Here’s the story- 4 Australian men “allegedly” decided to take a shower at the local car wash. These men paid for the car wash and then stripped down and soaped up while their girlfriends took pictures.
This person needs to hand over their license and give up driving permanently:
Seriously… Science said so:
from LiveScience.com -
Several studies have shown that distractions while driving, such as using cell phones or texting, can be dangerous. New research confirms these findings among teens.
The study of 21 teens in a driving simulator found that while texting or searching their MP3 music players they changed speed dramatically, wove in an out of their lanes, and, in some cases, ran over virtual pedestrians.
Similar studies have found that adults who talk on cell phones while driving in simulators perform as dismally as drunken study participants. Studies from the University of Utah show that hands-free devices do not make it safe to use cell phones while driving.
In January, the National Safety Council called on state and federal lawmakers to ban the use of cell phones and text-messaging devices while driving and also urged businesses to prohibit it.
The problem is acute among younger people.
Motor vehicle accidents are leading cause of death for people between 16 and 20, accounting for more than 5,000 deaths each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Teens are four times more likely than older drivers to be involved in a crash.
The new study included 21 subjects between 16 and 18 years of age with at least six months driving experience. Anyone diagnosed with an attention disorder or with history of unsafe driving was excluded, as were teens who reported use of alcohol or excessive amounts of caffeine. Each driver completed four separate 10-minute driving blocks: Undistracted, talking on a cell phone, text messaging and using an MP3 player. Each 10-minute block was separated into two separate driving scenarios, rural and urban.
The results for the teens sending text messages or fiddling with their MP3 players showed increased “lane position deviation” and speed changes, mostly slowing down.
“What this study demonstrates is that not only does your speed go up and down, you’re swinging wide left and right,” said Dr. Donald Lewis, of the Eastern Virginia Medical School and Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters in Norfolk, Va.. “You’re a hazardous driver, to yourself and everybody else.”
The findings were presented to the Pediatric Academic Societies May 2.
These photographs by Yves Marchand and Romain Meffre were able to capture the beautiful, yet awful decline of the motor city.
Ken Block is insane. Check these clips out:
Car jump:
Desperate times call for desperate measures and with the bad economy you need to be prepared for the worst. So you need a plan in case you lose your job, house and run through your emergency funds.
Here are some tips for when the times get rough and you need to set up camp in your car.
Keep in mind, that living in your car is not only frowned upon in some areas, but also illegal!
Accidents involving teen drivers cost more than $34 billion in ’06.
According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the risk of motor vehicle crashes is higher among 16- to 19-year-olds than among any other age group.
Ask any parent who has just added a kid to the family’s insurance policy and they’ll tell you how expensive it is to have a teen behind the wheel. But the overall cost of teen driving is as tragic as it is staggering. According to a recent report from AAA, car accidents involving drivers 15 to 17 cost society more than $34 billion in medical expenses, property damage and related costs in 2006. Read more…
According to Doug Newcomb
The junior hockey team in Oshawa, Ontario is called the Generals… no doubt, this is because General Motors has had many plants in the small city near Toronto.
Make that one less, GM is closing a plan there in 2009. Says the union:
CAW president Buzz Hargrove slammed GM for announcing the closure of the Oshawa truck plant just weeks after working out a new labour deal.
“This plant is General Motors’ best-quality, best-productivity, lowest-cost producer of half-ton trucks … and they’re closing it,” Hargrove said.
“This decision is unfair, it’s unjust, it’s unwarranted, it’s illegal, it violates our collective agreement, and we’re going to do everything in our power — and we have power,” he told reporters.
“We are not going to allow this to happen.”
Closure of the plant means GM will no longer produce trucks in Canada and will be reduced to one auto plant in Oshawa and a share of a joint-venture plant in Ingersoll, Ont.
Tuesday’s news comes just weeks after the closure of a GM transmission plant in Windsor, Ont., which affected 1,400 workers.
GM said that closure was due to a market shift from the four-speed automatic transmissions made in Windsor to more fuel-efficient six-speed transmissions.
Detroit’s Big Three automakers have cut tens of thousands of jobs in the last few years as they try to turn around their struggling operations amid market gains by their Asia-based rivals.
North American automakers have been slower to adjust their product lineups to include more smaller vehicles and fewer gas-guzzling SUVs.
I don’t know… I see both sides of the argument…
CHONGQING, China, May 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Changan Ford Sales Company, Ford Motor Company’s joint venture in China, today announced the opening of its 200th full-service dealership, completing a sales and service network that now covers the whole country.
“We’re continuing with the rapid expansion of our authorized Ford dealer network in China to support our exceptional sales growth in the market, which has outpaced the overall industry for the past several years,” said Nigel Harris, vice president of Ford Motor China and General Manager of Changan Ford Sales Company.
“In addition to providing an excellent product range, a professional dealer network plays a vital role in expanding Ford’s presence in China. We will continue building a professional and industry-leading sales and service network to generate more local demand and enhance the sales satisfaction of our customers,” explained Harris.
Ford Motor China recorded 47 percent year-over-year growth for passenger cars and commercial vehicles in the first quarter of 2008. Changan Ford posted a 54 percent increase in Ford brand passenger cars sales in the same period, making it one of the fastest growing auto manufacturers in China.
The new dealership in Chongqing reflects a doubling of Ford’s full-service dealerships from the end of 2005, when Ford had 100 full-service dealers across China. These full-service dealerships offer sales, service, spare parts and survey capabilities. All Ford authorized dealers are trained in implementing “Ford Service,” which is intended to improve customer relationships and a set of customer care experiences included as part of Changan Ford’s free Roadside Assistance program.
Ford also requires dealerships to undergo certification for Ford QualityCare, a program established in 1987 to enhance customer satisfaction. The QualityCare program covers all details of customer service to standardize and improve quality and efficiency. As of today, 117 of China’s full-service dealerships have obtained QualityCare certification.
About Ford Motor in China
Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Mich., manufactures or distributes automobiles in 200 markets across six continents. With about 245,000 employees and about 100 plants worldwide, the company’s core and affiliated automotive brands include Ford, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lincoln, Mercury, Volvo and Mazda. The company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company.
Ford’s wholly owned subsidiaries, joint ventures and investment in China include Ford Motor (China) Limited, Ford Motor Research & Engineering (Nanjing) Co., Ltd., Ford Automotive Finance (China) Ltd., Changan Ford Mazda Automobile Co., Ltd., Changan Ford Mazda Automobile Co., Ltd. Nanjing Company, Changan Ford Mazda Engine Co., Ltd. and Jiangling Motors Co., Ltd.
For more information regarding Ford’s products, please visit www.ford.com and www.ford.com.cn .
430 layoffs ordered at V8 engine plant, but some workers land jobs at Ford’s busy Oakville complex.
May 23, 2008
Ford says it will trim as many as 430 jobs at its Windsor engine plant in the fallout from major new production cuts by the struggling automaker.
The company confirmed yesterday it sent out layoff notices to affected workers at the operation during the past week as a consequence of lower production at North American assembly operations for the remainder of the year.
Ford is reacting to falling demand for gasoline-guzzling pickup trucks and sport-utility vehicles that use the Windsor plant’s V8 engines.
Mark Truby, a spokesperson for Ford, said there could be fewer layoffs by the time they take effect in mid-July.
“We haven’t worked out the full impact,” he said.
Buzz Hargrove, president of the Canadian Auto Workers, said Ford told him it will cut about 300 jobs.
“We’ll be losing the shift very soon, but one would hope it’s not permanent and fuel prices go down,” Hargrove said. Read more..
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