SOLVED! Autoprophet Geocache Challege 2010!!!

Congratulations to Charles and his brother, who found both prizes this afternoon, Dec. 20th.

My family has been big into geocaching for years, so after seeing your blog entry, my brother and I swung by birmingham this afternoon.  Perfect timing, as my car needs a new battery, pads and rotors, and a few other regular maintenance type odds and ends.  Thanks Auto Prophet and Pep Boys!  

-Charles (Auto aficionado and NRA Life Member)
 

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Thanks to Pep Boys, who donated some gift cards, I am very happy to kick off this year's Autoprophet Geocache Challenge!

I have hidden two groups of Pep Boys gift cards in a much-loved part of Birmingham. Prize

#1 is 3 $50 gift cards, for a total of $150. Prize #2 is 2 $50 gift cards, for $100. The gift cards are hidden in gaily spray painted clear plastic soup containers. If you find both prizes, you win yourself a total of $250 to spend at Pep Boys, right before Christmas. What can you get at Pep Boys for $250? Besides tires, parts, oil, etc.?

*Disclosure: Pep Boys donated gift cards for this contest, the blogger did not receive any compensation.

Smug Vee Dub

I saw this guy, "GAS H8R" on the road the other day. I suppose he removed the TDI badges from his Golf.

Nissan's Naughty Nav

Nissan's new Nav system will help you find "Adult Entertainment" locations, according to a review by Family Car Review.  It's debuting in the new 2011 Nissan Quest minivan. 

Good job Nissan.  Way to know your market.

Top 10 Recalls of 2010

Car And Driver, my favorite car enthusiast magazine, has an nice one-page article in this month's issue summarizing graphically the top 10 recalls of 2010. Leading the pack was Toyota, with 5 of the top 10 recalls. Second was GM, with 2, and Honda with 2. Nissan had 1 recall in the top 10.

Congratulations to Ford, Chrysler, VW, and Hyundai for not making this top 10 list.

Tangled

I went with the kids to see Tangled over the weekend. It was excellent, probably the best non-Pixar Disney movie in recent history.

I experienced 3D for the first time, and had mixed feelings. On one hand, it worked very well in many scenes. It seemed to break down a bit when the effect was used to try to make objects look very close to the audience. And the 3D version of the Justin Bieber biopic preview... ugh, nauseating.

It was neat. Maybe even worth an extra $3, for the right movie. But not for Justin Bieber.

Rumor: Honda Killing Element

There is a rumor that Honda is going to announce the end of the Element, the quirky 3 1/2 door bread van, likely due to slow sales.  It's too bad, I was impressed with Honda for bringing out such a quirky and utilitarian vehicle, which was basically a large box on wheels.  The Element, though much larger than the Scion xB and Nissan Cube, paved the way for the quirky little box cars.

I'm not sure what Honda is thinking lately, in terms of design.  Some of its designs are unique and interesting, like the now aging Civic, or the new CR-Z.  But Honda has been flirting too much with ugly, witness Acura's ugly chrome mug, or the bizarre Odyssey lightning bolt zig-zag belt line.  

Bumper Compatibility: Not There Yet

IIHS, the organization that is funded by the auto insurance industry, issued a report about continuing poor comparability between small SUV and car bumpers.  You can read it here.

The bottom line is, automakers have not yet redesigned their small SUVs to have bumper heights that are compatible with their cars.  The result is expensive low speed collisions between small SUVs and cars, which necessarily drive up insurance costs to the consumer.