South Dakota Sees Uptick in Un-Belted Driver Deaths

The South Dakota Department of Public Safety says there has been a considerable bump in the number of drivers who die simply because they crash although not wearing a seat belt this year.

Public Safety Department Secretary Trevor Jones mentioned that 83 % of deaths from auto crashes as of April 9 involved an un-belted victim.

That’s up from about 60 percent in previous years.

So far this year there have been 18 deaths reported from auto crashes in South Dakota. Of these, 15 of the victims weren’t restrained.

Jones says neglecting to wear a seat belt indicates drivers are more likely to be thrown from a automobile throughout a crash.

The Highway Patrol is reminding motorists that state law requires drivers and front seat passengers to buckle up.

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South Dakota Sees Uptick in Un-Belted Driver Deaths

GM Does About-Face on Misleading Payload Ratings, Ford Sees No Problem

Basic Motors has decided to promote truthful payload weight ratings on all of its 2015 pickups soon after a recent post by Automotive News known as out the automaker for stripping out regular parts to make the trucks seem a lot more capable.

The most current move, first reported by Yahoo Autos, indicates GM will now use the genuine curb weights of its base trucks to decide the payload ratings it publishes on its sites and other marketing materials. GM had been playing a bit loose with the ratings since the 2014 model year began to much better compete against Ford—including deleting rear bumpers and swapping steel wheels for alloys on trucks for which they’re unavailable—and to obtain the highest achievable payload ratings.

Until last week, GM had defended ripping out rear bumpers and other parts because the company gives “business customers” the option to order trucks without those parts. However much less than 2 weeks after AN outed the automaker for the practice, it has now pulled a 180.

“As this story unfolded, we took a appear at how the complete industry does this, and almost everyone uses base curb weight,” GM spokesman Tom Wilkinson told AN. “We thought the ideal factor to do was line up with the rest of the market to make these comparisons as straightforward as attainable for buyers.”

GM did not specify exactly when it would begin reporting the new ratings or how significantly they would alter but mentioned it would apply them to all 2015 light- and heavy-duty trucks, such as the smaller sized GMC Canyon and Chevy Colorado models. To its credit, GM has also embraced SAE standards for establishing towing ratings on its light-duty trucks, another hotly contested numerical battle amongst pickup producers that is slowly getting standardized. 

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Ford, which has been gaming weights with its heavy-duty trucks considering that 2011, is now the only pickup manufacturer continuing to mislead American customers on its ratings. (Ram, Nissan, and Toyota say they use base curb weights with all stock components fitted to the car when marketing payload figures.) The Dearborn-based automaker is continuing to calculate heavy-duty payload ratings by removing products such as jacks, spare tires, center consoles, and radios and then marketing the figures as if the trucks had been entirely stock. Ford told AN it wasn’t preparing to modify its ratings. We believe it ought to make the switch—what do you say?

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GM Does About-Face on Misleading Payload Ratings, Ford Sees No Problem

Ford Sees Prospective Market place for Solar Automobile | Edmunds.com

Published: 05/30/2014  – by John O’;Dell, Senior Editor

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  Ford’;s solar-roofed C-Max Energi notion is far more than just a notion now. | May possibly 30, 2014 | Ford Motor Organization

  
  
  
  

Just the Details:

• Ford’;s solar-roofed C-Max Energi concept is much more than just a notion now.


• A lot of R&D nevertheless wants to be accomplished, but improvements in solar panel efficiency and the higher price tag of gasoline may possibly help the economics pencil out, says Ford’;s electric auto chief.


• Ford is functioning with power utilities to decide the very best techniques to use solar-made electrical energy from a car to assist manage the national power grid.

IRVIVE, California — You’;d by no means want to place this auto where the sun does not shine. Ford Motor Co. says it can make a case for future production of plug-in hybrid and battery electric cars that get at least part of their charge from Old Sol.

The automaker, which has about 11 % of the marketplace for plug-in automobiles, says that advances in solar panel efficiency and continuing high costs for gasoline, along with federal specifications for ever-enhancing fuel efficiency assist make a case for cars that can charge for free for the duration of the day.

Ford showed a idea version at the International Consumer Electronics Show earlier this year: a Ford C-Max Energi plug-in hybrid with 2 lightweight solar panels on its roof and a sunlight-intensifying parking structure to magnify the solar rays obtaining to these panels.

But in a briefing session Thursday at the company’;s Southern California sophisticated style studio, Ford’;s director of vehicle electrification said factors have gone beyond the idea stage.

“Solar panels had been 1.5 percent to 2 percent efficient in the mid-1970s, and now they are 21 % efficient” at converting sunshine to electrical energy, said EV chief Michael Tinskey. “And their cost has fallen from $ 77 per watt of energy output to about 74 cents per watt.”

He would not give price figures for the C-Max rooftop program, but stated that the savings from generating up to 2 kilowatt-hours of energy every day from the sun, excellent for about 5 miles of travel in a C-Max, could make such a system economically feasible. Electrical energy these days is averaging about 20 cents a kilowatt throughout peak periods and gasoline is in the $ 3.75-$ 4.00 per gallon variety.

Testing, which has been going on considering that ahead of the idea version was unveiled in January, “shows us that the idea performs,” mentioned Tinskey. “But a lot much more development still has to be completed” prior to a production auto could be launched.

Amongst other items, he stated, the rooftop panels would require to be better integrated into the auto for improved aerodynamics. “We have to function on every little thing from heat management to how to handle vehicle washes,” he mentioned.

Furthermore, Ford is working with power utilities to decide the greatest techniques to use solar-made electricity from a auto to aid manage the national energy grid.

The automaker also demands to seek the cooperation of organizations and public agencies for installation of the solar “concentrator” parking structure that would help each solar auto maximize its time in the sun. Such structures wouldn’;t be practical in most private houses but could easily be installed in outdoor parking lots at workplaces, buying centers, schools and other public facilities.

Edmunds says: Solar vehicles could operate effectively in sunny states, but may well not be really so popular in the northern climes. And exactly where would all these California and Hawaiian surfers put their boards? There are no roof racks on a solar car.

Ford Sees Prospective Market place for Solar Automobile | Edmunds.com