CAC Auto

Volkswagen Unveiling New Car At 2011 North American International Auto Show

For the first time in years Volkswagen is unveiling a new car, and they plan to do it with style. After choosing Chattanooga, Tennessee as the city that the ‘NMS’ would be built in, Volkswagen hired a team of more than 1,000 automotive workers to work on their newest edition. In recent years, more car companies in the US have been closing down plants than building them. In Newark, Delaware, a Chrysler plant was closed down right before Christmas of 2008 and several other car manufacturers followed suit. Now that Volkswagen has put Chattanooga on the automotive manufacturing map, residents are as thankful for the job opportunities as they are of the honor it has brought their legendary city.
Volkswagen to price the yet to be officially named car competitively. It has been designed to include a roomier interior and other features that North Americans seem to love in cars. The production process will start almost immediately after Volkswagen shows the world their newest project at the 2011 North American International Auto Show. Volkswagen plans to have the car in mass production in the early spring of 2011 and on showroom floors by the summer.

Regardless of how the car is received by critics, Chattanooga residents are likely to buy the new Volkswagen in droves. The economy of Chattanooga has been hit hard during the recession, and Volkswagen has helped to bring the type of jobs that local residents are accustomed to working. On top of employing a number of local workers, Volkswagen will be selling their new car at several Chattanooga dealerships first.

Nissan Creates Electric Car Education Website For Children

While Nissan’s aim is probably to turn the next generation of future drivers into loyal customers, they are taking a step that is just as beneficial for the environment as it will be for their profits. Children grow up seeing images of sleek cars being driven at high speeds down open highways, so they naturally begin to gravitate gas guzzling vehicles. Of course, TV advertisement and movies have also begun to feature the flying cars of the future, only they are still many years away. In an attempt to put the spotlight on electric cars, Nissan has created a website specifically aimed at children that hopes to teach them all about electric car technology while letting them know that electric cars can be just as fun to drive as standard vehicles. The website is filled with colorful illustrations and cartoons depicting children riding in electricity powered cars.

The Nissan Leaf children’s website starts off with an interactive cartoon strip that prompts kids to click around the site in order to see how the story progresses. The humorous story follows a family that experiences troubles with their gas powered car and decides to go shopping for an electric car. The cartoon is broken up into chapters, and encourages future car shoppers to take a virtual electric car tour. The site is easy enough for children to navigate, and offers a good amount of information on how electric powered cars work. In addition to learning how electric cars are good for the environment, kids also see that they are easier and less expensive to maintain.

National Car Rental Companies Audited

A large increase in the number of reported deaths in vehicles owned by car rental companies has prompted the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to take a closer look at repair reports. It is thought that some of these car rental companies were aware of the fact that some of the vehicles in their inventory needed to be serviced or were even recalled, before continuing to loan them out. Car rental company Enterprise has specifically been called out as being one of the worst perpetrators of this practice. The untimely deaths of two California car renters was attributed to Enterprise’s negligence. In an unprecedented move, Enterprise publicly acknowledged the tragedy in a courtroom in California.

Car rental association representatives deny the allegations, noting that the practice would actually cost them customers. These representatives go on to state that there was no industry-wide conspiracy to keep rental cars that need servicing on the road. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration hopes that two audits from 2009 and the current audit underway to help to answer these questions with certainty, although they have not commented on what actions would be taken if the allegations are substantiated.

It is thought that the audit was only opened after outspoken consumer advocacy agencies went to the Federal Trade Commission with their complaints. These agencies believe that Enterprise, a leader in the car rental industry, is profiting by putting their customers in constant risk. National car manufacturers have been asked to supply internal car servicing reports so that the audit can be concluded.

Rental Companies Investigated For Safety Violations

After several deaths and numerous injuries to the drivers and passengers of rental cars, the US government and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is taking measures to ensure that rental car companies are able to maintain their vehicles properly. Government officials and members of the NHTSA believe that a better fleet management system could help the rental car industry to better manage the scheduling of repairs and track rental cars from state to state. Citing car accidents that have occurred as a result of faulty rental maintenance since 2004, the Center for Auto Safety has asked the Federal Trade Commission to probe into rental car companies that have failed to repair and service their vehicles properly before renting them to consumers. Enterprise, the company in the middle of these allegations, settled a lawsuit filed by the family of a deceased customer for approximately $15 million.

Since then, Enterprise has pulled any model of car that is under investigation for recall, but driving safety consumer groups say that the measure came too late. While Enterprise and other major car rental companies continue to take additional steps to ensure that their drivers are safe, auto safety company Inthinc has developed the waySmart driving system, a technology that helps to make drivers more aware of potential roadway hazards. Although the complaint that the Center for Auto Safety lodged has already been addressed by Enterprise, the company will remain liable for all accidents involving vehicle recalls where Enterprise failed to pull the effected cars. As more safety measures are implemented, vehicle recalls continue to be the leading cause of accidents in the rental car industry. Even when companies pull recalled vehicles, consumers that are in the middle of renting effected cars must be contacted quickly and given a replacement car. For consumers that have long-term rental agreements, or are difficult to locate, sometimes the end result is an accident that could have been avoided.

New Bike Rack Uses Suction Power

If you have ever had to install a bike rack on the roof or the bumper of your car before, you know that most racks are so complicated to assemble that your eyes will be crossed and your fingers numb by the time you are finished installing one. Between the confusing instructions and the agonizing assembly process, what you thought would be a simple 30 minute project can literally take all day. Marine accessory manufacturer SeaSuckers saw an opening in the bike rack market, and they dove in. Cycling enthusiasts have been known to spend upwards of $10,000 on a single bike, so Seasucker’s new high powered bike carriers look like the next great invention when it comes to keeping precious cycling cargo secure.

Be prepared to spend quite a bit more on a SeaSucker bike rack than you would on a more conventional model. Ranging from about $150 to $600 each, Seasucker bike carriers come at a high price, but the company guarantees that your bikes will remain secure. In fact, this bike carrier manufacturer states that their products have enough strength to be used as a tool to perform Spiderman-esque moves up and down buildings. And as far as installation goes, there really isn’t much to it. Actually, you will probably spend more time marveling over how quickly you were able to install these bike racks than actually putting everything together. Even though suction cups are used to attach this bike carrier to your vehicle, there’s a bit more science behind it than that. SeaSucker carriers use a built in pump in conjunction with the suction cups to stay attached to the car. All you have to do secure your bike rack is dampen the inside of the cups, then stick it on your car. There’s a handy button that activates the rack’s pump, and voila, you’ve just completed the easiest bike carrier installation process of your life.