Dealing With Speedy "i"s

Dealers are rebounding after their numbers were slashed by the auto companies. Fewer dealers means more profits for those still around. But Ford continues its roll and now has more dealers than GM's Chevrolet brand for the first time in a long time.

GMC's Granite concept has suicide doors

Do you speed? Well, CNBC has a list of the top 10 cities for speed traps, so don't move to these places, most of which are in Texas. But if you do, and get nabbed, one enterprising tech geek has a story of how he thwarted a ticket using a GPS app that records the details of his travels.

That was smart, and several cities in Spain are hoping to make their parking spaces just as smart so that drivers can be alerted to available spaces.

BMW is planning a smarter, more eco-friendly brand, and rolled out the "i" for the name. Toyota added an "i" to Prius to create Prii, the plural of its popular hybrid brand.

Finally, GMC is planning to make its funky Granite compact city vehicle, complete with rear-hinged doors.

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Trip Report: Seattle to Portland and Back

A good drive this week. The Mercedes just swallows up miles on the highway.

Toyota Is Out of the Dog House, Eminem Is Chrysler's Big Dawg

Toyota was mostly cleared by federal investigators of the issues surrounding the rash of unintended acceleration claims. Now Toyota's reputation is already improving according to new research.

Someone else may also be getting revived. Bob Lutz may get a consulting gig from former employer GM, if it can overcome government objections.

Chrysler T-Shirt

Chrysler won the Super Bowl ad battle with its iconic Eminem ad for the 200, going so far as to come out with t-shirts. But GM got sneaky and grabbed some Web search traffic away from Chrysler. Unsurprisingly, Subaru went alternative and sponsored the Puppy Bowl and asked people to walk their dogs during the big game.

What kind of cars do men want? Pickups and sports cars. But the list of what women want is a bit more eclectic ... and suspicious.

Key fobs are handy, but do they make cars less safe. Probably not, but the NYTimes looks into whether they have the right safety mechanisms to prevent people from leaving them in Drive.

Finally, this podcast is all digital, thank goodness, because the cassette deck is finally dead as an option for new car buyers.

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Car Makers Hope for More Congested Dealer Showrooms, Spend Big on Super Bowl Ads

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Car makers should be revved up about sales for 2011, with a strong January showing. Lots of double digit gains by brands, including rebounds by Jaguar, Mitsubishi, Jeep and Jaguar.

The Super Bowl MVP gets a Chevrolet Camaro

Congestion might not yet be a problem for auto dealers, but it is a problem in many cities across the U.S. WSJ's Joe White writes about some of the more creative solutions being used, including having more tow trucks.

Timing red lights can improve traffic flow, and a new study by the IIHS says that red-light cameras can help reduce fatalities.

Software and app updates are a part of life for gadget owners and now car makers are looking for ways to make it easier to update the increasingly high-tech systems in vehicles.

This Sunday is the Super Bowl, and while neither of us cares deeply about the two teams, we are excited for all of the car ads that will roll across the screen between plays.

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From a ZAP! Car to a Leaf, an Electric Car Odyssey in Two Commutes

ZAP! car

Driving home from work last night I saw a bright orange version of the ZAPcar pictured at right. It was likely an older model that was a bit boxier at the nose.

It seemed like a crazy contraption, somewhere between a motorcycle and a Cushman. And I'm sure it might suffer the same stability issues that the iconic Reliant Robin did in this Top Gear video.

This morning I saw my first Nissan Leaf on the road. It looked like a real car, much more substantial than I expected. That's like seeing a cave man one day and then Albert Einstein the next.