Looking for a new car? How about a new date? Mini Cooper can
help you with both!
Thanks to Mini's new "Connect Us" app, your new Cooper
can also find you the perfect partner for your next dating adventure. Mini's innovative
connectivity app --available for download exclusively on April 1, 2013 --
features outstanding profile matching using analysis of restaurant tips,
favorite points of interest, news feed choices, Facebook posts and, of course,
driving style (as recorded by the Driving Excitement Analyzer).
The 2014 model year marks the 10th time Chevrolet has introduced a new Impala – and this little antelope, born in the Year of the Snake, is a refined, modern take on “The General’s” iconic five-passenger sedan. Its looks have not always been consistently stunning-in fact, the outgoing model was growing a bit long-in-the-tooth. However, the 2014 Chevy Impala’s design team has hit it out of the park with a gorgeous design that is equal parts American muscle and European sculpture.
AskPatty.com
Inc., a website, blog, and online resource that serves as a safe
haven for women to connect with Certified Female Friendly®
automotive retailers, today announced that TrueCar.com's former
Senior Editor, Brandy Schaffels, would be stepping into the role of
Chief Editor for the AskPatty.com website and blog. A true car girl
at heart, Brandy
Schaffels has spent more than 25 years as a journalist supporting the
automotive industry.
In
her new role as Chief Editor of the AskPatty.com Automotive Advice
for Women website and blog, she will create a variety of
informational woman-focused content on all subjects from car care and
maintenance, to lifestyle-related features, vehicle reviews, and
news.
There's nothing like that warm fuzzy feeling you get when
you do a good deed for a stranger. Random acts of kindness, or "paying it
forward" are great ways to do good for others in our busy world. Even
without the concept of Karma, it just feels good to do good.
Let's give a big cheer to Shea Holbrook and her
amazing presence representing women in the racing and automotive industry. Not
only is she a successful racer and longtime friend of AskPatty.com, but today Shea launched
a new website, www.SteelOvaryNation.com and
an accompanying #SteelOvaryNation hashtag campaign representing female drivers,
engineers, mechanics, fans, car, and motorsport gurus.
Noted. Facebook works for everything from keeping up with friends, keeping track of trends, to learning about great deals on cowboy boots.
Facebook also works for philanthropic outreach. Toyota’s 100 Cars for Good, a Facebook initiative, launched in 2011 and repeated in 2012, awarded 100 cars to 100 nonprofits over the period of 100 days to charitable organizations. In 2012, you helped Toyota give 100 vehicles to nonprofits. Daily winners were determined by popular vote on 100carsforgood.com. Now those vehicles are on the road and helping those in need.
Toyota is currently in discussions about how to repeat the plan for 2013. A representative from Toyota just this week explained that "the program will be placed on hold until further notice due to internal changes. We're pleased that the program has helped many organizations and will continue to build on the program’s success while supporting nonprofit organizations. "
Five nonprofits were profiled each day at www.100carsforgood.com. Facebook users voted for the cause they feel would do the most good with a new vehicle. At the end of each day, the winner received a new vehicle and the four runners-up will receive a $1,000 cash grant from Toyota.
“The average person doesn’t think about a non-profit needing a vehicle to get its work done,” remarked Michael Rouse, Vice President of Diversity, Philanthropy and Community Affairs for Toyota Motor Sales USA.
Rouse explained that the idea for 100 Cars for Good – a Facebook site for voting–was the result of a brainstorming meeting at the end of 2010. “We looked at what was going on in social media with non-profits and realized that, while we didn’t have a dollar budget to contribute, we do have cars and trucks. This program puts our products as the star of the show to help keep non-profits going.”
“Over the past 20 years, Toyota has contributed more than half a billion dollars to non-profits throughout the United States. 100 Cars for Good allows us to build on that commitment in new ways, putting the public in the ‘driver’s seat’ as we work to help community organizations make an even bigger impact,” offered Jim Lentz, President and Chief Executive Officer of Toyota Motor Sales.
In the past, local causes included Central Vermont Humane Society, A Child’s Place of Charlotte (helps local homeless children with school work, socialization and more), All Hands Volunteers (aids communities struck by natural disasters), Special Olympics Illinois, and Abby’s House (provides women and children across Central Massachusetts with shelter, housing and advocacy).
“In year one, when we announced that we were giving away 100 cars, perhaps people didn’t realize it was the real deal. Now everybody knows that it’s a legitimate program,” explained Rouse.
To learn more visit: www.100carsforgood.com. You can also see a short film at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjjeHoJbv1Y&feature=youtu.be
We'd like to wish all of you out there in the AskPatty Nation a safe and festive St. Patrick's Day Weekend, when everyone gets to be Irish! If you plan on celebrating with some green drinks (or even not-green drinks) please be responsible! Hand over the keys, call a cab, or get a designated driver.
It's no secret that drunk driving kills. 2/5 of all traffic fatalities involve a drunk driver on St. Patrick's Day weekend - and remember - Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving!!
Don't rely on the luck of the Irish - have fun, but stay sober or stay safe!
Well, I can hardly contain my glee, AskPatty Nation. Back in 2001, Volkswagen announced plans to redesign the Microbus in much the same way that they reintroduced the "New Beetle." The noveau-bus came very close to actually being produced, but changes at the top at VW kept it from becoming a reality at the time.
Well gang, the new Microbus is back. According to Car & Driver, the new Lovebus should be in unveiled this year and begin production in 2014.
Read the whole story and see a photo gallery of the new design as well as the 2001 concept over at Car & Driver's main page.
Carefree, Arizona: For the 2013 model year Toyota is giving RAV4 customers a little less and a little more for their money. The “more” category includes a complete interior and exterior redesign, a new engine, new six-speed transmission, and new all-wheel-drive system. Under the “less” heading, Toyota has filed its V6 motor, which was previously available as an option on this compact SUV, as well as removed the optional 3rd-row seat. The 2013 RAV4 starts at $24,145, including destination. The 4th generation RAV4 is significantly more refined and distinct from the first models that came to market in 1994 as ’95 editions with little competition; since Toyota has sold 1.7 million RAV4s in 150 countries and says some 80 percent are still on the road. The latest edition now joins 45 crossovers, including its direct competitors, the Ford Escape, Honda CR-V, Nissan Rogue and Chevy Equinox. Toyota’s California design team penned the new model for the U.S.; it gets 8 standard airbags (including driver side knee airbag, front passenger seat cushion airbag and side airbags for front and second row) and a standard backup camera, as well as optional goodies like Blind Spot Information System (BLIS) and a height-adjustable power liftgate.
Outside, the all-new RAV4 has the profile of an Olympic cyclist, with a low front bumper shape that wraps up from below like handlebars and a roofline that slopes steeply back from the A-pillar like a hunched-over speed racer. Glistening headlamps have an asymmetrical shape that slants inward toward the nose, which features a V-shaped grille that emphasizes this “cute ute’s” more aerodynamic look.
The rear of the ute, which features an integrated spoiler with LED lights, has a bulbous shape that belies the cargo space inside. We’re thrilled that a liftgate replaces the swinging rear door of previous model years which also held the spare tire; standard steel wheels are 17 inches, with 17- and 18-inch alloys available on higher-end trim lines. The spare is now tucked under the cargo floor.
