Police buy used cars for their force

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Posted in Ford, General Auto News, Mercury - DO NOT USE

With a slumping economy, many police forces in the U.S. are finding it hard to justify buying a new vehicle for their patrols – instead they are turning to used cars.

According to the Munster Times, the Lake County Police force has decided to purchase used Ford Tauruses and Mercury Grand Marquis to counter the rising gas prices and the increase in new car payments.

“We were looking for cars that were not going to kill us on the price,” Lake County Police Chief Marco Kuyachich told the paper.

It seems that the police force has been able to find cars that are relatively new with only a few thousand miles on them that are about half the cost of a new vehicle.

“I recently bought 12 Grand Marquis for an average price of $12,000 each,” Kuyachich told the paper. “New, those are $26,000 cars. They had between 17,000 to 23,400 miles.”

An unintended effect of the police force’s decision to make the used car purchases is saving the environment as it is thought to be more “green” to continue using older cars than to have new ones built.

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Celebrities and the cars they drive

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Posted in Celebrity Auto News

Like dogs and their masters, cars often resemble the personality of their owners. This can be especially true of celebrities who often drive a vehicle that matches the type of person they are.

Automotive blog Jalopnik recently put together a list of celebrities and the cars they drive and for most it’s not all that surprising.

Three of the celebrities on Jalopnik’s list drive around in a Toyota Prius including Entourage star Adrian Grenier and Larry David of Curb Your Enthusiasm fame. And as someone who wants vehicles on both ends of the ecologically-friendly spectrum, Ewan McGregor drives both a fuel sipping Prius and a gas guzzling Land Rover.

CNN talk show host Larry King is 75 years old so it should be no surprise that he drives a car that is fitting his age. According to Jalopnik, he sports around town in a Lincoln MKS.

And then there are the celebrities who drive the expensive, fashionable cars. Kim Kardashian drives both a Bentley Continental and a Range Rover while eccentric star Nicolas Cage drives a car fitting of his movie Gone in 60 Seconds – a Ferrari Enzo.

It was revealed last month that one of the most well known people in the free world – Barack Obama – used to drive a Chrysler 300C. The car sold on an auction site for more than $270,000.

Amanda Bynes sued over car wreck

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Posted in Celebrity Auto News

Hairspray star Amanda Bynes is being sued for hospital bills and damages resulting from a four car pileup that occurred in 2007 which left one motorist with minor injuries.

David Feldman, the attorney for Bynes told TMZ that when the accident occurred the cars in question were only traveling around 5 miles per hour – calling it a minor fender bender.

He also said the lawsuit, being filed by Shari Landon, was filed on the last possible day and that Bynes had never been notified of any injuries. Landon is also suing two other drivers along with rental car company Hertz.

Bynes was also involved in a multi-car accident in August of last year.

It was recently reported that Bynes had split from her boyfriend Doug Reinhardt, who was often featured on the MTV reality drama The Hills.

Reinhardt had previously been linked to reality star Lauren Conrad.

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Dodge Ram wins International Truck of the Year

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Posted in Dodge - DO NOT USE

Earlier this month the Dodge Ram 1500 won the award for International Truck of the Year by jurors for the International Car of The Year (ICOTY), beating out competition from the Ford F-150 and Toyota Tacoma.

“We’re glad third-party organizations including ICOTY recognize Dodge Ram’s game-changing innovations, functionality, safety and value,” said Scott Kunselman of Chrysler.

The Truck of the Year honor is just one of a handful or awards the Dodge Ram has walked home with including awards from Edmunds, Truckin’ magazine and various other publications.

Jeff Taylor, auto writer for the Chicago Sun-Times said the Ram is the “personal use champ” when it comes to trucks in its class, taking the title away from the Toyota Tacoma.

Although he says a number of other trucks on the market have their advantages, Taylor thinks the Ram is perfect for those who will be using it on a regular basis for more everyday tasks.

“My assessment is based strictly on personal use including; commuting, carting around the entire family, carrying home construction materials, hauling bicycles and moving assorted boxes during the review period,” he writes.

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Frozen car gets fined

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Posted in General Auto News, Nissan

Apparently the city of Cleveland, Ohio takes its parking situations very seriously as a man whose car was frozen to the street following a broken water pipe received a ticket and had his car hauled off to an impound lot.

When Gary Luke walked out to his Nissan Altima yesterday morning he found it covered in three inches of ice and more than a foot of ice burying his tires.

It appears that a water main had burst overnight, covering the car with freezing water and causing passing motorists to splash the car with the river that was now running down his street.

“I know it’s Cleveland in the wintertime, but I never expected this,” Luke told the Plain Dealer.

Luke told the paper that AAA said he would have to wait until the weather warmed up to get his car out of the predicament, but that didn’t stop police from trying – and succeeding.

According to the news provider, police were clearing cars parked on Luke’s street Thursday night and had a tow truck work to remove the Altima from its icy encasement. For his trouble, Luke received a $50 ticket and must now pay to have his car removed from impound.

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Google Street View vehicle hits deer

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Posted in General Auto News

Google has made it easier for people to get from point A to point B with their Street View technology which has a vehicle drive across U.S. roadways taking panoramic photos of streets.

Unfortunately this vehicle can sometimes get in an accident, and apparently when it happens, Google doesn’t want people to see.

While photographing roads in upstate New York, the Google vehicle hit a deer as it crossed a rural road, killing the deer while recording the action. It appears that not many people noticed the accident on Street View until this week when it appeared all over the internet.

The photographs originally showed the car driving south on Five Points Road in Rush, NY when a small deer begins to walk across the street. Another photo appeared to show the deer attempting to jump out of the way of the car and a final photo showed the animal on the side of the road.

The street view for that area is no longer available.

In a response issued yesterday, Google confirmed that one of its vehicles had hit a deer, but says the images were removed after the company received numerous requests.

“We’re sad that this accident occurred and we consider ourselves fortunate that our driver was not injured,” the company said.

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Jason Statham stars in Audi Super Bowl ad

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Posted in Audi

Audi will be one of the few car makers to run an ad during this year’s Super Bowl broadcast with a spot starring action star Jason Statham who said he’s happy to be the face of the brand.

The 60 second advertisement which will air during the first quarter of Sunday’s game will show the Transporter star attempting to make getaways in recreations of movie scenes from different decades.

All the attempts fail as the cars from past eras cannot handle the action, sending Statham flying through billboards and crashing into sidewalks. It’s not until he gets into the new Audi A6 that Statham successfully makes his getaway.

“I’m quite happy to put my face up against a brand that I believe in and that I drive around in anyway,” Statham told USA Today.

Because Audi is one of only three car makers who will be seen during the advertising of the Super Bowl, the company says it expects to gain an advantage on competitors.

“Last year’s spot sent the message that Audi was truly redefining luxury. This year’s spot will ensure that everyone realizes that Audi is the best choice, period,” said Scott Keogh, chief marketing officer of Audi of America.

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Government vehicle database unveils tomorrow

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Posted in General Auto News

Tomorrow the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) will be unveiling its new system which will allow consumers to get information on the history of a used car.

The system, called the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System (NVTIS) will be accessible to the public tomorrow and will allow prospective used car buyers to access the history of a car including its odometer data and title record if available.

Currently 27 states participate in the program with another 10 working towards participation according to the DoJ.

The NVTIS says there are about 300 million vehicle identification numbers in the system with 27 states currently participating in the program with another 10 working towards participation. About 75 percent of all vehicles in the country are accounted for.

The states that are not releasing data to the system have cited privacy laws for their lack of participation.

Rosemary Shahan, president of Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety (CARS) said the NVTIS system is a first step.

“We’re not at the end of the road,” she told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. “But we have gotten over some huge roadblocks.”

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2010 Prius will get 50 mpg

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Posted in Toyota

Toyota says it’s next generation Prius is likely to get upwards of 50 miles per gallon when it goes on sale later this year.

Although the Prius was a niche vehicle when it was first introduced, it has since become the go-to hybrid vehicle for the environmentally friendly. Bob Carter, Toyota’s vice president and general manager says the company has seen the change and is attempting to shift to meet needs.

“Since Prius was first introduced, the consumer demographic has shifted from an early adopter to a mainstream shopper,” Bob Carter, Toyota Division group vice president and general manager said. “The Prius has evolved to meet the changing needs of this growing and diverse customer base.”

Although Toyota has had the market share on hybrids, many companies have either brought a competitive hybrid to market, or will be introducing one soon. Many in the industry feel the Honda Insight is the first real competitor to Prius’ spot as the top hybrid.

But Toyota president Jim Lentz told the Associated Press that while the Insight will gain some buyers because of its low price, the Prius will still have an edge.

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BMW to produce hybrid supercar

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Posted in BMW

Reports say that BMW will be bringing its 400 horsepower hybrid car, the Z10 ED – which was originally planned as only a concept – to market.

According to Autocar.co.uk, the company decided to remove the car from concept status to production after plans to produce a V10-powered rival to the Audi R8 were scrapped. Instead, the company decided to go the environmentally-friendly approach.

“The idea is to bring all the very latest technology together in a way that will allow a high level of performance without overburdening the environment in a way that the current crop of supercars do,” an insider told the website. “There is no reason why they need to be mutually exclusive when you consider the sort of technology that exists today. It is just a matter of applying it correctly.”

The two-seater is expected to sell for about $105,000.

At this year’s North American Auto show, BWM unveiled two hybrid concepts which included the X6 which can run on gas, electric, or a combination of the two.

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