Today's News From the Cars.com Family
What’s Changed on the 2010 Nissan Altima? (Ask.cars.com)
Toyota to Fix Gas Pedals in Tacoma and Tundra Pickups (PickupTrucks.com)
AutoSock Gains Traction in Colorado, U.S. (MotherProof.com)
Could In-Car Warning Systems Make Teens Safer Drivers?
A warning system can help make teen drivers safer, according to a trial program in Staffordshire County, United Kingdom. The County Council installed in-vehicle data recorders in the vehicles of 50 local teen drivers in March 2008 and studied them for six months.
The IVDRs, manufactured by GreenRoad of San Francisco, are normally used by truck drivers to help them learn safer driving practices and increase fuel efficiency. The IVDR keeps an eye on overly sharp turns, heavy acceleration, hard braking and quick lane changes. In this study, a warning system with red, yellow and green lights on a dashboard-mounted box was turned on midway through the trial. At that point, students received indications on how well they were driving.
After analyzing data from 18,000 trips, researchers found that the number of unsafe driving incidents fell by half after the warning lights were turned on.
It’s possible that insurance companies could charge lower premiums for teenage drivers who had such a system installed in their cars, according to Israeli safety researchers who studied the data.
Spy-in-the-Cab Could Improve Teenage Driving (New Scientist)
Honda Helps Out SoCal Drivers with Free Gas
Drivers in Southern California should be on the lookout for a blue tanker truck from now until Dec. 31. The folks at SoCal Honda will be sending their so-called Honda Helpful teams to dole out free gas to lucky motorists.
Honda Helpful teams are said to have spread out across Southern California communities to perform such random acts of kindness as distributing umbrellas when it’s raining, handing out reusable grocery bags at local grocers and feeding the homeless.
We couldn’t get a straight answer from SoCal Honda if the “Helpful Guys & Girls in Blue” — as their teams are known — will only dole out free gas to Honda owners or if drivers of other brands are eligible. A representative enigmatically told us, “The majority are Honda drivers, but some non-Honda drivers may also get lucky!”
If you live in Los Angeles, Riverside, Orange County, the San Fernando Valley, Pasadena or Ventura County, keep your eyes peeled for the big blue truck—especially if you’re a Honda owner.
Toyota Expands Gas Pedals Recall to 4 Million Vehicles
Toyota has expanded its initial floormat recall to 4 million vehicles. It will now reconfigure the accelerator pedal to prevent it from getting caught in the floormat, causing unintended acceleration, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The automaker also plans to install a brake-override system on some models; if the brake and accelerator are depressed at the same time, the brake will take precedence.
The recall initially covered the 2007-10 model year Camry, 2005-10 Avalon, 2004-09 Prius cars as well as 2005-10 Tacoma and 2007-10 Tundra trucks. It is also recalling 2007-10 Lexus ES 350, 2006-10 IS 250, and 2006-10 IS 350 models. The increase to 4 million recalled vehicles is to account for those sold since October when the recall was first announced.
Toyota will still replace the floormats, but dealers will also shave three-quarters of an inch from accelerator pedals. By April, Toyota will have replacement pedals of that length.
The automaker will install the break override system on the Camry, Avalon and Lexus ES 350, IS 350 and IS 250 models, calling it “an extra measure of confidence.”
Toyota said it will begin fixing the recalled vehicles in early 2010, starting by notifying Camry, Avalon, and ES 350 owners. The Japanese press is speculating that this recall will cost Toyota around $5 billion. There’s no official word on the cost from Toyota at this point.
Toyota to Fix 4 Million Gas Pedals (Detroit News)
Safety Advocates Push for Safer Roads
Traffic fatalities fell to a 40-year low last year, in a large part thanks to the recession (which led to less driving) and to improvements in vehicle safety. As for road safety, the most obvious improvements include adding rumble strips to warn drivers when they’re nearing the shoulder, caps on the ends of roadside guard rails to prevent cars from ramping off of them and cable guard rails on divided highways to keep cars from crossing the median.
Gerald Donaldson, the research director for Advocates of Highway and Auto Safety told National Public Radio that the biggest hazards are two-lane two-way rural roads, which can be up to eight times more dangerous than an interstate. This is because of hazards that accumulate on the side of these roads—everything from telephone poles to trash.
Another hazard, they say, is trucks. Over 4,000 people were killed in crashes with semi-trucks last year, accounting for 1 out of every 9 traffic deaths. The trucking industry is asking Congress to increase the maximum weight for trucks on federal highways from 80,000 pounds to 97,000. The trucking industry says this will decrease the number of trucks on the road, but safety advocates say they’ll be even heavier road hazards hurtling along.
Reader Review of the Week: 2010 Land Rover Range Rover Sport
“SUV Guy” from California went looking for a luxury SUV that could satisfy his many competing automotive demands. For the most part, he found happiness with the redesigned 2010 Land Rover Range Rover Sport. The plush interior and ride quality immediately won him over, but all those amenities and driving capabilities have their cost. Find out what the Range Rover Sport sacrifices, then visit our Reader Review page to submit a review of your own car.
2010 Cadillac CTS Sport Wagon Video
You can count Cars.com reviewer Joe Wiesenfelder as a fan of the 2010 Cadillac CTS Sport Wagon, despite the disappointing reliability ratings that the CTS sedan gets. The wagon comes loaded with enough cargo space, features and versatile functions to make it worth a look.
Today's News From the Cars.com Family
Is the Toyota Highlander a Good Bet to Drive on Rutted Mountain Roads? (Ask.cars.com)
5 Pickup Truck Things to Be Thankful for This Thanksgiving (PickupTrucks.com)
Holiday Season Comes With Spike in Drunk Driving (MotherProof.com)
Recall Alert: 2000-2003 Toyota Tundra
Toyota and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) have announced that Toyota will recall approximately 110,000 Tundra pickup trucks from the 2000 to 2003 model years in 20 cold-weather states and the District of Columbia to fix a frame rust and corrosion problem that could cause the spare tire to fall away from the truck.
Originally, NHTSA's investigation covered only 2000-01 Tundras but during Toyota's investigation of the problem, the number of trucks discovered with the problem grew to include 2002 and 2003 models.Toyota has just announced the recall, but NHTSA recommends that owners remove the spare tires before taking the trucks to the dealers to be remedied.
In addition, the corrosion may also cause damage to the rear brake lines and lead to brake system failures.
The states in the recall include Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia. These states typically use chemical de-icers, such as road salts, to treat roadways in winter weather.
Porsche to Offer Lithium-ion Battery
Porsche will offer as an option a lithium-ion starter battery in place of a standard lead battery on a few select models. Available in January for the 2010 911 GT3, GT 3 RS and Boxster Spyder, the li-ion starter battery will lower the car’s weight, as well as enhance performance and dynamics, Porsche says.
The pack comes in a separate unit and can be interchanged with the lead battery. The li-ion battery recharges more quickly, has a greater number of charging and discharging cycles, a lower self-discharge and a longer service life, Porsche says. While a lead battery only has 30% of its total capacity available at any given time, the li-ion battery does not have this problem.
When the charge level drops below a certain level, a warning signal tells the driver to charge the battery, which can be done either by driving the car with only the engine or using a normal battery charger.
Although lithium-ion batteries do not show a lot of promise at breaking into the SLI battery segment (standard starting, lighting, ignition), Porsche hopes racing enthusiasts will spring for the simple, low-weight replacement battery. And how much must they spring? The option will cost a healthy $2,400.
Porsche Offers Li-ion Starter Battery Option (Green Car Congress)
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