Escaping Carmageddon in a Flying Car

Perhaps you bought a new car last month or over the July 4th weekend. What did you pay? Well, the average vehicle transaction topped $30,000 in June, or almost $850 more than the same month last year. We love to talk about gadgets in cars, and those gadgets and infotainment systems are what's pushing prices higher.

Even as prices rise, auto makers are always looking for new incentives. GM's latest is free car insurance, but only in Oregon and Washington and only for Cadillac buyers. That won't benefit Midwestern car buyers, who tend to be the most loyal to U.S. brands.

Are you a patriotic buyer?

Patriotism isn't in play for electric car buyers, with Nissan Leaf sales topping Chevrolet Volt sales. The local Independence Day parade illustrated that. There were about 10 Leafs, and no Volts.

Those Leafs glided past quietly, and that has regulators concerned. They are seriously considering adding "pedestrian warning sounds" to electric and hybrid vehicles.

Something else that worries regulators, cellphones and driving. But the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) urges states to hold off on banning the practice until more research is done to gauge the effectiveness of such laws.

Even though his fortune and his job depend on selling cars and trucks, Ford Motor Chairman Bill Ford wants more efforts into developing alternative modes of transportation.

Los Angeles area residents are probably going to be abandoning their cars next weekend when a much-hyped construction project closed the 405 for an entire weekend. The expected traffic jam is being called Carmageddon.

Perhaps the expected gridlock will make the roads safer for men and women. Well, maybe more for women. A new study of 6.5 million car crashes found that women crashed into other women more often than expected.

Finally, a flying car has received clearance to take to the roads. Good luck finding enough runway to go from highway to the sky.

Listen Now: (IF ERROR - HIT REFRESH)

Standard Podcasts [31:00m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download | Embeddable Player | Hits (0)