How to Care for Your Car and Spare The Air Tips on Taking Better Care of Your Car While Reducing Air Pollution We all know that owning a car is an ongoing responsibility that requires dedication, time, effort and money. Ultimately, the lifespan and value of a car depends on the amount of care it’s given along the way. The everyday care and simple “tune-ups” can be quite easy to brush to the side in the rush of our everyday lives, but a task that we wish we would have stayed on top of by the time we’re forking over the big bucks to pay for parts and labor to fix major car problems. Personal car use is the nation’s biggest contributor to air pollution. For this reason, keeping up with the

People headed to Midtown’s Hot Italian for a pizza or gelato might be surprised to see two new additions to restaurant – a pair of cars from Italian manufacturer Fiat, which returned to the United States this year after a 27-year hiatus. “We’ve been looking for new pop-up concepts, and they’re stylish, they’re Italian, and they’re a great fit,” said Andrea Lepore, managing partner of Hot Italian, located at 16th and Q streets. A “pop-up,” she explained, is a temporary display that sometimes has retail components to it. “It kind of pops up, and you have to catch it while it’s here,” she said. “It will be up for at least three months.” The two cars, a Fiat 500 and a Fiat 500C Cabriolet –

As a fan of 1960s muscle cars, getting me excited about electric vehicles isn’t easy. But on Friday, I was handed the keys to something that makes my ’66 Mustang feel lethargic and a Prius look like a gas guzzler. And at $138,000, it should. Miki Sofer of Tesla Motors brought one of the company’s Roadster 2.5 models to the Sacramento area, and I was one of the lucky ones to take it for a spin. With an advertised 0-60 mph time of 3.7 seconds, I was all but drooling over the electric car that can travel 244 miles on a single charge that, according to Sofer, costs as little as $5 to replenish. “There are more and more charging stations in the Sacramento area,” Sofer said, “so we’re really

The California Automobile Museum is proud to announce that Ferrari of San Francisco will be the title sponsor of its newest exhibit, Automobilia! Celebrating Italian Automotive Design. "I thought this Automobilia! exhibit was the perfect fit for the area and an exciting opportunity to support the Ferrari brand by our presence in the community that has shown its love for Italian motor cars," said Greg Minor, general manager of Ferrari of San Francisco, who noted the growing number of Ferrari owners in the Sacramento area. The project is the most ambitious ever undertaken by the California Automobile Museum and the sponsorship by Ferrari of San Francisco marks the Museum's first support for

Q: I got pulled over and thought I had a valid insurance card at the time. It turns out my policy had actually been canceled. What can happen and what are the laws regarding driving without insurance? Betty A: In California, you must have car insurance that covers you when you're driving any car. If a police officer stops you, you must show proof of insurance. Failing to show proof of financial responsibility, meaning insurance coverage, is a violation of California Vehicle Code Section 16029. http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d07/vc16029.htm. Violating this code could result in fines up to $500 plus penalties, impoundment of the vehicle and suspension of the driver's license. If the vehi

The newest exhibit at the California Automobile Museum (CAM) will highlight the success of Toyota, Japan’s largest car manufacturer, as a trendsetter in America since the days it sold the gas-sipping Toyopet on Hollywood Boulevard when the newest models in Southern California dealerships had massive tail fins. The summer long exhibit, TOYOTA: Oh What A History!, sponsored by Elk Grove Toyota, opens on July 17 and will run through September 19. “Toyota was the first car manufacturer from the “Land of the Rising Sun” to sell cars in the United States and to challenge Detroit on many levels,” noted Karen McClaflin, Executive Director of the California Automobile Museum. “Over the last half c

The California Automobile Museum’s newest exhibit features cars that were created in California but have been celebrated in movies, songs and popular culture across the country and around the world for a half-century. The exhibit, Drive Fast, Take Chances: Birth of the Hot Rod is sponsored by So-Cal Speed Shop, Sacramento and runs now through July 5. It explores the hot rod culture that grew out of the dry lake beds of California in the post-World War II years and ultimately spread to drag strips and back roads, as well as burger drive-ins and street cruises, such as the annual car cruise hosted by the California Automobile Museum which will commence on the streets of Downtown Sacramento

The California Automobile Museum is temporarily home to all three mass-produced World War II military jeeps. The 1941 Bantam Reconnaissance Car (Jeep), 1943 Ford Military Jeep, and 1943 Willys Military Jeep are great examples of American innovation during the war years that are rarely seen together. In July 1940, the U.S. Army issued a challenge to the nation’s automakers to produce a light, cross-country reconnaissance vehicle described as a “quarter-ton, 4X4 truck.” Ford, Willys-Overland, and American-Bantam took on the task but only American-Bantam was able to produce a prototype in the short amount of time the military required. However, Bantam’s limited production capacity made it im

Mark your calendar and don't miss the California Automobile Museum's Annual Spring Swap Meet on Sunday, March 7, 2010 from 6am - 2pm.Vendors will offer unique and hard to find automobile collectibles and accessories, including antique auto parts, tools, books, magazines, models and much more! The Meet is located next to the Museum at 2400 Front Street - parking in Museum parking lot, on the street, and behind the Museum. New this year, vendors can pre-register by visiting www.CalAutoMuseum.org/SwapMeet. There will also be set-up and merchant and car sales registration on Saturday, March 6 from 2pm - 5pm and registration and set up will open at 5am on March 7. General admission and parking

The Sacramento Clean Tech Showcase keynote speaker Daniel Sperling is an internationally-renowned expert on transportation, energy and sustainability issues. In December he co-authored the book Two Billion Cars which projects that within 20 years the number of motor vehicles on the planet will double from its current total of one billion due primarily to growth in India and China. Sperling is a Professor of Engineering and Environmental Science & Policy at the University of California, Davis, and Founding Director of the university's Institute of Transportation Studies. He also serves on the California Air Resources Board, chairs the Future of Mobility Council of the Davos World Economic

  Family and friends are asking for help from anyone who has information on the whereabouts of Lawrence Dinkins Jr.  Dinkins, a poet who performed during Sunday's In the Flow jazz festival, was last seen on 17th and Broadway Sunday evening wearing a "Tuskegee Airmen" shirt, dark pants and a cap.   His abandoned car was found nearby, unlocked with windows rolled down and several of his possessions inside but family and friends have been unable to contact or locate him. The Sacramento Police Department is also looking for him but no further information is currently available.  A picture of Dinkins is attached and if anyone has any information, please contact the Sacramento Police Depart

There is a Car Wash for the Woodcreek High School Marching Band and Color Guard! (In Roseville) Price: Donation (Normally $5-$10) But it is up to you! Location: Raley's Parking lot (Woodcreek Oaks BLVD and Pleasant Grove BLVD) NO CAR WASH WEEKEND OF 4TH OF JULY Day/Time: Every Saturday from 10:30a-2:00p Date: June 13, 2009 - August 7, 2009 ALL PROCEEDS: Go towards the Woodcreek High School Marching Band and Guard!

Sacramento, CA Friday, May 1, 2009 Sacramento EMS crews were kept quite busy all day Friday. Mild temperatures and start of a new weekend had many people out on the road, but add in rain with heavy traffic throughout the region and you’ve created a recipe for havoc on the roads. We caught up with Sacramento Fire engines, truck crews, medic rigs, and Sac Police on a couple of incidents today out of the many we heard being dispatched over the squawk box. As the rain poured down, fire crews made sure the scenes were safe and assisted as paramedics tended to the victims; and officers took statements and reports on wet notepads. The first incident we encountered with EMS crews was a head-on c

 A downtown bound Sacramento Regional Transit train collided with a sedan at the Stockton Blvd. crossing this afternoon. The green sedan, carrying only the driver, somehow ended up in the path of the on-coming train when it was struck. No injuries were sustained by the single occupant of the sedan or by any light-rail passengers on board. Officer Schumacher with the Sacramento Police Department confirmed the lack of injury in the incident saying only that the vehicle was on the wrong side of the crossing arm. Richard Williams was working across the busy street and heard the accident but said that he did not see it happen. “It looks like the arms came down before we heard the crash,” s