November 2013 - Greater Cincinnati Automobile Dealers Association

Edmunds.com Provides Car Safety Tips for Black Friday Shopping

SANTA MONICA, Calif. — November 25, 2013 — Black Friday marks the beginning of the holiday shopping season, but it is also a time when your car can become a treasure trove for thieves. Edmunds.com, the premier resource for car shopping and automotive information, offers three basic tips to keep your car – and any valuables inside your car – safe and secure while you cross items off your shopping list:

 
1)      Keep Merchandise Out of Sight. For most car owners, it’s as simple as locking any new purchases in the trunk. Those with hatchbacks and SUVs will want to use a cargo cover. It’s also safe and convenient to store smaller items in the glove box or the center console.
2)      Drop Off Items at Home. If you’ve purchased a big-ticket item or if you’ve completed a big shopping trip and need to go somewhere else, make a detour home to drop off your purchases. A few minutes of your time could save you lots of holiday disappointment.
3)      Use Valet Keys and Valet Mode. If you don’t already carry a valet key with you, this is the season to start. Whether you’re valet parking at a mall for convenience or having dinner after shopping, this key will keep a prying valet or a larcenous passerby from getting into the trunk of the car. If you want to keep your infotainment data private, a number of newer models offer a valet mode, which locks the screen until a pin code is entered.
In addition to these safety tips, Edmunds.com advises drivers to take extra precaution when they’re behind the wheel during the holiday season.
 
“The stress and pressure that comes with the holiday season can lead people to behave more carelessly than they would otherwise,” says Edmunds.com Consumer Advice Editor Ronald Montoya. “That’s why it’s even more crucial to take steps like staying off your cell phone and using your vehicle’s backup cameras. You might even want to consider parking far away from store entrances so you won’t have to stress out or fight someone for a parking spot.”
 
More details on ways to keep you and your car safe on Black Friday and throughout the holiday season can be found at http://www.edmunds.com/car-safety/car-safety-tips-for-holiday-shopping.html

Reds Couldn’t Hit it, So a Charity Gets it

By Adam Kiefaber: Cincinnati Enquirer            

Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky Toyota dealers have donated the Toyota Tundra that was on display at Great American Ball Park this past season to Matthew 25: Ministries.  The truck was delivered to the charity’s headquarters in Blue Ash. 

            The Truck is supposed to be awarded to a lucky fan if a home run hit by a Reds player strikes the truck or sign located between the power stacks in deep center field.  Since no fan won, Toyota dealers decided to donate it.

            “We are so honored to be the recipients of this wonderful gift,” said the Rev. Wendell Mettey, the charity’s founder and president.  “Our involvement with the community and domestic partners continues to grow, and the Tundra will be a tremendous addition to our humanitarian and disaster relief work.”

            No one has hit the truck or sign since the “Hit it Here” promotion began in 2008.  This is the fourth consecutive year that the truck has been donated.  In 2010, Florence Fire and EMS received a Tundra.  The Deefield Township post of the Warren County Sheriff’s Office won in 2011.  The local chapter of the American Red Cross received it in 2012. 

            “For the fourth year in a row we’re giving the Tundra to a deserving group of local heroes,” said George Joseph, president of Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky Toyota Dealers.  “And this year, we’re awarding the truck to Matthew 25: Ministries, a hometown organization that distributes food, clothing, and humanitarian supplies to the needy and tragedy-stricken throughout the U.S. and around the world.”

Abrupt Change in Music Can Improve Driver Safety

  A recent study shows somewhat unexpected results in the influence of music on safe driving behavior. Drivers started by choosing their own music to hear while driving. Researchers then switched to more soothing music, first changing the music gradually, then abruptly. The more abrupt change in music made the driver calmer and improved driver performance.

            For the study, 28 test subjects were put in a driving simulator and subjected to different road conditions while hearing a variety of styles of music. During the soothing music, drivers were less likely to speed or to swerve out of their lane. Their response times were better and their stress levels lower – even though the driving subjects said they were happier during the more lively music. But this study and previous research has shown that people tend to drive faster when listening to high-energy music.

            “In-car music presentation can be used as a tool to improve driver’s mood and behavior,” The researchers wrote in an article on the study published in the journal Ergonomics. Source: Automobile Dealers Association of Eastern Ohio 

NY Times: A Black Box for Car Crashes

When Timothy P. Murray crashed his government-issued Ford Crown Victoria in 2011, he was fortunate, as car accidents go.  Mr. Murray, then the lieutenant governor of Massachusetts, was not seriously hurt, and he told the police that he was wearing a seat belt and was not speeding.  But a different story soon emerged.  Mr. Murray was drive over 100 miles an hour and was not wearing a seat belt, according to the computer in his car that tracks certain actions.  He was given a $555 speeding ticket; he later said that he had fallen asleep.  The case put Mr. Murray at the center of a growing debate over a little-known but increasingly important piece of equipment buried deep inside a car: the event data recorder, more commonly known as the black box.  About 96 percent of all new vehicles sold in the United States have the boxes, and in September 2014, if the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has its way, all will have them.

Source: The New York Times

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GCADA Presents: The Cincinnati Auto Expo Forum Car Contest!

Does your car have what it takes to be featured in the 2014 Cincinnati Auto Expo?  Now is your chance to prove it!  The Greater Cincinnati Automobile Dealers Association presents the first Cincinnati Auto Expo Forum Car Contest.  Three lucky winners will have their cars featured at expo, each under a different category: Classic/Old School, Tuner, and Muscle/Hotrod. 

To enter, simply submit a recent photograph (within the past year) of your vehicle and indicate the category for which the vehicle is being nominated.  Go to www.gcada.net/carcontest to enter.

 Car photos will be uploaded to our Facebook page, where users can vote by “liking” their favorite vehicles to determine the finalists.  From the finalists, judges at the GCADA will select the winners.

The contest runs now through January 1st.  Enter for your chance to win, and we’ll see you at the Auto Expo February 19-23!