With school starting back up, and the prices of used cars coming down, parents are on the look-out for the right car for their first-time teen driver. Buying a used car can be an advantage, as used cars often deliver just as much utility as brand-new vehicles and are a better value. MSN’s Motor Trend has put together a list of the 15 best used cars for teens! The list is based on pillars of safety, reliability, and affordability. To view the list, click here!
Best used cars for teens!
New search tool for recalled vehicles!
Owners may not always know their recalled vehicle needs to be repaired. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has released a new online search tool for recalled vehicles, which lets you enter a Vehicle Identification Number to quickly learn if a specific vehicle has not been repaired as part of a safety recall in the last 15 years. In response to this new feature, chairman of the National Automobile Dealers Association and a Honda/Acura dealer in Montgomery, Al, Forrest McConnell, gave the following statement:
“The new online look-up tool will help new-car dealerships identify whether a used car or light truck has an un-remedied safety recall prior to making a purchase or taking in a trade. It will also help dealerships to determine whether used vehicles in inventory are under recall and to provide used-car shoppers with useful safety recall information.”
Anyone may access the new tool from NHTSA at www.safecar.gov/vinlookup
Millennials are waiting to make car purchase
From generation to generation things change. One change that has certainly been apparent in the automotive industry, is the first-time car buyer’s age. Millennials, also referred to as Global Generation, or Generation Next, have definitely been seen as a unique one. With all of the technology at the tips of their fingers, particularly smartphones, performing any task seems as easy as 1, 2, 3! Lately, Millennials have been drawn to car-sharing services for transportation; but eventually, they do buy.
It used to be that first-time car buyers were around 18, or 19 years old. Now, that age has gone up around 25. “Millennials are plagued with mounds of college debt while entering a fiercely competitive job market, making them less likely candidates for car ownership”, said Curtis Hamilton, a sales manager at Acura of Boston, as he explained that many first-time buyers are cost-conscious college graduates in their mid-20s. “Young buyers are thinking more efficiently; they’re thinking about downsizing costs.”
When it’s as easy as picking up their smartphone, and pulling up an app, like Zipcar or Car2Go to reserve a car for short-term use, or using the Uber app to send for a car and driver, many Millennials would just rather wait to make that purchase.
Memorable summer moments – submit yours!
The best parts of summer vacation, are usually those unexpected yet memorable moments experienced with loved ones. Whether it’s staying up late playing a fun board game, or dancing all night to music the whole family loves; it’s those kinds of moments that we really cherish. And when those moments are caught on film, it’s awesome; sometimes so awesome, that we just have to share the moment with others.
Safe Kids Worldwide’s An Ounce of Prevention Newsletter, is giving people an opportunity to share one of their memorable moments from this summer with them. Send your memorable moment caught on tape, to Kate Carr, President and CEO of Safe Kids Worldwide at safetynews@safekids.org. The best ones will be featured in this month’s An Ounce of Prevention Newsletter!
Eyes on the road
Texting while driving has become a very serious epidemic affecting all drivers and passengers on the road. According to the National Safety Council, texting while driving causes 1.6 million accidents, and 330,000 injuries per year. So far, cell phone companies have taken action through various media outlets to warn teens and adults about the dangers of texting while driving; but recently one automobile company shocked viewers after seeing its new ad called Eyes on the Road.
Volkswagen debuted their surprising new commercial ad at a movie theater in Hong Kong, without movie-goers suspecting a thing. The commercial begins, and you appear to be in a vehicle driving down a road, when suddenly all of the movie-goers receive a text message. Most of them reach down for their phone to look when… You can probably guess what happens.
It’s because texting requires visual, manual and cognitive attention, that it’s by far the most alarming distraction (NHTSA). If the dangers of texting while driving weren’t evident before, this Volkswagen commercial certainly drives the point home! Check out the video on our home page!
