News: Tom Magliozzi, long-time host of NPR's CarTalk, passed away this week

Image courtesy of WBUR.

This week, the automotive and radio worlds lost a great voice. Tom Magliozzi, half of the pair that makes up the Tappet Brothers of NPR's CarTalk radio program, passed away from complications from Alzheimer's disease. As a long-time fan of the show, my weekend morning routine often consisted of making my breakfast while listening to Tom and his brother Ray cackle and tease each other through some hilarious calls, helping listeners along the way to solve many automotive conundrums, or at the very least, get a good laugh out of the crazy questions. Tom's passing is truly a loss to public radio listeners and the automotive world, but also the cycling world. In fact, Tom has always been a major supporter of cycling, stating in a 2002 interview that he does not even own a car and prefers his bicycle and public transportation to get around the Boston suburb that he calls home.

Our condolences go out to the Magliozzi family, in particular to Tom's brother, and co-host on CarTalk, Ray. Hopefully Tom's legacy can continue to live on in the form of the ongoing presence of re-edited versions of CarTalk on NPR's weekend radio line-up.

Tom Magliozzi, thank you for the many hours of laughter and education you brought to your listeners. You will be missed!

Editorial: Build more public transit and all road users will be happier

Image courtesy of Inhabitat.com

For most Americans, when we think of transportation, we start by thinking about cars first. That is how most of us have grown up and most Gen Y and Millennials have spent countless hours in their family's cars, traveling to and from school or extracurricular activities. Oftentimes what we grow up with has a major impact on how we perceive situations as adults. With transportation, it is no exception as most Americans still get up in the morning and drive to work every day. Yet, things are beginning to change.

In 2013, American public transit use reached its highest level in 57 years. The report, compiled by the America Public Transportation Association (APTA), noted that the 10.7 billion (yes, that's billion with a "B") trips are composed of largely mass transit options, such as buses and trains, which have made a comeback as uncertain economic times have discouraged many American's from spending the funds on a personal vehicle. Combine that with the increase in cycling in urban environs, and Americans seem to be making a conscious shift away from personal vehicles.

Editorial: What Does the Average Car Buyer Look For?

Image courtesy of Sunbrite Auto Works, Inc.

I am an auto enthusiast. Anyone who knows me knows that I am an auto enthusiast. When I search for a vehicle, I know exactly what I am looking for in terms of performance, safety, gadgets, etc. Being an auto enthusiast though, I find that when people come to me for advice on buying a car, I have a bad tendency to tell them about the things I would look for in a car, which in some cases is not very helpful. This got me thinking about what the average car buyer would look for when searching for a car. Afterall, buying a car can be a daunting task, especially today's newer cars with all sorts of electronic gadgets and safety measures.

In order to help me gather data, I devised a short survey to see what the average car buyer looks for when looking for a new car. After passing it around to friends and family, here are the results of the survey. Keep in mind that this is an informal survey and is in no way scientific, but does show how one broad group of people approach buying a new car.

Long Term Test: 2012 Hyundai Sonata 2.0T Limited post #1

When this latest generation of the Hyundai Sonata was first introduced, I was impressed by its fantastic design and the great specs on paper. Imagine my joy when my father-in-law returned from overseas and informed me that he was also very smitten with the mid-size Hyundai sedan and was interested in purchasing a top-spec Limited model with the powerful, yet frugal, 2.0-liter turbo-charged engine. In addition to the sweeping fluidic design, what caught his attention was the exceptional value for money, the high level of standard equipment, and the fuel economy numbers that would be a leaps and bounds improvement over the gas-guzzling SUV that serves as their other car.

After a brief test drive and a fair amount of research online about the price, we reached out to the local Hyundai dealer to start negotiations on an available car. The color scheme that had our attention was the rich navy blue with the gray interior and we absolutely had to have the fully loaded Limited package with the navigation system. The local dealer had one in stock, but was not willing to be agreeable on the price, so we put out feelers to all the dealers in the area to see who would be willing to go the extra mile since it was the end of the year. Finally a dealer a little ways away called while we were having lunch and said they were happy to not only meet, but even beat our asking price on exactly the car we were looking for. With a little back and forth drama, that at one point had us worried we were going to have to get a red car, the dealer ultimately delivered by doing a swap with a dealer over 100 miles away. They even went the extra mile to deliver the car to our door at almost nine o'clock in the evening. Props to the team at WIN Hyundai of El Monte for going the extra mile to deliver an exceptional customer experience.