Just in time for May Motorcycle Awareness month is a book that includes a Harley road trip about a baby boomer’s unusual journey to reinvent herself and answer, “What now?”
Beautiful, fit, happily married, and successful, former Citigroup executive and motivational speaker Linda Crill was – and saw herself – as the kind of woman who could make things happen. But after losing her husband at 57, the identity Crill held closely no longer seemed to fit. Like many of us, she found herself asking, “What now?"
Desperate for change – and in a fit of rebellion – Crill signed up for a 2,500-mile road trip down America’s Pacific Northwest coast with a group of experienced motorcycle riders. At the time, Crill had never ridden anything more powerful than a bike.
"When the unexpected occurs, the answers we are searching for are often found around 'blind curves'—the unknown,” Crill says. “This trip opened my eyes to a new way of being and became the catalyst for recreating my life.”
The Texas Auto Writer’s Association met recently at
Texas Motor Speedway to choose the top cars of Texas. More than 50 model year 2013
and 2014 vehicles were available for TAWA members to drive and review during the two-day event. By the time the event was over, a few surprising models
came up on the top of their winner’s list. A few of the most notable vehicles were equipped with
conveniences, comfort, and safety features sure to appeal to busy women on the go.
Last week, the remaining three American Idol finalists
competed to see who would make it to this week’s finale. As Kree Harrison, Angie Miller and Candice Glover anxiously
awaited the results, a tearful conclusion revealed that it would be Angie
Miller who would go home, leaving Kree and Candice to battle it out for the
American Idol crown.
Mother’s
Day is that day each year for us to honor that special Mom in your life:
Whether you’re choosing something special for the mother of your children or for
your own mother, AskPatty has plenty of advice to share on gift ideas she is
sure to love.
Choosing the right gift can be a challenge, so
we've gathered up some gift ideas that should be perfect for your car-loving
Mom. Some are practical, some are elegant, but all of them will please a
Mom-on-the-go -- regardless of whether she's cruising a beatup old minivan, or
tearing up the tarmac in something sportier.
AskPatty supports
awareness of Multiple Sclerosis during May with month-long MOMS social media
campaign
Every mom wants to do the best she can to care for her kids
and keep them safe from harm: We make sure our cars are equipped with proper
safety equipment like anti-lock brakes and strap them lovingly into child seats
and seatbelts to protect them in case of an accident. We make sure they are wearing a helmet when learning to ride a bike. At home, we hide the
dangerous chemicals and put away the knives.
But there are some things we can't prepare for, or protect
our children from, such as devastating illnesses. Sometimes, our babies grow up
safe and sound, and we still find ourselves taking care of them later in life.
In that case, we want to ensure they are comfortable and looked after, and do
our best to keep life as normal as possible when it might feel out of our
control.
We’ve all heard the old adage, “Beware the woman driver!”
Sir Stirling Moss even reiterated his own
similar opinion last week, only to be debunked by many women racers in the
profession. That normally insulting phrase took on a whole new meaning recently
at the the Doug Foley Drag
Racing School held at zMAX Dragway in Concord, North Carolina, where I met up with top NHRA
drivers, Brittney and Courtney Force, for a day of drag racing.
April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month, and Toyota has
joined with Teen Vogue to promote a safe driving campaign to raise awareness of
distracted driving, asking mothers and teenage girls to make a mutual commitment to
drive safely.
Cars today are built with passive and active safety
technology to protect drivers and passengers, but studies show automobile
crashes remain the leading cause of death for teenagers. In fact, in 2010, seven teens between the
ages of 16 and 19 died every day on average from motor vehicle injuries.[1]
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
For its fourth birthday as a unibody crossover SUV, the Kia Sorento is getting the equivalent of a pony, a piñata party and a wardrobe of amazing new clothes all at once. Among its gifts: a completely new chassis, a new V6 engine, a redesigned interior and some vamped-up, top-of-the-line features including an entirely new high-end trim line. Kia wants to be known for design, safety and value.
The Sorento’s facelift freshens its design, while inside you’ll find improved conveniences, upgraded materials and more amenities. A top IIHS safety pick, Sorento seats five or seven (there are 2-row and 3-row versions), and comes in front-wheel drive and all-wheel-drive models that start at $24,950, including destination charges.
In case you have not noticed, there are a lot of vehicles in the competitive compact and medium-sized utility vehicle (CUV) segment – and they start to all look alike after awhile. Although Sorento doesn’t look radically different from its contemporaries, it has a few distinctive features that help it stand apart. Among them: a beefy grille and deep front air dam with black hexagonal grille inset behind chrome trim. Vertically set rectangular fog lamps offset sleek, slanted headlamps.
The rear end sits high and is capped at the bottom by a kickplate with a sweet-looking oval tailpipe.
Auto shows have a personality and the Chicago Auto Show is described by automakers and autowriters as a “down-home” show—and they love it! There’s even an event sponsored by all the automakers for the press and other early attendees called “Sweet Home Chicago”! But, don’t let its slower pace and more comfortable setting make you think it’s small. In fact, the Chicago Auto Show is the largest auto show in North America and this year’s show marked the 105th annual event, which makes it the longest-running and one of the best-attended shows in the world. Sponsored by the Chicago Automobile Trade Association dealers, the show is held at the McCormick Place Convention Complex where the enormous amount of space on hand brings an ease for car makers to offer free concerts and set up experiential test tracks. There’s also a ‘social media day’ now held annually that draws a wide variety of presenters and consumers to come together to evaluate and promote this new landscape and its effect on the automotive industry. AskPatty.com was one of the presenters this year, helping to showcase the exciting and rapidly-growing arena of Marketing to Women.
But, at the end of the day, an auto show is really about new sheet metal and the introductions of new models soon to hit the streets along with the unveiling of concept vehicles that are experiments in design and technology and are meant to take the temperature of the audience, plus help automakers make decisions about whether to move forward with a particular model or technology. There were a number of both-new models that will be in dealerships soon and a few hot concepts. My personal favorites were the 2014 Toyota Tundra, the 2014 Ram Promaster, the 2014 Nissan Juke NISMO and Nissan NV200, and the Kia Crossover CUT Concept.
