What do you call a Yugo with a flat tire? Totaled. What’s included in every Yugo owner’s manual? A bus schedule. What do you call a Yugo that breaks down after 100 miles? An overachiever. How do you double the value of your Yugo?  Fill the tank full of gas.  How do you make a Yugo go faster?  Hook it up to a fast tow truck.

Americans love to hate the Yugo. It has been included on — and topped — many worst-car lists, including TIME’s 50 worst cars of all time. In The Yugo: The Rise and Fall of the Worst Car in History, Jason Vuic details why — despite the book’s clever title — the Yugo isn’t the worst car ever. Vuic explores how this little East European car that couldn’t quickly fell from “Yugomania” glory to being one of the most loathed cars of all time.

The Yugo has been called a hopelessly degenerate hunk of trash and a vile little car. Critics have said it’s hard to view on a full stomach. It’s easy to start feeling bad for the little guy.
Oh, sure. I had these memories as a kid in the 1980s of the car being panned by everyone, but I didn’t approach this book just to make fun of the car. I like little cars. I really didn’t pan the car. I’ve read a couple reviews that say, “Vuic doesn’t lay off the Yugo.” But I’m not really calling it anything. I’m trying to examine why Americans have made it such an icon for failure. I wanted to understand why we hate this car so much, even though most Americans have never seen a Yugo, let alone driven one.

But you deem it the “worst car in history” in the title of your book.
Absolutely. That is what it is known as to anyone over 35 who has heard of the Yugo. But I actually believe it is not the worst car in history. If a car is marketed in the United States and sold in the United States, that means it passed certain presale standards. [The Yugo] had to pass a safety test, a crash test. It had to pass an emissions test.

So it is one of the worst cars in American history, but not necessarily in the world’s history?
Americans tend to see America as the world. The Yugo was a bad car in America in the 1980s, but we don’t realize that there are many, many cars that never dreamed of coming to America. The Russian Ladas and the Czech Skodas of the world. Just the fact that the Yugo came here meant it was far and away better than many other cars in many other countries.

Toronto, ON (CharityCar) March 5, 2010 — CharityCar (www.CharityCar.us and www.CharityCar.ca), green vehicle disposal (www.greenvehicledisposal.com) and charity car donation company, today announced that its total donations processed for 2009 exceeds $91,000 USD.  Over the course of the year, 50% of customers traded their vehicles in for cash while the other 50% donated the money to charity. This trend is expected to continue in 2010.

CharityCar would like to thank its many generous donors across North America who, despite the economic downturn, contributed to its success; more importantly, the success of its supported charities and the betterment of the environment.

David Gold from Standard Auto Wreckers (www.standardautowreckers.com) and the founder of the program said: “We originally started this program to give back to our local community in Toronto, Ontario and when friends in the business heard about what we were doing they all wanted to join in. Now, three years later, we have over 150 partner charities and more than 70 member recyclers in both Canada and the USA participating! It really is heartwarming to see.”

About CharityCar
CharityCar (CharityCar.us and CharityCar.ca) accepts the donation of old vehicles on behalf of charities and non-profit organizations across North America. CharityCar utilizes its partner Green Vehicle Disposal’s eco-friendly recycling technology, offers ‘free pickup’, does not take any fees for processing or handling charity vehicles and donates 100% of the recyclers value to the customers’ chosen charity in the United States or Canada. CharityCar’s purpose is to provide its customers with an eco-friendly solution for the disposal of old vehicles. All vehicles donated through CharityCar are disposed of in an eco-friendly manner which meets and exceed all recycling rules. For more information, visit: www.CharityCar.us or www.CharityCar.ca.

They are proud to practice environmentally sound processes when dismantling and recycling our vehicles. This is achieved by properly draining all hazardous fluids from the vehicle thereby not having them drain into the ground. They remove Mercury switches and other dangerous substances from the vehicles and dispose of them in a safe way in accordance with local laws.

The Good Samaritan laws protect from liability those who donate and distribute food in good faith.  In Ontario it reads as follows:

Liability of donor

1. (1) A person who donates food or who distributes donated food to another person is not liable for damages resulting from injuries or death caused by the consumption of the food unless,

(a) the food was adulterated, rotten or otherwise unfit for human consumption; and

(b) in donating or distributing the food, the person intended to injure or to cause the death of the recipient of the food or acted with reckless disregard for the safety of others.

Non-application

2. This Act does not apply to a person who distributes donated food for profit.

Good Samaritan Doctrine: is a legal principle that prevents a rescuer who has voluntarily helped a victim in distress from being successfully sued for ‘wrongdoing.’ Its purpose is to keep people from being so reluctant to help a stranger in need for fear of legal repercussions that they do not offer aid.

I wanted to take a few minutes (and words) to thank all our followers on Twitter!  We just cracked the 1,000 follower mark and we would like to take this opportunity to thank some of them!

Putting Edge Mississauga, you are green in more ways than one and we appreciate that!

The Primitive Integrated Naturalist Education (P.I.N.E.) Project is a registered non-profit organization created to bring the wonders of the natural world back to the urban jungle.

Nexplan Recycling is focused on alternatives for gasoline such as ethanol or hydrogen.

The BC SPCA

Youth Assisting Youth prevents problems before they start.

and many, many more great folks!!

We are pleased to officially re-launch our new website redesign and to celebrate we are offering all new charity signs ups a chance to win an iPod Shuffle and other great prizes like CharityCar.ca official merchandise!  All new sign ups and referrals to the program that meet our partnership criteria will be entered into a random draw that will take place on June 30, 2010 – winners will be contacted by phone and have their names posted on this blog.

If your charity or non-profit does not currently have a charity car donation program or you have one that is just too expensive, let us help!  We give one hundred percent of the recyclers valuation to your charity and take zero fees.  We do the work and all your charity or non-profit has to do is issue the tax receipts!  Fill out the charity registration now and get started accepting charity cars with seven days!

Here is a print ad that is just amazing!

In a shout out for more help the Alzheimer’s Society is calling for political party election manifestos to address serious failings in dementia care. This is after a survey found less than a quarter of people with dementia are receiving all the help they need.

The charity’s survey of nearly 1,500 carers and people with dementia found major concerns about the standards of care being provided. Only 23 per cent of respondents said all their care needs were met while less than a quarter (24 per cent) felt staff providing care had the skills and understanding necessary. Only 12 per cent of carers always had access to short breaks.

Further Alzheimer’s Society research revealed MPs believe dementia needs more attention from political parties.  81 per cent of 150 MPs surveyed said they believe a long term settlement for the funding of social care needs to be a high priority for their party. 67 per cent also agreed the system for charging for essential care such as washing and dressing places an unfair burden on people with dementia.

Alzheimer’s Society has published three demands for what it wants to see from political parties in their election manifestos. These are:

• Details of how they will develop a quality care service. This must include guarantees that every person with dementia: can expect trained professionals who understand how to deliver quality care and support to people with dementia; can expect the NHS and social care service to work closely to support people to live their lives as independently as possible and with their carers can receive the care and support they need to live well at any stage of their journey.
• A guarantee that Attendance Allowance will not be scrapped – This is an invaluable benefit that gives people with the dementia and their carers the choice, flexibility and control to shape their own care. Alzheimer’s Society research found overwhelming opposition to the idea of abolishing Attendance Allowance and moving the money into care services.
• Dementia research made a higher priority. Dementia research is drastically underfunded. The government invests eight times less in dementia research than cancer research. Developing new treatments has the potential to significantly reduce the number of people with dementia. Existing research expenditure needs to be reallocated to ensure dementia research receives the same investment as other major conditions.

Members of the public can play their part by writing to their prospective parliamentary candidates and asking them to raise the issue with their parties.  With a rapidly aging population this type of help is becoming quite urgent!

We would like to extend a warm welcome to our newest partner charity, Christian Children’s Fund of Canada – They help to break the cycle of poverty.  They also guarantee their supporters that over 80% of charitable donations will be used directly in their international programs.  For close to 50 years, CCF of Canada, a non-profit organization, has led the fight against poverty setting thousands of people free from the shackles of extreme poverty.

Donating your car to this charity is a great way to make a difference this holiday season.  And don’t forget that each car is recycled in an eco-friendly way which can make you feel twice as good.  Then there is the tax deductible receipt you are eligible for!  So don’t wait, donate now.

As sad as it is there are always criminals out there ready to try and trick generous folks into donating to a bad charity.  The following was posted over at CharityWatch.org

The AIP along with AARP, the National Association of Attorneys General, the National Association of Secretaries of State and a few other public service organizations partnered with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and over 60 law enforcers in a 48-state sweep of questionable charities, fundraising companies and individuals. The sweep, which included 76 law enforcement actions, focused on so-called “hero charities” that purport to raise money for police, firefighters and veterans. Why the focus on hero charities? Because unscrupulous fundraisers know that people are more likely to give to these causes than any others. Who wouldn’t want to help the heroes that risk their lives to protect us?

At the May 2009 press conference in Washington, DC where the sweep was announced, Sheriff Jerry “Peanuts” Gaines of Warren County, Kentucky spoke of his encounter with a fake charity. The Sheriff, who prides himself on his open door policy, kept hearing from people who wanted to drop off or mail him a check to pay for bulletproof vests. He told these well-intentioned folks that his office’s law enforcement personnel already had bulletproof vests and then asked them why they thought otherwise. It turns out that each of them had received a call from a telemarketer who said that he was raising money to buy vests for the local Sheriff’s department. So the next time that you want to contribute in response to a solicitation for your local police or firefighters, first contact them to find out if they have authorized it and agree with the need for the appeal.

The FTC announced at the May press conference that it had filed two federal court complaints, one of which was against three AIP F rated charities that claimed to help disabled police or firefighters or needy military families when “[t]heir real goal, however, was to dupe consumers into contributing money that the defendants used overwhelmingly just to support themselves and their fundraisers.” American Veterans Relief Foundation (AVRF), Coalition of Police and Sheriffs (COPS) and Disabled Firefighters Fund (DFF), which all operate out of the same address in Santa Ana, California, are alleged by the FTC to be shams. Only 5.4% of the $19 million that these groups raised from 2005 to 2008 was spent on charitable activities.

These three F rated charities “were initially formed by an individual, Joseph Shambaugh, who used them as facades to facilitate raising millions of dollars from generous but unwitting donors,” according to the FTC complaint. Shambaugh found a president for each charity who provided no oversight and allowed him to siphon off most of the donated funds after the telemarketer got 80% to 90% of the money raised. From 2000 to mid-2005 less than 2% of the total raised was earmarked for the charitable programs described in the solicitations, according to the complaint. The FTC says Shambaugh was indicted in 2006 for mail fraud and money laundering connected with his fundraising operation and remains a fugitive.

Just be careful when donating to a charity and don’t let these types of unscrupulous criminals steal your money.

The Masters of Digital Media (MDM) Program at Vancouver’s Centre for Digital Media recently launched a fantastic social change initiative called: The Big Push. They are inviting artists, inventors, educators, health care professionals, nonprofit organizations, or academic/research institutions to submit a proposal for a digital media-based project to deliver a product that promotes a philanthropic cause or positive social change initiative.

The prize, valued at $50,000, includes a team of multidisciplinary graduate students who will work with the chosen applicant/s to define and execute a final project, and help realize social and cultural goals of the proposal. The deadline for applications is November 13, 2009.  This is a very worthwhile project and I would appreciate any help in spreading the word, you can apply here.