Projo Cars Blog

Automotive News reported a recent survey by LeaseTrader.com which asked drivers to rank distractions while driving in order of danger.

It seems texting was not ranked higher than seventh among both men and women.

Most women ranked kids in the car as the most dangerous distraction (26 percent), followed by putting on makeup (17 percent), tuning the radio and the navigation system (both 10 percent), weather related distractions (8 percent), passengers in vehicle and eating/drinking (both 7 percent).

Texting while driving ranked eighth with 4 percent.

Most men ranked road rage as the most dangerous distraction (18 percent), followed by eating/drinking (15 percent), checking out other drivers (11 percent), kids in the car and passengers in the car (both 10 percent), reading paper (9 percent).

Texting ranked seventh with 8 percent.

Nineteen cars and 8 SUVs earn the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's Top Safety Pick award for 2010 For the first time, good performance in a roof strength test to measure protection in a rollover is required to win, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

Top Safety Pick recognizes vehicles that do the best job of protecting people in front, side, rear, and now rollover crashes based on good ratings in Institute tests. Winners also must have electronic stability control, which research shows significantly reduces crash risk. This is the second time the Institute has tightened criteria since announcing the first recipients in 2005.

Subaru is the only manufacturer with a winner in all 4 vehicle classes in which it competes. This automaker earns 5 awards for 2010. Ford and subsidiary Volvo have 6 winners, and Volkswagen/Audi has 5. Chrysler earns 4 awards, continuing a recent trend of improving the crashworthiness of its vehicles. Two new small cars, the Nissan Cube and Kia Soul, join the Top Safety Pick list for 2010.

"With the addition of our new roof strength evaluation, our crash test results now cover all 4 of the most common kinds of crashes," says Institute president Adrian Lund. "Consumers can use this list to zero in on the vehicles that are on the top rung for safety."

This is a bit old but still interesting:

A British-built supercar today broke a 103-year-old world land speed record for steam-powered vehicles, according to Britain's Guardian newspaper.

The 7.7-metre British Steam Car, nicknamed the "fastest kettle in the world", reached an average speed of 139.843mph on two runs over a measured mile at the Edwards air force base in California.

The timing beat the previous record of 127mph set by an American, Fred Marriott, in a Stanley steam car at the Daytona Beach road course in 1906.

Marriott's was the longest-standing officially recognised land speed record. It was beaten by the team based in Lymington, Hampshire, with Charles Burnett III at the wheel.

Burnett piloted the car for both runs, reaching a peak speed of 136mph on the first run and 151mph on the second, a team spokesman said.

Record officials recognise a land speed record as the average speed of two passes made across the same measured distance in opposing directions within 60 minutes of each other. The time of the two runs is averaged to obtain the official recorded speed.

The new international record, which is subject to official confirmation by officials from the International Automobile Federation, followed a series of cancellations in the last week due to technical difficulties and bad weather.

Following the success, Burnett said: "It was absolutely fantastic. I enjoyed every moment of it. We reached nearly 140mph on the first run before I applied the parachute. All systems worked perfectly, it was a really good run. The second run went even better and we clocked a speed in excess of 150mph. The car really did handle beautifully.

"The team has worked extremely hard over the last 10 years and overcome numerous problems. It is a privilege to be involved with such a talented crew. What we have achieved today is a true testament to British engineering, good teamwork and perseverance."

Gasoline prices remained near their highs for the year on Monday as a weaker dollar and rising global stock markets boosted oil prices, according to The Associated Press.

Prices at the pump fell 0.4 cents overnight to $2.631 a gallon, according to AAA, Wright Express and Oil Price Information Service. That is down 6 cents from the peak of $2.691 reached Oct. 30.

But the gap between now and a year ago continues to widen. Prices are now 52.6 cents higher than last year at this time when gasoline prices slid along with oil prices as the recession took hold.

General Motors says it lost $1.2 billion from the time it left bankruptcy protection through Sept. 30, far better than it has reported in previous quarters and a sign that the auto giant is starting to turn around its business, according to The Associated Press.

The company also says it will begin repaying $6.7 billion in U.S. government loans with a $1.2 billion payment in December. It could pay off the full amount by 2010, five years ahead of schedule, but the money will come from funds loaned by the government.

Check out this priceless New York Times story and video of a $1 million plus Bugatti Veyron being pulled out of a salt water lagoon in Texas.

The driver apparently was startled by a low flying pelican and swerved off the road.

Boy, is it hard to feel sympathy for the super rich!

Peter C.T. Elsworth

Ronald Rene called me the other day to ask why Toyota does not heavily advertise its premier Avalon sedan. As he said, it's a great car, why don't they get the word out?

Frankly, I don't know but I have an idea. Fact is there is no better form of advertising than word of mouth (just ask any movie producer), and Toyota's whole take on the Avalon is understated class.

And promoting understated class is an oxymoron.

Meanwhile, Rene's call prompted me to pay more attention to Toyota's ads and I was surprised by the dominance of one key factor: reliability. The point is made again and again, to the extent that performance and styling are barely mentioned.

But then it has been reliability which has taken the company - along with Honda - to the top of the global auto industry.

And it is hardly a new idea - is there anyone who is not familiar with Aesop's fable of the tortoise and the hare?