Flying Cars Are On Their Way

Government Funded Programs Want Air/Land Vehicles

Posted: Feb 18, 2010

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A computer generated image of NASA’s flying vehicle (NASA).

by: David Sedgwick | AOL Autos

 

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In a project straight out of Star Wars — or maybe an April Fool’s edition of Popular Mechanics — the U.S. Defense Department is working on a flying car that can carry four soldiers into combat.

This machine is supposed to take off and land vertically, fly at speeds up to 120 knots, drive on roads up to 80 mph, and go off-road up to 30 mph. It must be simple enough for any Marine to fly, it must be quiet, and it must carry enough fuel to stay aloft for two hours.

They’re calling this machine the Transformer.

It’s easy enough to make fun of something like this. But the agency in charge i

First drop in motorcycle related deaths in a decade, are we really any safer?

by Devon Brozek (RSS feed) on Apr 27th 2010 at 2:33PM

In a preliminary report, the Governors Highway Safety Association recently indicated a 10% drop in motorcycle related fatalities around the U.S. in 2009. This decline marks the first such improvement in over a decade as deaths have been on the rise consistently from 1997 onward.

Are we really seeing improvement in motorcycle safety, equipment and riding ability? Likely not. As the old saying goes, numbers don’t lie, and the drop in fatal injury’s comes on the heels of the most extreme decline in motorcycle sales in recent history, which no doubt helped put the brakes on the awful upward trend.

The report goes on to attribute everything from the economy and aging baby boomers to increased training efforts from the Motorcycle Safety Foundation from coast-to-coast. Oh yeah, and we almost forgot the bad weather! Although it may seem that the GHSA can’t seem to pick a clear cut reason for the drop, we can only hope history will not repeat itself in this instance, allowing this positive trend to continue. To see the full report and suggestions for increased safety, hit the jump for the release.

[Source: Hell For Leather]

Everybody loves a Hummer!

If you haven’t seen this movie, rent it

7 steps of good car trading sense.

Driver Step 1–Determine what you WANT versus what you NEED.  (I want a new Escalade, but we need a solid running SUV;  I want a new King Ranch 4×4, but I need a $5,000 regular cab truck for work)

Driver Step 2–Think about the next car a few years away, and what this new car is going to be worth when it’s time to trade.  (High mileage 4×4 trucks hold their value much better than high milage 2wd’s in most cases)

Driver Step 5–Dont ever buy anything used, without seeing it first.  (internet deals can be great, but there is no inspection or picture that replaces an inperson demo drive)

Driver Step 4–Buy from a franchised dealer.  There is an unspoken safety net transacting with a major brand franchised dealer.  Franchised dealers will ALWAYS work with you more than non franchised, before and after the sale.

Driver Step 5–Choose aftermarket accesories carefully.  You’re taste is probably not the same as the next owner of your trade in.   In many cases, dealers <deduct> customizations on trade in’s, especially when in questionable taste.

Driver Step 6–include tax credits into the equation of ‘trading vs selling outright’. 

Driver Step 7–Get it ‘past the dirt’ Get it ready to be sold. Detail your car before you sell it, and change the oil.  Yes the dealer or the next buyer of your car can see ‘past the dirt’, but a $150 full detail at a local detail shop is typically worth $500-$1,000 more in trade in at time of transaction.  The flipside is dealers do not deduct as much for tires, as new tires cost you.  Let the next guy put the fresh tires on it.