You’ll be lucky to ever see one in the flesh. Personally, I’d be happy with a simple used Nissan 350Z.

It doesn’t appear the problem will begin to wane anytime soon. Text usage and growth continues to grow at a staggering pace:

72.2% of wireless users have paid for SMS packages. This equates to 203 million Americans.
There has been a 107% increase in text message use in the USA in the past year.
2.5 billion text messages are sent each day in the USA.
More text messages are sent per phone than phone calls. The average text messages used per month is 357 compared to 204 cell phone calls.
138 million Americans have sent a text message in the past three months.

Six states have issued state-wide bans on cell phone usage while driving; six more have granted the ability for specific locales to create a ban. See more detailed info about the states who have banned cell phone and text usage during driving in The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety Report.

Text messaging while driving has been banned in 14 states. This is a nice start, hopefully the momentum will continue and more states will jump on the bandwagon.

Plenty of low-price, high-quality hands-free solutions exist:

Pick one out, start using it and save a life.

1950 Chevrolet Club Coupe - 437 original, actual miles
Purchased new by Mr. and Mrs. Jessie Trueblood of Modesto. Shortly after purchasing this car, Mr. Trueblood took a day off to go fishing. While waiting for the “big one” to bite he witnessed a woman fall out of her boat. Mr. Trueblood jumped in to help only to fall victim of a fatal heart attack. Mrs. Trueblood returned the car home and placed it in the garage for the next 12 years. The odometer reading at that time (1962) was 413 miles.

Mrs. Trueblood lived next door to a used car lot owned by Mr. William E.. Wilson (now 81 years old). Mr. Wilson spoke with her frequently and often told her he would like to buy the car for himself to keep. In 1962 the time had come. Mrs. Trueblood told Mr. Wilson she needed a car for her bookkeeper who didn’t really care for the ol’ Chevy and would prefer a Rambler. No problem. Mr. Wilson went down to the local Rambler dealer and bought a brand new one for $1,650.00 ($100.00 over cost) and made the swap.

He then took the car home and parked it with 433 actual miles. And there it sat for the next 45 years, occasionally being started and moved in and out of the garage. In 2007 Mr. Wilson decided to sell the car and started spreading the word around Modesto that the ol’ Chevy with 433 miles on it was for sale. Many had heard about the car, but hardly anyone had ever laid eyes on it. In fact, according to Mr. Wilson he believes he only showed the car to about 5 people in 45 years. Word spread quickly about the car and soon a buyer arrived ready and willing to pay the $60,000 asking price. When Mr. Wilson told me the story of this car he complained heavily of the “capital gains” tax he was required to pay and wished he had never sold it. As of this writing, Mr. Wilson is still alive and well in Modesto and can verify the miles and originality of this car. Simply put, this is a true 100% factory original survivor (that includes the air in the tires).. This ol’ Chevy now has 437 original miles and is most likely the world’s lowest mileage 1950 Chevy.

Here’s 3 more automotive iPhone apps everyone should add to their phone. These applications help you shop for used cars, help reduce the stress of an accident and help locate the lowest gas prices in your area. And the best part, they’re all free.

Web2Carz.

Browse used cars with this simple, yet detailed search application. Enter the desired make/model and the distance to search based on your current location; sort the results by price, year or mileage for quick organization. Add additional filters based on your maximum price or maximum mileage.

Click on the results listings for individual detail pages and access the dealer contact form to get things started.

iWrecked

Accidents are stressful. Knowing what to do and getting the correct information can be difficult.

iWrecked can lend a much needed hand after an accident. Save critical info to the Accident Details Log, upload pictures and send everything to your insurance carrier. Other nice features include quick 911 access, locate nearby towing services and call/find a taxi.

GasBag

Another simple tool (with a goofy name) providing valuable info with just one touch. GasBag is a location-based, gas price finder. Nice touches include quick access to gas station contact info (when was the last time you called a gas station though?) additional octane pricing and obviously directions.

Drivers are keeping their vehicles longer than ever before. The average age of a pickup truck is now over 9 years old; the historical average is 7.5 years old.

Accurate, concise and timely information is very important for used car owners. DriverSide.com is positioning itself as a key website for that very niche. They even bill themselves as “The Website For Car Owners” with the ultimate goal of making car ownership easy and personalized via the information provided within DriverSide.com.

The site is loaded with content - helpful sections include:

• Recall Notices
• Service & Pricing
• Q & A for the Mechanics
• Parts & Accessories
• Tips & Advice
• Vehicle reviews
• My Garage

My Garage is a nice feature that tracks your vehicle mileage, value and service history among other things. Upon registering (which only took a moment) I was alerted that my vehicle has one recall notice.

The site is layout is clean, modern and the home page is very user friendly. However, the content organization on lower level pages is scattered and users may feel overwhelmed by the amount of information. The adsense ads stick out more prominently than the site content links and call to actions; users might be unsure which content is more important.

Nonetheless, a valuable resource for drivers who are looking for a one-stop-shop with current updates specific to their vehicle and general used car resources. I recommend adding this site your automotive bookmarks.

Check it out and be sure to follow @DriverSide on twitter for additional info.

Have you used this site? What are your thoughts?

Auto sales worldwide are expected to plummet to the lowest they have been in over 15 years. Is this what the new car industry has to look forward to?  The weak economy, the record high fuel prices and the rising cost of these new vehicles means that the seaports are going to stay piled up with thousands of new foreign and domestic cars. This surplus means that, at the moment, it’s a buyers market for new cars and really great deals are on offer from the manufacturer down to the car dealerships everywhere. The states of Texas and California are also trying to sweeten some of these deals by offering incentives to entice their citizens to trade in their not so emissions efficient older cars and thus boost sales of new cars.

This is putting a questionable twist to the whole used car market in both Texas and California. It is highly doubtful that this incentive plan will show a significant change to either of the causes, the lowering of the emissions levels state wise and give the new car market the boost that it so desperately needs.

Let’s look at this plan from the pre-owned car market point of view. These incentive programs are not limitless; they are financially capped at $50 million in Texas and $45 million in California with the owners of drive-able 10 year or older cars receiving an allowance of $3500 and $1500 respectively. That could mean the replacement of roughly 50,000 older less efficient and more heavily polluting cars combined off the roads in Texas and California.

Question is, what is to stop these 50,000 cars, that have already or are soon going to fail the emissions testing levels, to be patched up and thrown back into the used cars in Texas and the used cars in California market?

In these times of the troubled economy that the US is experiencing at the moment, many of these older but still driveable pre-owned cars are the only hope for cash-strapped buyers that have to go farther afield to find work, etc. Another point - the whole pre-owned cars market prices would rise in both states. The cheap and affordable older used car will become a thing of the past in both Texas and California.  Customers might have to look out-of-state for that older used vehicle and pay the extra ’switching-over’ fee.

What do you think?

Article sponsored by RobbiesCarLot.com - Pre-Owned Cars for Sale, Used Cars For Sale

The Dodge Ram 1500 earned the highest marks from Edmunds Inside Line in their annual full-size pickup trucks review. A strong achievement considering the competition: Chevrolet Silverado, Ford F-150 and Toyota Tundra.

The comprehensive truck comparison looked at intended purpose items such as rugged, off-road riding and towing abilities and performance

Browse through 13 different reviews of the Dodge Ram 1500, all from one location, on MotorMouths.com.

Truck enthusiasts in the market for a new ride should definitely make the extra research effort. Between a healthy market supply of used trucks and Chrysler’s announcement to close stores, prices are sure to bounce around as the market looks for its baseline.

Be sure to dig deep into your research to locate the best values. New trucks from dealerships slated to close won’t necessarily show up at another dealership. They may also be sold to dealers at the auctions. If this happens, consumers may have the opportunity to purchase new trucks lower than MSRP sticker.

Keep your eyes open…the retail market activity will be very interesting over the next few weeks.

Used car shoppers are always looking for great resources. Thanks to a nice tip, we stumbled across another high-quality resource that couldn’t go unnoticed and had to be shared.

Women-Drivers.com is a new site positioned as a valuable source of automotive information for women and families. The site is nicely designed, filled with various buckets of information and plenty resources designed to inform and educate. The main community aspect is centered around a visitor registration process which enables visitors to read dealer reviews and write about their own experiences.

Anne Flemming is the super-energetic CEO behind the scenes of Women-Drivers.com. She’s got a positive outlook on the current state of the industry; her drive to deliver positive change to female consumers is refreshing.

A quick tweet led to an incredible conversation about her vision, goals and the industry. Check out what Anne had to stay…

EM: What led you to create Women-Drivers.com - who or what was your inspiration?

AF: As a 20 plus year marketing, product management and brand building veteran, I had just returned from an Asian trip when I bought my newest car. Excited about the BMW, my boss asked if I had received a good deal on the purchase of it.

“A good deal? Well, of course. I hired a negotiator and got the deal I wanted,” My boss asked, “You manage a $30 million dollar business and travel the world by yourself. Why did you give your power away?”

This question resulted in a conversation with my business coach who introduced me to Linda Babcock, who in 2006 co-authored Women Don’t Ask. The book was a remarkable read, however,  I saw such a disconnect. While I had much success negotiating on behalf of my employers; I wanted nothing to do with the interaction. So, I hired someone to handle the transaction and negotiation of buying my car.

After reading the book and all the glaring facts and research, especially about women going into the dealerships, and most of the time going with a man, I started taking notes and began gathering ideas and business concepts about how to shift this experience.

EM: Why is your female audience so important to automotive retailers?

AF: Women buy 54% of new cars in the United States, however they influence up to 80% of the purchases. We request 65% of the mechanical service work done at dealerships; all of this amounts to $200 billion dollars worth of purchasing pow-her.

EM: What’s your unique proposition?

AF: Women-Drivers^TM is a leading catalyst in transforming the automobile industry to become more women-friendly. With input from women, we enrich the purchase and service experience of women in North America.

EM: What’s your vision for the site?

AF: Our vision is to educate those who serve the automobile industry and to reward dealers who are women-friendly. We connect millions of women with dealers who respect and treat women well, therefore enhancing women’s buying experience and empowering them to negotiate and receive a fair price.

EM: How has the initial visitor & community reaction been?

AF: Visitor reaction has been exceptional. Women want a safe and anonymous place where they can share their experiences and stories. There’s no one on the other end of the phone asking them if they will increase their ratings to receive a free oil change. With our recent national media attention, and dealers now visiting the site and seeing that we are a bridge site that promotes dealerships with high consumer scores, dealers are signing up daily - from Santa Barbara to Vermont, Tennessee and Colorado.

EM: Share your thoughts on the current state of change within the automotive industry?

AF: The undercurrent has been happening for quite some time. It wasn’t strictly from the AIG collapse that lead the home, auto and many other industries into this state. Wall Street - Main Street, most Americans contributed. Over the years, lots of folks have been living in $350,000 houses when their household income was only $62K. That type of living simply cannot be maintained…let alone when there is a hiccup, like losing a job. Corporate greed is easy to point to. Looking at our own greed is not as easy to process and accept.

Supply and demand and fear are at stake right now in the auto industry. So is proliferation of brands and doing things the way we have always done it. It really is a new day, and unfortunately real people, thousands or them, are & will be impacted.

Having said that, our love affair with the automobile will not go away. It may change, it may shift. We may wear our practicality like a badge of honor now, but car sales will expand back to 14 - 16 M in due time. The issue at hand is and will be the growing pains and morphing of companies, ideologies and efficiencies to get the industry on track.

EM: How do you see Women-Drivers.com helping the retail automotive shopper?

AF: We provide an objective medium for her to engage in three areas:

1) Providing a forum for her to express her dealership experience and make a difference with other women in her city/community by writing a Dealer Review.

2) Time is a luxury and with the Internet and services like Women-Drivers.com, there is no need to go to 4 or 5 dealerships anymore. Our site provides a fast track or ability to thin slice where she wants to buy her next car for herself, or her family, by going to dealerships with good ratings.

3) We’re a site for all things auto-from 2009/10 Car reviews, to a Community Forum where she can engage and connect with like -minded women and mothers, Negotiating Tips, Travel and Safety tops to the latest in Gadget reviews. Also a His & Her Car review section where a car is looked at and rated from both point of views.

EM: What other trends do you foresee for our industry over the short & long term?

AF: Customer Service is currently being redefined to Customer Services. I wouldn’t call it a trend, but rather an opportunity: There are dealers in Canada that have women consisting of more 50% of their sales team - their sales through Q1 are up double digit. Dealerships could look at taking on this paradigm and stepping beyond what they know that they know. Beyond that, my crystal ball is pretty cloudy.

EM: What blogs do you regularly read, and why?

AF: NYTimes Auto, Edmunds; Joanne Helperin M2W - marketing to Women, the largest such conference in the world; US Today Auto Section.

EM: What’s the funniest story you’ve heard from a car dealership customer?

AF: Mmmm. Let’s just say that we had plenty of ‘real’ life stories from women.  When we shot our YouTube videos not a lot of creative copy writing was required for our actors.

EM: What’s your favorite piece of advice that you can give to women shopping for a vehicle?

AF: Read, research, know your strengths and weaknesses when negotiating and follow your intuition.

EM: And lastly, what’s your favorite football team?

AF: Pittsburgh Steelers

EM: Go Browns!

Thanks for taking the time to share your vision Anne. Best of luck!

Stop by Women-Drivers.com to see the resources she’s assembled. You can also catch her on twitter: @annefleming

Why Buy Used Cars celebrates its 2nd birthday this month. Thanks to everyone who has visited and participated. Without you, this blog wouldn’t have become the success it is today.

Neither the overall philosophy nor the design has changed over two years. WhyBuyUsedCars.com set out to provide used car buyers the best information and resources on the web - all with an entertaining spin.

We brought you used car reviews, industry commentaries, CEO interviews and the best used car buying tips, tricks and secrets. Expect more of the same great information plus a few new things such as useful social features, new content ideas and an updated, fresh design.

Your continued support and readership is appreciated!

Let us know how we can improve - anything to help provide the best used car information for you and the other 1.5 billion people online.

Here’s three different and interesting ways for you to get the most out of your new handheld gadgets.

Zapatag.com

Bad drivers are everywhere. Did you ever wish you had the ability to somehow “report” a driver who is simply a bad driver? Now you can send a tweet to @zapatag with the driver’s state abbreviation and short description of the poor driver’s action. IE: @zapatag FL: 987cba just ran a red light and knocked over a mailbox.

The result? The Florida license plate# 987cba will be “zapped” to Zapatag.com and posted to their twitter stream. Will it help? Not sure if it’ll have an immediate effect. One potential solution: Local police units can follow incoming tweets to @zaptag and designate #zaptag as another source of information.  Could be useful for spotting a suspected drunk driver.

Zapatag raises an interesting point. Be sure you aren’t tweeting your complaint while driving or you may be the next driver zapped.

RepairPal

This is a great iPhone application that provides extensive repair information for your used car.  Its a free, quick and simple online tool that helps  save you money by providing fair repair price estimates.

You can also locate local mechanics within their auto shop directory and identify common problems happening with your car. The interface is extremely quick and easy to use; finding the year, make and model of your vehicle is a snap. A search for an air filter replacement, for a 2005 Infinity G35 at my current location, gave me a price range of $54 - $94 and over 20 locations within 5 miles who can help me. It also included a breakdown of the cost for parts and an estimate for labor.

Added information such as recommended service tips (Be sure to replace the air filter every 12-15k miles) and why this happens (Oil may have contaminated the filter - which could also indicate problems with the PCV system if leakage occurs) is a nice touch. Visit RepairPal.com

Mobile Used Car Shopping

You don’t need to be in front of your computer to shop for used cars anymore. For example, send a text message to 48696, with the mobile code 399NY. You’ll receive a text message, with a link, directing you back to the Auction Direct USA New York used car mobile website.

Browse vehicle pictures, watch walk-around videos and get the complete vehicle history report - all from your phone. View inventory for Raleigh used cars and Jacksonville used cars by using the 399NC and 399FL mobile codes.

Remember to be safe while using your mobile phones. Talking while driving is illegal here in NY; texting has been banned in some parts of NY and NC as well.

What type of automotive applications and services are on your phone?

Today’s Cool Whip is a 2007 Infinity FX35 Sport Utility. A beautiful luxury car addition to the Nissan nameplate which replaced the older QX4 SUV model. An interesting design model married to a performance platform yet providing a ton of practical everyday usage. The unique SUV platform actually rests on the Nissan 350Z platform.

Be sure to visit our used car reviews section where you can share your own comments and participate in discussions as well.

Today’s Cool Whip is a 2008 Ford Mustang GT. Our new research widget below provides everything needed to compare, discuss and review this car - and just about anything else with four wheels.

Here’s a few odd-ball facts about the Ford Mustang you may not have known. Got some interesting items to share? Feel free to send them in as well…

• 1st Mustang introduced at the World’s Fair in 1964
• Only vehicle more successful at Ford? The Model A
• James Bond drove a Mustang in Goldfinger (1964)
• Lee Iacocca was partially responsible for the creation of the original Mustang
• Most expensive Mustang listed for sale? $875,000 1965 Shelby GT R Mustang

Looks like GM will announce the elimination of the Pontiac brand on Monday. That means no more Smokey and the Bandit movies.

We all know the reason - GM simply needs to reduce the number of brands produced to reduce expenses and make a last ditch effort to profitability. Saturn, Saab and Hummer could be next in line to be sold/eliminated. Last brands standing: Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC.

What does this mean to current Pontiac owners - and those who happen to be test driving used Pontiac cars today? One school of thought is that collectors may make a run on classic and antique years. This may cause a price spike in some older models as demand increases. Another thought is a possible price drop in late model used Pontiacs due to a drop in demand as consumer walk away from the brand.

Consumer confidence could drop thinking Pontiac won’t be able to service and support their vehicles. This shouldn’t be an issue as GM has a healthy inventory of vehicle parts; the worldwide network of parts and suppliers is another channel that can provide a steady stream of products and keep Pontiacs on the road for quite some time.  (IE: The Pontiac G8 is built on the same platform and assembly line as the Holden Commodore in Australia.)

GM hasn’t ruled out reviving the Pontiac brand and bringing it back once they turn things around at the company. One can only hope for both to happen…

Two primary categories were measured in this year’s study: How many items on a vehicle had, put simply, “gone wrong” and customer satisfaction regarding quality within the first 90 days of purchase.

Ford, Lincoln and Mercury improved 5% for items going wrong; survey figures showed 1,228 problems per 1,000 vehicles. Honda experienced 1,422 items wrong per 1,000 vehicles and Toyota resulted in 1,150 items.

In the customer satisfaction portion, Ford also improved 2% to reach 79%, which ties Honda and Toyota for the first time.

Ford’s attention to key consumer items pushed them to the top of the class in the following survey categories:

And who says total quality and customer services isn’t important?

This is all great news for smart automotive consumers. Tomorrow’s used car represent exceptional values as new car quality continues to improve.

Be sure to select the appropriate used car based on your personal needs. Don’t pass on safety; a larger vehicle within another class from the manufacturer may be worth a few dollars more when the safety of your loved ones are a primary concern.