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If you’ve recently purchased a new or used car from your local Toyota dealer, one of the best ways to get more enjoyment out of it is to add a GPS device. But with so many on the market, how do you choose the best one? According to the reviewers at CNet.com, these are the five best GPS devices available today.

Garmin Nuvi 880
Although expensive, the Garmin Nuvi 880 has a number of features that make driving much easier. Text-to-speech, Bluetooth and MSN Direct services are ideal for looking up streets and traffic conditions along your route. It also has some of the best speech recognition capabilities of all the devices on the market.

HP iPaq rx5900 Travel Companion
This particular GPS device is ideal for traveling. It has a number of travel tools and it’s also equipped with Bluetooth and wireless capabilities in a sleek device.

Magellan Maestro 4250
You can operate this device simply by speaking, making it safe for driving. It also has text-to-speech capabilities with Bluetooth technology and traffic monitoring devices.

Mio C520
The sleek design for this GPS device also offers a large touch-screen for easy navigation. For even easier use, it has text-to-speech functionality and multimedia capabilities. For all of the features that it offers, it is one of the more affordable options on the market today.

TomTom GO 930
With this sophisticated device, you can simply speak an address and it will give directions. In addition, it offers 3D graphics of intersections for extra safety. A wide-screen also makes this particular device easy to use.

One of the best ways to show off your new car from your local Toyota dealer is to get a portable GPS device. But with the number of options on the market today, it can be overwhelming to shop for one. Luckily, though, you can find the ideal one for you if you know what you’re looking for.

Screen Size
Do you want a screen that’s larger than normal or do you prefer a smaller screen? A larger screen is not only easier to read, but it’s also easier to input data if it’s a touch-screen.

Text-to-Speech
If you want to pay a little extra, you can get a GPS device that speaks the directions to you instead of just displaying them on the screen.

Traffic Information
Some GPS devices offer free traffic information in real time. That means if you’re on one route where traffic is backed up a few miles up ahead, the device can help you find a less congested route to get you to your destination quicker.

Reality View
Many of the new devices offer a graphic illustration of upcoming intersections and areas of the road so you can plan ahead and know what to expect.

Speed Limit Alert
Have you ever been driving through a strange area and exceeded the speed limit because you didn’t know what it was? If so, some devices can help you avoid that by alerting you of the limit where you’re at.

Speed of Use
When buying a GPS device, consider its working speed. You don’t want a device that responds slowly or takes awhile to process a request.

Use these suggestions and you should be able to find the best GPS device for your next road trip or just for everyday use.

After testing on human cadavers, human volunteers and animals didn’t work out so well, the automotive industry saw the need for something else. That’s when Samuel Alderson created “Sierra Sam” in 1949. This first “dummy” was able to withstand accelerations and other tests that previous test subjects couldn’t endure.

The success of “Sierra Sam” led Alderson to produce a series of crash test dummies exclusively for two major car companies. He also built another dummy – “Sierra Stan” – but once company started building its own dummies by then.

Since those days in the early 1970s, companies have created more sophisticated and realistic dummies. The current line of models is called the Hybrid III and made its first appearance in 1976. It represents that average American male at 5′6″ tall with a weight of about 170 pounds. He is always in the driver’s seat for the crash tests. There are also dummies that represent typical female passengers, child passengers and other passengers of all sizes. The best thing about the Hybrid III model is that they are designed in such a way to give researchers data about how the neck and head respond in a collision.

As you can see, the crash test dummy has been a vital part of automotive safety. You can see many of them safety features that they have helped create at your local Toyota dealer. Why not visit one today and see how safe these vehicles make you and your family feel on the roads?

On Monday, we left off talking about human cadavers being the earliest form of crash test dummies. But when people began raising questions about its ethics, researchers needed to find another solution.

The next logical step was to use real live humans. Of course, these were volunteers who participated in the studies. The most popular of these volunteers was Colonel John Paul Stapp of the United States Air Force. He was most known for propelling himself more than 1000 km/hour on a rocket sled. He then stopped in 1.4 seconds. Researchers studied every movement along the way. A professor at Wayne State University – Lawrence Patrick – also volunteered for a similar study. He had more than 400 rocket sled rides at high speeds and rapid decelerations to test the effects on the human body.

Unfortunately, human subjects simply couldn’t endure some of the tests the automotive companies needed to get accurate data. Crashing head first into a brick wall at 80 mph simply didn’t sound fun to anybody. That’s when researchers turned to animal testing. That was in the 1950s and surprisingly lasted until 1993. I won’t go into any details about that simply because that’s a bit sad.

Finally, the crash test dummy was created. That’s where we’ll pick up at on Friday.

Until then, why not visit a local Toyota dealer and see what types of safety features that the crash test dummies helped to develop. Where would we be without seatbelts, airbags and other safety features? There would probably be a lot fewer people in this world – that’s for sure!

If you’ve ever been in an accident and survived, you’re probably grateful for the invention of the crash test dummy. These vital components of the automobile industry have helped save thousands of lives over the years by mimicking human movements and reactions in a crash. Auto companies put their crash test dummies through a rigorous test to make you safer. But nobody ever thinks about these forgotten heroes of automotive safety. That’s why we’re doing a three-part series about these inventions so you can better understand them.

Before There Were Dummies…

Wayne State University in Detroit was the first place to begin analyzing what an auto collision does to the human body. They started doing this as early as the 1930s when there wasn’t any information about the effects of auto collisions and no effective tools to measure them.

But they didn’t create the crash test dummies that we know about today. The first test subjects were actually human cadavers. Researchers performed tests like dropping ball bearings on the skull and dumping bodies down empty elevator shafts. The cadavers had equipment strapped to them and they were also tested in head-on collisions and rollovers to see what effects they had.

By 1995, a one researcher found out that this research saved about 8500 lives each year. For every cadaver used for research, more than 60 lives were saved because they helped auto companies develop safety features like seatbelts, airbags and other modern features you’ll find in each and every car at your local Toyota dealer.

Unfortunately, there were problems with using cadavers. In addition to the ethical issue, the cadavers did not represent a cross-section of drivers and they could only be used once. As a result, comparative data was nearly impossible. That’s when “dummies” became in demand.

Wednesday, we discussed how to be a courteous driver when you’re out on the roads. But there is also an unwritten code of conduct you should follow in parking lots. Following are some of those rules to help prevent fights and annoyances with other drivers.

Use your turn signal. In much the same way turn signals alleviate problems on the road, they do the same in parking lots. If you plan on taking an open space, use your turn signal to show you’re going to take it so others know that it’s off limits to them.

Don’t hold up traffic. You might like to pull backwards into a parking spot, but it’s rude to make others wait while you do that. If people are waiting, pull into the space quickly and safely so everybody can keep moving along.
Don’t be greedy. Greediness tends to lead to accidents and fights. If somebody is willing to fight or get mad over a space, let them have it. Parking spaces are not worth fighting over.

Wait for others to close their door. If you’re pulling into a parking space and the person in the space next to it has their door open, wait until they close it. You may need to give them a simple “beep” with your horn to let them know you’re waiting.

Whether you’re driving around the parking lot at your local Toyota dealer or your town’s Wal-Mart, these are rules that will help everybody get along better behind the wheel of their car.

How many times have you gotten upset because you let someone in the lane in front of you and they don’t give you the “thank you” wave? If you’re like me, this is one of the most annoying things a driver can do. But there are several other ways that you can show driving etiquette whether you’re on the highway or a side street. Follow some of these suggestions and we can all get along better on the roads.

Use your turn signals. This is probably the easiest thing you can do to be courteous to other drivers. It takes a simple motion of your hand, but it means so much to the drivers around you. Whether you’re turning or changing lanes, make sure you let everybody around you know to avoid anger and collisions.

Avoid tailgating. Tailgating isn’t only obnoxious, it’s also dangerous. If you’re on a highway where you can pass the person in front of you safely, do it. If not, stay back a safe distance. You’re not going to get to your destination any faster whether you’re six inches from their bumper or 20 feet from their bumper.

Obey traffic signals. When approaching a yellow light, don’t go faster. Proceed to the light with caution because you don’t know what’s coming the other way.

Learn to share. If you act like the roads were built for everybody and not just you, it’s easier to be courteous to others. Everybody’s time is just as important as your time. Realize this and be a mature driver.

Once you have these rules memorized, you can visit your local Toyota dealer and practice your new skills in style and comfort.

A few weeks ago, presidential hopeful John McCain announced a plan to give $300 million to anybody who could create a battery powerful enough to run an automobile. According to the Republican candidate, this represents only $1 for every person in the United States and that’s a “small price to pay for helping to break the back of our oil dependency.”

But McCain’s plan is noteworthy in more ways than that. Author Rick Shenkman, a presidential historian, said the senator’s idea creates a game-show like atmosphere to American politics. In a way, though, hasn’t the bid for the presidency always been like a game? The person who wins is the one who usually plays the best game.

With McCain’s plan, the $300 million would go to the person or company that developed a battery package that “has the size, capacity, cost and power to leapfrog the commercially available plug-in hybrids or electric cars.” Since auto companies are already working on this, maybe one of them will be the big winners.

I don’t see a problem with the plan. People have always created inventions and new ways of doing things with grants from the government or in hopes of getting a huge payday. John McCain just brought it to the forefront and possible generated interest among some great minds that would’ve never thought about working on such an idea before. Who knows? When the new battery gets produced, you’ll probably be seeing it in cars at your local Toyota dealer. Sounds like a plan to me!

One of the major concerns over electric hybrids is the cost of the battery that powers them. These types of hybrids are good for gas mileage, but some consumers are concerned about the cost of replacing batteries once they wear out.

But two companies are working on a solution – leasing batteries. Think Car USA has plans to lease batteries for its car as early as next year. Project Better Place is a start-up company with more than $200 million in fund is also trying to create a battery-leasing program. This company’s program would be more like a subscription service where drivers could recharge and exchange their batteries.

Programs like this could be the wave of the future.

Mary Ann Wright, the CEO of Johnson Controls-Saft, said that automakers would rather lease batteries to drivers for the first ten years that plug-in hybrids are on the road. “Until we know how these things are going to behave on the road, and how much these things are going to cost, it would make sense to lease them.”

Whichever way we buy or lease these new batteries in the future, it’s going to be an exciting few years in the automotive industry. Why not visit your local Toyota dealer and see what’s going on in the hybrid market and what’s in store for the future?

One of the things that keep people from buying hybrids is the myths and half-truths that surround them. Instead of doing their research, they’d simply use an excuse to not invest in one. But here, we’re going to debunk some of those myths. After reading this, you can’t use these excuses anymore.

You can get electrocuted when working on a hybrid. While this is partly true, it would only happen if you failed to turn the engine off when you’re working on the car. Hybrids do have more capacitors and other electronic parts than gasoline-powered engines, but all of the voltage drains out in a matter of minutes to make it safe for repairs. But much like normal engines, there are some parts with which you should use extra caution. According to one repair technician, “if it’s orange, don’t touch it.”

Hybrids can start automatically and suddenly. This myth is making the rounds because some mechanics who haven’t had any experience with hybrids aren’t familiar with the Idle-Stop feature. When a hybrid stops, the engine turns off to save fuel. But it’s ready to go again when you put your foot on the gas. But mechanics think it’s off when the engine turns off when it’s actually in standby mode.

Hybrids are too complicated. This might be true if you’re a mechanic that’s unwilling to put in some extra time to learn about them. But, according to one technician, the ones who think it’s too complicated are “not up to date anyway with non-hybrids.” Those who look at their mechanic job as a career, though, will put in the extra time to adapt to the future of their industry.

If you’ve been putting off buying a hybrid because you believed these myths, wait no more! Visit your local Toyota dealer and browse the huge selection of hybrids available for purchase today!