Safely Podcasting With Fewer Deaths and Recycled Parts

The holidays are upon us and that means people are hitting road. Please stay safe out there, and the IIHS just came out with the list of 66 cars that you will be the safest in. No big surprises except for the fact that only one minivan is on the list.

Driving deaths have decreased in recent years and while safer cars are part of the reason, WSJ's Joe White point out that many factors are behind increased safety numbers.

Fewer people on the road is one of the reasons for fewer deaths, and it is contributing to lower gasoline usage in the U.S. That trend is likely to continue and fossil fuel usage is expected to continue to decline.

GM will make Volt parts out of oil booms

Hybrids and electric cars are fostering that trend, and the Nissan Leaf, an all-electric vehicle, is just reaching the driveways and garages of the first buyers. Fox Business decided to use one of these initial buyers as a tee for a feisty discussion about unions and electric-vehicle incentives. You stay classy Fox.

Speaking of classy, Toyota got hit with yet another set of fines by the government, boosting its overall tab to about $49 million. A record fine for any car maker.

On the other end of the spectrum, Chevrolet is going to make some auto parts out of the oil-soaking booms used to clean up the BP oil spill in the gulf, proving that you can grind up just about anything and recycle it.

Ford is doing a little recycling with the Explorer name, introducing a new design that is more fuel efficient and more refined. But will it be enough to bring back buyers to big SUVs? Probably not.

Finally, Chrysler is refreshing its high-style 300 sedan for the Detroit auto show. Photos were released this week of the new design, which is evolutionary rather than revolutionary. What do you think?

GetThisShowOnTheRoad, December 22, 2010.mp3