By colin November 17th, 2008
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Alpine announced yesterday that it will begin shipping its newest HD Radio tuner, which provides HD's benefits of improved sound quality and more content choices plus a new iTunes Tagging functionality that eases the ability of consumers to track and purchase music they hear on their Alpine HD Radio. The tuner is a small hide-away box that may be connected to any Alpine '07-08 Ai-NET head units, lending HD Radio reception to those head units.
When the head unit equipped with the newest tuner is tuned to an HD Radio station that has chosen to broadcast metadata such as artist, album, and song information, the head unit will display these bits of information on the radio face. Additionally, consumers purchasing certain receivers such as the iDA-X100 Digital Media Receiver, IVA-W505 double-DIN Mobile Multimedia Station, and iDA-X100 Marine Digital Receiver may step up to iTunes Tagging. When users hear a song they wish to remember broadcast from an HD Radio station, they simply press a button that transfers info about the tagged song to the user's iPod. Upon connecting the iPod to a home computer, iTunes will present the tagged songs in playlist format, allowing the user to preview, buy, and download the songs they tagged while driving.
We like this feature; it's a safer, quicker way to get song info on the fly, one that doesn't divert eyes and attention from the road. And HD Radio seems like a better concept to us than satellite radio, with no subscription fees and more than 1,800 AM/FM radio stations nationwide broadcasting in digital HD. For a station guide of HD Radio stations in your area, visit
www.hdradio.com. For more information on Alpine HD Radios, HD Radio Tuners, and dealers visit
www.alpine-usa.com.--
Colin Mathews
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Make sure you check out our partner sites dedicated to focused news, reviews and more for Ford, Chevrolet, Toyota, Honda, and the Toyota Prius.
Posted in : 2008, Advertising/Marketing, Gadgets/Products, Mobile Audio, Safety, Suzuki
By colin October 31st, 2008
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It seems vehicular collision with deer and other living things is on the rise. HLDI (Highway Loss Data Institute), an affiliate of IIHS, claims that "animal strikes" peak in November, when they are roughly three times higher than in other months. While the agencies above do not specify the animal involved, other data point to deer as the main reason for elevated insurance claims.
Despite Americans traveling less recently, the agencies also point out that fatal crashes involving vehicular collisions with animals have shot up 50 percent since 2000. Kim Hazelbaker explains this phenomenon by pointing out that urban sprawl means that man is increasingly encroaching upon deer habitat, putting the two in ever closer proximity. More collisions are inevitable.
State Farm insurance backs up these statistics. The nation's largest auto insurer's estimates point to 1.2 million claims for damage due to animal collisions during the second half of '07 and the first half of '08. They also claim that these types of collisions have increased 14.9 percent over the past five years.
Texas is the state with the highest total number of deaths due to animal collision; the Lone Star State logged 227 deaths in all from 1993 to 2007. Anne McCartt, IIHS' senior VP for research, says that "the months with the most crash deaths coincide with fall breeding season." We aren't sure whether human or animal fall breeding is causing all of the drama, but they say if you're on a rural road and traveling over 55 mph, especially in times of low light such as dusk, dawn, and nighttime, you're apparently at the greatest risk for a collision.
The safety agencies also point out that it is not usually the actual collision that proves fatal, but rather attempts to avoid the collision (running off the road) or neglecting to use protection (seatbelts, we assume) that pose the greatest danger. So please, Texans, beware the dangers of fall breeding season and be on the lookout for armadillo, deer, bears, and other Lone Star wildlife as you head home from the annual
Truck of Texas Rodeo in your winning
2009 Ford F-150 pickup.--
Colin Mathews
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Make sure you check out our partner sites dedicated to focused news, reviews and more for Ford, Chevrolet, Toyota, Honda, and the Toyota Prius.
Posted in : 2008, Driving, Industry News, Safety
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Yet another reason to engage that parking brake routinely, even if you do drive an automatic;
Cadillac announced a recall of 17,301
SRX SUVs due to a defective shift-brake interlock. The defect allows the gear selector lever for the automatic transmission to be moved out of park without the brake pedal depressed. This scenario could even play out with the vehicle's ignition turned off and the key removed, according to NHTSA.
GM has issued the recall for 17,301 2004
Cadillac SRXs, and dealers will replace parts of the shifting mechanism that should cure the problem. Owners may contact
Cadillac beginning in December at 800-982-2339 or the NHTSA hotline at 888-327-4236.
We
reported earlier on
Dodge Nitro and
Jeep Liberty vehicles with a parking brake recall that could (and has) lead to runway
SUVs. While a parking brake is arguably more vital in a manual transmission, and "park" is an even safer bet these days with shift-brake interlocks standard in automatics, caution is always the best route if you'd rather not file an insurance claim.--
Colin Mathews
Posted in : 2008, Cadillac, Industry News, Luxury Cars, Recalls, Safety, Sport-Utility Vehicles
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Some 3,663 '07 and '08 model year
Dodge Nitro and
Jeep Liberty small
SUVs, which share a platform, have been recalled due to "various degrees of reduced effectiveness" of their parking brakes. So far, 24 incidents have been reported, with one alleged vehicle crash, says
Edmunds. The recall involves only vehicles equipped with manual transmissions.
The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (
NHTSA), summarizes the problem by stating that the park brake lever clutch drum may distort and reduce the effectiveness of the park brake system, allowing the vehicle to move despite operator engagement of the parking brake lever.
This recall affects both small
SUVs built before February 2008.
Chrysler dealers will make the fix for free, and owners are encouraged to call
Chrysler at 800-858-1403 for more information about the recall and to determine whether their Nitro or Liberty is affected.
If you are a driver so affected, please take quick action. Automatic transmissions use a parking pawl when the transmission is placed in "park," eliminating the possibility of a runaway vehicle. The parking brake on automatics is a redundancy, welcome on steep hills or with big loads. Manuals, however, rely on the parking brake to lock a parked vehicle in place. Engine compression ("leaving it in gear") is effective on flat surfaces or mild inclines, and in such cases picking the lowest gear ratio, usually reverse or first, is the safest bet. But we always advise using the parking brake as well, as even an anxious pet in the vehicle could potentially knock the shift lever into neutral allowing it to roll.
--Colin Mathews
Posted in : 2007, 2008, Dodge, Jeep, Recalls, Safety
By colin October 17th, 2008
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Perhaps you're taking public transportation, telecommuting, canceling the family road trip, or carpooling with nearby coworkers. New data from the DOT reveals that since last November, Americans have reduced their mileage by a staggering 62.6 billion miles. This compares to a
total 1970s driving reduction of 49.3 billion miles.
But while you're merrily riding the streetcar or clambering into the back row of your coworker's shiny new
Ford Flex (or
Buick Enclave,
Chevrolet Traverse,
Mazda CX-9, or
Dodge Journey), your forlorn car still needs some attention, even if you only drive it but once a week.
GM's Mr. Goodwrench wisely advises that batteries and tires are two of the biggest victims of neglect. Clean battery terminals help deliver all those amps to crank your engine on the coldest of mornings, and
properly inflated tires improve gas mileage, safety, and tire longevity.
Says Robert Sinclair, spokesperson for AAA of New York, "the top two items that we get calls for are flat tires and dead batteries--and yet they are the easiest things to maintain."
Specifically, corrosion around the battery terminals limits the amount of current that can flow from battery to starter motor (like a clogged pipe limits the flow of water). On a cold morning, when a battery's chemical reactions aren't yielding as much current, it's important that every one of those cold cranking amps can make it to the starter. So open that hood and if you see anything weird and moldy on your battery terminals, buy a battery post cleaner and some di-electric grease from your local auto parts supplier. It should only cost you around 10 bucks and possibly save your hide in an upcoming January snowstorm. Also, make it a practice to drive your sitting car once a week and get it out on the highway for a good 20 minutes. This will give the alternator an opportunity to charge the battery up to full capacity.
You've all been lectured about the importance of tire pressure, so keep that gauge handy, and realize that pressures will drop along with temperatures.
--Colin Mathews
Posted in : Driving, Safety
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