Live Q&As;

Ah, Luddites! These new, seemingly whiz-bang technoligies are not as whiz-bang as they might seem. I have reason to believe, and I am not alone in this thinking, that the technologies in question, while seemingly distracting, will actually lead to a reduction in fatal crashes. Smart-phone syncing allows you to keep hands on the wheel and eyes on the road. Advanced infotainment alerts you to traffic problems well before you encounter them. Lane departure andblind-spot monitoring systems, along with advanced pedestrian safety technologies, have already kept me out of big trouble. The more the merrier as for as I am concerned.

go to fueleconomy.gov they have all the figures for the epa and they give you what other people are getting on their cars.

The Spark numbers are 30 city/39 highway/34 combined but drivers say they are getting 40mpg.

I would still say Hyundai because so much of what they have is standard on their cars.

Honda - though not head-turning - is high on the list of safety. They put more safety in their cars as standard than most.

good question

Good news! Glad to hear it. Happy that you are satisfied. Thank you for writing in.

Lou Ann here:

So happy for you! Thanks for letting us know, last week, as you know, there were a couple people chiming in to tell you not to buy it if you were going to be treated poorly. Thanks for letting us know.

Short answer: Nothing is technically wrong with the Insight. But it looks too much like a science project, which actually attracts some people, but turns most of them off.

My bias is, and has been for a long time, in favor of most things Subaru. Excellent build quality, great reliability, and in most things Subaru, one of the best symmetrical all-wheel-drive systems available. The xception on the latter point, of course, is the youth-oriented, rear-wheel-drive BRZ sports coupe. But even that is likable for what it is. I also like the wagon-like Prius V, one of the best of the Prius genre.

Lou Ann here:

Great comparison. Subaru gets about 30mpg, Prius V gets  42mpg. Subaru can be less expensive than the Toyota. I have not heard of either having major recalls or safety issues, so it comes down to which one you like to drive more.

I have interr the world. Most of them have families andviewed automotive engineers, designers, and chief executives all over the world. Most of them have families and friends they love and hold dear. They would not deliberately endanger those people any more than you and I would deliberately endanger our own. Car development and manufacturing is an extremely complicated, protracted enterprise run by fallible human beings. Mistakes happen. Recalls are designed to correct those mistakes when they occur. Increased global governmental emphasis on safe motoring is pushing everyone to do better.

The range goes from the smallest cars (subcompact - because they are going to need to have everything contented but great mileage too) to the high-end like the Maserati Ghibli, because they are going to be incorporating Chrysler into their product.

Listen to your Dad. Sell it. Store the proceeds of the sale in an interest-bearing financial account. Return home to money. And, by the way, heartfelt thanks for your service to our contry in the foreign service. Not easy work. Thanks. Be safe.

Lou Ann here:

I am going to echo Warren's sentiments - thank you for your service. My Dad was a military man - Air Force - I know what it takes to pack up and move every four years.

Sell the car. It would cost to store it and insure it. Sock away the money and buy something when you come home.

The concept is not valid for most drivers especially if the driver behind you has road rage.

It's about doing what is necessary to get the most miles you can out of your car. I know people that drive without air conditioning, coast down every little hill in neutral and ride on a trucks bumper all to get more miles.

Drive safely. If you want more miles by a car that gets better mpg.

I respectfully disagree. The people who want to stay connected in their personal cars also want to stay connected in rentals. I think we'll se an increasingly simplified version of telematic technologies, much as we have witnessed with computers and cell phones. Telematics is here to stay, and to grow.

Yes, a good brushless car wash--top up, windows closed of course.

Thanks for reminding, I forgot about that.

I have not checked if Oregon is actually doing that but they were the test ground for it happening. This was an article I wrote in 2007 (!) - I will have to go back and update it

http://www.drivingthenation.com/?p=204

I agree. I think by 2020, and I don't believe that is optimistic.

The first gen did attract more of the scientist teacher type, but you are right, now they look like regular cars but few have been bought so even in California they are noticed on the road.

Yes, probably. I do detest the myriad options sales gimmicks.

The trouble with romance is that it is, more often than not, complicated by reality. The truth is that the romantic notion of driving, man in control of machine, still contributes to more than 30,00 traffic fatallities annually in the United States--miliions more in Africa, China, Central Rurope and South America. Most of those fatalities are human-caused. If the new technology helps to reduce that carnage, I'm all for it.

Interesting. Thanks. My question was more whether people realize that it is happening, that you are freely giving up your privacy everytime you turn your smartphone on, everytime you get in your car. We don't need microchips in the back of our neck, we have them draped all over us.

If we had been demanded to have these devices would we fight back and say it wasn't legal? Instead, because of the conveniences and the ability to save a life we have given up the freedom of privacy.

:) over 50 are you? :)

That is an argument looking for a cause. Yes, the original telematics systems, I'm thinking BMW, were unnecessarily complicated. The new models from most of today's manufactuers are easier to use, more intuitive. Our ancestors had the same concerns about radio in cars. Today, we can't drive without them.

Did you look at the Prius V? What did you pay for the Impreza? If you could have bought a similar priced Prius V would you have and gotten 42mpg? I ask for the chatter, because you own an Impreza.

Thanks

Some are obvious - concepts that aren't going to take off, but some is what happens in the NHTSA/IIHS testing. These days if you don't get those tests right they don't sell.

You have to do some homework.

I'm no longer enamored with quick off-the -line starts. My fascination with that  died a long time ago. I'm more concerned with power for the long haul, the heavy pull, which is where good torque comes in. It is a psychic development that has come with age.

It's not a matter of giving up the privacy, as long as we understand that we are doing it. I don't think people realize how much they have given up. I also don't think they care because the benefits out weigh (to them) the privacy issue.

Just read a NHTSA report saying that it will not open a formal investigation into power complaints about the F150. I think you have no worries. Ford is very jealous about the quality reputation of its best-slling pickups. And with me and Lou Ann, you have a direct line to Ford's management if you have problems. Use it.

agreed

We have the same issues, so does Consumer Reports which is why they give Ford such bad marks.

Ford is changing their system, going away from Microsoft. It will take a little while, but they know it has to be done.

Collaboration is not nearly as rare as you might think. It happens all the time, 24-7, 365 days a year. The reason is money. Auto-making is a ridiculously capital-intensive business. With governments worldwide demanding safer, cleaner, more fuel-efficient vehicles,it is happening more and more..and will continue..which means they work..or serve some valued purpose.