Used cars may eventually end up unable to be driven, but some enterprising young people have found a way for their image to live on.

At a high school in Colorado, a well-thought out high school prank left a flagpole looking like a pen embedded into a Hot Wheels car after four seniors managed to enclose it with a welded together AMC.

The flagpole emerged intact, and Fruita High School Principal Jody Mimmack told the Grand Junction Sentinel that the teens were probably off the hook as long as they helped to remove the car and clean up the area.

Across the pond, one British art student took camofluage paint to a whole new level with a paint-matched Skoda junker that she says she painted for class, according to a Telegraph report.

For a class, she decided to paint the car to match the exterior of her studio and the parking lot, finding the right shades for the asphalt and paint lines, and she told the news provider that “people have been stopping in the street to look and coming up and almost bumping into it, so it’s had the desired effect.”

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Until cars come with scrolling billboards or other instant communication possibilities with other drivers, it remains difficult to vent about poor driving habits such as speeding and cutting other cars off.

Using Twitter, the online site that allows users to post short messages, has allowed some in Alaska to make posts about questionable driving habits, according to a CNN.com report.

It was designed to provide more relief because when “you yell out the window or give them the finger, you really don’t get any vindication,” the Twitter feed’s co-creator, Molly Hutchins told the news provider.

Another website, platewire.com, goes one step further by allowing users to list license plate numbers of vehicles that annoy posters, and is part of a growing number of websites that give voice to frustrated motorists, according to a Slate report.

Websites that have been effective in modifying driver’s behavior, notes the news provider, include a blog by a bicycle rider in Wisconsin who took video footage of the close calls that trucks and other vehicles had while he was using the same roadways, or one Chinese city’s posting of traffic violators at their work place.

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If now is the time for a used car according to federal figures that say used car prices are the lowest in months, it may be beneficial to make the right choices before making the purchase.

First, knowing what one can afford is important in establishing a budget, but may also provide some talking points in ensuring that a dealer can’t persuade one to go after a more expensive model that could be unaffordable.

Going online to do research on cars can help because used cars generally have more reviews than their newer brethren, giving potential buyers a leg-up in understanding the positives and potential pitfalls of their model.

It may also offer insight into similar cars within a class whose features or price points may offer a better fit for the used car buyer, and also provide average nationwide values that can help a buyer figure out if a price is fair or not.

Once a model has been picked out, having a friend who is a mechanic or a trusted repair shop take a final look at the vehicle may enable an automotive newbie to make sure that their future ride is not a lemon.

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A driver pulls up alongside a police cruiser, revs his engine to do a little burnout to raise the wheel temperature and anxiously waits for the red light to go green so he or she can outrun the cop.

It may sound like a recipe for a ticket and a stern talking to from local law enforcement, but in Florida there is a program called Beat the Heat that allows aspiring drag enthusiasts to battle it out with police from Miami suburbs at County Line Drag Way, according to a WPLG report.

Davie police officer Ron Bradley said that since the program began, street races in his town’s warehouse district have screeched to a halt, acknowledging to the news provider that some competitors tell him “We used to race in Davie. You probably used to chase us around, and now we’re here on the track and we want to race your car.”

In more than 20 states including Connecticut, police officers have outfitted cars to compete in drag races at legal drag strips, according to the Beat the Heat program website, in a bid to educate kids and adults about the dangers of street racing.

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NASCAR drivers know how important tires are when it comes to winning races: team strategists try to guess on whether to change two or four tires at nearly every pit stop.

But that didn’t stop a teenage girl from using tires to her advantage when she took down Busch champion Greg Biffle in a soapbox derby race.

To be fair to Biffle, Tyler Shoff is a champion in her own right, but in a quarter-mile race at Derby Downs Raceway, it was the tires that helped to make the difference.

In a competition that lasted just 90 seconds, Shoff used specially designed tires that increase fuel efficiency by reducing rolling resistance.

“As a NASCAR driver, I understand the critical role tires play in my ability to perform on the racetrack, and today, Goodyear really proved how big a difference its new fuel-efficient tires can make… even over a distance as short as a quarter mile,” said Biffle, jokingly adding that Shoff did have more “seat time” in the racers than he did.

The fuel economy that some tires can offer may allow used car owners to maximize their cost effectiveness.

Another option is to make sure that all tires are properly inflated, which can improve mileage by up to 3 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

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Police in Chicago said that a 2001 Jeep wagon collided with a small car as a result of alleged texting, and the mangled cars then went into a building, according to a police statement.

Jessica Flanagan, 25, was allegedly driving the Jeep when it collided with a parked Toyota Yaris, Shakespeare District Captain Marc Buslik told the Chicago Sun-Times.

Police told the news provider that the two cars then traveled into construction in progress, reportedly mangling a parking meter in the process.

Flanagan was cited for failing to maintain her lane and using a cell phone, the news provider reported, after she allegedly told officers she had been texting and reportedly not watching the road.

She may not be the only driver who underestimates the effects of distractions on driving ability, according to a study in the Journal of Safety Research.

Researchers found that drivers didn’t distinguish between activities with or without distractions, although they performed markedly worse.

The National Safety Council estimates that cell phone use leads to up to 636,000 car crashes annually, causing more than $40 billion in damage.

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A man in Idaho who was reportedly found texting and driving, plowed into a cop cruiser on an interstate there.

Joshua Benney, 37, drifted from his lane and hit a cop car that was pulled over while an officer was conducting a DUI stop. According to police, he admitted to officers that he was texting immediately prior to the collision.

Neither police officer involved in the DUI stop was injured.

“Every time I pull somebody over, every time I stop on the side of the freeway, it always runs through my mind. It’s dangerous that somebody might do exactly what happened here and run into the back of my patrol car,” Boise Police Sergeant Snyder told KTVB.

Although no laws in Idaho currently ban the practice, Benney still faces possible charges of reckless or inattentive driving.

In Pennsylvania, a statewide ban on cell phone use while driving recently failed, cities like Philadelphia have laws restricting usage, and New York and New Jersey both have laws on the books that allow police to issue citations for driving while using a cell phone.

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A part-time photographer recently snapped a picture of the car used by Google for its Street View technology, which in turn reportedly upset the employee of the search engine company, UK newspaper the Telegraph reports.

The 58-year-old man who took the photograph asked to remain anonymous and stated that it was “ironic” the Google driver would get upset at having his picture taken, especially with privacy issues some organizations have brought up concerning Street View, according to the article.

At the time, the car was reportedly mapping a street in the village of Wool in Dorset when it was spotted by the photographer who then decided to take out his camera since the car is so rarely seen.

From the picture taken, the car appears to have a large tripod with a massive camera on top of a metal pole strapped to the roof, allowing it to take the 360 degree angles computer users have gotten used to with the technology.

Google has been using the vehicle, and presumably other similar ones, all over Britain in recent months to capture various neighborhoods.

As if texting wasn’t bad enough.

A 38-year-old man from Charlestown, Rhode Island was allegedly sending a text message on his phone, which resulted in an early-morning crash with the rear of a patrol car.

Police have charged Alfred R. Kaminsky with traffic offenses after the suspect allegedly hit a police cruiser driven by patrol officer Adam Wiza, the Providence Journal reports.

Sergeant James R. Tierney told the news provider the crash occurred this past weekend and that officer escaped the crash with only minor cuts.

The suspect also reportedly admitted he had been text-messaging just before the crash, according to the article.

Driving while texting (DWT) is reportedly a growing problem among drivers young and old.

According to CNN.com, four states are attempting to ban DWT and 17 states have banned young or inexperienced drivers from using cell phones, even with a hands-free kit, while driving a car.

For people interested in making their used car text-message and email safe, some companies have offered innovative hands-free products that allow a person to answer messages by using a voice mail.

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