Everything you need to know to make smart choices about buying a used car.

Erik the car dude dreams about beautiful cars - like the '93 Thunderbird he spotted in a used car lot. But he's also pretty savvy about cars and knows from experience that looks aren't everything. So he wasn't about to get suckered by the salesman into buying a car until he had it checked by an independent auto mechanic. Good thing he did. He found out that the transmission was about to fail. Erik didn't have any problem saying "thanks but no thanks" to this dream.

Lucky for the viewers, Erik likes to share his knowledge about cars. Car Dreams is Erik's tour of what to look for in a car before you even consider taking it to an auto mechanic for inspection. Even for teens who know nothing about cars, this interactive experience is fun, easy to understand, and thorough. For teachers, it's a great tool for giving teens a solid foundation in smart consumerism, especially when it comes to buying a used car.

Interactive photos, sounds, actions, and information show what to look for when checking out a used car. Erik covers a lot of ground as he explains how to thoroughly inspect a car, what to look for when taking it for a test drive, different types of insurance, and car titles. There's even a game to test your knowledge.

Teens can watch this CD by themselves and have fun pointing and clicking their way through the program. Teachers can use this in a group setting, and will enjoy the accompanying Discussion Guide on CD.

CD-Rom product usage rights: One CD is required per computer. CDs may not be duplicated, installed onto multiple computers, or broadcast over a computer network

Car Dreams is available on CD-Rom, and is found on Vstreet, a life-skills website for teens. Click here for a tour on Vstreet.

Now someone who doesn't even know a piston from a pedal can make smart choices about buying a used car. Just point and click your way through this fun and engaging animated CD-Rom.

Remember the first car you bought? For teens, it's like a rite of passage. But rites of passage aren't always all glamour and glory. When it comes to cars, the first step in making it a good experience is knowing how to choose a car that's worth your hard-earned money.

Enter Erik the car dude -- the animated star in Car Dreams. Erik shows us he's the kind of guy who knows how to walk into a used car lot, and walk out with either a good deal, or good deal of confidence that he wasn't going to get a good deal! Erik knows cars, and he's totally cool with showing teens what to look out for when they're buying a used car.

Car Dreams is a fun interactive cartoon that may have been made for teens, but anyone watching will learn a lot. Erik gives you a complete list of common sense checks to see whether the car you're drooling over is worth taking to a mechanic for further inspection.

After watching the introductory story, you'll click your way through three areas for checking out a car: under the hood, the interior, and the exterior. The checks have interactive photos, sounds, actions, and information that show what to look for -- everything from noticing the color of the car's exhaust, to the sound of the car's door when it closes, to the wear and tear on a tire. The visuals, sounds, and text give you a real hands-on feel for doing your own inspections.

Want to go for a road test and do some checks? Okay, Car Dreams can do that. Check the gauges, steering, brakes, leaks, and transmission. It covers everything.

There's more: no experience of owning a first car would be complete without understanding insurance and titles. You'll get a practical feel for the difference between liability, collision, and comprehensive insurance. There's even a game to test your knowledge.

Teens can watch this on their own, but it's also great for classroom use. The CD comes with a Discussion Guide that includes a summary of the key points and review questions. Teachers can use this to give their students a solid foundation in smart consumerism. (Plus they'll gain big points with their students by offering them such a cool and fun program.)

Get in and take this program for a spin!

--Caesar Pacifici, Ph.D.

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