Open Line Show has had its first guest who is an auto industry big-wig and isn’t just a crazy car enthusiast who wants to stay on the phone all night talking cars – but let me tell you! Chris Preuss of OnStar is a car guy to the core, born and bred, and I bet that if he weren’t engaged to talk about OnStar and the current government/industry tussle over whether cell phones should be allowed in cars, he could be a candidate as a regular one-of-our-guys!

Preuss graciously accepted my invitation to appear to discuss in-car communications technologies and answer caller questions. Everyone got a chance to ask their questions and he answered them all! He even pitched in a few extra minutes at the end of his appearance to discuss the Chevy Volt, as he worked on first generation Volt development.

If you missed hearing it live or want to hear it again, have a listen below!

Cars get crushed every day but not just in the junk yards where wrecked and unrepairable cars go to die.

Which cars are getting crushed?
Some cars are squeaky clean, have leather seats, full navigation systems, V6′s or V8 engines with far less than 30,000 miles on them. They still have that new car smell and in some cases, will still have bits of protective film covering the interior parts. For the most part they could never be considered damaged except for the odd scratch or ding that comes from brushing against the car or pulling a suitcase out of the trunk. Most of them are so new that they are not even on the dealers’ lots yet so they are considered pre-production vehicles but are made pretty much the way subsequent ones will be made. Later ones are just made faster.

Who is crushing this lost tribe of cars?
Their makers. The automotive manufacturers, foreign and domestic.

What was their crime?
They were review cars for journalists, film cars for advertising placement in big budget movies and television shows and sometimes were just lenders to high profile (and sometimes B-list) celebrities. Sometimes they only sat on an auto show floor for the public to crawl in and out of. They were part of the marketing engine.

Why are they being crushed?
To tell you the truth, not by the choice of the manufacturers. No creator likes to see their offspring, their pride and joy, the result of years of hard work reduced to an over-sized smashed can. Some of these cars are such special editions that they have features and packages that will never be seen in combination again and could be valued at an extremely high price (if they even could be sold). But they have to crush them. The government requires that they destroy them. These cars are usually off the same production line that the cars come from for safety tests and so are licensed to the manufacturer but the title is not transferable. You cannot legally register one of these cars even if the manufacturer sold it in a charity auction. A rogue auto employee couldn’t even hide one in their garage forever; the government checks up on these things!

The cars are not even allowed to be dismantled so that parts like seats and stereos can be reused because the government knows that eventually someone would build their own car out of refuse. Mind you, perfectly good, often high end refuse.

I am not pointing fingers at any manufacturer in particular because they are all held to the same standards. Maybe this will make some of them uncomfortable that I am even telling you this and I want to reinforce to them that, on this point, I am on your side. What would be better for brand building than to see rare editions turn up in auctions like vintage rare edition cars can and sell for ridiculously cool prices?

And to those of us who have driven these cars: I feel guilty and sad when I see my time end with one of these cars destined to be destroyed. Sometimes I wonder if I have played a part in a wasteful destruction. What I do know is that the manufacturers don’t like it either. It is an unspoken death because their hands are tied.

All that I know is that at a time when the car makers are being criticized for wasteful behavior it is makes sense to sometimes look further than the actions and try to get to the reason. There are always blatant examples within every company (automotive and non-automotive related) where waste can be highlighted in the media. It is sometimes the unspoken waste resulting from an industry held to standardized practices for safety and the environment directly by the government and the manufacturer swallowing, taking their lump and trying to move ahead that should be reported.

Most of this government regulation stems from emissions and safety concerns but to such a degree that one European luxury manufacturer will not import its very saleable models because they are handmade and the government wants a dozen or so to crash. These regulations also are the reason that a lot of American manufacturers do not sell their best models in the US.

RIP all of the 2009 cars conceived by artists, executed by engineers and have now gone to meet their maker.

XOO,Michelle

Originally posted here

Now the time change comes a week later ( which honestly, was so confusing this last week, I text messaged three friends in California to ask what time it was when I woke up).

As I’ve gotten older (and GASP! More responsible?) and sleep is no longer an optional all day recreation period and the clock rules my day as much as work, feeding that kid and being bone tired after running around all day, Daylight Savings has become a pain in the you know what!

Apparently, besides the grumbling that you hear from coworkers and friends, there are real statistics that point to Daylight Savings being more dangerous to us as drivers than I realized.

That the change in sleep patterns affects people will end their ability to drive safely. Some claim the accidents increase significantly twice a year directly after the time that the time changes. I’m not going to give sources-Google it yourself and you will see that most links are directly back to accident lawyers ( or ambulance chasers, as my father would call them).

What does make more sense to me is that the time change that happens for summertime increases the number of accidents that are related to alcohol.
The days longer, who doesn’t want to embrace a beautiful summer day by going out with friends for a cool drink? Problem is? It is a bad idea!

So actually, in contrast to my teenage years when I thought daylight savings was about staying out and having fun, the time change that happens in Autumn is really the time when drivers stay home ( maybe have a glass of wine at
home) and the roads are a bit safer.

Probably better to remember at this time of year is that the holidays begin in earnest with Halloween and accidents do increase significantly due to holiday festivities through New Year’s. My suggestion is: stay-at-home, save gas, burn candles responsibly, don’t forget to vote next week and enjoy getting to stay up an our extra this Saturday night. You’ll feel like a teenager.

Originally posted here

I guess that the incomplete sentence at the end was me returning to the room and interrupting them; they didn’t want me to know that they actually speak words that are in human dictionaries.

One thing I really love is taking my dogs to the beach, to friends’ houses for play dates, on road trips and quick errands when I know I won’t be getting out of the car. Luckily my 1999 BMW Z3 Coupe has a nifty feature that suits us perfectly while on the road: these touring cars were designed to hold luggage, go fast and be safe and the netting between the backspace and where the driver sits is the perfect barrier to keep both the dogs and me safe.

For one thing, if Mae had her way, she would be driving. That is an unsafe distraction that could lead to accidents and hurting me, my passengers, others on the road and Mae because my airbags would hit her 5 pound frame so hard.

According to one article that I found, in driving tests it was determined that a 13 pound dog sitting in the backseat unsecured would hit a passenger in the front seat with 396 pounds of pressure. At the moment of impact that means a dog’s weight multiplied by 30 would result in a 70 pound dog hitting you with 2112 pounds of pressure. The chance of a dog surviving that is very low and for humans in the car? It would not be pretty.

There are seatbelt style restraints designed for dogs but the best solution, to be absolutely certain that no one would be unnecessarily hurt in the event of an accident, is to make sure that the dogs are in a confined space or a crate secured to the seat.

My dogs may not like when I leave them at home if I am in a car other than my BMW but knowing we are all safe is better than traveling in a pack.

Originally posted here

About halfway to the school Little MissMotorMouth mentioned, ever so casually, that in April she can get her learner’s permit and begin driving. I’d forgotten how closely I was approaching that corner when I wrote this article about choosing her first car.

Out of curiosity I rang my friend and insurance agent, Jim Seilsopour, and asked him what I need to do to begin getting prepared for 6 months from now at 15 ½, when she will be allowed to have a provisional permit. According to Jim, an agent for State Farm, I will not be charged for insuring my daughter during the six month provisional permit, or until she gets her license. This seems like a huge liability for an insurer but because of my driving record, my daughters good student standing (B average or above) and the fact that she is a girl ( contrary to what the OB/GYN told me a few hours before she was born), not only is her learning time not going to cost me more but my rates will increase only about $25 a month for the 2001 Kia Spectra. It may not seem fair that insurance leans favorably towards young female drivers but Jim pointed out that it is the direct result of uninsured teens who are boys being more likely to “borrow” the family car without being licensed.

If you have a teen who is 15 and, like my daughter, you feel is trustworthy enough to begin the learning process, here are some things that you can do now to get ready for your driving teen:

• In order to get the provisional permits at 15 ½ your teen will need 30 hours of professional drivers’ education (classwork). There are many online options, local private instructors or programs through school system.-at 15 ½, your teen will need to complete DL44 and submit it to your local DMV along with parental signature, social security number, proof of true full name (birth certificate), proof of registration to complete six hours of professional driving instruction and the application fee.

• Contact your insurance agent to find out when you need to have your teenager added as a driver to your policy.

• As many parents require their teen to pay for their own insurance and gas, now is the best time to begin talking to your teen about how they are going to make money to pay for these things.

• Introduce your young driver to Ford’s Driving Skills for Life program online, and if at all possible, attend one of the events.

• In the following six months after the teen as received a permit, they will be required to drive at least 50 hours with an adult above the age of 25, 10 of the hours must be at night.

For now, I need to start discussing jobs with my girl. Although she might have been feeling pretty big for her britches this morning, all ready to begin the countdown till she can start to drive, I do know this: when I got to the gate of the school this morning right before the bell rang, she handed me her to-go cup with her coffee, and it was still completely full.

Originally posted here

In the case of Ford, their sales are being hit by an economic downturn that, at this rate, could result in an annualized rate of sales down by 5 million units in 2008. But, that said, Ford is a big part of the numbers that show half of all new cars that were sold in June 2008 were 4 cylinder cars and even though that trend may change as the year progresses, Ford has rallied and responded to the downturn, just like every other manufacturer has, by doing a Big Re-think of their model.

One of their solutions which does a double whammy on their issues is bringing in an improved Focus model that is much closer in quality and style to their European issued Focus. That meets the customer demand for more high quality, less expensive & fuel efficient cars that do not feel like the old school metal lunch boxes known as the America Focus. The second point that this covers is a much needed environmentally friendly response to other manufacturers’ solutions by offering the 2009 Focus with Partial Zero Emissions. These types of cars are commonly referred to as PZEVs.

What is interesting is that this feature of having a zero evaporative emissions from the fuel system costs the manufacturer, Ford, in this case, and extra $1200 on top of normal manufacturing costs to produce but the cost to the consumer is only $200 on top of the normal cost of a Focus.

Are they going to start giving cars away at or below their cost? Well, not exactly but because they are being required in some stated to produce these kinds of PZEVs, they also have to sell them successfully which means they have to take a bit of a loss to incentivize consumers to choose PZEV instead of a regular emissions vehicle.

So instead of keeping an older car that might get good gas mileage but is terrible for the environment, you can buy for under$16,000 a better quality, safer car that will produce less emissions during 5 round trip drives from Los Angeles to San Franciso than your gas powered lawn mower will emit in one hour of use.

The times, they are a changin’.

Originally posted here

If the car being donated is valued at more than $5000 then an appraisal needs to be done by a qualified appraiser no more than 60 days before your tax deadline (including any extensions). Whether the car is worth more than $5000 or less, the charity will provide you with the amount that the car sold for and that can be itemized on your Schedule A of your From 1040. It is important to remember that deductions cannot be more than 50% of your adjusted gross income. In the case of the Corvette Z1 that was recently sold at RM Auctions in Pebble Beach to benefit GRACE Charity, the sellers/donors would, in theory, be able to deduct the appraised fair market value (FMV), in this case the MSRP, of $118,000 while the buyer was able to deduct the amount that they bid over FMV (the high bid was $151,252.oo) minus the buyer’s premium which was paid to RM Auctions except in this case the sellers had stipulated that only the amount over the MSRP would be donated to GRACE and therefore the only portion which was deductible.

If the amount if the car exceeds $500 then Section A of Form 8283 must also be completed and you must have a written acknowledgment from the charitable association on or before your taxes are due. Publication 526 on the IRS website has the qualifications for charitable organizations. Once the charity sells the car they have 2 years to notify the IRS of the sale and provide you with a copy of the form it sends to the IRS notifying them of the sale and the amount that it sold for.

Because they have 2 years however, it is often easier for you to sell your car yourself and donate cash to the charity directly. Your charity will often benefit more by making a donation this way because in most cases charities use third party services to sell the car on their behalf at wholesale auctions where the deductible amount can end up being less than FMV. Selling a car private party will bring more money and establishes a documented FMV while your charity gets more money and you get to deduct more.

For more information, always talk to your accountant before you decide to take the charitable plunge and make sure that you do all of the steps correctly. It will be worthwhile for everyone!

In Georgia, a recent report indicated that traffic deaths dropped 33% and attribute part of that drop to rising fuel costs. “Higher fuel costs lead to less miles driven.” People are being pickier about reasons to jump on the road and that is increasing safety! Who’d have thunk!

This all sounds like good news to those of us on the road but there are still some practical driving tips that can also help with safety and reduce the amount of time spent on the road.

1. Maintain a safe distance. Remember that trick for staying 10 feet behind the car in front of you for every 10 miles per hour that you are driving? Keeping that rule going can reduce Shockwave traffic jams, a phenomena that is at the root of most traffic jams and many rear endings on crowded roads.
2. Reduce your speed. Trying to get somewhere more quickly than everyone around you just doesn’t work and is dangerous. Speed also affects your fuel economy: every 5 mph over 60 will cost you an additional $.30 according to the EPA.
3. Motorcycles are increasing on the roads and accidents will increase if car drivers do not stay aware. Constantly checking rear and side mirrors for bikes “splitting lanes” (driving between lanes of cars) is more essential than ever. Getting caught by surprise by a bike suddenly cutting in front of you is sure to start a shockwave traffic jam.

Less traffic is always a good thing but for those times when you have to be on the road with everyone else, safety is essential.

Originally published here

There is no reciprocity. Men love women, women love children, children love hamsters.

What most do not know is that she usually would go on to add “And hamsters don’t love anybody.”

I am thinking of this because my daughter, a full on 14 year old, a girl version of Legolas, recently announced to me that she doesn’t want to drive until she is at least 18. This was a surprise for several reasons. First, her mother is Miss Mota Mouth. Second, she reads car magazines like most girls her age read Seventeen Magazine. Third, her mother is Miss Mota Mouth.

Could it be that my passion had only partially passed down to my offspring? The history, the enthusiasm, the innovation- everything that she is able to discuss is just because one day she will be really great playing Trivial Pursuit?

Serendipity arrived in the form of an invitation to attend a Driving Skills for Life event hosted by the Ford Fund. What an opportunity! We went to Chicago and upon arriving at the parking lot/ training area, L’il Miss Mota Mouth started shaking uncontrollably. As she watched the driving instructors guide local high school students through skid control techniques, I watched my daughter completely melt in fear. The realization hit: Momma loves daughter, daughter loves cars, cars do not love anybody. They look pretty in pictures but are big scary beasts to a 98 pound young adult.

Because she is not permitted I was going to be the driver while L’il Miss Mota Mouth rode and filmed. Fortunately the first two courses that I did were not skid control so even though I took out a few cones while doing obstacle aversion, by the time that we got to the modified sliding Mustangs, she was completely at ease. The other participants, mostly high school students who had qualified to attend because of their support of Ford’s programs to increase driver safety in Illinois schools, were doing fantastic driving. The driving instructors, all professional racing coaches, guided all of us through every step and answered questions joyfully.

Here is the interesting thing though: according to the California Department of Motor Vehicles the number of kids getting their licenses at 16 has dropped by 20%. The number of kids taking driver’s ed classes in their schools has dropped even more. Many kids are just waiting to drive when they do not have to attend a driver’s ed class of any kind and can just get a license at 18. I think that scares me more than the thought of 16 year olds behind the wheel because unexperienced and untrained drivers at any age are a concern.

In the end, L’il Miss Mota Mouth understood why even though she may not want the responsibility of being a young driver, she does need to learn to start building her skills (including response time that has apparently dulled in her mother’s years). By working with schools, communities and students, Ford’s program is bringing back the importance of driving safety among teens because they know that parents are talking more about sex and drugs with their teens than they are about safe driving.

Mother loves daughter. Daughter loves cars. Cars love nobody but the 98 pound kid will learn to own her driving skills.

More information about Ford’s Driving Skills for Life.

Originally posted here