Subaru Outback

• "We are thrilled to start 2024 with new energy and hires that will help Lexicon meet the ambitious goals of our clients.
• Creating the right brand name has never been more difficult — or important," David Placek, Founder, Lexicon Branding.
• The new hires bring more than 50 years of collective branding and strategy experience to Lexicon and its clients.
• Tom Raith joins Lexicon in a newly created position of Brand Leadership Director, working on projects with longer horizons with more focus on developing brand architecture systems that drive client growth, revenue and leadership.

• Standard's Emission Control program features more than 3,500 parts, including EVAP, EGR, and positive crankcase ventilation products
  SMP manufactures emission control components in its own North American facilities located in South Carolina, Kansas, and Mexico
  Standard® is committed to expanding its comprehensive emission control program, with new products continually released
  NEW YORK, Feb. 7, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Standard Motor Products, Inc. (SMP) is dedicated to expanding its comprehensive Emission Control program.
• Standard's Emission Control program includes evaporative emission control (EVAP), exhaust gas recirculation (EGR), and positive crankcase ventilation emission control systems.
• Standard® emission components are manufactured in three of SMP's North American facilities in Greenville, South Carolina, Independence, Kansas, and Reynosa, Mexico.
• All new Standard® Emission Control applications are listed in the catalog found at StandardBrand.com and in electronic catalog providers.

• New part numbers also include Monroe Quick-Strut® assemblies and Monroe® conversion kits.
• In total, the new part numbers represent coverage for more than 27 million vehicles in operation (VIO) in the United States and Canada.
• Three new part numbers are also available for Monroe suspension conversion kits, designed to convert a vehicle’s factory-equipped air suspension to a conventional suspension system.
• Monroe conversion kits are a cost-effective alternative to replacing the OE system and include everything for a complete worry-free solution.

• Since 2010, pedestrian deaths nationwide have climbed a shocking 77%, compared with a 25% increase in all other types of traffic fatalities.
• Light trucks injure pedestrians more severely than passenger cars in crashes, and the size of cars and trucks sold in the U.S. continues to swell.
• The U.S. has not moved as quickly as other countries to prioritize the safety of people outside of cars, especially as cars have grown larger and heavier.
• As a consequence, Americans are paying the price in lives lost, skyrocketing public health costs and reduced mobility.

Larger, heavier and deadlier

• The Department of Transportation’s corporate average fuel economy standards have constrained overall gasoline consumption but have also led to an increase in vehicle size.
• That’s because these standards have two sets of rules: one for cars and a looser set for light trucks.
• According to 2022 data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, three-quarters of new vehicles produced in the U.S. are light trucks.
• Those large vehicles create severe safety hazards on neighborhood city streets for children or adults who might be walking or cycling.

A slow federal response

• For example, bumpers and hoods could be redesigned to bend more easily and absorb more energy if a vehicle strikes a person.
• But as currently proposed, pedestrian safety would not be factored into the overall five-star safety rating.
• A vehicle could receive a failing grade for protecting pedestrians yet still earn a five-star safety rating overall.

A time for local action

• Starting in the 1970s, grassroots movements in both cities pressed officials to reduce the dominance of cars and make streets safer for the public.
• These movements initially were slow to catch on but gained support over time.
• I’ve also learned that it will require public action to create support for such changes in the U.S.

What communities can do

• Therefore, local officials and citizens have important roles to play in mitigating escalating car size in their community.
• In my view, communities seeking to discourage the predominance of oversize vehicles and encourage use of smaller, lighter and slower vehicles could consider taking such steps as:
• Ask communities around Boston, which have cut several accident-prone four-lane roads down to two lanes each, reducing traffic speeds and crashes and creating more green space.
• There is ample evidence that doing so will make U.S. communities safer.