A recent report by the Insurance Research Council shows that the rate of unemployment in the nation is correlated with the number of uninsured drivers on the roads. By the year 2010, the research group expects more than 16 percent of the drivers to be on the roads without insurance. Those are scary numbers for those of us who are worried about getting into an accident.

One thing you can do to protect yourself, your family and your Chevrolet cars is to increase the amount of insurance you carry. Take a second look at your "uninsured/underinsured driver" coverage and consider increasing it to pay for any damages or medical bills that one of these drivers may cause. For only a few dollars extra a month, you may be able to increase your coverage to full coverage if you are a safe driver with a good record.

Don’t let an uninsured driver total your Chevrolet car without any financial protection. Consult your auto insurance agent today for more information!

• The new Chevrolet Cruze is designed to replace the Cobalt in the compact car segment.
• The new Cruze features a dramatic design that "proves exciting design and value are not mutually exclusive," according to a press release following its debut at the Paris Motor Show in August 2008.
• The Cruze goes on sale in Europe in March 2009.
• The Cruze is "wider and longer than most of its competitors" and it has a "purposeful stance."
• Chief designer of the Cruze, Taewan Kim, had this to say about the new Chevrolet model: "Our goal in designing Cruze was to be bold, not evolutionary." He also said, "We wanted to take a big step forward, making a strong design statement for Chevrolet products around the world."

Check out one of these new Chevrolet cars at your local dealer once they hit the North American market. You’ll appreciate the style, affordability and fuel efficiency all in one vehicle.

The Michigan International Speedway has become the new place to test some new vehicles with technology that can communicate with other vehicles and with the road as well. Some cars already have a precursor to this technology such as blind-spot detection and lane-departure warnings, but the new technology is going to go several steps further.

If automakers perfect this new technology, it’s going to greatly reduce (if not eliminate) vehicle collisions and, as a result, traffic congestion as well. In addition to that, the technology will make vehicles more efficient and make warranties more effective because cars will be able to transmit real-time data to manufacturers.

"I have never seen anything with quite the size of the carrot as exists when we’re talking about the connected vehicle and the highway and the different things that we can do," said Dave Cole, the chairman of Ann Arbor’s Center for Automotive Research. The new project will also create tens of thousands of jobs for Michigan if the state becomes the place where these cars will be manufactured.

Can you imagine going to your local Chevy dealer in the next few years and buying a new Chevrolet car that communicates with other cars and the road’s infrastructure? It might sound like Big Brother, but it also promises to reduce traffic-related deaths by thousands.

According to studies by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), August is the most dangerous month for driving. In January 2008, there were 2,818 traffic-related deaths. In August, however, there were 3,612. That’s a difference of 800 deaths! Another scary fact is that traffic accidents are the leading cause of death for people between one and 34. According to Russ Rader, a spokesperson for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, driving is the riskiest thing most people do each day.

Another popular belief is that most accidents occur during rush hour on Friday because everybody is in a rush to get home. However, Saturdays are actually the deadliest days to be on the roads and highways.

In terms of numbers, speeding is the main factor in 30 percent of all fatal traffic accidents. Alcohol contributes to 54 percent of nighttime traffic fatalities and 18 percent of daytime traffic deaths. More than 65 percent of the people killed on the roads at night were not wearing their seatbelts.

Your Chevrolet NJ dealer wants to bring these facts to your attention so you can adjust your driving behaviors accordingly when you’re behind the wheel of your Chevrolet cars. After all, we all just want to get home to our families safely every night, but it’s a group effort.

“We chose Chevy because we can’t be niche with the Volt. We have to make it a mass-production vehicle,” said Ed Peper, GM’s North American vice president of the Chevrolet brand.

The Volt has been designed to go about 40 miles on one charge. GM hopes the new Chevrolet Volt will be one of the products that will bring customers back to the automaker despite the tightening credit restrictions that has contributed to falling sales figures and other problems for domestic automakers. “We are starting to see credit loosen up slightly, not that much yet, but it is particularly important at the low end of the market,” Peper explained.

The new Chevrolet Volt isn’t available at your local dealers just yet, but there are many other Chevrolet cars you can purchase until the Volt is delivered. Check out the inventory at a Chevrolet dealer today and be impressed!

One Dallas area company has been working on the problem of teens talking on their “cellies” while driving. The company came up with a new device that monitors its traveling speed using GPS technology. If the device “thinks” it is in a car, it becomes disabled. The driver cannot make a call and callers simply receive an automated text message that says the driver cannot answer. For parents who let their teen drivers drive their Chevrolet car, this is good news!

Of course, there are probably ways around this new technology and teenagers are likely to find a way to defeat it. That’s why it is vital for parents to teach their kids about driving safety and the dangers of talking on a cell phone behind the wheel. If you let your teenager drive your Chevrolet cars, take the responsibility of teaching your young driver how to stay safe on the roads. You owe it to yourself, your family and your fellow drivers.

1. Check your state’s department of insurance website. Every state has a department of insurance that logs complaints for the various companies in the state. This will give you a good idea about each company’s reputation and what other consumers are saying about it.
2. Contact local body shops. Talk with body shops you would deal with to see which insurance companies they recommend. They regularly interact with several companies each day and they will usually have a good idea about the companies you should use.
3. Check with independent agents. Since they work with various companies, too, they can give you an idea about which one will serve your needs the best.

These are just a few things to keep in mind when choosing an insurance company for your Chevrolet cars. Of course, you also have to follow your instinct and do your homework to find the best one for you.

• According to the California DMV, 80 percent of accidents occur because one of the drivers involved was distracted three seconds before the collision.
• Holding a cell phone while you are driving has been shown to be as dangerous as driving while intoxicated.
• Your auto insurance rates could go up as much as 40 percent if you are involved in an accident.
• Eating and drinking while driving are distractions and spills often cause accidents. Pull over when you’re eating and be extra careful when drinking a beverage if you’re driving.
• Bring a small tape recorder to record any thoughts you may have while you’re driving instead of writing down notes.
• Use common sense. Don’t take your eyes off the road even for a second.

There is no legitimate excuse for distracted driving. You have a responsibility to others on the road when you sit behind the wheel of a car. Be safe and attentive when you’re driving…it’s just common courtesy.

One major victory for GM is the announcement that it’s going to assemble the battery packs for the upcoming Volt, one of the new Chevrolet cars on tap for the automaker. The Volt is an electric-drive vehicle and those battery packs are going to be built in Michigan, the home state of the auto industry. The announcement represents a “real opportunity” for the state and the region that has been hit hard in recent years by decreasing numbers of available manufacturing jobs.

The announcement combined with the recent money from the federal government seemed to give the automaker a renewed sense of encouragement and enthusiasm. Workers rallied around the stage at one time on Monday and chanted messages like, “Let’s go, GM” and “100 more years!”

Other new Chevrolet cars that engineers are working on include the Chevrolet Spark and the Chevrolet Orlando. Both vehicles are promising superior fuel efficiency and they are slated to hit the North American market in 2011.

The writer tells how she and her family were driving around early on New Year’s Eve. She noticed her car had 3,000 miles on it since she last had the oil changed. Heeding her father’s advice, she pulled into the nearest oil change station she saw. But this station was different than any others she had seen before. This station had four women and no men at the place to do the oil change and other minor repairs that customers may need.

“Oh, my gosh, you’re all women!” she exclaimed out her window in surprise.

“Yeah,” said manager Jen Good. “We hear that a lot. We already know it.”

When asked about the reason there is only one man working at the station, Good said that men usually do not work out there. “We try to hire men,” she explained, “but they usually don’t work out.” She went on to say that men are typically “too messy” and they leave “too many fingerprints on the hood” and “too much oil dripping on the bumpers.” Unfortunately, she also said that many men pull into the station and leave in a huff once they see the workers are all women.

So if you’re one of those “macho” men that generally wouldn’t let a woman work on your Chevrolet cars, change your attitude. It’s 2009 and time to use some common sense.