It's not to make body shops rich, but to save your life. "Crumple zones" first appeared in 1959, although it took a while before automakers around the world started using them. Find out more in my "Rearview Mirror" column at the National Post.
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December 07, 2016
Why do new cars crumple up when they're hit?
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WomanOnWheels.ca
WomanOnWheels.ca
CONTACT ME
WHERE I WRITE
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Pen Collection
- My collection of fountain and ballpoint pens - click on each photo to see it all!
Automobile Information
Auto Technology
Auto Safety
- "Auto Safety - A Primer"
- "How Highway Debris Gets Cleared," Toronto Star, July 9, 2015
- "Pet Safety In Cars", Canadian Driver, March 3 2009
- "Preventing crash-related trauma," Canadian Driver, June 8 2010
- "Stop Trying To Be Polite", Toronto Star, November 29 2008
- "Ten tips to become a better driver now," Toronto Star, July 2, 2015
- "Truck Side Guards May Not Be Safer For Cyclists," Toronto Star February 27,2016
- "Winter Driving Safety Tips," Canadian Driver, January 11 2010
MAGAZINE FEATURES
- "April, New Orleans", Lichen, A Literary Journal, Fall/Winter 2004
- "Band of Brothers" (Neville Brothers), Where New Orleans, November 2004
- "Cloudy with a chance of delicious: Cask ale," Sharp, December 2009
- "Details make the difference," Pen World February 2010
- "King of the Spirits", Where New Orleans, May 2005
- "Net Gain: Web Sites Prove Helpful for Browsers and Buyers", Vancouver International Auto Show Guide, March 2007
- "Rejection or Refusal?", Writer's Journal, January/February 2005
- "Rolling on the River", Where New Orleans, July 2004
- "Smart Car, Smart Pen", Pen World, Jan. 2007
- "Start Your Engines! Introducing the C-Series by Cross", Pen World, April 2009
- "Thank You Notes", Pen World, November 2006
- "The Economical AutoTrac Tractor", Rural Delivery, September 2004
- "The Need For Speed", Pen World, December 2008
- "Ultimate Carriers" (Dog-Friendly Vehicles), Dogs In Canada, September 2004
- "War and Remembrance" (D-Day Museum), Where New Orleans, June 2004
- "What Do Women Want?", Pen World June 2010
- "What Kind Of Boss Are You?" Tire News December 2009
- "Yes, We Had A Fair", Rural Delivery, March 2007
MY CAR ARTICLES
- "100 Years of Dodge: History comes alive as museum hits road," Toronto Star, July 15 2014
- "Car Tips and Tricks For When Your Life Is Going to the Dogs", Vancouver Auto Show Program, 2008
- "Different Brands, But The Same Cars," Toronto Star November 18 2010
- "Driverless buses, electric unicycles, cars that run on air," Toronto Star, December 4, 2014
- "Electric Cars Explained," Canadian Driver, March 9 2010
- "Gas, electric, diesel, or a combo pack?" Toronto Star, May 30 2014
- "Keeping Wheels Clean", Tire News, February 2007
- "Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera", The Journal of Automotive Arts, June/July 2007
- "Road Rage Trigger Easy to Pull", Toronto Star, July 28 2007
- "Road Work Ahead: Setting Up A Mobile Office Starts with the Right Vehicle", Vancouver Auto Show Program, 2008
- "Ten of the most avoidable driving mistakes," Toronto Star, May 8, 2015
- "The Collector King" (Jay Leno interview), Toronto Star, March 20 2004
- "The Realities of Restoration", Carguide, June 2002
- "World's Largest Small-Car Maker Throwing 40th Birthday Bash" (Hot Wheels), Toronto Star, February 14 2008
- "Pickups need dose of practicality,"Toronto Star, August 27 2011
- SEMA 2006 (The Famous Haircut) ...
MY OTHER ARTICLES
- "Aging Drivers: Public Safety and Private Mobility," Old Autos June 2, 2008
- "Dining at the Lenten Table", Toronto Star, February 25 2004
- "It's All Business In The Korean DMZ," Toronto Star July 27 2010
- "Legislature is a place for politics, not prayer", The Toronto Star, April 20 2008
- "Menace Drives By In A Maroon Car", Toronto Star, August 29 2007
- "My Mom, Irv Weinstein and Me," Toronto Star, January 6, 1999
- "Rock and Roll Gearhead from A to ZZ" (Billy Gibbons interview), Toronto Star, November 12 2005
- "Rosa Parks Bus", Toronto Star, October 29 2005
- "The Generation That Went From Coal-Oil Lamps To The Moon," Toronto Star, August 22 1994
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- My collection of taxicab memorabilia - click on each photo to view it.
- I didn’t grow up loving cars, but when the bug finally hit, it took me by storm. I make my living writing about them, and I spend much of my spare time playing with them.
I’m a freelance writer and a member of the Automobile Journalists of Canada. My regular outlets include new-car reviews and special-interest articles for National Post and its Driving.ca website; new-car reviews and features for AutoTrader.ca; features for Automotive News Canada; articles on antique cars for Old Autos Newspaper; and articles in the industry trade magazines Collision Management, Fleet Digest and Tire News. You can still find my work at Autos.ca, where I wrote reviews and features, and was the Assistant Editor. For almost three decades, I wrote for the Toronto Star's Wheels section, and also contributed to the newspaper Metro.
But I’m more than just cars: I also write about food and drink, travel, pen collecting, celebrity interviews and pets, among others. My work has appeared in such publications as Sharp For Men, Maclean's, Harrowsmith Country Life, Pen World, Dogs In Canada, Gambit, Where New Orleans, Rural Delivery and Writer’s Journal.
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