Imagine what Seattle parking lots and roads will look like once some of these cheap and efficient concept cars start rolling off of assembly lines. They’re very much the “value meal” of the car industry, just the basics and a whole lot smaller. One things for certain, bulk shopping at Costco would become virtually impossible.

 Recently General Motors and Segway released the Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility project, P.U.M.A for short.  It’s a mix between R2-D2 and a pimped out hand truck than an actual car. However in you live in a city, the two seat, two wheeled all electric vehicle would reduce on emissions and congestion significantly.

Another unique and creative feature is the GPS technology. Larry Burns, the Vice President of GM told the Associated Press, “the vehicles would also be part of a communications network that through the use of transponder and GPS technology would allow them to drive themselves. The vehicles would automatically avoid obstacles such as pedestrians and other cars and therefore never crash”, he said.

Going a maximum speed of 35 miles per hour, in theory, the PUMA, wouldn’t need airbags or seat belts.“If Hummer took GM to the large vehicle extreme,” said Burns.  “Then the PUMA takes GM to the other.”

That extreme would be small.  The PUMA prototype reportedly weighs in at just 300 pounds, and would get up to 35 hours on one charge of the lithium-ion battery. The GM-Segway collaboration is ambitious and bold. But with GM relying on billions of dollars in Federal aid just to stay afloat; the PUMA could represent a big step in the automakers’ reinvention of itself. 

So how much would the PUMA cost Seattle car buyers? GM has yet to announce a base price for the PUMA. However the automaker promises that once you take into consideration purchase price, insurance, maintenance, and fuel, it would be a fraction of that compared to a standard sized vehicle.

While it may be a couple a years from actually hitting Seattle roads, one question will undoubtedly come up about the pint-sized PUMA; does it have enough room to fit my Venti sized coffee cup?

See the PUMA roll at Segway.com     

The ECH is unique even compared to other electric cars out in the market today. Fraik’s company Evergreen Electromotive designed it specifically not to go on highways or freeways. The ECH’s top speed is just over 35 mph (fast for electric vehicles). That extra power means the ECH can climb hills easier than other electric cars.

“I was tired of the gas guzzlers just like everyone else,” explains Fraik. “But the electric cars out on the market were kind of weak too. I’m a car guy and I like to drive. This (ECH) offers it all. You can do a lot at 35 miles per hour.”

Washington State’s House Bill 1820 back in 2007 made all the difference for Fraik and his electric car. The bill allowed zero emission vehicles to travel city and county roads up to 35 MPH without having to undergo federal highway crash testing.

“It costs a fortune to do federal crash testing,” Fraik says. “For the major car makers out there, the Fords, and Chevy’s of the world, they can pay millions for just the testing. It just wouldn’t be cost effective to build anything faster. That’s why it doesn’t go faster than 35 miles per hour.”

Along with the legislation and the possibility of reducing the national speed limits as a way to conserve, led to the creation of the ECH. But with a top speed at just over 35 MPH, how many people would want to buy?

“It’s the perfect Seattle car,” tells Fraik, getting into salesman mode. “I can get on the ferry with it, drive through downtown and get anywhere I want on the streets. Yeah there are other electric cars out there built in France and China, places like that . But this one, is built right here. It’s not just American built, it’s Washington built.”

As of right now, there’s only one ECH, the prototype seen at the Seattle Auto Show. Fraick’s goal is to have them in production in the early part of 2009, and he has eyes on making his ECH vehicles for the city and state.

Electric Composite Hatchback Stats
• Plugs into 110v Outlet
• Option of 80-10,000 miles per charge
• Top speed at 35MPH
• Can Seat 2 in front/2 in back
• Zero Emissions
• Estimated 2 cents per mile

“Hey what’s that?!”

That’s usually what you hear when people see the Smart Car Fourtwo in the Seattle area. The size, the way it handles, and overall appealing looks makes the Fourtwo a unique vehicle for the road.

It wasn’t just the unique cars that caught our attention however, as we spent hours at the show interviewing both dealers of all types, from startups like Zenn Motors, a Washington based all-electric car manufacturer, to the possibly soon-to-be-gone Chrysler reps. With hundreds of photos, video, business cards and frantic scribbles, we’ll be gunning out quite a few articles in the coming weeks.

In the meantime, here’s a quick round-up of some quick observations we had during the 2009 Seattle Auto show:

Cars to Make Your Head Turn
Park Place LTD always has an impressive collection of exotic autos and this year was no different. This is where we found the eye-candy Lotus Exiges and an army of expensive Aston Martins, including the 007’s famous Aston Martin DBS. Audi stepped up to the big boys league with their rubber melting R8, while Mercedes drew a constant crowd with their raw meets refined CL 63 AMG. Oddly, the Maserati section was a ghost town, as if people suddenly realized these and the other head turners cost more than what most people make in year. That’s why we also nickname these the “museum cars” – great for looking, but no touching unless you can afford it!

The Big Hit: Green Cars
Not surprisingly, the green machines are getting a lot of love this year. In past seasons, most of the electric and alternative fuel vehicles would be stuck in the back or in some lonely (and probably inexpensive) corner.

Not this year. In fact, some of the big boys are pushing their fuel efficient autos, while it seems most automakers have a hybrid of some type in production or development. Surprisingly, Chevrolet has one of the most prominent green displays in the whole building, pushing their hybrid SUVs and prototype hydrogen fuel cell vehicle.

Being stuck in the corner didn’t seem to hurt Mercedes owned Smart Car, which drew oohs and aahs from guys and girls alike. The Green Car Company, based in Bellevue and various other electric car companies were getting a good share of attention. Ferrari won the competition for most photographs, but the green cars were the winner in popularity it seemed.

Subaru’s Gran Turismo Simulator
With three monitors and a seat that makes you feel the experience along with every bump, Subaru’s Gran Turismo Simulator will be popular with kids of all ages. The wait may be long, and everyone sees you crashing all over the place, but it’s a fun diversion when you need a quick break from the propaganda machines.

Things to Keep an Eye On
There was a constant buzz surrounding the Toyota Venza. The sales reps were constantly busy fielding questions on when it would hit the market for sale (early 2009) and how much it would cost. Those kind of questions are usually indicators of serious consumer interest. If the Seattle Auto Show is any indication, the Venza will sell well when it’s out of hush-hush mode and in production.

It might be hard to keep an eye on, because it makes almost no noise. We’re talking about The Bad Boy Buggy, which is an electric off road vehicle built in Mississippi. Will the off-road crowd buy (literally) into a plug-in ATV is up to speculation.

Potential Disappointments
Chrysler has one of the coolest looking concept cars in the Akino. With a space age looking exterior, Scion xB style frame, right-side steering wheel, curved back seats and rear-facing passenger seat, it made for one heck of an impression.

But, despite this all and despite being displayed smack dab in the middle of the event center, the Akino remains a the big mystery. None of the Chrysler people were allowed to comment on it, or give any type of information. They wouldn’t even tell us the fuel efficiency of this futuristic vehicle. While automakers have every right to be secretive about their concepts, this felt like yet another routine Detroit ploy to build up intrigue.

Lastly, in a world of green and hybrid cars, there is the Cadillac Escalade Hybrid. Visually it’s still a monster. And looking at the specs, it only offers 20MPG. Seriously, a 20MPG hybrid? We were hoping for more from the American automakers in the green category, but Lincoln and Dodge didn’t really go green at all. They kept with the big car, big horsepower approach that has worked well in the past. But if observation is any indicator, they sorely missed the spot with this crowd.

Figuring out whether or not your insurance rates will go up as a result of an accident can often be confusing. As a general rule of thumb however, if the accident report or your insurance company finds you at fault, you are almost guaranteed to have your rates bumped up. If you are not at fault, your insurance company evaluates your driving history and can still raise your rates if they determine you to be an “at risk” driver. Generally, your rates will not rise if you have a clean driving record and are not at fault.

In order to not be at fault, not only is defensive driving required, but fault-aware driving. Defensive driving will help you avoid accidents to begin with, but fault-aware driving will 

1) Car Malfunctions

If your car malfunctions for any reason (brakes go out, engine stalls, steering locks, etc) and you hit another vehicle, you will be at fault. Keeping your car well maintained and in good working shape is a crucial aspect of car ownership; not only because of safety reasons, but legal and financial ones. If your car brakes fail because you skimped on replacing your brakes, then your insurance rates are certainly going up. Even if your brakes were in good working condition and failed, your insurance rates will still go up – though you should probably contact a lawyer because you might have a case against your car maker or the last person to work on your brakes.

2) Fender Benders

Ah, the fender bender – the leading type of accident all around the world. Insurance companies have tons of experience with fender benders and have come to the conclusion the driver in the rear is at fault, unless they can prove otherwise. The reasoning for this general assumption is that the driver in the rear should be able to avoid hitting the car in front if driving safely and at a reasonable speed. That means if the guy in front of your car stops his car to gawk at an accident and you hit his rear fender, you’re going to be at fault unless you can prove that the crash was unavoidable (good luck). Even in a pile up situation, each driver is often responsible for hitting the driver ahead of them.

The best way to avoid the dreaded fender bender is to give adequate space between you and the car in front, looking out for other drivers that suddenly change lanes and keeping your eyes out on the road.

3) Don’t Speed

Just like drinking and driving don’t mix, neither does speeding and police reports. If you are found speeding during the course of an accident, it will definitely be mentioned in the police report and likely put you at least somewhat at fault, no matter what. Even if you in your own lane and a driver pulls into you and side swipes your car, he can claim that he never saw you coming due to your excessive speed. Speeding ruins your credibility on police reports, which is the prime source of facts for your insurance company.

4) Don’t Trust Turn Blinkers

Just because another driver has their turn blinkers on, it doesn’t mean you can trust their actions. Example scenario: you are waiting to pull out of a parking lot, other driver signals to turn into the lot, you pull out and are hit by the other vehicle, who apparently wasn’t intent on turning after all. This situation happens all the time and is a insurance nightmare waiting to happen, because moving traffic has right of way. If you turned out and were hit, you would be predominantly at fault.

In fact, this exact situation happened to me earlier today and included an impatient truck waiting behind me that honked because I wanted to wait for the driver on the street to turn into the lot first. As the truck driver happily honked away, the guy on the street flew right past, totally oblivious that their turn signal was on. If I hadn’t been in front of that truck driver, his day would have probably been far worse than it already was, apparently.

Keep your eyes and senses sharp when you are at intersections, stop signs or passing, because these are also common situations where misreading someone elses’ blinkers can put you at fault. 

5) Phantom Damage

Phantom damage sounds quite like a hit from a ghostly truck, which isn’t too far from the truth as far as your insurance provider is concerned. Phantom damage is when the actions of another vehicle cause you to damage your car, even though you both don’t collide. Examples are a semi-truck running you off the road or an oncoming driver that forces you to swerve into a barrier.

Phantom vehicle damage is hard to prove because by nature of the event, the other car is probably lone gone by the time you’ve realized what’s happened. Without the other driver’s insurance information, you’ll have to tap into your own insurance and likely have your rates go up. 

Unfortunately, there’s little to no recourse in these situations. Phantom damage is a nasty creature because it comes down to letting the other at-fault driver hit you or avoiding being hit and being at fault for crashing your own car. The unfortunate case is that between hitting another car head-on at 60mph or swerving into a ditch, common sense says you preserve your body before your wallet. Your only hope is to have witnesses in the car (non-family members) or around the scene of the accident to vouch for your actions.

6) Don’t Immediately Take Responsibility After an Accident

After an accident, you should say as little as possible while exchanging insurance and drivers information. Don’t accept or take responsibility for causing an accident, even if you think you are at fault. For example, you may think you are at fault for hitting a parked car on a tight roadway; where the truth might be that the car was parked illegally and dangerously close to the street. Perhaps you were pulling out of a parking spot and suddenly bumped a car, who police later found was speeding. For these reasons, exchange only the relevant information with other drivers and give only the facts to police and investigators. They’ll be the judge of who is at fault or not.

Gas
When the gas prices started to sky rocket, car buyers started to change their purchasing habits. Certain car makers adjusted accordingly, while others tried to ride it out. What happened was, the auto makers like Toyota and Honda that pushed their hybrids and smaller engine cars, found a way to generate revenue when other cars weren’t selling.

Many of the companies in Detroit, waited a little too long, and thus it hurt them. They continued pushing performance and horsepower, and tried to “weather the storm”. 

That didn’t work, instead they took a beating.

“When gas prices started going up, it really hurt the car industry,” says Frank Hasselback of Landmark Motors in Kirkland. “People weren’t buying what they normally would. The higher end sedans, SUV’s, and trucks just sat there on the lots. People started to really look at gas mileage when they normally wouldn’t. Hybrids got real popular.”

Hybrids
The high gas prices led to a hybrid boom. Toyota’s Prius, Honda’s Civic, Chevy’s Malibu, and Saturn’s Aura Greenline, just to name a few, all became hot sellers. Hybrids became a way for the auto industry to make money. While monster vehicles like the Chevy Tahoe could be bought at near invoice prices, the mark up on Hybrids were considerable (maybe that’s why Chevy came out with the Tahoe Hybrid). Despite the increase in greener small engine vehicles, there’s was limited selection. Many bought, but it didn’t make up for the downfall in the other vehicles.

Economic Crash
October’s record market crash of over 900 points crippled the car industry. Not only did consumers not want to buy cars, it made it nearly impossible even if they did.

“People couldn’t get loans,” explains Hasselbach. “After that, things were frozen. It seemed like everything just stopped.”

Before the crash the outlook was already dismal. Auto lenders were afraid of making the same mistakes as in the housing industry.

Chairman of Autonation, the largest auto retailer in the U.S. told the New York Times, “We are faced with the dilemma of lowering our credit standards to put them in a car, or saying no”, he says, ”And we’re telling them no.”

Many lenders wouldn’t give loans to car buyers unless they had a credit score of 700 or better. That is the crème of the credit crop,  and only a small number of people could qualify.

What’s to Come
Car dealers are hoping that by the first of the year, things will slowly get better.  The industry itself knows what can and can’t be sold now. Hybrids and 4 cylinder cars will continue to be the focuss. And while it’s been a bumpy ride, and has been the worst year for sales in nearly a decade, there’s nowhere to go but up.

“We could use all the help we can get in terms of public perception”, says Hasselbach. “Some consumer optimism would really go a long way.”

Sounds like a perfect time to buy.

The Seattle PI reported that a witness saw a white passenger car cut in front of a large container truck, causing the driver to swerve into the concrete median separating I-5 North and South to avoid hitting the car. 

The resulting impact was so great that it knocked a concrete barrier into the Northbound lanes and caused a motorcylist to crash. The driver of the bike broke and arm while the truck driver managed to avoid any injuries. Wreckage from the truck and bike closed two lanes Southbound and Northbound express lanes for two hours, until a large tow truck was able to haul away the jackknifed container truck.

Without doubt, many Seattle commuters suddenly found their afternoon commute hopelessly delayed due to the actions of one person that unfortunately, lacked common driving skills. Part of the education of not cutting off other drivers is the realization that putting a narrow distance between two cars can both in harm’s way. 

The average braking distance of a car from 60mph to a full stop is approximately 130 feet — or about 10 car lengths. This is in ideal road conditions with a skilled driver, as auto makers would like you to imagine that you can stop your car before hitting the driver in front of you. 

In reality, major factors like reaction time, road conditions and driver skill can more than double the braking distance. Real life braking simulations with untrained drivers have shown that 300 feet is a much more realistic braking distance. That means over 20 car lengths!

The major point drivers forget about is reaction time. While driving, your eyes are picking up various bits and pieces of information, the most important of which is the speed of the car in front of you. The time it takes for your brain to realize the car in front of you is going into a full blown panic stop is only about 1.5 seconds, but during that time, your car will have travelled over 130 feet when at speeds of 60mph.

If you ask any driving instructor or attend a driving school class, they will always tell you to use the 4 second rule when determining how close to drive to the car in front of you. This gives you 2 seconds to react and 2 seconds to stop – avoiding a crash if 1) you are paying attention and 2) your car is in good working condition.

Most drivers have the mentality that the car in front of will react and brake in time to an accident and as a result, drive using a two second or shorter rule. Pile-ups happen when an accident suddenly occurs (like a truck jackknifing, for example) and you suddenly realize you are 200 feet away from collision. Even with lighting reflexes of Mario Andretti, you would just start squeezing the brakes at about 140 feet away, giving you literally no room for error. Add a bit of rain or 5mph more than the speed limit and it will get ugly.

Even if you do manage to avoid the truck, the driver behind you may not have those same lighting reflexes and you’ll probably get rear-ended. 

In a future article, we’ll talk the reality of highway driving and how (if you must) to drive with a 2 second rule and still be relatively safe.