Carguide Blog

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) today announced that the all-new Toyota 4Runner mid-size sport utility vehicle (SUV) has earned its highest ranking of “good” in their frontal offset high-speed crash ratings.

IIHS frontal crashworthiness evaluations are based on results of 40 mph frontal offset crash tests. A vehicle’s overall frontal evaluation is based on measurements of intrusion into the occupant compartment, driver seat test dummy injury severity, and the level of restraint system dummy movement during the test. By comparison, frontal crash testing by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is performed at 35 mph.

The IIHS is an independent non-profit research and communications organization funded by auto insurance companies.

All Toyota and Lexus models meet or exceed the safety requirements of the federal government and the NHTSA.

If you’re considering buying a vehicle, and aren’t sure whether to buy a new or used one, first you need to weight in the disadvantages and advantages of both. You can go to a major bank’ website where it has an online calculator that you can use to figure out how much you would pay from a used car versus a new one. But here are a few advantages and disadvantages of new and used cars.

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Times are tough now,  people are saving instead of buying.  This could be the worst times for the car industry but the best times for car buyers, so every car dealership is looking for your business.  There has never been a time like this for car buyers to use the economic crisis as their leverage in making deals at car dealerships.

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Ford Active Park Assist will help you parallel parking if you are suck at it. The Ford Company just won another award for 2009 “Best of What’s New” award for Active Park Assist technology. The technology helps you maneuver your car into those tight parallel parking spaces. This is the third straight year that Ford has been recognized with a Best of What’s New Award. Active Park Assist (good), Inflatable Car Seat Belt (good), and hmm….Shape Memory Alloy Could Turn Exhaust Heat to Energy by GM (bad.)

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Car Alignment 101

This is a mini series about car alignment and what you need to know and do prior you bring your car to a mechanic. Your knowledge can save you some money in the end if you know what you are talking about when you communicate to a mechanic.  Wheel alignment is an important factor in maintaining your car balance and ride quality.  It is really frustrating and annoying when your car doesn’t go straight or making a humming sound at high speed.  Every time you run over a big pothole that you can’t avoid, there is a chance that the alignment on your car might be dislocated.

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