About Car Sharing

Car sharing is picking up pace and popularity.

Here’s how it works, the advantages and disadvantages, and where the auto sharing company makes money is – late fees.

Favourite line:

Even better, is that being a member can help to build and improve your insurance history. It’s the equivalent to having your own personal auto insurance.

Still not sure why my new headshot isn’t being printed, funny though eh, you can’t tell it’s me.

Was surprised by the lack of angry emails about the last line, especially because I used the word ‘need’.

***

Back to ‘Keri on Driving’ – Index

 

 

Meet an Autonet Teammate – Russ Bond

It’s Russ Bond, the team’s “prime consumer of fossil fuels” – his bio.

We can.

Russ owns a fleet of go karts, no like 40. He runs the Canadian Karting League, as well as the Toyota supported kartSTART for kids, up at Sunset Speedway.

He also makes videos!  Watch his 2 minute test drive of a Ford Mustang Boss 302, it has a ‘track key’.

An awesome ending starts at 1:45.

Find all Russ’s stuff on Autonet.

(Note – because the team is all freelancers, we don’t really hang out, so this is a rarity. I’ve now blogged 55% of the team, nice. Meet more of my team here)

 

 

Stick Families are a Terrible Idea

Can’t believe they’re still popular, like…. still?! 

Even their location is dumb – why put them directly in the rearview mirror’s view?

Favourite line:

Stick families broadcast personal information, and are an unnecessary breach of personal security.

I’ve been collecting photos for a year.

Bottom right is mildly amusing.

Surely you’ve seen the “Anti-Stick Family” stickers.

Maybe, but you still have a stick family on your car.

Worst sticker I’ve ever seen:

A good social engineer will use that information,
to get directly into the victim’s mind and heart.

Example: the attacker Googles the name of the deceased, finds the cause of death.

Then, they “run into” the car’s owner, “yup, I’m just passing through here, trying to reach my donation goal for my charity, it’s to benefit [cause of death].  Oh, that’s a cause close to your heart, and you’ll donate?  Thanks so much.”

Blog tag = Social Engineering

***

Back to ‘Keri on Driving’ – Index

 

 

My First Ever Car Review – 2013 Honda Civic

It was published last week.

How it looked in print, across Canada, in the big newspapers that you have to unfold to read, ha.

(Read it on Autonet.ca)

Favourite line:

… the 2013 is noticeably more upscale than previous Civics, bringing a subtle classiness to the car.

I gave them high report card marks.  Not because it’s my first one and I’m being a pleaser, but because I like it that much.

I would, and do, compare other cars to the Civic.

Non-car nerds: the industry turned its thumbs way down at 2012 Civic, so this 2013 was heavily anticipated.

I’ve been driving different press cars for 16 months now, but have never written about it so technically, so filled with specs and math.

Until this, I’d written news and opinion pieces only.

All my columns: Keri on Driving         All my news articles

I had to get 3 months under my belt at the paper, before I was allowed to do a review.

After this printed, now I feel like a real auto journalist.

Remember the embargo 3 weeks ago?  

It was for this.  I went to Honda Canada one morning, walked into a classroom-type setting, with some of Canada’s biggest auto journalist names. I was the only girl.

We were informed of the changes to the new model, then were each given 15 minutes to test drive AND photograph the car (this is normal in the industry).

I was like omg :O ermahgerd. So I went last, and kept the car for 45 minutes and 300 photos.

Despite all that, the paper still had to use some stock images (gallery here), because my photos were weak, and it never occured to me, to check for my relection in the paint.  Rookie move.

I’ll leave you with a video; click here to watch me drive the high-end version of the Civic (HFP), on a track, at an airport, with great enthusiasm.