Doggie Safety Tips (Car Edition)

A wagging tail is a smile in dog form. Man’s best friend has been keeping us company since the beginning of companionship. In the age of the modern consumer it gets more and more difficult to keep your pet safe. In our recent blog post we discuss some great tips for keeping your ‘Lassie’ safe during a car ride. Below, we’ve provided a quick list of options:

1) Restrain your dog – We know dogs want to have their freedom, however it’s so much safer to keep them restrained while in the car. If your pet is unrestrained it can cause distractions and injury. Imagine making a sudden stop. Even at low speeds this can be very dangerous for your pet. For small and medium sized dogs a crate, or a harness works wonders in the back seat. Now, if you’re Great Mastiff is riding with you today (some grow up to 7 ft. in length) we suggest you have a big enough rear area to contain them. The Front seats can be used to block them in.
2) Don’t put your dog on your lap – Having your dog on your lap is like driving while using a Tablet computer. Huge distraction!! Your reaction time is substantially slowed and if the window is open, an extremely curious dog could run out into traffic.
3) Create a ‘pet friendly’ car – some items for a dog car utopia would be: a cushioned pet bed, extendable cargo area, rear ventilation (A/C or fan), rubber floor mats, and a spill-resistant water bowl. There are several vehicles ideal for dog lovers out there. A lot of car manufacturers are chasing dog lovers with new technology and innovations.
4) Don’t let your dog ride with their head out of the window – I know it’s tempting, but they can be easily injured by debris flying in their eyes.
5) Keep proper ID – just in case your dog gets lost while traveling, you want to make sure you have emergency contact info and up to date ID tags.
6) Prepare a doggie bag – make sure it contains clean up supplies, towel, feeding watering bowl, food, and toys to keep them well behaved
A pet is a family member, lets keep ours safe by practicing great car etiquette, while making the trip fun and exciting for our canine companions.

Best Car Ads of 2010

A TV advertising analytics provider, Ace Metrix, just announced its top TV ads of 2010. In one category, automotive, the list was dominated by luxury brands. The scoring is completed by a national sample of 500 consumers. They take into account viewer engagement, persuasion, and consideration for purchase. The scores increased 17% for 2010 vs. 2009. The creative quality has really been stellar, as car companies become more and more creative with their ads. As the economy improves and economic situations prosper, we’ll continue to see an increase. Here are the top ten videos:

1. Nissan: Wouldn't It?
2. Infiniti: Infiniti M Blind Spot
3. Mercedes-Benz: Triumphant
4. Acura: Man Keeps From Hitting Santa & Sleigh
5. Acura: The Ace Body Structure
6. Nissan: Nissan we make them better Category: Automotive
7. Mercedes-Benz: What Is Performance
8. Mercedes-Benz: Trust Car In World You Can't Predict
9. Lexus: Most Advanced Driving Simulator
10. Lexus: Lexus Responded To Challenge
You can see all the videos right here: http://www.acemetrix.com/events/event/auto-2010

HELP!! Get the Most Out of Your Gas Tank

So, you’re driving steadily and carefully around town on a quarter tank of gas. Your palms are sweaty (because A/C is known to drain gas) and your eyes are glued to the road. Your pupils dilate as you scan the area, studying the prices of gas stations to find a reasonable destination. A maraud of signs flood the road way with numbers that cause you to twitch in fear. Of course, you’re driving the speed limit, or even a couple MPH below it, just so you can milk every last drop of the oil slowly evaporating in your gas tank. As the price of gas slowly rises, we provide several options to help you get your money’s worth, at least most of the time, in this week’s blog.
One obvious way to improve gas mileage is by purchasing a fuel-efficient vehicle. There are countless vehicles to choose from: the Ford Focus, Chevy Cruze, Chevy Sonic, Honda Civic and Hyundai Elantra to name a few. In the era of the smartphone, it’s easy to find an app that utilizes your local GPS to find the best surrounding gas prices. Try using Gasbuddy, a free app that checks local gas prices through a network of community users that keep in touch with real-time updates. Another great alternative is to keep up with vehicle maintenance.
Also, Do not IDLE! Idling is a waste (unless you’re at a red light, we do advise you to obey traffic laws…hehe) Park your vehicle and go into a restaurant rather than idling in the drive-thru. It usually saves time, and definitely saves gas. Do you have any tips for us? Feel free to comment! We could all use the help!

How a Smartphone Helped Avoid a Speeding Ticket

Imagine driving steadily on the open road, the highway providing a non-stop avenue to your destination. The weather is brisk, your favorite song is on the radio and your smartphone is in the passenger seat. Then, a flashing light impedes your rear-view vision. Your heart races, your palms are clenched on the steering wheel and your knuckles are white with fear.

A young man was pulled over for ‘speeding’ while a smartphone app ran simultaneously on his phone. The app: My Tracks, measures your location and speed, so he was able to offer his traffic judge documented proof that he was driving within the speed limit. He also asked the officer when he last calibrated his radar gun, when he was unable to answer, the judge ruled inconclusive evidence of speeding. The young man walked away scott-free! His smartphone app sealed the deal while his additional experience allowed him to walk away unscathed.

The My Tracks App is only for android phones, but there are also GPS tracking apps for apple (GPS speed, Speed tracker). It might not work every time, but if you’re going on a long drive that’s heavily policed, try utilizing one of these great tools.

Finding the Perfect App

Applications or ‘Apps’ for short, are more than brightly illuminated buttons on the homepage of your touch-screen smartphones. They consume our attention with accessibility and ease of use. A smartphone application can be for pure entertainment, utility, reading and education, or millions of other practical uses. There’s even an app that records your alcohol intake! They have infinite uses and can also save us time in certain aspects. When it comes to driving, all focus should be on the road ahead. There are some great apps that could prove useful without sacrificing your concentration.

Pandora is a free app that allows users to create their own radio stations. The music is clear and the artist info is showed on your smartphone screen. So, if you were to choose Michael Jackson, Pandora would create a station dedicated to his music. It would then play MJ’s music as well as artists similar to him. The freedom is endless because you could like or dislike a song, Pandora will then tailor the station to your liking. The idea is a stroke of genius!

Repair Pal is a great companion for the everyday driver. It can tell you the right price to pay for repair, find a great mechanic in the area, and gives one-touch access to roadside assistance. Amazing! Plus the app is free!

Trapster, a free iPhone application allows drivers to scan the area for known speed traps, police hangouts, speed cameras or even stop-light cameras. Using the GPS capabilities in your smart phone it uses reported speed traps in Trapster’s network database to give voice alerts of approaching traps. This technology is due to a network of over 5 million Trapster users that constantly contribute trap locations.

There are countless smartphone applications available for your phone that helps make life a tad easier. Check out your smartphone application store for details and continue to drive safely!

Feel free to add your favorite app here:

Some of the Most Famous Cars in Modern Film & TV

We’ve all experienced the magic. The popcorn is buttered to perfection and the lights are dimly lit. The slow stir of anxiousness floods your body. Watching a movie for the first time is an experience in itself. The character interaction with trying situations creates a bond between you and the protagonist, but it doesn’t end there. Movies have created certain characters that, even after the film is over, you still have a connection or admiration for. In some cases, a protagonist’s car can be given this title. A vehicle used by main characters in the plot have a mind and personality of their own, or are reflective of their character, creating a cool ensemble of on screen characters to watch. Here’s a look at some famous cars in cinema:

Ford 1967 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500.
This car, American muscle defined, starred in the film Gone in 60 seconds with Nicholas Cage in 2000. The Mustang named ‘Eleanor’ in the film had 360-hp and in one scene launches 30 feet in the air over 15 feet of cars to land intact on the other side. WOW

1981 DeLorean DMC12
Maybe one of the most classic movie cars of all time, the DeLorean starred in Back To The Future with Michael J. Fox. It was able to break the law of quantum physics with a modified flux capacitor to travel through time at 88 mph. The ill-fated Irish sports car had a good run.

1963 Volkswagen Beetle
The distinguishable red and blue racing stripe, the number 53 on it’s hood and the human-like emotions of a Classic Volkswagen, all incorporated Herbie’s demeanor. The car star of several films of the same name, it was even able to drive himself from time to time!

1969 Dodge Charger
The General Lee was an icon. The Dukes of Hazard car had a confederate flag painted on its roof, doors that were welded shut, and a trunk full of sandbags and concrete to let it fly over those hills. The Duke boys had it good…

1982 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am
This car was a super smart, crime-fighting machine built to protect its driver, (a young David Hasseloff) in the TV series Knight Rider. The car, known as ‘KITT’ was backed by an ‘Alpha Circuit’, which only the producers of the show know where it came from or how it made KITT speak.

1959 Cadillac Miller-Meteor Ambulance
Who you gonna call? The Ghostbusters was a national hit when it was released in 1984 and with the “Ecto-1”, a white end loading ambulance corroded with dust and ghost catching technology, the Ghostbusters were able to speed through New York to solve problems with the macabre.

There are countless movies with unforgettable cars. What are some of your favorites?

Traffic, Can it be a Part of the Past?

The average commuter lost 34 hours or a full workweek because of traffic in 2009, according to the latest Urban Mobility Report. In larger cities, traffic increases from office parks being built on rural land and the lag of mass transit continues to add fuel to the fire. Many individuals can make it to work in a relatively good time when traffic is smooth, but when congestion occurs, it can double or even triple a commute. This creates a dead stop between you and your destination. There are some solutions to ease traffic

1.) Alternate route- check online maps and research the area, because street flow can be faster than the highway during rush hour.

2.) Access roads- during peak hours can save time and energy.

3.) Change your work schedule- most people work 8 to 5. Try coming in earlier and leaving later. A thirty-minute change can mean the difference between smooth sailing and a bumper-to-bumper halt.

4.) Do the speed limit- if everyone drove accordingly; traffic jams would be an imaginary thing of the past.

5.) Listen- try listening to the radio or watching the news before you leave for work. This helps you build an alternate route before your legs touch the brake pedal.

Do you have any to add to the list? Feel free to comment!