In past years, they would often print quotes from the ticket camera companies as fact, they didn’t question the statistics given to them by local government, and any dissenting opinions were relegated to one sentence at the end of the article.

Things have changed over the last year or so though — the tables have turned and now the majority of articles on ticket cameras are negative. All across the country, local newspapers and TV stations are investigating the reality of their cities’ ticket camera programs and they’re not pleased with what they’re finding.

This editorial by the Las Cruces Sun-News (which has supported the cameras in the past) is just one example:

From the beginning, we’ve maintained that red-light enforcement cameras could potentially serve as an effective traffic safety device at some of our city’s busiest intersections. But, we’ve also been troubled by the city’s secretive administration of this policy.

If every there were an effort that demands total transparency, the red-lights cameras would be it. Instead of paying upfront to have the cameras installed and monitored, the city has contracted with a private company called Redflex Traffic Systems. For every $100 ticket issued, $50 goes to Redflex, $25 to the city and $25 to the state. Obviously, Redflex has a strong incentive to issue as many citations as possible.

[...]

What we haven’t learned yet is whether the cameras are having any effect, other than monetarily. Have accidents been significantly reduced at the intersections where the cameras have been posted? For what it’s costing local drivers, one would certainly hope so.

Thanks to the efforts of everyday citizens, and organizations like the NMA, these kind of editorials are becoming more and more common. The impact that this kind of press can have is substantial. Ticket cameras have been voted down in every city where they’ve been on the ballot.

Whenever you get a chance, take the time to send a letter to editor to your local newspaper or write your legislators and let them know how you feel about ticket cameras. Let’s keep this momentum going.

• City Manipulates Report To Make Ticket Cameras Appear Useful
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By Eric Peters, Automotive Columnist

Toyota has been reeling from the public relations fallout of tag-team recalls affecting millions of its vehicles, including the best-selling Camry sedan and Prius hybrid.

But does this mean Toyota vehicles are bad cars?

Not necessarily.

And, they may be very good buys these days — which is something to keep in mind.

First, let’s put things in context:

The recall reality is less severe than the non-stop media coverage might lead you to believe. Toyota sells more than 400,000 Camrys every year; millions of these cars on the road. But the number of specific complaints involving Camrys (and other Toyota models) is literally a fraction of this number. Accidents attributed to problems such as sticking gas pedals/unwanted acceleration number fewer than 100; serious and injuries (and deaths) under 25.

This isn’t to minimize the fact that some people have had problems; but the fact is most people — more than 99 percent of Toyota owners, to be precise — have not had problems.

Millions upon millions of them.

This is true of almost all recalls. Even the really alarming ones that still echo through history — such as the Exploding Pintos of the 1970s. Do you recall how many people actually died?

Twenty-seven.

How many Pintos were recalled? In excess of 1.5 million.

You do the math.

Again, this isn’t to say the Pinto didn’t have a design defect (it did) or that it wasn’t potentially dangerous (it was). But the point here is that the actual risk of any given Pinto driving being immolated or even injured as a result of this defect was extremely low — on the order of fractions of a percent.

With the Toyotas, the problem is even less potentially risky since the defect (sticky gas pedals/unwanted acceleration) is something the driver can easily deal with should it arise: If the car suddenly speeds up or won’t slow down because of unwanted acceleration, put the transmission in neutral. This will disconnect the racing engine from the drive wheels; the car physically cannot “accelerate” once this is done. The engine won’t be damaged (electronics will keep it from over-revving) and you will be able to slow/stop the car safely.

The relative handful of people who have been in accidents or injured as a result of unwanted acceleration were apparently never taught to do this. Had they been taught, it is likely the number of actual accidents involving Toyota vehicles would have been even smaller — and the number of injuries next to nil.

So, yes, there’s a potential issue with some Toyota vehicles. But, bottom line, it is extremely unlikely that your Toyota will suddenly accelerate on its own. And if it does, you can easily and safely deal with it by popping the transmission into neutral.

A potential hassle? Sure. But a very small potential hassle. And one that’s not necessarily dangerous, either — if you remember the part about just putting the gearshift lever into neutral.

On the other hand, you will almost certainly be able to buy a new Toyota for less than MSRP sticker — or negotiate a sweetheart deal on a lease. Very possibly, a lot less. Or an even sweeter deal on a lease than you might have ever thought possible.

Just three months ago, Toyota dealers were asking — and getting — full MSRP sticker, plus some more, on popular models like the Prius. Toyota rarely, if ever, offered significant financial incentives such as the thousand-of-dollars cash-back offers commonly advertised by American automakers like GM and Chrysler. They didn’t have to. Toyotas were popular — and accordingly, pricey.

And much of this was driven by perception, not reality. People believed Toyotas were better-built and more reliable than, say, GM cars. But much of this was smoke and mirrors. It’s not that Toyotas are bad cars; not by any means. But they’re not significantly better (or worse) than GM cars, if you go by the actual facts on the ground.

Now the shoe is on the other foot — and it’s Toyota that’s desperate to clear out fleets of unsold cars taking up space on dealership lots (and costing the dealers a fortune in monthly loan/interest charges). People now view Toyotas with suspicion, even though the Toyotas on the lot today are just as “good” as the Toyotas on the lot six months ago — when dealers were charging (and getting) full sticker price for them.

This means you, the buyer, are finally in the catbird seat — if you’re in the market for a new Toyota.

And there’s no reason you shouldn’t be — unless you just don’t like Toyotas.

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Ignition interlocks are designed to prevent people who have been convicted of DUI/DWI from starting their vehicle if they have alcohol on their breath. Despite studies that show that doing so will increase accidents, legislators are increasingly supporting MADD-backed laws that place ignition interlocks in the vehicles of first-time offenders.

Here are just a few of the stories shared in the NMA Forums that show how flaws in current ignition interlock technology are making the lives of people (who have already been punished for their crime) miserable:

I went to start my car, gave a sample and it failed with a BAC of .06, according to the employee. This time I was there so no one could dispute that I drank NO ALCOHOL and didn’t do ANYTHING wrong. They checked it again. I put a brand new mouthpiece on and blew. It passed. I made them watch me do it.

The very first sample after the data download is a fail because of something that they did. They said that they would make a note of this and that it should be okay with MVA, but I have spoken to them before and they said a fail is a fail, it was not my fault. I called them when I got home to make sure I had the names of each employee correct for my records and asked how on earth could this happen. They said that some of the calibration fluid could have caused this. He wasn’t sure.

Great, now I have to be afraid to get the data downloaded! I am so sick of this device. It makes me think I am going to have a heart attack. During the holidays, the service light drained my battery. I called them and they said that I had to hot shot it to get it started. It started. On the highway, during rush hour, it requested a rolling retest and kept aborting for no reason. The horn went off and my lights started flashing. It continued to request a sample. For 3 miles it did this until finally the sample took and passed. My heart was palpitating.

I drove directly to the shop and just as I arrived, it did it again. They replaced the sample head. This is the 3rd time I have had these “state of the art, undeniably accurate” IIDs replaced. This is not right! This is torture. I haven’t drank, I can’t use my regular hair products. I am petrified to get gas. I wouldn’t wish one of these on my worst enemy.

This last Saturday I had made a batch of potato salad and put some in a bowl to take to a friend, and I ate what was left on the spoon, and my IID locked out on me. I was so mad that I actually tried to remove the damn thing so I could get going down the road. I have had trouble when I eat biscuits and gravy, pot pies,and certain juices,etc. They don’t give you a book on what not to eat. You can’t even have air freshener in the car.

You may have to learn to change you own oil and enjoy washing your own car again, because try to take you car to an oil change or car wash and expect them to blow into your device (let alone asking them to learn how to do it). It’s not from embarrassment, trust me, I got used to blowing in it in view of other people after a while. It’s just most places like valet parking, car washes, quick oil changes, and such are just off limits because the places don’t want to deal with it.

I had an I.I.D. requirement and installed it on our shared car. Intoxalock was on the list of authorized I.I.D. providers on the California DMV website. They had a brand new technician and ours was the first device he has ever installed for them. He took over 4 hours to install it and said he didn’t know what he was doing- unquote.

During the installation the horn was blaring and he was cussing while trying to put it in the car- a fairly complex (I’m told by mechanics) newer Cadillac. The car has a delay before it shuts off the battery– so the lights turn off after you have walked away from the car or the radio can play with no key in the car, for e.g. Well, I guess the machine still runs during this time — he didn’t tell us this… couldn’t show us how to breathe into it.. we had no orientation for this thing…

We had episodes of RUNNING blocks back to the car to shut off the device because Rolling Retests would trigger– AFTER waiting the requisite two minute countdown… and we got violations for those!

One night we were asleep in the house and the horn went off in the middle of the night 3-4 hours after we had been inside the house because while we were asleep rolling retests presumably had been triggered after we removed key/locked the car… so eventually the horn was triggered after the machine requested a Rolling Retest again and again… Came out in our pajamas along with other neighbors thinking the car was being stolen and totally baffled. Another violation!

We told Intoxalock and they blamed us “must be partial key forward… (no key in car though..hmmm…)” So, we ended up having to tow the car to the installer’s for a new device $$$$ and guess what’s next? The tow truck driver put the cable on the car wrong and bent our tie bar making it undrivable!

So, we bring it to installer and put in the new device but on a practically undrivable car at installers shop– allignment ruined. Authorized installer advises us to go right to our regular service shop “b/c he can’t fix it there”– doesn’t remove device, doesn’t report the problem to Intoxalock. What he should have done if he was better trained by Intoxalock was to advise us to fix the car BEFORE we put the new device on the car so mechanic wouldn’t accidentally set it off. And this is something no one thinks about on a Friday afternoon dealing with a damaged car and a fresh insurance claim and we are all newbies to this albatross…

So, we drive it as best we can the whole 4 minutes to our regular shop — emergency mode — our only car… manager of our regular shop promises they won’t move the car again at the shop to avoid setting off the machine/needing to blow in it at all — we warned him about device. Tragically, a mechanic does start car while at shop being serviced. Horn goes off and he panics and shuts off battery — doesn’t tell us till we pick it up 3 days later. New device needed AGAIN — we explain on phone what happened — mechanic’s custody, inadvertent. 155 Errors logged. Countless Rolling Retests missed.

Intoxalock takes our order for new device and our $$$ but guess what? They promptly report us to DMV for non-compliance because of the log errors — DMV immediately suspends license for ANOTHER YEAR because Intoxalock says we tampered/bypassed new device.

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By Eric Peters, Automotive Columnist

What’s worse?

Under or over-inflating tires?

A couple extra psi of air pressure in your tires will result in a harsher ride as well as faster tread wear. Tires inflated significantly above the maximum recommended pressure may also pop just like a balloon, especially if the vehicle is overloaded (a truck, say) or driven at high speeds for an extended period of time.

On the other hand, under-inflated tires are more insidious because people rarely over-inflate their tires while under-inflated tires are commonplace — mainly because tires, air valves (and wheels) commonly leak air. Also, the condition often goes unnoticed. A tire has to be really low — maybe even close to flat — before it’s visually obvious. Meanwhile, you’re driving around on a tire (or tires) 5, 10 or even 20 psi below the recommended pressure — which can lead to weird handling/poor braking, even a sudden failure due to the heat build-up (see: Ford-Firestone).

An extra quart in the crankcase? Or down a quart?

Running a quart low is far less potentially damaging than running a quart over. Reason? Excess oil in the crankcase is more than the engine was designed to hold — and that oil has to go somewhere. What happens is it gets turned into a foamy froth as the engine’s reciprocating parts churn it around. This foamy frothy oil is less able to lubricate vital parts — and can also end up where it shouldn’t, which in a modern emissions controlled car can lead to other (expensive) problems.

On the other hand, most engines will not be harmed if run a quart or so low for a little while. Since all internal combustion engines use a certain amount of oil during normal operation, it’s expected the level in the crankcase will occasionally be less than “full.” The engineers who designed the engine know this — and designed in an extra margin of total oil capacity for just this reason.

The key thing is to be sure to check the oil level at least every couple of weeks. You don’t want to run below the safe margin — typically about a quart less than “full” — which could result in catastrophic engine failure and a massive repair bill.

Drive off right away — or “warm it up” a little first?

One of the biggest differences between “old” cars (those built before the widespread adoption of electronic fuel injection and computer controls in the mid-late 1980s) and “modern” cars is the warm-up protocol.

Older cars without computers (and with carburetors) needed more cold-start hand-holding. It often took a couple of minutes for the choke to turn itself off and the engine to settle into a comfortable (and stall-free) idle. With modern cars, warm-up happens much faster. Most owner’s manuals say it’s fine to drive away normally within 30 seconds or so after start-up.

Nonetheless, you’ll do your (modern) car a favor by taking it easy for the first 10-15 minutes of driving. Wear and tear is still highest when the engine is cold — even if a modern car’s cold start drivability is much better than an old car’s. By avoiding full throttle starts and being gentle until the entire car — engine, transmission, brakes, etc. — have reached full normal operating temperature  you’ll help the car last longer.

Tip: If your vehicle has a manual transmission, let the clutch out (with the transmission in neutral) during that initial 30 seconds after start-up. This will circulate gear lube inside the transmission, coating all the critical parts. Reduced wear and tear — and easier shifting — will be your reward. (Automatic transmissions do this automatically, whenever the engine is running and no matter what gear the vehicle is in — so you don’t need to do anything.)

Ride the brakes — or “gear down”?

Descending a steep grade, which is smarter: Using the brakes to keep the car from picking up too much speed? Or downshifting to a lower gear and using engine braking to achieve the same thing?

Replacement brake pads (and even calipers and rotors, etc.) are a lot cheaper, usually, than a new clutch or rebuilt transmission. So the argument from the economical perspective is: Use the brakes — and save the wear and tear on your clutch/transmission.

On the other hand, how much is your life worth? Riding the brakes for extended periods on steep downhill grades may heat them up to the point that braking power starts to fade. If that happens, you won’t be able to stop the car as quickly (maybe not at all) if an unexpected emergency situation comes up. Cars with high-performance brake pads/systems are more fade-resistant, but they’re not immune from this problem, either.

So, it’s more sensible to put the transmission in a lower gear to keep the car from building up too much speed on extended downhills.

If your car has an automatic, going from “OD” to “D” (or just turning off the overdrive by pushing the button, if applicable) is usually sufficient, but you can always go down one more to 3 or even 2 if need be. With a manual, downshift to the gear that maintains the speed you want without your needing to ride the brakes.

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Snopes Response:
This carjacking alert has been kicked from inbox to inbox since February 2004, and since then we have been following news reports for any sign of an actual carjacking — either perpetrated or merely attempted — that followed the script outlined in the widely-spread e-mailed caution, but we have yet to see evidence of so much as one. Were this “lure motorists from their vehicles by leaving flyers on their rear windows, then drive off with their cars” method as commonly in play as suggested in the example above, that surely would not have been the case. Nothing rules out there having been one carjacking carried out in the manner described that we have yet to hear about. But even if that proves to be the case, there is clearly no crime wave, no ever-present danger to motorists everywhere, no flyer-armed menace lurking in the nation’s parking lots.

The Snopes Response:
We’ve seen many a case of a news item with some small, prospective kernel of truth to it being reported in an exaggerated, “OMG, can you believe they’re really doing this!!!” fashion, and this item about the state of California’s planning to pass legislation banning black (or all dark-colored cars) as a measure to help curb global warming is another example of that phenomenon. the California Air Resources Board never actually considered banning black cars, and all of the discussion about reflective paint requirements was merely part of a draft proposal which the ARB ultimately decided against as not cost-effective.

The Snopes Response:
The above-quoted warning about an imminent “car bump” gang initiation began spreading like wildfire via text messaging and e-mail on 26 March 2008. Like many other erroneous gang-related warnings, it posited initiates would be randomly choosing innocent victims and gunning them down as a way of gaining entry into gangs. And like many of those other warnings, this one came in dozens different variations, each proclaiming that the deadly activity (usually attributed to the “MS-13″ or Mara Salvatrucha gang) will take place in a different city, county, or state. Many different police departments around the country approached the rumor with skepticism, issuing disclaimers that they had not confirmed any such gang activity was taking place and that they did not have any credible information that activities are being planned.

The Snopes Response:
Relaying remote entry system signals via telephone might work if the signals were sound-based, but they’re not. An RKE system transmits an encrypted data stream to a receiver inside the automobile via an RF (radio frequency) signal, a signal that can’t be effectively relayed via cell phone. (In any event, RKE systems and cell phones typically operate on completely different frequencies; the former in the 300 MHz range and the latter in the 800 MHz range.) It’s possible this method might work with cars that use something different than standard RKE systems, but it doesn’t work with the vast majority of models.

The Snopes Response:
The belief that red cars attract more speeding tickets than do their less rosily-hued counterparts is a cherished motoring factoid of long standing. Problem is, [the] premise is flawed as it does not appear that red cars get cited for speeding more often than they statistically should. In addition to the “earn more speeding tickets than they should” theory, other mistaken beliefs attach to red cars: They are widely thought to be stolen more often or be involved in a greater number of accidents.

The Snopes Response:
Stealing cars by using Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) to obtain duplicate keys from auto dealerships certainly has worked for some car thieves. A July 2009 news item from Chicago reported that a ring of thieves using purloined VINs had stolen hundreds of cars over an 18-month period, and a December 2002 article in the Atlanta Journal and Constitution described the break-up of a multi-state car theft ring which employed just such a scheme. While this article validates that the VIN scheme has been successfully used, it also demonstrates why the scheme doesn’t necessarily pose a threat to the average car owner. Using VINs to steal cars isn’t nearly as easy as the warning quoted above makes it sound: the thieves have to case the cars they want to steal, record VINs, make trips to auto dealerships, present some form of registration or proof of title, wait for the dealers to contact the manufacturers and make up duplicate keys, then return to wherever they found the cars in the first place and use the duplicate keys to steal them. But this is antithetical to the way car thieves generally work — they’re creatures of opportunity who steal cars as they find them, quickly and anonymously.

The Snopes Response:
This bit of e-mailed advice first reached us in July 2006. While at first glance it does appear to offer an inexpensive alternative to having a home alarm system installed, its premise is badly flawed — folks just don’t come running when they hear a car alarm go off. Too many “Cry Wolf!” instances caused by car protection warning systems set to register even the slightest changes going on around them have inured society to the devices’ yeeps, yowls, and ooh-gahs. These urban noisemakers can be activated by as little as walking near a vehicle or by brushing an arm or a purse against one.

The Snopes Response:
Though we’ve queried our police contacts and scoured news reports looking for accounts of robberies and carjackings effected by disabling target vehicles by pelting them with raw eggs, we weren’t able to find any such occurrences in the U.S. Rather, we did locate news stories about police cars so pelted, with the officers retaliating by giving chase to the miscreants who’d thrown eggs at them. In various news accounts we found, officers not only were able to see well enough through their poultrified windows to go after the bad guys, they succeeded in running them to ground and bringing them to justice. Most tellingly, such accounts made no mention of the gendarmes so assaulted experiencing difficulty in seeing well enough through their egged windshields to give chase.

The Snopes Response:
This e-mail warning about “new legislation in Michigan” began circulating in December 2006. While the helpful heads-up was then correct that drivers in Michigan were required to sign the backs of their vehicle registrations as soon as they received those documents, the law in question was not new but in fact dated to at least 1949. That portion of the vehicle code was enacted back in those long-ago days when a vehicle’s title and registration were the same document, so it made sense at the time that a car owner should have to sign the document that showed he actually owned the vehicle. Those functions have since come to be served by two different documents rather than just one, so in November 2007 the Michigan legislature finally passed a bill to “eliminate the requirement that the owner of a vehicle must sign the vehicle registration certificate.”

The Snopes Response:
Although in a few states calling #77 on a cell phone will immediately connect you to that state’s highway patrol, that code is far from universal. Some states use #77, but others use *55, *47, *77 or *HP, and some don’t have any special code at all. Rather than frantically try to figure out which one will work in the area you’re in, police generally recommend that the best approach is to get around the problem by trying 911 first.

The Snopes Response:
Judging from the entries made on one police blotter after another, cars around the nation are having their gas tanks sugared by those whom their owners have displeased. Why is this happening? Because, according to widespread belief, sugar poured into a gas tank will turn into a poor man’s version of liquid cement and quickly render the vehicle’s engine unfit for anything but a junkyard. In theory, the sugar dissolves into the gasoline, then travels along the fuel lines into the engine, where the heat of the vehicle’s operations melts the sweetener into a dense sludge that gets into every nook and cranny of the engine. [In reality,] sugar doesn’t dissolve in automotive fuel, it doesn’t carmelize, and so it does not turn into the debilitating gunk this well-known entry in the revenge canon calls for. Instead, sugar poured into a car’s gas tank stays intact. While sugar could still cause harm if it reached the engine (but in the same way sand would, by virtue of its being a granular contaminant, not because the sugar would turn into a syrup), even that potential harm is generally prevented by filtration. A little sugar in the tank could be dealt with by no more than having to change the fuel filter a few times, but a heavier sugaring would require the gas tank be removed from the car and dumped out.

In fact, if you’re going to forward anything, why not forward this article? :-)

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By Eric Peters, Automotive Columnist

The main thing about buying a new car is not the stress (that will pass) but avoiding a rip-off or just not getting the best deal possible (which you’ll have to live with if you don’t.)

Here are some tips to balance the process in your favor:

1) Shop when you don’t have to.

The best way to get a great deal on a new vehicle is to avoid being in the position of having to replace the one you’ve got because it just broke down and it’s beyond fixing. Or because you just don’t want to put any more money into it. Desperation rarely results in a good deal — for the buyer, anyhow. Smart shoppers anticipate the need for a new vehicle and begin looking at what’s available long before they actually need a new car.

2) Shop for money before you shop for the car.

Unless you are buying outright (cash purchase) you should think about financing (and interest rates) before you think about what color to get. Many buyers forget that the cost of money is just as important to the bottom line as the purchase price of the car itself. If you end up with a less-than-favorable loan, whatever you saved “up front” on the sticker price can easily be lost over the course of the loan period if you sign up for a loan that’s got a higher rate than you could have/should have paid. To avoid that, check with several potential lenders — including credit unions, banks and the automakers’ captive financing arms (GMAC, Ford Credit, etc.) — and then shop for the car. This way, you can focus on one thing at a time instead of two things at once — and will know you got the best deal you could have gotten on at least one of them.

3) Compare incentives.

To jump-start sales, many automakers will offer various incentives (cash back, “customer loyalty” discounts, special financing deals, etc.) that can be worth as much as several thousand dollars off the purchase price of a new vehicle. If you’re considering two otherwise similar (but different brand) vehicles, the availability of better incentives on one of them could be all the incentive you need to make the choice between them. You can also use incentives on one brand as a negotiating point on the purchase of another. Point out to the salesman that you could buy brand “x” for $2,000 off the sticker because of the incentives being offered by the manufacturer or dealer and ask him if there’s anything he can do to make his car more appealing, such as tossing in a no-cost extended warranty or free oil changes for two years, etc.

4) Know what you’re buying before you buy it.

Most models of new vehicle come in several trim levels — with your choice of such things as engines, transmissions, safety equipment and other features. You should always know as much about your next car as the salesman does — so you don’t get pushed into buying things you don’t really need or end up with one that lacks some things you end up wishing you had bought. And also so you can talk about the car knowledgeably with the salesman, which will make him less inclined to try to mislead you.

Information is readily available (see the automakers’ web sites and read as many expert reviews as you can find.) You should also take a thorough test drive of at least 30 minutes (ideally an hour or more) before buying — to make sure the vehicle is comfortable for you and there are no design problems (such as excessive blind spots, noisy engine/hard to shift transmission, etc.) that you might hate to have to live with if you actually owned the car. You may save yourself a big headache this way.

5) Know how much your old car’s worth.

One of the biggest mistakes made by many buyers is to focus on the new car (and its price ) while forgetting to know what their old one’s worth. It doesn’t do you much good if you save $2,000 on the new one but lose an equivalent amount on your trade-in. While the exact value of every used car is vehicle-specific (because unlike a brand-new car, there are almost always significant differences in condition, equipment, mileage and so on when it comes to used vehicles) you can still get a very solid “ballpark” idea by checking current trade-in/re-sale prices for cars like yours in the classified ads section of your local paper and trade guides such as Kelley Blue Book and the National Automobile Dealer Association’s (NADA) used car price books. You can adjust the value up or down for things like higher-than-normal mileage, excellent (or just average) condition — and so on.

Be aware that there is a difference of about 10 percent in retail vs. wholesale prices. “Retail” refers to what the used car would be advertised for by a private seller or dealer; “wholesale” refers to the offer the dealer would make you for the car as a trade — with the difference reflecting his profit margin as well as the costs involved in cleaning up and otherwise “prepping” the vehicle for re-sale.

And finally…

6) Don’t wear your heart on your sleeve.

Getting emotional about a new car or truck is fine, once you get home. But while you’re shopping, you’ll almost certainly do better if you can remain as aloof and detached as Mr. Spock. Never betray more than casual interest in a car; salesmen react to emotional buyers like sharks react to blood in the water. If you feel your heart might get ahead of your head, bring a spouse (or a good friend) along to keep you out of trouble. You should convey an ambivalent “take it or leave” it impression — and the more convincing your performance, the more likely you’ll drive home a deal instead of paying more than you probably should have.

Comments?
Visit www.epautos.com.

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By James Baxter, NMA President

Recently, as I read the article about the Texas software engineer who flew his plane into an IRS office complex, I was caused me to reflect on the downward spiral of the relationship between the citizenry and the government.

The incident will be officially portrayed as a “one off” event carried off by an imbalanced agitated individual. The same conclusion was implied when the recently released prisoner walked into a restaurant and killed four police officers who had no admitted relationship to his situation. Then there was the motorist who shot up a ticket camera van in Arizona, killing the operator who was screened from view. I suspect there are far more, but less spectacular, instances where angry, frustrated individuals take revenge against symbols of governmental authority. I also suspect that many more of these incidents are buried or obscured to prevent contagion.

The connection and relationship between the police and the public that they are supposed to protect has eroded to the point that common ground no longer exists. The bullet proof vests, lethal armament, stealth equipment and militaristic demeanor speak volumes about police attitudes toward the populace.

The public reciprocates by viewing the police as officious, authoritarian, exploitative and threatening. The police seemed to have achieved one objective—they are feared. However, collectively, they are also often loathed.

Law enforcement spokesmen would argue that this is a much more violent time in a violent world. Perhaps this is true? After all, half the adult population of the US has a criminal conviction on their record. We also have the largest prison population in the world; not bad when you consider that undemocratic authoritarian regimes like China, with five times the population, can’t hold a candle to us when it comes to stuffing people into prisons.

I’m sure someone can produce an opinion poll that proclaims the public supports and respects the men and women in blue, but those polls never ask the simple question “How do you feel when you see a squad car in your rear view mirror?”

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By Eric Peters, Automotive Columnist

Sticking gas pedals are not unique to Toyota vehicles. The main problem Toyota owners are dealing with — loose or out of adjustment floor mats that jam the gas pedal down — can happen with other vehicles, too. If the little tabs that secure the mat in place aren’t fitted correctly, the floor mat may slide forward and bunch up near the car’s brake and gas pedals, and could lead to “unintended acceleration.”

In addition, the cable that connects the gas pedal to the engine can bind and stick, too — especially in older cars.

What to do?

* Before you drive off, check to be sure that your floor mats are properly positioned. If the mat is held in place by tabs, be sure they are all lined up and secured correctly. If the mat is not secured in place by some sort of tab or retainer, be sure it at least has a “no slip” underside (for example, rubber pegs to prevent it from sliding around). If not, it’s a good idea to replace them with mats that do have this feature (check with your local auto parts store or see online sources such as www.weathertech.com.)

* If you are driving along and find the accelerator is sticking, immediately put the gearshift lever into neutral (on manual cars, you can depress the clutch), then use the brakes to slow the car. Pull over and stop as soon as possible. Do not turn off the engine! If you do, the power steering (and brakes) will go away and the car will be much harder to control and stop. And don’t worry about harming the engine by placing the transmission in neutral. All modern cars have devices called rev limiters that prevent the engine RPMs from going into the red zone and causing damage.

Once stopped, you can physically check the floor mat to see whether it was bunched up against the gas pedal, causing the problem. Never try to adjust the floor mat while the vehicle is moving.

For Toyota owners:

The automaker has set up a special web site — www.toyota.com/recall — and phone number (1-800-331-4331) to assist consumers. If you own a 2009-2010 RAV4, 2009-2010 Corolla, 2009-2010 Matrix, 2005-2010 Aavalon, 2007-2010 Camry, or 2010 Highlander, Tundra or Sequoia, you are affected by the recall. The latest news is that certain Prius and Lexus hybrids are affected by the recall as well.

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Here’s how cities ensure that they scam their residents out of the most money possible — straight out of the camera corporation playbook:

1) Make sure you let the camera company choose where to place the cameras.

Ticket camera corporations are often given carte blanche when it comes to choosing where their cameras are installed. The public is told that the cameras will be placed at the most dangerous intersections, but the ticket camera company has no interest in improving safety. They do have an interest in revenue though, so the cameras always seem to end up at intersections with the most traffic. If an intersection is dangerous, but has very little traffic, the ticket camera corporation will simply refuse to place a camera there.

This is very rarely publicized because no one directly involved (the city and the camera corporation) has any incentive to bring it up. Letting a private corporation make traffic safety decisions looks bad for the city and the ticket camera corporation doesn’t want to jeopardize the extra profits.

Unless the local media is paying attention, the citizens are left completely in the dark — or worse, they only hear the propaganda pushed out by the city and the ticket camera company.

2) Shorten yellow light times or take advantage of existing short yellow lights.

Yellow light timing is often the key to reducing red light violations. According to one study, an increase of 0.5 to 1.5 seconds in yellow-light duration will decrease the frequency of red-light running by at least 50 percent. There are numerous studies showing similar results.

However, the ticket camera corporations know that high violation rates are the key to making money from red light cameras so they either shorten yellow light times or make sure to place the cameras at intersections where the yellow light time is already too short.

The city goes along with it either out of ignorance or because they want the extra money to pad their budget.

Over the past couple years, through the efforts of the National Motorists Association and the media, this trick has been discovered by the public and they have demanded changes.

For example, thanks to citizen outrage in Georgia, there was a law passed that forced a one-second increase in the duration of the yellow warning light at intersections with red light cameras. This resulted in huge drops in red light violations and prompted several cities to disband their ticket camera programs.

3) Strictly enforce right turn on red violations.

After the yellow light timing trick was exposed, the camera corporations started to focus more on another popular way to drive up revenue at ticket camera intersections — right-turn-on-red violations. Cities with ticket cameras sell the cameras to the public by explaining that they’ll help prevent right-angle crashes.  However, the majority of tickets given out inevitably end up being for minor right-turn-on-red violations.

According to the LA Times, Los Angeles officials estimated that 80% of the red light camera tickets are for right turn on red. And according to the Chicago Daily Herald, right turn on red violations have accounted for 90% of the tickets generated in several Illinois communities. These tickets are often given to drivers who actually stopped safely but were inches over the line.

Right turn on red violations have been proven to have very little effect on driver safety. In fact, a review of US Department of Transportation statistics shows that an average motorist could drive a billion miles — the distance from Earth to Jupiter and back — before being involved in an accident that resulted from a motorist making a rolling stop on a right-hand turn.

The chorus of drivers who are outraged by this camera corporation tactic is growing louder and many ticket camera cities are considering dropping right turn on red violations to appease the public.

The bottom line is that if cities installed cameras only at the most dangerous intersections, set appropriate yellow light times, and de-emphasized right-turn-on-red violations, their ticket camera program wouldn’t make enough money to survive. The cities know this and the camera corporations know this and that’s why they do the opposite.

But that’s only if their constituents let them. In each city, it’s ultimately up to the citizens to stand up for their interests and say no to the cameras.

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By Eric Peters, Automotive Columnist

Q: Why haven’t any of the automakers built a diesel hybrid?

Diesel engines are more fuel-efficient than gas engines — by 20 percent or more, all else being equal. Wouldn’t it make more sense to use them in a hybrid vehicle rather than a gas engine?

The problem is that a diesel engine — like an electric motor — is optimized for low-RPM torque production. That’s great for a truck (or even a non-hybrid car) but not so good for a hybrid — which plays on the relative strengths of the electric motor (lots of low-speed torque for getting the car moving and for stop-and-go type driving) and the gas engine for extra power when passing and operating at higher speeds, as on the highway.

Diesel engines also produce different emissions as a byproduct of combustion than do gasoline-burning engines. Instead of catalytic converters, a diesel hybrid would probably need particulate trap, urea injection and so on — all of which would result in a diesel hybrid that’s more expensive (by about 20 percent) than a gasoline-electric hybrid.

Bu they are working on it. In Europe, where gas costs $8 or more per gallon, several automakers are looking at diesel hybrids.

Q: How come modern economy cars don’t get much better gas mileage than the economy cars of 20 years ago? Hasn’t technology improved?

Absolutely. But even though modern engines — especially those equipped with technologies like direct fuel injection, variable cam timing, cylinder deactivation, etc. — are more efficient than the engines of the past, they are also larger and more powerful.

And the reason for that is the higher curb weight of the typical 2010 model year economy car. On average, a ‘10 economy compact weighs about 500 pounds more than its 1980s-era equivalent. An there are two reasons for that: One, federal crashworthiness requirements are much stricter today than they were decades ago. To meet these requirements, automakers have bulked up all their new cars to make them safer to be in if there’s a crash. Also, all new cars now come with things like dual air bags (at minimum), which adds more weight to the car. Finally, most people want things like air conditioning and power windows — even in “economy” cars. These creature comforts also beef up the car’s curb weight.

In turn, this has required larger, more powerful engines. A modern economy car’s engine is around 1.6-2.4 liters in displacement and produces 110-140 hp. Back in the Reagan Era, many economy cars had engines that were smaller — and made less than 100 hp.

Q: Whatever happened to “real” chrome bumpers?

They’re still there; they’re just no longer visible — or chrome-plated. Instead, they’re hidden behind flexible plastic “fascias” — the auto industry term for the body-colored front (and rear) panels that give modern cars their “bumperless” look.

This change happened for two reasons: One, the “bumperless ” look looks good to most people. It gives the car a seamless, one-piece appearance. It’s also more aerodynamic, which improves the car’s drag coefficient at highway speeds, which improves fuel economy and also makes the car quieter inside.

Two, chrome plating is expensive as well as environmentally toxic — so the automakers had two good reasons to shelve exposed chrome bumpers in favor of those body-colored fascias (and hidden bumpers that don’t have to be chrome plated).

The downside is that plastic fascias are easy to damage and very expensive to repair — which is one reason why insurance costs for modern cars are so high.

Q: Why do many front-wheel-drive (FWD) cars still have a driveshaft “hump” on the floorboard?

One of the design advantages of the FWD layout is the entire drivetrain — engine, transmission and axle — are packaged together up front, eliminating the need for the hump in the floorboard (in a rear-drive car) that would otherwise need to be there for the driveshaft, which in a rear-drivecar runs from the engine up front to the drive axles out back. The hump divides the interior space of the cabin straight down the middle, turning a potential six-passenger car into a five-seater. Early FWD cars like the 1960s-era Oldsmobile Toronado boasted huge interiors with considerably more room for passengers than an otherwise similar rear drive car.

But modern FWD cars also sit very low to the ground — and designers have found a new use for the “driveshaft” tunnel as a place to tuck the exhaust pipe and other components so they don’t scrap the ground. The downside is the “flat floorplan” (and more usable interior space) you’d normally get as a benefit of the FWD layout has been lost.

Q: It says “4WD” on the bumper, but there’s no Low range. What gives?

Technically, both traditional truck-style four-wheel-drive systems with a two-speed transfer case (and Low range gearing) and the increasingly popular all-wheel-drive systems being offered in many cars, wagons and light-duty SUVs are both “4WD” — since both systems do, in fact, drive all four wheels – - at least part of the time.

But the marketing of all-wheel-drive as “4WD” is a bit deceptive, since that term (4WD) has traditionally been used to refer to a heavy-duty, truck-based system with a two-speed transfer case and Low-range gearing designed for dealing with deep snow, mud and so on.

Reason? “4WD” sounds more masculine than “AWD” — which is why several automakers describe their lighter-duty AWD systems as “4WD.” It’s technically accurate — but also a bit deceptive. Before you buy, be sure you know what you’re buying and that it meets your needs — no matter what it says on the bumper.

Q: Is it just me, or have doors been getting higher (or seats getting lower?)

Both. If you’re old enough to remember the cars of the ’80s and before, you also remember that you used to be able to comfortably rest your left arm on the top of the door, with the window rolled down, on warm sunny days. That is increasingly hard to do on most new cars.

Reason? In order to improve occupant protection in a side-impact crash, doors have been “built up” so that more reinforced steel (and less glass) is between you and that SUV that just ran the red light. There are also design considerations having to do with the placement of side-impact air bags. You may not be able to rest your left arm on the sill as you drive – but you’ll be safer if someone T-bones you at an intersection.

Comments?
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