As SafeAuto’s spokesman, comedian Norm MacDonald states in his latest installment of Street Smarts, the automatic transmission was patented in 1922. Now, over 80% of cars sold in the US have automatic transmissions and this is because of the countless benefits that they offer: They’re more convenient, more powerful, they can accelerate faster, and most importantly for us, they are safer. 

An automatic transmission that has the potential to impress is the 2015 Volkswagen GTI. Aaron Bragman of cars.com had some interesting information to share about this vehicle. “The top engine, available in the GTI hot hatch, is a new turbo 2.0-liter four-cylinder making 210 hp and 258 pounds-feet of torque; it also comes with six-speed manual or DSG automatic transmissions.”

Aaron’s article from the New York Auto Show, which included reviews as well as information on automatic transmissions, was certainly informative. Being the comedian that Norm Macdonald is, he thought of another inherent benefit of the automatic transmission. To find out what that is, watch this latest segment of Street Smarts!

If you love the feeling of driving fast on the open road, you’ve probably wondered (or maybe even dreamed about) where all of the places are with speed limits higher than the typical 65 MPH. Well, last year, a 40-mile stretch of toll road between Austin and San Antonio raised their speed limit to the highest in the country, at a whopping 85 MPH.

According to an article on CNBC, since 1995, 35 states have raised their speed limits to 70 MPH or higher on some portion of their highways. We generally associate faster speeds with more dangerous and deadly accidents, but the statistics show that traffic fatalities in the US have been decreasing in recent years.

At SafeAuto Insurance, we urge our customers to always drive safely and of course, to always drive with insurance. But we want to hear what you think. Is 80 MPH too fast? Not fast enough? Do you think we’ll see speed limits of 90 or 100 MPH? Fill us in on your thoughts on our Facebook page.

When thinking about buying a new car, we think we can agree that everyone is looking for an option that has some combination of amazing safety features, sleek design, and affordable price. To some, the safety features are most important, others care mostly about the look and feel of the car, but one factor that we’re sure is important to everyone is the price.

We don’t know about you, but we always are looking to get the most for our money, the biggest bang for our buck (I mean, that’s what we’re all about here at SafeAuto, are we not?). After scouring list after list after list, we realized that there are a lot of pretty great choices when it comes to the attributes we mentioned above. It was tough to select a winner, but when it came down to it, we had to agree with the number one car on Kelley Blue Book’s list of “Best Sedans Under $25,000.”

According to their website, the 2012 Volkswagen Passat is “finally roomy and affordable enough to compete side-by-side with midsize sedan stalwarts like Honda Accord and Toyota Camry. It’s our 2012 pick as the best sedan under $25,000 in large part because it still drives like a smaller, pricier car.”

Aaron Turpen from Torque News even said he would buy a Passat right now. In article he wrote, Aaron stated, “The 2012 Passat TDI was one of the most fun-to-drive, cost-efficient, and roomy midsized sedans I've driven. It has all of the Volkswagen "fun factor" in driving, is extremely responsive, sat all of us comfortably, has a roomy trunk, and gets 43 mpg or better on the highway.” 

It seems that many people agree on the 2012 VW Passat being one of the best, most affordable sedans on the market right now. The next step? Making sure the car is insured! (shameless self promotion).