Whatever Happened to Hood Ornaments?

Remember when car hoods had fun, sleek or sophisticated figurines? Today, you’ll hardly ever see one. But what happened to the hood ornaments we knew and loved in the past? It turns out, there’s a surprising history behind hood ornaments - and why they disappeared.

Ornaments have long adorned our modes of transport, from lady luck strapped to the bow of a ship to the ornate spires worn by carriage horses. Car historians trace the hood ornament back to the early 20th century, when cars still had external radiator caps and temperature gauges. Seeking ways to dress them up, designers turned to miniature works of art—animals, emblems and model machines that embodied the car's identity. In the 1920s, the Cadillac LaSalle featured an elaborate statuette of its namesake, intrepid 17th century French explorer Robert de LaSalle, tipping his hat over a burned-out campfire.

By the end of the decade, the practical need for the hood ornament was gone, as radiator caps were relocated under hoods and temperature gauges moved to dashboards. But that didn't stop the auto mascot from enjoying a life of its own. Some sort of doppelganger topped most cars made in America between 1930 and 1950. Among the classics: the forward-leaning Roman messenger goddess Mercury used on Buicks in the 1930s; the wild and sinewy Archer on vintage Pierce Arrows; and the Goddess of Speed that once graced Packards.

Stripped-down hippie tastes, Nader-esque concerns that ornaments could turn otherwise minor pedestrian scraps into fatal accidents, and even irrational fears about heightened fuel costs from increased drag, began to erode the popularity of hood ornaments over the years.

Read the original article here: http://thebea.st/UkF42c

Traveling This Holiday Season? Keep Your Kids Safe!

Car seats save lives! Did you know that only 3% of children ages 1 - 3 ride in a rear-facing car seat? To ensure that your children stay safe in the car, make sure they’re traveling properly. Check out this infographic to get more information on how to protect your kids when they’re riding in a car:
http://www.edgarsnyder.com/infographics/car-seats-infographic.html

How All-Wheel and 4-Wheel Drive Works

Different cars use different systems that enable drivers to have more control over the vehicle. However, many drivers don’t know the difference between four-wheel drive and all-wheel drive. This distinction is critical if you’re trying to figure out how your car works. Here’s more information from How Stuff Works:

There are almost as many different types of four-wheel-drive systems as there are four-wheel-drive vehicles. It seems that every manufacturer has several different schemes for providing power to all of the wheels. The language used by the different carmakers can sometimes be a little confusing, so before we get started explaining how they work, let's clear up some terminology:

• Four-wheel drive - Usually, when carmakers say that a car has four-wheel drive, they are referring to a part-time system. For reasons we'll explore later in this article, these systems are meant only for use in low-traction conditions, such as off-road or on snow or ice.
• All-wheel drive - These systems are sometimes called full-time four-wheel drive. All-wheel-drive systems are designed to function on all types of surfaces, both on- and off-road, and most of them cannot be switched off.

Part-time and full-time four-wheel-drive systems can be evaluated using the same criteria. The best system will send exactly the right amount of torque to each wheel, which is the maximum torque that won't cause that tire to slip.

Learn more and read the entire article over at How Stuff Works here: http://bit.ly/7caG0s

Can't stop texting and driving? These apps can help

Texting and driving is against the law in 39 states but that hasn’t stopped many of us from reaching for the phone while we’re on the road. About 100,000 people are texting and driving at any given moment, according to a study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. And more than 1 million accidents this year have been caused by distracted drivers, many of them while texting.

Still, the chime of a new text message is enticing and the urge to look at it is almost Pavlovian. The good news is that if you can’t keep yourself from reading and sending text messages while driving, smartphone apps can help you break the dangerous habit. One of the most appealing of these apps is DriveMode, a free download from AT&T, which limits the phone’s functionality while you’re driving. When DriveMode is activated, it will automatically silence the notification sounds of incoming texts, emails and even your phone calls. It’ll also send an automatic reply to the sender or caller that you’re driving and can’t respond. You still can receive and make calls for as many as five people if you absolutely need to hear from them. But no texts are allowed. (How many of us reach to respond to a text while driving just so a friend or family member doesn’t think we’re being rude?) Unfortunately the app is available only for AT&T subscribers and only for Android and BlackBerry smartphones. A spokeswoman said the company is working on an iPhone app, but no release date is scheduled.

Sprint, Verizon and T-Mobile make similar apps, although they are not all free. If you feel it is essential to get and respond to text messages while driving, consider using a service that will read your text messages to you and allow you to respond by talking. If you have the iPhone 5 or 4S, you can get Siri to help you out. When you get a new text message you can simply ask Siri to read it to you. After she’s read it, you can tell her you’d like to respond and she’ll take down your message and send it. Google Voice Actions provides a similar service for Android users. If you have an iPhone 4 or 3, or a BlackBerry, you can download the DriveSafe.ly app, which provides a similar service. There are also apps to help parents of teen drivers, who are more likely to text and drive than any other age group. A recent survey by NHTSA found that drivers ages 18 to 20 are three times more likely to text and drive than those 25 and older. And a survey sponsored by AT&T found that 43% of teenagers said they have texted while driving. If you are the parent of a teenage driver, consider downloading the DriveScribe app, available in Google Play and Apple’s App Store, to your child’s smartphone. The free app uses a jamming function to block all texts and calls when it is switched to “driver mode.” It also keeps drivers apprised of speed limits and upcoming stop signs, and will even tell a driver to slow down if the car is moving too fast. Paranoid parents can even get text or email alerts when the app detects the vehicle is going faster than the speed limit. As an incentive for teens to activate the app — rather than being told by their parents — the app developer created a scoring system in which drivers are awarded points and gift cards for safe driving. An app called OneProtect provides even more control for parents. Once the app is installed on a teen's phone the parent can turn the app on remotely, making it impossible for a teen to turn the app off without the parents finding out. But keep in mind that it’s not just kids who are texting and driving — the AT&T survey found that 41% of teens say they’ve seen their parents text and drive too. So, look into these apps and decide which is right for you. And in the meantime, throw your phone in the glove compartment while you’re in the car and lock it if you need to. The first step to breaking the texting-while-driving addiction starts with you. Read more: http://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-tn--texting-driving-apps-20121107,0,4709394.story