Extended Roadside Assistance On 2012 Camry’s!

Great news for those looking to purchase a 2012 Camry!

The Toyota Camry has been America's best-selling car 13 of the last 14 years, including the last nine years running. To thank its loyal owners for this remarkable achievement, Toyota is now offering for a limited time only a special perk to customers who purchase or lease the all new 2012 Camry: 5 years of 24-hour roadside assistance.

This offer builds on the two years of roadside assistance that comes standard on all eligible new Toyota vehicles as part of the Toyota Care complimentary maintenance plan. As such, the benefits of the coverage are the same including:

• Battery jump starts - A service provider will assist with vehicle jump starts as necessary.

• Tire service - A service provider will come to the vehicle location and replace the tire with the customer's inflated spare.

• Lockout protection - A service provider will come to the vehicle location to unlock doors or assist if the key is lost or broken.

• Towing - A service provider will tow the vehicle to the closest Toyota dealership (or to the closest Toyota dealership of the customer's choice if it is within 25 miles of the vehicle's location.)

These services will be provided for five years from the date of purchase, but only on 2012 Camrys delivered by January 3, 2012. Also, this offer does not apply to 2012 Camrys that are part of a rental or
commercial fleet, or a livery or taxi vehicle. Customers who purchase a 2012 Camry while this promotion is applicable will receive a special version of the Toyota Care Welcome Kit that spells out the details
of this additional coverage. The re-invented 2012 Camry offers a sophisticated new design with a new level of interior refinement, roominess and comfort. In addition to our standard QDR, the 7th-generation Camry features class-leading safety features, driving dynamics, fuel economy and multi-media technology. Now, and for a limited time only, it can boast of one more advantage: further bolstering Toyota customers' peace of mind five years down the road!

Read more: http://www.toyota.com/camry/features.html

A Century of Chevy, From Cheap Date to America’s Sweetheart

How well do you know Chevy?

Its Impalas dropped us off at school. Its pickup trucks hauled our produce on the farm. Its Corvette sustained our sports car fantasies through the boredom of high school algebra class. Earlier than almost any other automotive brand, Chevy created a palette of vehicles that ranged from the small and thrifty to the sleek and sporty to the large and smartly trimmed.
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Once the model line expanded beyond the limited body selections of its first half-century, there was a Chevy for almost everyone. The brand’s broad appeal resulted in a place atop the sales charts starting in the 1930s and continuing nearly uncontested for decades. By the mid-1960s Chevrolet sold nearly three million cars and light-duty trucks a year.
But there’s more to the story than commercial success. Although it occupied the first rung of Alfred P. Sloan’s General Motors hierarchy, a ladder on which customers would move up to more expensive brands as they gained affluence, Chevy developed a following of fans whose devotion lasted a lifetime. After decades of decline, Chevrolet has lately had a resurgence with its Cruze and Malibu sedans, the reinvented Camaro and the Volt, the first mass-produced plug-in hybrid.
The full Chevrolet story has filled volumes. Here are some highlights of the 100-year journey.
EARLY DAYS
IN a fateful twist of Chevrolet history, the man who lent his name to the automaker is largely forgotten.
Louis Chevrolet was the Mario Andretti of his day. He barnstormed the country, consistently beating the likes of Barney Oldfield. He escaped horrible crashes that claimed the lives of lesser and unluckier drivers, and won the admiration of those considering the purchase of a  newfangled horseless carriage.
The Swiss-born Chevrolet was flamboyant, swashbuckling, outspoken and charismatic. He had a bushy mustache, a foppish grin and he chain-smoked smelly yellow French cigarettes.
In 1909, Chevrolet was hired to drive for the Buick racing team. Of course, the entrepreneurial William C. Durant, who founded General Motors, wanted to find a way to leverage Chevrolet’s name to his advantage. At first it was enough that the driver’s prowess  in racing Buicks to victory helped to put that company on its way to sales success.
But Durant, who lost control of G.M. in 1910 after a failed bid to buy Ford, saw a bigger opportunity for Louis Chevrolet than merely selling Buicks. So after acquiring the Little automobile company, Durant sought out the race driver to start yet another auto brand. Louis agreed, and on Nov. 3, 1911, Chevrolet’s formation was announced; Louis designed and engineered the large, powerful 6-cylinder automobile that bore his name.
“It was a marvelous machine — the Model C, as it was called,” said Jay Leno, a collector and admirer of Chevrolets. “It was one of the finest and fastest automobiles of the day. It just didn’t sell well. It was too expensive.”
Pressured by Durant to come up with a lower-price automobile to compete with the Ford Model T, Louis said he did not want his name associated with a cheaper car. By 1914, Louis offered to sell his stock in the company, and Durant readily agreed.
After Louis moved on, Durant began rebadging the smaller, inexpensive Littles as Chevrolets, and they found willling buyers. By 1916, Chevrolet had generated enough profits for Durant to buy back control of G.M., into which he merged Chevrolet.
With the 1918 introduction of the Model D, powered by an 8-cylinder engine, Chevrolet sought to further increase its sales and market share and challenge Ford. But the low-cost 4-cylinder models continued as the big sellers. In 1927, when Ford’s River Rouge plant was shut for a time, Chevrolet briefly took the industry’s sales lead.
For its 1929 models, Chevrolet made a huge gamble. While other carmakers were promoting the use of lightweight aluminum, 8-cylinder motors and the advantage of large displacement, Chevrolet seemingly backtracked, introducing a cast-iron 6-cylinder. As the economy slumped, the engine’s once-derisive nickname — the Stovebolt Six — was transformed into a selling point: “A Six for the Price of a Four.”
And what of Louis Chevrolet? He went on to form two more automobile companies, Cornelian and Frontenac, which made the car in which his brother Gaston won the 1920 Indianapolis 500. After Gaston died in a racing accident, Louis left the auto industry and began designing aircraft engines with his brother Arthur; his “Chevrolair 333” and a brief association with an aviation pioneer, Glenn L. Martin, formed the basis for Martin Marietta (now Lockheed Martin).
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But Chevrolet, despite his engineering and mechanical genius, never lasted long in any partnership. He died in Detroit, virtually penniless and largely unremembered, on June 6, 1941. He was 62.
— JERRY GARRETT
POPULAR CULTURE
AMERICANS who grew up alongside the Honda Accord or the Hyundai Elantra may not fully appreciate the chromed grip Chevrolet had on popular culture in an age when American wheels ruled the road.
In the 1950s, if you tuned in “The Dinah Shore Chevy Show” on your Magnavox console TV, you heard the host belting out “See the U.S.A. in Your Chevrolet.” Starting in 1960, on CBS, George Maharis and Martin Milner roamed “Route 66” in a new Corvette, looking for adventure, lending a hand to strangers in need and creating a desirable career goal — having a cool car, but no permanent job or home address — for countless young viewers.
Later in the decade, Chevrolet was a primary sponsor of several of the most popular comedies and dramas on television. Samantha, on “Bewitched,” parked her broom to cruise in a Chevelle. The Cartwrights of “Bonanza” rode horses on the Ponderosa, but during commercial breaks they rounded up Impalas and Chevy IIs.
On the radio, Chevys crowded out the Hot Rod Lincolns and Pink Cadillacs. By 2003, G.M. claimed that some 200 songs had already featured or mentioned Chevrolets. A sign in Detroit boasted, “They don’t write songs about Volvos.”
“Nothing can touch my 409,” the Beach Boys bragged. In the days of surfer rock and street racing, the engine was so famous there was no need to identify the car. Don McLean drove his Chevy to the levee in “American Pie,” and Prince had a thing for a little red Corvette. Bob Seger, whose “Like a Rock” became the Chevy Trucks theme, practiced his night moves “in the back seat of my ’60 Chevy.”
At the movies, the sexiest Chevy, the Corvette, co-starred with hunks like Elvis Presley (“Clambake,” 1967) and Mark Hamill (“Corvette Summer,” 1978). In “Terms of Endearment” (1983), the washed-up astronaut played by Jack Nicholson memorably drove a Corvette with his feet — into the ocean. That same year, in “The Right Stuff,” another space hero said that getting a ’Vette was one of best things about being an astronaut. — JAMES G. COBB
DESIGN
“AN infamous rear end” was Alfred P. Sloan Jr.’s complaint about Chevrolets of the early 1920’s, and when he gained power at General Motors he had the problem fixed. Sloan, who oversaw G.M.’s growth into one of the world’s largest corporations, saw Chevrolet as a way to challenge Henry Ford’s dominant Model T: for just a little more money, Chevy would give  you much more car, along with a bit of style.
By the late ’20s, Chevys wore bright shades of Duco lacquer, a colorful contrast to black-only Fords. And Harley Earl’s styling studios were turning out flourishes that appeared first on Cadillacs, then on Buicks and Oldsmobiles, and, eventually, on Chevrolets, trickling down Sloan’s “ladder of brands” along with engineering innovations.
By 1936, G.M. was able to boast that all of its cars had full stamped-steel bodies — even Chevrolet. Styling changes became frequent and rapid-fire, manufacturing customer discontent by rendering last year’s cars instantly obsolete.
The succession of 1955, ’56 and ’57 Chevrolets — three notably different twists on the same basic car — may be the quintessential example of Detroit’s annual model changes.
The tailfins that first appeared on late 1940s Cadillacs and reached unimagined heights through the ’50s, arrived on the 1955 Chevrolet in muted form. But these were different: less extreme than Cadillac’s, yet more jaunty — like the sails of a fast racing sloop beside a full-rigged clipper.

Read the rest of the article (including the history of Chevy’s marketing, racing and technology) athttp://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/23/automobiles/chevrolet-unlikely-cornerstone-for-gm.html

Your Pet Passenger

 

 

Keep your pet safe while driving, not only for your animal’s health and well-being, but for your wallet’s sake as well!

States Cracking Down On Dogs Behind The Wheel

If it's any indication of the danger free-roaming pets face in a vehicle, New Hampshire, the country's only state that does not have a mandatory seat belt law, actually requires dogs to buckle up.

Live free or die, goes the state's motto, but Spike and Spot don't have that liberty. And with due reason. Seven other states, Connecticut, California, Massachusetts, Nevada, Washington, Oregon and Rhode Island require owners to kennel or tether animals because of the severe danger the sudden stops and potential collisions pose to pets. An unrestrained dog can land you with a ticket between $50 and $200.

Animal lovers would almost always rather take their pet with them to run errands or on a road trip than leave them at home or at a pet motel. But for all that love for canines, most drivers have seen "dog people" take things too far, driving with their dogs in their laps or lying around their shoulders like a neck pillow and, yes, sometimes at the wheel.
And it's a double dose of danger: for the distracted driver and the unrestrained animal.

Find out more here: http://autos.aol.com/photos/driving-doggie-style-the-best-vehicles-for-pets/

Breast Cancer Awareness Event Friday At The Murray Room

On Friday, October 21 at 11:00 is the Breast Cancer Awareness Event at The Murray Room (located inside the CFSB Center).  Enjoy a lunch, giveaways, door prizes as well as “Inspirational time” with Mary Beth Hall, author of Lessons From A Bald Chick.

Mary Beth will share her experience with cancer and how learning to laugh at yourself while facing serious treatments and decisions can often be one of the best lessons learned. Find out how to be there for a friend battling cancer and learn ways to hurt yourself through the horribleness of it all and land on your feet. Her story and lessons taught will give you the knowledge to face your giants if cancer affects you or someone you love.

Call 270-762-1831 or 270-762-1382 by October 19th for reservations.

Visit http://myemail.constantcontact.com/What-s-Happening-This-Week-October-17th.html?soid=1011039789858&aid=4fuNmOsNbaw for more information

Chevy Volt Update: Drivers Top 1 Million All-Electric Miles

Great news for Chevy Volt owners.

As demand for the groundbreaking Chevrolet Volt continues to grow, so does the number of owners who are letting Chevy know just how far they can go on a gallon of gas—or no gas at all. In fact, just part way through this summer, Volt owners had already covered more than 1.2 million miles on electricity alone.

They include Kory Levoy, a manufacturing manager from Yorba Linda, Calif., who had been spending $50-$60 every week putting gasoline in his Audi TT roadster. But since buying his new Volt, he has covered 7,500 miles and had to fill up the tank just three times. Today, Levoy—like many other Volt drivers—is averaging 40 miles of driving range on a single charge, allowing him to cover his 25-mile round-trip commute entirely on electricity.

“I was tired of spending roughly $200 plus a month on gas,” said Levoy. “The ability to not even consider finding a gas station or worry about fuel pricing is a phenomenal experience.”

Big-time fuel savings are part of the package for Volt owner Carey Bailer, too. An electrical engineer in Cottage Grove, Ore., Bailey has a 75-mile daily commute that used to cost him about $500 a month in gasoline. Now, driving his new Volt, Bailey has sliced that to just $100 per month—and he expects his fuel costs to come down even further.

“Each day, I use about a quarter of a gallon of gas to get to work, which is hardly anything,” Bailey said . “Being able to charge at work is an added benefit, and I love the fact that I am reducing my carbon footprint by not consuming as much gas.”

And more drivers than ever will soon be able to enjoy those same benefits for themselves: The 2012 Chevrolet Volt is available for ordering right now—in all 50 states across the country.

Read more: http://www.chevroletinthenews.com/chevy-volt-update-drivers-top-1-million-all-electric-miles/#more-2043

Toyota Plug-in Hybrid vs. Chevrolet Volt

Best combination of plug-in and hybrid technologies AND costing $8,000 less than the Chevy Volt? That would be the Toyota Plug-in Hybrid Prius. Read on for more!

The Toyota Plug-in Hyrbrid Prius just announced by the company will be the first alternative to pure gasoline combustion automotive engines that provides the best of plug-in and hybrid combined in one.

Sure, the Chevrolet Volt is more plug-in than hybrid, and Nissan's Leaf is all plug-in, with zero emissions, but the new Prius will offer the best combination of both technologies -- and it will cost some $8,000 less than the Volt.

The newest version of the Prius, announced late last week from Toyota, will get more fuel efficiency, and longer electric range, while selling at a lower price that competitive pure electric or range-extender vehicles including the Volt and the Leaf. In hybrid mode, the car is estimated to get 49 miles per gallon -- near the same as current Prius models.

Thus, the biggest difference is the extended electric range allowed via plug-in.

Two models will be available, including the Plug-in Hybrid base model for $32,000 MSRP and the Plug-in Hybrid Advanced, with premium features, for $39,525 MSRP. Both models are expected to qualify for the $2,500 federal tax credit.

Initially, Toyota's new hybrid will only be available in 14 states, beginning in October. Those states include: California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, and Virginia. The company will have a national roll out of the new Prius Plug-in hybrid in 2013, the company said.

Toyota's new car promises to become a competitive handful for Chevy's Volt, costing less and effectively mixing both hybrid and plug-in. The Volt, which gets good reviews, runs father on electric power -- some 25 miles or more. And that's one major advantage for the Volt.

But even though the Plug-in Hybrid Prius will only run about 15 miles on just electricity, the electric engine can be charged in three hours while the Volt requires 10 to 12 hours of charging when a standard home connection is used.

Another advantage for Prius is that the car was the first mass produced hybrid to find success in the U.S. -- and the brand already has a long, successful customer following considering Toyota invested almost $1 billion to develop and launch the Prius in the 1990s while U.S. automakers focused on gas-guzzling SUVs.

Nissan is trying to establish its all-electric Leaf in the same way -- leaving out the hybrid while attempting to leapfrog straight to pure plug-in. And while reviews and sales of the Leaf have been good, the fact that the car does not use hybrid technology leaves it out of the competitive race now on between Toyota's Plug-in Hybrid Prius and the Chevrolet Volt.

GM has a lot invested in the Volt, but with a lower price, an established brand and Toyota's leading hybrid technology -- the Plug-in Prius will give the Volt a big run for its money.

Read more: http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/216185/20110919/toyota-plug-in-hybrid-chevrolet-volt-nissan-leaf.htm

GM Creates The First Front Center Air Bag

Great news for anyone looking for more safety features.

General Motors has just announced its latest safety innovation — the industry’s first front center air bag. This inflatable restraint is designed to protect passengers in the event of a far-side impact.

Available on the 2013 Buick Enclave, GMC Acadia, and Chevrolet Traverse crossovers, the airbag will deploy to the right of the driver’s side and provide restraint during passenger-side crashes when the driver is the only front occupant. This airbag will also act as an energy absorbing cushion between driver and front passenger in both driver- and passenger-side crashes.

“The front center air bag is not required by federal regulation, and no other air bag in passenger vehicles today offers the type of restraint and cushioning this air bag is designed to provide for front occupants,” said Scott Thomas, senior staff engineer in GM’s advanced restraint systems.

This type of airbag has been underdevelopment for three years and employed the help of GM’s technology supplier Takata. The restraint has been designed to work in a variety of crashes and occupant positions, and it’s also useful for a range of occupant sizes.

“While no restraint technology can address all body regions or all potential injuries, the front center air bag is designed to work with the other air bags and safety belts in the vehicles to collectively deliver an even more comprehensive occupant restraint system,” said Gay Kent, GM executive director of Vehicle Safety and Crashworthiness. “This technology is a further demonstration of GM’s above-and-beyond commitment to provide continuous occupant protection before, during and after a crash.”

Read more: http://www.chevroletinthenews.com/gm-creates-the-first-front-center-air-bag/#more-2030