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 an accelerator 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

This new Audi won’t be available for many, however, mainstream models like the Audi A6 Quattro reward it’s driver with similar excitement levels for a fraction of the cost.

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Who’s got the best automotive brand perception for 2010? Toyota locked it up for another year as reported in Consumer Reports 2010 Best Car Brand Perception Survey. Keep in mind – this is brand perception – as judged by the consumer’s viewpoint; real-word production quality does not apply.

The categories for “perception judging” included:

• Safety

• Quality
• Value
• Performance
• Design/Style
• Technology/Innovation
• Environmentally friendly/Green

Interesting note: Safety ranked as #1 most important category.

Toyota sits confidently at the #1 spot on the list; Ford saw incredible movement upward on this year’s list as its “perceived” value skyrocketed 32 points – putting them at the #2 position. This move up knocked Honda from the #2 position it earned last year.

The biggest jump, a 39 point upward movement, came from Subaru. I think its safe to say Ford’s social media efforts and even Subaru’s viral efforts had something to do with the increase in perceived value. I know it affected my perception.

When asked to name a brand to a specific category, survey responses included:

• Safety: Volvo (73 percent)
• Quality: Toyota (30 percent)
• Value: Honda, Toyota (statistical tie at 26 percent)
• Performance: BMW (29 percent)
• Environmentally friendly/green: Toyota (51 percent)
• Design/style: Lexus, Cadillac, Mercedes-Benz (tie at 23 percent
• Technology/innovation: Toyota (32 percent)

The Top 10 Best Overall Car Brand Perception Rankings:

• Toyota: 196
• Ford: 141
• Honda: 135
• Chevrolet: 124
• Volvo: 92
• Mercedes-Benz: 92
• BMW: 90
• Cadillac: 87
• Subaru: 81
• Lexus: 80

What’s your perception?

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Leave it to Mahalo CEO Jason Calacanis to come up with the most original car give-away on twitter yet.

Once his new twitter account becomes the most popular account -  has the most followers – he’ll give away one beautiful Tesla Model S. That’s right – all you need to do is follow @auto .

Keep in mind, Ashton Kutcher has the most popular twitter account with 4,278,889 followers. That means, for the next 365 days, if NOBODY follows the ever-so-charming Ashton, @auto needs to get 11,723 followers PER DAY.

I’d be shocked if there were 30 days worth of followers who have even heard of Tesla. As Jason is a calculated risk taker and is known for playing his hand when the odds favor him, this is a pretty safe bet.

A smart bet as well; it will only draw more marketing attention – and its all free. Nicely done Jason.

He has mentioned the possibility of @auto being added to the recommended follower list on the twitter sign up page. This could help push up the follower count, but probably not to the level needed to become the most popular twitter account of all time.

I’m a follower though, just in case. Oh yea, I’m not picky when it comes to color Jason.

Travis Pastrana knows how to entertain. Check out his world record car jump performed on New Year’s Eve. This guy is awesome.

Image via Wikipedia

Mobile usage – especially texting while driving – continues to grow.

And its only going to get worse as smart phones make it easier for users to instantly connect to their networks. If you’re doing it – stop. If you have younger drivers, or future drivers, in the house – do the right thing and be a good influence on them.

Take a look at some of these alarming statistics on distracted driving from Distraction.gov:

* In 2008, nearly 6,000 people died on American roadways in crashes that involved distracted driving. Distracted driving can take many forms. It applies to anything that takes your eyes off the road for more than two seconds, takes your hands off the steering wheel, or interrupts your concentration while driving.
* The use of cell phones or other electronic devices while driving is a significant and growing concern, particularly since it has increased exponentially in recent years.
* Recent research indicates that texting while driving represents an even greater risk than talking on cell phone. Texting while driving involves a convergence of visual, manual and cognitive distractions that make this practice especially hazardous and a potentially deadly.
* Young drivers are especially at risk. Their lack of driving experience can contribute to critical misjudgments if they become distracted, yet they text more than any other age group. It’s a trend that poses a growing danger, and therefore it’s important to address this issue now.
* The U.S. Department of Transportation convened a Distracted Driving Summit in late September that brought senior transportation officials, elected officials, safety advocates, law enforcement representatives and academics to Washington, D.C., to help identify the specific factors involved in distracted driving and discuss how to combat it.
* The Summit addressed distracted driving across all modes of surface transportation, including rail, transit, commercial trucks and passenger vehicles. One of the key outcomes of the Summit was a new directive from President Obama that impacts federal employees and contractors.
* On October 1, 2009, President Obama signed Executive Order 13513, Federal Leadership on Reducing Text Messaging While Driving. Among other things, the Order prohibits all federal employees and contractors from engaging in text messaging while:
o Driving vehicles that are owned, leased or rented by the government.
o Driving privately owned vehicles while on official Government business.
o Using electronic equipment supplied by the government (including cell phones, Blackberrys and other electronic devices) to text while driving any vehicle.

Please share this with someone who can’t seem to put down their mobile device while driving.

Some people like to add a wreath to their grill. Others consider their wacky roof reindeer decorations to be an out of the box idea. Well, these people love their holiday car decorations.

A lot.

Congratulations to Tim Cole, of Rochester NY, for winning the $1000 Auction Direct USA Mann’s Jeweler’s Gift Certificate.

Tim stopped by our Eastview Mall store to check out the buzz around the newest way to buy used cars. He walked out with some helpful new info and a great way to add some extra sparkle to someone’s Christmas stocking this year.

Enjoy!

Decoding fuel economy stats…American Honda’s perspective on fuel economy leadership: http://bit.ly/5u5DA0 (via @Alicia_at_Honda)

Posted via web from AuctionDirect’s Appendix