A Michigan man had a string of bad luck on Tuesday that ended with his 1994 Buick sinking into a frozen river near the U.S./Canadian border.

On Tuesday, an unnamed man went out looking for his dog when he drove onto the frozen Black River in Port Huron, Michigan. Because of extremely cold temperatures in the area, it is not uncommon for snowmobiles and cars to drive onto the river St. Clair County Sheriff’s Lieutenant Matt Paulus told the Detroit Free Press.

However, when the man got out of the car, he locked the keys inside with the car running. The heat from the running engine melted the ice below and the car eventually became submerged.

Paulus told the paper that it is not uncommon for police to have to fish a car out of the river in the winter months.

“We usually get a couple a year,” he said. “We already had two snowmobiles go in last week.”

To make matters even worse for the man, the car he was driving was not his own. According to police, the man was using a loaner car from a local collision shop as his car was being repaired.

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Among the unforeseen problems resulting from the recession is an increase in the amount of motorists on the road without any insurance.

That’s according to a new study from the Insurance Research Council which predicts a sharp increase in the amount of uninsured drivers from 13.8 percent in 2007 to 16.1 percent by 2010.

The increase in people without insurance could affect insured drivers, as they are likely to see rates increase or could be forced to have more coverage.

“Most people who are insured have uninsured motorists coverage and that protects them in the event they are hit by someone who doesn’t have insurance,” said IRC spokesperson David Corum. “So obviously, that does increase the cost of insurance for those who are insured.”
Of states with the most insured drivers, New York ranked fourth with only 5 percent of the state’s motorists being uninsured.

The study found a correlation between the number of uninsured drivers in the country and the national unemployment rate and expects uninsured drivers to increase as the number of unemployed rises.

In addition to New York, states in the Northeast had a fairly low uninsured driver rate with Pennsylvania coming in seventh, New Jersey 11th, Connecticut 16th, Delaware ranking 18th and Maryland 27th.

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Georgia police made a shocking discovery after making a routine traffic stop outside of Atlanta finding more than $1 million in cash.

On Friday, Santiago Valdovinos-Moreno was pulled over after officers witnessed his car swerving in and out of a lane in Lawrenceville, Georgia, about 45 minutes outside of Atlanta.

While speaking with Valdovinos-Moreno, police say he pushed an officer and attempted to flee the scene on foot, but was captured and charged with obstruction of a law enforcement officer, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

It was in searching the car following the arrest that police made the discovery of more than $1 million in a duffel bag, which was seized.

Ironically enough, Valdovinos-Moreno is being held on $1 million cash-only bond, according to the news provider.

It’s probably unlikely that anyone searching for a New York used car will find anywhere near $1 million, but it is possible for buyers to save a great deal of money by purchasing a used car with some reports saying consumers can save up to 19 percent on a car that is only one year old.

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Missing the school bus in the morning wasn’t enough to stop a 6-year-old Virginia boy from trying to get to school earlier this month when he took the family car for a ride to school, crashing more than 10 miles from home.

No one was injured in the crash and police took the boy to school after a local hospital released him for a bump on the head.

On January 6th, the boy, whose name was not released, missed his bus and took the keys to his parents 2005 Ford Taurus while his mother was asleep.

Police say the boy, who was likely standing the entire time he was driving, drove through at least two intersections and over a bridge before losing control and hitting an embankment and a utility pole.

Authorities said the boy told them he learned how to drive by playing video games like Grand Theft Auto and Monster Truck Jam.

“He was just bound and determined,” Northumberland County Sheriff Chuck Wilkins told the Washington Post, “he did not want to miss breakfast and PE.”

There was a time when the thought of purchasing a used car made people pause, but today many factors make buying a used car a great option.

Over the years manufacturers have made cars more dependable, which means there’s still a lot of life left in a car when its first owner trades it in or sells it, meaning cars can often go well beyond the 100,000 mile mark.

“The quality of cars has generally trended upwards,” Santosh Viswanathan, co-owner and managing partner of a Delaware dealership told the News Journal. “I can’t remember the last time a customer called and said they got a bad product.”

Another advantage of buying a used car is a lower depreciation of its value. The buyer of a used car is likely to get much more of its purchase price than in the purchase of a new car.

There are also considerable savings in buying a car that is only a couple of years old. According to the news provider a driver can save 32 percent with a 3-year-old car and 19 percent with a year-old car.

Of course it’s always a good idea for buyers to check the going price of a used car by finding the market value from Kelly Blue Book.

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Just because the economy is down doesn’t mean you have to stop having fun when you’re driving. MSN autos lists a few cars that are a fun ride, but still relatively inexpensive.

Among the cars listed are the Chevrolet Cobalt SS, which Edmunds calls “an example of America’s ability to build a decent compact automobile.” MSN says if you peel away the Cobalt’s plain exterior you find a powerful sedan with a 260 turbocharged horsepower engine.

But if you want to feel like you can enter a weeklong race over the desert, then a Subaru WRX might be a good fit with its rally looks and its ability to hit 0-60 in under six seconds.

Talk of “fun” cars can’t be had without talking about the MINI Cooper. Just looking at the car makes most people smile and since BMW revived the car in 2002, many people have found it to be perfect for tackling urban and not-so-urban terrains.

Another fun car is the Volkswagen GTI. For more than 20 years VW has been selling some form of the GTI, so finding a good used one should be pretty easy.

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In what might be helpful to people searching for New York used cars in this tough economy, Kelly Blue Book (KBB) lists some important steps to buying a used car.

It should go without saying but KBB says the first step is to find out how much you are comfortable spending on a used car and find out what type of car is in your price range. After that it’s important to find what kind of car works for you, including a make, model and year.

From there you want to find out what the value of the car is. Various online sites, including KBB, can give you an idea of what the going value of the car you have in mind is.

It’s also important to get a history of the car you are buying and with services like CARFAX Vehicle History Report, it’s easy to find out if the car has been in an accident or had any damage prior to you getting inside.

The website also recommends taking a through walk around and test drive of the car. It’s easy to just fall in love with a car at first sight, but kicking the tires and driving it a few miles can tell you a lot about it.

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Even though gas prices have fallen to a more reasonable level over the last few months, it appears that the days of buying gas guzzlers are over as more people look to buy fuel efficient models.

According to Consumer Reports, there are a number of top models buyers should look at when trying to find the best used car for their money.

According to its research, the most fuel efficient car in the $10,000 – $20,000 range is the 2004-2006 Toyota Prius. It’s really the car that started the hybrid phenomenon and at 44 miles per gallon overall, it’s one of the most fuel efficient cars in the country.

The magazine also lists the 2003 Prius, which gets 41 mpg.

In fact, Honda and Toyota really seem to have cornered the market on fuel efficient used cars. Of the top 12 spots in the price range, all but the 2004-2007 Mazda3 i are in the Honda and Toyota family.

The top five cars on Consumer Reports list read as follows:

2004-06 Toyota Prius 44mpg
2003 Toyota Prius 41mpg
2006-07 Honda Civic Hybrid 37mpg
2003-05 Honda Civic Hybrid 36mpg
2007 Honda Fit Sport (manual) 34mpg

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In these tough economic times it’s hard to justify going out and spending hard earned money on a new car. But that doesn’t mean a newer car isn’t out of the question, and with the increased reliability of cars over the years, Motor Trend says there are five cars that make for a great used car value.

Motor Trend says the 2007-2008 Acura TL Type-S is not as advanced as its ’09 counterpart, but it has more power and more space in the back. And with great electronics like Bluetooth, it makes for a great New York used car.

Also recommended in the luxury class are the Volkswagen Phaeton and the 1990-2002 Mercedes-Benz SL-Class.

For the sportier car fan, Motor Trend suggests the C5 Corvette Z06 which has the same horsepower as the next generation C6, but is about half the price. But, the magazine warns that with all that horsepower, the cars may have been run hard so it’s important to find one that was taken care of.

As for a truck, the website recommends the 2004-2008 Ford F-150. With a new model coming out for ’09, it means a ton of older generations will be ready for a new owner. Meaning an F-150 with just a few years of work could be had relatively cheaply.

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