Steering you right

Question: My car has no blind spot detector. I’ve tried attaching one of those tiny mirrors to the side mirror, and it’s not very helpful. Are there other options? Answer: You might try the $60 Allview Mirror System, which, at 15 to 17 inches wide, is much bigger than standard in-cabin rearview mirrors. The company claims its flat design, size and other factors combine to increase your field of vision so much you can observe multiple traffic lanes. The two mounting options mean it’ll work on most vehicles, the company says. I haven’t experienced it, but I’ve heard good reports. Find it at Allviewmirror.com. Readers Shout: I heard from some Dodge Dart lovers and/or car historians regarding my recent column on the new Dart and its predecessor, the old Dart. My reference to the first Dart as a “big tank with fins” riled some. One said I’d done “a great injustice to a smallish car.” She owned one of the originals, she wrote, and “that was pretty much a barge,” but traded it for a reduced-size Dart. It was “easy to drive and easy on gas,” and she drove it for 24 years. Two readers argued that only in the first couple of years was the Dart a “big tank,” then it was quickly made smaller and ultimately classified a “compact.” All true. But I take issue with their claim that that made it a “small car.” Although it was small in comparison to other cars of its time, it was still a very big car by today’s standards, and I think we must use current notions when making comparisons of “then vs. now” versions of a vehicle. The definition of “compact” has changed markedly, and the 2013 Dodge Dart, a compact, has little resemblance to the “compact” Dart of Yore. The fourth-generation reduced-size Dart of 1967 to 1976 was 196.2 inches long and 96.6 inches wide; the 2013 Dart is, at 183.9 inches long and 72 inches wide, about a foot shorter and two feet narrower. The fourth-generation Dart was about a half-inch shorter but 17 inches wider than the 2012 Ford Explorer - a pretty darned big vehicle! A tank? Maybe not, but it certainly was not small. Every car, past and present, had or has fans. And that’s a wonderful thing. What’s your question? Sharon Peters would like to hear about what’s on your mind when it comes to caring for, driving and repairing your vehicle. Email Sharon@ctwfeatures.com.