The 2013 Dodge Dart has been on the road for about a year now and Dodge has figured out that drivers are consistently choosing specific options. To make it easier, these options are now put into Special Edition packages that drivers can choose from- at a lowered price.

Tim Kuniskis, President and CEO, Dodge Brand, said, “These new Dodge Dart Special Edition packages show how we’re listening to our customers. Since we launched the all-new Dart last June, we’ve been able to see how customers are ordering their Darts, and as a result, we have simplified our offerings to meet their requests – allowing us to offer them an even better value in the process.”

According to the press release, here is what you can pick and choose through if you are thinking about driving home your own 2013 Dodge Dart Special Edition Model:

• “New Dart SXT Special Edition package includes a black cross-hair grille, projector fog lamps, leather-wrapped steering wheel, cruise control, Bluetooth and class-exclusive features, including dark-tinted projector headlamps, LED racetrack tail lamps, integrated dual exhaust and front passenger seat in-seat storage for a U.S. Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) of just $595
• New Rallye Appearance Group lets buyers customize their Dart SXT Special Edition and includes a unique dark front fascia, Rallye badge and class-exclusive 17-inch Hyper Black aluminum wheels for a U.S. MSRP of $395
• New Dart Limited Special Edition package adds a power sunroof, heated front seats, heated steering wheel, dual zone automatic temperature control, SiriusXM Satellite Radio and class-exclusive features, including LED racetrack tail lamps, premium Nappa leather seats and Garmin Navigation on the 8.4-inch touch screen for a U.S. MSRP of just $1,810”

The 2013 Dodge Dart Special Edition Models should keep sales going strong. It is currently enjoying record breaking sales and won the award for having the highest total quality score for the compact car segment according to Strategic Vision Total Quality Index.

Source Dodge

The 2014 Mercedes S Class will launch with two new models for the United States. The S550 will be here just around the time the kiddies get back to school in September and the S550 4Matic version will show up about a month later. These two new editions have a more powertrain options which also include plug-in hybrid choices for the eco conscious drivers. The S500 gets a twin turbo V8 that will get 449 horsepower and 516 pound feet of torque. It hasn’t been confirmed whether these new members of the S Class family will get a high zoot Pullman model or not.

Dr Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars, sums it up best by saying: “Rather than being about safety or aesthetics, power or efficiency, comfort or dynamism, our aspirations were ‘the best or nothing’ in every respect. No other car stands for the Mercedes-Benz brand promise more than the S-Class.”

Design Chief for the 2014 Mercedes S-Class, Gorden Wagener, adds, “The sophisticated design of the S-Class has always been an expression of luxury and automotive grandeur of its era. And our new S-Class continues this tradition. With its classic architecture and flowing silhouette, it is a modern embodiment of sensual clarity. The design draws a line from the sophisticated, progressive design idiom to the classic elegance of our 1930s cars – intelligence that speaks to the emotions. Stylish sportiness and sensual forms in synthesis with timeless clarity and effortless superiority make the S-Class a true design icon,”

According to the Official Press Release, the most important new technology functions at a glance are:

System Functions

COMAND Online

• WLAN HotSpot integrated into the head unit as standard
• Unrestricted internet browsing
• SMS/email read/write function
• Mercedes-Benz services (e.g. Google search, weather, Facebook, news)
• Internet radio
• Navigation – Navitainment (DriveShow, Google Maps, StreetView)
• Map showing the entire globe possible
• Travelguide and personal POIs
• Display of satellite images
• Optimized 3D navigation with topographical model, photorealistic buildings and map rotation
• Optimized search engine and destination input
• Compilation of four alternative routes
• Download of predefined destinations and routes
• Live Traffic Information
• Radio – Song tagging – flagging of played songs and download via iTunes
• Convenient editing/sorting of the station list
• Station search by station name
• Player – Coverflow display and search by album cover
• Two USB connectors
• Optional Media Interface integrated into the head unit to support mobile devices
• Bluetooth® Audio – wireless music from mobile devices
• Optimized media search engine
• “Play similar titles”
• Reproduction of further audio/video formats
• Display of title information from an internal database and via the internet (Gracenote)
• PictureViewer via SD card/USB
• Phone • Simple Pairing Assist for easy telephone connection via Bluetooth®
• Display of photos stored in the address book possible when a call comes in
• Facility for simultaneous connection of two telephones via Bluetooth® (1st telephone to COMAND Online, 2nd to rear unit)
• Telephone operation by COMAND Online and in the rear if only one phone in the car is connected
• Display of images matching callers, separately stored via COMAND Online
• Placing of telephone calls from other applications (e.g. web browser)
• Control of several telephone calls by call waiting and conference function
• Convenient Bluetooth® handset with touch operation and remote control if rear telephony is specified
• Operation of the system via smartphone/WLAN

Source Mercedes-Benz

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), traffic fatalities are at an all time high. Last year the death rates jumps 5.3% to 34,080 and that is just the preliminary figures as reported by NHTSA. This breaks a seven year holding pattern and is enough to let us know that drivers need to become more diligent about safe driving practices. Lock the cell phones in the trunk if you have to and keep both hands and eyes on the road – you are carrying precious cargo.

While part of the increase is assumed to be because drivers have been driving more as the economy improves, that’s only 0.3% more miles which doesn’t seem to be nearly enough to explain away the high fatality rates. The increase can’t be explained away by the weather either because the death toll is up throughout the winter, spring, summer and fall.

Traffic Death Increases Per Region:

• The death from traffic accidents is up 15% for the Northeast
• 10% for the South
• 9% for the West

Driving deaths aren’t the only sad figures on the rise. More bicyclists and pedestrians are being killed in accidents than ever and for motorcyclists, well that is just at a horrendous rate. There were about 5,000 motorcyclists who died in accidents in 2012 per the Governors Highway Safety Association reports. That would be 14.7% of all traffic fatalities, and is the highest percentage ever.

Barbara Harsha, executive director of the Governors Highway Safety Association, said, “A comprehensive strategy is needed to keep motorcyclists safe. Most crucial in this strategy are universal helmet laws, which 31 states currently lack.”

The Take Away – Be Safe and Be Aware.

In the meantime the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is looking into creating new regulations in an effort to lower these tragic numbers. Automakers are also doing their part by adding all sorts of new safety features and technology. Ultimately, though, it’s up to the drivers.

Source National Highway and Traffic Administration

E15, which is the corn based biofuel ethanol is something Maine doesn’t want in their state, and they need two neighboring states to agree with them in order to keep it out of their location. They want the government to ban gasoline that has a 15% ethanol blend. Most gas today in America is at about a 10% ethanol blend. If two other states don’t jump on board the ban, Maine might get stuck with it after all because it would cost too much money to create a special fuel blend just for their state.

Representative Richard Campbell, R-Orrington, said, “It’s basically a bill to eliminate food in our fuel. Food in our fuel just doesn’t make any sense. How arrogant of us, the great, wealthy United States of America, to use somebody else’s resources first and put our food in our fuel when other people in the world are starving.”

Those who are for this ban point out that this type of fuel is not helping to cut down on carbon pollution, but it is damaging small engines and boat motors along with forcing corn prices to spike. So, not only is gas more expensive, but so is an important staple food in the American diet.

Campbell points out, “These costs have to be passed on to the consumer. The consumer responds by adjusting their budget and decreasing the amount of farm-raised produce they can purchase. The end effect is the local farmer can’t stay in business.”

Not everyone is excited about this ban however. Representative Joan Welsh, D-Rockport, chairman of the Legislature’s Environment and Natural Resources Committee is one of them. She said, “The federal government requires significant use of renewable fuel, and currently ethanol is the only viable option. There’s no cost-effective source of nonethanol fuel currently available.”

Source Bangor Daily News

With the latest news of Tesla and Google thinking about partnering up for semi-autonomous car technology, and driverless cars all ready being tested, people are starting to wonder how that will play out in the future of their new car purchases. While technology isn’t always quickly embraced, the best of it usually ends up being a standard, such as the microwave oven or Blu-Ray player. For autonomous and semi-autonomous cars though, the experts are considering the fact that many people aren’t going to want to give up their sheer pleasure of driving.

Chris Borroni-Bird, co-author of “Reinventing the Automobile: Personal Urban Mobility of the 21st Century” and vice president of strategic development at Qualcomm, said, “I think most people would like the idea, but they are concerned about whether it is reliable enough, about false alarms and if they can trust it.”

Jim Hall, managing director of 2953 Analytics at the Automotive Press Association in Detroit on Thursday, shared, “When you get to full autonomy, literally all of the things we understand about the car are gone. The problem is that transitional thing. You are going to have to cultivate buyers who will be comfortable sitting in a car.”

Among concerns other than letting go of the feel of handling the car with your hands on the steering wheel are insurance factors and additional costs. So far, the technology is being accepted and the hope is high that this trend will continue. There are all ready features such as adaptive cruise control, lane-departure warning systems and automated parallel parking.

“The truth is we are already about half way on the move toward autonomous cars,” Hall said. “The first cars that had brake intervention … that is probably the first start of autonomous vehicles.” He doesn’t feel people are as interested in the actual process of driving anymore, especially when you consider all the distracted drivers. “Look around when you are riding to work and look at what people are doing in their cars,” he said.

Source Detroit Free Press