big stink by the automaker.  The Superchips sound great on paper, but since I don’t know anyone personally that uses them, I wouldn’t be willing to take the risk.  Too much on the line if the warranty is no longer valid.

BMW has taken over the top spot from Toyota as the most valuable gloval car brand, according to autoweek.com.  Though it is expected that Toyota will be able to bounce back from their bad publicity and therefore bad brand value from the recent recalls.  Toyota is spending a lot of money and energy in marketing to try to win back their customers.  I’m sure that they will, so BMW so enjoy being on the top of this title, because it may not last for long.

Ford ranked higher on the global car brand value as well. Experts think that this is because Ford has introduced several new technologies such as the Sync, emission control, and their use of social media.  Smart techies working at Ford!

Porsche and Mercedes suffered in their rankings this past year.  That’s really not a total surprise though. These are luxury cars and people cannot afford luxury cars these days with the economy the way it has been.  Mercedes brand value fell 11%, but Porsche brand value fell 31%.  Yikes!  Not good.   But mind you, they still rank 4 and 5 on the list respectively.  Honda is third to round out the top 5.

The only thing I’m a little surprised about it is that I always consider BMW to be luxury as well.  I know that they have models that are cheaper by a lot than Porsche and Mercedes, but overall their vehicles aren’t cheap.

I guess good for BMW to take over and top the list of most valuable global car brand, but as I said earlier, very good chance this honor won’t last too long.

Ford is making some noise at the China Auto Show this week with their concept car called the Start.  It is a four-door vehicle with a 3-cylinder engine.  Ford’s new EcoBoost engine is in this car.  The Start is very lightweight and uses numerous elements to try to create more aerodynamics and make the car more efficient.  The gas mileage has not been disclosed by Ford, but they promise that it is “highly efficient.”  If you have ever read anything about how to make your car more efficient, aerodynamics play a part.  If they are better, you should be more fuel efficient.

The specs are that the Start has a 1-liter, 3-cylinder EcoBoost engine.  This car is considered a micro car, and really not a lot of details have been given about it.  Ford is trying to show the world that we can downsize engines by using turbos and direct injection.  Ford’s My Touch mobile system is on the dash in this car as well.

The goal of Ford was supposedly make a vehicle good for urban driving.  They want it to be practical, efficient, and I guess we will love it as well!  We’ll see about that last one for sure.  I personally am not sure I like the look of this car at all, but who knows. Maybe it will be the norm in the future.