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Miss MotorMouth First Video on the 2011 Ford Fiesta

Consumer Reports Senior Driver article with resources

Does anyone really know how jump starting works?

Question: Who taught you how to jump start a car? Or maybe I should ask this question first: do you know HOW to jump start a car? It’s okay. There are a lot of people out there who don’t know, and I’m sure a good majority of those people (possibly men, ha!) are afraid to admit that they have no clue how to do it. [insert requisite:"That's what she said."]

A press release popped up the other day for these Michelin-branded “smart” jumper cables. What makes them “smart” is that now, one does not need to know the fancy connection sequence of connecting the batteries to safely jump start a vehicle. All one has to do is connect two leads to one battery, and connect two leads to the other battery; a computer that resides inline between the connection leads will automatically sense if the polarities are correct. If they are incorrect, the computer switches them.  You have to trust the cable computer, because those connection leads? They aren’t even labeled positive or negative. No red. No black. All clamp leads are blue.

Recently, MIchelle, brought up the topic of these particular jumper cables on her live webcast show on minglemediatv.com. She was discussing her 16 year-old daughter learning to drive, and recalling all the things one must know in order to drive a car, in addition to  knowing traffic laws and vehicle operation. Drivers must also know how to pump gas, how to change a tire, what to do in case of an accident, and how to jump start a car. Michelle asked her online chat audience if they knew how to jump start a car with normal cables. Most of the participants adamantly stated that “of course” they knew how to jump start a vehicle properly. [Keep in mind that the majority of MissMotorMouth's audience consists of bona fide "car geeks."] Obviously, no one, car geek or not, willfully admits when they can’t do something, and especially not to a large internet audience. [Fact: I am not good at ironing clothes. It's okay, I don't have a large internet audience. It's just between you and me.]

I was in that webcast show audience, and I suppose I am a car geek. [Although, don't tell Michelle; to her, I try to remain a 'novice auto enthusiast.'] I also have a degree in physics. I’ve worked with electricity and electronics for nearly half my life. I know the ins and outs of electricity. Yet, I will honestly admit that jump starting one car with another makes my head hurt. Why? Let me illustrate.

I’m going to pretend I’m you: “you” being someone with possibly no scientific background whatsoever. What do you know about electricity? You know that batteries have a + (positive) side and a - (negative) side. You also know that if you connect a wire between positive and negative, and maybe on that wire is a light bulb, then electricity flows between the two sides, and lights up the light bulb. All that is very true. From that, we can assume that to make electricity flow, you connect + to – , right? Right. I mean, this sort of thing also works with magnets: you know that there’s a North pole and a South pole on a magnet. The North pole sticks to the South pole; conversely, North repels North, South repels South. That’s just like + and – , right? Positive repels positive, negative repels negative. Opposites attract. We all know that. Hell, even Paula Abdul and MC Skat Kat knows this fact.

Now let’s think about that car battery. We have a dead car battery, and we have a charged car battery. We want to somehow get the car with the dead battery started. How do we do it? All we know about electricity –which is not much, because remember, we have no background in science–is that [sing along with me now] “We go together cuz opposites attract!” That makes sense. How do we connect the dead battery and the good battery together? Positive to negative, right?

*BZZZZZ*

Nope.

“But, isn’t that how we get electricity to flow? Positive to negative?” Yes, that’s how we do it, but do we *want* electricity to flow to this battery? This is where it gets complicated, and this is where one needs a better understanding of what is going on with electricity. Electricity is the flow of electrons. [Uh oh. Now it's getting infinitely more complicated.] We need that electron flow (also known as ‘current’) to start our car. The charged battery has plenty of electrons to start the dead car. And as soon as the car starts, the dead car’s alternator will run, and cram more electrons into the dead battery (also called ‘charging’). We need current to flow so we can start the engine, which will in turn run the alternator, which will then charge the dead battery.

What do we do? We have to know a little something about electric circuits and diagraming them. And you, person who said “Of course I know how to jump start a car!”, thought this wasn’t rocket science! I’m going to skip the physics/electrical engineering lesson and just say “We want to put the charged battery and the dead battery in parallel in our circuit.” That is what we are doing when we jump start a car. And how do we put two batteries in a parallel circuit? Positive connects to positive, negative connects to negative. You’re saying to yourself “But…electricity flows between a positive and a negative, how does it flow here?” Oh, it’s flowing, but you have a much more complicated circuit diagram than just a light bulb on a wire connecting + and – . See? It IS rocket science. Well, not really. It’s just counterintuitive to what we know or have been taught about electricity.

[Note: I can hear a few of you whispering (or shouting) "It's not positive to positive, negative to negative! It's positive to positive, negative to solid metal grounding material on the engine!" That's right, that's what they tell you. But the negative battery terminal is connected to the chassis; the engine is connected to that same chassis. Most everything metal in the car is connected to the negative terminal of the battery. So why do they tell you to connect the negative end to ground? It's mainly to reduce sparks when connecting  the clamp. That's all.]

Back to the question: What about these “smart” jumper cables? Is this a good thing or a bad thing? As a person who has a science background, and knows all this stuff, I agree with Martha Stewart. I know how to connect batteries; I know how to make complicated circuits; I know how to make grapes spark in a microwave oven; I know lots of complicated and weird science
things. But I tell you honestly that whenever I need to jump start a car, I have to stop and think for a minute, and run the circuit diagrams in my head. For people with no circuit diagrams in their head, it’s a game of chance. And that game can have some deadly consequences.

Jump starting a car is complicated; it’s usually during an emergency when we need to do it. In emergencies, one should be able to do what they have to do quickly, and they should not be required to stop to think long and hard “Am I doing this correctly?” I’m sure there will be people arguing “Drivers should know how to do this with regular cables!”, and I completely agree. Parents/Guardians: teach your 16 year-old how to properly jump start a car with regular cables; explain to them (if you can, maybe with help from the interwebs) about positive and negative. And electron flow and current. And series and parallel circuits. Make them jump start a car with regular cables. Watch them freak out when they see sparks. Then…go get them these cables, and put them in the trunk of their car. That’s how most of life works. You learn something the hard way, just so you know/experience it, then later, someone shows you the easy way. That’s how we learn. It reminds me of how I learned to take a derivative in calculus by calculating using a limit, then learned the “easy way” of moving the exponent…what, you don’t know how to do that? A new, exciting blog post coming right up!

Carl Acampado is a product+graphic designer/physicist/cookie baker/road cyclist/novice auto enthusiast who wastes lots of time on Twitter and seems to write a lot of posts about design and Apple products on his blog. No one knows why.

The seventh-generation Chevy Malibu is a popular little mid-sized sedan and is sent from this spot to the far reaches of where buyers will settle for buying them. This is what happens when an undelivered Malibu confronts a train.

The details of the accident on the police report state that the employee dropped the manifest and was in an area near the tracks that is unlit and that the flat bed train car was difficult to see late in the fading sun.

Malibu Meets Train

Rumors present a different story. The employee went to run an errand (allegedly to the Qwik-Trip Mart and had asked fellow workers if they needed anything) in the fresh-off-the-line Malibu and was driving without a seatbelt at about 35mph towards a railway crossing where the train was paused, red signals flashing, and was distracted by text messaging. The train began backing up just after the hit and spun the car and driver out from underneath.

“How was your day at work, Honey?”

Crunch

It is interesting to note that the airbags deployed, the worker was not injured, the windshield did not crack and the back doors are fine. Not bad for a 35mph head-on crash. There is still a lot of good car left there but it is being totalled and all of it will be scrapped.

All in a day’s work.

The Here, Now and the Recall (History lesson is over. This is where start really giving what is my opinion, is not based in fact and is not meant in any way as anything more than supposition. I am not a mechanic nor should be mistaken for one. I am just asking questions.)

Often, when on the freeways of California, I will look around at the cars driving on the freeway around me and realize that I am completely surrounded by Toyota products. It is the sort of thing that makes seeing all of the “domestic” brands on the road while visiting Detroit seem odd, even exotic for a Californian. My actual experience with Toyota products has been spotty, at best. When we first discussed the Lexus with the floormat/sticking gas pedal incident on The RoundAbout Show, it seemed odd to all of us that a California State Trooper wouldn’t know how to stop a vehicle that was out of control. We were not the only ones.

While I was in Texas over the holidays, I happened to catch an article on December 21, 2009 in the lean Abilene Reporter-News about a local priest who’s Camry rolled and who, after brain surgery to remove a clot as a result of the accident, was told that it was his floormats. Just so you know, when I attempted to contact Father Akamike the last week of January 2010,but he has yet to return my call.

As much as I enjoy the folks who work for the auto manufacturers, I immediately turned my ear to the people who keep their public face: the dealers.

As one Toyota dealer told me, January 22nd, the day after the recall was announced by Toyota, was the longest day of his life. After all of the anguished voices of the car dealers I spoke with last year repeatedly through the automotive market crashing and then the subsequent mess of Cash For Clunkers, it was probably the most sad I have ever heard a dealer speak. Over 65% of this dealer’s inventory was immediately unsaleable. Toyota would not be refunding him for the cars (over 250) on his lot for which he had borrowed money so that he had inventory. He had to wait for a fix. His used car selection, which came from auctions, also hit a wall. Manheim immediately ceased running any used Toyota products through their auctions and that meant other brands of used cars were more desirable, driving up prices of potential used inventory and, moreover, that dealerships couldn’t recoup their investment in traded in Toyota cars because they were not auctionable. The dealerships quickly learned that they were learning more from the media than they were their franchisor. One dealer told me how they were shredding all communications from Toyota Motor Company because employees were so distraught by the immediate, panic induced lack of sales that his team had broken down to physically fighting on the car lot that day.

Toyota is no where near being over this whole debacle. Their dealers are being sent a piece of metal, thinner than a nickel and approximately twice as long, as a mechanical fix which should take their service employees 30 minutes per car to fix. That is today. Last week the part was going to be an entire assembly that would take 2+ hours per car to install. At a national average labor cost per hour of $100, this would have put a serious bit of ouch into the Toyota Motor Corporation and so now they are presenting a fix that costs pennies to produce and install and provides a barrier to keep condensation out of the pedal unit. Make more with less, in the tradition of the Toyota Production System. And yet, isn’t it a mechanical fix for what is rumored to be an electrical problem? Isn’t this the similar small piece of engineering that caused so much problem for the Pinto? In this mechanical fix, doesn’t the little part being installed in the recalled vehicles with the driver being able to put their foot under the pedal and bring it back up if it should happen to stick? If it is possible that it is from condensation building up inside the system, can that little fix-part in a prevent this? What exactly did Toyota learn in a joint venture in an American designed production line, ie, NUMMI? Did GM walk away with more than an education in lean production if the Vibe is based on a Toyota designed platform that potentially have the same acceleration issues? Is communicating to your dealers through the media another example of doing more with less? Is the American public not able to handle a clear concise message like the UK public?

This recall is nowhere near being ready to be drawn to a quiet close. The fact is that the 1st incident that was brought to national and international awareness was a Lexus, not specifically Toyota in brand, and no Lexus have been recalled in this current wave. Why is that? Is it because Toyota Corporate communications originally dismissed it as a floormat issue and they don’t want to get caught telling a fib? Is this why it is rumored that Toyota wants to do a blood alcohol analysis of the state trooper in the original fatal crash in the Lexus? Can discrediting a dead man save a car company? Because all of the recalled cars and those that have not yet been recalled have such elaborate electrical systems, can an over-rev limiter be thrown in neutral while driving at 3800 rpms? Can a career state trooper trained in deductive reasoning really not be the issue?

My friend Jessica told me that her children are not allowed to ride in anyone’s Toyota cars. Honestly, I am more scared of my child being on a road where anyone is in a Toyota or a Lexus right now. Whether it be a stuck pedal or a mischievous floormat or the accidental acceleration issue that began becoming part of the discussion about Toyota, being on the road surrounded by a huge number of cars that could potentially crash is terrifying until someone gets to the bottom of it all.

In our relevant tale of the 2001 Honda Civic Type R vs. the 2007 Honda Civic Type R, the 2007 did well in terms of its power, speed, etc but had some flaws in handling & finish. The 2007 was about £17,000.00 while its 2001 predecessor could be had for a handy £10,000.00 with reasonable mileage. Considering that the spoiler on the 2007 was right in the line if sight in the rear view mirror (just like the 2009 Nissan 350Z NIZMO’s spoiler), that could be a deal breaker for some buyers looking for a sporty car. Also, a 2001 has gone through the biggest loss in depreciation while the 2007 will dump about 40% in the first 18 months. So… buy the 2001, right?

Well, don’t be so fast, Speedracer! There are many things to consider when buying used and especially with cars that have a tendency (ahem- just speculating here) to be involved in street racing.

Newer cars that tend to be tuners like the Type R may appear to be well cared for on the surface but often they are driven hard regardless of the age of the previous owner (but lets be real- they tend towards the younger and younger thinking crowd).

• Accidents will be found
• Original parts will be checked
• Non-original parts will be listed

Lets put it like this:

You find a gorgeous 350z that (you could almost swear) the seller had you in mind when they customized it.

• Your insurance company won’t cover your injuries because of the aftermarket seat belts!

That Scion Xb looks like the perfect price and the thing to keep your tuner heart humming!

• But they neglected to mention the wreck. And the insurance fraud.

And that darling CRX has a modified system to die for!

• And your car may not be street legal.

Just buy smart and enjoy your ride.

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