Category Archives: Technology

03/15/13

Dashboard Warning Lights Made Easy

These days there is a smartphone app for just about anything you could ever want and need – recipes, banking, workouts, weather, and so on. The list now includes engine lights. You heard right! There is now an app to tell you what all those lights on your car dashboard stand for.

Efraim Dabi developed an app called the iEngineCheck. The app has you enter the manufacturer and model of your car, then it gives you a detailed description of the car’s engine and engine warning lights. But wait! There is more.

iEngineCheck AppNot only will the iEngineCheck app tell you what all of those goofy little lights mean, it will also give you a possible explanation on how to fix the problem. Additionally, you can request to have your car added to the app, should your specific car not be on the app, and you can send information you find on the app to others by e-mail or SMS with just the touch of a button.

Gone are the days of researching the library called the owner’s manual to find an answer to your problem. This nifty little app is just 99 cents through the iTunes App Store. It is currently available to Apple products (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, and any other iSomething), and an Android version is in the works.

Come tell us, at South Hills Chrysler Jeep Kia, what you think of the app or share any other fun apps you may have come across.

03/22/12

Kia Leads the Industry in Fuel Economy According to EPA

In its continuous effort to produce sustainable and fuel-efficient vehicles, Kia has “had the biggest improvement in adjusted CO2 and fuel economy performance from model year 2009 to model year 2010” of any automaker, according to the Environmental Protection Agency’s latest fuel economy trends report.

Kia’s fuel economy gain from 2009 to 2010 was 11.6 percent, while its reduction in CO2 emissions was 10.1 percent, beating all other major manufacturers by considerable margins based on the EPA’s most recent data.  In addition to these figures, Kia also tied for the highest Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) at 27.0 miles per gallon for model year 2010. 

“As an industry leader in fuel economy, Kia is committed to providing safe, high-quality vehicles that are socially relevant to consumers,” said Michael Sprague, vice president, marketing and communications, KMA. “Our goal is to stay ahead of the industry by applying innovative technologies such as direct-injection and turbo charged engines to advance our efforts and continue improving on the benchmarks Kia has set in the sustainability realm.”

For the 2013 model year Kia models Rio and Rio-5 will offer fuel-saving Idle Stop and Go technology, the first vehicles in the subcompact segment to offer this.

 

To review the EPA’s full 2011 fuel economy trends report online, you may visit http://www.epa.gov/otaq/fetrends.htm.