Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day!

 

Today we celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and for the 18th year a "National Day of Service."

The Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday honors Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his life's work to make the country a better place for all.  In 1994, Congress designated the MLK Jr. holiday as a national day of service, and it is the only federal holiday observed as a national day of service - a "day on, not a day off."  The MLK Day of Service is part of United We Serve, the President's national call to service initiative, which asks all Americans from all walks of life to come together to solve the nation's most pressing problems.

Lead by the efforts of the Corporation for National and Community Service, service on MLK Jr. Day is meant to meet a tangible need in the community, or a need of the spirit.  It is a way for Americans to "celebrate Dr. King through service projects that strengthen communities, empower individuals, bridge barriers, and create solutions. How will you serve today?

Read more about Dr. King http://www.thekingcenter.org/

21st Annual Ice Fest in Downtown Ligonier January 21st

Visit the 21st Annual Ice Fest in downtown Ligonier, then stop by the Ligonier Theater to chase the chills away! Enjoy a delicious Wine-Tasting compliments of Christian W. Klay Winery, homemade soups, hearty breads and enjoy classic rock and the hot blues music of The Gil Snyder Combo. The musicians are also artists who will display graphic artwork and photography. Must be 21 years of age or older. Reservations are suggested since food preparation is involved, but walk-ins are welcome as long as supplies last. Admission is $20 per person. For reservations call 724-238-6514

Chrysler 300 Still Turns Heads

The Chrysler 300 flagship sedan offers style on a grand scale and a roomy interior reminiscent of the big American sedans of yesteryear. But the V-8-powered SRT8 version of the 300 provides another, less nostalgic blast from the past: It guzzles gas.

The 470-horsepower, 2012 Chrysler 300 SRT8, with the performance to rival pricier Mercedes-Benz and Lexus sedans, has a government fuel economy rating of only 14 miles a gallon in city driving and 23 mpg on the highway. That's worse than the V-8-powered 2012 Jaguar XJ and Lexus LS 460 and even the 2012 Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck with V-8.

But no one would confuse the expressive Chrysler 300 with a truck, a Jaguar or a Lexus.

Revamped over the past two years but still using the same rear-wheel-drive platform, the Chrysler 300 seems like a new, full-size sedan.

What once looked like a Bentley now has a more modern headlight shape, light-emitting diode daytime running lamps and a black-colored grille that adds a sinister, yet attractive flair to the 300 SRT8.

Click Here to read more about the 300 SRT8!

The 'Electric' Engine Market May Be Reaching to Jeep!

The electric engine market may be reaching to Jeep!

Amp Electric Vehicles, the Ohio-based company that made an initial splash with a plug-in conversion of the Chevrolet Equinox crossover in 2010, is branching out with an electric version of an upscale American S.U.V., the Jeep Grand Cherokee.

The Grand Cherokee-based E.V. will have its debut at the Detroit auto show.

The company announced on Wednesday that it would bring a converted Grand Cherokee to the Detroit auto show in January, where it expected to release final pricing and introduce its first dealer. Steve Burns, president of Amp, said in a telephone interview that the converted Jeep would be price-competitive with the Tesla Model S, an electric sedan that in base form is priced from $57,400 before a $7,500 federal tax credit. The Amp Jeep, with a 37-kilowatt-hour battery pack, will have range of approximately 100 miles, Mr. Burns said.

The Model S would seem to have little in common with an electric S.U.V., but Mr. Burns said that Amp would position its vehicle as a similarly priced alternative, with optional four-wheel drive and a high ride height that would attract fleet buyers.

Jim Taylor, chief executive of Amp, said that the Grand Cherokee would appeal to the conservative nature of those customers. “By definition, fleet buyers aren’t risk-takers, and they can have a high comfort level dealing with a known brand like Jeep,” he said in a telephone interview.

Amp stopped converting the Equinox because, according to Mr. Burns, the company failed to win the manufacturer’s support. “We got no love out of G.M.,” he said. “Chrysler answered the phone when we called for the first date.”

Read more: http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/21/amp-to-unveil-electrified-jeep-grand-cherokee-at-detroit-auto-show/

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from the Laurel Valley Motors!

Enter to win tickets to the North American International Auto Show in January to see the reveal of the 2013 Dodge Dart!

Go here  to enter to win a trip to the North American International Auto Show to see the reveal of the Dodge Dart!

Dodge.com describes the new model as:

Dodge Dart Blends Alfa Romeo DNA and Dodge's Passion for Performance Resulting in a Groundbreaking Car with the Ultimate Blend of Power, Fuel Economy, Handling and Style

• The Dodge brand is back in the U.S. compact sedan segment – in a big way – as the all-new 2013 Dodge Dart will make its world debut at the 2012 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan on Jan. 9, 2012
• Built on a world-class architecture, Dodge Dart offers three technologically advanced, fuel-efficient and powerful engines including the 1.4L MultiAir® Turbo
• The Dart will come with three engine choices: 2.0-liter and 2.4-liter four-cylinder options and a 1.4-liter turbocharged four.
• The Dart will be built in a Belvidere, Ill., plant

Why the safest car for a teen driver may be a big SUV

Interesting study on what cars are the safest for teens.

Giving a set of keys to a teen-ager can flood the parent of even the most cautious new driver with fear. Now a new study shows that the safest kind of vehicle for teen drivers might be a big sport utility vehicle.
The research comes from the Highway Loss Data Institute, a firm run by insurance companies to find ways of reducing crashes and deaths. Using five years’ worth of insurance claims from 2005 to 2010, the HLDI compared the collision rates between adults drivers between 35 and 60 years old and teen drivers between the ages of 16 and 19.
Regardless of the kind of vehicle involved, the HLDI logically found that teens had accidents at a higher rate than adults. For the sliver of teen-agers who somehow find their way to the seat of a supersport motorcycle, the institute found they were more than four times as likely to get into a crash than an older driver. In vehicles with four wheels, teen drivers were up to 2.5 times more likely to have an accident in sports cars.
What surprised researchers was that the crash rate for teens in small cars of all types was still much higher than average — roughly twice as high as adults in the same vehicles, and only slightly lower than the rise of driving a regular motorcycle.  Kim Hazelbaker, senior vice president of HLDI, said in an institute report that small cars may be less forgiving in sudden maneuvers, or that teens may be encouraged to take more risks due to the car’s size.
The lowest risk vehicle for a teen driver? Large and luxury SUVs, where the crash rates for youths were as little as 10% greater than for adults, and posed a lower crash risk than all but the largest cars.
The reason for the gap? Technology. The HLDI study analyzed claims from vehicles newer than the 2006 model year. By that time, large SUVs came standard with electronic stability control — systems that keep vehicles from skidding in emergency maneuvers which has been shown to drastically reduce crashes — while in many cars the tech was still an option, especially smaller, cheaper models that teens often drive. As of the 2012 model year, all vehicles sold in the United States are required by law to offer ESC standard.
Other HLDI studies have shown newer SUVs also do a better job of protecting passengers from injuries and death in crashes than smaller cars and pickups. It defies parental logic to think the safest ride for a 16-year-old might be a two-ton truck, and no vehicle can keep all reckless drivers from harming themselves or others, but for some teens the best answer to driving safely may be to go big.

Read more: http://autos.yahoo.com/news/why-the-safest-car-for-a-teen-driver-may-be-a-big-suv.html