So far it’s being sold in Arizona, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and South Carolina. Along with Texas, it will soon be operating in Georgia, Missouri and Tennessee with more states added monthly, Toyota said Thursday.
Other vehicles in a household that aren’t Toyota brands can also be insured. To make its insurance product stand out among the crowded choices already available, Toyota is offering a 5% discount on repairs at its certified collision centers that it said will be made with Toyota genuine parts “whenever possible.”
The auto insurance will be sold through its website, mobile app, call center agents and at participating Toyota dealerships. The insurance is supported by Toggle, the underwriter owned by Farmers Insurance.
-- The Dallas Morning News via AP
Ford beating Chevrolet as No. 1 seller this year in Northeast Ohio
If current selling trends continue, Ford will overtake Chevrolet as Northeast Ohio’s favorite brand of vehicle in 2021.
According to data on new car and truck sales from the Greater Cleveland Automobile Dealers’ Association, more new Ford vehicles have been sold regionally through November than from any other automaker in 2021. Ford leads Chevrolet by just under 500 vehicles - 27,421 to 26,942.
Data shows Ford overtook Chevrolet last month with 956 more vehicles sold in November. Supply-chain issues have hurt vehicles sales the last two months, but Ford sales are only down 1.7% versus 2020, while Chevrolet sales are down 16%.
For just November, Chevrolet sales took a 46.5% hit while Ford made a 5.2% gain.
This time last year, Chevrolet was leading Ford by a 4,000-vehicle margin, according to the association’s data.
-- Cleveland.com via AP
The 5 most expensive vehicles to insure
Buyers must consider a host of factors before purchasing a new vehicle. While the make, model and color of the vehicle may garner the bulk of buyers’ attention, the cost of the vehicle bears consideration as well. The sticker price is important, but the cost of insuring a vehicle also can determine just how much a vehicle will cost buyers each month.
Insurance premiums are determined after providers consider various factors, including the age of the driver, his or her accident history and how much he or she drives. The make and model of the vehicle also goes a long way toward determining just how much drivers will have to pay to insure their cars and trucks. The insurance comparison site The Zebra (www.thezebra.com) notes that the following were the five most expensive vehicles to insure in 2020.
1. BMW i8: Getting behind the wheel of this high-performance sports car cost drivers an average of $4,303 in insurance premiums. That’s a relatively small price to pay for a vehicle with a manufacturer-suggested retail price (MSRP) of $147,500.
2. Maserati Quattroporte: A luxury sports sedan with an MSRP just under $100,000, the sleek Maserati Quattroporte cost drivers an average of $4,062 in annual insurance premiums.
3. Nissan GT-R: As a manufacturer, Nissan might not be associated with the world’s most expensive automakers. But its GT-R, a high-performance sports luxury vehicle with an MSRP of $113,540, will cost drivers a luxury-like $3,864 in annual insurance premiums.
4. Maserati GranTurismo: With the highest MSRP ($150,380) of any car in the top five, the Maserati GranTurismo might be seen as a relative bargain to insure, costing drivers an annual average of $3,735.
5. Mercedes-Benz S-Class: The S-Class is a classic Mercedes-Benz luxury sedan with an MSRP of $94,250. Drivers can expect to pay an annual premium of $3,684 to insure this sleek and stylish example of classic luxury.
-- Metro Creative Services
Tesla scrutinized for allowing video games to be played while its cars are moving
The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said recently it is reviewing a recent software update by Tesla Inc. that allows drivers to play video games on a dashboard screen while the vehicle is moving.
“We are aware of driver concerns and are discussing the feature with the manufacturer,” the agency said in a statement. “The Vehicle Safety Act prohibits manufacturers from selling vehicles with design defects posing unreasonable risks to safety.”
The New York Times reported earlier this week on concerns raised by safety advocates about three video games — including solitaire — that drivers or passengers could play on the in-dash touch screen.
The agency recommends that in-vehicle devices “be designed so that they cannot be used by the driver to perform inherently distracting secondary tasks while driving,” it said.
“For all other visual-manual secondary tasks, the NHTSA guidelines specify a test method to evaluate whether a task interferes with driver attention, rendering it unsuitable for a driver to perform while driving,” the agency said. “If a task does not meet the acceptance criteria, the NHTSA Guidelines recommend that the task be made inaccessible for performance by the driver while driving.”
-- Bloomberg News via AP
Fuel costs are worth considering when planning to travel in an RV
For RV enthusiasts, few if any means of traveling can compare with hitting the open road in an RV. Travel enthusiasts who have never before traveled in an RV might be intrigued by that enthusiasm and the freedom that comes with hitting the open road without having to worry about hotel costs and checkout times.
Though those are great reasons to consider traveling in an RV, vacationers should build fuel costs into their travel budgets. That’s because RVs typically do not get great gas mileage. According to the online RV resource RVshare.com, the cost of gas for an RV can be hard to predict, as fuel prices can fluctuate wildly depending on the time of year and where people are when they need to gas up their RVs.
However, predicting the gas mileage an RV gets is a little simpler, and RVshare notes that typically depends on which type of RV travelers are using. For example, class A RVs, which typically feature a flat vertical front and large windows, may only get about six to eight miles per gallon. Class C RVs are typically built on a truck chassis and get better gas mileage than Class A RVs, averaging somewhere between 10 and 13 miles per gallon.
It’s important to note that these figures are just estimates. Difficult terrain, such as steep mountains, can reduce gas mileage even further. Despite the sticker shock they may experience at the pump, travelers interested in RVs should not let that deter them from climbing into an RV and hitting the open road. The cost of fueling up may not exceed the cost of lodging, which RV travelers won’t need. And RV drivers can save even more money by cooking their own meals in the kitchens or kitchenettes that are standard in most RVs
-- Metro Creative Services
Chicago Auto Show returns in February to its traditional timing
Seven months after its pandemic-driven special summer edition, the Chicago Auto Show is returning to McCormick Place this winter, offering traditional indoor exhibits, test tracks and perhaps the best chance to see new cars in person during the chip shortage.
The 2022 auto show is scheduled to run Feb. 12-21 — its traditional timing — with what promoters expect to be a familiar if slightly scaled-down version of the annual car-gazing event.
“We’ll still be missing a couple of brands and it’ll be impacted by the inventory shortage, but we’re very hopeful to have another great Chicago Auto Show,” said David Sloan, the show’s general manager.
The Chicago Auto Show was the city’s last major event before the pandemic hit in March 2020, disrupting both the auto and tourism industries. This year, it shifted to July, with a smaller five-day summer edition that utilized both indoor and outdoor exhibits at McCormick Place, as a pandemic-weary city began the long road back to hosting major events.
The return to a full 10-day indoor auto show in February is nonetheless an ambitious undertaking, particularly as the omicron variant stokes new concerns about a potential resurgence of COVID-19 infections. But Sloan said consumer demand is there, with 5,000 advance tickets sold on Cyber Monday, the day the show was announced.
The February show will feature the usual indoor test tracks and interactive exhibits. But the biggest draw may be the new car displays themselves, as dealership inventory remains sparse during the ongoing semiconductor shortage that has hampered auto production throughout the year.
Launched in 1901, the Chicago Auto Show went on hiatus during World War II as auto production was curtailed but hasn’t missed a year since it resumed in 1950.
-- Chicago Tribune via AP