Wheels - December 15

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Wheels

December 15, 2016

• Yamaha SR Viper R-TX LE: 4-stroke fun • Honda Concept Car: Emotional vehicle • 2017 Infiniti QX30: Unusual pedigree • Connected cars: The future is in the driver’s seat

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INSIDE

CARS » TRUCKS » SNOWMACHINES » ATVS

Great Stocking Stuffer!!


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Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

Making tracks!

Thursday, December 15, 2016

H

ello Wheels readers, While we are all about wheels, we’re also all about tracks. And with winter finally here, evidenced by plunging temps and finally some snow accumulation, it’s time to gear up, get out and have some serious Fairbanks cold fun! Check out the snowmachine review in today’s issue. What a ride! And if your sled needs some mechanical attention prior to taking it out into the woods, or if it just might be the right time to look for a new dependable machine, stop by and see Gabby at Alaska Fun Center for a great deal. Great products, great people, and solid expertise you can rely on! We at the News-Miner want to thank all of our Wheels advertisers for helping us create this new publication and we appreciate all of the feedback we have received. Be on the lookout for a new Wheels feature called “Dealer’s Corner,” coming soon. We think you’ll like it. We wish you all a safe and blessed Christmas season.

Shannon K. Fortune State Farm Insurance, (Retired Military) A Fairbanks insurance provider with a personal touch. We provide all major types of insurance and financial services. With that said our goal is to help…from our discount double check to spending time helping you understand your insurance policies, we are here for you. So come in, Click on www.shannonfortune.com or call 907-452-1385 we are ready to serve. To all of our Military, Thank you for your service!!!!!

Shannon K. Fortune Agent NMLS CO #1211132, NMLS MLO #864413

Cell: 907-244-7038 www.ShannonFortune.com 324 Old Steese Highway Fairbanks

Happy from Holidays

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Vince E. Parker Sales and marketing director vparker@newsminer.com 907-459-7516


Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

Thursday, December 15, 2016

3

2016 NISSAN Titan XD Crew Cab Packed with Innovation. Loaded with Excitement.

By Steven Overly THE WASHINGTON POST

C

hances are you either love or hate your car — and soon the feeling could be mutual. Japanese automaker Honda will showcase a concept car at the Consumer Electronics Show next month that is capable of understanding the driver’s emotions and developing emotions of its own, the company announced this week. The company provided few details as to how the technology will work or alter the driving experience. But we do know that the concept car, called the NeuV, is being touted as an automated electric vehicle that includes an “emotion engine.” That’s the name for artificial intelligence that Honda says will “enable

machines to artificially generate their own emotions.” The “emotion engine” technology comes out of a partnership that Honda and Japanese telecommunications firm SoftBank revealed this year. The two paired up to design AI technology that allows the car to have conversations with its driver and gauge his or her emotions, Honda said in a news release. Honda expects the car will “grow up” with its driver and share in his or her experiences, prompting the driver to feel the car “has become a good partner and thus form a stronger emotional attachment toward it.” (That could complicate matters when it comes time to trade in, but no one ever said breakups are easy.) Honda did not provide a timetable for when, or if, the NeuV will be sold to consumers. The company did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

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Comfort, reliable, fuel economy at a great price

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MSRP 13,19 9 $

Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

Sale $10,999

10 gal fuel capacity, fox float3 front shock, 141”camoplast track, excellent floatation, superior traction, versatile

MOUNTAIN SLED

Electric start, reverse, 144” x 2” track, 4-stroke reliability

Thursday, December 15, 2016

Winter is well underway in Interior Alaska, and dealers are selling machines from a variety of model years. The following review is used by permission of American Snowmobiler magazine.

2016 VENTURE MP 2 UP UTILITY

Snow Plows... 2015 Yamaha SR Viper R-TX & LE the Kodiak and

Tow hitch, rear rack, Ripsaw track 16x144, Tall windshield

Viper has more bite Grizzlies to push them!

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ATVs

2016 KODIAK 700

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2014 ZUMA 50FX

MSRP $6,899

MSRP $2,590

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Sale $8,595

50CC 132 MPG*

Sale $7,899

$

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2015 ZUMA 125

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EF3000iSEB

Combines light weight and the latest technology to produce the highest output in its class - enough juice to power up most 13,500 BTU RV air conditioners.

Y

up, it’s better. That was the nearly unanimous response when we asked our test riders about the 2015 Yamaha SR Viper R-TX LE compared to 2014. And we didn’t think it was just a little better – the LE version of the Viper was an upgrade in almost every way.

2014 RAPTOR 700R

2013 YFZ450

MSRP $9,499

AMERICAN SNOWMOBILER

4WD on command, 708cc, liquid cooled, independent susp., 11.4” ground clearance

700cc, 4WD on command, 3 passenger, huge bed

2015 GRIZZLY 700 EPS

By Ross Halvorson

2016 WOLVERINE R-SPEC

2015 VIKING 700 EPS

MSRP $6,999 2WD/4WD, 708cc, cvt, rear wet brake, towing 1322 lbs.

EF5500DE/D The EF5500 offers the Contractor and home back up customer 5500 watts of power at a great value. Digital hour and volt meter, 240v outlet, GFCI, 9 hours at full rated load.

3000 watts/ 25.0 amps. Clean power, quiet, plus power boost make this the ultimate portable generator on wheels.

Shock-ing improvement

Christmas Fun For Kids SRX120

RAPTOR 90

low maintenance, 4-stroke, adjustable governor

110 MPG* MSRP $2,699

Now $2,295 *Estimated

TT-R110E

Reverse, adjustable suspension

4-speed, auto clutch, electric start

By far, the most noted improvements on the R-TX LE were in ride and handling. The LE models for 2015 were a Spring Buy expansion of the Viper line. One big benefit for a spring buyer was the top-of-the-line shock package (and financing, color options, turbo kit, etc.). The FOX Float 3 Evol RC shocks up front and the FOX Zero Pro C53 R13 aluminum HPG shocks in the rear really set this sled apart from the DX and SE Vipers. You can also upgrade to the Kashima coated version for just $250 too,

PW50

simple, safe and fun, fully automatic transmission, light and easy handling, shaft drive

Trade My Sled promotion valid August 21, 2015, through December 28, 2015. All makes and model sleds accepted as trade vehicles. All trades are up to the dealer’s discretion. Limit one (1) trade-in unit per new unit purchased. Copy of state registration in customer’s name must accompany trade-in unit as proof of ownership. Offer valid for any new 2011-2016 Yamaha Snowmobile (except SRX 120 and ‘16 Spring Power Surge models). See dealer for complete details. © 2015 Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A. All rights reserved.

Helmets • Goggles • Jackets • Bibs • Hats • Gloves • Covers 2016 KFX® 50 KIDS LOVE IT!

2015 BRUTE FORCE® 750 4x4i -

2016 BRUTE FORCE® 300 -

4-stroke 49.5cc, electric start, engine stop lanyard, adjustable parental control throttle limiter, sporty styling

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4-stroke, liquid cooled, electric start, auto trans. w/ hi/low reverse, 500# towing capacity, independent front suspension, best in 2 wheel drive, 1 year warranty

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2 or 4WD, hi and low EST dump 1966 bed, transmission, bench seating, 26 Maxxis tires, 30 gal. storage under hood, only 52 inches wide, 2016 3 year warranty FIFTY YEARS IN THE USA

VIPER » 5

2014 TERYX4™ CAMO

783cc, v-twin power TH GOLDEN HOLIDAY CELEBRATION 50 ANNIVERSARY steering, tught 16.7 ft.

2016 KFX 50 KIDS LOVE IT! 2016 KX™65 -

4-stroke START YOUNG cc, electric 6 speed,49.5 64cc, 2 stroke,start, liquidengine stopbrakes, lanyard, cooled, disk adjustable adjustable unitrack parental control suspension throttle limiter, sporty styling.

®

BRUTE FORCE® 300 BIGGEST BANG FOR™ YOUR BUCK! 2014 KX 854-stroke, liquid RACE TIME

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2017 Z125 Pro

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cooled, electric

2 stroke liquid,start, auto trans. w/ unitrack, hi/low reverse, 500 hydraulic disk lbs towing capacity, brake, independent front mini racer suspension, best in

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2016 Ninja® 300

Green 125cc, 4 speed Fun, light & nimble. Affordable, easy handling

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PLAY BIKE

Race Bred, auto clutch, KLX™110L has manual clutch and trailer seat, 4 stroke, electric start

power steering, CVT transmission w/hi/ 2015 KLX™140 low range, differential TRAIL BIKE lock on demand, 1250 lbs towing Race Bred KX Engineering, Choose capacity, digital fuel Big Wheel Model or injection

2016 KLX® 110

2016 MULETM 610 4x4 XC MINI WORKHORSE

twin power steering, height 16.7 ft., turning radius, fox shocks, 3 year warranty

Standard, electric start

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2015 KLX® 140

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Race bred KX engineering, choose big wheel model or standard, electric start

1817 College Road, Fairbanks, Alaska 99708 • 907-452-3455 • www.alaskafuncenter.com KAWASAKI CARES: Read Owner’s Manual and all on-product warnings. Warning: ATVs can be hazardous to operate. For your safety: Always wear a helmet, eye protection, and protective clothing. Never carry a passenger. Never ride under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Never ride on public roads or pavement. Avoid excessive speeds and stunt driving. Be extra careful on difficult terrain. Kawasaki’s KFX®50 is recommended for use only by persons 6 or older, and the KFX®90 is recommended for use only by persons 12 and older. All children under 16 riding ATVs should always have direct adult supervision. Kawasaki ATVs with engines over 90cc are recommended for use only by persons 16 years of age or older. Kawasaki also recommends that all ATV riders take a training course. For more information, see your dealer, call the ATV Safety Institute at 1-800-887-2887, or go to www.atvsafety.org. ©2015 Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A

F57500601

®

KAWASAKI CARES: Read Owner’s Manual and all on-product warnings. Warning: ATVs can be hazardous to operate. For your safety: Always wear a helmet, eye protection, and protective clothing. Never carry a passenger. Never ride uner the influene of drugs or alcohol. Never ride on public roads or pavement. Avoid excessive speeds and stunt riving. Be extra careful on difficult terrain. Kawasaki’s KFX® 50 is recommended for use only by persons 6 or older, and the KFX® 90 is recommended for use only by persons 12 and older. All children under 16 riding ATVs should always have direct adult supervision. Kawasaki ATVs with engines over 90cc are recommended for use only by persons 16 years of age or older. Kawasaki also recommends that all ATV Safety Institute at 1-800-887-2887, or go to www.atvsafety.org. ©2016 Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A.


Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

Thursday, December 15, 2016

Continued from 4 just visit www.ridefox.com. When set up correctly for the rider, this shock package transforms the sled into a top trail machine. After hundreds of miles behind the bars, what impressed me the most was how accommodating the shocks were without much adjusting. They were plush when I needed them to be, and could take the big hits when it was demanded. Improvements in handling can be partially attributed to the suspension setup, and partially to the Deep-Keel Tuner ski introduced on the 2015 Vipers. According to Yamaha, a chief consumer complaint about the 2014 Viper was the sled wanting to dart in and out of ski ruts in the trails. The new runner ski does improve the darting issue a lot, as long as the sled is left bone stock. We added Stud Boy studs to our R-TX LE track for improved performance and safety. Also, we could not use the carbides Stud Boy had sent (our usual, aggressive 7.5-inch Shaper Bars) due to the Dual-Keel ski. We tested the stock runners, but because we added traction with studs the sled pushed through the corners. So, we tried some longer carbide combinations from Yamaha, the largest dual 6-inch carbide setup on each ski was best. However, we also tested a pair of aftermarket Curve XS skis on this sled, and they made even more difference. Handling was razor sharp! I still think we should see more out of the 1049cc Genesis engine. Top-end speed was still in the same neighborhood as MY2014 (around 90mph). Maybe a little more with a tailwind. The neck-snapping jolt out of the hole is still there though!

Weight for it

You can’t read a 4-stroke article without reading something about the weight. It’s the “yeah, but …” part of every argument between 4-stroke and 2-stroke faithful. Well, that argument may not hold much water. After our wet weight testing, a few pounds were all that separated the R-TX LE from some of our 800cc 2-strokes. There’s still quite a gap in HP when compared to the big, bad 800s, but the

PROS

Top-of-the-line shock package with a ton of adjustment. Sitting position is very comfortable, and transition to standup riding is easy. Instant low-end power is awesome!

CONS

Frozen giblets! The side panels have that odd joint that channels wind towards you. We’d still like to see more top-end speed out of the Vipers, and there just has to be a better location for the key!

TAKE 2!

WANT TO GET NOTICED? Drive this! One of the best cornering Yamahas we’ve had in a while. Had some problems with the gauge/electrical system freezing on super cold mornings though. – Mark Boncher, AmSnow Editor

SPECS

2015 Yamaha SR Viper R-TX LE

Engine: 1049cc fuel-injected 4-stroke Drive: YVXC clutch HP: 136.6* Exhaust: 3-1 stainless steel pipe w/ stainless steel muffler Brake: Radial master cylinder hydraulic brake / disc on drive shaft Ski Stance: 42-43 in. adj. Front Susp.: SRV w/ FOX Float 3 Evol RC shocks (10 in. travel) Rear Susp.: Dual Shock SR 129 Race w/ FOX Zero Pro, C53 R13 aluminum HPG shocks (13.5 in. travel) Track: 15x129x1.25 RipSaw II Fuel Tank: 10 gal. Rec. Fuel: 87 octane Dry Weight: NA Wet Weight: 625 lbs.* Price: $13,899 US / $15,999 CA REAL WORLD STATS*: Top speed: 85.13mph 1/4-mile time: NA Season avg. MPG: 10.6* *AmSnow tested

performance of this 4-stroke engine in this chassis seems to be improving, and the low-end power will beat any 600 and is right there with the 800s. Plus, if my younger, smaller, smarter, wife can handle our R-TX LE off-trail without a gripe, the “it’s too heavy” argument really falls off the rails in my book! While Yamaha earns high marks for Viper improvements, this sled is not perfect. Some annoyances we found during the 2014-15 season that still remain are the location of the key and the orientation of the push-button reverse. Both are the same as 2014, and both are still very difficult to get to in gloves. The lack of any real storage also still exists. We fixed this with Yamaha’s expandable tunnel bag (part #SMA8JP63-00-00). It was like going from the cargo capacity of a Ferrari to that of a minivan! Install was quick and easy too. Our complaints are nothing new, but we’ll keep harping on OEMs to make improvements, even if they are small. Ross Halvorson is senior editor of American Snowmobiler magazine. For more snowmobile reviews, videos, photos and products, visit American Snowmobiler magazine’s website, www.AmSnow.com

F18512867

VIPER

5


Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

Thursday, December 15, 2016

Details define Infiniti SUV By Ann M. Job

FOR THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

N

issan’s luxury brand Infiniti adds a third SUV this year with the compact QX30, which rides and looks more like a small hatchback. The 2017 Infiniti QX30 also has an unusual pedigree. Built at a Nis-

san factory in England and, in a deal with German luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz that helped reduce Infiniti’s costs, the QX30 uses the underlying vehicle platform, turbocharged four-cylinder engine, transmission and many other components of the compact Mercedes GLA 250 SUV. Even the QX30 name — QX denotes an SUV in Infiniti’s dictionary — has a story behind it. Infiniti originally INFINITI » 8

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Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

Thursday, December 15, 2016

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Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

INFINITI

Continued from 6 planned to sell both a Q30 hatchback and a QX30 SUV but instead opted for the QX30 name in the U.S., even for the SUV that rides closest to the ground like a hatchback. The five-seat, 2017 QX30, which has a starting manufacturer’s suggested retail price, including destination charge, of $30,945 for a front-wheel drive base model, undercuts the 2017 GLA’s base price of $33,775. The difference is in the details. The QX30 has cloth-covered seats, six-speaker audio system, rearview monitor, 7-inch information display, eight air bags and manually adjusting front seats. Meanwhile, the base twowheel drive GLA comes standard with faux leather seat upholstery and power-adjusting driver’s seat, among other things. The lowest starting retail price,

Thursday, December 15, 2016

including destination charge, for a 2017 QX30 with all-wheel drive is $35,395 — about $400 less than a base, 2017 GLA 250 4Motion model. All QX30s have Mercedes’s capable 2-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder that generates 208 horsepower and Mercedes’ seven-speed, dual-clutch transmission that a driver can operate like a regular automatic. The QX30’s exterior styling is avant garde for an SUV: a stylized rearmost steel pillar at the edges of the rear window and an abrupt rear end. Roof rails, which typically are a key styling cue for SUVs, aren’t even options on three trim levels. The test vehicle, a QX30 Sport priced at $43,735, was just 2.4 inches taller than a Honda Civic, and driver and passengers dropped down to get into the seats, as they would in a hatchback car. The engine spun up nicely, particularly in Sport driving mode, where the electronic engine management kept

the revs up so the turbo power was at the ready. In contrast, in the economy drive mode showed noticeable turbo lag during acceleration. Torque peaks at 258 foot-pounds starting at 1,200 rpm and going to 4,000 rpm. This power pushed passengers back into their seats and made the tires squeal in the front-drive QX30 tester. As in the GLA, the QX30’s engine turns off when the vehicle idles and the driver fully depresses the brake pedal, but the QX30 tester shuddered often when the engine automatically started back up — a roughness one wouldn’t expect in a $40,000-plus vehicle. The ride was rough, too, in part because of 19-inch run-flat tires that were on the Sport model. Passengers felt vibrations even on smooth-looking pavement. Manhole covers and cracked roadways seemed to jostle passengers, and long drives could be fatiguing. Road noises and sounds from nearby cars readily intruded, and the QX30

had so much wind noise above 45 miles per hour that the driver checked to make sure the window was fully closed. Black seats in the Sport model were attractively trimmed in Nappa leather, with white stripes and white accent stitching. But seat cushions, particularly in the back seat, were short and lacked good thigh support. It was annoying to manually unlock the QX30 driver door to exit the vehicle; the owner’s manual did not highlight a way to program the vehicle to automatically unlock the door when the car was turned off and the key was removed from the ignition. Fit and finish wasn’t the best, as the memory seat button module had a cheap feel and deflected into the door whenever it was used. Lackluster fuel mileage for a frontwheel drive vehicle combined with a small 13.2-gallon gasoline tank to provide a driving range of just 315 miles before the test vehicle needed a fill up of pricey premium gas.


9

Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

Thursday, December 15, 2016

Proposal: All new cars must be able to talk to each other By Michael Laris and Ashley Halsey III THE WASHINGTON POST

WASHINGTON — The Obama Administration on Tuesday proposed a rule that would require all new cars to be able to communicate with other cars wirelessly, a move that advocates said could save lives, but that also raises privacy and hacking concerns among opponents. Federal transportation officials, as well as many researchers and industry executives, see significant safety advantages, with the widespread installation of “vehicle-to-vehicle” or V2V technology. The wireless box could, for instance, tell a car to brake when another vehicle is about to run a red light. The U.S. Department of Transportation said the rule would be the first mandate of the technology worldwide. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said the new rule can “prevent hundreds of thousands of crashes” and “spare thousands of families in the future the pain of losing a loved one” in

a collision. Foxx projected that up to 80 percent of crashes not involving alcohol or drugs could be eliminated or made less severe. Last year, 35,092 people were killed on U.S. roads. Foxx estimated that it would take about a year for the public comment period. After that, automakers would have two years to put the technology in half their new cars and another two years to put them into all new vehicles. It is unclear how President-elect Donald Trump’s administration will view the proposal, though Trump has said he opposes many existing and recently announced rules and regulations. Foxx said he could not speak for Trump officials, but that the rule was 12 years in the making and many in the auto industry support the requirement. “From a safety perspective, this is a no-brainer,” Foxx said, adding that the country still “expects the department to continue pushing the edges on safety.” Some researchers said the vehi-

cle-to-vehicle technology would help self-driving cars perform better, though not all engineers agree. The radios at the heart of the technology are cheap and powerful, advocates said, while others said autonomous cars should not be reliant on outside connections. The widespread addition of such technology also could have significant privacy implications, depending on how the systems are designed and implemented, The cars will send signals telling each other where they are. Transportation officials countered that there would be no exchange of personal information. They also said the rule would require extensive privacy and security controls. “This is a safety tool, not a data-gathering tool,” said Mark Rosekind, administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. He said encryption is incorporated to prevent hacking and that “every possible measure is taken against bad actors that might want to use this system with ill intent.” Vehicle to vehicle communication is

considered an essential building block toward autonomous vehicles by some — but not all — of the companies working to develop them. “If they’re connected to each other, then we likely will not need signs, markings or even traffic signals,” said Jim Barbaresso, vice president for intelligent transportation systems at HNTB Infrastructure Solutions. “The infrastructure could change very dramatically. Cars could go through intersections without hitting each other, without the need of a traffic signal. We won’t need wider lane widths any more, we can squeeze more lanes out of our existing highway footprints.” Google engineer Nathaniel Fairfield said direct vehicle-to-vehicle communication was an asset, but less than essential, to putting autonomous cars on the road. “It is useful, no question,” Fairfield said. “There is vehicle technology where the car is telling you it’s going to hit the TALK » 10

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Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

Thursday, December 15, 2016

Carmakers rev up development of internet-connected vehicles Japan News/Yomiuri

Automakers are accelerating efforts to develop cars that are continuously connected to the internet. Internet connectivity enables companies to inform drivers of abnormalities in their cars while providing information such as changes in road conditions. It also allows them to collect big data on a wide range of matters related to driving. As internet technology is essential to automated driving, carmakers have increasingly tied up with major companies in different industries. “Cars can be one form of information terminal,” Shigeki Tomoyama, Toyota’s senior managing officer, said at a Nov. 1 press briefing in Tokyo. Toyota has incorporated a device connected to the internet into its luxury Lexus brand. The company collects data on temperatures, variations in speed and other readings through the internet and then analyzes them. Tomoyama stressed that the technol-

ogy helps enhance the safety of drivers, citing an example in Hokkaido in which a car that encountered a frozen road surface transmitted a warning to other cars traveling on the same road. Toyota plans to make the feature standard on all vehicles sold in Japan and the United States, including lowend models, by 2020. The data it collects will be analyzed by a joint venture of Toyota and U.S. software giant Microsoft Corp. The automaker intends to use the results of the analysis to develop self-driving vehicle technologies. In October, the alliance of Nissan and French automaker Renault launched a development center for internet-connected cars in Tokyo. Ogi Redzic, who leads the alliance’s “connected car” initiative, said the application of the technology to automated driving would bring dramatic changes. Meanwhile, automakers have accelerated the development of internet-connected cars by forming tie-ups with companies in information technology and communications.

25%

In July, German automaker Volkswagen and South Korea’s LG Electronics announced a partnership to jointly develop connected cars. Honda and SoftBank have launched a joint research project centering on artificial intelligence technology. According to research firm Fuji

Keizai Co., the number of internet-connected cars is estimated to reach about 680 million units globally in 2030, a sixfold increase from 2014. The growth in the number of such cars will likely hinge on whether automakers can increase the technology’s usefulness to drivers.

TALK

informing a vehicle computer of traffic jams or construction zones farther down the route in which the car is programmed to travel. “You might want to route around it,” Fairfield said. “It’s not necessary, but it’s useful. It’s sort of like live updates to the max, so that all of our cars can intelligently avoid this.”

Continued from 9 brakes, or how much it’s braking. That’s somewhat useful, but we can [determine] that with radars and lasers and cameras, so it’s not that useful.” Where communication among vehicles would be more useful, he said, was

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Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

Thursday, December 15, 2016

11

Donate your vehicle to a good cause, and save money By Kristen Castillo CREATORS.COM

If your car is barely running or isn’t drivable, you can donate it to a variety of charities. Charities benefit by selling vehicles or their parts to fund their nonprofit efforts. But donating a vehicle benefits the owners, as well. By donating, you can get rid of the unwanted vehicle and can get a sizeable tax write-off depending on your vehicle’s value. In 2000, an estimated 733,000 people donated a vehicle and claimed the deduction on their federal tax return. These donations were valued at about $2.5 billion, resulting in a reduced taxpayer liability of $654 million. While this is an excellent opportunity, one must research carefully beforehand, as donating a vehicle for tax savings isn’t always what it seems. When the General Accounting Office researched donations, they found one instance where a donated 1983 truck was valued at $2,400, but the charity sold it at an auction and only received $31.50 after administrative and advertising costs were deducted. Art Taylor, president and CEO of the Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance, recommends taking a few precautions when donating a vehicle: “Donors should make sure they’re doing two main things: taking the proper steps for tax deductibility and (checking) to make sure (they’re) getting the most mileage out of (their) donation by researching the charity ahead of donating.” Taylor recommends donors make sure they correctly identify the charity they’re looking for. “It seems simple, but with so many charities out there, mistaken identity is a common problem,” he says, explaining that “thousands of charities have the word ‘cancer’ in their name but have no connection with one another.” Chances are that donating your vehicle is about more than a tax benefit. You want to ensure your contribution can help the charity do its work. “It is important to do your due diligence to make sure you are donating your car to a charity that is financially efficient, ethical and effective,” says Sandra Miniutti, vice president of marketing and CFO of Charity Navigator, the largest independent charity eval-

uator in the United States. “Moreover, you want to ensure that the charity’s work matches your philanthropic interests.” If you’re passionate about the environment, consider donating to a green charity. Do you care about kids and learning? Find a charity that benefits youths and education. Want to help veterans? Donate to a charity that supports troops and vets. Both BBB and Charity Navigator are great sources for finding the ideal charity because they don’t endorse specific charities for donations. “The best charities for car or motorcycle donations are those donors can trust without hesitation,” says Taylor, noting the BBB has a list of accredited and “worry-free” charities that meet certain standards and expectations, such as disclosure (revealing finance, governance, fundraising and marketing practices). It’s better to work with a charity if possible, not with a for-profit third party, which facilitates donations but often at a pricey cost. Now, how can you determine if a charity is worthy of your vehicle donation? First things first: Make sure you’re donating the car, truck or motorcycle to a 501(c)(3) nonprofit so your donation is tax-deductible. When you have a charity in mind, speak to someone who works there and ask how much money from a vehicle donation will actually go to the charity. It may receive a fixed amount or a percentage of the sale.

It’s also smart to check the IRS guidelines to know how to properly document your donation for tax purposes. If your car’s worth brings your total noncash tax deductions to less

than $500, obtain written acknowledgement of the donation from the charity and keep it in your records. For total noncash deductions over $500, you need to fill out the IRS form 8283. Deductions over $5,000 require a written professional appraisal, too. Keep photos of the vehicle and detailed records of the donation. Calculate your car’s worth at Fair Market Value. Otherwise, you can only deduct the amount the charity sells your car for at auction, which is usually written on the receipt the charity sends you after the vehicle is sold. And one last but very important thing: Don’t forget to transfer the vehicle’s title after the donation is made. Keep a copy of the transfer just in case there’s an issue with a parking ticket or accident before the vehicle is sold by the charity. Now that you have some guidelines and suggestions, you’re ready to make an educated donation. You’ll save on taxes and contribute to a good cause, too. It’s a win-win.

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Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

Thursday, December 15, 2016

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