Visually Impaired Man Unleashes His 'Inner Mustang' From Ford Mustang's Driver's Seat

With the warm Arizona wind pelting his forehead and his entire body vibrating from the mighty roar of the engine, Roger Keeney took a brand-new 2010 Ford Mustang convertible on an amazing ride, doing donuts on the pavement and amassing speeds of up to 90 mph.

This would be a thrill for anybody, but what makes this truly remarkable is the fact that Keeney has been blind for the past 20 years.

Sixty-two-year-old Keeney, who lives in Athens, Georgia, won the chance to drive the new 2010 Mustang by participating in "The '10 Unleashed" promotion, which asked people to describe their ultimate Mustang dream experience  in 250 words or less. A video diary chronicling his extraordinary ride is live now at www.the2010mustang.com.

A Reminder to Not Drive Drunk This Fourth of July

The Century Council sent me an innovative eCard for the July 4th holiday that reminds viewers to stay safe this Independence Day and not drive drunk.   Click below to start the video, or you can also view the eCard here at The Century Council.

I first learned about The Century Council and its efforts to stop underage drinking when we reported on the organization's support of Brandon Silveria and his "Make the Right Choice"  Program. The Century Council is a national not-for-profit organization funded by distillers dedicated to fighting drunk driving and underage drinking; through educational efforts such as the Silveria lecture and video program, The Century Council educates students across the country about the hazards of underage drinking and driving.

Hyundai Tackles High Fuel Prices With $1.49 Per Gallon Guaranteed For A Year

With gas prices expected to push over $3 per gallon during the upcoming summer travel months, Hyundai Assurance Gas Lock guarantees a year's worth of gas at $1.49 per gallon on most Hyundai models leased or purchased between July 1 and August 31, 2009. Hyundai Assurance Gas Lock complements the current Hyundai Assurance program and Hyundai's 10-year, 100,000-mile warranty, and is available with special rebate and financing options on individual models.

"Hyundai Assurance is a unique platform because it enables us to partner with consumers in ways that address their immediate concerns," said Joel Ewanick, vice president, Marketing, Hyundai Motor America. "We've extended Hyundai Assurance to cover gas prices just as peak summer demand traditionally strains budgets further, guaranteeing most new Hyundai owners a year's worth of low gas prices. It's another way we show consumers that, in this downturn, we're in this together, and we'll get through it together."

Three Key Tips to Fuel Savings at the Pump for Fourth of July Travelers

With summer travel season half over and the Fourth of July weekend approaching, drivers know it is more important than ever to properly maintain their vehicles to ensure maximum gas mileage. To get the most out of a tank of gas, experts suggest that, in addition to properly inflating tires and practicing conservative driving habits, motorists should be diligent about changing their worn and dirty spark plugs, replacing clogged air filters, and maintaining a clean fuel system.

"These three easy, low-cost routines can help motorists save quite a bit of money at the pump," says Jay Buckley, Honeywell's technical training manager. "The last thing we want is for our vehicles to work harder than they have to... it's just throwing money down the drain."

Why Synthetic Motor Oils Are Recommended for Today's Advanced Automotive Engines, Part 1

From changing consumer demands, to regulatory requirements calling for greater fuel efficiency and lower emissions, the global automotive market is constantly evolving. At the heart of this evolution is the ongoing transformation of the traditional, internal combustion engine, which has powered vehicles around the world for much of the last century.

Over the past decade, manufacturers have made extraordinary advances in automotive design and engine technology. Now these engine design advancements, such as turbochargers, gasoline direct injection, variable valvetrain systems, clean diesel engines, and hybrids, are increasingly making their way into the mainstream automotive market.

Compared to traditional combustion engines, these new engine types are typically smaller, deliver more power and better fuel economy, and produce lower CO2 emissions. 

Along with changing the current landscape of automobile offerings, these technologies serve as a valuable preview of the future, where various engine styles and types will be used by manufacturers to meet rapidly expanding consumer and marketplace needs.

As these advanced engine designs and future engine technologies continue to become more common, drivers will need to know how best to protect and maintain their vehicles. And particularly why, when it comes to protecting today's engine types, using a fully synthetic motor oil is a far better option than relying on a conventional, mineral-based oil. 

Larry's Auto Works is a Certified Green Business

At a Santa Clara County Green Business conference last year, I first heard Larry Moore of Larry's Autoworks in Mountain View share his thoughts about being a green business. They have been in business for 30 years and became green certified by Santa Clara county in November 2006, the first certified green business in Mountain View, the town famous for being Google's headquarters. Their environmental motto is, "Keeping our environment safe and healthy is an important part of Larry's AutoWorks. This applies to both our daily work environment and the world environment." What a great example of how a small business can take on big issues and play a role in being a leader in protecting the environment.

Well, obviously as an emergency room for cars, they are most concerned with quality service and customer care. In fact, they have been voted as the best-of in the city in their service area for three years in a row. A customer once said that Larry's is the cleanest and most pleasant auto shop to wait in while your car is being serviced. So green could go hand-in-hand with profit and service. Still, what does a green business certification mean? Well, in Santa Clara County, it covers the following areas:

• Compliance with environmental regulations
• Energy Conservation
• Water Conservation
• Waste reduction & recycling
• Pollution Prevention

There is a checklist that businesses must complete and prove, but the process itself is free. An auditor will visit your shop and ensure that you do what you claim (e.g. installing low flow faucets, recycling paper and cans) after which you get all the benefits of the program including a green business logo.

GPS For A Directionally Challenged Woman Driver

I navigate by landmark, so directions can be very challenging. Landmarks work well when you are already familiar with a place. The bank is right next to the big old city hall that is painted yellow and I can see its big dome from afar. The entrance is right down the road that passes the front of city hall, flanked by two tall, distinctive-looking redwood trees. As I cruise around neighborhoods I know, familiar buildings, houses, and intersection corners pop up regularly. I know what to expect next. And I feel comfortable knowing exactly how to get to where I want to go.

Alas, this approach is unusable when you don't know or can't see the landmark - for example, in navigating a new town, or finding a place in the dark. Another situation that I found particularly tough is when well-laid driving directions have to be tossed out the window because of wrong turns that land me in completely unfamiliar neighborhood. I really hate these situations, because they make me a very nervous driver. Trying to cut across several lanes on short order is an exercise that incurs a risk level that I'd rather not engage too much in. Trying to find your way at night in unlit neighborhoods where you can't read signs of roads you already don't know the name of is a little annoying not to mention dangerous if you are in a not-so-desirable neighborhood.

I had been eyeing GPS systems for a long time. I always knew it would help me a lot by providing a sense of security when I get lost. No more driving round and round till I find something familiar enough to be what I recently passed to find my way back to the well-laid written directions. However, I have always thought the price too high and the user-interface too difficult to use. Recently my girlfriend, who visited from abroad and never drove in the U.S. rented a car from Avis equipped with the "NeverLost" GPS system. It did fine listing the directions and even had a 3D-map. It definitely helped her navigate successfully in a totally unfamiliar city, not to mention road system. However, I found it did not update quickly enough when she took a wrong turn and we had to slow down to allow the device time to recalculate a new route. Not a great way to drive when there is a line of traffic right behind you! I also found that the interface took a while to figure out and the simple map look quite a bit different from a real road. Being directionally challenged, my criteria for investing in a GPS system quickly became:

(a) it has to make driving easier, not harder. Having to wait for the system to respond was unacceptable because it would stress me out even more when I get lost.
(b) it has to have maps that look like the real world I am driving in. When I navigate an unfamiliar terrain, I need to focus on the road, not the GPS.
(c) its user-interface must be easy to figure out and pleasant to look at. Something as user-friendly and readable as the iPhone would be good.

So I passed. No GPS for me. I continued to assiduously type in my start/end points into Google Maps, and write down the directions at the back of envelopes from my recycle bin. Of course sometimes I forget to bring the paper, just as I frequently forget my shopping list when going shopping. Duh! But on the occasions it made it to my dashboard, I would try to memorize it, but more often than not, I would hold up the piece of paper - while driving - trying to read what's next. (Nervous laugh.) That makes me crazy - navigating with one plus hand(s), and one plus eye(s) - I don't recommend this. But I survived on it for a year, sometimes supplemented with a phone call to friends to look up Google Maps on their internet at home. (Sheepish grin) So now you see the "direction demons" I fight when driving. I wish I can tell north, south, east, west in seconds not minutes, but it is one of those limitations I have come to accept and live with. Even in Manhattan where the streets are laid out in grids, and increases either numerically or alphabetically, I used to get out of the subway station and make a complete 360 around the block to find the right direction to go to. Okay, maybe I need to wear those glasses my optometrist recommend, but directions still make me nervous!

When the iPhone came out, my driving life took a turn for the better. Google Maps actually lived on it. Hah - now I have a portable mapping system - not a GPS, mind you, but simply free maps that are downloaded instantaneously over the cellular network right into my hands. Now I can stop the car somewhere whenever I am lost, then pan around the map and find where I have ended up in. Then I can manually figure out how to drive to get to the end point. It was a lot safer, but it was still time-consuming and required way too much ad-hoc planning while driving. I frequently wish my iPhone would talk to me to read out those pesky turn-by-turn directions. Recently, Google Maps on iPhone was upgraded to be able to triangulate your location. It wasn't completely accurate - especially in dense cities where many tall buildings would reflect the signals - but it was a step-up.

But I was getting tired of all these charades. It took a lot of coordination. It made driving less pleasurable. It wasn't completely safe. It added some amount of stress too. Even my friends were getting sick of me calling. I was ready for a Nigel to talk to me in the car. (Nigel was the British sounding name my directionally challenged male friend gave to his British-accented GPS unit. He was stolen and we are still very sad for losing a named friend.)

So it was with tremendous relief and jubilation that I received a GPS unit for my birthday. My friend worked at one of those high-tech firms where people buy and toss electronic toys in quick succession, and he got a brand-new Garmin Nuvi 660 at half-price. I was elated. It was the line I had been eyeing for a while, because of its superior graphics and easy-to-use interface. When I first tested it, I felt that it would definitely reduce my stress level with directions. I had eyed a lower model, because I didn't really need the extra fancy add-ons such as the MP3 player, audio book player (through Audible Books), Bluetooth wireless for hands-free calling (it doesn't support my iPhone), language translator, and FM-transmitter. But I loved the slimness of it, and most of all, I love the bright screen that displayed bright, colorful 3D maps with geographical feature.

Afterusing it for a couple days, I have found that driving is a whole new experience. For one, the system knows when the car is moving, and will not allow you to punch in directions unless you override the "Safe Mode". Secondly, I just drive on roads that I know are faster even if the GPS thinks otherwise and it adjusts within a split second to accommodate my decision. Thirdly, IT TALKS TO ME. Yes, it talks to me and that's my favorite feature. Sometimes Vincent V. interrupts my conversation with fellow passengers and I suppose it could get annoying in the future, but I will just turn him off. Fourthly, I can now "see" that I am passing the San Andreas Lake when driving on 280, even though I can't really see it. The 3D map shows parks and other geographical feature and it makes me more aware of the unseen landmark all around me. (It wasn't a great feeling though to learn that the San Andreas fault lie next to my favorite highway which runs not too far from my home....) In addition, driving more smoothly also saves gas, and being an environmentalist, it makes me feel better.

So, at this point, I think my personal struggle with driving direction is probably over. Heck, I can take this gadget with me on vacation and hiking. I may have to buy additional maps internationally and for topographical information, but that's easy. I am looking forward to exploring the world with a little less trepidation, and a lot more random "wrong turns". Life is good with Vincent V. my little GPS navigator. I just hope he doesn't get stolen - the special NPR segment on the string of GPS thefts around the country is making me nervous. I guess I will just have to unplug him every time I step out the car and put him in my purse.

Marn-Yee Lee
Contributing Editor
AskPatty.com

Marn-Yee Lee is pursuing an MBA in Sustainability at the Presidio School of Management in San Francisco. After spending a decade in I.T. and on Wall Street, she is now pursuing her passion for the environment. She sees business as a partner for creating innovative solutions to pressing environmental issues. In her spare time, she writes a blog to inspire others to consider the impact of their daily lives on the environment at busythinking.blogspot.com.

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Road-Ready Chevy Volt Hits The Streets

Just a little more than two years after the Volt was first introduced as a concept to journalists at the 2007 North American International Auto Show, the first pre-production versions of Chevrolet's extended range electric vehicle have hit the asphalt.

Until now, we've only seen test cars that don't run on their own power, or test powertrains running inside other vehicle bodies. These are the first versions of the actual vehicle consumers will be able to buy, and they look pretty similar to the photos we published back in September.

In case you've been living inside a cave for the last couple years, the 2011 Chevrolet Volt is a front-wheel-drive, four-passenger Extended-Range Electric Vehicle that uses electricity as its primary power source and gasoline as its secondary power source to propel the vehicle. The goal is to remove "range anxiety" that is common with traditional electric-battery-powered vehicles. The Volt can be charged at home overnight to runs on battery power alone for short trips (up to 40 miles), and for longer trips, additional electricity can be supplied by a gasoline-powered internal combustion engine or a fuel cell.