Cars for Girls readers know how important it is to keep an emergency road kit in their vehicle at all times, and now it’s time to spread the knowledge – or at least pay it forward by putting together an emergency road kit to give as a gift this holiday season.  Your girlfriends, daughters, nieces and granddaughters will know how much you care by receiving such a personal gift with your own personal touches.  The items and supplies can be as basic or as extravagant as you want to get (which is the fun of making your own!) and can include a wide variety of items.  Putting together an emergency road kit for friends and loved ones isn’t just for the holidays.  In fact, you can share the love and safety this gift idea brings by giving your personalized kits for birthdays, to college bound students - or when you just want to show you care.

Remember when purchasing a storage container that it will more than likely be placed in the trunk of the vehicle, so size matters - don’t purchase something too large or too small.  A good rule of thumb is to open your own trunk and see how things stack up.  Once you have a pretty good idea of the size you’ll need, you can begin filling it with all kinds of goodies! 

Not sure what to include?  Here are some fun and practical items and supplies any girl on your list will be thankful to have:

• Tire pressure gauge
• Cans of motor oil
• Set of cloths
• Flashlight with extra batteries
• Set of jumper cables
• Ice scraper
• Atlas or map of their area
• Small notebook and pen
• First Aid kit
• Blanket
• Army knife
• 1 can of Fix-a-Flat
• Duct tape
• 1 pair of gloves
• Help/Call Police Sign
• Matches
• Plastic Ziploc bags
• Whistle
• Small phone number/address book
• Window Punch/Seat Belt Cutter emergency tool
• Bottled water
• Nonperishable food items such as granola bars, raisins, etc.
• Small shovel
• 1 bag of rock salt or sand

You can also put together a personal gift of car related items that a friend or loved one might not purchase for themselves: 

• Cool key chains
• Window Punch/Seat Belt Cutter emergency tool
• License plate frame
• Shop towels
• Interior cleaner and supplies
• Gift certificates/gift cards redeemable at a local car wash
• Removable decals

If you need more ideas, check out 6 Great Gift Ideas for the Car Enthusiast.  When you’ve got your gift items together, you can wrap them all up in cellophane, add a festive bow and you’ve got yourself a great gift to give that someone special in your life!

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Not everyone can afford to buy a new Toyota Prius or any other top of the line environmentally friendly automobile, especially these days; however those who want to do their part for the environment can make subtle changes now to cut greenhouse gas emissions in the future.

1. Make sure vehicle tires are properly inflated and maintained. According to experts, if every driver in the United States properly maintained their tires, the country could quite possibly save approximately three billion gallons of gas each year.
2. Observe all speed limits.
3. Avoid sudden stops and starts.
4. Don’t use the air conditioning unless you absolutely have to.
5. Consider using a sun reflector when parked – they keep the temperature inside the vehicle cooler.
6. Don’t let your vehicle idle any more than necessary.
7. Be certain your vehicle is well maintained and it gets proper tune-ups and service when needed.  A poorly tuned engine can increase fuel consumption by up to 50 percent.
8. Replace your fuel filter regularly.
9. Use the right grade oil for your vehicle and change it regularly.  Clean oil reduces wear on moving parts.
10. You can improve gas mileage by replacing the air filter regularly.
11. Remove unnecessary items from your trunk; extra weight means less fuel economy.
12. If possible, walk instead of drive, take city transportation, ride a bike or car-pool.
13. Take advantage of “Park & Ride” if it’s available in your area.  This is where you drive to a designated parking garage or public parking area and then use city transportation to reach your destination.
14. Note if your vehicle can already use E-85 fuel.  Many older vehicles are already equipped to use this type of fuel.  Check out the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition website to find out if your vehicle can use this flex fuel alternative.
15. Use the web or phone to shop.
16. Consider using video conferencing.
17. Use Google maps, Triple A or something similar so you can plot and plan out your trips, which will help you to know exactly where you’re going and you’ll use less gas trying to find your way around town.
18. Learn about hypermiling.  Try it for a week and note your results.  You may be pleasantly surprised!

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Since I like to do a lot of car repairs myself, I’m often asked if there is anything I don’t do – or simply won’t do and the answer is, “Yes!”  Like everyone who loves cars and enjoys working on them, there are always a few things we either won’t do or just generally dislike doing. There are also things I believe someone else has the ability to do much better than I can.  

Brakes

Well for starters, I don’t do any kind of brake work – ever.  It’s too easy for something to fail and I don’t have any certification to work on brakes.  That’s not saying I can’t get certified, or that it’s a requirement in Illinois, only that I don’t trust myself to do good brake work.  In fact, I know a lot of great weekend mechanics who could probably do most (if not all) types of brake work just as good as a certified mechanic, but to play it safe, I always take my vehicles to someone who is certified in brake work.  Believe me when I say it saves me a lifetime of worry.

Windshields

I have helped people put all kinds of windshields in their vehicles, but this is a real two-person job – especially front and rear windshields – which requires a precision and skill that I just don’t have by myself.  Windshield glass – especially front and rear – is extremely heavy; I would never attempt to do this alone.

Spark Plugs

Okay, I know changing spark plugs is relatively easy, but this is one thing I dislike doing so much that I’ve been known to do a little bartering in exchange for replacing the little monsters.  I’ve been known to wash and detail a car, change the oil or even buy pizza and beer just to avoid it.  Changing spark plugs isn’t difficult, it just takes time and sometimes I don’t have the patience to even begin to attempt the job.

Exhaust

Again, this is something I leave up to the professionals, unless the problem is fairly simple, like replacing a tail pipe or patching a muffler on an older vehicle.

I think we all have our limitations and above are a few of mine. I don’t look at having limitations as being a bad thing, in fact, I know what I’m good at, I know what my patience is good for, and I know what I simply can’t do or what I feel uncomfortable doing.  I want to do a good job, but I also realize I may be lacking in the expertise needed to do those things. 

I think when we learn how to do our own auto repairs, it matters not whether those things take a few minutes or a few hours, but instead how comfortable we are doing them, learning what we’re good at and also accepting what we may not be able to do well - or at all.

Okay Cars for Girls readers, it’s time to brag!  Tell me - what are you good at?

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Seventy-two vehicles earned the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s Top Safety Pick award for 2009 - more than twice the number in 2008 and more than 3 times the number in 2007. Vehicles on that made the list are those vehicles which do the best job of protecting people in front, side, and rear crashes based on good ratings in Institute tests. Winners also have to have electronic stability control (ESC), which research shows significantly reduces crash risk.

Ford and Volvo came out on top with sixteen winners each, including the Ford F-150 large pickup. Thirteen winners came from Honda and its Acura division. The Honda Fit with optional ESC is the first mini car to earn Top Safety Pick.

Honda, Acura, and Subaru, which each picked up 4 awards, are standouts for 2009 because they have at least 1 Top Safety Pick in every vehicle class in which they compete.

Front and side impacts are the most common kinds of fatal crashes, killing about three-quarters of the 28,896 passenger vehicle occupants who died in 2007. Rear-end crashes usually aren’t fatal, but they result in a large proportion of crash injuries. Neck sprain or strain is the most commonly reported injury in two thirds of insurance claims for injuries in all kinds of crashes.

For the 2009 model year, 84 percent of passenger cars, 99 percent of SUVs, and 23 percent of pickups have standard side airbags with head protection. The same is true for ESC. It’s standard on 74 percent of passenger cars, 99 percent of SUVs, and 37 percent of pickups.

Rear, side performance still lags: Crash tests have driven major improvements in the designs of all kinds and sizes of passenger vehicles. The Institute began conducting frontal tests for consumer information in 1995. Side tests were added in 2003 and rear tests in 2004. Most vehicles earn good ratings based on the frontal crash test, but significant differences remain among vehicles’ performance in side and rear tests.
Twenty-six models fall short of earning Top Safety Pick because of inadequate head restraint designs. The Smart Fortwo, the only micro car in the US market, missed because of its head restraints. The same goes for Toyota’s hybrid Prius, which performed well in front and side crash tests but came up short for rear crash protection.

Noticeably absent from the list is Chrysler, the only major automaker lacking a single Top Safety Pick.

Winners include 8 large cars, 13 mid size cars, 6 small cars, 1 mini car, 3 mid size convertibles, and 3 minivans. Among SUVs, 19 are mid size, 10 are small, and 5 are large. The 2008 Toyota Tundra was the first large pickup to earn Top Safety Pick. For 2009, the Tundra is joined by the Ford F-150 and the Honda Ridgeline. The Toyota Tacoma is the only small pickup winner.

Among the 2009 winners:

• Audi A6
• Ford Taurus
• Lincoln MKS
• Volvo S80
• Audi A3, A4
• BMW 3 series (4-door models)
• Ford Fusion (with optional electronic stability control)
• Honda Accord (4-door models)
• Volkswagen Jetta and Passat
• Saab 9-3
• Volkswagen Eos
• Volvo C70
• Volkswagen Rabbit
• Kia Sedona
• Chevrolet Traverse
• GMC Acadia
• Saturn Outlook
• Ford Edge
• Honda Pilot
• Hyundai Santa Fe
• Nissan Murano
• Saturn VUE
• Nissan Rogue
• Subaru Forester
• Toyota RAV4
• Volkswagen Tiguan
• Ford F-150
• Honda Ridgeline
• Toyota Tundra
• Toyota Tacoma
• Infiniti EX35
• Lincoln MKX
• Mercedes M class
• Subaru Tribeca
• Toyota FJ Cruiser
• Volvo XC90
• Mercury Sable
• Toyota Avalon
• Volvo S80

Click here to visit the IISA website for the complete list of IISA 2009 winners.

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The high-mileage 2009 Hyundai Accent, with a starting price of only $9,970.00, makes it the least expensive new car on the market, but it’s also the “Most Dependable Sub-Compact Car” available (as determined by the J.D. Power and Associates Vehicle Dependability Study and one of the most fuel efficient vehicles on the road today.

Combine that with the fact that all Hyundai vehicles sold in the U.S. are covered by The Hyundai Advantage, America’s Best Warranty, protected by a 10-year/100,000-mile power train warranty, a 5-year/60,000-mile bumper-to-bumper warranty, a 7-year/unlimited-mile anti-perforation warranty and 5-year/unlimited-mile roadside assistance protection and the Hyundai Accent is truly the most affordable vehicle on the market today.  Also to note is that Hyundai Accent received the lowest number of problems per 100 vehicles among sub-compact cars in a J.D. Power and Associates 2008 Vehicle Dependability Study, which was conducted from January to April 2008 and based on responses from over 52,000 original owners of 2005 model-year vehicles, measuring more than 250 models. 

All around, this is one impressive little car.

At the Los Angeles Auto Show, Hyundai announced even more good news for the Accent, revealing that next year a special high-mileage “Blue” edition will be available that offers even higher levels of fuel economy without adding to the price. Accent “Blue” will feature fuel-efficient modifications to reduce engine friction and rolling resistance, enhance aerodynamics, optimize gearing and revise engine calibrations for maximum efficiency, all adding up to higher fuel mileage and lower emissions than today’s model.

The 2009 Accent GS retains the same content as last year’s model and has not been reduced to achieve America’s best price point.  Accent GS offers a 1.6-litre, 110-horsepower engine, power steering, advanced front airbags, front seat-mounted side-impact airbags, roof-mounted curtain airbags, tire pressure monitoring system, front variable intermittent wipers, 60/40 split fold-down seat back, six-way adjustable driver seat, adjustable head restraints for all seating positions and rear spoiler.

Pricing for all other Accent models remains unchanged. In addition to the $9,970.00 Accent GS 3-door with manual transmission, the Accent three-door with automatic transmission starts at $12,070.00, the Accent GLS 4-door with manual transmission starts at $12,920.00, and the sporty Accent SE 3-door with manual transmission starts at $15,070.00.

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