Welcome to the AskPatty Blog Carnival, where we provide a midweek fix of female friendly news and interesting automotive tidbits from around the blogosphere. Have you got something to share? Use the form at the end to send us your own blog bits to be included in next week's carnival!

Family-friendly features often come into play when new-vehicle shoppers make a decision, and with that in mind, Kelley Blue Book has released its 2008 Best New Family Vehicles list. Dominating the awards are three-row crossover vehicles, which took five of the 10 spots. Editors praised the three-row crossovers for combining an SUV's functionality with the smooth ride and handling of a car. The rest of the vehicles included two minivans, a sedan, a wagon, and an SUV. Read the complete article at www.kbb.com/Family2008.

Michigan's First New "Green" Dealership -- The Future is Now! LaFontaine Automotive Group has announced that its new Buick-Pontiac-GMC-Cadillac dealership, scheduled to open in Highland Township in Spring 2008 will be a state-of-the-art "green" facility, the first of its kind in Michigan. Ryan LaFontaine, general manager of the new facility, estimates energy savings of up to 50 percent--one of many benefits to the company and the community.

Sanrio Digital has announced the closed beta launch of "Hello Kitty Online", a Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) based on the famous Sanrio characters. Hello Kitty Online allows players to explore and adventure in Sanrio's fantasy world, a magical land that has recently fallen under the influence of a mysterious and malevolent power. Targeting female players from their pre-teens to twenties, Hello Kitty Online is the first installable MMORPG to set its sights on this demographic profile. Does it have cars? I don't know, but this cute little site was just to pink to ignore.

We can always count on Rinspeed to present something fun and funky at the Geneva Motor Show. This year's SQuba concept is no different, promising to plow through the water at a depth of 30 feet and has electrical motors to turn the underwater screw. Passengers will be able to keep breathing underwater through an integrated tank of compressed air similar to what is used in scuba diving. The sQuba's top speed on land is about 77 mph, but Rinspeed says it travels at about 3 mph on the surface of the water and 1.8 mph underwater.

Ricardo Rodriguez-Long, a certified mechanic and automotive journalist, is working with Uniroyal Tire in a public service campaign to provide money-saving advice to Hispanic families. "Families must understand the implications of car care, especially if they are on a tight budget," says Rodriguez-Long. "A little preventative maintenance can help you save on gas costs and save yourself from costly surprises down the road." It's like getting car advice from Abuelo.

While toys based on Warner Bros.' "Speed Racer" and "The Dark Knight," Lucasfilm's "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" and Marvel's "Hulk" are expected to be the biggest licensed entertainment hits at this year's Toy Fair, theHollywoodReporter and toy industry experts predict the most buzz of all going into Toy Fair is around Warners' live-action movie "Speed Racer," which is based on the 1960s Japanese anime TV series and will be turned into an animated TV show on NickToons in May, just before the film's summer release. Raise your hand if you want to be Trixie!

The evidence is mounting. Big engines and huge horsepower no longer are the keys to the car-buyer's heart. In fact, it quickly may become the opposite, says The Edmunds Auto Observer. Installation rates for V8 engines -- the bread-and-butter powerplant for the horsepower wars that have dominated the U.S. market for more than a decade -- are dropping. And data from Edmunds.com extrapolating the purchase intentions of consumers actively shopping for a new vehicle show those potential customers are markedly less interested in V8 power. Apparently, the chest-thumping days of explosive, twin-Hemi concept SUVs are done.

This week's pink car is brought to you from your friends here at AskPatty! Leo Bunin of California won final bid on this special pink Cadillac CTS hand-signed by Aretha Franklin, and awarded in a live auction in Los Angeles on February 8, 2008. The car was definitely the talk of the night, and at $51,500 was one of the top five items sold at the 2008 MusiCares Person of the Year event.