Honda Recalls 2012 Accord, 2012 Crosstour, 2011-2012 Ridgeline
Honda has issued two recalls today -- one for the 2012 Accord and 2012 Crosstour, and another for the 2011-2012 Ridgeline.
The 2012 Accord and Crosstour recall is the most worrisome of the two. According to a bulletin from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Accords and Crosstours from the 2012 model year may have been built with a faulty inflator for the side-curtain airbag on the passenger's side. As a result, those airbags may not deploy during a crash, seriously increasing the risk of injury to vehicle occupants.
Thankfully, the size of this recall is fairly small, including only 347 units to date. (Given the popularity of the Accord, the recall could've been much larger a few months down the road.) Honda expects to notify owners of affected vehicles about the recall by next Friday, February 10. At that time, they'll be able to take their vehicles to a Honda dealer, who will inspect the airbag system and replace inflators as necessary, free of charge.
If you have questions about the 2012 Accord and Crosstour recall, we encourage you to ring Honda Customer Service at 800-999-1009, or call the NHTSA at 888-327-4236 and ask about recall campaign #12V030000.
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The 2011-2012 Ridgeline recall centers around the Ridgeline's spare tire, which has come with inaccurate inflation information on the attached placard. If owners use the spare tire and it's improperly inflated, the tire could fail, leading to an accident. Approximately 206 Ridgelines are included in this recall.
Honda has already begun sending out notices to Ridgeline owners, so if you have one of the recalled vehicles in your garage, you should receive something in the mail very soon. At that time, you can take your Ridgeline to a Honda dealer, who will amend or replace the tire information placard free of charge.
Should you have additional questions about the Ridgeline recall, call Honda Customer Service at 800-999-1009, or ring up the NHTSA at 888-327-4236 and ask about recall campaign #12V025000.
This story originally appeared at The Car Connection
January 2012 Car Sales Are Strong–Except At GM
While nearly every automaker reported brisk, upbeat sales numbers for the first month of 2012, General Motors didn't have much to cheer.
GM sales were off by 6 percent last month, while its crosstown rivals were up, strongly in the case of Chrysler, which reported a sales increase of 44 percent, while Ford rose 7 percent.
Also on the upturn were Toyota and Honda, both reporting solid sales increases nearly a year after the destructive March 11 earthquake in northern Japan devastated the country and one of its auto production bases.
January's sales numbers were all that much more impressive given the predictions made just a week ago. Analysts at J.D. Power had expected sales to come in at nearly 13.5 million units, with 10.9 million of those sold to retail customers. With tallies complete, Automotive News now reports that U.S. auto sales rose 11 percent on the month to a total of 913,284 units, for a seasonally-adjusted annual rate, or SAAR, of 14.2 million units.
For the year, the SAAR could rise to 14.5 million units, some automakers predict.
The strengthening in the market is unmistakable, Power's senior vice president of global automotive operations John Humphrey said in a release. “Vehicles are currently remaining on dealer lots for fewer than 50 days on average, which is the lowest level for January for the past several years. This is a good indication that pent-up demand is beginning to return to the market.”
The numbers for January 2012, as reported by the automakers:
General Motors: GM (NYSE: GM) reported sales off by 6.1 percent in January, an off-note drop while other major brands posted strong increases. As a whole, GM sold 167,962 vehicles in January 2012. Chevrolet sold 123,864 units, down 1.2 percent from a year ago; GMC moved 24,966 units, down 9.7 percent; Buick sold 10,208 vehicles, off 23.1 percent; and Cadillac was down 29.1 percent at 8,924 units. Volt sales were off by nearly half, but Chevy's Cruze, Malibu and Impala continued to sell well.
Ford: Ford (NYSE: F) sales grew 7 percent over what the automaker calls a strong January 2011. Ford sold 136,710 vehicles in the month, with 131,589 units coming from the Ford brand, which was up 8.3 percent on the month. The 2012 Focus--TheCarConnection's 2012 Best Car To Buy--had a 60-percent sales gain, with F-150 and Explorer sales up as well. However, Lincoln sold 5,121 vehicles, down 7.9 percent from last year's numbers--and just 78 cars more for the whole brand than Ford counted in sales of its outgoing Ranger compact pickup.
Toyota / Lexus / Scion: Toyota's trio of brands reported 124,540 cars and trucks sold in January, up 7.5 percent over the same period in 2011. Toyota got big help from the new Camry, and rose 9 percent to 112,266 units sold. Lexus moved 12,274 vehicles in January for a 4.6-percent decrease, and Scion sold 3,535 vehicles in the month, up 7.9 percent from the same period in 2011.
Chrysler: Chrysler posted the biggest sales increase of any major automaker, posting a 44-percent rise on plenty of fleet sales mixed in with stronger numbers for some of its mainstay products. In all, it sold 101,149 units, with the Chrysler brand growing its numbers by 81 percent, to 17,604 units. Jeep held strong with a 37-percent increase to 31,710 sales, with Dodge posting a 29-percent rise on sales of 31,454 vehicles. Ram trucks accounted for 18,470 vehicle sales, up 42 percent, and Fiat sold 1,911 vehicles in January--down from 2,655 units in December. The Chrysler 200 sedan and convertible posted a sales increase of 789 percent on the month.
Honda / Acura: Honda reported total January 2012 sales of 83,009 units, an increase of 8.8 percent over the same period in 2011. The Honda brand tallied 74,628 of those sales, up 9.3 percent, with Acura rising 5.3 percent with 8,381 sales last month. The Honda CR-V is off to a good sales start, with record January sales up 16 percent over January 2011.
Nissan / Infiniti: Nissan and its luxury Infiniti brand combined for sales of 79,313 vehicles in January, up 10.4 percent over January 2011's 71,847 units. Nissan accounted for 72,517 units, up 12.5 percent, with Altima up 35.9 percent; Infiniti was down 8.2 percent at 6,796 units, from 7,405 units the year prior.
CA Passes Landmark Law Requiring Many More Zero-Emission Vehicles
Last Friday, the influential California Air Resources Board adopted new emission rules that will require carmakers to sell increasing number of zero-emission vehicles in the state, starting in 2018.
By 2025, fully 15.4 percent of the cars sold annually in California must be zero-emission vehicles--either battery-electric and hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles, or plug-in hybrids that can run electric-only for at least several miles.
That would mean a total of 1.4 million plug-in or hydrogen vehicles would be on the state's roads in 2025, out of more than 30 million vehicles.
And 10 additional states plan to adopt the California emissions regulations as well, which could double the number of emission-free vehicles on the nation's roads by 2025, according to Roland Hwang, of the Natural Resources Defense Council.
Greenhouse-gas reductions
The rules are part of CARB's Advanced Clean Cars program for 2015 through 2025 (full details here), proposed last year and commented on by the public.
The zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) requirement is an addition to greenhouse-gas emissions regulations that largely mirror national standards for 2017-2025 model year cars.
California has long had the ability to set its own, independent emissions rules, since it began regulating car emissions long before national regulations existed--due to the notorious smog in the Los Angeles Basin, proven in the 1950s to be largely caused by automobiles.
That makes CARB as much of a player in emissions and fuel-economy regulations as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the two national agencies that regulate emissions and fuel economy, respectively.
Support by automakers, greens, public-health groups
Most (but not all) automakers had already signed off on the national standards, which give them fixed regulatory targets for at least two future generations of vehicles.
The rules were also supported by every major environmental organization, many large public-health and medical groups, and even the Silicon Valley Leadership Group.
Reaction to Friday's passage of the new rules was largely positive. The Union of Concerned Scientists, for example, called the regulations "a robust plan for cleaner cars."
In a laudatory press release, David Friedman, deputy director of the UCS Clean Vehicles program, said the state was "putting the pedal to the metal on electric cars and healthier air" and giving car buyers "a real choice between the fuels of the past and the clean cars of the future."
Trouble over trade-in clause
The comments weren't 100 percent unicorns and rainbows, however.
CARB adopted a provision that would cut the number of zero-emission cars an automaker would be required to sell if that carmaker "over-complied" and reduced its fleet greenhouse-gas emissions more than required by the rules.
Under that rule, automakers who cut their fleet average greenhouse-gas emissions by 2 grams/mile more than the requirement could reduce their zero-emission vehicle mandate by up to 50 percent.
Advocacy group Plug-In America said it was "extremely disappointed" that CARB chair Mary Nichols did not allow a vote on a proposal by several Board members to raise the required GHG Overcompliance provision from its current 2 g/mile to 5 g/mile.
Survey: Hyundai, Subaru, Lexus Score High With Dealers
Each year, thousands of consumers answer surveys about cars and the people who sell them. Those studies -- like the ones we recently mentioned about brand loyalty and the shopping habits of men and women -- can tell us a lot about buyers, but for an insider's look at the auto industry, you need to chat with folks on the other side of the counter: the dealers. A new study from the National Automobile Dealers Association says its members are happiest in the company of Asian marques like Hyundai, Subaru, and Lexus.
The study was carried out in July and August 2011 and garnered responses from over 14,700 dealerships. According to a NADA press release, survey participants rated automakers in three areas: (1) "franchise value" (e.g. brand value, product offerings, etc.); (2) "automaker policy decisions that affect the dealership" (both directly and indirectly); and (3) "the automaker's field staff who visit dealerships". Taken in sum, those scores gauge how easy manufacturers make things for their brand representatives in the community so that they can get on with the business of selling and servicing cars.
When all the responses from the NADA survey were tabulated, Hyundai landed on top for the third year in a row. Subaru clocked in at number two, and Lexus drove to the number three spot. Those were followed by Kia, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, Volkswagen, Porsche, and Audi, with Cadillac and Honda tied for tenth.
There are a couple of things worth noting in NADA's results. For starters, nearly half of those brands are premium marques. Since high-end lines typically pride themselves on high-end service to consumers, it's not entirely surprising to see that attitude carry over to the automakers' relationships with their dealers. It's all part of the same culture.
That said, dealer satisfaction doesn't necessarily correlate with customer satisfaction. Back in December, we saw that car shoppers were most pleased with their experiences at Lexus and MINI dealerships, but MINI was a no-show on the NADA survey. And while some of J.D. Power's top performers with shoppers also scored well with dealers -- Mercedes-Benz, Cadillac, Porsche, Volkswagen -- others NADA faves like Audi, Kia, and Honda fared poorly with consumers. Translation: just because customers have great experiences at a dealership doesn't mean that that same dealership will have great experience with the automaker it represents.
And the last thing worth noting: with the exception of Cadillac, NADA survey respondents showed no love for Detroit. If we were the betting sort, we'd wager that might have something to do with lingering resentment toward GM and Chrysler for their controversial downsizing of dealer networks after their 2009 restructurings. There are undoubtedly other factors at work, too -- like Chrysler's insistence that Fiat dealers create entirely new showrooms. Even though dealers were eager to get the (now underperforming) Fiat 500, construction projects always brings their share of frustration.
If you've got a few minutes to spare this Monday morning, you can click here to read a PDF explaining the NADA survey and some of its findings.
This story originally appeared at The Car Connection
AAA Puts Spare Tires On The Endangered List Thanks To Fuel Economy Rules
No one likes changing a flat tire. In fact, just storing the spare can be a problem: if it's inside the vehicle, it can take up valuable cargo space, and if it's kept outside, it may prevent you from using bike racks or other accessories. But AAA says that thanks to new fuel economy regulations, we may not have to worry about either of those things much longer, since spare tires could soon disappear altogether.
We've spilled a lot of ink discussing the new fuel economy rules handed down by the Department of Transportation and the Environmental Protection Agency. Those regulations will require average fuel economy to hit 34.1 mpgs by 2016 and 54.5 mpgs by 2025.
Automakers have a number of tools at their disposal to help them reach those goals -- for example, hybrid and electric powertrains. But reducing the weight of vehicles is also important, because as every carbon fiber fan will tell you, reducing weight is an easy way to boost fuel efficiency.
In recent years, much of that weight has been coming out of the trunk. It's increasingly rare to find full-size spares in many vehicles, and in their place are lighter "donuts", which aren't meant to travel long distances or at high speeds. AAA says that the new fuel economy rules could make even these pint-size spares go the way of the dodo, leaving vehicle owners with run-flat tires (which can go limited distances when punctured) or fix-a-flat kits (which work fine on small holes, but do little or nothing for bigger problems, much less blowouts).
Worse, as AAA points out, owners may not even notice the absence of a spare tire when they're purchasing a vehicle. We encourage shoppers to make a checklist of things they want in a new car, and to put "spare tire" on it. Even if you're comfortable with run-flat tires, you should know in advance what you're getting (or not getting) for your money.
In fact, it's probably a good idea to check your current car, just to make sure that everything's up to snuff. Do you know where your spare is? Is it inflated? Do you know how to remove it? Can you locate your jack? If you don't have a spare, do you have fix-a-flat on hand? Given the lousy weather that we've seen over the past few weeks, we'd hate to see anyone caught in the rain or snow unprepared.
Suzanne Kane at Family Car Guide has compiled a list of cars without spare tires. Whether you're in the market for a new or used ride, it's a must-read.
This story originally appeared at The Car Connection
Women Are More Practical Shoppers, But Men Get Better Deals: Infographic
So, you're in the market for a new car. You've skimmed through our extensive collection of news and reviews, and you're ready to hit the showroom. What should you expect? If you're a man, you might negotiate a slightly sweeter deal, however, your female friends will probably pay less because they've configured a more cost-efficient ride. That's according to new data from CarWoo.
We first mentioned CarWoo a little over a year ago. It's a website that allows shoppers to solicit competing offers from auto dealers, a little like Lending Tree does for home loans. So, you tell CarWoo what sort of vehicle you're looking for, and CarWoo asks dealerships in your area to make their best offer. (Interestingly, when CarWoo debuted, there was a fee to use it, which made us somewhat skeptical about its prospects. Now, that fee seems to have been removed, or it's been pushed deep into the sale transaction.)
After crunching numbers for cars bought through CarWoo in 2011, data hounds found that women pay less for their wheels -- around $28,306, compared to $31,911 for men. That's mostly because women chose less expensive options and packages than their male counterparts.
However, men did score ever-so-slightly better when it came to haggling. On average, men paid 10.3% below MSRP, while women got 10.2% off. That's pretty solidly in keeping with last year's stats, which found that "Only about one out of five dealerships offered a significantly different ($500+) price to one gender versus the other." This may have something to do with the fact that CarWoo's bidding process is anonymous, so dealers don't know a bidder's gender. Secret shoppers have found greater disparities in the way that salespeople treat men and women in person.
Our suggestion? Don't rely on your gender to score a great deal. Instead, you're better off looking to specific brands. As we saw just a few weeks ago, Chrysler and Nissan offer substantially better discounts than other makes: the average Jeep customer saved 17.7% in 2011, while Nissan shoppers saved 15.7%, and Chrysler customers saved 14.2%.
For a full rundown of CarWoo's 2011 shopping stats, check the infographic at left.
This story originally appeared at The Car Connection
GM Back On Top With 9 Million Unit Sales In 2011
Fueled by record worldwide sales of its Chevrolet brand, General Motors has achieved 2011 sales of 9.03 million units, surpassing both the 8.16 million sold by Volkswagen and the 7.9 million estimated by Toyota. Like other Japanese automakers, Toyota was impacted by inventory shortages caused by the twin disasters in Japan.
That puts GM back on top of global sales, which is a remarkable achievement given the automaker’s financial health in 2009. GM hasn't sold that many vehicles worldwide since 2007, prompting GM’s stock to rise slightly on the news. In early afternoon trading on January 19, the stock was selling at a high of $24.93 per share.
The Chevrolet brand accounted for 4.76 million sales worldwide last year, breaking sales records in 15 markets (including the United States). Chevrolet sales in the U.S. totaled nearly 1.78 million units, representing a growth of more than 13 percent compared to prior year.
Leading sales for Chevrolet globally was the Cruze compact sedan, which sold more than 670,000 units around the world last year. Global platforms, such as the Sonic and Spark contributed to Chevrolet's success, and the brand has big expectations in 2012 for the global launch of the 2013 Malibu.
GM picked up four-tenths of a point of market share worldwide last year, and now accounts for 11.9 percent of global vehicle sales. Its largest market is China, which made up 28.2 percent of sales last year (including joint ventures with Chinese partners), followed by the United States, which produced 27.7 percent of sales.
This story originally appeared at The Car Connection
Dealers Warn Fuel Rules Will Boost Car Costs By $5000: We Break It Down
Back in November, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Transportation announced new fuel-efficiency regulations affecting vehicles built through 2025. Many automakers and environmental groups have praised the guidelines, but dealers warn that they could boost the cost of new cars by as much as $5,000. We'll try to cut through the spin so you know what to expect down the road.
What are the new guidelines?
In a nutshell, the new Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) regulations say that by 2025, automakers who sell vehicles in the U.S. will need to achieve a fleet-wide average of 54.5 miles per gallon. The specific rules vary by weight and class, meaning that passenger cars will need to achieve a combined rating of 62 mpg, while trucks and SUVs will have a far lower threshold of 44 mpg.
If those numbers sound high, they should: they're meant to sound impressive to an increasingly green-minded public. But remember, CAFE stats and real-world fuel-economy stats are two different things. Tracking through the math is best left to a separate article (like this one), but at heart, the CAFE rating for a vehicle is higher than its real-world fuel-economy. So chances are good that 2025 cars will be able to achieve less than 62 mpg and still earn that rating from the EPA.
Who likes the new regulations (and why)?
Obviously, environmental groups like the new CAFE rules because they promise to reduce auto emissions. In theory, they'll also scale back America's dependence on oil and reduce the need for drilling.
Most automakers like the regulations, too, because they differentiate between classes of vehicles. That's important in the American market, where big vehicles -- especially SUVs and pickup trucks -- remain very popular. Automakers like GM and Ford, who sell many of those larger rides, will have an easier time meeting the new CAFE regulations because the EPA won't hold every vehicle to the same standard. In 13 years, chances are good that those automakers will be able to boost fuel efficiency and meet the new thresholds without having to develop entirely new powertrain technologies.
Who loathes them (and why)?
A handful of automakers have expressed concern about the new rules. Volkswagen in particular has been vocal in its criticism of the CAFE regs because -- according to VW -- they give truck and SUV manufacturers a break. For a company like VW, which relies mostly on passenger car sales in the U.S., that makes the road ahead far more difficult. Here's part of a statement from Tony Cervone, executive vice president of communications for Volkswagen of America, that was issued back in July, when the Obama administration announced what amounted to a rough draft of the EPA guidelines:
Volkswagen does not endorse the proposal under discussion. It places an unfairly high burden on passenger cars, while allowing special compliance flexibility for heavier light trucks. Passenger cars would be required to achieve 5% annual improvements, and light trucks 3.5% annual improvements. The largest trucks carry almost no burden for the 2017-2020 timeframe, and are granted numerous ways to mathematically meet targets in the outlying years without significant real-world gains.
The proposal encourages manufacturers and customers to shift toward larger, less efficient vehicles, defeating the goal of reduced greenhouse gas emissions.
Volkswagen Group clean diesel products are among the most fuel efficient vehicles on the road today. Our new mid-size Passat TDI, built here in the US in Chattanooga, TN, achieves 43 mpg highway and can travel almost 800 miles on a single tank of fuel. If one-third of the vehicles on the road today were clean diesel, the US would save 1.4 million barrels of oil a day. Yet there is no consideration in the current proposal for the positive impact clean diesels can have on fuel consumption here in the US.
Americans Are Holding On To Their Cars Longer Than Ever
Given the recent recession and relatively high unemployment figures, it's no surprise that car owners are holding on to their vehicles for a long time. According to research firm Polk, however, the average age of vehicles on U.S. roads has hit an all-time high of 10.8 years.
The age of passenger cars moved up slightly between 2010 and 2011, going from an average age of 11 years in 2010 to 11.1 (as of June 2011). The aging of the light truck and SUV population, however, has been a shade more severe, jumping from 10.1 to 10.4 years. On average, the auto population in the U.S. has been steadily creeping upward, from 8.4 years in 1997 to 10.8 in 2011.
The figures from Polk come as a bit of a shock, given last year's strong auto sales. Common sense says that greater new car sales would reduce the average age of vehicles in use.
However, Polk says there's a good reason for the aging of the American auto population: weak sales in 2008 and 2009. Vehicle sales tanked during the Great Recession, and fewer new car sales meant that the average age of vehicles in use ramped up. Consumers have gradually returned to the market since 2009, but not in ample numbers to counterbalance the two-year dip.
The trend may be shifting into reverse, though, given the growing number of vehicles on the roads. In 2009 and 2010, the number of registered vehicles in the U.S. declined, but in 2011, the number shot up by about 500,000 to 240,504,646. Many of those were new car registrations, and if sales continue upward -- as many analysts believe they will -- the average age of vehicles in use will likely decline.
The downside of this news -- at least for the auto industry -- is that consumers remain a little shell-shocked by the recession. Though customers are clearly interested in new cars again, they're not yet beating down the showroom doors.
But the upside, according to Polk, is that this represents a huge opportunity for automakers and dealers. As the economy stabilizes, consumers confidence will rise, which may be just the boost shoppers need to trade in their aging wheels.
How old is your ride? Are you ready to give it up yet? Drop us a line, or leave a comment below and let us know.
This story originally appeared at The Car Connection
6 Ways To End Distracted Driving
If you've kept up with coverage of the 2012 Detroit Auto Show and the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show, you know that auto technology is undergoing some dramatic changes. True, flying cars and plasma drives are still a bit further down the road, but the way we interact with our vehicles today is miles from what it used to be.
However, with all these changes and improvements come countless dangers -- notably, the danger of distracted driving. Once upon a time, the biggest preoccupations for drivers involved keeping the kids quiet in the back seat or finding the right button on the 8-track player. Now, we have phone calls, text messages, emails, and apps to juggle.
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood has been very vocal about his desire to curb distracted driving and limit drivers' access to mobile phones. Automakers are trying to develop technology to address such concerns, while simultaneously acknowledging that mobile phones are an important part of modern life.
We've taken a long, hard look at the offerings on view Detroit and elsewhere, and from where we sit, there are six possible solutions to the problem of distracted driving:
1. Turning off the phone: Fat chance. We can't even get our moms to stop texting, and they grew up using rotary-dials and drinking bromides. You think their grandkids are going to willingly put down their mobiles? Only if they're automatically disabled -- which sounds like a recipe for shrinking sales and potential lawsuits.
2. Better smartphone integration: Nearly every car on the road these days can be integrated with a smartphone. Even older models can be retrofitted with a stereo system offering an auxiliary jack for listening to tunes and such. But phones are small, and interacting with them requires a lot of squinting and looking down. Plus, they're handheld, and they tend to do terrible things, like tumble to the floor. Until someone amends the law of gravity, using the smartphone as a command center will be an imperfect solution, no matter how great the interface or pairing mechanism may be.
3. Voice control: This is probably the most popular solution to distracted driving that's being bandied about today, since many believe that controlling infortainment and other systems by voice command is less distracting than using touch screens. (Even LaHood is comfy with the idea of hands-free calls -- at least for now.) Voice-controlled systems have been gaining in popularity in recent years, boosted in part by the launch of the iPhone 4S and the Siri personal assistant. Many in-car systems from Ford SYNC to the upcoming Cadillac CUE are capable of responding to spoken commands.
But voice control raises some concerns -- and not just because people are worried about embedding a HAL 9000 unit in their dashboards. Studies have shown that hands-free calling is no safer than making phone calls with a handheld device. Translation: anytime you're talking, whether it's to a caller or your car, it's a distraction. Moreover, voice recognition in its current state is far from perfect, so users often have to repeat themselves, which can make the technology more frustrating, cumbersome, and distracting.
4. Gestural control: First, came the Wii, then the Xbox Kinect, and now, people can't get enough of gestural technology. There's the idea that somehow waving a hand or poking a finger is somehow safer than reaching over and flipping a dial. And that, of course, is ridiculous. For all the problems inherent to voice-recognition, at least calling out commands lets drivers keep both hands on the wheel.
5. Heads-up displays: This technology is so new, we're not prepared to make a call on it just yet. However, as beautiful as tech like the Mercedes-Benz augmented reality windshield may be, it seems a little intrusive.
6. Autonomous vehicles: This is the holy grail of vehicle technology, and if/when it rolls out, it would effectively make distracted driving a non-issue. We'll tell our cars where we want to go, and they'll get us there, while we kick back and enjoy a nice half hour of Farmville. Or a nap.
Google is testing its autonomous vehicles now, and other rides -- like GM's EN-V concept -- have similar technology embedded. But self-driving vehicles are a long way off. Not only does the technology require a lot of development, but roadways require a good bit of infrastructure improvements. After all, in order for cars to know when to slow down in traffic, they'll need to have an idea of when traffic lights are changing, to know when emergency vehicles are approaching, and so on.
As you can see, there's no perfect solution to the problem of distracted driving -- not yet, anyway. For now, the best we can do is to be aware of the dangers and to exert some self-control by putting our phones, tablets, and other distractions away.
This story originally appeared at The Car Connection
