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Best places to get your car maintained and repaired

In this era of rampant inflation and high interest rates, the challenges of acquiring a car or SUV have been well documented. And so it has never been more important to protect that expensive investment by maintaining it. In recent months, Autoblog has shared Consumer Reports' evaluation of the least and most expensive car brands to keep running, as well as tips to prolong a car’s useful life. Especially since the pandemic, a number of factors have impacted these costs: more complex vehicles, new materials and manufacturing methods, a shortage of qualified technicians and replacement parts. Since 2022, repairs costs have jumped each year by about 10 percent. This month, Consumer Reports is offering a useful primer on keeping your ride in great shape, suggesting what might be the best options for searching out a repair shop, depending, as CR says, “on your car and your situation.” Author Ben Preston identifies three basic types of repair facilities: dealership service departments, independently owned repair shops, and chain repair shops. Building up trust with a specific shop and feeling comfortable going there is important. Preston quotes John Ibbotson, chief mechanic at Consumer ReportsÂ’ Auto Test Center: "You might be able to save a few bucks by going to whichever shop offers the cheapest prices, but if you want consistent, reliable service, itÂ’s best to find a repair shop you trust and stick with it,” Ibbotson says. The story goes on to evaluate each type of service facility. HereÂ’s a breakdown of CRÂ’s findings: Dealerships These work well for owners of newer cars, especially for covered warranty work. But the disadvantage is the high labor rates common to dealer service. Satisfaction ratings for dealer service departments range from very good (Acura, Lexus, Mazda, and Volvo) to not-so-good (Jeep and Kia). Dealers are best for: Fixing infotainment system glitches: "If the screen in the center of your dash has a habit of freezing up, or the touchscreen-activated climate controls arenÂ’t working, the dealership is the most likely place to find someone with the know-how to fix problems that maybe only a factory-authorized technician can access," Ibbotson says. Safety system recalibration: "Anything from a crack in your windshield to a minor fender dent can upset the calibration of the sensors that make features like automatic emergency braking and adaptive cruise control work," says Ibbotson.

Volvo EX90 SUV will have interior radar system to detect kids, pets

Volvo has introduced a number of important safety features in its vehicles throughout the years including the first three-point seatbelt back in 1959. But now the company has developed something a bit more techy with what it's calling the world's first interior radar system for cars.  Set to debut on its upcoming flagship EX90 electric SUV, Volvo's new radar system is designed to monitor both the cabin and trunk of a vehicle in order to prevent the car from being locked while anyone is still inside. The idea is to guard against situations where pets or children may be inadvertently trapped inside a car on a hot day, with the car surfacing reminders if it recognizes that there are still occupants inside when being locked. Additionally, the car's climate control can also be set to stay on if a passenger is detected, further lowering the risk of heatstroke.  While the thought of leaving a pet or child inside a car on a hot day is unimaginable to most people, it can happen to anyone. In its press release, Volvo cited statistics from the U.S. where more than 900 children have tragically died due to hyperthermia since 1998.  Volvo's senior technical specialist for injury prevention Lotta Jakobsson says, “No one chooses to be distracted or tired, but we know it can happen. WeÂ’re all human and distraction is a fact of life. With the help of cutting edge technology, weÂ’ll support you when youÂ’re not at your best and help you avoid leaving family members or pets behind by accident.” In order to cover as much of the inside of the EX90 as possible, Volvo says it will use multiple radars positioned in the car's overhead console, roof-mounted reading lamps and in the trunk that can detect "sub-millimeter" movements. Unfortunately, we won't get a more detailed idea of how Volvo's new interior radar system really works until the EX90 is officially revealed on November 9th. But given that the new feature will come standard on the company's forthcoming EV (where allowed by regulation), we're hoping to see similar systems become basic equipment on more cars and makes in the future. 

How Norway became a world leader in EV sales, and where it goes from here

OSLO, Norway — A silent revolution has transformed driving in Norway. Eerily quiet vehicles are ubiquitous on the fjord-side roads and mountain passes of this wealthy European nation of 5.3 million. Some 30 percent of all new cars sport plug-in cables rather than gasoline tanks, compared with 2 percent across Europe overall and 1-2 percent in the U.S. As countries around the world — including China, the world's biggest auto market — try to encourage more people to buy electric cars to fight climate change, Norway's success has one key driver: the government. It offered big subsidies and perks that it is now due to phase out, but only so long as electric cars remain attractive to buy compared with traditional ones. "It should always be cheaper to have a zero emissions car than a regular car," says Climate and Environment Minister Ola Elvestuen, who helped push through a commitment to have only zero-emissions cars sold in Norway by 2025. The plan supports Norway's CO2 reduction targets under the 2015 Paris climate accord. To help sales, the Norwegian government waived hefty vehicle import duties and registration and sales taxes for buyers of electric cars. Owners don't have to pay road tolls, and get free use of ferries and bus lanes in congested city centers. These perks are being phased out in 2021, though any road tolls and fees would be limited to half of what gasoline car owners must pay. Gradually, subsidies for electric cars will be replaced by higher taxes on traditional cars. Registration tax on new cars is paid on a sliding scale with a premium for the amount of emissions produced. Elvestuen pledges that the incentives for electric vehicles will be adjusted in such a way that it does not scupper the 2025 target. "What is important is that our aim is not just to give incentives," he says. "It is that we are taxing emissions from regular cars." Using taxes to encourage consumers to shift to cleaner energy can be tricky for a government — protests have erupted in France over a fuel tax that hurt the livelihood of poorer families, especially in rural areas where driving is often the only means of transportation. In the U.S, some would like to see the tax credit on EVs and hybrids eliminated while others would extend it. In this sense, Norway is an outlier. The country is very wealthy after exporting for decades the kind of fossil fuels the world is trying to wean itself off of. Incomes are higher than the rest of Europe, as are prices.