Auto Transporters and Car Shippers

Well I guess it’s nice to see Heather Locklear in the news for something other then marriage/divorce proceedings.  It seems that Locklear was arrested Saturday, September 29th on suspicion of driving under the influence.  According to Tom Marshall, a spokesperson for the California Highway Patrol, Locklear had been seen driving in an erratic fashion before the traffic stop.  Marshall also said:

“Around 4:30 p.m., a female witness saw Heather Locklear driving erratically while leaving a parking lot in Montecito. The witness said Locklear was revving her engine loudly, and backed over a pair of sunglasses several times,”(Source People Magazine)

Locklear was apparently cooperative and polite with the officer in charge of the standard battery of DUI testing.  The results of the roadside tests ruled out alcohol for the officer, but prescription drugs were not.  After she was arrested Locklear was bailed out within a few hours from the local jail.

It just goes to show you that driving under the influence is a bad idea.  Most people are bad enough drivers as is, but add drugs or alcohol to that mix and you have a potentially lethal combination.  Hopefully Ms.Locklear will learn from this situation and get whatever help is required in the near future.

The so called “Paris Hilton Bill” has been vetoed by none other then Arnold Schwarzenegger, Governor of California. The bill was intended to keep people from driving with dogs on their laps. If the bill had passed a 35 dollar fine would have been issued to motorists caught in violation of the ordinance.  The bill was proposed by Bill Maze, a republican assemblymen.  Maze is quoted as saying:“If you’ve got a live animal, which you’re not able to control, and that thing gets between you and the steering wheel or underneath your brake pedal, you’ve got a problem/” (Source telegraph.co.uk)

Backing the bill was Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, but none the less the bill has been vetoed.   I suppose I can see both sides of the coin.  It certainly could be dangerous to have a living creature using you as a seat while operating a moving vehicle, but at the same time I don’t know how serious the potential really is for an accident to be caused by a small pet.

When you think of Fiat you undoubtedly think “Italy,” but the times they are a’ changin’. The Italian car manufacturer has just entered into an agreement to start shipping vehicle production to Serbia of all places. Production will start in 2010 and be around 200,000 vehicles.

Fiat’s CEO Sergio Marchionne responded to the news becoming public by saying:

“Regardless of world economic difficulties, Fiat is working on consolidating its future on its own. There are things we can neither predict nor change but we can create conditions to respond in the fastest and most efficient way. The plant in Kragujevac will initially have capacity for 200,000 cars with a possibility to gradually expand production by 100,000 units.”(Source Reuters)

So now Jaguar is being made in India, and Fiat is being made in Serbia. What’s next? BMW in Portugal? Volvo in Greenland? Brand recognition seems so strongly tied with country of origin in the automobile world. I often wonder if Jaguar will have the same appeal now that it is no longer really a British luxury car, and now if Fiat will corner the market as a Serbian vehicle? I suppose we will just have to wait and see the end product before we will know how people will react to it.

I had no idea that Wales had such a problem with people not paying their automobile taxes. According to walesonline.co.uk thousands more cars were seized due to non-payment this year compared with last. They are reporting that “8,240 vehicles clamped in Wales between April 2007 and 2008, compared with 4,990 in the previous year.” The amazing thing is that it isn’t all junker cars being clamped either. Apparently 533 BMWs, 286 Mercedes, 27 Lexus and 16 Porsches have all been seized by the authorities.

Beyond the mere seizure of vehicles is the fact that many more vehicles are being disposed of or destroyed: “1,840 between April 2006 and 2007 to 2,469 the following year.” Pretty alarming numbers. They further report that only around 40% of seized vehicles are ever reclaimed by their owners. According to Bethan Beasley, the DVLA’s national wheel clamping manager:

“They are sometimes crushed or go to auction but we have started a scheme in the last 12 months that involves giving these unclaimed vehicles to police forces and the fire service. This has been especially popular in Wales.” (Source walesonline.co.uk)

So a word to the wise, if you live in Wales, pay your taxes! It seems a shame that such a large number of vehicles are being destroyed or are being moved by car shippers or auto transporters to fire departments and police stations to be destroyed.

What is one of the last things you would want to hear on your cruise (other then the obvious: “Iceberg!” or “Torpedo in the water!”)? How about “sorry, but your car is destroyed.” Well, this was indeed the fate the 5,000 on board two cruise ships, the Carnival Conquest and the Carnival Ecstasy, which set sail last week.

So what was it that destroyed thousands of cars. Ike. The ships were sailing out of Galveston and so thousands of cars were left near the Galveston coast, waiting to be hammered by Ike. USA today said the following:

Galveston, of course, is a popular “home port” for residents of Texas, and many of the passengers who were scheduled to sail on Thursday were no doubt from areas threatened by the approaching storm. That means they left not knowing if they would have a livable home on their return. Moreover, since many cruisers out of Galveston drive to the port, going ahead with the voyage meant they had to leave their cars directly in the path of a storm that officials say could cause devastating damage.

I wish these people the best, and hope that their cars aren’t destroyed, but in all reality they are probably floating in their current parking spot. I wonder if insurance will pick up the tab on this one? Does insurance even cover this type of damage?

If you ever find yourself in the cast of the television program Lost, do yourself a favor, and do not drive. Daniel Dae Kim is the most recent Lost star to be hit with a DUI charge. Kim was arrested October of 07′ and blew twice the legal limit. Michelle Rodriguez and Cynthia Watros, who also stared on Lost both were charged with DUI and both kicked off the show.

According to news.ninemsn.com.au, Kim:

was ordered to pay a $US500 ($A625) fine, $US212 ($A265) in court fees and perform 72 hours of community service. Kim also had his driver’s license revoked for six months and was subjected to a drug-and-alcohol assessment.

Celebrities really seem to have a problem with DUIs. If you don’t believe me, just click here. After the judge handed down his decision Kim told reporters:

“I’m just grateful and relieved that this matter has been resolved,” he said after the hearing. “It’s been a pretty difficult time for my family and me. But I’m glad I had a chance to take responsibility for my mistake.”

Hopefully Kim will get his act together after this close brush with the law. When handing down the decision the judge make the actor aware of just how dangerous DUI is, and certainly he is right to have done so. I have seen first hand the results of drunk driving, and I certainly would advise anyone to explore their options before ever considering driving drunk.

China is apparently looking to rid their streets of cars.  If you remember back to the Olympics (with our short attention spans I’m afraid I might have to refresh some memories) China was trying to keep cars off the road so that smog wouldn’t inundate the country.  According to news.xinhuanet.com:

The restriction of cars on alternate days according to the last figures of their license plates has enabled Beijing residents to enjoy the cleanest air and clearest sky in years during the Olympic Games. This has resulted in a heated debate on whether the restriction should be kept as a permanent rule.

Perhaps with this in mind, September 22 is going to national car free day in China this year.  The idea is this, during a 12 hour period of the day, 7am to 7pm, roads are encouraged to be closed for all but public forms of auto transportation and pedestrians.

Since China has grown and modernized so quickly over the last decade or so, cars have taken over.  Where bicycles once ruled, autos are now king.  China no doubt wants to build a reputation that doesn’t revolve around being boorish and non-individualistic, which is rightly how many in the west view them.  So car free day seems to be one more attempt to clear the air (sort of a pun/homonym there) and come off as a cleaner friendlier China.

When you think of countries that might be notorious for drunk driving deaths, which countries do you think of?  I would never have assumed that India had a massive drunk driving problem, however that certainly appears to be the case.  According to the Times of India:

A whopping 90,000 deaths occur on Indian roads every year due to accidents. Nearly 40% of them are caused by drunk driving. This means drunk driving accounts for nearly 36,000 lives.

I would be afraid to drive in India after learning about this.  That is September 11th times 30!  Stats that high have lead many to question the country’s drunk driving laws.  While Sweden has made breath detectors that control a vehicle’s ignition standard by 2012, other countries lag behind.  The Times of India further mentions that a great deal of work is needed to control the drunk driving epidemic and that:

To arrest the rising number of drunk driving deaths in India, which comes to public focus once in a while through high-profile cases, the legislature needs to act fast — both in terms of providing for “appropriate punishment” as well as technological safeguards under the Motor Vehicles Act.

With any luck India will begin to enact these stricter laws, and curb (no pun intended) the mortality rate on the roads.

This is the conclusion of the gas saving tips from funandsafedriving.com.  You will have to experiment with these tips and find the ones that work best for you.  I have heard mixed reviews regarding tire pressure, or helium in your tires, so in the end you will have to put these things up to some scientific scrutiny.  In the end though, I think you will find that the more you do, the more you will save!

17. Should you use low octane fuel?
Maybe.

18. Do you need to do a tune-up?
Maybe not.

19. Do you need to switch to synthetic oil?
Maybe.

20. Do you need to quit using A/C?
Not really.

21. Should you avoid excessive idling?
Yes, but that doesn’t mean you should turn off your car at a red light or when coasting in neutral.

22. Do you need to use cruise control?
Speed control works best on straight roads. If the road you’re on has hills, you lose.

23. Should you stop warming up your car on cold mornings and start driving right away?
It depends…

24. Do you need to shop around for better gas prices?
Sure.

25. Do you need to use a fuel injector cleaner?
Maybe…

26. Should you drive in a higher gear?
Sort of…

27. Do you need to slow down to 55 mph to save fuel?
Not really… 28. Do you need to buy a more fuel efficient car.
Sure you do! 29. Do you need to replace your air filter?
No…

30. Do you need to replace the fuel filter?
No…

31. Do you need to inflate your tires up to the numbers shown on a tire sidewall?
No

32. Do you need to use gas savers? Tornado, Ramjet, Cyclone, and other gas saving devices? No.

33. Do you need to use higher octane fuel or octane booster?  No.

The following is a list of gas saving tips from funandsafedriving.com.  You will have to check out their website for a more detailed explanation of each tip.  Since gas prices are sky high, I highly recommend giving these a try:

1. Keep your tires properly inflated.

2. Lighten up and don’t haul anything you don’t absolutely need, around with you.

3. When old man winter coats your car with snow and ice, try to remove as much of is as you can, don’t just clear a hole in the windshield.
Snow and ice add significant weight to your car, they also increase aerodynamic drag dramatically.

4. Remove bicycle or ski racks in between trips.
It’s not really the extra weight that hurts your gas mileage; it’s mostly aerodynamic drag.

5. Don’t fly flags on your car.
And don’t fly flags outside your car’s windows. Yep, your guess is correct – it’s aerodynamic drag we are talking about here… and your gas bill.

6. Do not fill your tank up completely.
Instead, keep it half full.

7. Fill your tank at the coolest time of day.

8. Try not to stomp on the gas anymore than you need to.

9. Likewise, try not to slam on your brakes.

10. Use the landscape to your advantage.
If the road goes up and down, don’t try to maintain a constant speed.

11. If you have several cars, use the one with the best gas mileage for daily commuting.
That car is usually easier to park, too.

12. Plan your route to avoid traffic jams.

13. Optimize your route.
The less distance you drive, the less gas you use.

14. Consider walking or using a bicycle for short trips,

15. Consider carpooling if possible.
Sure, it’s inconvenient sometimes, but it’s the single most efficient way to save money on your daily commute.

16. Get a credit card with 5% rebates on gas,
use it for all your fuel purchases and guarantee yourself an automatic 5% savings.

The end of the list will be posted next week, so check back in!