Posts Tagged ‘Classic Cars’

Is Michigan’s No Fault Auto Insurance Different?

Posted on July 31st, 2009 by by Ryan Morelli

There are some things about Michigan auto insurance that you might not be familiar with if you’ve only registered cars in other areas in the US. This insurance is legally required in this state, and made up of three major segments. These are residual liability for bodily injury and property damage to others, personal injury insurance and property protection insurance. When registering a car in Michigan, it’s important to be able to prove you possess this insurance, since driving without it is illegal.

Policies under Michigan’s no fault insurance provide for reimbursement of medical costs plus lost income from your injury for up to three years. The amount you can receive for this was around four and a half thousand dollars as of 2007. This amount also applies when someone who has died in an accident and who has Michigan auto insurance. His or her family will receive up to that amount every month for three years to make up for the lost income.

In addition, if someone is injured and can’t provide housekeeping or other services for their family, they may be entitled to up to twenty dollars per day to hire other people to do this for them. It’s possible to synchronize this kind of coverage to any disability or health policy you currently have to reduce your premium. However, Medicaid and Medicare policies cannot be synchronized. Synchronized policies then become the primary payer, with your Michigan auto insurance covering remaining expenses.

Users of Michigan no fault insurance who damage personal property like buildings and fences can have their insurance company pay up to a million dollars for that damage, as well as damage which has been done to correctly parked cars.

Michigan’s no fault law also protects people with Michigan auto insurance from lawsuits, except under a few special situations. For instance, if you caused an accident and someone else was killed or seriously injured, you were involved in an accident with a car that’s not registered in Michigan, or you were involved in an accident in a different state, a suit might happen.

In addition, if you were more than fifty percent at fault in an accident, you may be sued for up to five hundred dollars in damage to the other car. However, in situations where you’re sued or are legally responsible for damages, your Michigan no fault insurance will pay up to your coverage limits.

There’s a minimum requirement of twenty thousand dollars worth of coverage for property damage and bodily injury coverage to handle situations where a person is injured or killed in an accident. For accidents where several people are injured or killed, up to forty thousand dollars of coverage is required. To cover property damage that happens outside of Michigan, you’ll need to have up to ten thousand dollars of Michigan auto insurance coverage. Just remember that if the court awards more than this, you’ll be responsible for the excess you need to pay.

There are some things that aren’t covered by Michigan no fault insurance, too. For instance, there’s no requirement for insurance to cover repairs to your car, for comprehensive coverage (which handles flood, animal, fire, vandalism and theft damages) or for uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage. You have to buy coverage for this to have it dealt with as part of your Michigan auto insurance.

Thoughts of First Generation Mustangs

Posted on July 18th, 2009 by by Larry Ledbetter

The Mustang is a sports car model that was manufactured by the Ford Motor Company. The first generation Mustangs were from 1964 to 1973. The initial design of the Ford Mustang was based on the Ford Falcon. The Ford Falcon had had seen some success but sales were beginning to drop so the brand made way for the Mustang.

The date was March 9, 1964. This was the day of the genesis of the Ford Mustang. The Ford Mustang was on its way to legendary status in the American culture and it grabbed the attention of that generation and it was very popular. Since that time, the Mustang aim has become synonymous with American values as apple pie and Lee Greenwood. Introduced to the public at the New York world’s fair on April 17, 1964, it became Ford’s most successful launch since the model A! This car is so popular that it has not had a stop in production since 1964. It is the only original pony car to have this distinction.

The first generation Mustangor was considered the father of all pony cars. Before we call the first mustang the inspiration of all pony cars, we need to define what a pony car is. A pony car is a compact highly stylized car that was very sporty. The concept was inspired by the 1964 Ford Mustang. This car had a long hood and a short deck and a big motor. It was considered very youthful. The Mustang was the purest form of the poy car, and became a highly popular type of car design. Due to the fact that Mustangs were very popular, competitors came out the woodwork to emulate the look of the Mustang with their own version of the pony car. Many cars came out of this period of automotive history such as the Camaro, Barracuda, Javelin, Firebird, Cougar, Challenger, and later the foreign-made Toyota Celica.

I will never forget the first car that I had as a teenager. It was the last member of the first-generation Mustangs. It was the 1973 Ford Mustang Mach 1 and it was beautiful. I don’t know why my dad let me have the car, but he did. I had the time of my life in those years and like a brand burned into the side of a farm animal, my soul has been branded with a hot brand known as the Mustang.

I remember the days when I was a teenager and driving around in the 73 Mustang that my father gave me on my 16th birthday. It wasn’t new but it seemed like it to me at the time. With new-found freedom, and a part of muscle car history, I was proud to own that old Mustang. The girls came and went at my love for the Ford Mustang never left my heart. Unfortunately in 1989, I sold that old car. It’s a many years of wear and tear from my wild teenage years. Today, I wished I had taken a little better care of that old classic muscle car. I guess it is kind of like the kids from the 1950s that had their Mickey Mantle baseball card thrown out by their mother, except that did this to myself. I haven’t quite seen a 1973 Mustang that looks exactly like mine, but that won’t stop me from looking. The car is forever in my heart.

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