From animals to acronyms
Now that Volkswagen has announced it will revert to the Golf nameplate for the Rabbit, the number of cars named after animals continues to dwindle. You’ve still got the Impala (Chevrolet) and Mustang (Ford), but what’s “in” now are names and numbers that suggest they were cooked up by a computer, according to a recent article in The New York Times. What’s happening, according to one observer, is that car companies are using nondescript names to throw emphasis on the brand (e.g., Cadillac) rather than the particular model. So, instead of former Cadillac names such as El Dorado and Seville, we have the CTS and STS. One design historian traces animal names back to the Stutz Bearcat of the 1920s. However, the historian, Russell Flinchum, confesses he isn’t sure what a bearcat actually is.

Reliability
The economy, with all its uncertainty, appears to be driving Americans to hold on to their cars longer and, when buying new ones, to seek the most dependable ones on the market. At 9.4 years for cars and 7.6 years for trucks, the median age of cars on U.S. roadways is at record-high levels, according to R.L. Polk, a market research firm. In its latest dependability study, J.D. Power and Associates found that Buick and Jaguar topped the list of brands sold in the United States that demonstrate the greatest general dependability, with Lexus, Toyota and Mercury rounding out the top five. To generate the list, the company asked 45,000 initial owners of three-year-old cars to report, in eight categories, the type of problems their vehicles had developed over the last year. The categories were: driving experience, engine, exterior, features/controls, heating/ventilating/cooling, interior, seats and audio/entertainment/navigation. Here are some vehicles with “most dependable” ratings. Compact car: Toyota Prius (manufacturer’s suggested retail price $22,000). Midsize car: Buick LaCrosse (MSRP $26,390). Large car: Mercury Grand Marquis (MSRP $29,270). Entry premium vehicle: Lincoln Zephyr (MSRP $28,995). Midsize premium car: Lexus ES 330/Acura RL (tie) (Lexus MSRP $32,175, Acura RL MSRP $46,680. Large premium car: Lexus LS 430 (MSRP $56,525).

Minnesota passes seat belt law
Minnesota became the 29th state to enact a primary seat belt law, requiring vehicle drivers and passengers to wear a seat belt and allowing police to pull over those in violation. Previously, Minnesota law called for motorists to be ticketed only if it was in conjunction with another driving offense. The law, which was to become effective June 9, was named the Kathryn Swanson Seat Belt Safety Act, named in honor of the former director of the Minnesota highway safety office who died in 2008 with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The Minnesota Department of Public Safety estimates the new law will save up to 30 additional lives and prevent 400 injuries annually, and result in a savings of $11 million in hospital charges.