Study: Millennial Fastest-Growing Auto Lending Segment

Alleged to not be interested in cars or driving them, millennials are the fastest-growing segment of car buyers as far as lending goes, per a new study.

According to Automotive News , credit-reporting company TransUnion found the group represented 27 percent of overall auto loans and lease originations made in 2014, up from just 16 percent in 2009. Senior vice president and automotive business leader Jason Laky says this is due to both an improving economy and millennials’ entering into the next phase of their lives:

They’re maturing into their adulthood. They’re getting to the point where they’re employed, they’re having families, they’re moving to a place where they’re financing just like previous generations.

Meanwhile, Gen Xers were the largest segment in auto lending, accounting for 34 percent of loans and originations in 2014. Boomers followed close behind with 32 percent, down from 34 percent in 2013. Average balances per generation are $21,779 for Gen X, $21,055 for boomers, and $18,678 for millennials, the last group experiencing the largest jump in average outstanding balances at 4.1 percent.

The post Study: Millennial Fastest-Growing Auto Lending Segment appeared first on The Truth About Cars.

Best Deals today in www.freepromotoday.com

Kia Sportspace Concept Unveiled at Geneva

Kia Motors Europe unveiled the all-new Kia SPORTSPACE concept , a pair of upgraded production models and its latest powertrain technologies at the 85th Salon International de l’Automobile in Geneva .

Created for long distance driving, the new Kia SPORTSPACE concept has been designed for fast and efficient travel, with maximum comfort and minimal stress.

Designed at Kia’s European design center in Frankfurt, Germany, under the direction of Gregory Guillaume, Chief Designer Europe, the SPORTSPACE features a striking, sporty wagon silhouette.

The car is born out of a commitment to provide stylish and exciting transportation for four, without sacrificing the performance, sustainability and economy for which Kia is known.

The spacious and functional cabin is designed to be as light and airy as possible, with a full-length panoramic sunroof providing natural light throughout the interior. The cabin itself combines functionality with modern styling. Luxurious leather is with combined with contemporary technical materials – such as carbon fibre and milled, anodized aluminum – while the driver benefits from a configurable digital display.

Occupants sit on hand-woven single-piece gloss black leather seats, with generous space for all passengers, while the cargo area features steel rollers to more easily load the boot – these then retract into the boot floor when the engine starts, holding everything in place during the drive.

Recognisably a Kia due to its signature ‘tiger-nose’ grille, finely judged proportions and simple, clean surfaces, the Kia SPORTSPACE has a bold, dynamic shape with real road presence. At the same time, it offers a high level of interior comfort and substantial practical load space.

The post Kia Sportspace Concept Unveiled at Geneva appeared first on The Korean Car Blog.

Best Deals today in www.freepromotoday.com

Kia Sportspace Concept Unveiled at Geneva

Kia Motors Europe unveiled the all-new Kia SPORTSPACE concept , a pair of upgraded production models and its latest powertrain technologies at the 85th Salon International de l’Automobile in Geneva .

Created for long distance driving, the new Kia SPORTSPACE concept has been designed for fast and efficient travel, with maximum comfort and minimal stress.

Designed at Kia’s European design center in Frankfurt, Germany, under the direction of Gregory Guillaume, Chief Designer Europe, the SPORTSPACE features a striking, sporty wagon silhouette.

The car is born out of a commitment to provide stylish and exciting transportation for four, without sacrificing the performance, sustainability and economy for which Kia is known.

The spacious and functional cabin is designed to be as light and airy as possible, with a full-length panoramic sunroof providing natural light throughout the interior. The cabin itself combines functionality with modern styling. Luxurious leather is with combined with contemporary technical materials – such as carbon fibre and milled, anodized aluminum – while the driver benefits from a configurable digital display.

Occupants sit on hand-woven single-piece gloss black leather seats, with generous space for all passengers, while the cargo area features steel rollers to more easily load the boot – these then retract into the boot floor when the engine starts, holding everything in place during the drive.

Recognisably a Kia due to its signature ‘tiger-nose’ grille, finely judged proportions and simple, clean surfaces, the Kia SPORTSPACE has a bold, dynamic shape with real road presence. At the same time, it offers a high level of interior comfort and substantial practical load space.

The post Kia Sportspace Concept Unveiled at Geneva appeared first on The Korean Car Blog.

Freshly brewed entertainment news in www.38today.com

Rossi’s Moto3 Team Valentino Rossi launches the 2015 Sky Racing Team VR46 and talks about the upcoming MotoGP season.

Valentino Rossi is looking for his heir. That was apparent Wednesday when the nine-time world champion launched Sky Racing Team VR46, a Moto3 squad for 2015 that features young riders Romano Fenati and Andrea Migno. “These two young riders represent the future of the motorsport,” said Rossi. “One year ago, we started this new challenge in the Moto3 World Championship thanks to our partnership with Sky, the TV and media company that holds the MotoGP rights.” “The 2014 season was one of mixed feelings,” recalled Rossi. “Romano did very well in the first part of the season but he struggled in the second part. He claimed four victories and six podium finishes, and this year he can do well. We hope he can me more consistent.” Fenati will be joined by Andrea Migno, who will be taking part in his first full season of Moto3. Also joining the team is manager Pablo Nieto, who had previously spent three seasons in charge of the Laglisse team that won the 2013 Moto3 championship. Migno said he aims to finish in the top 10. To which Rossi chimed in: “I finished 9th in my 125cc debut season back in 1996, but I claimed one victory!” Rossi’s friend, Alessio “Uccio” Salucci, together with Nieto (son of 13-time world champion Angel Nieto), is responsible for the organization of the team. But the support of Rossi is vital. “During a race weekend I like to go on track to watch the guys in the practice sessions. I can help them technically, giving them some advice about lines and so on. Then, on Sunday, I watch the race from the signaling wall,” Vale continued. “It’s the perfect way to enter into the racing mood. It’s pure adrenaline even from the other side.” The 19-year-old Sky Racing Team riders have the privilege of learning directly from the master who has put at their disposal a professional structure that will once again be using the KTM RC250GP to mount a title challenge. While Rossi is nurturing future world champions with his Sky Racing Team VR46, he still keeps his focus on the competitive 2015 MotoGP season. “With Jorge [Lorenzo] and Dani [Pedrosa], we will have to do our best to put [Marc] Marquez under pressure,” said the Yamaha MotoGP rider about the coming season that starts March 29 in Qatar. “We have to avoid what happened last year, when he [Marquez] won the first 10 races.” “Jorge trained a lot this winter and he is ready to fight. Dani changed some members of his team and he is very motivated.” And what about Rossi? “I’m very excited and optimistic. In the last Sepang tests, the M1 has improved and also the new seamless gearbox worked well. Honda has also improved, and the situation is similar to the second part of the 2014 season, when Marc—who continues to be the favorite contender for the title—won the last two races but we fought hard until the checkered flag.” Added Rossi: “It will be an exciting season, and we will see more battles on track. Ducati has made an important step forward in the race pace, and they can count on the soft tire for a single lap.” At the press introduction, Rossi was on stage with his two riders and Italian singer Cesare Cremonini, who dedicated a song, “46”, to his friend Valentino. The song will become the hymn of the Sky Racing Team VR46. “I’m passionate about motorsports,” said Cremonini. “And thinking about how Valentino cheers up his guys before the race, that’s like Mick Jagger coming to support me before a concert.”



Gadget Reviews: mamaktalk.com

Car Reviews: automoview.com

Entertainment News: 38now.com

Today's Promotions: freepromotoday.com

Federal, state legislation aims to curb ethanol use in gasoline

Photo by BrotherMagneto.

Unable to get their anti-corn ethanol legislation included as a rider on an unrelated bill earlier this year, two U.S. senators have now re-introduced it as a standalone bill aimed at rolling back portions of the Renewable Fuel Standard, joining at least four other pieces of legislation on the federal and state levels aimed at reducing the amount of corn-based ethanol in modern fuel blends.

Retaining the same name and much of the same wording as the earlier piece of legislation – the Corn Ethanol Mandate Elimination Act of 2015, which failed to make its way into the Keystone XL Pipeline Act – senators Dianne Feinstein of California and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania introduced the bill (S.577) last week, calling for a modification of the Renewable Fuel Standard to promote other biofuels, including biodiesel and cellulosic ethanol, over corn-based ethanol.

“Our infrastructure has a ceiling for the amount of corn ethanol that can be used, and we’re rapidly approaching it,” Feinstein wrote in a press release announcing the legislation. “Companies are physically unable to blend more corn ethanol into gasoline without causing problems for many gas stations and older automobiles.”

Opponents of the legislation, including the Renewable Fuel Association, the National Corn Growers Association, and the Advanced Ethanol Council, have characterized it as “an attack on the Renewable Fuel Standard” and have called for the EPA to increase the amount of ethanol blended into gasoline despite the EPA’s acknowledgement of the ethanol blend wall.

Both Feinstein/Toomey and their opponents do seem to agree that it’s worth investing in other forms of cellulosic ethanol – that is, ethanol made from switchgrass and other non-food plant materials.

Meanwhile, Representative Bob Goodlatte of Virginia last month introduced the RFS Reform Act of 2015 (H.R.704), which proposes a number of changes to the Renewable Fuel Standard, among them a 10 percent cap on the amount of ethanol added to gasoline. Goodlatte had introduced similar legislation in 2013.

On the state level, legislators in Pennsylvania (H.B. 471), Oregon (H.B.2373), and Hawaii (S.B.717) have introduced bills aimed at eliminating altogether those states’ requirements that all gasoline sold there contain at least 10 percent ethanol. All three bills have since been referred to committees. The SEMA Action Network, which monitors legislative issues for the collector-car hobby, backs all three state-level bills.

More gadget review in www.mamaktalk.com

Junkyard Find: 1973 Volvo 145 Station Wagon

If you listen to those who claim to love the Volvo 140, every example of the breed is extremely valuable and must be saved… and yet there’s a greater disparity between the Talking The Talk Quotient (TTTQ) and the Walking The Walk Quotient (WTWQ) seen among self-proclaimed Volvo fanatics than found among aficionados of any other marque. Yes, the TTTQ:WTWQ value approaches something like 100:1 when it comes to the poor old Volvo 140, a car whose basic design lived on well into the 1990s (in the form of the 140-descendent 240), and so almost none of these cars get rescued when they get down-at-the-heels (and the same goes for 240s). Here’s a San Francisco Bay Area 145 that shows signs of being well-cared-for during its first 15 years and then forgotten in a side yard for the following quarter-century.

In this series so far, we’ve seen quite a few 140s, including this ’68 142, this ’69 145, this ’71 144, and this ’71 142. (plus there’s this bonus 164, which was based on the 140).

This car was full of registration receipts, smog-check certificates, and other stuff dating from the middle 1970s to the late 1980s. I didn’t find anything newer than that, so odds are that the car broke and then sat outdoors for decades.

It appears that the car’s owner did a lot of camping and outdoor-type activities. Most of the maps date from the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Now that’s what your organized Volvo owner does!

You need to know what the weather is like when you’re heading to Mt. Lassen, and so you need this Radio Shack weather-band radio that transmits through the car’s AM radio.

Four-wheel disc brakes were extremely rare on US-market vehicles when the first 140s appeared for the 1967 model year, and even front disc brakes weren’t universal as late as the early 1970s.

Planning makes your camping trip go better!

The post Junkyard Find: 1973 Volvo 145 Station Wagon appeared first on The Truth About Cars.

Best Deals today in www.freepromotoday.com