The one and only.

Becoming the winning contestant of our “Do the Jingle” contest takes time, perseverance and creativity. But the rewards are great: $5000.00, and your own SafeAuto television ad! We’re running our contest again for 2011, allowing you to vote on who should get famous in this year’s prize for the best rendition of the SafeAuto jingle [click here to vote].

Recently we checked in with some of our winners from past years, to see how they are doing since winning our contest.

Lady Rerun

Rerun: still going strong.

In 2010, Lady Rerun won our contest with a spirited rendition of the SafeAuto jingle that took place in a call center. Rerun is the daughter of Fred “Rerun” Berry, who starred in such television sitcoms as “What’s Happening!!” and “What’s Happening Now!!”.

So what’s happening now? After her SafeAuto commercial hit television, Lady Rerun decided to take on bigger television projects. She is now working hard as a TV and radio personality. She even hosts her own online radio show at her website. You can check out the Lady Rerun Show every Monday and Tuesday nights from 11:30 PM to 1:30 AM EST.

The Potter’s House Choir

Potter’s House: keeping it musical after their spot on television.

The Potter’s House, a church located in Columbus, OH, had a choir that pulled off a big “Do the Jingle” win in 2009. Their version, a holiday-themed rendition of our famous song, struck a chord with voters. We were so impressed with their “Jingle Bells” inspired version that we just had to make a SafeAuto spot with them in it!

Today, the Potter’s House Choir is still going strong. They have their own page on MySpace and continue to minister to hundreds of churchgoers every Sunday. Led by their music minister Daryl Wicker, they continue to sing out their message to anyone who wants to listen!

Are You Ready?

So far we have had two talented winners for our contest. This begs the question: who’s got what it takes to “Do the Jingle” this year? Every vote counts, so please check out the finalists of our third annual contest! Hurry… time is running out!

Pictures (Chronological)

http://killdares.com/logo_03.jpg

http://richandrich.ning.com/profiles/blogs/lady-rerun-is-now-available

http://pottershouse.org/music/

Some days, you may want to consider fitting your car with a pair of these.

Any sort of pileup is bad news for someone’s day. But a pileup on ice can get pretty hectic in a hurry. This video, shot by innocent bystander (and hilarious commentator) Ian Smith, then broadcast on CNN, shows an icy hill in Colorado Springs which claimed an incredible 20 cars in December. Watch the carnage, as it happens in slow motion:

Smith’s crash-by-crash commentary (“Not a good idea! Not a good idea at all!”) is the most entertaining thing we’ve seen on CNN in a long time – maybe he’s got a future as a weather correspondent?

There’s not much you can do when you find yourself sliding on ice, but here are some tips to keep in mind:

Don’t Slam On The Brakes

Use sparingly.

Pressing down firmly on your brakes in order to stop a skid on ice is not going to work. In the age of anti-lock brakes, you still might be better off trying to pump sporadically in order to gain traction.

Use Your Accelerator, Slightly

Be light on the foot!

Trying to control your vehicle in slick conditions sometimes requires you to accelerate in order to gain control. Your wheels will not go anywhere when confronted by a situation that has no grip. Slightly using some gas is what may work.

Get Some Practice

Get yourself comfortable.

Go out to a snowy parking lot and learn how to drive in slick conditions. This will teach you what to do in an untimely event. The more you know, the better off you will be should you be confronted with some really crappy conditions.

Don’t Panic!

You shouldn’t do this since it takes your hands off the wheel.

Panicking only makes the situation worse. Try to remain calm when you start to lose control. Use the steps above to try and regain control. Tensing up always makes a situation worse than it really is.

Pictures (Chronological)

http://community.livejournal.com/egl/14695507.html

http://users.cecs.anu.edu.au/~rsl/car/images/car_brake_pedal.jpg

http://www.driversedguru.com/drivers-ed-training-exercises/stage-1/stage-1-the-pivot-method/

http://www.sodahead.com/living/on-snowy-days-have-you-ever-drove-into-empty-parking-lots-to-intentionally-spin-out-of-control-and/question-790329/?link=ibaf&imgurl=http://www.pulledover.com/National-DWI-News-Links/uploaded_images/dwi-doughnuts-779150.jpg&q=snowy%2Bdoughnuts%2Bcar

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_f6vPFbisEsA/S-NabctHeRI/AAAAAAAACfY/BInLCBrkLWs/s1600/panic.jpg

They say you can’t fix stupid, and when it comes to cars you can’t fix totaled. Sometimes people get into car accidents, or fender benders if you will. But then again, sometimes people TOTAL their vehicle, which means total destruction. Beyond repair. No one ever wants their own car to get totaled, and here’s the proof. Drive safely!

This looks like a major t-bone accident. You know, the kind that comes at you directly from the side, often before you know it is happening? Not nearly as fun as a T-bone steak, and way less fun than T-Bone the rapper.

This was once a Mustang Shelby GT 500. A mighty beast. The problem with mighty beasts, however, is the fact that some people don’t know how to drive them. And that’s what we’ve got here: all muscle and no mind.

We think this used to be a Porsche. The back end looks like one. Regardless, this expensive piece of machinery is headed for the scrap pile. Some people enjoy the quality engineering of a Porsche; some just enjoy the quality engineering of the Porsche airbags.

This is a Lamborghini. Or at least it used to be. You may not have realized these supercars have the engine in the back, and the trunk in the front -- so on the bright side, at least this one could still be driven. It takes away a bit from the Lamborghini mystique, though.

Look, we don’t want to know what caused this total. Actually, we’re lying. We do. Because this looks like a workplace accident, the type that happens when someone is not paying attention at the wheel because they’re eating a Krispy Kreme. Sure, it’s delicious, but next time somebody’s gonna think twice!

Was this a car? We suspect it was once a nice Jaguar coupe. Now it’s a barely recognizable piece of metal. Accidents do happen, don’t they? But usually they don’t result in looking like someone detonated explosives in the passenger seat.

Uh Oh! Looks like someone drove into something and didn’t have enough clearance! Come one, what could crush a vehicle so uniformly like that? We can almost see something flat coming this vehicle’s way. At least they got the photo behind a really scenic background. This would make a nice holiday card.

It looks a little icy in this picture. We’re betting that someone was either driving too fast, or is from Florida. Because in some places it’s difficult for people to drive when it rains, so can you imagine what might happen if they had to drive through snow?

Let’s hope that the wheels came off after this convertible was totaled. Regardless, someone’s auto insurance premiums are going up after this accident.

You know your car is totaled when another vehicle drives on top of it. By the way, that car on the bottom is a Tesla Roadster, one of those super quiet electric sports cars ($109,000 retail price). We’re betting that SUV never heard it coming.

Pictures (Chronological)

http://www.carinsuranceblog.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/totalled_car.jpg

http://www.allfordmustangs.com/forums/attachments/mustang-gt500/22241d1167321321-totalled-mustang-shelby-gt-500-shelby1.jpg

http://izismile.com/2009/01/09/completely_totalled_cars_50_pics-6.html

http://izismile.com/2009/01/09/completely_totalled_cars_50_pics-8.html

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_8M4A38LyBBs/SOfBKce39VI/AAAAAAAAC04/1KRJHjPEvtk/s400/totaled_truck.jpg

http://izismile.com/2009/01/09/completely_totalled_cars_50_pics-21.htmlNow

http://www.autototaled.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/as-dbs-01A1.jpg

http://blog.mlive.com/citpat/news_impact/2009/01/large_WEB-EH_CRASH2.jpg

http://izismile.com/2009/01/09/completely_totalled_cars_50_pics-41.html

http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/autopia/2009/10/tesla_crash1.jpg