2010 Safest Cars

Large cars

• Buick LaCrosee
• Ford Taurus
• Lincoln MKS
• Volvo S80

Midsize cars

• Audi A3
• Chevrolet Malibu built after October 2009
• Chrysler Sebring 4-door
• Dodge Avenger
• Mercedes-Benz C-class
• Subaru Legacy
• Subaru Outback
• Volkswagen Jetta sedan
• Volkswagen Passat sedan
• Volco C30

Small cars

• Honda Civic 4-door models (except Si)
• Kia Soul
• Nissan Cube
• Subaru Impreza except WRX
• Volkswagen Golf 4-door

Midsize SUVs

• Dodge Journey
• Subaru Tribeca
• Volvo XC60
• Volvo XC90

Small SUVs

• Honda Element
• Jeep Patriot
• Subaru Forester
• Volkswagen Tiguan

The driver of this specific Bugatti Veyron, who refused to give his name, was cruising along this saltwater lagoon on Interstate 45 in Gavelston, Texas in search of real estate properties.   Then the unexpected happened, a low flying pelican flew across the road and distracted him.  The Veyron driver jerked the wheel to avoid the bird and dropped his cell phone simultaneously, while the front tire drifted off of the road and entered a muddy patch of no return and eventually ended up in the saltwater lagoon!  The Bugatti Veyron’s engine continued to run for several minutes before it eventually died.

The moral of the story as they always say…  Hit the freaking bird!!!  It is currently unknown whether this Bugatti Veyron will be salvageable or not?  What do you think? lol

Press Release:

Tundra Midnight Rider Tailgater by Brooks & Dunn

The Midnight Rider Tundra Tailgater by Brooks & Dunn is a tribute to the legendary country music duo’s career that has spanned over 20 years.  The Tundra full-sized pickup has been a sponsor of Brooks & Dunn for the past three-plus years and the Tundra Tailgater is Toyota’s way of celebrating the music duo’s upcoming 2010 farewell tour.

The concept for this one-of-a-kind Tundra Tailgater was developed through Toyota’s partnership with Brooks & Dunn.  Inspired by the music duo’s large truck-devoted fan base, Toyota wanted to push the boundaries of bed utility and capture the imagery of the truck trucker.  Built by The B.A.D. Company, the customized Tundra CrewMax Limited full-size 4×2 V8 pickup was a perfect fit for the ultimate tailgating vehicle.

The Ultimate Tailgating Experience® occurs when you slide out the tailgate, exposing a Grill N Chill® cooking area from Go! Products.  The pull-out Grill N Chill features a cooking space with countertops, infrared barbeque, beverage tap and ice chest.  An electronically operated tonneau cover enhances your tailgate party with a bed-installed 42-inch flat screen TV and sound system by Kicker.  The sound system features a dual subwoofer system and a separate amp, four two-way speakers with tweeters and separate crossovers, and dual two-channel amps with separate equalizers and speaker control units.

On the outside, the truck features custom black paint treated with silver metallic flakes.  The exterior is accented by custom western-engraved silver door handles, a front grille adorned with a chrome Brooks & Dunn logo steer skull, a chrome-accented steer skull tailgate handle, and a hand-tooled black saddle leather-trim tonneau cover surrounded with custom Brooks & Dunn silver conchos, all created by noted silversmith, artist and horseman, Clint Mortenson of Mortenson Silver & Saddles.  Also added is a Brooks & Dunn license plate frame recognizing 20 years of hit music.  The exterior is topped off with 20-inch Mickey Thompson “Classic Lock” polished aluminum wheels with 35-inch Mickey Thompson “Claw” off-road tires, Bushwacker bolt-on fender flares, a three-inch suspension lift, and  Toyota accessorized chrome tube steps.

Inside, The B.A.D. Company complements the exterior of the Tundra Tailgater with black leather trim seats and silver accents.   Also added is a hand-tooled silver cupholder faceplate and custom saddle horn shift knob highlighted with a silver cap.  The interior features a Toyota navigation system and rear seat entertainment.  Audio was upgraded with Kicker speakers including one subwoofer, one two-way speaker with separate tweeter crossover in each door, four more separate tweeters mounted throughout the cab, and three amps with an equalizer.

In addition to celebrating 20 years of great music, the vast exposure of the Tundra Tailgater at the 2009 SEMA Show and the Brooks & Dunn farewell concert tour allows Toyota the opportunity to gauge consumer reaction towards the various interior treatments and bed utility, which can help influence future design possibilities.

The new Viper SmartStart iPhone application will now replace your car keys or keyless entry on any vehicle which is installed with Viper’s SmartStart alarm system hardware.  The neatest feature on this geeky new gadget is there is an infinite range since the system connects to the cellphone networks.  The Viper SmartStart system will unlock/lock your car, activate the panic option, pop the trunk, and even remotely start your engine.  The free iPhone app connects to the Viper SmartStart hardware module which goes for $300 initially and requires an annual service.  After the first complimentary year, the Viper Smart Start service is $30.

The current Guinness Book of World Records holder for being fastest production car available (yes faster than the Bugatti Veyron), is headed to the last place we’d imagine, India!  The SSC Ultimate Aero TT set the world record beating the Veyron by only 4 mph but SSC claims the Ultimate Aero TT is capable of a top speed of 271 mph on a good day.

Understandably, the SSC Ultimate Aero TT is priced at more than $650,000! However with the stiff import taxes of India as well as many other countries, potential buyers may have to pay an additional 100% to own one of these supercars.  This comes as no surprise, but when the SSC Ultimate Aero TT goes on sale in India, it will become the most expensive car sold there, edging out the Maybach.  Shelby Super Cars have decided to put their Ultimate Aero TT on sale in India because they are acquiring more millionaires quicker than any other place in the World!  India now becomes one of three countries that offer the SSC Ultimate Aero TT, alongside Russia and the United States.

Over the weekend the 2.4 million dollar Infiniti Essence Concept car was on display at the Louis Vuitton store in Troy, Michigan’s Somerset Collection Mall.  The new Infiniti concept car was shown off during a champagne and hors d’œuvre-laden soiree.  Since Infiniti has decided not to participate in the auto shows this year, they’ve started touring with such displays across the nation.  Since the Infiniti Essence Concept car was designed with custom Louis Vuitton luggage, they’re stopping by various stores to give select customers and VIP’s a special viewing.  For more information on the Infiniti Essence Concept car, check back in with us periodically.

Steeda has been transforming Ford Mustangs into even more high performance pony cars for the past 20 years.  This week they announced they’ll unveil the all new, 2010 Steeda Q Series Mustang, at the SEMA auto show next month.  Although they didn’t release many specific details on the new 2010 Steeda Q Series Mustang, expect a supercharged 4.6 liter V8 with 100 plus horsepower gains.  Alongside the drivetrain upgrades, you can always expect Steeda to equip their Mustang with suspension upgrades that are race tested and track proven.

Trapster Application

Some of you all who are familiar with the term Trapster, probably know the application from it’s popularity in the Apple App Store.  The Trapster application taps into your iPhone’s GPS system to determine your location, then allows users to pinpoint speed traps so others won’t get caught.  Not only does the Trapster app allow you to identify live speed traps but it also has options for red light cameras and checkpoints!

Unfortunately, the application released for Windows Mobile wasn’t up to speed when it hit the Windows Marketplace for Mobile.  The previous version of Trapster for Microsoft Mobile didn’t incorporate a map that actually shows an overhead of the nearby speed traps (we’re still trying to figure that one out).  The new update however, includes a zoomable map which should put this version of the Trapster application for Windows Mobile on par with the iPhone application variant.