As US automakers get cozier with their Chinese counterparts, the quality of PRC-produced cars has become a topic of debate/concern. And for good reason. According to Daily Report, a recent customer satisfaction survey in China shows that 77 percent of new car owners reported problems. The report, which would make JD Power's mob weep (or salivate), revealed 338 problems for every 100 vehicles across the industry. China has no equivalent to our Consumer Product Safety Commission, so the only way consumers there have to learn about hazardous products is word-of-mouth. This is not the kind of culture you'd naturally associate with building safe, reliable vehicles for the U.S. market, Just sayin'.

Want to keep your new car safe and protect everyone who rides within it? IndiaAutomobile.com offers a guide for conducting a puja. Hindus use the ritual, which shows respect for chosen gods or goddesses, to ask for a blessing on a newly-purchased object. The pujari performs the puja at a Hindu temple. You'll need four lemons, one coconut and money (for the pujari). Alternatively, Christians may use this blessing provided by Drdriving. If you have any safe driving rituals or ceremonies (you OCD readers, you), let us know.

Tens of millions of American motorists know the routine: to check if your tires are worn out, insert a penny in between two treads. If you can't see the top of Honest Abe's pate, it's time for new shoes. The Tire Rack says it's time to upgrade the coinage involved from a penny to a quarter, from Abraham Lincoln's head to George Washington's noggin. According to the South Bend, Indiana tire vendors, the switch raises the old test's 2/32-inch (1.6mm) or less standard to 4/32-inch (3.2mm). To justify the switch, The Tire Rack tested a 2006 Ford F-150 Super Cab 4×2. Shod with Abe-compliant rubber, the truck averaged 499.5 feet to stop from 70 miles per hour on wet pavement. The same vehicle riding on quarter-compliant tires stopped almost 122 feet (24%) shorter. We'd like to see more tests conducted using a range of rubber and vehicles in a variety of conditions performed by an organization that doesn't sell tires. Still, point taken. Is it time for tire testers to replace the penny with a quarter?

Who will pay for the REAL ID act? The law stipulates which ID documents states must require before issuing a driver's license, in order for the the document to be recognized as valid by the federal government (social security, ID for plane travel, etc.). Although Congress set aside $40m to pay for start-up costs, the question of who will foot the estimated $11b bill for REAL ID remains unresolved. Speaking to TTAC by telephone, Neil Berro, Executive Director, Coalition for a Secure Driver's License, suggested a partnership. "We believe the feds should pay for the lion's share, the state's should cover some of the costs, and individual license holders should make a contribution." Berro said a token fee would educate citizens about the importance of homeland security. Berro also said a Zogby poll pegs support for REAL ID at 70 percent, but activists from both the left (open door) and right (anti-feds) have united to oppose the legislation every step of the way. 

Automotive safety has improved by leaps and bounds over the years. The Herald Sun reports on the not unexpected corollary: comparing like-to-like, new cars are vastly safer than their antecedents. According to a study of 2.8m real world crashes by Melbourne-based Monash University, larger locally-made cars (e.g. Fords and Holdens) are less safe than smaller European cars, which still "lead the way in safety features." The report lists five vehicles to "avoid in the used car lot:" Mitsubishi Cordia (1983 – 1987); Ford Falcon XE/XF (1982-1988); Mitsubishi Starwagon/L300 (1983-1986);Toyota Tarago (1983-1989); and the Toyota Hiace/Liteace (1982-1995). Interestingly, the official list also scores "How seriously your vehicle is likely to harm another road user."

In late June, a 17-year-old driving an SUV in East Bloomfield, New York slammed head-on into a truck, killing her and four other recent high school grads in the car. Police claim text messaging (to friends in a following car) moments before the crash was a contributory factor. "The records indicate her phone was in use," Sheriff Phil Povero said diplomatically. "We will never be able to clearly state that she was the one doing the text messaging." Meanwhile, according to new research by SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) and Liberty Mutual Insurance Group, instant and text messaging lead the list as the biggest driving distraction for teens. Seventy-three percent of teens admit to talking on a cell phone while behind the wheel. Where do teens pick up these bad habits? Some 62 percent of high school-aged teens told researchers their parents talk on a cell while driving.

Reuters reports that a Rand Corporation research study concludes that younger drivers are more likely to cause accidents than older drivers. While older drivers make up 15 percent of American drivers, they cause seven percent of accidents. Younguns make up 13 percent of U.S. drivers and cause 43 percent of accidents. The study does not appear to differentiate between the severity of accidents (fatalities, property damage, etc) and fails to list accident causation– data critical for any determination of the relative safety of each driving population. Unfortunately for those long in the tooth, the study says that the elderly are seven time more likely to die in an accident than the whipper snappers, largely due to senior citizens' frail nature and often poor health. 

Pistonheads lamenting the rise of the machine will not be heartened to hear there's a new acronym in town: ICAV. "Intersection Crash Avoidance, Violation" systems sound an alarm if a driver is about to run a stop sign, red light or other mission critical intersection warning. According to a pdf downloadable at Accidentreconstruction.com, researchers are set to field test practical ICAV systems. While enthusiasts may regret yet another attempt to "dumb down" safe driving, there's no denying the magnitude of the problem. In 1999, some 261k light vehicle crashes occurred at intersections where a driver was later charged with running a stop sign. That same year, 133k crashes involved traffic signal violations.

Thanks to a Ohio ban on indoor smoking enacted last November, Honda's Buckeye state employees may no longer indulge in the evil weed inside the plant. In response, Honda's tobacco addicts began driving off the property, parking at the sides of nearby roads, lighting up and then (presumably) tear-assing back to the plant. The local county sheriff's office became concerned about hundreds of people parking and puffing along the roads. According to MSNBC, Plan C: Honda will create outside smoking areas on their property. Smokers will also be able to partake in their own cars on Honda's parking lot. The automaker remains committed to its anti-smoking program, but the new policy makes sense, as workers get a half-hour lunch break and two 10-minute shift breaks.

First, it was the OBD-II black box that records your speed just before an accident. Then it was GPS systems in rental cars keeping track of where you drive and how fast you drive there. Now the finance and insurance companies want their piece of the privacy intrusion business. According to the Detroit News, GMAC Financial Services' insurance unit is asking drivers with OnStar-equipped cars to let them track how many miles they drive, dangling the carrot of lowered insurance rates in front of them. OnStar president Chet Huber says data on when or where the car is driven wouldn't go to the insurer. (Yet.) The article makes no mention of whether or not OnStar would share driver information with any local, state or federal agencies and, if so, under what circumstances.  

Under the “Real ID Act,” the federal government will no longer recognize a state’s driving license unless the state procures certain types of personal information, including proof of U.S. citizenship. The bill was watered down– states can ignore the restriction as long as they print a disclaimer on their license— and its enforcement postponed until 2010. Meanwhile, WCSH reports that “fixers” are busing illegal immigrants into Maine to secure a driving license. The DMV’s hands are tied, due to an executive order banning all state employees from asking anyone about their immigration status. As the report points out, once an illegal immigrant has a Maine driving license, they are free to purchase a gun within the state. 

The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports that Chrysler has paid an undisclosed amount of money to the Escobar family of Cobb County, Georgia. On June 6, 2006, Gabriel Escobar crushed his brother to death when he shifted the family's 1997 Plymouth Voyager out of park. Although the story claims the death could have prevented by a $9 brake shift interlock– which Chrysler didn't fit to its vehicles until 2001– it's also true that the minivan wouldn't have moved if the Escobar's babysitter hadn't let young Ian "escape" from the house and Mrs. Escobar hadn't left four-year-old Gabriel Escobar unsupervised in the minivan– with the keys in the ignition. Escobar's lawyer claims there have been 23 similar deaths nationwide, including a recent tragedy in Connecticut. In that accident, a toddler knocked a 1999 Grand Voyager out of park, sending it into a lake, drowning four.