With US Automakers under the careful eye of investors and analysts they realize that they must adapt to the changing market. With fuel prices up and Japanese Automakers capturing another 4-5% of the United States Auto Market it is clear that car buyers want more efficient vehicles. It is quite evident with the 284 million dollar loss at Ford and the Delphi bankruptcy that it is time for a change. General Motors is even discussing dumping GMAC and has already made a deal with the Unions to cut back on some of those healthcare benefits and start discussing the under funded pensions.

As a sign to shareholders and analysts General Motors announced its plans to come out with a new small SUV, as well as introduce some new cross-overs, as many as 14 by 2010. Will it be enough? That is for time to tell, but it shows that GM is serious about fixing some of its ills. There will be smaller versions of the Saturn Vue, Chevy Equinox and the Pontiac Torrent. It is hard to say if this is enough to get buyers to take their names off the waiting lists for Hybrids at the Japanese Automaker Dealerships of Toyota and Honda. The soccer mom has spoken, but one does have to wonder if it is a little too late to bring GM out of a downward spiral as our nation enters a change in our business cycle.

Simply building smaller cars and SUVa may not be enough because it is more about the $100 monthly gasoline bill that the average American Family is looking at than merely the size of the vehicle. In fact people would drive around school buses if they got 50 miles to the gallon. Size does matter, but efficiency in the revolutions per minute is even more important, because that means fuel economy. Think on this.

"Lance Winslow" - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

There are two ideologies about beating speeding tickets. One goes: everybody speeds and I got caught in a police trap with a radar detector when everybody else was going faster, so why shouldn’t I try to beat the ticket and cheat them out of the speeding fine?

The second one goes: I was speeding and I should slow down for my own safety as well as everybody else’s so I should just pay the speeding fine and learn from my mistake. Whether or not to try to beat the ticket is up to you. If you feel you were unfairly targeted or profiled, then fight.

However, if you speed all the time and just need a gentle reminder to slow down before you have a serious accident there are alternatives that can be explored whether or not you decide to go to court. The simplest is online traffic school where, in most states, you still pay the speeding fine and in addition you pay a small fee for the traffic safety course. In return the points for the infraction do not appear on your driving record.

You can also elect to take a driving school offline where you’ll spend more time, and pay more money but you’ll learn more about proper driving techniques and safety. Any of these elective programs will have the effect to help lower your auto insurance premiums, reducing the fines you’ll pay for the ticket and could ultimately end up having your ticket dismissed. It all depends on your past driving history, the current infraction and your willingness as demonstrated to the DMV and the court to amend your ways.

Matthew Henderson is editor at Auto-Fleet.com. Stop by for a huge selection of auto information. Online auto loan, auto extended warranty, vehicle history report, online traffic school, improving your credit, online drivers education, auto insurance information and much more!