Hey, sorry for the delay. For the life of me I could not remember my password-so many of the dang things! And when I did I wasn't able to log on. It turn out the battery was totally dead. That's it. My son left the dome light on for over 18 hours. My husband hooked it up to a battery charger for a few hours and then took it out for a very long ride to recharge it and it has been fine. I still do not know how or why the dash stayed lit but car has been no trouble since the recharge.

These are not "shady" deals, but I think that all 3 favor the dealership, and not the auto owner. 1. Extend the warranty from 5 to 7 years for $1480 and get the money back if no claims. This is a free loan of $1480 to the dealer for 7 years and it probably does not cover much, maybe just the drive train. These parts are already warranteed for 5 years. What happens if the dealership changes hand, goes out of business, or re-incorporates before the 7 years is up? These days, auto dealerships are very fluid and a long term, fixed business arrangement for 7 years is more rare than new dealerships. Do you thnik you will own this vehicle for 7 years? What happens to your money if you replace this vehicle within 5 years? 2. Rust proofig for $848 or more option at $1248. The time to add rust proofing to a vehicle is when it is new and the surfaces are clean. This one is a maybe. Some sources say it is wasted money. It all depends on what is done. If it merely duplicates the coatings already placed by the manufacturer, it is not very helpful. It may offer some protection if you live on a gravel road where the undercarraige gets pelted with stones on a regular basis. If they add coatings to the interior of the doors, be careful here. Too much in the wrong place can gum up the workings of electric door locks; It can plug door drains. If you live in the "rust belt" where road salts are used extensively, it may some added value. This one is a judgement call. 3. Accident and health insurance. This is assurance (to the dealer) that you'll have cash to pay off the loan in case of debilitating accident or sickness to you. Very likely, it will be written to the effect that in case of accident or illiness, the car loan is the first item to be satisfied. If you are employed, have adequate health and life insurance, this is not needed. For a long trerm loan, say 5 years, the dealer (and loan agency) is very anxious to make sure that the loan covered.

A great reminder. I narrowly missed a pile up accident a couple of weeks ago and I'm still counting my lucky stars. I'm so tired of people thinking they are going to get there more quickly if they ride my bumper. And why can't they just drive with both hands? (Because the cell phone is in the other!)

I saw this the other day, and my first thought was, what a silly, ill-thought design. I don't think it will be very effective. You turn the ignition off, it makes a noise. That's it? So every time you go somewhere, you can count on hearing a very annoying noise as soon as you turn the car off (to go with all the other annoying noises), because you can't possibly make it to the car seat to undo the baby before the noise starts. In behaviour sciences / learning theory, it's clear that alert sounds and alarms can only modify behaviour if there is a correct action to take to prevent it, in this case there is not. Not to mention, over time the possibility of becoming desensitized to the "going to happen anyway" sound. It all seems very frustrating. I think it especially won't be effective because people will return the seats / throw them in the garbage. The parents who care enough to buy this kind of seat are the ones who are most unlikely to forget their child. For the person who has similarly somehow forgotten the sound (perhaps gotten out of the car to get something out of the trunk first), this new seat doesn't do anything more for that child. If I were designing a car seat with built-in protection, I would put a pressure sensor under the seat, a high tech thermometer sensing the air temperature, both connected to a transmitter with gps location. If a child is sitting in the seat and the car is over, say, something like 90 - 100 degrees or so, it puts out an immediate signal to police so they can come save the baby.