As we await the results of the biggest US Presidential Election we have ever seen, I have found an interesting article on how car choice reflects how Americans vote.

Kelley Blue Book Market Research surveyed almost 12,000 US car owners and how they planned to vote in the election. They found that owners of larger trucks and traditional luxury cars are more likely to vote for John McCain, while owners of hybrids and station wagons are more likely to vote for Barack Obama.

Backers of Arizona senator McCain typically own American brands – GMC (61%), Chevrolet (60%), Buick and Dodge (58%). McCain voters are also more likely to drive luxury brands like Lexus and BMW.

Barack Obama followers prefer imported vehicles, with the most popular being the Mini with 70%, Subaru (61%) and Saab (59%).

McCain supporters are most likely to drive full size trucks and SUVs, while Obama voters drive station wagons, hatchbacks and hybrids.

Rick Wainschel from Kelley Blue Book said “Car ownership says a lot about a person, and can even be an indicator who they are likely to vote for”. I do agree with this to an extent. While all this data may seem like a sweeping generalisation, some of it does make sense.

Sales of domestic and large trucks (McCain) are higher in traditionally Republican ‘red’ states whilst import and hybrid owners are predominantly located in Democratic ‘blue’ states.

Wired Blog claims all American brands like GMC and Chevrolet, as favoured by McCain followers, represent a blue collar ethic and fit with McCain’s image as a war hero with years of experience.

Throughout the campaign, Obama has stressed the importance of renewable energy, so it’s not surprising that eco-conscious hybrid car owners would vote for him.

So while some of it makes sense, I’m sure there are a lot of exceptions to the rule. I imagine a lot of American car choices reflect personal budgets and need for space rather than their voting preference.

A jury in a Santa Ana courtroom will begin to hear opening statements soon from both attorneys in a case that threatens to become a highly emotional one – involving negligence of the city on the one hand, and parental supervision, or the lack thereof, on the other.

Attorneys for both sides of a motorcycle accident case have begun to present opening arguments before prospective jurors in the case involving two teenage San Juan Capistrano boys. In March 30, 2005, the two teenagers, Trenton Merrill, then a 14-year-old, and Scott Agostini, then 13 years of age were riding a dirt bike. Merrill was the passenger. The pair crossed San Juan Capistrano Creek Road, and crashed into a BMW. Both suffered injuries in the motorcycle accident, but it was Merrill who took the brunt of the impact. He spent several weeks in the hospital undergoing a number of surgeries before his leg had to be amputated. Agostini was discharged a week after the accident with no permanent damage. The driver of the BMW, Emily Pastore, was not injured in the accident.

In the days after the motorcycle accident, Merrill and his family sued the city, as well as a city landscaping contractor. The city on its part, sued both Agostini and Pastore, but last week dropped Pastore from the suit.

In opening remarks, the attorney for the city based his arguments on the young boys and their temperament. According to him, the boys had been encouraged to take up the sport of motocross racing by their parents, and were prone to using the neighborhood as their own private motocross-racing track. He rejected outright the notion that these boys were naïve or innocent victims in this tragedy, and said that they were already semi-pro motocross racers by the time of the motorcycle accident. And this when the boys were just 13 and 14 years old!

In his opening remarks, the attorney for the Merrills, argued that the boys had absolutely no time to see Pastore’s BMW as they cut across the intersection because an overgrowth of heavy vegetation created a blind intersection, in the center of the median. Merrill, he contends, had been forced to lose his leg and let go of his dreams, because of the negligence of the San Juan Capistrano city that failed to make the intersection safe to use for riders. There was no record of any maintenance work done at the site of the accident by the landscape contractor. There were no warning signs that could have warned the boys. There was nothing but green brush that blocked the boy’s view, and led to the motorcycle accident.

The case has taken on emotional tones, especially with those who believe that the boys’ parents were being irresponsible in letting them ride dirt bikes in the streets. The attorney for the city actually used the words, “self centered”, and “disobedient.” We’re still a while away from hearing all the facts in this case, but there doesn’t seem to be any evidence that the boys were in the habit of using the streets as a racing track, as the city’s attorney has claimed. Neighbors of the Agostinis say that most of the boys’ riding was done at the racing track that his parents had built for him in the yard.

It’s ridiculous to pile all the blame on the parents, when the city has failed to keep the streets safe for people to use. It looks as if the city is trying to blame others without acknowledging that it too had a part to play in this tragedy. True, the boys may not have had a place on the roads, but then, that huge brush didn’t have a place on the center median that day either.

The capital of Cyprus used to be in Paphos until the enlargement of other cities on the Island. Paphos has continued to have its share of the developments in Cyprus, and thus an International Airport was erected to turn the small region into a tourism hub.

Paphos has a population of less than 100,000; but its collection of Antiquities as well as historical places has caused it to become a bustling region in Cyprus.

Paphos is divided into two main regions, the residential district of Ktima and the Kato region which consist of the seaside and the medieval ports. The Kato Paphos region is where the hotels and most of the other tourist destinations are situated.

The best time to travel to Paphos is the summer time; as this ensures that you take the advantage of the weather and the beaches. The hottest month in Paphos is August when the temperature can be more than 35 degrees, and the humidity is very low along with the water relatively warm all throughout the day.

The winter months are usually rainy. December and January are the coldest winter months in Paphos. The summer time is the busiest season in Paphos, because of the relatively high inflow of tourists from all over the world. The spring and early fall seasons are also some of the best times to visit Paphos.

The Paphos international airport is the main route if you wish to get to the region. Cyprus airways and Air Holland are some of the few airlines that fly the route. Travelers coming from major European countries will have to have a stop over before boarding a flight to Paphos international Airport.

Travelling to Paphos by boat is not allowed, as there are no legal ports in the region to transport international travelers. Travelling by bus can only start after reaching the airport, while renting a car is the most viable option from the Airport. There are several hotels and accommodation options available in Paphos.

Booking a car rental Paphos service is very easy. You can make reservations with a trusted rental company, which would be on a stand-by at the airport for your arrival. Cars should be rented at no extra costs, and the rental company should contain fleet of cars that you can choose from to satisfy your needs.

Most of these are visible right from departure from the Paphos international airport. While driving through the seaside, one can also see a collection of different hotels of low/medium class as well as more classy ones.

One should know that car rental Paphos services are not standardized; hence prices may vary from a company to another. You will need to find out the average costs of the entire car rentals company available and with this you will know the actual amount of money that you will pay. Car rental Paphos services include your direct transportation from the airport to some tourist attraction sites.

The rental company can supply you with information on where exactly you are going to and how you can enjoy the best of your stay within such sites. You can feel free to ask questions about the city of Paphos from owners of the car rental company. They should be willing to give you rules and guidelines that tourists.

In the runup to the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, events organizer Singapore GP announces that it will be releasing 70,000 tickets and passes on Feb. 14 at 9 am (Singapore time GMT+8). The first batch of Singapore GP tickets will consist of 15,000 walkabout passes and 55,000 grandstand seats at strategic locations throughout the circuit.

Where to get tickets

Three-day passes to the Singapore GP are priced from S$168 (walkabout) to S$1,388 (Premier Pit Grandstand). They include a separate ticket for each race day and can be used by three different people over the three days. However, tickets cannot be interchangeable on the same day.

All prices include the relevant processing fee and Goods and Services Tax. Singapore GP patrons will receive a printed confirmation at the time of the booking, which they can then use in June to claim the plastic commemorative tickets and lanyard currently on hold for security reason.

Singapore GP bookings can be made through OmniTicket Network outlets located at Forum Shopping Centre, Marina Square Shopping Centre, and Singapore Visitors Centre at Orchard Road, or via Singapore GP sales counters at post offices across the island.

Online, F1 patrons can log on to the Singapore Grand Prix website for tickets reservation, seating chart, grandstand descriptions, and details on the historic F1 races at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix.

Where to sleep

Singapore GP is set to break cover on a street circuit around the Marina Bay area. With downtown Singapore as backdrop, spectators get a glimpse of the exotic garden city of Singapore with its quaint mix of historical landmarks and modern-day buildings.

Marina Bay is the district in Singapore that flanks the sheltered waters off the Raffles Boulevard, Beach Road, and Esplanade Drive. Across the district are Singapore hotels that range from budget to luxury.

The Singapore Beach Hotel on Beach Road offers room-per-night as well as long-term hotel accommodation at special rates, which can be luxuriously economical for the lengthy schedule of Singapore GP events.

Over at downtown Singapore, where Singapore GP fever is most likely to be evident on island residents, Singapore visitors can opt to stay at the upscale classic accommodations of Claremont Hotel in Singapore.

The hotel in Singapore of Claremont is in the vicinity of Farrer Park, near in the heart of Singapore while accessible from the rest of the island through the Farrer Park MRT Station.

Need a crib near enough to feel the rush of Singapore GP yet not isolating from other must-sees in Singapore? YWCA Singapore offers its Fort Canning Lodge to Singapore visitors looking for rooms within reach.

The YWCA Singapore Hotel is located on the outskirts of the Fort Canning Park, adjacent to Orchard Road that leads to downtown Singapore, and to Fort Canning Road that heads toward the get-go flag of Singapore SG at Raffles Boulevard.

What to expect

The 5-km street circuit of Singapore GP features wide tracks and sharp turns that can only make overtaking and cornering all the more electrifying. At 300 kph on average, F1 entries from Ferrari to Mercedes will rev up in the heart of Singapore’s garden city with the charming blend of old and new buildings in the background.

The 2008 F1 Singapore GP races are scheduled to run at nighttime, so expect the Marina Bay area in Singapore to be bathed in light at night and exude an impression of a city full of activities that it never sleeps. Clark Quay and the Esplanade are just around the corner, so expect as well a zoom-zooming nightlife well into sunup.

Car paintings are designed to make a huge difference in the way your home, office, showroom or any other environment looks and the way you feel about it, if you are into car art. Car prints will also serve the same purpose, that is of substantially improving the visual aspect of any place you use or live in, be it the office or the study, and it should be known that these prints are the result of many hours of work and creative effort. Most car prints are made from oil paintings, though there are some that were added some watercolors as well.

Car paintings originally served the purpose of advertising for car salesmen and putting together car brochures, and this function, which was created at the beginning of the twentieth century didn’t change for about seventy years. In England, as opposed to the United States, car paintings as a form of art have a considerable history. But in the States, it wasn’t until the beginning of the 1980s that the real forms of automotive art began to manifest. Car paintings are created now by artists who may have had training in art, but did not go from painting portraits and landscapes to painting automobiles, just because they felt the need for a change or they realized that the automotive art market was expending. This is definitely not the case. Car paintings are made by people who have serious knowledge about automobiles. Be it vintage cars, racing cars or elite cars, these paintings are created by people who identify themselves with the automobile genre. However, some car paintings are the result of an artist’s work that doesn’t relate too much to cars, but sees them as any other subject for an artistic manifestation on canvas.

Although automobiles may be either a necessity or a luxury in our lives, they are present in our daily existence and they influence it a great deal. Some of the car paintings created by contemporary artists go to show the impact that automobiles have on our culture and society. Others are painted for the sole purpose of giving automotive art collectors what they want to see and have. For this reason, some car paintings express less of what the artist feels and more of what it is expected from such a work of art.

If you want add a personal touch to your office, or even your home, you can try car prints, which are suitable for any of these environments. You will find that car paintings may be quite expensive, as some of them are really old, or created by famous artists whose work is already for collectors exclusively. Car prints are usually high quality and low cost, which makes it safe to say that anyone can get their car prints with the model, year or color they wish. Some car prints come in limited editions which can make them a little more expensive, but they are not something that everyone can have access to, so if you decide to purchase such car prints, you will be among the very few owners of that specific model.