Cash for clunkers is a program set up earlier this year by the Senate in an attempt to get older less fuel efficient cars off the road and to boost the new car buying economy. Vehicles from 1984 or newer having a mpg (miles per gallon) rating of 18 or less are eligible. Owners of passenger cars could get $3,500 if they buy a vehicle that is rated at least 4 mpg better or $4,500 for 10 mpg or better than what they are driving. SUVs, trucks and van owners will get $3,500 for an improvement of 2 mpg and $4,500 for 5 mpg or more. The owner of the trade-in must have had the vehicle for at least a year, and it must be drivable.

The government programs, officially called the car allowance rebate system (CARS), has been so popular that one week after its launch the programs funding had been used up. The US transport secretary, Ray LaHood, is asking the senate to vote for an additional two billion in financing to continue the program. Germany, Italy, Britain, Romania, Austria, the Netherlands, Spain and Serbia have also introduced their own versions of cash for clunkers programs and have experienced stronger sales almost immediately.

Happy New Year! I hope that everyone has had a safe and happy holiday season.

Even after the government pumped in more than $123 billion in support of the auto industry and its suppliers during the past year, 2009 still turned out to be a disastrous year with some of the lowest car sales since the 1970s. Companies have been selling their technologies and subsidiaries in an attempt to keep their heads above water and although there are some great deals to be had out there, it seems that in general, people just don’t have the money to spend. Sales increased towards the end of 2009, but this was mostly due to government incentives and a push for dealerships to get rid of their 2009 and discontinued models.

Overseas the car industry has faired a bit better. Car sales in China last year jumped almost 45% percent to 13.5 million vehicles, overtaking the U.S. market, according to analysts polled by Reuters. In Spain, December car sales were up 25 percent, the fourth consecutive monthly increase, supported by government subsidies and the French carmakers’ association said on Monday that new car sales in France surged 49 percent in December to 228,451 vehicles also supported by government incentives.

If you listen to the auto analysts you really don’t get a feel for what 2010 has in store. Some say 2010 will be a good year, while other say a bad one. So who can you believe? It seems to me that the auto industry is being backed by government incentives and subsidies and unless they want to continue pouring money into it, it could be a bleak year. I guess we will have to just wait and see.

Jacob Krippelz has won an 11-year legal battle against Ford over a lighting system he patented. In 1991, Krippelz patented his design for a small lamp mounted to side view mirrors, now known as a “puddle lamp”. He sent a copy of his patent to Ford soon after it was issued, according to court documents. The auto maker told him they were not interested in the invention. Six years later, Krippelz walked into his local Ford dealer and saw the lamp on a vehicle. Ford’s puddle lamp supplier had its own patent, which refers to Krippelz’s patent.

In December, a federal jury in Chicago awarded him $23 million in royalties for Ford’s patent infringement, but the case was not over. Last week, U.S. District Judge James Zagel more than doubled the award, to $55.6 million, due to “willful” infringement laws, after finding that Ford had sold vehicles with similar lamps even though the company knew of the potential infringement.

The Gwent Police Department in southeast Wales has made a film on the dangers of Texting and Driving. This very explicit and gory video, which runs four minutes, has been watched over four million times on YouTube.

In the film a young driver is texting as she is driving two friends along a two lane road. Distracted, the car drifts into oncoming traffic, hits another vehicle and has another vehicle crash into her vehicle killing her friends. But if that’s not enough, it shows close ups of a girls head hitting against a car window, and a baby in one of the other cars.

Some American companies are currently making their own videos to promote a stronger awareness about the dangers of texting and driving.