(NewsUSA) - Nothing says annoying like having bird poop on your car, and the arrival of spring means even more unwanted bird activity. Why do birds like to poop on cars? No one knows for sure, but bird poop on your car is more than an unsightly mess. In fact, the uric acid in bird poop can damage your vehicle’s paint.  

Fortunately, Take 5 Car Wash® is welcoming the season with a giveaway of over 60,000 free car washes in select markets across the United States including Dallas, Nashville, Denver, Salt Lake City, Memphis, Atlanta, Tampa Bay, Little Rock, Birmingham, New Orleans, and Columbus, Ohio. Free washes will be gifted starting on March 28, National Car Wash Day, to people who claim their car was pooped on by Take 5’s new, pesky mascot, the Take 5 Official Pigeon.

If you live in one of the select markets and suspect that the Take 5 pigeon has visited you, visit www.Take5.com/Pigeon for your chance at a free wash, and to see where the pigeon may strike next.

Take 5 Car Wash is the largest express car wash operator in the U.S. with 400 sites nationwide and is part of the Driven Brands family of automotive services. The retailer's washes tackle the seven signs of car aging: dull paintwork, fine lines, markings, permeability, surface dirt, under chassis rust, and fading color. Its washes are equipped with Take 5’s proprietary Pro5™ five-step process for a professional clean, powered by Armor All Professional® wash and wax formulas, including a Ceramic Shield formula with UV Protection exclusive to Take 5 Car Wash.

Visitors to Take 5 Car Wash also have access to Take 5 Car Wash’s complimentary Pro5 Detail Center, with high-power vacuums, Pro5, Armor All Professional®, Interior Cleaner, and Window Cleaner, and microfiber towels.

Driven Brands, headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., also includes Take 5 Oil Change®, Meineke Car Care Centers®, Maaco®, 1-800-Radiator & A/C®, Auto Glass Now®, and CARSTAR®. Driven Brands has more than 4,800 locations across 15 countries, and services over 50 million vehicles annually. Visit take5.com/car-wash for more information.

(NewsUSA) - Spring is here, and what better way to celebrate than to perk up your car and your look at the same time. Auto Glass Now, the company known for fast, friendly, and convenient auto glass services, is extending their Spring Fixin’ giveaway through Wednesday, March 22. A total of 23 lucky winners will receive a free pair of special Ray-Ban shades just in time for the start of spring.

The giveaway invites entrants to share their spring break plans at SpringFixin.com for a chance to win. The contest runs through 11:59 pm March 22, 2023, and is open to anyone in the U.S.

“Spring is right around the corner, and we are excited to help our lucky winners see clearly as they enjoy their spring break in style,” said Michael Lopez, president, Auto Glass Now. “We help customers get rid of chips or cracks on their windshields, and now we’re taking it to the next level so you can enjoy some fun in the sun.”

After March 22, the 23 winners will be selected at random and notified through email. They must respond within five business days to receive their prize.

“I’m thrilled that we can continue doing the work we love, and excited to give back to our valued customers,” Lopez said. "Our Auto Glass Now family is committed to offering customers the best quality auto glass repairs and replacement, at an incredible value, providing us with loyal and happy customers," he added.

For more information, the rules governing the giveaway, and to enter, visit SpringFixin.com.

About Auto Glass Now

Auto Glass Now offers fast, friendly, and convenient auto glass services across the country with almost 100 locations throughout the United States. The local team of experts can help provide trusted auto glass repairs, replacements, and calibrations. A part of the Driven Brands family of automotive aftermarket companies, Auto Glass Now delivers national scale and efficiency, alongside its premier service quality. Visit AutoGlassNow.com to learn more.

About Driven Brands

Driven Brands™, headquartered in Charlotte, NC, is the largest automotive services company in North America, providing a range of consumer and commercial automotive needs, including paint, collision, glass, vehicle repair, oil change, maintenance and car wash. Driven Brands is the parent company of some of North America's leading automotive service businesses including Take 5 Oil Change®, Take 5 Car Wash®, Meineke Car Care Centers®, Maaco®, 1-800-Radiator & A/C®, Auto Glass Now®, and CARSTAR®. Driven Brands has more than 4,800 locations across 15 countries, and services over 50 million vehicles annually. Driven Brands' network generates approximately $2 billion in annual revenue from more than $5.6 billion in system-wide sales.

(NewsUSA) - Auto Glass Now Announces a Chance to Win One of 23 Pairs of Ray-Ban Sunglasses

Charlotte, NC (February 27, 2023) – Auto Glass Now, known for fast, friendly, and convenient auto glass services, announces their Spring Fixin’ giveaway where Auto Glass Now will gift 23 winners with a pair of special Ray-Ban shades ahead of the 2023 spring break season.

The sweepstakes invites entrants to share their spring break plans for a chance to win at SpringFixin.com. It will run from Monday, February 27 through 11:59 PM ET on March 13, 2023, and is open to anyone in the U.S.

“Spring break is right around the corner, and we are excited to help our lucky winners see clearly as they enjoy their vacation or staycation in style,” said Michael Lopez, president, Auto Glass Now. “We help customers get rid of chips or cracks on their windshields, and now we’re taking it to the next level so you can enjoy some fun in the sun.”

Following the closing of the giveaway, 23 winners will be randomly selected on Wednesday, March 15. The winner will be contacted through email to receive their prize and must respond within five business days.

“We’ve had strong customer loyalty through the years because our Auto Glass Now family is committed to offering customers the best quality auto glass repairs and replacement, at an incredible value,” continued Lopez. “I’m thrilled that we can continue doing the work we love, and excited to give back to our valued customers.”

For more information, the rules governing the giveaway, and to enter, visit SpringFixin.com.

About Auto Glass Now

Auto Glass Now offers fast, friendly, and convenient auto glass services across the country with almost 100 locations throughout the United States. The local team of experts can help provide trusted auto glass repairs, replacements, and calibrations. A part of the Driven Brands family of automotive aftermarket companies, Auto Glass Now delivers national scale and efficiency, alongside its premier service quality. Visit AutoGlassNow.com to learn more.

About Driven Brands

Driven Brands™, headquartered in Charlotte, NC, is the largest automotive services company in North America, providing a range of consumer and commercial automotive needs, including paint, collision, glass, vehicle repair, oil change, maintenance and car wash. Driven Brands is the parent company of some of North America's leading automotive service businesses including Take 5 Oil Change®, Take 5 Car Wash®, Meineke Car Care Centers®, Maaco®, 1-800-Radiator & A/C®, Auto Glass Now®, and CARSTAR®. Driven Brands has more than 4,800 locations across 15 countries, and services over 50 million vehicles annually. Driven Brands' network generates approximately $2 billion in annual revenue from more than $5.6 billion in system-wide sales.

(NewsUSA) - Professionally installed automotive window film (“auto tint”) may improve your ride in more ways beyond its curb appeal. Here are four more benefits of having window film installed, according to Darrell Smith of the International Window Film Association (IWFA).

More Safety     
While driving, the sun’s glare can enter from side windows to the left and right of the driver's eyes, causing the view ahead to be temporarily blocked. This may result in an accident and, if you are involved in one, window film may help protect the driver and passengers from flying glass pellets if the glass is broken. Window film provides a protective layer to help hold glass fragments together.

More Driving Range     
During warmer months, the sun heats up a car’s interior, requiring the air conditioner (A/C) to cycle more often to reach a comfortable cabin temperature. Research on the impact of window films on a vehicle's energy consumption showed the A/C ran less and used less energy, which inferred an improved driving range when compared to a vehicle without solar-heat-gain-reducing window films.     

By reducing the temperature in a car, window film helps save on fuel or electric use at no additional cost beyond the initial installation.

More Skin and Upholstery Protection     
Window films reduce the sun's harmful ultra-violet (UV) rays by 99 percent, and they’re a leading cause of skin and eye damage, which over time may increase the incidence of  skin cancers and cataracts. Not only may window film help protect the skin and eyes from UV rays, it may also extend the lifespan of a vehicle's interior by reducing the sun's impact on trims, plastic moldings, upholstery and seat coverings.

More Theft Protection     
Thieves are less likely to randomly break into a car if what’s inside is less visible or more difficult to obtain. When an item of value is easily spotted in a car, the temptation to smash a window and grab the item is greater for would-be thieves. Shattering the windows of random cars in the hope of finding something of value is a low-reward, high-risk activity. Window film acts as a deterrent by helping to hold the glass together, making it more difficult to both break-in and to see-in.     

Learn more about window film and find a local installer by visiting www.iwfa.com.

While there are too many scenarios to chronicle the inconveniences of manual car doors, there is an unsung hero working behind the scenes with automakers to resolve these issues for good.

Magna is one of the world's largest suppliers in the mobility space, and chances are, you probably have never heard of them, but likely experienced their technologies in one form or another. The power liftgate technology Chrysler debuted on the minivan 20 years ago, for instance.

Most people don't think about the auto supply chain, yet Magna designs and manufactures these systems, plus a lot more. And, as we look to the future, the company is sitting at the helm of mobility technology -- the intersection of Silicon Valley tech, automotive and smart manufacturing sectors.

Referring back to the everyday "door struggles," the innovative supplier has a solution for those too -- with SmartAccessTM, an advanced powered door system.

Compared to a traditional manual door, advanced powered doors are customizable and easier to use. Engineers at Magna explored door applications with their HaptronikTM technology -- which is a revolutionary motion control software that enhances user experience and ensures that the door will feel the same way all the time in any condition -- to expand the use cases of the manual door.

So, those slammed fingers or dinged cars? Magna's SmartAccessTM doors can dictate the speed at which doors open and close -- thankfully, helping prevent a gust of wind from deciding the fate of little fingers or the car next door. Magna is even developing an "ice breaker" feature for frozen doors.

While automakers and suppliers develop futuristic ways for people to get from point A to point B over the next 50 years, there are everyday, simpler problems that are being resolved with ingenuity in the present. SmartAccessTM was designed to create an intuitive experience for a variety of car owners. From helping an elderly person or individual with disabilities open a heavy door, to a single parent herding kids into the back seat with the convenience of a hands-free option, SmartAccessTM propels the average driver into the future today, using technology with a human touch.

In fact, driving is a significant source of exposure to UV rays, according to the International Window Film Association (IWFA), a nonprofit organization.

Automotive window films can provide an important layer of protection against harmful UVA rays, which do pass through unprotected window glass.

Medical research has shown that drivers in the United States have an increased risk of developing skin cancer on the left side of their faces and on their left arms as a result of exposure to UVA rays through car windows.

All quality window films block 99 percent of UVA rays and can help to reduce the risk of being exposed to the sun's harmful UVA rays. But the dark glass that is popular in many vehicles today may not provide sufficient UVA protection unless it has also been treated with a window film, according to the IWFA.

Some key benefits of automotive window films:

• Protecting yourself. Window films not only reduce your skin and eye exposure to UVA rays, they may also enhance visibility and reduce eye fatigue while driving, and many films reject more than 50 percent of the sun's heat to help you stay cool on hot summer drives.
• Protecting your car. The sun's rays that penetrate car windows can have a similar impact on your car's interior as on your skin. Window films help reduce the fading and cracking of upholstery. In addition, window films can enhance the ability of the side and rear window glasses to hold together in the event of an impact or accident, as well as frustrate a smash-and-grab burglar.

Protective automotive window films can be installed quickly and easily, usually in a few hours by a professional window film installer. To further assist consumers and professionals, the IWFA has developed a guideline to explain the visual quality that should be expected after installation of an automotive window film tint.

Visit www.iwfa.com for more information and to find a window film business in your area.

(NewsUSA) - Maaco, the iconic American body shop, is celebrating 50 years of affordable auto body paint and repair with a Labor Day giveaway -- 50 pairs of gold Ray Ban sunglasses.

The contest will run from Monday, August 15, through midnight on Sunday, August 28, and is open to anyone in the United States. Entrants are invited to share their plans for Labor Day weekend and how they would enjoy sporting their new Ray Bans via the contest website. The 50 lucky winners will receive a pair of gold Ray Ban sunglasses following the closing of the contest.

“We’re hosting this golden giveaway to show our appreciation to our customers, for their decades of support,” says Chris Dawson, president of Maaco. “Over the last 50 years, customers have come to depend on us as the one to call whenever it’s time for a fresh paint job on your car or when life inevitably brings its dents, dings and scratches on your vehicle.”

Maaco was founded in 1972 by Anthony Martino, with a single shop in Wilmington, Delaware. The company now includes more than 400 independently owned and operated franchises across North America where expert technicians have repaired more than 20 million vehicles over the past 50 years.

Maaco has made a name for itself as a standout auto repair franchise because of its best-price guarantee and lifetime warranty on services performed and through servicing car fleets for large and small businesses and government agencies.     

Maaco also offers contactless procedures and an online cost estimator tool to help make car repair quick, easy and safe.     

Maaco’s gold, platinum, and diamond certified centers pass rigorous approval processes each year. These centers include experts with specialized training in repair of specific models, including Audi, Honda, Ford, General Motors, Fiat Chrysler, Volkswagen and Lexus. These certified centers are designed to repair specific models to meet or exceed factory standards.     

“Throughout these 50 years, our dedicated franchise family has remained committed to providing the best -quality repair at an incredible value, and that’s why Maaco has such loyal customers,” continues Dawson. “It’s an honor to be a part of this iconic brand, and I can’t wait to see our communities celebrating alongside us as they sport their golden shades for the Labor Day long weekend.”     

The winners will be chosen at random on Wednesday, August 31. They will be notified through email and must respond within five business days to claim their gold Ray Bans.     

Visit MaacoGoldenGiveaway.com for more information and complete contest details.

(NewsUSA) - One of your next vehicle’s most crucial safety features may not even be visible until you need it. A first-to-market product called “Breakthrough Lighting” offers consumers new ways to personalize and interact with their vehicles while helping improve safety through greater visibility.     

Global automotive supplier and mobility technology company Magna has developed the innovative lighting solution. It is featured on a thermoplastic liftgate known as Litgate. The lighting solution can be used communicatively or functionally -- and its “coolest” feature is arguably that it remains discreetly hidden until it needs to signal for something and illuminate. Compare that to today’s lighting elements, which are always visible on your car’s exterior, even when not in use.     

The sophisticated lighting offers unique designs and customizations using various patterns, colors and shapes, providing a creative way for car companies to re-brand and style the vehicles of the future.     

In addition to enabling more creative styling, Magna’s technology offers exciting opportunities with the rise of electric and autonomous vehicles.     

For example, the technology can light up the word “autonomous” to tell other drivers what mode your self-driving vehicle is operating in, or a battery symbol in red to conveniently notify you that your EV (electric vehicle) is running low on charge.     

The ability for communication outside of the vehicle becomes ever more important as autonomous vehicles proliferate.     

We’ve all experienced walking up to an intersection, and just as we start to cross the road, a vehicle approaches the corner intending to turn right, yet doesn’t signal. Cue the apologetic wave from the driver insisting the pedestrian cross.     

Today, this common situation is resolved by way of a simple hand gesture between two people, but imagine if that car were driving itself. How would the pedestrian know the car’s intentions and whether it was safe to step into the street?     

As our society gets closer to integrating fully autonomous vehicles to our roadways, miscommunicated intentions can result in severe accidents on the road -- especially for those on foot.     

In 2020, nearly one in six traffic deaths was a pedestrian death, with 77% of pedestrian fatalities occurring after dark. Seeing and being seen are critical to helping all road users avoid tragic crashes.     

Through clearer communicating and signaling between drivers and others on the road such as pedestrians, bicyclists and e-scooter riders, Breakthrough Lighting reinvents the function of your vehicle’s exterior lighting, while enhancing its overall appearance.     

Magna has the unmatched ability to imagine and develop automotive technologies under one roof, and continues to leverage its in-house engineering power to address real-world transportation challenges to help make roads safer places for all.

(By John Smith) - Here's a great new story about a product that is great.

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(NewsUSA) - The auto industry continues to market electric cars as the "next best thing," and the newest generation of electric vehicles (EVs) are more than up to speed.

Although widespread adoption of EVs took some time to find its footing in the United States and was slow to get off the ground, more car shoppers are seeing the benefits of EVs and hybrids. Several improvements in the latest models have helped overcome some hurdles that might have made buyers hesitant to embrace EVs.

Some of the key features consumers want include:

• More power. Consumers want increased range and fast charging. The battery life of newer electric cars allows for several hundred miles on a single charge.
• More style. Car buyers don't want to sacrifice comfort and style, and manufacturers are rising to this challenge with roomy designs equal to those of conventional cars.

"Consumers are ready to switch to electric vehicles," according to Brian Moody, Executive Editor for Autotrader.

"Things they consider when thinking about buying an electric vehicle include reduced environmental guilt, less time refueling, and never having to change your oil again," he says.

One example of the latest in EV technology is the EV6, auto maker Kia's first entry into the battery-powered vehicle market.

The EV6 features an ultra-fast 350-kilowatt charger that enables the car to go from a 10 percent to 80 percent charge in less than 18 minutes, ready for up to 210 miles of range.

It's also designed with a distinctive Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) feature that enables use of the battery as a mobile power source for multiple applications, according to the company website. Other advances include both rear wheel drive and dual-motor all-wheel drive, as well as two battery sizes, 58.0 kWh and 77.4 kWh.

The latest battery technology meets consumers' need for speed with the 576 HP power to go from 0 to 60 miles per hour in less than 3.5 seconds. The style factor is there, too. The EV6 channels the design of current crossover vehicles with a four-door sedan body and seating for five passengers. The EV6 is scheduled to debut in early 2022.

Visit kia.com for more information about the latest in electric vehicle technology.