The Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner are even more earth-friendly for 2009, thanks to class-leading fuel economy and new soy-based foam seat cushions wrapped in 100 percent recycled fabric, the first such seats in the automotive industry.

"As Ford continues to migrate soy-based foam seat inserts across many vehicle platforms, we're improving our environmental footprint by conserving limited resources and reducing carbon dioxide emissions," said Debbie Mielewski, technical leader, Ford Plastics Research.

In addition to the Escape and Mariner, the Ford Mustang, F-150, Expedition and Lincoln Navigator also feature soy-based foam seat cushions.

Ford originally showcased its industry-leading work with soy foams in 2003 on the Model U concept, which featured soy-based seat cushions as well as a soy-based resin composite tailgate.

Now, Ford's Plastics Research team has formulated the chemistry to replace a staggering 40 percent of the standard petroleum-based polyol used in seating materials with a soy-derived material.  This breakthrough will make a significant impact on the environment while reducing dependency on imported petroleum.

Graduating from college brings on many new challenges. One thing young women don't take into consideration when moving away from home is car maintenance and driving conditions. Many of the women I know, including myself, relied on dads, brothers, boyfriends, or roommates to handle the maintenance of their cars or to drive during harsh conditions. But what happens after graduation when they are not there to help? Taking the time to understand car maintenance and driving conditions can save you more than just money.

Climate Control
Growing up in Los Angeles, I never really experienced driving on ice, snow or in heavy rain, except for the occasional snowboarding trip. After graduating, many of my girlfriends packed up their cars and moved to San Francisco, New York, Chicago and a variety of other places whose climates are certainly different from Los Angeles.

One of my friends had called me last winter and told me that she felt like her car was floating every time she drove in the Chicago snow. This is somewhat true. Car tires just barely grip the road when it's icy or covered in snow or water. This means that drivers must anticipate all turns, stops and the potential mistakes of other drivers. When your tires have less traction, driving slowly, and keeping extra distance between cars is a great start as well as using tire chains and snow tires in heavy snow.

A Florida grandmother was arrested recently after she left her grandkids in her car while she gambled at a casino. August in Florida, as you can imagine, gets quite warm in the summer. The woman left the kids in the car -- with the windows rolled up -- for almost an hour and a half.

Let me repeat that she left the kids in the car with the windows up for well over an hour. During the Florida summer.

Fortunately, the kids were okay. The boy was 14-years-old and the girl was only 2. At least the boy is old enough to know to open the doors and let some air in the car (which we assume he did, since they were unhurt). Look, when I was a young teen, I would stay in the car sometimes while my mom ran into the store. But she left me the keys so I could turn on the a/c or roll down the windows. And I never stayed in the car for more than 15 minutes. Any more than that and I went in with her (I almost always went in the store anyway).

Perhaps you've seen the television ads already? Last week, General Motors announced its GM 100th Anniversary Sales Event, in which the company is offering employee pricing on nearly all its 2008-model-year and select 2009-model-year vehicles in stock until September 2, 2008.

It’s a pretty big deal and it’s not going to last long so if you’ve been considering buying a General Motors vehicle, you’d better act soon, as the special discount ends the day after Labor Day. GM’s incentive offers new-car shoppers a unique opportunity to save money across its model range as the company celebrates its centennial year and looks toward the future. While there is a small chance the promotion could be extended, don't count on it -- why not take the weekend to go shopping for a new General Motors vehicle?

We’re talking about significant discounts and rebates on virtually its entire lineup of 2008-model-year Chevrolet, Pontiac, Buick, GMC, Saturn, Cadillac, Saab, and Hummer  vehicles between now and September 2, 2008.

We love the Car Care Council.  They share so much useful information, and the latest announcement to come our way lists oodles of useful information to get you thinking about fuel economy and ways to make your vehicle more efficient.

For instance, have you ever wondered "How important are vehicle gas caps?"
Well, keep this in mind: 17 percent of the vehicles on U.S. highways have either misused or missing gas caps, causing 147,000,000 gallons of gas per year to vaporize into the atmosphere. Yes, VAPORIZE. (Source: Service Tech Magazine, Sept. 2000)

What are some other vehicle conditions that cost consumers millions of dollars in wasted fuel?
* Loose or missing gas caps
* Underinflated tires
* Faulty thermostats
* Worn spark plugs
* Malfunctioning engine controls
* Poor wheel alignment

Welcome to the AskPatty Blog Carnival, where we provide a refreshing assortment of female friendly news and interesting automotive tidbits from around the blogosphere. Whether it's informative stories about eco-friendly people and cars, adventures, roadtrips, or safety, exciting reports about women in the automotive industry, or female friendly car reviews, we've got something here for everyone. Have you got something to share? Email Ask Patty at info@askpatty.com or use the form at the end to include your own blog bits in next week's carnival!

General Motors will invest 445 million dollars to build a new diesel engine plant and to upgrade an existing assembly plant in Thailand, said chief executive Rick Wagoner recently. According to this article at Yahoo! News, the investment is part of GM's global strategy, which includes growth in emerging markets such as Thailand; GM will also be opening a new Indian assembly plant outside Mumbai next month. Unfortunately, the steady loss of its US market share - evidenced in July auto sales which plunged 26.7 percent from one year ago -- has forced the company to take drastic measures. Read more about it at Yahoo! News.

On another note, Ford Motor Company expects to improve the profitability of its small vehicles by sharing parts from cars sold in Europe and North America, says this article at Yahoo! news. Ford is restructuring its operations in the face of a sharp drop in sales in its home market amid high gasoline prices and stiff competition from Asian automakers; as part of its vision to build "world cars" the manufacturer plans to introduce six smaller vehicles already selling well in Europe by 2012 to the North American market, which is experiencing a dramatic shift away from trucks and sport utility vehicles.

The surging cost of gasoline and a desire for a greener commute are turning more people to electric bikes as an unconventional form of transportation. They function like a typical two-wheeler but with a battery-powered assist -- and bike dealers, riders, and experts say they are flying off the racks. Official sales figures are hard to pin down, but the Gluskin-Townley Group, which does market research for the National Bicycle Dealers Association, estimates 10,000 electric bikes were sold in the U.S. in 2007, up from 6,000 in 2006. Read more about this low-tech, low-budget, HIGHLY GREEN travel alternative at CNN.com/technology.

An article at Traveller's advice  says 95 percent of women notice their date's car--and the number one thing they are most likely to pay attention to is the vehicle's cleanliness both inside and out, according to The Ford Fusion "Life in Drive" Dating Survey conducted by Ford Motor Co. More than 420 single adults aged 25 to 40 nationwide revealed that it's not just your car, but the state of your car that can make an impression on your date, with 58 percent saying that the condition of their date's vehicle would at least somewhat impact their attraction to the person. Read the complete article to find out some other fun facts about dating, love, and cars.

The blogger at Scheiss Weekly  wants to know why the concept of the drive-through is so difficult for some people to comprehend? He doesn't care whether it's a fast-food drive-through, the bank's drive-through, or a bill-paying drive-through. Even those little islands at the post office where you drive up and drop your mail through the slot counts as a drive-through. Need a refresher course on drive-through etiquette? Don't miss these tips meant to speed drivers on their way through the line.

Auto industry veteran Kathleen Ligocki has been appointed to be CEO of GS Motors, a Grupo Salinas transportation company that will market, distribute, and eventually build Chinese FAW cars for sale in Mexico and Central America. The Detroit Free Press says  First Automobile Works Group (FAW) is one of the largest automobile groups in China and a partner of Volkswagen/Audi, Toyota and Mazda. Ligocki, a former Ford executive, has three decades of experience in the automobile industry. You go, Girl!

Larry Horsley loves that he doesn't buy much gas, even though he drives his '95 Chevy S-10 back and forth to work each day. Larry yanked out his pickup's gas-guzzling engine and replaced it with a zero-emission electric motor powered by 20 six-volt batteries, the same kind used in golf carts, with a range of a little under 40 miles. Learn more about his unusual electric conversion at cnn.com

Even before she separated from her husband four months ago, Ofelia Lacaro did not even have her own car. The 29-year-old mother struggled to take her two children to school and soccer practice, and now in the process of a divorce, it continues to be a daily difficulty. Her life recently became a little easier thanks to The Center for Women in Transition,  who helped arrange a gift of a black 2001 Dodge Intrepid as part of the 1-800-Charity Cars program. Interested in donating a car of your own? Call  1-800 Charity Cars (800-242-7489), extension 2. Owners of the cars that are selected for the program will receive a tax voucher.

Traffic crashes are the single most significant cause of preventable death and injury in North America. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, in 2006 as many as 171,000 crashes, 144,000 injuries, and 887 fatalities in the United States were attributed to red light running.  The leading excuse given for red light running was neither frustration nor road rage; it was "being in a hurry." Do you think red light cameras are a good solution?

This week's pink car isn't pink at all: it's a Picasso! Andy Saunders, a cubist car nut spent six months turning a Citroen Deux Chevaux car into a bizarre work of art - inspired by Picasso's Portrait of Dora Maar. The tiny French motorcar is now an artistic masterpiece after receiving multi-colored makeover and abstract alterations  The owner says the Picasso car is legally roadworthy for daytime use only, as it does not need traditional headlights or indicators because signals can be made with the hands. He added: "I made all the new parts and have distorted the whole car so the more you look at it the more peculiar it becomes." Peculiar? Yes! But we still like it!

As consumers turn toward fuel-efficient vehicles, it pays to know which ones are thriftiest—and which aren't as economical as they might appear. Largely ignored by most car buyers for years, fuel economy has become a top selling point following the rapid hike in gasoline prices. Gas mileage is only one item in the cost of ownership, though. Purchase price, resale value, and likely maintenance costs also need to be considered. Automedia.com offers some smart car buying tips to help you pass up the gas pump.

Mini will be holding a cool cultural festival open to the public in New York City. The event, called Mini Rooftop NYC, will bring together high-profile performances, discussions, and artists, and kicks off on September 4, 2008, with a big-bang event hosted by the international style publication, "Dazed and Confused." The band MGMT is set to headline the evening with an exclusive one-hour performance.  The event will continue through September 13, 2008.

The unique event will be held on the rooftop  of 465 10th Avenue to showcase the Mini automotive brand's international campaign for the "Creative Use of Space." The initiative of the campaign is to give a platform for artists and performers both established and emerging to unfold their creativity. Much of the 10-day series will be open to the public, bringing together New York City's creative crowd with thought leaders from various arenas. Mini Rooftop NYC is intended to be a place for artist appreciation and collaboration featuring icons of art, music, fashion design, wellness, and more. 

In the Houston area, a grand jury is considering whether or not it will charge the grandmother of a 3-year-old boy who died from being left in a car all day. Actually, 10 hours.

The grandmother was supposed to take the boy to day care, but forgot and left him in the car. When she was leaving work, she realized she had left him in the car and dialed 911. Temperatures in the area reached a high of 94 degrees that day.

I cannot tell you how much this saddens and angers me. It's so sad to lose a child to a completely preventable occurrence. And it angers me that this child suffered and died in a hot car because someone forgot him.

As the summer heat continues, please remember to check on your kids. Be paranoid about it when someone else is caring for them if you must. But don't leave ANY children (or pets) in a hot car. Not for a few minutes, and certainly not a few hours.

Sabine Schmitz didn't have the typical race car driver upbringing.

Schmitz's parents were hotel and restaurant owners, and Sabine grew up with her two sisters in the "Hotel am Tiergarten," in Nurburg, Germany. Schmitz, initially, followed in the family business -- first training as a "hotelfachfrau," and eventually as owner of a bar in Nurburg -- the Foxhole.

A well-designed, attractive car can stand on its own merit for artistic expression, but there are some people who go way beyond gilding the automotive lily. Enter the Art Car.

On a recent weekend family trip to sprawling Houston, Texas, we could have spent time feeling creative at the city's well-regarded art museums like the Menil Collection or the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, but instead we went the funky decorative arts route at "Garage Mahal...." where we took a tour of the ArtCar Museum. 

Houston has a lively arts community, with a particular interest in contemporary and folk art. Since 1988, one of the big annual events is the Houston Art Car Parade.  It draws hundreds of vehicular entrants and thousands of cheering spectators, but visitors can view a few of the more amazing cars year-round at this small private museum of "mobile contraptions."