Auto Industry in the News

How Do Google Self Driving Cars Work?

JKRAdvertising / Auto Industry in the News /

July 7, 2014

The idea of Google Self Driving Cars has been around for quite some time. But the idea got a little closer to reality in May, when Google showed off its latest model – complete with no steering wheel or any other type of driver control.

As you might imagine, the idea of this concept has drawn mixed emotions. Not everyone is excited about it, and there are still several critical questions to be answered. In addition, there are many folks who fall into the “old school” category who will be apprehensive about such a radical change. Others are excited about what it could do for our society. For example, imagine the independence an elderly person who can no longer drive would regain if they could ride in a Google Self Driving Car.

Two Kelley Blue Reports Recently Released

JKRAdvertising / Auto Industry in the News /

July 1, 2014

Kelley Blue Book reports were coming fast and furious over the weekend, as they released two of them. Because inexpensive doesn’t always mean cool, the first was its “10 Coolest Cars Under $18,000.” The second was a bit more serious, as it detailed the June new-vehicle sales projections.

The “10 Coolest Cars Under $18,000” is a bit subjective, but it a list that nonetheless draws a great deal of annual attention when it is released. There are two criteria upon which each car is judged: how fun is it to drive; and how fun is it to own? Without further delay, here is the 2014 list.

Stolen Corvette Recovered More than Three Decades Later

JKRAdvertising / Auto Industry in the News /

June 26, 2014

A stolen Corvette? Yikes! To many Chevrolet Corvette owners, possessing the iconic car is like obtaining a piece of history. That’s how George Talley of Detroit felt some 33 years ago. A self-professed Corvette aficionado and former General Motors employee, he proudly drove his 1979 Corvette and couldn’t have been happier.

Then one day in July 1981 everything changed. Parking his car on Jefferson Avenue in the Motor City, he conducted his business there, only to find his car had been stolen while he was gone. There was a thorough investigation done by local authorities, but nothing turned up and it eventually became your typical cold case.

Need a Mechanic? Call Clifford Alderson.

JKRAdvertising / Auto Industry in the News /

June 23, 2014

Clifford Alderson is a recent auto mechanic school graduate who is looking for a full-time job. That by itself doesn’t seem to be blog-worthy – and you’re probably right. But there’s something special about this 48-year-old recent graduate. You see, Clifford Alderson is blind.

Alderson was born with retinitis pigmentosa, a genetic ocular disease caused by abnormalities of the photoreceptors of the retina. It eventually led to his blindness. Alderson’s mother also has the disease, as does his 15-year-old daughter Lydia.

Vehicles with Unfixed Recalls Account for a Third of all Cars

JKRAdvertising / Auto Industry in the News /

June 20, 2014

Unfixed recalls are a big issue, but because they are mostly unseen most people don’t think about them. They should! As you travel down the highway, about one in every three cars you encounter has unfixed recalls on it, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) data. To support their findings, Carfax research shows there may be as many as 36 million vehicles on the road today that are in need of some sort of repair as a result of a recall.

Over time, the typical rate of recalled cars and trucks repaired as the result of a recall stands at about 75%. While that seems fairly high (and it is), let’s put things into perspective. Think about how many cars have been recalled this year alone – and we’re only about halfway through it. One-quarter of that total is a staggering number of cars!