Question: My husband wants to donate the old clunker in our driveway to a charity. Do you know if donating a car is a good idea? - Cassie Glenn, Norco
Answer: It used to be that when you donated a car to a charity it was a win-win situation, Cassie. You were able to claim the fair market value of the vehicle as a charitable donation on your tax returns, and the charity benefitted by receiving cash from the sale of the vehicle.
However, the laws have changed, and now you may only claim the amount the charity gets when it sells the car for its wholesale value at an auction. You will end up giving your charity a much more significant donation (and yourself a more significant deduction) if you can sell the car yourself to a private party, then cut the charity a check.
Cool reader comment: Re: the June 11 column on getting more miles to the gallon:
My regular ride is a 2003 Toyota Rav4 EV, an all-electric vehicle that I charge at home and at work. A full charge costs about the same as a gallon of gas and moves me over 100 miles. I drive five days a week from Rancho Cucamonga to Downey and back. In a little over four years I have completed more than 100,000 miles of gas-free driving. When I drive carefully, as you described, I have gone over 150 miles on a single charge. I use no gas, need no oil changes or smog checks, and generate minimal pollution. There are alternatives to gasoline-powered driving. - Mark W., Rancho Cucamonga
Cool reader comment: I found your June 11 column on gas-saving techniques interesting, especially the part about learning the timing of lights on your commute route. It's too bad cities will not set up timing on traffic lights. I think this would help commute times, as well as reduce smog.
I know they used to do it, years ago, when the controls were a spinning drum, rather than computerized. On Mountain Avenue in Ontario, there were signs that said "signals set for 30 mph," so if you got one green, and maintained 30 mph, you could get all greens.
I remember driving from a friend's house at the north end of Mountain in Upland back in the mid-1980s. I had to pay a bill at a dog kennel in Chino, at the south end of Mountain, and I took off and never stopped until I was at the kennel. - Derek, Fontana
Clever vanity plate No. 1: The driver of a silver Volkswagen Beetle clearly has a sixth sense about fellow VW enthusiasts: ICBGPPL.
Clever vanity plate No. 2: Thankfully, the driver of the red Nissan 280Z with the following license plate looked pretty alert as he cruised down the 210 Freeway: CTCHNZS.
Clever vanity plate No. 3: Spotted this license plate on a mammoth white Ford Excursion that had been modified to give it an extra intimidation factor by being raised to the maximum height allowed by law: MNS BGR.
