Toyota is selling its first “minicar” in Japan as demand increases for the tiny vehicles which are popular for short commutes.
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A third Senate Democrat yesterday questioned the decision of General Motors to continue to collect data from drivers that have canceled OnStar service — unless they ask GM not to do so.
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Recall Alert: 2007-08 Hyundai Santa Fe and Veracruz Hyundai is recalling 178,685 Santa Fe and 26,548 Veracruz crossovers from the 2007 and 2008 model years because the driver’s airbag may not deploy in a crash, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. In the affected vehicles, the clock spring contact assembly for the airbag system may become damaged over time. As a result, the airbag’s electrical circuit may become highly resistant and may not deploy in a crash, increasing the risk of injury. The airbag warning light on the instrument panel will illuminate if the circuit becomes highly resistant, Hyundai says. The recall is expected to begin this month. Dealers will replace the clock spring assembly for free. Owners can call Hyundai at 800-633-5151 or NHTSA’s vehicle safety hotline at 888-327-4236 for more info. Recall Alert: 2011 BMX 328i xDrive and 335i xDrive BMW is recalling 190 328i xDrive and 335i xDrive vehicles from the 2011 model year because the front wheels may lose power, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. In the affected vehicles, which were built between Feb. 8 and July 29, the front driveshaft attachment bolts may not be tightened to specification and may become loose over time. If the bolts loosen, the front wheels may lose power and cause a vehicle breakdown, increasing the risk of a crash. You can check when your car was built on a label affixed to the driver’s side doorjamb. The recall is expected to begin next month. BMW dealers will replace the bolts for free. Owners can call BMW at 800-525-7417 or NHTSA’s vehicle safety hotline at 888-327-4236 for more info
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With seating for seven or eight passengers, the 2012 Chevrolet Traverse can easily handle a large family in its three rows. For our Car Seat Check, we tested a 2012 Chevrolet Traverse with eight seats. For the Car Seat Check, we use a Graco SnugRide 30 rear-facing infant-safety seat, a Britax Roundabout convertible child-safety seat and Graco high-back TurboBooster seat. The front seats are adjusted to a comfortable position for a 6-foot driver and a 5-foot-8 passenger. The three child seats are installed in the second row. The booster seat sits behind the driver’s seat, and the infant seat and convertible seats are installed behind the passenger seat. We also install the infant seat in the second row’s middle seat with the booster and convertible in the outboard seats to see if three car seats will fit. If there’s a third row, we install the booster seat and a forward-facing convertible. Here’s how the 2012 Chevrolet Traverse did in MotherProof.com’s Car Seat Check: Latch system: With eight seats in it, the Traverse has just two sets of lower Latch anchors. They’re in the second row’s outboard seats. On the passenger side, one of the Latch anchors sits close to the seat belt buckle, making it difficult to connect the rigid anchors on our convertible car seat. There are three tether anchors on the second row’s seatbacks and one tether anchor in the third row. All are easy to use. Booster seat: Our high-back booster fit well in the second row, and the seat belt buckles sit on high, stable bases that would be easy for kids to use independently. The third row’s flat seat made it an easy fit for the booster seat. During our Car Seat Check, we installed a convertible car seat in the third row’s middle seat and found we could fit our booster seat to the left of it, but there wasn’t enough space to the right of the convertible for the booster. The third-row seat belts are a mixed bag. The driver-side buckle is floppy, but the other two buckles are on stable bases. Convertible seat: We struggled to install both the forward- and rear-facing convertibles because of the hard-to-access inboard Latch anchor. Once installed, both seats fit well in the Traverse’s second row. The forward-facing convertible also fit well in the third row (below), which doesn’t have any Latch anchors. We used a seat belt to install the car seat. Infant-safety seat: This car seat fit well in the Traverse’s second row. How many car seats fit in the second row? Two How many car seats fit in third row? Two Editor’s note: For three car seats — infant-safety seat, convertible and booster seats — to fit in a car, our criterion is that a child sitting in the booster seat must be able to reach the seat belt buckle. Parents should also remember that they can use the Latch system or a seat belt to install a car seat.
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Technorati Tags: 2012 chevrolet traverse car seat check, Car seat Check

Pickup trucks can make terrific family-haulers. Take the Toyota Tacoma. This popular truck accounts for 40 percent of the compact and midsize pickup truck market. For our Car Seat Check, we tested the 2011 Tacoma Double Cab. For the Car Seat Check, we use a Graco SnugRide 30 rear-facing infant-safety seat, a Britax Roundabout convertible child-safety seat and Graco high-back TurboBooster seat. The front seats are adjusted to a comfortable position for a 6-foot driver and a 5-foot-8 passenger. The three child seats are installed in the second row. The booster seat sits behind the driver’s seat, and the infant seat and convertible seats are installed behind the passenger seat. We also install the infant seat in the second row’s middle seat with the booster and convertible in the outboard seats to see if three car seats will fit. If there’s a third row, we install the booster seat and a forward-facing convertible. Here’s how the 2011 Tacoma Double Cab did in MotherProof.com’s Car Seat Check: Latch system: The Tacoma has two sets of lower Latch anchors in the outboard seats. The seat cushions have just enough give to make it painless to get to the anchors. There are three tether anchors in the Tacoma that are difficult to use. The tether anchors sit under the rear seats’ back cushions. To use them, you have to release the seatback and pull it forward to expose the anchors. We had to lean the seatback forward to tighten the tether strap. It was a lot of effort to use a tether strap. Parents don’t need another hurdle when it comes to tether anchors. Booster seat: Our high-back booster seat fit well in the Tacoma after we removed the head restraint. The seats are flat, with no bolsters to get in the way of the booster’s fit. The seat belt buckles, however, are floppy and sink into the seat when pushing the seat belt plate into the buckle. Convertible seat: The forward-facing convertible fit well, but we did struggle with the tether strap because of the tether anchor’s location. The rear-facing convertible also fit well, and there was no need to move the front passenger seat forward. Infant-safety seat: To fit this car seat in the 2011 Toyota Tacoma backseat, we had to move the front passenger seat forward about an inch. This left the front passenger with about a half-inch of space before her knees hit the glove box. How many car seats fit in the second row? Two Editor’s note: For three car seats — infant-safety seat, convertible and booster seats — to fit in a car, our criterion is that a child sitting in the booster seat must be able to reach the seat belt buckle. Parents should also remember that they can use the Latch system or a seat belt to install a car seat.
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While booster seats are possibly the easiest child-safety seat to use, there’s nothing simple about the state laws surrounding these car seats.

As the Allstate graphic shows, state laws vary greatly when it comes to booster seat use. To keep it simple for parents, they should keep their child in a booster seat until he or she is big enough to fit properly in a seat belt, which for most children is at 4 feet 9 inches.

Here’s what you need to know about booster seats:

• Age and weight: Children are ready for a booster seat when they’re age 4 and weigh at least 40 pounds. The “and” is the most important part of that sentence. If your child weighs 40 pounds but is only 3 years old, he or she is not ready for a booster. Instead, try a combination car seat, which has a five-point harness like a convertible car seat and can later be used as a booster seat once your child hits the age and weight requirements.
• High-back versus backless booster: High-back boosters provide additional head, neck and back support to the child. They should be used if your car’s seatbacks are low or if the car doesn’t have head restraints in the backseat. Backless boosters are less cumbersome. They’re used with your car’s head restraints. Most backless boosters come with a shoulder belt positioner to ensure the belt crosses the child’s chest in the correct position. The high-back booster has a shoulder belt positioner built into it.
• Seat belt placement: Both styles of booster seats will guide the seat belt across the child’s chest. The armrests help keep the lap portion of the seat belt on the child’s hips, instead of creeping up to the tummy. Never use a booster seat with just a lap belt.
• Keep it buckled: Some booster seats have Latch connectors to anchor them in the car. If your booster seat doesn’t have this feature, keep the booster seat buckled in even when the seat isn’t in use. This keeps it from becoming a projectile in a crash and injuring anyone in the car.
• Keep them in a booster: Most children outgrow their booster seats when they’re 4 feet 9 inches tall, usually around age 8. Until they hit that height and your booster seat’s upper weight limit, keep your children in their booster seat — no matter their age.

Ready for Seat Belts

After years of car seats, parents might get excited at the idea of their child moving out of them completely. It’s important not to rush into using seat belts, though. Kids are ready for seat belts when:

• They can sit with their back and hips against the car’s back and sit without slouching.
• They can bend their knees easily over the front edge of the rear seat and their feet stay flat on the ground.
• The lap belt of a three-point seat belt sits low and snug across hips or thighs and the shoulder belt sits across mid-chest and shoulder. Three-point seat belts provide better upper body protection in a crash than two-point belts, which only sit across the lap.
• They can properly use a head restraint.
• They can stay in the correct position for the entire ride.

Kids younger than 13 should always ride in the car’s backseat. Once they’re 13, they can move to the front passenger seat. Then it’ll only be a few short years until they’re in the driver’s seat.

Graphic courtesy of Allstate
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Final testing of GM’s all-new Chevy Colorado, built in Rayong, Thailand, is coming to an end as the global midsize pickup truck prepares for its worldwide introduction.
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Ford’s newest comparison website helps shoppers find the best powertrain for their needs.
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Toyota continues to explore the ‘plural’ theme—the auto brand teamed up with Saatchi & Saatchi LA agency to launch a new piece in its advertising push ‘Prius Goes Plural’ launched to promote the Toyota Prius hybrid model range. Now, the brand introduces the People Person, created of 18 humans, which together make up a new [...]
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Forward-facing convertible seat. Rear-facing infant-safety seat. High-back booster seat. These are just a few of the many child-safety seats that a child will ride in during the first years of his or her life. Chances are that their car seat won’t be installed or used correctly.

Nearly 73 percent of child-safety seats aren’t installed properly or used correctly, according to Safe Kids USA, a nonprofit organization. It’s important for parents to get this right because when used correctly, child-safety seats reduce the risk of death by as much as 71 percent.

It’s National Child Passenger Safety Week, and during it, we’ll take a look at issues that concern parents.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration updated its car-seat recommendations earlier this year. The guidelines now recommend that children stay in their car seats longer. Here are the updated recommendations based on a child’s age:

Birth to 12 months old
• A child younger than 1 should always ride in a rear-facing car seat.
• There are different types of rear-facing car seats. Infant-only seats can only be used rear-facing. Convertible and 3-in-1 car seats typically have higher height and weight limits for the rear-facing position, allowing you to keep your child rear-facing for a longer time period.

1 to 3 years old
• Keep your child rear-facing as long as possible. It’s the best way to keep him or her safe. Your child should remain in a rear-facing car seat until he or she reaches the top height or weight limit allowed by your car seat’s manufacturer. You can find this information in the car seat’s owner’s manual and on a sticker found on the side of the car seat. Once your child outgrows the rear-facing car seat, your child is ready to travel in a forward-facing car seat with a five-point harness.

4 to 7 years old
• Keep your child in a forward-facing car seat with a harness until he or she reaches the top height or weight limit allowed by your car seat’s manufacturer. Be sure to use your top tether anchor when the car seat is forward-facing. Once your child outgrows the forward-facing car seat with a harness (check the car seat’s manual for weight and height limits), it’s time to travel in a booster seat, but still in the backseat.

8 to 12 years old
• Keep your child in a booster seat until he or she is big enough to fit in a seat belt properly. For a seat belt to fit properly, the lap belt must lie snugly across the upper thighs, not the stomach. The shoulder belt should lie snug across the shoulder and chest and not cross the neck or face. Remember: Your child should still ride in the backseat because it’s safer there.

Tips for Parents
• Read the manuals: Parents should read both their car’s owner’s manual as well as the car seat manual before installing a car seat.
• Quick test: After installing the car seat, test its fit by grabbing the seat at the belt path to see if you can move the car seat more than an inch from side to side. If it moves more than an inch, the car seat isn’t secure and needs to be reinstalled.
• More is just more: When installing a car seat, it’s safe to use either your car’s Latch anchors or seat belt to secure it. However, do not use the Latch system and seat belt together. This hasn’t been crash-tested, and there are concerns that it would put too much stress on the car seat in a crash.
• Ask for help: If you can’t get a secure fit or are unsure in any way about the car seat’s installation, find a Car Seat Check in your area.
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