Twitter is great for keeping abreast what’s going on in the lives of the people you follow. You can find out what’s going on in the world, learn what people are eating for breakfast and get the good news and the not-so-good news as it happens. And if you’re in California, chances are you’re going to tweet about the speeding ticket you just got.

Freeinsurancequotes.com has recently analyzed how many Twitter users take to Internet to complain about their traffic tickets. And the results are in: California leads the US in ticket tweets, with 14 percent tweeting about tickets. Not surprisingly, 44 percent of those Tweets came from Los Angeles. Following behind California is New York (8 percent), Texas (7 percent), Florida (6 percent) and Ohio (5 percent). Rounding out the top states at 4 percent are Colorado, North Carolina, Virginia, Illinois and Georgia.

We’re not sure what good Tweeting about your traffic ticket is going to do – venting, calls for donations, proclamations of your innocence. But we’re sure most Twitter users would agree that they are much more interesting to read than those about the cute things your cat is doing.

[Source: FreeInsuranceQuotes.org]

And don’t forget to follow AutoGuide on Twitter

With less than 10 percent of vehicles sold today equipped with manual transmissions, and an even greater number being taken off the road, Car and Driver magazine is on a campaign to “Save the Manuals”.

C/D Editor-in-Chief Eddie Alterman has this World Vision-esque video admonishing viewers to save old cars with manual gearboxes from rotting in the junkyard, or worse, LeMons races.

Really, the best thing would be to keep buying new cars with manual transmissions. Buying up used cars with stick shifts won’t make any car companies take notice, but if a whole lot of new cars start selling with manual gearboxes, supply with start to match demand. Vote with your wallets folks.

Hit the jump to watch the video

[Source: Car and Driver]

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A former GM employee and her husband have been indicted by a federal grand jury in Detroit in an industrial spying case. Ex-GM worker Shanshan Du and her husband Yu Qin are accused of photocopying thousands of documents relating to hybrid vehicle technology.

Prosecutors allege that the couple attempted to pass the documents on to a Chinese company, but destroyed the documents once an investigation began. The two are scheduled to appear in court today.

[Source: Detroit Free Press]

Honda‘s Marysville, Ohio manufacturing plant started in a revolution in 1982 when it became the first Japanese auto plant on American soil. The Honda Accords that rolled off the line started an automotive revolution, and the company hasn’t looked back since.

After nearly three decades, Marysville has reached a major milestone after building car # 10,000,000. While the Acura RDX and TL are also built at Marysville, Accords have accounted for 85% of the production over the years. Here’s to another 1o million!

Hit the jump to see the official press release

[Source: Honda]

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Lincoln‘s MKZ Hybrid will be priced identical to the least expensive V6, giving consumers a strong incentive to opt for the 2.5L four-cylinder hybrid. The hybrid retails for #35,180, the same sticker as the front-drive V6 model, and a few hundred dollars less than a Lexus HS250h.

The MKZ, based on Ford’s much acclaimed Fusion Hybrid, gets 41 mpg in the city, 6 mpg better than the Lexus, while coming in a more conventional looking wrapper. The fuel economy bump is a definite advantage, but the lack of a distinct look for the hybrid may be a detriment – after all, many people choose the Toyota Prius just so they can let the world know that they are driving a hybrid.

Hit the jump to read the official press release

[Source: Ford]

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Renault’s Megane 250 is widely considered one of the best hot hatches in the world. Not surprisingly, North Americans are unable to buy it due to our sordid love/hate relationship with French vehicles.

Europeans, on the other hand, are enamored with the Meagane 250, considered one of the Ford Focus RS’ most potent rivals, even though its down 50 horsepower on the Focus. But that doesn’t mean Renault is content to rest on their laurels. The French automaker has a pedigree of fast hatchbacks under its belt, and they intend to keep up with the competition.

A new Megane, ostensibly with more power and a sharper chassis, has been spotted testing on the Nurburgring. It would be hard to fathom that the new car will come with any less than 300 horsepower, to keep up with the Focus RS and the upcoming Vauxhall Astra VXR. The Megane’s limited-slip differential is said to be good for well beyond the current 250 horsepower, meaning driveline durability is likely not an issue.

Reports say that a stripped out, lightweight model in the vein of the hardcore R26R from the previous decade is in the cards, but only at the end of the product cycle. At this point, we’d crawl over broken glass infected with the Ebola virus to drive this car.

[Source: Autocar]

Ford‘s Mustang Challenge series will come to an end later this year after the final race at Miller Motorsports Park in Utah this September. The Mustang Challenge, which started in 2007, didn’t have a long life, but the FR500S will still be eligible to race in other series.

No official reason was given for the series’ cancellation, but Series Director Lynda Randall said ”We are disappointed to not continue what we started with the Mustang Challenge,”but we should hold our heads high, as this was a tremendously successful program and we were fortunate to get to be a part of what really became a family. Our drivers raced hard during the day and tended to laugh hard–together–when they were out of the cars. We will miss the great mixture of competition and camaraderie, as well as the great racing, that we came to love in Mustang Challenge. This was not the decision that we wanted to have to make, but we wanted to let our racers know what the future held and we want to close the year out with some very big races at Autobahn and of course at Miller.”

[Source: Mustang Blog]

Is this the 2012 Dodge Magnum aka Dodge’s replacement for the Dodge Durango? Spy photos obtained by blogger Asian Martin show the vehicle’s design, and a 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee next to it, and we’re inclined to think so.

The Magnum is expected to get Chrysler’s Pentastar 3.6L V6, and the photos clearly show design cues taken from the Ram pickup. The 5.7L Hemi V8 is a logical addition as well. Based on spy photos and some leaked patent drawings, this is likely your first look at the new truck.

[Source: Asian Martin]

General Motors is buying AmeriCorp, a company that offers subprime loans (loans to those with poor credit), for $3.5 billion dollars. GM says the move is necessary to expand financing to those with subprime credit scores. 40 percent of Americans hold these subprime ratings, which are defined as a score below 620 on a 300 to 850 scale.

“Clearly there’s an opportunity to bring more people into our showrooms and help them with finance,” said Chris Liddell, GM’s chief financial officer. GM will also be able to offer more leases to customers, a major selling point for upscale brands like Cadillac and Buick, whose customer base tends to lease vehicles more than mainstream brands. Currently 7 percent of GM’s sales come from leases, compared to an industry average of 21 percent. GM rebranded their GMAC finance unit as Ally, and they will continue to provide financing for the bulk of GM’s customers.

Subprime auto loans are a staple of the used car market, especially independent dealers who offer “financing for anybody” and the infamous “good credit, bad credit, no credit” types of used car lots. By definition this group is the highest risk for loans, due to a history of poor repayment, defaulting or other unscrupulous practices. With 40 percent of GM owned by the U.S government, you have to wonder how much integrity both parties have in extending these loans to people after a similar form of these loans nearly caused a global economic meltdown.

Hit the jump to read the official press release

[Source: GM and Yahoo News]

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After dropping out of the world’s most prestigious (and expensive) motorsports series in 2009, Toyota may get back into the Formula 1 circuit next season. According to a report by Italian website 422race.com, Toyota is close to inking a deal with Hispania Racing (HRT), after the team reportedly managed to secure funding for next season. HRT joined F1 for the 2010 season, running at the back of the grid. It has since canceled its agreement with Italian chassis0-builder Dallara and has been looking for a new partner.

The deal would see Toyota provide technical support to the team as well as use of its facilities in Cologne, Germany, not to mention all the R&D Toyota had been working on – including the TF110 race car that Toyota would have used in the 2010 season.

Toyota is reportedly even hiring back engineers and designers that it let go when the Japanese automaker canceled its F1 program in 2009.

[Source: Eurosport]