I love innovative and creative minds and car enthusiasts are increasingly being treated to a bevy of really fun, incredibly geeky and wildly imaginative products that reflect their car loving lifestyles. Here are 3 picks that I just love:

1. 

   2 Stroke Party Blender

   The 2 Stroke Party Blender with Motorcycle Style Handles Fueled by a Gas Powered, 2 Stroke, 43cc, Variable Speed Engine that revvs up like your favorite Harley, this little muscle beast will make over a half of a gallon of your favorite frozen beverage (think: Margaritaville) in about …2 strokes. Its a novelty but a definite must have to keep yourself cool if you find yourself outside in the heat deep frying a turkey or doing a crawfish boil.

2. 

   Wireless Car Mouse

   The Optical Wireless Computer Car Mouse These little muscle cars really are fully functional wireless mouses that are so realistic they come with operating headlights, bumper to bumper warranty and a VIN, Title and Registration. They are fully licensed products and represent everything from the Charger SRT-8, Camaro, Corvette and Mustang plus some police cars if you like your muscle in black and white.

3. 

   Vintage Car Fabric Bags

   Kim White’s Vintage Automotive Fabric Handbags A must have for every gearhead girl and every girl who loves a gearhead that doesn’t know how to shop for his girl, Kim White unearthed a warehouse of unused, dead stock vintage automotive fabric from the days when car upholstery wasn’t plain and boring and has designed a whole series of purses. As Michael Banovsky of Vlane writes, “A great story, and even better is that each handbag is tagged with the year and make of the fabric, so you can tell your friends your bag’s fabric could have been a Camaro, Mustang…or Gremlin. Well, maybe you wouldn’t tell them it was supposed to be the seats in a Gremlin.”

Teen Driving Week at Carsala: Part One

Image from Wired.com

Teen driving now has a fresh young face from the NASCAR world to help promote a program designed to teach safety to teens.

Colin Braun, 20-year old NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver has teamed up with Ford Driving Skills for Life (DSFL) to promote the importance of safe driving to teens around the country.

Mile for mile, teenagers are involved in three times as many fatal crashes as all other drivers. Ford Motor Company has a wonderful program called Driving Skill for Life, through which teens are able to improve their skills in four key areas that are critical factors in more than 60 percent of teen vehicle crashes: Hazard Recognition, Vehicle Handling, Space Management, and Speed Management.

Braun, now in his second year driving the No. 6 Con-way Freight Ford F-150 for Roush Fenway Racing, knows the importance of safe driving on and off the track. As part of the yearlong partnership, Braun will participate in DSFL hands-on training events and various nationwide teen safe-driving initiatives.

“I am pleased to be a part of the Ford Driving Skills For Life program. Having grown up racing all my life, I learned early on there is a time and place for driving fast, but public roads are not it.” said Braun. “I think teenagers are more likely to listen to a message coming from someone closer to their own age, so I hope my involvement will make a difference teaching young drivers how to be safer on the road.”

Throughout the year visitors to www.DrivingSkillsforLife.com will have a chance to view Braun’s blog dedicated to safe driving tips, videos, photos and updates from his race season.

No More Saturday Hours at the DMV

The California DMV has been going through a wee bit of a transition. Fortunately they decided to improve their website just in time as the California state economy took a dramatic downturn. The new site provides more of the services that used to be only available at the DMV Field Offices. All of the DMV Offices now have reduced hours and services but so much can be done on the website, that doing the dreaded wait time in a DMV lobby is almost completely unnecessary.

One feature that the DMV has added is a monthly column, Ask George by George Valverde, director of the California Department of Motor Vehicles. I thought I would feature a few excerpts from the last few months to give a taste.

Q: What is a safe distance between me and my airbag in case it inflates due to an accident?

A: You can take important steps to eliminate or reduce risk of injury without turning off your vehicles’ air bags. The biggest risk of injury is being too close to the air bag. An air bag needs about 10 inches of space to inflate. Ride at least 10 inches (measured from the center of the steering wheel to your breastbone) from the air bag cover if you can do this while maintaining full control of the vehicle. If you cannot safely sit 10 inches away from the air bag, contact your vehicle dealer or manufacturer for advice about additional ways of moving back from your air bag. For more information on air bags, please read the air bag section of the California Driver handbook located online at http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/hdbk/pgs46thru47.htm#airbags.

Q: My grandparents just bought me a classic car for my graduation. Out of curiosity, how do I check the car’s smog test history?

A: This can easily be done by visiting
http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/brochures/fast_facts/ffvr33.htm and clicking on Check the Smog Test History of a Vehicle. Here, you can either enter the car’s license plate number or the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) to get the cars complete smog test history.

Q: Can you offer me any tips on how to save money on gasoline?

A: Of course! The DMV offers an entire page on its Web site devoted to helping you reduce fuel costs. Some of the helpful tips include information on how to purchase fuel wisely, how to drive more efficiently, even how to improve the efficiency of the vehicle you drive! To start saving money on fuel today, visit http://www.dmv.ca.gov/about/save_fuel.htm.

Q: I’m in the U.S. Armed Forces and am out-of-state on active duty. Is my driver license still valid?

A: If you are out-of-state on active military service in the U.S. Armed Forces and have a valid California driver license, your license will be valid for the full time you are absent from the state and for 30 days from your discharge date, or when you return to California. Carry both your driver license and discharge papers during those 30 days. Call 1-800-777-0133 and ask for a card (DL 236) which extends your license. Military dependents do not qualify for this extension. For more information, visit www.dmv.ca.gov.

Buying a used GM car right now is a good idea even in the middle of what sometimes seems like a catastrophic series of events for the car company. It is important to keep some keys facts in mind and be aware of some of the myths being thrown around.

1. FACT: Sales for GM’s new cars set a high in May (up 18% from April 2009 by core brands: Chevrolet, GMC, Buick and Cadillac) while GM Certified Used Vehicles, the industry’s top-selling certified brand May sales down 28 percent from May 2008.

What this means: As buyers rush to grab new GM cars, the used (but manufacturer certified) models are getting less love and dealers always love sales so negotiating a sweet deal on a 2008 or prior under their Certified program is in season.

2. FACT: Warranties on GM’s Certified Pre-Owned will still be supported by certified dealers and service centers.

What this means: According to Mark LaNeve, VP of GM North America Sales & Service, ” We will honor our warranty commitment given at the time of purchase to owners of current and future General Motors Certified Used and Pre-Owned Vehicles, such as the 12-month/12,000 bumper-to-bumper warranty for Certified Used and Pre-Owned vehicles, and focus on the customers’ needs from their sales to service experience.” Extended warranties are not always backed by the manufacturer and are sold on behalf of third party companies so those companies are responsible for claims.

3. MYTH: Leftover 2008 and previous years models have been sitting on the dealer lots and could suffer from “Lot Rot”.

What this means: Pretty much nothing because it is a bit of an extreme urban myth based on an interesting article about cars decomposing in landfills which states that metal head gaskets can begin to rot after 1 to 3 years. What they really mean is that rot can be accelerated if exposed “…to high moisture content, acidity and dissolved salts in the soil”. In other words, buried in the ground. Moving on.

4. MYTH: Your local GM dealer is closing as part of GM’s restructuring plan (or “reinvention” as GM likes to call it) so you will not be able to get your Certified Pre-Owned car serviced once they close.

What this means: GM vehicles will receive service and warranty work at closing dealers until they shut down. The remaining dealers will continue to provide service and warranty work and so you may have to drive a little further but there will still be twice as many GM service centers as Toyota centers.

5. MYTH: Hummer is going away but you can finally get the biggest vehicle of your dreams for little to no money.

What this means: Hummer is being tentatively being sold to a Chinese company who is expected to maintain Hummer service and sales after the contracts are completed for the brand’s ownership transition and although the perception is that Hummers are rotting on the lots, May sales for Certified Pre-Owned Hummers were the only GM Certified Pre-Owned brand saw an upswing in May (up 16%) Mind you, that was only 222 total vehicles across the country because those suckers still have a dollar sign as big as their carbon footprint.

Which car from GM’s Certified Pre-Owned inventory would I want? Well, I certainly wouldn’t say no to a Cadillac CTS.

This is a little quiz because Someone asked me (challenged me) what they should do about the side mirror on their 2005 Mustang that had a passenger side window that got knocked off (I am not asking how) but they are thinking of selling this car to get another car.

As a buyer AND as seller- this question made sense to me. Does anyone really care of the car is getting them to their destination? Or, as this car owner tends to want to believe, can you just Instant Double Epoxy the broken mirror back on because no one really cares.