Keeping Your Car Clutter-Free

Is your car starting to feel a little messy, or even cramped? Keep your car comfortable and clutter-free with these tips from Kicking Tires:

Clean Out the Crap: Don't be tempted to put a lot of crap in your car in the first place. It sounds so simple, and it is. Items that go into your car should be necessities. Ask yourself if your kid needs to bring his 1,000-piece puzzle, pull-toy and swim floatie with you on a trip to the grocery store. Implement the "one in, one out" rule. If your kids must bring a favorite toy in the car, limit them to oneitem each. If they bring one thing in the car, they must bring that one thing back out of the car at the end of the day. (If that one item happens to be a purse stuffed with 20 other small items? Good luck!) One parent of three on our staff recommends treating your car like a camping trip. If you pack it in, you must pack it back out and leave it better than when you arrived.

Group the Necessities: Keep a utility bag, like this one from ThirtyOneGifts.com, in the cargo area to house items like first-aid kits, sunscreen, wipes and diapers, plus anything else you like to keep in there. One mom on our staff swears by disposable zippered plastic bags of all sizes to help organize all the stuff she needs for her preschooler and newborn twins in her car, while a friend uses mesh pencil bags for this purpose. A "to-go" tote is also helpful. Load it up with your daily stuff — library books to return, dry cleaning to drop off, a protein shake to keep you going if a meal is still a while off — and at the end of the day, load the tote back up with everything that needs to come into the house from the car. (Don't forget those dirty socks that have been under the backseat for months.)

Use Down Time (and Recycled Grocery Bags) to Gather Trash: No matter how diligent we are with the above techniques, trash inevitably ends up in the car. Use that extra minute or two while waiting in the carpool lane to grab a plastic grocery bag (keep a stash of them in the glove box) and gather up the wrappers and rogue pieces of Pirate's Booty that have been under the seats for months. Tie up the bag, stash it inside your "to-go" tote and trash it the second your pull into your garage.

Stuff a Sock in It!: To keep small items like coins, french fries and Polly Pocket shoes from falling into the depths of despair between the seats and consoles, just stuff a sock in that gap to close it up. If the stuff in your car stays within easy reach, you'll be more tempted to clean it out.

Wet Wipes are Your Friend: Wet wipes can do just about anything in a car, from cleaning up unmentionables on your kid's child-safety seat and wiping sticky messes off faces and hands, to grabbing dust off the dashboard. Travel-size packs of baby wipes are perfect for keeping in cars, and the crunchier parents among us can pick up a package of these organic ones by Giovanni. They do double duty as aromatherapy for your car, and, because they're individually wrapped, they won't dry out after months in the glove box.

Click here to read the full article: http://blogs.cars.com/kickingtires/2014/12/how-to-corral-car-clutter.html

Gas Prices to Stay Low in the New Year

Are you loving the low prices at the pump? There's good news! According to AOL Autos, the low fuel prices should last well into the New Year!

In a dramatic shift from previous forecasts, the Energy Department predicted Wednesday that the average price of gasoline in the U.S. will be $2.94 a gallon in 2015. That is a 44-cent drop from an outlook issued just a month ago. 

If the sharply lower estimate holds true, U.S. consumers will save $61 billion on gas compared with this year. 

Rising oil production, particularly in the U.S., and weak spots in the global economy have led to a sharp reduction in oil prices over the past four months. Not seeing much of a change ahead, the government cut its forecast for global oil prices next year by $18 a barrel to $83. 

As a result, U.S. drivers will pay on average 45 cents less for a gallon of gas next year compared to this year. Based on expected gasoline consumption, that's a savings of $60.9 billion. 

That may not seem like a lot in the context of a $17.5 trillion U.S. economy, but economists say it matters because it immediately gives consumers more money to spend on other things. Consumer spending accounts for 70 percent of the U.S. economy. 

"It would be a reversal of the trend over the last few years where consumers can't stretch a dollar far enough," says Tim Quinlan, an economist at Wells Fargo. 

Quinlan says the price of gasoline is one of the three big drivers of consumer confidence, along with stock prices and the unemployment rate. "Lately all three are moving in the right direction," he says. 

After falling for 49 straight days, the average gasoline price in the U.S. Thursday is $2.92, the lowest since December of 2010, according to AAA. That was also the last full year when the average came in below $3 a gallon. 

While it's not unusual for gas to hit its low for the year in late fall, the government is now saying that these prices aren't just a low point, but instead will be the norm next year.

Click the link to read the full article: http://aol.it/1ruZqpp

Car Seat Changes for 2015

If you have young children, you'll want to pay attention to this! This article from Kicking Tires gives the low down on what will be changing for car seats in 2015. 

Improved Crash Protection
Parents shopping for car seats are already reaping the benefit of the proposed car-seat crash tests. Many new or redesigned car seats such as the Britax Marathon have large side wings that protect a child's head and chest in a side-impact crash. 

The Recaro Performance Coupe infant seat's carrying handle becomes an anti-rebound bar when the seat is installed. These bars, which are used only in rear-facing car seats, are positioned against the car's seat and prevent the child-safety seat from moving or bouncing during and immediately after a crash. 

Muv's Kussen infant seat (photo above) also has an anti-rebound bar, but it goes a step further in its crash protection. In a crash, the Kussen's carrier is designed to rotate into a more upright position in the car seat's base. This allows the car seat to absorb the crash forces by "compressing on the built-in shock absorption system" found in the car seat. 

Higher Weight Limits
It's been a few years since NHTSA and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended that parents keep their children in the rear-facing position until at least age 2, and car-seat manufacturers are now offering rear-facing infant seats that have higher weight limits — meaning that the child can stay in this seat longer. Perhaps the most impressive car seat in that regard is the Graco SnugRide Click Connect 40 (photo above). It's the only rear-facing infant seat that has a 40-pound weight limit, according to Graco. To accommodate a child who weighs upward of 40 pounds, the car seat's base extends lengthwise to create a little more legroom for your not-so-little one. Of course, carrying a 40-pound child in an infant carrier will require some powerful arm muscles. 

More Adjustability
From installation to struggling to get the harness to fit your child correctly, car seats offer endless ways to frustrate parents. Recaro's Performance Coupe infant seat has a foot in the base (photo above) that can be easily adjusted to fit a car's backseat, but it also has a dial that allows you to fine tune that fit. The infant seat's harness straps, which can be adjusted without rethreading them through the car seat's shell, also impressed me.

Click the link to read the full article from Kicking Tires: http://bit.ly/1ycXbgm

Cold Weather Driving

Cold weather is finally here. Learn how to keep your car in tip-top shape during these winter months with these tips from AOL autos:

Check Your Battery
The battery is the part of the car that generally has the most issues when the mercury starts to drop. In fact, your car's battery loses about half of its starting power at 0 degrees.

If your car is going to sit for an entire 24-hour period during times of cold weather, it's a good idea to start the engine up and let it run for 15-20 minutes to ensure that the battery stays charged. This way, you won't find yourself stranded with a dead battery when you need to get somewhere.

Pep Boys also said if your battery is five or more years old, it should be replaced before it dies.

Check Your Tire Pressure
For every 10-degree drop in the outside temperature, your tires lose about a pound of air pressure. You should check your tires often during the winter and add air as needed. Filling them is quick and easy, and can be done at many gas stations.

Under-inflated tires can be a serious safety hazard, especially when the roads are slick, as they impair your car's braking and handling abilities. Tires with low inflation levels (psi) can also be a detriment to your fuel economy.

Check Your Fluids

Fluids can thicken when it's cold outside, making it much more difficult for your car to get the fluids it needs to run properly.

Take a few minutes to make sure that your fluids -- oil, antifreeze, power steering, brake and transmission -- are in good shape and at the proper levels. It's also important to let your car warm up for at least ten minutes before driving anywhere, so that these fluids can flow the way they're intended.

Ensure you have adequate windshield wiper fluid. You'll be using a lot of it, especially in states that put salt on the roads.

Protect Your Windshield Wipers

Windshield wipers can freeze and crack in extreme cold. Considering how much you'll use them to clear salt, snow and all the other gunk that comes with the winter months, it's important to keep them in tip-top shape.

You should pull the wipers off the windshield when the car isn't running in order to prevent damage. Get in the habit of replacing your wipers in the fall, while the weather is still warm. Swapping them out in the cold can be a nightmare on your fingers.

Read the full article from AOL Autos here: http://aol.it/1HDA8Qk

Is Texting and Driving Addicting?

A new study by AT&T shows that texting and driving can actually release the happiness-enhancing chemical, dopamine in people's brains. This means that texting and driving could actually be addicting. Learn more with this article from Kicking Tires:

The study, conducted by the University of Connecticut School of Medicine in cooperation with the "Texting & Driving … It Can Wait" campaign, found that more and more people are demonstrating compulsive behavior — dubbed "cell-phone addiction" — with three-quarters of people admitting to at least glancing at their phones while behind the wheel. That's despite 90 percent of people reporting that they know better.

"We compulsively check our phones because every time we get an update through text, email or social media, we experience an elevation of dopamine, which is a neurochemical in the brain that makes us feel happy," Dr. David Greenfield, assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine and founder of the Internet and Technology Addiction, said in a statement. "If that desire for a dopamine fix leads us to check our phones while we're driving, a simple text can turn deadly."

There is good news, however. According to the research, phone addicts can successfully rehab themselves. "Those who are most likely to text and drive are also the most likely to take steps to stop," AT&T said in a statement. "And 82 percent of people who take action to stop texting and driving feel good about themselves."

To help people stop this dangerous behavior, AT&T is promoting its free DriveMode iPhone app, which activates automatically at 15 mph, silences text-message alerts and automatically responds to incoming messages letting the sender know the user is driving; it also notifies parents if the app has been shut off.

Click the link to read the full article: http://bit.ly/1tN7dUg

Best and Worst Drivers in the US

Have you ever wondered where the best and worse drivers are in the US? Find out with this infographic!

View a larger version of the infographic here: http://bit.ly/1pRqswb

Keeping Germs at Bay in Your Car this Cold and Flu Season

This cold and flu season, make sure you're keeping germs at bay in your car with these tips from Kicking Tires:

The flu is nothing to sneeze at. It sends more young children to the hospital than any other vaccine-preventable illness, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The best way to prevent it and its complications is to get the flu vaccine for yourself and your family. It's recommended for children as young as 6 months old. Of course, the vaccine's effectiveness varies widely from season to season, so parents need to be vigilant when it comes to containing germs.

While many of us are trained to wipe down frequently touched surfaces in our homes (door knobs, light switches) whenever someone has the flu or a nasty cold, how often do those practices carry over to the family car, especially if you carpool? Here are our tips for keeping your car from becoming a petri dish:

What to Keep in the Car

• Box of tissues: While it's questionable as to whether your kids will actually use them, keeping tissues handy will hopefully encourage your children to use them when they sneeze. While you're at it, keep a small trash bag in the backseat to gather the used tissues.
• Hand sanitizer: Keep this on hand for easy cleanups when kiddos didn't have enough time to grab a tissue before sneezing (eww). They also help adults clean up their hands after pumping gas.
• Baby wipes: These are great for wiping down not only the kids, but also frequently touched surfaces like the steering wheel, radio buttons, door handles and window switches. Think twice before using bleach wipes in your car because the harsh chemicals could damage the interior.

Carpooling

Carting your sick children in the car is one thing, but what happens when your kids are part of a carpool. Well, if everyone isn't careful, it's easy for the kids to pass the same cold around and around. Here are some simple tips to help keep all the kids in your carpool a little healthier this winter:

• If another parent in the carpool is dropping off your child at your house, make sure to keep a bottle of hand sanitizer inside your house's front door to keep the germs at bay.
• Or even better, train your kids to go straight to the bathroom or kitchen sink when they get home to wash their hands with soap.
• Also, make sure to wipe down your child's backpack straps (if they use one) to help thwart with spread of germs.
• While you may be ready to declare germ warfare on the bacteria the carpooling kids are bringing with them, realize that not all parents will want you to hose down their kids with sanitizer. Instead focus on wiping down the car's frequently touched surfaces after depositing the carpoolers at their homes and finally getting to your own.

Child-Safety Seats

There's one last front to consider in the car: car seats. Cleaning a car seat requires a couple of steps:

• First, read the car seat's manual before doing anything. Any missteps when cleaning it could make the car seat unsafe.
• To clean the car seat's plastic shell, most manufacturers recommend using a damp cloth and mild soap.
• The harness straps should be wiped down with a damp cloth, too. Some manufacturers allow the use of a mild soap to clean it, but check before cleaning. Don't wash the harness straps in the washing machine because it can affect its fiber strength and wash away fire retardants.
• Although you may want to burn the car seat's dirty cover -- who knew they could get so gross? — again read the owner's manual before washing. Some manufacturers allow the covers to be machine-washed (and likely air-dried), while others prefer hand-washing and air-drying.

Click the link to read the full article from Kicking Tires: http://bit.ly/1u25MlR