Revenge is a dish best served sour, or at least that’s the opinion of one Massachusetts man who exacted his own form of justice on a car dealership he claims sold him a lemon.

Earlier in the week David Cross of Salisbury, Massachusetts purchased a van from the Portsmouth Used Car Superstore. After taking it to his mechanic, numerous problems were found with the vehicle and Cross referred to it as a “lemon.” Cross then attempted to return the car, but the dealership refused to take it back. Thats when things went sour.

On Tuesday night, Cross returned the car himself, in the process smashing his van into seven other vehicles on the lot, including a Mercedes C300 and a Ford Mustang, causing an estimated $20,000 in damage. Rather than flee the scene, he then spotted a near by police cruise and turned himself in.

Cross was arrested and charged with criminal mischief and has since been released until his September 19th arraignment.

[Source: Reuters]

It’s easy to get distracted while you’re driving – especially if you’re a teen. Sometimes, the siren song of the cell phone can be too much to resist. In fact, recent studies state drivers under the age of 20 have the highest proportion of distracted drivers involved in fatal crashes at 16 percent. To combat this serious problem, Massachusetts’ Arbella Insurance Group Charitable Foundation has introduced the Distractology 101 tour, which offers  young drivers an up-close and personal look at the dangerous and deadly effects of distracted driving.

Set to hit various locations in Massachusetts and Rhode Island over the next three years, Arbella will be touring in a 36-foot long neon yellow mobile trailer equipped with two driving simulators that will teach them how to stay focused and safe while on the road. Teens can get behind the wheel and see how they would do in a variety of real-world scenarios that take them through the dangers of distracted driving.

Arbella joined forces with labs from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst to develop the program. At the end of the three years, about 10,000 novice drivers will have taken the simulator training, as well as an online curriculum and safe driving pledge.

The effects of distracted driving are similar to driving while drunk, as shown by multiple studies. Data from the National Highway Transportation Administration (NHTSA) shows that almost 6,000 people were killed and more than a half million injured in 2008 as a result of distracted driving. Other studies have shown that the risk of crashing while texting is 23 times higher than driving while drunk.

After the jump, watch the video that demonstration how the program works. For more information about this program and tour stops, visit DistractU.com.

[Source: Consumer Reports]

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Republicans everywhere rejoiced last week when Massachusetts senator-elect Scott Brown won an election to fill Ted Kennedy’s seat. Now not only is he on his way to Washington to quash the Obama Administration’s health care bill, but he’s helping out the U.S. auto industry in the process.

Brown campaigned for the seat from the seat… of his 2005 GMC Canyon pickup truck. “I love this old truck. It’s brought me closer to the people of this state,’’ said Brown in one of his campaign ads. The truck, which features as prominently as Brown himself in the adds, has 200,000 miles on the odometer and Brown says he’ll drive it all the way to Washington.

GMC has never been much of a player in the compact truck market, but the cameo appearance in Brown’s adds has caught the attention of more than a few folks – at least in Massachusetts. According to Al Cerrone, the owner of a local GMC dealership, “We’ve gotten eight to 12 phone calls from people asking, ‘Do you sell trucks like that?’ It prompted inquiries, and when you’ve got inquiries, you’ve always got sales.’’

It might not be much, but GM dealerships in Massachusetts can use all the good news they can get these days with almost half of the state’s 98 dealerships slated to close.

As for Bezema Buick GMC Truck Corp. in Norwood, which sold Brown his truck back in 2005, they are planning on offering a look-a-like GMC Canyon with 70,000 miles, which will be prominently displayed out front.

[Source: Boston.com]

National Geographic’s Traveler magazine has put together a list of the 50 best road trips. Included in the list are perennial favorites like California’s Pacific Coast Highway; Cape Cod, Massachusetts; the Florida keys and the Arkansas Ozarks.

International drives include Provence, France; the Pirate Route in Jamaica; New Zealand’s North Island and the Flower Route in the Netherlands.

Canada also rates highly with five of the top 50 drives. Recommended are Banf and Jasper National Parks in Alberta; pretty much all of the province of British Columbia; the Manitoba prairies; the Montreal, Quebec area and (one of our favorites) the Cabot Trail in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.

And while we don’t want to call into question the talents of fine folks at National Geographic, Newfoundland’s Gros Morne National Park should surely be included a well.

[Source: National Geographic]