Automotive Blogger

With the nights growing longer, weather infringing upon the daylight, and holiday lights catching our attention, driving safely at night becomes increasingly important. Especially when you consider that, depending on the source of information, the likelihood of being in an accident is either twice or three times higher after dark.

Here, then, are tips for safe night driving:

1. Prepare your car. Make sure headlights, taillights, and turn signals and windows are all clean, and that your headlights are properly aimed, both to ensure that you can see the road correctly, and to keep from blinding other drivers.
2. Don’t drink or smoke while driving. Alcohol is a depressant and can increase fatigue, as well as impair your response time, while nicotine and carbon monoxide from cigarette smoke are a detriment to night vision.
3. Err on the side of light. While they won’t help you see any better during the early twilight hours, having your headlights will make it easier for other drivers to see you.
4. Slow down. Drive more slowly when you’re driving in the dark, and leave more room between yourself and other drivers. Distance is more difficult to judge without adequate illumination.
5. Be kind. If you’re following another vehicle, switch to your low beams, and do the same when facing oncoming traffic. If someone in an opposing lane keeps their high beams on, you can avoid glare by watching the right edge of the road.

While these tips are meant for night driving in normal conditions, they’re doubly appropriate in inclement weather. Remember also, that if road conditions are bad enough that you don’t feel confident in your vehicle, there is no shame in staying home, or stopping in a motel for the night.

We wanted to give you an idea of what’s to come in the next month at AutomotiveBlogger.net:

The holiday season is upon us, and even auto aficionados can get caught up in the hype. We’re going to feed your need for car-related gifts beginning this Friday, with day one of our gift guide.

With longer nights and darker days, it’s important to remember that the chance of being in a car accident increases by 50% as soon as the sun goes down. Tomorrow, we’ll be featuring tips for safer night driving.

We’ll also be looking at the spate of Christmas-oriented car commercials, because some of them are cheesy but others are just plain fun.

Stay tuned.

We here at Automotive Blogger wish you a safe and happy holiday, and will refrain from mentioning the Thanksgiving when we were thirteen, and the family car broke down in the middle of nowhere in a rain storm, in the Days Before Cell Phones.

Instead we offer this link to eHow on How to cook a turkey on your engine.

Please note, we offer it as entertainment, and strongly recommend that you choose a more conventional method of cooking the family bird, one that involves an oven. Or a grill. And lots of hungry relatives giving advice.

If I told you that there was an automotive connection between the last Tsar of Russia, the Eiffel tower, the Sahara Desert, the Silk Road, the Freemasons, and military vehicles would you believe me?

You would if you’d ever heard of the Citroen Halftrack. It was a car developed by (you guessed it) Andre Citroen who used a Kegresse track system for the rear propulsion. Kegresse developed his system while working in Russia, using personal vehicles from Tsar Nicholas II’s personal motorcade.

Citroen adapted the technology to his cars, which, as halftracks, had normal front wheels. Among his other achievements were a special herringbone-style gear that helped reduce axial thrust. He was a Freemason and some thing the Citroen logo is an adaptation of the Freemasons’ symbol for architecture. Citroen’s other big splash was when he used the Eiffel tower as the world’s largest billboard.

Later, Citroen and Georges-Marie Haardt formed a partnership of exploration, using Citroen halftracks sporting Kegresse’s drive system to lead the first motorcar expedition across the Sahara, from Toggourt, Algeria, to Timbuktu, Mali, in 1922, and then to traverse Africa from north to south in an expedition known as La Croisere Noire, in 1924-25.

The most famous Citroen-Haardt expedition included military personnel who were studying the technology (the US would later use it in both World War I and World War II). This expedition, known as La Croisiere Jaune began on April 4th 1931, in Beirut, Lebanon, and followed Marco Polo’s Silk Road to Beijing, China, during which it was besieged by bandits, delayed by Russian bureaucracy, and documented by National Geographic Magazine.

From Tsarist Russia to Beijing, and from the heart of Paris to the trenches, halftracks connect more than you think.

True Story: An old friend of my mother’s once had a choice between buying her son, who had a scholarship to a toney music school, his very own harp or paying a mechanic to rebuild the engine in her car so that she could drive it. She was an amazing mother, and opted to buy the harp, then spent several weeks taking the bus to and from work while she also attended an automotive class at the local community college and learned how to rebuild the engine herself. She had to endure a lot of teasing from the mostly male students in the class.

She died of Ovarian cancer several years ago, but I always think of her around this time of year, and so, in her honor, for this week’s Women on Wheels, we’re spotlighting Lori Johnson, whom we learned about from our friends at AskPatty.

Lori runs “Ladies, Start Your Engines,” a hands-on automotive repair class just for women, which not only teaches women how to do basic auto work, but also gives them a sense of empowerment and confidence. I think this is really cool, because all drivers, male and female, should be able to do basic repairs.

According to the website for Ms. Johnson’s class, it was originally a co-ed class, but it became women-only when she noticed that women were reluctant to ask questions. She changed the tenor of the class, and with the basic repair, also taught her students how to feel more confident when talking to mechanics about their cars.

Ms. Johnson has over twenty years of automotive experience, and we think she sets an example for every woman (and man) on wheels. I think my mother’s friend would have liked her.

News from Chrysler this week is that they’re cutting third shifts and various American plants, as well as cutting models, so if you’re a great fan of the PT Cruiser Convertible, you should buy one now, because after 2009, they’re a discontinued model. Other models being cut are the two-seat Crossfire, the Pacifica, and the Dodge Magnum.

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Also making news in Detroit are Chevy’s plans to unveil a seven-seat compact minivan based on the Opel Zafira, though made a bit more masculine, this bringing European styling to American family vehicles once more (compact minis are tres chic across the pond). This minivan, currently known as the MPV-7, is likely to be built in Hamtramck, MI.

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Jeep is making news on the Alternative Fuel front, by offering a diesel option in their new Laredo. The optional engine is a 3.0 liter V-6, and it makes the Laredo the third Grand Cherokee model to have a diesel option. The other two are the Grand Cherokee Limited and Overland. The base MSRP for the Laredo is $35,685 for 4×2 models and $40,905 for 4×4 models.

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Finally, from Los Angeles, there’s news that Kia has a new CEO. Len Hunt, age 52, who has been with Kia for about two years is replacing B.G. Lee, who has returned to the Korean company’s home office. Hunt is the third CEO of Kia’s American branch since 2001, when then-CEO Peter Butterfield was fired.

Winter is creeping closer and closer, with snow already making an appearance in the Midwest. If you live in a place where the temperatures dip below freezing, it’s a wise idea to make sure your car is prepped for winter. For this week’s Tech Thursday, here are some things you should do to winterize your car:

1. Battery: Cold weather can reduce your battery’s life by up to half, so get your battery tested, and replace it if necessary.
2. Tires: Winter or summer, saving gas, or staying on the road, it all comes down to tired. For winter, make sure they have adequate pressure, and also make sure the treads are in good condition. This is a good time to rotate your tires, or replace them with snow tires, if necessary.
3. Wipers: Make sure your windshield wipers are in good condition. If the blades show any signs of tearing or cracking, or if they leave bad streaks or smears on the windshield, replace them. If you live in a place prone to snow and ice, you might want to consider special winter-friendly wiper blades.
4. Fluids: Keep your gas tank at least half full all the time to keep the gas lines from freezing, and make sure you have enough antifreeze as well. This is also a good time to replenish the washing fluid for your windshield with a winter blend to help reduce ice.
5. Emergency Preparedness: Along with a first-aid kit, make sure your trunk holds a flashlight, jumper cables, a tool kit, and tire chains if snow and ice are an issue. Also, a bag of sand or kitty litter can be invaluable if you get stuck in snow or ice, either for traction, or just to add weight. Packing a blanket and matches or a propane lighter is wise also.

Winter driving doesn’t have to be dangerous, and getting caught in weather doesn’t have to be deadly. Keep your car well-maintained, drive sensibly, and stay warm.

The 2008 Ford Taurus has a five star safety rating, and is being billed (by Ford) as the safest car in America. In June, 2007, they launched a series of advertising spots featuring this information. Courtesy of YouTube, here’s the first, which featured a father watching his son grow from toddler to near-adult driver.

Ratings are given annually by the Institute for Highway Safety, based on crash tests conducted on closed tracks.

…to apologize for the lack of posts this week. We’ve been researching new stories.

We’ll be back on Monday, November 5th with our usual features, including Media Monday, and History Thursday.

Look for articles about Citroen crossing the Sahara, and the history of JEEP as well.