Let's All Go for a Ride-Call-Text-Meal-Movie

Smart car? Maybe not so smart

(NEWSER) - Some of us lovingly referred to our first car variously as "the jalopy," "the tin can on wheels," or "the death trap." And some of us were right. Here, as per Autoshippers, are the most dangerous cars of all time:

• 1967-1971 Ford Pinto: Had a nasty habit of exploding even on low-speed impacts.
• 1915-1925 Briggs & Stratton Flyer: No doors, windshield, impact protection. Super cheap, and often fatal, transportation.
• 1960-1963 Chevrolet Corvair: Engine in the back let toxic fumes in the car and the steering wheel was known to fatally impale drivers. Other than that, great car.

Six states institute laws requiring gadgets

(AP) - Motorists convicted of driving drunk will have to install breath-monitoring gadgets in their cars under new laws taking effect in six states this week, the AP reports. The ignition interlocks prevent engines from starting until drivers blow into the alcohol detectors to prove they're sober. Alaska, Colorado, Illinois, Nebraska, and Washington state yesterday began requiring the devices for all motorists convicted of first-time drunken driving. South Carolina requires them for repeat offenders. More»

Horns are hard to ban, but may make drivers more reckless

(NEWSER) - The next time you honk your car’s horn, you might want to ask why you're doing it. Grabbing the horn by the bull for Slate, Dave Johns thinks you’re probably too close to do anything but tell your obstacle to get out of the way. That’s because drivers use their horns “as a tool for scolding rather than safety,” one expert says. More»

With help from Volvo, firm leads with 16 vehicles

(AP) - The insurance industry named dozens of new cars and trucks, led by Ford and its Volvo subsidiary, to its annual list of the safest vehicles today. Ford and Volvo saw 16 of their 2009 vehicles make the list; Honda followed with 13. Some 72 vehicles received the top safety pick designation, more than double the number that received it in 2008, helped by the increased use of anti-rollover technology. More»

US regulators consider stricter strength-to-weight standard

(NEWSER) - Three-quarters of vehicles on the road today would fail a proposed tougher standard for automobile roof strength, reports the Wall Street Journal. The current standard, unchanged since 1973, requires that car roofs withstand a force equivalent to 1.5 times the vehicle’s weight, but it exempts those more than 6,000 lbs.—including today's hulking SUVs, which are most likely to roll onto their roofs. More»