Latest News From Bumper Radio

Finally, spring. Daffodils! Budding trees! Short sleeves! Rising gas prices!

Wait, what was that last one?

In case you hadn’t noticed, the average price of gas jumped from $3.49 to $3.62 in the last month, and prices are expected to hover around $3.57 a gallon throughout the summer, just one penny below last year’s average.

Luckily, there are many things you can do to use less gas and keep rising prices from eating away at your budget, starting with properly maintaining your car. And after the brutal winter we had, you car may need it more than ever.

Is the recent decline in China's car market a cause for concern? Automotive expert Lauren Fix, The Car Coach weighs in on the causes and possible impact for the automotive industry for CCTV.

When I worked for the City of New York, I often asked people what they felt was the worst environmental problem. Many said tailpipe pollution. Emissions from the tailpipes of cars and trucks seemed particularly insulting because—as we all walked our kids to school—the tailpipes seemed to be spewing black smoke just at the level of our kids’ heads.

Our cars and trucks have become a lot cleaner since then, but exhaust from vehicle tailpipes is still a major source of air pollution, responsible for up to 45 percent of soot and smog-forming pollution in many areas of the country. Air pollution still sends thousands of kids and adults to the emergency room every year with asthma attacks or breathing difficulty, and keeps hundreds of thousands more home from school or work; it can even shorten the lives of people with heart or lung trouble. The latest set of tailpipe and clean gasoline standards announced today by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will help reduce smog and soot and clear the air for millions of Americans, saving thousands of lives and up to $19 billion in health costs each year.

Back roads. Byways. Scenic highways. Arizona is chock full of them.

Here are five of our favorites.

Route 66: small-town America, with a side of kitsch

'Get your kitsch on Route 66' might be a better slogan for Arizona’s scrubby stretch of Mother Road. Lumbering dinosaurs. A wigwam motel. A prank-filled ice-cream shop. You’d think these people didn’t realize Interstate 40 passed them by a few decades ago.

Western Arizona is home to one of the longest stretches of pure, unadulterated Route 66 – 173 free-range miles that never join the interstate. From Topock, on Arizona’s western border, Route 66 rolls north to Oatman, passing through the town’s craggy hills, begging burros and hokey Old West charms. Then it’s a twisting drive past tumbleweeds and saguaros on the way to the Black Mountains and a final push to Kingman.

Thank You Bumper to Bumper Radio Auto Care Network Members!

The Bumper to Bumper Radio preferred Shop members teamed up again for a record breaking effort by raising over $9,400 for Phoenix Children’s Hospital this year in conjunction with KTAR’s record breaking drive of over 1.1 million for the 2013 KTAR Give-A-Thon!

The Goodguys 5th Spring Nationals is a colorful hot rod & custom car festival featuring over 2,500 hot rods, customs, classics, street rods, muscle cars & trick trucks through 1972 vintage.  In addition to the car show, the festival will include vendor exhibits, a swap meet and cars-for-sale area, special “themed” parking areas, Goodguys Autocross (to test vehicle agility and performance), model car show, kids fun—PPG Coloring contest, Revell model car kit make ‘ take sessions,  and lots of fun for the entire family!

Sunday, March 9, will feature All American Sunday open to all years American made and powered vehicles.  Participants who enter on Sunday will able to run the Goodguys AutoCross, be a part of the show n’ shine and be eligible for the awards on Sunday.

This event officially kicks off the Rod & Custom Association’s 19-event national tour for 2014.

TORRANCE, Calif., Feb. 12, 2014 -- The 2014 Honda CR-V, the best-selling SUV in America for the past two years, has won a U.S. News & World Report "Best Cars for the Money" award. The highly-versatile and feature-packed CR-V was named "Best Compact SUV for the Money" among 2014 vehicles sold in the United States. 

"The CR-V offers more quality, utility, comfort, fuel-efficiency, and fun-to-drive character than many more-expensive competitors," said Mike Accavitti, senior vice president of Automobile Operations at American Honda. "Value for the money is one of the key things that customers expect when buying a Honda, and this award recognizes the CR-V's fulfillment of that promise."

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., Jan. 13, 2014  -- Women and younger car owners are the most likely to give a nickname and associate a gender to their vehicles, according to a new report from DMEautomotive. The survey on car-naming behavior investigates the depth of the emotional connection between consumers and their cars as represented by the degree to which they personify and ascribe a gender to their vehicles. The survey was fielded among approximately 2,000 consumers in 2013, and also revealed that one in five car owners nickname their vehicles.

Bloomington, Ill., January 13, 2014 — Nearly all drivers could improve what is in their trunk to be better prepared for roadside emergencies. A new survey by State Farm and KRC Research shows two-thirds of drivers (67 percent) had some sort of “junk” in their trunk ranging from car detailing equipment to toys and used food or drink containers. Additionally, drivers shared a variety of strange “junk” items in their trunk including an old gorilla costume to an inflatable sheep to a wedding dress. Getting rid of the “junk” (non-emergency supplies) and adding the right supplies will help people deal with the unexpected and get back on the road.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., March 18, 2014 -- Singing out loud is the number one activity while driving, according to a consumer survey from DMEautomotive released in conjunction with National Collision Awareness month. And more dangerous distracted driving activities such as sending/receiving a text, talking on the phone, and eating, rank in the top five activities performed while driving. 

While singing out loud doesn't make distraction.gov's list of distracted driving activities, the rest in the top five do. This is sobering given that in 2012 alone, 3,328 people were killed in distracted-driving crashes.[1] And, according to the DMEa survey, younger drivers are much more likely to be multi-tasking while driving: roughly 9 in 10 admit to engaging in other activities while driving – and they are significantly more likely to be doing every single distracted driving behavior measured in the survey from texting, eating, talking on phone, using email, watching TV, working on laptop, changing clothes and putting on makeup.