Joe LaMuraglia, Founder and Publisher of Gaywheels.com, is looking for additional responders for the 2010 LGBT Vehicle Owner Survey, and we’re glad to have been asked to help.  Joe has created one of the web’s premier niche-destination LGBT sites in the automotive market.

Joe’s 2009 survey left a significant impression on the industry. Last year’s 4000+ results were well received throughout the automotive community and provided valuable demographic feedback to the manufacturers.

The 2010 vehicle owner survey goes even further by asking both LGBT and straight consumers to participate. This year’s survey includes questions for motorcycle and scooter owners as well.

Thanks for your help. Keep up the great work Joe!

Take the 2010 LGBT Vehicle Owner Survey

Finding the best family car remains a high priority as families take more road-trip vacations, children’s activities fill up the daily schedule and vehicle technology takes another giant leap forward.

Image by Nathan Rein via Flickr

Kelley Blue Book’s 2010 Top 10 Best Family Cars is a diverse list of vehicles  including large size SUV’s down to smaller, more economical wagons.  Ford and Chevrolet took up six of the ten spots with three vehicles each.

KBB.com considered four factors when selecting the Best Family Car winners:

1. Fuel efficiency/economy
2. Kid-friendliness
3. Overall vehicle capabilities
4. Resale Value

Top 10 Best Family Cars:

1. Chevy Suburban
2. Honda Odyssey
3. Chevy Traverse
4. Ford Flex
5. Subaru Outback
6. Chevy Equinox
7. Honda Accord Crosstour
8. Ford Taurus
9. Ford Fusion Hybrid
10. Hyundai Elantra Touring

Now, here’s how you can be the ultimate family hero:

• Do your research & find the vehicle that fits your family’s activity level, space requirements and most importantly your budget.
• Schedule a test drive with your entire family. Don’t drive it alone – this has to make everyone happy.
• Can’t find what you’re looking for? Simply order the exact vehicle you want. Yes, you can actually order a car.

Compare:

A 2010 Chevy Suburban has an MSRP of $41,585. A used 2007 Chevrolet Suburban is only $27,388.  That’s $14,197 in savings you’ll need sooner rather than later. You know it.

What would you add to the list?

GM’s new Camaro is striking; having the 6.2 liter, 426 horsepower monster dressed up as a police car is simply daunting. Police departments could just park one on the side of the road to deter speeders. Plus, imagine the economic boost to GM if police departments across the country purchased one. (Or, the potential savings if they picked up a used Chevy Camaro). Who knows, maybe it could be enough to inspire more recruits with hopes of getting behind the wheel of a Camaro cop car.

Image via Wikipedia

The new Camaro has already appeared in many different forms: As a Transformer, the Dale Earnhardt Jr. Concept model, the Camaro GS Racecar Concept, the Camaro Black Concept, the Camaro Chroma Concept, the Camaro Dusk Concept, the Camaro Graphics Concept and even the Jay Leno Camaro. So – why not as a real Camaro Cop Car?

Here’s four examples of municipalities who made the switch. (Notice one is even foreign)

Once you get past the size, interior color and the need to re-charge your battery, could you learn to enjoy driving an electric concept vehicle without a steering wheel?

Rinspeed seems to think you will, with their new concept vehicle called the UC? Clever.

• Smart Car inspired design
• Interactive mobile dashboard controls with the ability to sync
• No steering wheel
• Center mounted joystick
• Right or Left-handed driving
• Equipped for charging on the go at “charging stations” (The future’s version of the gas station)

Not so sure about the joystick. And the size. The MINI Cooper is about as small as I could go…

So many of our customers have basic car maintenance questions and just don’t know where to turn for trusted information. After several conversations with our service department manager, Scott Pfluke, I realized the answers to our customer’s concerns are a lot closer than they realized.

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Have you ever had the chef, in a fine restaurant, ask you how the meal was? This changes the entire experience; the chef is a professional, he cares about the meal and knows the importance of your feedback. He also knows the power of your voice if you aren’t happy. Well, Scott is our service Chef with over 20 years of body shop, parts and service experience. He’s ASE certified, Ford Certified and received the GM Mark of Excellence award for service – he knows his stuff.

Scott recently told me about a customer’s timing belt issue. He lost me at timing belt. Here’s two simple items that Scott pointed out that drivers commonly overlook.

Did you know that not every car has a timing belt? Timing belts are simply a rubber strip that helps control the timing and motion of your entire engine. It’s little wonder that this eventually wears out and needs replacing. (Some vehicles have a timing chain which doesn’t need to be changed.)

Unfortunately, changing a belt isn’t a simple task due to the number of parts which rely on the timing belt itself.  In most cases, the engine needs to be pulled apart to replace the timing belt. Each car has a different maintenance schedule. Recommended maintenance suggests to change it every 60,000 miles. It’s very important you adhere to this routine; a snapped timing belt can spell the end of your engine. It’s not recommended you change a timing belt yourself – this is definitely the time to turn to a trusted service professional.

One of the biggest car maintenance tips will always be the oil change. A lot of people don’t understand why this is – and no, it’s not to sell more oil.  Changing your oil every 3-5k miles stops the engine from getting sludgy and helps other vital engine parts work together and prevent premature engine aging & damage. Oil changes are a simple DIY project. If doing it at home, consider replacing your oil filter as well. If it’s been a long time between changes, have a professional look at it to ensure it hasn’t caused any additional problems.

Keep your car safe and in the best condition possible.

Let us know of you have any car maintenance questions  Our Chef is always happy to help…

Every industry has its own futuristic visionary-type of person. Automotive concept car designers are tasked with a formidable challenge – trying to put their finger on the pulse of future automotive technology, consumer behavior and design trends. Sometimes they nail it and others are simply awful.

Here’s an impressive collection of concept cars that just didn’t make the cut. A couple may have provided inspiration for some of the beautiful cars on the road today.

Click thumbnails to expand.

Hat Tip to Ben Wolin for this great find.

Kudos to Cars.com. They’re the first A-list, third party site to push out an iPhone automotive app for new and used car mobile shoppers. Their official announcement highlighted these features:

The Cars.com automotive app gives mobile car shoppers access to the most popular functionality on the Cars.com website. Shoppers can:

• Search millions of new, used and certified vehicles based on make/model, distance and maximum price preferences.
• Save specific dealerships and listings, along with notes and additional photos, to a favorites list for future access.
• Locate nearby dealerships to contact them by email or phone, visit the store, view their complete inventory or access their traditional internet site.
• Sort listings search results based on distance, mileage, price and model year.
• Access affordability and payment calculators, Cars.com Smart Target Pricing for new cars and Kelley Blue Book Values.

Smart move by Cars.com – besides being first to market with a retail automotive app, this is a great resource for consumers, regardless of their place in the buying cycle. New and used car dealers, even private party sellers, will benefit from the potential exposure within a mobile app. Plus, Cars.com acknowledged an iPad app is in the works; look for another shift in car shopping behavior when released.

If Cars.com really wants to put the screws to the competition, they’ll consider any of these ideas to help consumers while assisting dealers who pay good money to advertise on their site. (Hopefully, they’re one step ahead of me)

• Pulling car dealer social content into their dealer profiles – RSS feeds or even headline/content links
• Comment ratings and comparisons within individual vehicle listings
• An exclusive agreement with Facebook to push dealer inventory to car dealer Fan Page Tabs

High marks in my book. Which mobile car shopping app do you like?

Click images to see full iPhone screen shots

Image by bbcbob via Flickr

Does your job influence your driving ability?

Insurance.com decided to put together a snarky list of the Top 10 Most Dangerous Drivers by Profession:

1. Attorney/Judge
2. Financial professionals
3. Government worker
4. Bartender or Waiter
5. Business Professionals
6. Dog Groomer
7. Marketing/Advertising professionals
8. Barber/Stylist
9. Coach
10. Nurse

And which drivers are the least dangerous? Athletes & Homemakers. Is your job on the list? Does it make you a dangerous driver – or do you think it makes you a better driver?

Image by Telstar Logistics via Flickr

Motor Trend launched their own automotive iPhone app and this has quickly become one of my favorite automotive apps.

Within two clicks you’ll have access to Motor Trend automotive news, vehicle reviews, photos, images and extras like images of upcoming, future cars.

The loading screen is a slick dashboard design and provides a simple navigation to six primary sections. Advertising within the app is subtle and isn’t overly obtrusive.  Article length works well within the space and image quality is excellent. Missing from every article: sharing tools. I’m sure Motor Trend wouldn’t mind the extra exposure.

I can see this being even more effective on an iPad.

The MOTOR TREND App Features include:

• MOTOR TREND Vehicle Road Tests
• MOTOR TREND Streaming Videos
• MOTOR TREND Photo Galleries
• Future Vehicles and Spy Photos
• Constantly updated automotive news feed, and off-line reading when not connected

Image via Wikipedia

Seems like the Toyota news doesn’t want to stop either. (Bad, I know.)

Toyota announced another vehicle recall – a voluntary safety recall – for the 2010 Toyota Prius and the Lexus HS 250h models. This voluntary brake recall is an update on the anti-lock brake system software. So far, 133,000 Prius vehicles and 14,550 HS 250h vehicles have been recalled in the US. Worldwide, more than 400,000 Prius models and other hybrids throughout Japan, the U.S. and Europe have been recalled.

Another voluntary Toyota safety recall was also released for the 2010 four-cylinder Toyota Camry. The safety announcement trifecta was reached when the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said they were investigating the possibility of safety issues surrounding the power steering mechanisms in 2009 and 2010 Toyota Corollas. This problem involves the potential contact between a power steering hose and a front brake tube. “This contact could lead to a hole in the brake tube and cause a brake fluid leak, increased brake pedal stroke and greater vehicle stopping distance,” executives noted.

Recall notifications, for Toyota Camry owners, should begin to arrive by the middle of the month. Important note: The only Prius models effected in this recall were made after May 2009.

“We’re committed to doing everything we can — as fast as we can — to restore consumer trust in Toyota, and these recalls are part of this effort,” explained Jim Lentz, president and chief operating officer for Toyota Motor Sales. “We regret the inconvenience this recall will cause to Prius and HS 250h owners, and will do our best with the support of our dealers to make sure that it is conducted in the most trouble-free manner possible.”

Lentz added: “As part of the quality improvement program announced by Toyota president Akio Toyoda last week, our company is undertaking a top to bottom review to ensure that our vehicles meet our own high standards of safety and reliability, now and for the future.

“We are taking steps to implement more stringent quality control across the company, to investigate customer complaints more aggressively and to respond more quickly to any safety issues we identify,” he continued.

Have questions about your Toyota?

Please contact our ASE Certified MasterTechnicians for more assistance about the Toyota recall notices or any other Toyota used cars.

Ken Block has all the toys. And when it comes to his Subaru vehicles – he wins with the best toys.

“The TRAX STI is an experimental automobile that starts with Block’s competition-ready Subaru WRX STI before ditching the tires, adding snow cat tracks, and upgrading to some next-level suspension to create the ultimate backcountry shred car. Prepared by Vermont SportsCar, performance modifications include 400-hp and features Group N competition rally dampers made by EXE-TC and a KAPS 5-speed close-ratio dog-engagement gearbox. Under the hood sits a 2.5 liter, 4-cylinder, turbocharged and intercooled STI engine tuned with a MOTEC M800 ECU. “

Another great find by @JimmyADUSA

Guys love their garages. Call it what you want: barn, car stall, carport, parking lot, parking space, repair shop – this is simply one cool garage.

Doesn’t look like much from the outside…but inside, this is someone’s used car garage heaven!

Great find @JimmyADUSA

Image by pedrosimoes7 via Flickr

Toyota halted sales of eight new models today. This news comes on the heels of the Toyota recall announcement for 2.3 million cars and trucks due to a gas pedal problem. The New Toyota models affected by this halt:

• Rav4
• Corolla
• Matrix
• Avalon
• Camry
• Highlander
• Tundra
• Sequoia

Toyota cars and trucks unaffected by the news:

• Lexus
• Scion
• Prius
• Tacoma
• Sienna
• Venza
• Solara
• Yaris
• 4Runer
• FJ Cruiser
• Land Cruiser
• Select Camry models
• Camry hybrids

Toyota Group Vice-President Bob Carter said, “Helping ensure the safety of our customers and restoring confidence in Toyota are very important to our company – this action is necessary until a remedy is finalized. We’re making every effort to address this situation for our customers as quickly as possible.”

Please contact us if you have any questions about your current Toyota vehicle – or potential vehicle!

Here’s another chance to pick up a free remote car starter!

Everyone loves their car creature comforts. Remote car starters usually rank at the top of the list – especially for those who have ever woken up to a snow covered vehicle.

Stop in to our Eastview Mall store and register for a chance to win your own remote car starter. (w/installation) Auction Direct USA will be giving away one every month for the entire year!

Submit your entry via a comment below or simply mention this in your twitter/facebook updates using the green & blue share buttons below!

Update – January Remote Car Starter Winner: Howard Klick , from Honeoye Falls, NY