auto

Texas Ups Speed Limit To 85 MPH

Texas Ups Speed Limit To 85 MPH

Put the pedal to the metal and get it in gear, today the max speed limit in Texas was officially raise to 85 MPH. Woohoo, yee-doggy! [More]

What Do I Do With A Flood-Damaged Car?

What Do I Do With A Flood-Damaged Car?

Your car took a big bath during Hurricane Irene. Now what? [More]

Went To Firestone To Fix Flat, Got $1,600 Estimate

Went To Firestone To Fix Flat, Got $1,600 Estimate

A Redditor has posted images of his repair estimate he got from Firestone after taking their car in to fix a flat. The Firestone mechanic said they couldn’t just put a plug in, they needed to replace the whole tire. And while they were at it, they said the Redditor should overhaul their electrical system for $1,600 because the blinkers didn’t work, even though they did work. [More]

Want Cheap Gas? Try Costco

Want Cheap Gas? Try Costco

For a good price on gas, try your favorite purveyor of bulk-sized butter barrels. WSJ reports that Costco tries to sell gas at or below the lowest price in the neighborhood. [More]

Used SUVs & Trucks Costing More Than New Ones

Used SUVs & Trucks Costing More Than New Ones

In a counter-intuitive turn of events, the way the market is now, a used SUV can end up costing more than a new one. [More]

How To Give An Electric An MPG When They Don't Run On
Gas?

How To Give An Electric An MPG When They Don't Run On Gas?

Cruising the electric cars on the showroom floor, consumers could soon be faced with an array of new numbers and stats on the piece of paper in the car window. Until now we’ve just had the traditional city vs highway MPG, but how do you give a rating that makes sense to car that doesn’t run on gas? [More]

What Are The Common Car Mechanic Scams?

What Are The Common Car Mechanic Scams?

One of our readers recently complained about a shady dealership mechanic trying to sell him on replacing his whole rear differential on his car for $3,800, when all he really needed was his fluids to get flushed for about $160. [More]

Toyota: Sorry We Made Your Soon-To-Be-Recalled Lexus Out Of Crap

Toyota: Sorry We Made Your Soon-To-Be-Recalled Lexus Out Of Crap

Just kidding, they didn’t actually apologize. They did say that the new recalls are the result of small valve springs that were made from “low-quality” metal that could crack and cause the engine to stall. Whoops! [More]

Heated Wiper Fluid System Wants To Light Your GM Car On Fire

Heated Wiper Fluid System Wants To Light Your GM Car On Fire

1.5 million GM vehicles are equipped with a heated windshield fluid system that was previously recalled due to fires– but that apparently is still smoking even after being fixed.

The Detroit Free Press says that GM kept monitoring the part in question — the so-called HotShot system made by supplier Micro-Heat. After the first recall, GM withheld payments to cover its costs, which forced the company to liquidate. Now that the supplier is out of business and the product is still a potential fire hazard, GM is offering to remove the system and compensate owners with $100.

Toyota Wants To Kiss And Make Up, Wants You To Keep Buying Toyotas

Toyota Wants To Kiss And Make Up, Wants You To Keep Buying Toyotas

Now that Toyota has almost nearly completed its time in the naughty spot for dumping a few million potentially deadly vehicles on the market, the world’s largest auto manufacturer is looking to make nice. But instead of flowers, candy or poetry, Toyota is making plans to woo you back into their showrooms with increased cash incentives and improved maintenance plans. [More]

Toyota Recalls More Than 400,000 Cars For Faulty Brakes

Toyota Recalls More Than 400,000 Cars For Faulty Brakes

Hey! The rumors were true! Toyota is recalling more cars! This time they are hauling you back to the dealer for a braking problem that is affecting several of their hybrid models — including the 2010 Prius, the Sai, which is not sold in the U.S., the plug-in version of the Prius, and the Lexus HS250h. They are also recalling 7,300 Camrys for a completely different problem. [More]

Report: Toyota Will Recall 270,000 Prius Hybrids Over Brake Problems

Report: Toyota Will Recall 270,000 Prius Hybrids Over Brake Problems

The Associated Press is reporting that a top Japanese business newspaper (that we don’t understand because our Japanese reading comprehension really sucks) says that Toyota will recall 270,000 Prius hybrids over complaints about “inconsistent” braking. Consistently being able to brake, of course, is something you tend to want in a car. The braking problem is unrelated to the floor mat and the “sticky pedal” issue. [More]

Epic Toyota Cluster#$@% Continues: Repair Kits Shipping To Dealers

Epic Toyota Cluster#$@% Continues: Repair Kits Shipping To Dealers

2.3 million Toyotas will need to be repaired and the kits to do so are being shipped to dealers this week, says Bloomberg. The repair should take about 30 minutes and Toyota says they are “confident” the problem isn’t electronic. [More]

Zipcar Pulls Recalled Toyotas From Service

Zipcar Pulls Recalled Toyotas From Service

Zipcar is concerned about the runaway stuck pedal Toyotas of doom, and so they have pulled all the recalled models from their fleet until Toyota gets their #@$% together.

Behold Zipcar’s press release: [More]

GM Reaches Deal To Sell Saab To Spyker

GM Reaches Deal To Sell Saab To Spyker

Spyker, a specialty car maker that makes only a dozen cars a year, has actually managed to come to a deal to buy Saab from GM, says Dow Jones. [More]

Ford Doing Well. Chrysler… Yeah, Not So Much.

Ford Doing Well. Chrysler… Yeah, Not So Much.

So after sucking for quite a while, Ford ended the year with higher sales, says the NYT. Meanwhile, Chrysler still sucks. [More]

Magic Auto Additive Makes Your Service Contract Refund Disappear

Magic Auto Additive Makes Your Service Contract Refund Disappear

Auto service companies in St. Louis have found a way to avoid issuing refunds when customers cancel vehicle-protection contracts: by selling warranted vehicle additives in place of service contracts.

A Guide To The Bull#$@% They Say In Car Commercials

A Guide To The Bull#$@% They Say In Car Commercials

The folks at Bankrate and Yahoo! Finance have put together a guide that translates the silly things that are often said in car commercials.