Traffic and Safety
Video: See Hyundai’s new Veloster coupe in motion
We’ll admit we’re quite intrigued by the Veloster coupe that Hyundai unveiled at Detroit this week. That’s not just because the car employs an unusual three-door layout, but also because the manufacturer has made a habit of delivering incredibly competitive cars in every segment it’s opted to launch.
Now it’s the turn of the coupe, where Hyundai is believed to have set its sights on the Volkswagen Scirocco. The Veloster will not only have to prove a decent drive, but also overcome the natural prejudices of an image-conscious audience.
Still, it would take a brave man to bet against the Koreans’ current track record. Click below to see a video of their new star in action.
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Uninsured Drivers Insurance
The risk posed by uninsured drivers is something far from the mind of most people. Many motorists assume that the people they encounter on the roads are as responsible as they are, and carry the necessary insurance required by state laws. However, this is far from the truth –according to the Insurance Research Council, 1 in 7 at-fault drivers involved in car accidents are uninsured.
What can happen to an insured driver who is involved in a collision with an uninsured party? Despite the fact that you may carry regular full insurance coverage, since the at-fault driver is not insured whatsoever, you can become completely responsible for you the damage to your automobile, and any personal medical expenses that may arise from injuries sustained in the accident.
It may be possible to pursue the guilty parties through a civil lawsuit to recoup damages, but since they most likely did not have insurance because they not afford it in the first place, the chances of being able to actually collect any amounts awarded by a court are quite low.
Civil cases can also take several years to reach a judgment, leaving you unable to take care of your immediate obligations.
Fortunately, there are options to protect insured drivers against the uninsured. The most basic protection can be found in a comprehensive insurance policy that includes physical damage or collision insurance.
With this type of coverage any damage caused to your automobile by an uninsured driver, or even a hit and run situation, is covered by your insurance company. Unfortunately, this does not extend to any injuries that may have occurred as a result of the accident. This is where an uninsured driver insurance policy comes in.
This type of policy covers both physical damage to your vehicle as well as any medical expenses related to the accident. In some cases, the policy will even take care of the bill for your rental car while your repairs are underway.
Typically handled as an add-on to your current insurance policy, it can also be combined with something called underinsured driver insurance. This type of insurance acts as a stop gap for dealing with accidents that involve drivers carrying only the bare minimum liability insurance required by law.
This minimum coverage may not be enough to take care of all of your medical care or recovery costs. With underinsured driver insurance, your insurance company will bridge the gap between what the at-fault driver’s insurance provides and the price of your care, ensuring that you wont have to deal with any financial hardship in addition to your injuries.
While it may seem tempting to roll the dice when it comes to accident coverage and uninsured drivers, when you consider the low cost of this type of insurance (typically between $10 and $15 per month), it seems like affordable peace of mind.
Insurance is something we all pay into in the hopes that we will never have to benefit from our investment, but when that day comes, the most comprehensive coverage you can afford is always the easiest and most prudent choice.
The best things in a car’s life are free
Auto insurance is a risk management system procured for various types of vehicles. It is chiefly utilized to offer security against a loss brought upon by motor accidents and against legal responsibility met with an unfortunate event.
For certain car insurances they cover particular or each and every point related to motor mishaps; some of the items are medical compensation for the insured individual or group, payments for the physical impairment of the insured automobile, harm or destruction to assets and physical injury or other vehicles and persons considered a third party or in relation to the third group, fire and burglary. In some territories, inclusion for injury to individuals inside the insured motor vehicle is obtainable without taking into account fault in the misfortune.
Various laws identify the conditions in which a concern is covered. In this time and age of modern roadways influencing a fast traffic, having car insurance is of the essence especially in these dire straits due to the economic downturn. Aside from these aforementioned reasons, auto insurance is a legal requisite by the states which can monetarily guard the driver and the car as well as the passengers.
Fortunately in the United States of America, there is a free auto insurance helping clients acquire a fitting kind of insurance that matches customer’s budgets. If a person has insured his or her motor vehicle already, some insurance providers suggest an improved agreement; comparison of fees and packages available to satisfy one’s financial resources. Free auto insurance can be obtained by basically entering one’s name and zip code for the vehicle, personal information and other data being protected by providers.
There is a misconception regarding auto insurance that cars are funded on credit via a credit association or financial institution and are entailed to have a complete coverage so that the bank can cover the client’s losses in time there is an unwanted circumstance. Motor vehicles purchased on cash or were paid by the owner are in general obliged to just bear liability. At certain instances, cars financed using car deals where a client with bad credit funds the vehicle and compensates the dealer straightaway in the absence of a financial institution; they too need liability coverage.
Again, for free auto insurance, searching online for trusted sources of such service is as easy as pie by entering one’s name and the vehicle’s zip code to receive a costless estimate of how much a client may have.
New Car Safety Ratings to Affect Insurance Rates
Car owners may soon find it more difficult to find cheaper car insurance if the plans of two major research bodies to upgrade their safety ratings take effect. Since auto insurance companies base premiums primarily on risk, tougher safety ratings can have negative effects on most car models’ assessment.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety or IIHS is the insurance industry’s main safety research arm. It is responsible for testing how safe cars are and for setting the safety standards. Insurance providers rely heavily on the findings of the IIHS. At present, the institute’s rating system has three major levels, “good”, “acceptable”, and “marginal”. Aside from the ratings, the IIHS also selects its “top safety pick” from many vehicle types and brands that researchers believe are among the safest cars in production.
However, the IIHS has recently announced that it would not give vehicles with less than the “good” rating with the “top safety pick” honor when it comes to roof strength. Researchers at the institute stressed the importance of the cars’ roof strength and durability, particularly if the vehicles turn turtle during an accident. This would mean that the even if a particular car passes with flying colors in other safety aspects, it cannot be chosen as the institute’s “top safety pick” if it fails to garner a “good” rating when it comes to roof strength and safety.
The federal government’s safety research body, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), also announce that it would be introducing new changes to its safety standards. The NHTSA said that 2011 car models would be subjected to stricter testing to assess side impact damage and safety. The safety institute’s testing procedures will also be improved to further raise the NHTSA’s standards. Researchers and the agency’s officials say that the new changes would allow the NHTSA to improve its assessment of car safety based on new factors like side impact damage and injury reduction.
As an expected result of the sweeping changes at the NHTSA, fewer car models are expected to garner the agency’s top ratings. The safety body would also be more selective in choosing vehicles for its top safety pick awards.
Industry experts contend that with the announcements, car owners can find it harder to find more affordable insurance. Nevertheless, they point out that the new changes can provide motorists better opportunity and more choices when it comes to selecting the best vehicles for safety.
Airline Fares Rant
2008 Porsche 911 GT2 – Spied – Car and Driver
Of all the variations of the current 911—Carrera, Carrera S, Carrera 4, Carrera 4S, Cabriolet, Targa, GT3, and Turbo—nothing quickens the pulse and spins the tires so readily as the GT2, the upcoming version of which is seen here. To create the GT2, Porsche starts with a 911 Turbo, adds power, reduces weight, and removes the all-wheel drive, creating a much more demanding vehicle to quiet all those complaints that the 911 Turbo is just a soulless high-speed appliance.
The previous-generation GT2 boosted engine output 51 horsepower and 52 lb-ft over the Turbo, so expect this new car to boast around 525 horsepower and 540 lb-ft of torque. Without the traction benefit of all-wheel drive, the GT2 will probably have a difficult time besting the Turbo’s 3.4 second 0-to-60-mph blast, but with the extra power and a weight reduction of about 220 pounds from shedding the all-wheel drive, all of the 911 Turbo’s higher acceleration benchmarks—including the 185-mph top speed—will be packing their bags and heading for second place.
The GT2 is differentiated from the tamer Turbo by its slightly tweaked rear fascia, different wheels, massive fixed spoiler, and the awkwardly grinning cooling vent at the leading edge of the hood.
Article source: http://www.caranddriver.com/news/spied/06q4/2008_porsche_911_gt2-spied