As we head into the weekend you might be considering the purchase of a used previously loved vehicle, and lucky for you, we are here to help.

With thousands of detailed vehicle reviews, and over 3 million used-car listings, The Car Connection has your back when it comes to finding the perfect vehicle. You can sort vehicle listings by make, model, year, and oh so much more with our easy-to-use sliders.

This week we've shuffled through thousands of used-car listings to bring you these four winners. We know budgets can be tight sometimes, so we've tried to find some good deals just for you.

One last thing before we get into our picks for the week, we wanted to let you know that we would be happy to assist you in finding the perfect vehicle anytime. We'll even provide you with free advice. 

So, without further delay, here are this week's top used car finds:

2004 Toyota Tundra SR5

75,095 miles; $15,698

It's winter and that means you just might need four-wheel drive. Also, pickup trucks are quite popular in this region, and we were always big fans of the first generation Toyota Tundra. This fine example is located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It has higher than average mileage, but it's price is nearly half the average price of similar trucks. We feel the mileage is a fair trade off in price, especially because Tundra's are rather reliable. This truck did live it's life in a climate where they salt the roads, so be sure to have the undercarriage checked for rust. We also like that the dealership is throwing in a 3 month / 3,000 mile powertrain warranty. 

2005 Honda Odyssey EX-L

101,111 miles; $9,977

Need a family hauler on a budget? The Honda Odyssey is known to be reliable, and features better driving dynamics than most people would assume. This particular Odyssey is priced nearly $20,000 below average, but that's because it has nearly 60,000 more miles than average. The miles don't concern us too much since the Odyssey has a reputation for reliability. For those in cold climates, you'll appreciate the heated leather seats, and the sunroof will come in handy in the summer. It's been for sale for over 100 days, and the dealership's dropped the price a few times. You might have some wiggle room to negotiate.

2003 Nissan Murano

109,081 miles; $9,795

Looking for a great crossover to haul the family to the mountain to go skiing? This 2003 Nissan Murano would do the trick. Located in Portland, Oregon it features black leather seats and a Bose premium sound system. While the mileage is higher than average, the price is nearly $20,000 below other 2003 Muranos. Fuel economy ratings aren't terrible at 20 mpg in the city and 25 mpg on the highway. The dealership notes it has a clean Carfax which we like, as it means the dealership is open and upfront about the vehicles history. The dealership seems ready to make a sale, as it's only been listed for 10 days and the price has already dropped $1,200. Negotiations may be in your favor if you play your cards right. 

2003 Mazda MX-5 Miata

53,689 miles; $10,495

It may not be summer time yet, but we always love the idea of blasting down the highways of California in a convertible. This Miata's calling to us with a price that is attainable. While the mileage is about 16,000 miles more than the average 2003 MX-5, it's not a huge concern as these cars are both reliable, and usually feature low miles. The dealer provided no information about this particular car in the listing, so we suggest you ask some detailed question when you call. As always, ask them for the Carfax report.

As always, we highly recommend you have a trusted mechanic perform a pre-purchase inspection on any used vehicle before you write a check. It's also a good idea to ask the dealership for the Carfax report.

Have a question or need help finding a used vehicle? Just let us know! 704-500-2349

Special thanks to The Car Connection.

Nissan Resonance Concept At Detroit: Previewing The Next Murano?

At the Detroit Auto Show, Nissan has revealed a daring crossover design concept that previews a potential direction for the next-generation Muranocrossover.

Created at Nissan Design America, in San Diego, and penned by Nissan Motor Co. senior VP and chief creative officer Shiro Nakamura, the new concept was inspired by “the ‘innovation era,’ and optimism for a bright, energetic future.”

From the front there’s a V-shape, running from the grille all the way through the hood and back to boomerang-shaped headlights, while special attention has been paid to side surfacing, and the combination of steep A-pillars and a large, full-length glass panoramic roof with flowing rear pillar help altogether add to a feel of cabin spaciousness.

The exterior is done in a warm Flare Orange, with tinted acrylic grille, Satin Chrome accents, and 22-inch alloy wheels.

Holographic display

Inside, the Resonance Concept has its instrument panel ‘floating’ on the console, with infotainment and communication features all up front, with a holographic experience and visual depth helping to assign priorities and levels of importance to the driver. Cloud-based telematics complete the connectivity and information suite.

“The architecture of the cabin is open and structural,” said Bancon, in a release about the concept. “Like the exterior, it redefines and pushes the segment beyond convention.”

Overall, the length of the concept is 190.6 inches, while the wheelbase is 113.2 inches—just slightly longer than the current Murano. But at 78.7 inches, the concept is about four inches wider.

Hybrid powertrain

Under the hood, the new model features the hybrid system that Nissan has been developing for a wide range of vehicles, with a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine, plus one electric motor/generator and two clutches integrated into the case of Nissan’s next-generation Xtronic continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT). There’s also a compact laminated lithium-ion battery and intelligent battery charging control.

While Nissan now has the Pathfinder crossover to appeal to families, as well as the Rogue compact crossover just below, it seems that the automaker might take a more daring path with the Murano.

The automaker also hints in the release that it expects the Resonance Concept to be provocative—and even polarizing. With that in mind, what do you think of its design direction? Let us know in your comments below.

How Unleaded Gas Cut Crime And Made Us All Safer

If you keep up with the news, you know how often violent crime makes headlines. But despite some heart-wrenching stories that have played out on 24-hour news channels in recent months and years, violent crime is on the decline in the U.S. -- and according to some theoreticians, we may have unleaded gasoline to thank for that.

In the current issue of Mother Jones, Kevin Drum looks at an interesting series of facts. Among them:

• Rates of rape, assault, robbery, murder, and other violent crime peaked in many U.S. cities in the early 1990s, then went into decline.
• Those declines have largely continued despite (a) a growing population of young men and (b) economic troubles like the Great Recession, both of which should've theoretically caused a spike in violent crime rates.
• While some credit the declines to legislation like the Federal Assault Weapons Ban, violent crime has continued to abate, even though that particular ban expired in 2004.

How is this possible? Some point to increased incarceration rates, others to larger police forces, and still others to various forms of birth control, which helped couples manage the size of their families and all the attendant expenses.

But Drum suggests that the decline in violent crime may be due to a molecule -- namely, that of lead.

GETTING THE LEAD OUT
We've long known that lead can cause serious health problems in humans, especially children and pets. Even low levels of exposure have been shown to affect IQ and behavior.

Most of that research has come from studies of lead paint, which was banned in the U.S. in 1978. However violent crime in the U.S. took off in the 1960s and didn't really start declining until the early 1990s. In other words, there's no neat overlap between lead paint and violent crime.

However, economist Rick Nevin discovered that there is, in fact, a very close correlation between tailpipe emissions from leaded gasoline and violent crime. Those emissions began climbing during the 1940s, and in the 1960s, as the children of the 1940s reached adolescence and young adulthood, crime began to spike.

Soon afterward, the detrimental effects of leaded gas on the environment became clear, and its gradual phase-out began in 1973. Roughly two decades years later -- as children of the early 70s reached their late teens and early adulthood in the 1990s, crime began its steep decline.

As of January 1, 1996, the Clean Air Act outlawed the use of leaded gasoline in on-road vehicles, so you'd think that by about 2016, lead would be a non-contributing factor to crime rates in the U.S. But as Drum points out, lead doesn't disappear so easily. It hangs out in the atmosphere, and even more importantly, it penetrates the ground, where it remains hazardous. (To back that up, Drum posts data from a detailed study of lead levels in the soil of New Orleans and its correlation to crime rates.) A nationwide cleanup and prevention effort would cost around $20 billion today, but Drum claims that such an investment would generate $210 billion in returns via reduced crime and higher IQs.

What is your opinion? Let us know in the comments!

Decorate your Car for Christmas!

Well, the lights are twinkling, the Christmas tree is already decorated, carols are floating in the air and your car is not fully introduced to the Christmas spirit yet. Just imagine: everything around your sweet car is sparkling while it has to be satisfied only with its Xenon headlights, in case it has some. In fact the situation is pretty similar to seeing a trendy dress in the shop window but not having enough money to pay for it.

You wouldn't want to see the disappointment in your vehicle's headlights when seeing everything is dressed up for Christmas excepting it. After all, in the past months it has been your most truthful friend (leaving aside the moment when one of those damn tires went flat) and certainly deserve a generous reward. Come on, let's have some Christmas honesty here: what could you possibly want more than going in a family visit with Jingle Bells all around your car?

Seriously speaking, since shopping fever has taken full command of you these days, you might think to add some decorations for your car in the basket. It won't cost a fortune although you might need to give up that snake-leather bag you spotted last week. The picture of your car decorated for Christmas will be priceless...


 

Think about crazy lights
If wreaths are not enough decorations for your beloved car, you can always have a back-up solution: illuminate your vehicle with holiday lights. Nowadays, you can easily find lights which are powered by batteries. In case you search all the town and find no battery powered lights, you might just as well resort to an adapter and plug the lights into your vehicle's electrical outlets. You can personalize your car for Christmas by stringing these lights from the inside of your car. Be sure you will arouse envy from your friends if you were the first one to put the idea into practice.

To be honest, a Christmas wreath will never be old-fashioned or sign of owner's bad taste. The best part is that you shouldn't worry about matching the colors: a Christmas wreath will fit a red Toyota just as well as it goes with a silver Audi.

Garnish your car with a Christmas wreath or reindeer antlers

What's more, wreaths can come with bows or other decorations attached. Just pay attention to the size: make sure the wreath you choose is appropriate for the type of vehicle you drive.

In case you're way too busy to go to a craft store, you may find plenty of wreaths on the Internet. Once you get your beautiful nails on the wreath, you can easily hang it on the front bumper of your car, but be sure it's secure. Otherwise you might lose it on your way.

Exercise your artistic skills
There's no one on the world who hasn't an artistic side so all you have to do is let yourself driven by your infinite imagination and paint a holiday scene on your car windows. It's not that difficult after all and you don't need to be Picasso to create it. Some window paint can change your car into a winter wonderland. You can buy it from any craft store, supermarket or online shop in a variety of colors. Certainly you won't be given any awards for your masterpiece but there are good chances you'll gain the admiration of the passers-by. Yet, make sure you can still see out of your windows when driving. You wouldn't want your masterwork become an obstruction in observing the traffic rules.

Don't forget about the twinkling stars
Since we're still at your artistic face, you might just consider creating your own little stars. In fact, stars remind everyone about Christmas. You can use some craft paper to design them. Also try to put up some lighted bulbs. If you happen to have a small hanging bulb inside your car, you can tie the little stars with a string around the bulb.

Magnetic car decorating letters and magnetic bulbs

During the Christmas season, it won't be hard to find a magnetic letter kit to wish a “Merry Christmas” so you might just opt for such a decoration for your car. You can also choose bulb magnetic decorations to make your motor look more sparkling. The most popular colors for this season are green, yellow, white and blue, in case you want to be up-to-date to Christmas spirit.

Bumper stickers

Try to find flashing bumper stickers with a message related to the Christmas season or personalize it with your own words. In this way, you can spread the message of Christmas. Bumper stickers are nothing new but a Christmas-themed one will certainly make passers-by smile. And you as well since you made a good deed in the season of sharing and giving.

Bobble head Santa
Let's just not ignore the character who brings us gifts under the Christmas tree each and every year... if we behaved well. But since all of us have been such good girls, Santa Claus will surely be present in our homes this year. And since we're speaking about him, a Santa bobbling with the moving car can be a really funny decoration for your car. You can place it on the back deck of the vehicle but make sure you use appropriate adhesives so that you don't lose it until you reach your destination.

Ho, ho, ho! With Santa and Rudolph the red nose reindeer on the bonnet, your darling vehicle is now more than ready to welcome Christmas.

Quest Driving Safety covertly follows teens

Teaching your teen good driving habits can be an endless, nerve-wracking pain in the driver’s seat. Even with insurance or internet-supplied GPS units, you can’t tell if your child is doing 50 mph on the road or 50 mph in a parking lot. Quest Driving Safety says it has the solution: a tail.

For $99 you can hire a retired or off-duty police officer to covertly follow your teen, making note of bad driving habits.

First, customers fill out an online form telling Quest what kind of car their teen drives, where to find them and when. After that, they receive a Parent-Teen Driving Agreement in the mail. It’s suggested that you look over the form with your teen and tell them that an evaluation is coming up. However, we’d bet that many of the parents go completely Black Ops on their kid and don’t tell them at all.

Quest driving evaluators find the car and wait for the teen to start driving. Each evaluation takes about 15-20 minutes. The evaluator returns with notes for the parents, including how the driver acted when pedestrians were near, in construction zones and how closely they followed the car in front. Gary Lawrence, CEO of Quest Driving Safety, notes that these are things that insurance GPS units can’t record.

“We ask the officer, if you were on duty, would you write a ticket,” said Lawrence. “And they make note of that in the file.”

The service isn’t just for teens. Quest Driving Safety will follow senior citizen relatives and even business fleets, looking for proper driving etiquette. A big portion of the senior business comes from families who live far away from their grown-up parents, and can’t accurately gauge their driving ability. Currently that accounts for about 30 percent of the firm’s business, the rest is teens.

Quest covers the bigger metropolitan areas of all 50 states, and some smaller cities in more populous areas. Check out the website at www.questdrivingsafety.com or call 800-868-5254 for more information.


Special thanks to autoweek.com.

AAA Study Finds Young Drivers Nodding Off Behind The Wheel

Among the unsafe behaviors teen drivers display behind the wheel, nodding off while driving – which hasn’t received nearly enough attention – ranks right up there as potentially deadly.

Now, a new study from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety finds that one in seven licensed drivers ages 16 to 24 admitted to nodding off at least one time during the past year. Compared to one in 10 of all licensed drivers who said they’d fallen asleep at the wheel, the AAA data shows young drivers more likely to engage in this dangerous behavior.

In fact, the recent findings mirror what the AAA found in a 2010 study of National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) crash data that showed this age group 78 percent more likely to be drowsy when involved in a crash than 40- to 49-year-old drivers.
The NHTSA data revealed that one in six deadly crashes involved drivers who had fallen asleep at the wheel, making drowsy driving a leading crash contributor.

Effects of driving drowsy
While eight out of 10 people consider drowsy drivers to be a threat to their personal safety, many of them also confess to driving that way themselves. Some 30 percent admitted to driving during the past month while they were so sleepy that they could hardly keep their eyes open.

With Thanksgiving approaching and the Christmas season right behind, young drivers will be pushing their driving limits to get home for the holidays. “Unfortunately, most drivers underestimate the risks associated with drowsy driving and overestimate their ability to deal with it,” said Peter Kissinger, AAA Foundation President and CEO, in a release. “That’s a dangerous combination.”

Research shows that driving while drowsy or tired can significantly impact driving ability, causing slower reaction times, judgment lapses, and impaired vision.

Warning signs
How do you know when a person is literally too tired to drive and/or already driving while drowsy? The AAA Foundation encourages parents to discuss the following warning signs with their teenage drivers and for the teens to monitor themselves and take precautions when any are present:

• Difficulty keeping eyes open and focused
• Frequent yawning and eye-rubbing
• Trouble remembering the last few miles driven and missing exits and traffic signs
• Daydreaming and wandering or disconnected thoughts
• Drifting out of the lane or off the road

There are some steps a drowsy driver of any age can take to ensure that they don’t become a victim of a crash or injure or kill others by driving while too fatigued. While we’ve covered these tips before, they bear repeating.

• Get sufficient sleep. Any lengthy trip should be preceded by a good night’s sleep. Experts recommend at least seven hours.
• Don’t eat heavy meals. When your stomach is overloaded with too much food, your system wants to naturally shut down, causing you to want to go to sleep. Eat lightly to prevent this from occurring. Save the heavy meal for after you arrive at your destination.
• Be smart about when you drive. It only stands to reason that you’d be better off driving during the daylight hours when you’d normally be awake. For that reason, avoid driving at times when you’d usually be sleeping.
• Take time for a break. Mile after mile on the road, for a person already tired, only serves to exacerbate the problem. It’s too easy to just drift off for a few seconds, which can prove deadly. Instead of pushing through, trying to get to your destination faster, stop and take a break every two hours or around 100 miles. Get out of the car and take a short walk, get a hot coffee, or maybe a snack. This will help you recharge somewhat and be better able to remain alert and in control behind the wheel.
• Forego medications before driving. Unless it’s absolutely medically necessary, don’t take medications – especially those that cause drowsiness – before driving.
• Bring along another driver. If at all possible, travel with a companion who is also a licensed driver so that you can switch off when you become too tired to continue.

Want more tips on how to improve safety on the road and avoid drowsy driving. Visit the National Sleep Foundation website, DrowsyDriving.org.

10 Tips To Help Your Teen Stop Texting And Driving

10 Tips To Help Your Teen Stop Texting And Driving

Texting while driving is considered the most distracting driver behavior, increasing crash risk by 2,300 percent. Yet it is also one of the most difficult behaviors to curtail, especially among young, first-time drivers.




A recent article in Minnesota Public Radio News caught our attention, so we thought we’d pass along some of it here, along with two tips of our own.

As parents, there are some things that you can and should do to help your teen be a safer and more responsible driver. Take note of these ten tips to help your teen stop texting and driving.

• Be a good example. Whether you realize it or not, your young teen who’s of driving age is watching you like a hawk every time you’re behind the wheel. If you engage in distracted driving behavior such as texting or talking on your cell phone, don’t think your actions are going unnoticed. The best solution is to display the kind of behavior that you want your teen to model when driving. This may take some practice and discipline on your part, especially if you have been guilty of texting and driving or talking on the cell phone and driving in the past. Maybe you never gave it much thought until your child reached driving age. Now is a good time to start acting responsibly so your children pick up on it.

• You make the rules. You are the parents, after all, so what you set down as the family rules regarding acceptable driving behavior should have an impact. Your children should know that there are consequences for breaking the rules, especially the one about texting while driving. Think carefully what those consequences will be and be sure to discuss them with your children so there are no misunderstandings about what will be okay and what is absolutely unacceptable.

• Observe your teen driving (with you in the car). One of the best ways to know how your teen behaves behind the wheel is to be a passenger in the car and watch how he or she handles situations. Spend as much time as possible with your teen during the Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) phase and gently correct any bad habits.

• No reading or sending texts at stop lights. Your teenage driver may be under the mistaken impression that it’s okay to dash off a quick text or read an incoming text when stopped at a traffic signal. Make it very clear to them that this is against the law as well as being extremely unsafe behavior.

• Have your teen watch a video of the aftermath of teen texting and driving. Nothing says how dangerous texting while driving can be like a video that shows the tragic aftermath. While the human carnage, thankfully, isn’t visibly displayed, the wreckage and interviews with survivors and the injured should be enough to get the message across that this is extremely dangerous behavior.

• Check out apps to monitor your teen in the car. Sometimes this kind of “snooping” is reasonable and acceptable. Look into apps that allow you to lock out texting and cell phone use when driving as well as those that permit you to view your teen’s cell phone activity. Let your teen know that you will be monitoring their behavior. They’ll be more likely to abide by the rules.

• Insist they leave the phone in the trunk or back seat (unavailable). You can’t expect your teen to leave the house without their phone, but you can insist that while they are behind the wheel that the phone stays in the trunk or in the back seat. If it is unavailable to them, they’re less likely to use it. Of course, if the phone is in the car, it needs to be turned off or muted.  An app that plays an automatic message that says the person is driving and will get back to them later is an excellent solution.

• Talk about how you’d feel if they died. This suggestion may sound a bit extreme, but like watching the video of the aftermath of texting and driving, it gets the point across.

• Ask if that text is worth dying for. The tendency for teens to instantly respond to an incoming text is tough to overcome. But the truth is that it is only a message that can wait. Be direct and ask your teen if that text – any text – is worth dying for. This sobering thought should help them think better about texting behind the wheel.

• Take away driving privileges for breaking the rules. Remember those rules you laid down about driving behavior? They’re only as good as your willingness to back them up when your teen breaks them. The consequences for violating the rules have to be significant – and you have to enforce them. For example, teens cherish their mobility. If they text and drive, a logical penalty is to take away driving privileges for a certain period of time. That will get their attention, if nothing else will.