The experts at 3M Auto are partnering with AskPatty to bring the message of Spring Cleaning with 3M to the masses! Join us for a Twitter Party like no other and learn all about ways to make your car a clean, inviting sanctuary on the road with the help of 3M Auto Essentials, a series of easy-to-use, inexpensive detailing solutions that can be used in the comfort of your own garage - available in-store in select Advance Auto Parts beginning April 1st!
What are you waiting for? Registered participants get a chance to win some great car care products, so let 3M and Ask Patty make your auto springtime fresh.
It's
Twitter Party time again! Join the AskPatty team for TWO exciting
Twitter parties this month! Both will be full of the fun, educational
automotive content you always get from AskPatty, covering two different
topics and offering two great prize sets! Take a look...
Spring Cleaning is a Breeze with 3M Auto!
The
experts at 3M Auto are partnering with AskPatty to bring the message of
Spring Cleaning with 3M to the masses! Join us for a Twitter Party like
no other and learn all about ways to make your car a clean, inviting
sanctuary on the road with the help of 3M Auto Essentials, a series of
easy-to-use, inexpensive detailing solutions that can be used in the
comfort of your own garage - available in-store in select Advance Auto
Parts beginning April 1st!
What are you waiting for? Registered
participants get a chance to win some great car care products, so let 3M
and Ask Patty make your auto springtime fresh.
Grand Prize Package:
Auto Essentials All-Purpose Scrub
Auto Essentials Tire
Auto Essentials Leather & Vinyl Restore
Auto Essentials Glass
Auto Essentials Spray Wax
Bondo® Body Filler Single Use
Headlight Restoration Kit - No Tools Required
Scratch Removal System
Paint Restoration System
Leather & Vinyl Repair Kit
Other prizes include:
Auto Essentials All-Purpose Scrub
Auto Essentials Tire
Auto Essentials Leather & Vinyl Restore
Auto Essentials Glass
Auto Essentials Spray Wax
...and more!
Wednesday, April 10 5 p.m. PST / 8p.m. EST Sign Up Here!
Have a Breath of Fresh Air with FRAM!
Spring
has arrived, but are you breathing as easily as you should be? We spend
an average of 18 hours a week behind the wheel, and air inside your car
can be up to six times dirtier than the air outside!
Join experts from FRAM and AskPatty as we talk allergens, pollutants,
and filtration education at a #FRAMFreshBreeze Party! Register, come party with us, and walk away with a great Spring picnic basket full of FRAM goodies! Sign up, use hashtag #FRAMFreshBreeze, and party it up Fresh Breeze style!
FRAM's Breath of Fresh Air Picnic Basket Includes:
Picnic basket
Blanket
A FRAM® Fresh Breeze® cabin air filter
Other great FRAM Products
...lots more prizes TBA!
Tuesday, April 16 5 p.m. PST / 8p.m. EST Sign Up Here!
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.
Although southern California is celebrated as a sports car mecca, sport utility vehicles of every size and type were among the biggest hits at the
2012 Los Angeles International Auto Show. More than 40 different brands parked their new models and concept renditions on the ‘red carpet’ at the Los Angeles Convention Center, as 50 new vehicles made their premier entrance or global debut. The LAIAS is among the most significant shows in annual big-city show season in the U.S. and the home of the Greater Los Angeles Auto Dealers Association (GLANCDA), the umbrella organization for local and regional dealers. The LAIAS is followed by 2013 auto shows in Detroit (January), Chicago (February), New York (April) and other cities across the nation.
Technology is moving just as fast as the speed of light and
automotive telematics in vehicles is moving almost faster. Cars today
now come with all of the conveniences of one’s home from DVDs to
hands-free voice-activated Bluetooth paired phone service. Radar
detectors and their advances are no different and have finally started
to come into the age of the 21st century. ESCORT radar
is leading the charge of increased radar detector technology by
offering all of the latest connectivity accessories in one of their
newest products, the ESCORT SmartRadar.
The SmartRadar will make the perfect gift for those who love technologically but do not love getting speeding tickets.
What’s Included
- Radar/laser receiver with built-in Bluetooth wireless technology with
brackets and guides
- Mini display controller which mounts behind one’s rear view mirror
What’s It Does
- Can adjust laser sensitivity and even mute any X band which can
sometimes be caused by interferences such as grocery stoor doors.
- Includes anti-falsing software to eliminate excessive alerts
from erroneous X- and K-band sources, such as traffic flow-monitoring
systems.
- Can change the sound of the warning tones and alarms
- There are also multiple settings for driving including; highway, auto, Auto No X
- SmartRadar also includes seven user-selectable programmable features
so one may customize their detector to meet their needs. Display
Brightness, Power-On Indication, Power-On Sequence, Signal-Strength
Meter, AutoMute, Voice, and Bands.
The SmartRadar featues ESCORT Live, an iPhone application
specifically
for this unit. This feature provides linked access from ones iPhone and
sync’s with ESCORTs real-time ticket protection network, which warns you
of upcoming alerts received by other users in the area. It also
includes access to ESCORTs DEFENDER® Database, which warns the driver of
verified speed traps, speed cameras, and red light cameras. There are
also other GPS based features which sync with the iPhone , including
speed-limit data for over-speed alerts, live traffic data for driver’s
current location, and TrueLock™ to help eliminate false alerts. A
driver may also tag locations on the ESCORT Live iPhone map to show if
police are in the area (offering real-time information to other users)
or if certain X or K bands are false the radar will store this
information for future reference.
Software Updates
There is a software update available but I would not necessarily call
it easy. When I first attempted to load the software (onto my iPhone
from ESCORTs website) I was brought to a page where I could buy the
radar detector, not run the free/included application. So I went back to
the home page and started over. I re-hit the download button to
download ESCORT live. Needless to say after many hang-ups I was
finally able to download the application onto my phone.. This took over
an hour.
In essence ESCORTs SmartRadar was pretty reliable although I did still
pick up a few false alerts. Although the ESCORT live feature is pretty
cool I found that it would be distracting if I were to be driving,
looking at the radar message, and my phone to see where the red light
cameras are, so opted to test the live iPhone program within the
confines of my home. However, the unit with its multiple adjustable
features and Bluetooth capability are proof that the radar detector
industry has come a long way.
The ESCORT Live program allows your phone to give info to other
live users to let them know if and where it has come across actual radar
or speed traps. The subscription for this service is $4.99/month or
$49.99/year.
ESCORT provides a one-Year Limited Warranty
and warrants the SmartRadar device against all defects in materials and workmanship for a period of one (1) year.
The product is made for; iPhone 4S, iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS
but no word if the program is compatible with iPhone 5.
Established in 1970, the American International Automobile Dealers Association, (AIADA) is the only
association whose sole purpose is to represent America’s 10,000
international nameplate automobile franchises that sell and service: Acura, Aston Martin, Audi, Bentley, BMW, Ferrari,
Honda, Hyundai, Infiniti, Jaguar, Kia, Land Rover, Lexus, Maserati,
Maybach, Mazda, Mercedes, MINI, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Porsche, Rolls
Royce, Saab, Scion, Smart, Subaru, Suzuki, Toyota, Volkswagen, and
Volvo. These retailers
have a positive economic impact both nationally and in the local
communities they serve, providing more than 500,000 American jobs.
Currently AIADA is partnered with Federated Insurance to bring
attention to the growing and serious problem of distracted driving. Through
the partnership, Federated Insurance is offering a free copy of its
video, “In the Blink of an Eye,” to AIADA members. The video reveals the
devastating, real-life consequences of distracted driving. Dealers can
also request accompanying materials to increase awareness of the problem
among their employees and within their local communities.
Federated Insurance provides members with products for risk management resources, customer service,
financial strength, mutual structure, and association relationships.
Visit AIADA.org/federated-insurance to learn more. To view a
clip of the video, "In the Blink of an Eye", click here.
2013 Jetta Hybrid:
By Sue Mead
Santa Fe, New Mexico: Introduced at the 2012 North American Auto Show, the updated four-door Jetta Hybrid is Volkswagen’s second hybrid offering, following the Touareg SUV, and it both looks and drives like a success. We recently drove the 2013 Volkswagen Jetta hybrid in the trendy high country of New Mexico and parked overnight at Santa Fe’s luxury-appointed Four Seasons Resort Rancho Encantado. The new Jetta Hybrid is most fuel-efficient car in this German automaker’s U.S. lineup, and gets up to 45 mpg. It will travel at speeds of up to 37/44 mph on electric power alone. The SE model starts at $27,785, including a $795 destination charge, while the SEL has a sticker price of $30,120; a base hybrid model, which is only available by special order, stickers at $25,790.
The Jetta Hybrid has modernized and sporty-practical styling as the other models in the Jetta lineup, has a narrow front grille and, by today’s big-badge standards, relatively modest “VW” logo in the center. The sedan’s overall profile looks lower, sleeker and coupe-ier than past Jettas, which have tended toward the boxy.
A low front air dam, side skirts and an integrated spoiler help to lower the car’s drag to 0.28 – lower than a standard Jetta by 0.02. Fifteen-inch steel wheels, featuring a windmill-like design unique to the hybrid, are standard, with 16-inch and 17-inch alloys available on higher end models. Up-market Jetta hybrids also come with standard fog lights.
Inside, Jetta hybrid is comfortable and somewhat spartanly-dressed.
Calistoga, California: Nissan’s fourth-generation Pathfinder is completely new—and different in ways that will appeal to more women and families. The SUV weighs less, has more room and gets better fuel efficiency than the model it replaces. What’s also appealing is some clever cargo features and technology capabilities that you can’t find anywhere else in the mid-sized SUV segment. The 2013 Nissan Pathfinder is available in 2WD and 4WD versions and starts at a base MSRP of $28,270, while top-of-the-line Platinum versions start at $40,770. Its competitors are the Ford Explorer, Honda Pilot/Passport, Toyota Highlander/4Runner, and the Chevy Traverse/Trailblazer.
Nissan brought a group of automotive testers to the Solage Calistoga Hotel and Spa to cool our heels at night in quiet luxury, and spend our days motoring on the Calistoga Wine Trail, along twisty and scenic coastal routes. We also drove the 4WD version of the Pathfinder on the dirt track of a nearby ranch, and used the SUV to tow a trailer to assess its pulling prowess.
Just as many modern SUVs have evolved, the Pathfinder’s looks have changed to give it a more car-like, crossover appearance. The new model is lighter by some 500 pounds, more aerodynamic, and has changed from body-on-frame architecture to a unibody build; this makes it ride less like a truck and more like a minivan.
Pathfinder’s front end is distinguished by an attractive curved grille, dominated by a large Nissan badge and backed by a black honeycomb design; it stretches like a pair of wings across the entire front end. Large halogen headlamps wrap around to the sides. Optional fog lamps are mounted in the lower part of the grille.
The roofline slants downward from the shoulders to the tail end, giving the Pathfinder a more coupe-like stature despite its longer, three-row size. Character lines scoop out the middle section like a waist, and the rear liftback has an integrated spoiler. Standard wheels are 18-inch alloys, with bold 20-inch wheels available on the highest-end models.
Inside, Pathfinder is bigger than the previous generation version by 8.4 cubic feet overall, and there is ample room for seven passengers in the three rows of seats.
To celebrate Fall Car Care Month, Firestone Complete Auto Care™
is offering a car care infographic and key tips for consumers to keep
their vehicles running newer, longer and to encourage safe seasonal
driving. This graphic highlights some areas of car care that Jane Q. Driver (myself included) may be neglecting! When is the last time you had your tires rotated? Checked your coolant level? If the answer is "probably too long," you're not alone. Check out the graphic for more tidbits and tips
Forgive me for the wacky title, I just couldn't resist. I follow the "Faces of GM" videos fairly regularly, and whenever they feature an employee I think you'll get a kick out of, I always try to share. This one's about Julie Kleinert, one of the Malibu Moms: she helped develop the 2013 Malibu and proudly points to little things making child safety simpler for parents, and big things, like advanced crash dummies, that make child passengers safer.
It's no secret that the crash test side of GM has long been a fascination of mine. I've written about it here on several occasions, and this time is no exception. I think these engineers - both male and female, mind you - have pretty much the coolest job in the world. Julie and the rest of the Malibu Moms: You go, girls!
