With Two Billion Vehicles We Need More Automotive Podcasts Like This

The age of the U.S. auto fleet is at its highest level ever, and that makes Ford's marketing chief think that sales will continue to be strong, especially as shoppers see how much better and fuel-efficient new vehicles have become.

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If those sales do keep increasing, the world will end up with more than 2 billion vehicles in 2035, twice as many as today.

Los Angeles is perhaps the center of car culture in the U.S., so the L.A. Auto Show has become a place where car makers show off some very cool designs and significant new models. This year the Koreans and the Japanese dominated, with Mazda, Hyundai, Kia, Subaru and Toyota all revealing new models or cool concepts. We review the action, and recap my trip to the Seattle auto show.

A car full of the future.

One of the most significant vehicles in L.A. was the all-electric Chevrolet Spark, which also features integration with Apple's Siri. That makes Mathew wonder why Apple isn't making car infotainment systems yet.

Beyond entertainment, the next thing that auto electronics will do is tell you when you are tense and ask you to chill out. Toyota hopes some of its new technologies will prevent drivers from doing unintended things.

Finally, would you like a gas station at your house? If you have a natural-gas vehicle that may be possible and affordable.

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.

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Drinking and Driving Without a Helmet to Celebrate GM's IPO (and Mathew's Birthday)

GM is going big with its IPO, hoping to cash in on strong demand by raising the price and increasing the size.

The Chevrolet Volt is just about ready to hit the streets. The one thing missing: A fuel-economy sticker from the EPA.

Perhaps the Volt will help continue the trend of higher fuel economy across the industry, and lower emissions.

Watch out. Wear a helmet.

One company pushing efficiency is Hyundai and they are expecting gains the overall auto sales and their sales in 2011.

Tweeting to drive sales might help, as Toyota and some other car makers are experimenting with.

In Los Angeles, some new designs and cool concepts are on display at the auto show. Autoblog has some excellent coverage from LA.

Perhaps a new Meter Maid car is what you might want to drive. WSJ has a fun piece on a mini-trend of people buying retired parking patrol machines.

Those three-wheelers don't need a helmet, but the NTSB is saying there should be mandatory motorcycle helmet laws across the U.S.

MADD is looking to force drivers to prove to their cars they aren't drunk to get the engine to start. Really.

Finally, more old people are getting behind the wheel. Mainly because people are just getting older.

GetThisShowOnTheRoad, November 18, 2010.mp3