Kevin Ransom

Correspondent, AOL Autos

Kevin Ransom is a Detroit-area journalist who's been writing about cars and the auto industry for almost 20 years.During that time, Ransom's industry stories and car …reviews have appeared in such publications as Automotive News, Adweek, The Detroit News, the Detroit Free Press special sections, Crain's Detroit Business, Metropolitan Detroit magazine and Heritage Newspapers.Presently, in addition to his work for AOL Autos, he is the Dateline Detroit columnist / auto reviewer for Middle East Car, and his reviews also appear in Total Sport magazine.

Additonally, Ransom has written for many of the carmaker's magazines, including Ford World, Ford Times, Ford Dealer World, Chrysler Quarterly, Chrysler Agenda, GM Encore, GM Today, MBUSA Connect (the Mercedes-Benz dealer magazine) and various magazines / websites produced by GMAC and AC-Delco.

In addition to his auto-industry coverage, Ransom has a "second career" as a music journalist: For nearly 20 years, he's been writing about rock, folk, blues, R&B, country, bluegrass, jazz and other styles for such publications as The Detroit News, Guitar Player, Rolling Stone, AnnArbor.com, the Ann Arbor News, the Dallas Morning News, Musician and Creem.

Smarter Vehicles Coming Soon That Talk and Avoid Crashes

Published Apr 30, 2011 By Kevin Ransom

The auto industry is moving closer to deploying technology into vehicles that could go a long way to making vehicle crashes, at least serious ones, mostly a thing of the past. That's right. The industry that fought against making seatbelts standard, is marching toward creationg the ultimate safe car without the hammer of regulation coming down on it. ...

New Developments In Child Safety: Kid-Sized Crash Models And New Car-Seat Advice

Published Apr 16, 2011 By Kevin Ransom

Quick: What is the leading cause of death for people aged 1-34? Cancer? Nope. Traffic accidents. Automakers and government regulators continue to work on reducing that statistic. And one of the ways they are doing it is looking at how kids are impacted in accidents versus adults. ...

Does Your State Have The Priciest Auto Insurance? Or, The Least Pricey?

Published Mar 31, 2011 By Kevin Ransom

What's the best way to keep your rates down? A clean nose. Maintain a clean driving record. Don't be a speed demon. Don't drive like a maniac. And certainly don't drive while under the influence of alcohol. ...

Ten-Year Old Toyota Hybrid Priuses Defy Early Critics

Published Mar 29, 2011 By Kevin Ransom

The roll-out of the Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf electric cars in recent months has ignited a debate over this new technology. Skeptics are posing questions about possible ghosts in the machine, wondering how long the batteries will perform at top level, worried about the length of the battery life, and want to know what it will cost to replace a battery if required. ...

Americans Driving Safer. And it's Saving Us Money.

Published Mar 28, 2011 By Kevin Ransom

Many analysts are predicting that insurance premiums will remain flat in 2011 -- maybe even go down. That's a relief to consumers who are seeing everything else go up, from gasoline to a loaf of bread. ...

Why An Insurance Company Is Suing The FBI For Crashing a Ferrari

Published Mar 26, 2011 By Kevin Ransom

Did you hear the one about the FBI agent who crashed a stolen-then-recovered Ferrari into a tree? Except, there's no punch line. Because, while it may be fodder for an avalanche of wisecracks, this isn't a party joke, or a scene from "Get Smart." ...