From Crash-Test Data to Blogs, Auto Sites Abound
Plenty of websites offer detailed info on car prices, features, and getting the best deal. But what about unexpected problems? Hard-to-find gadgets? Automaker gossip? Once you've narrowed down your search for a car, here are a few websites that offer unconventional intelligence--or at least a bit of automotive entertainment.
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Illustration by Ellwood Smith
Gas prices and fuel economy. Fixated on the cost of a fill-up? Gasbuddy.com offers regular updates on pump prices in dozens of cities. To get estimates of a car's actual gas mileage--usually lower than the Environmental Protection Agency's official numbers--go to www.fueleconomy.gov and select "MPG Estimates from Users." Sample sizes are small but still insightful. Hybrid owners are more diligent about tracking their cars' performance. An example: greenhybrid.com .
Defects. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (nhtsa.dot.gov) is the go-to site for crash-test data, but it also logs all of the service bulletins manufacturers send out to dealerships identifying flaws and defects ( www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/home.cfm ). The site can be clunky, but unless there's a recall, this may be the only way for consumers to know about certain problems. A variety of other sites exist for problems with specific makes and models, although many are fishing ponds for lawyers pursuing class action lawsuits. Edmunds.com runs forums relating to virtually every automaker--and dozens of other topics--that are usually a trustworthy source of info about problems.
Child safety. Car seats seem simple, but they're not. And many parents move their kids into booster seats--or out of car seats altogether--too early. A good guide: http://www.aap.org/family/carseatguide.htm.
Gizmos. The Specialty Equipment Market Association, sema.org, is the single best source of info for aftermarket manufacturers of everything from dipsticks to dune buggies. Click on "Companies/Products."
Opinion. Blueovalnews.com is the unauthorized Ford Motor Co. news site, run by company insiders. Sometimes it's critical of Detroit's No. 2 automaker, sometimes supportive--and there's lots of useful info on Ford products like the Mustang and the Fusion. Autoextremist.com offers an amalgam of auto-show news, biting criticism, and alternative views on alternative fuels. The rhetorical octane is even higher at thetruthaboutcars.com, which features pungent reviews and a sneering "GM Death Watch." Fun reading--for those not hitched to General Motors' wagon--but to be fair let GM have its say, too. The General's official blog, with postings from top executives, is at fastlane.gmblogs.com .
This story appears in the October 24, 2005 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.
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