Listen to This: The Best Podcasts to Perk Up Your Commute

Your daily commute is about 30 minutes (longer if you live in LA). Two times a day, that’s one hour. Five days a week; five hours. Twenty hours a month for 12 months. So maybe you spend about 240 hours in your car per year (a low-ball estimate). Music can get boring, so try a podcast! Here are some of our favorites: 

Music: Ever wonder how your friend always knows the hippest songs before they are out. He/she has some help from some type of music blog or podcast. One of our favorites is “All Songs Considered.”

Science: If you love science and you are naturally curious, “Radiolab” will make time fly on your car rides. The hosts blend science, philosophy and human experience in a quirky and entertaining fashion. 

Culture: “This American Life” covers a variety of stories, including hard hitting news stories about the financial crisis to seemingly irrelevant themes like the politics of being a child. No matter what the topic is, the show looks at popular culture in a fascinating new light. 

Random: “Stuff You Should Know” is a smorgasbord of random information that will most likely not come up in random conversation. But it’s awesome. Talks range from “Was Atlantis a real place?”, “How did language evolve?” and “Body Odor: You Stink.”

Should Dogs Wear Seat Belts?

Dogs love to go for rides in the car and we love bring our pets with us EVERYWHERE these days. In a recent AAA survey, 31% of drivers admitted to being distracted at some point by a dog climbing into their lap when driving. When you are operating a vehicle, having an unrestrained dog aboard is dangerous for a variety of reasons:

-Roaming pets are distracting to drivers

-Driving with your dog on your lap is dangerous (duh)

-Dogs in accidents are dangerous to everyone in the car because they turn into flying projectile in the event of an accident 
-It’s the Law –States like Arizona, Maine, Connecticut and New Jersey issue fines up to $1,000 if a dog is in the driver’s lap 

Watch this video and decide for yourself: http://abcn.ws/12aXn09

Things To Remeber

1. Don't fall in love with the car before you've done your homework.
2. Let someone else take the depreciation hit (2-3 yrs old best).
3. Walk around the car and check paint, body panel gaps for evenness, chips, dents, etc.
4. Check maintenance history (any records).
5. Contact the previous owner (get the name from the title).
6. Check fluid condition (oil and transmission fluid should be clean and clear).
7. Test drive the car and listen and feel for noises, vibration, and handling problems.
8. Check the price — go to www.nada.com and check the retail price.
9. Check the title history using the VIN number at www.carfax.com.
10. If all of the above check out, have a complete mechanical inspection of the vehicle done by an independent shop. Use the items that need attention on the car to bargain with the dealer/seller.