Main page | April 2007 »

Seats still available for Goody's Cool Orange 500 NASCAR Nextel Series race

Good seats remain for the Goody's Cool Orange 500 NASCAR NEXTEL Series race at Martinsville Speedway on April 1, according the the speedway's official Web site.
About this time every year the Speedway ticket office gets calls questioning if the event is sold out, the speedway says. Although the Goody's Cool Orange 500 is normally sold out before the green flag flies, there are good seats remaining for Sunday's event.

Posted by   at 10:12 AM to Racing | Permalink | Comments 0

Consumers take gas price hikes in stride

Gas prices may be rising ahead of the summer driving season - in addition to the tensions in Middle East - but consumers seem to be taking the hikes in stride, according to the New York Times. The price of gas has climbed over the last two months to a national average of more than $2.60 a gallon. It has topped $3 a gallon in many parts of the country, particularly along the Pacific Coast.

Posted by   at 9:57 AM to Gas prices | Permalink | Comments 0

Honda wants to be known for safety

Having fostered a reputation for building fuel-efficient vehicles over the last 35 years, Honda now wants to join Volvo as an automaker best known for safety, according to the New York Times.
The company is offering front and side-curtain air bags and antilock brakes on most of its offerings, from the smallest cars to trucks, emphasizing that buyers need not pay top dollar for such protection.

Posted by   at 9:52 AM to Companies , Safety | Permalink | Comments 0

NASCAR uses wind tunnels to develop car of tomorrow

Nascar has gone from water to wind in search of tools to understand aerodynamics and build faster, safer cars. Wind tunnels, designed to direct air at high speed toward a stationary object while measuring the impact of the forces, have played a crucial role in developing what is known as the Car of Tomorrow, which will make its Nextel Cup series debut Sunday at Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee, according to the New York Times.

Posted by   at 9:49 AM to Racing | Permalink | Comments 0

Oil prices continue to pop - top $66 a barrel

Oil prices continued to soar as the political standoff between Britain and Iran over the detainment of 15 marines and sailors hardened, raising fears of interruptions to the oil supply through Iran, according to the Associated Press.
Light, sweet crude futures rose 52 cents to $66.55 a barrel in European electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, from yesterday's six-month record close of $66.03.

Posted by   at 9:24 AM to Oil | Permalink | Comments 0

Audi's R8 sports car top $100,000

Audi has priced its new R8 sportscar starting at $109,000, making it the brand's most expensive car ever sold in theU.S, according to thecarconnection.com
The R8 comes with a manual transmission, a 420-hp V-8 engine, 19-inch wheels, and Sirius satellite radio. A version with the six-speed R-tronic automatic has a base price of $118,000.
Audi promises a 0-60 mph time of 4.4 seconds for the new sportscar, and a top speed of 187 mph. Audi says its rear-biased setup for its quattro all-wheel-drive system gives the R8 the balance "expected of a mid-engine sports car."

Posted by   at 11:56 AM to Companies | Permalink | Comments 0

Oil prices on the rise

Crude oil prices passed the $64 a barrel level today due apprehension on the part of investors and slipping petroleum supplies. In morning trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude climbed 56 cents, to $64.64, breaching levels not seen since September, according to Forbes.com.
The Web site cited mounting tension between Iran and the United Kingdom over the seizure of British naval personnel and the report by the Energy Department which showed that crude oil inventories slipped by 900,000 barrels last week to 328.4 million barrels. Stocks of gasoline and distillate fuel, which include heating oil and diesel fuel, also fell.

Posted by   at 11:51 AM to Oil | Permalink | Comments 0

UAW takes stand on health care and jobs bank

The contract talks between the United Automobile Workers union and Detroit’s automakers are months away but the union has already taken two issues off the bargaining table, according to the New York Times.
UAW president Ron Gettelfinger says he sees no reason to accept any deal that requires workers to pay more of their health care costs or that eliminates the jobs bank, which allows laid-off workers to continue collecting most of their pay and benefits.

Posted by   at 11:41 AM to Auto industry | Permalink | Comments 0

No bonuses for GM execs

General Motors says it will not be paying cash bonuses to its top executives for the second consecutive year, according to the New Yorks Times. The company boosted its financial performance in 2006 yet did not earn a profit.
The paper noted such bonuses would undoubtedly have rankled members of the United Automobile Workers union ahead of this summer’s contract talks, although a G.M. spokeswoman, Renee Rashid-Merem, declined to say whether the pending negotiations were a factor

Posted by   at 11:36 AM to Companies | Permalink | Comments 0

Top 10 vehicles for older drivers

Edmunds.com has developed a top 10 list of vehicles for older drivers. Included are hybrids for those who think green and a minivan for those who need the room to haul grandchildren, full-size sedans as well as a couple of smaller sedans for those who like the ease of a compact. There's a fun-to-drive SUV, as well as high-end luxury sedans for those seniors with the means to afford the very latest in technology.

Posted by   at 11:04 AM to Design | Permalink | Comments 0

Chrysler could see further job cuts

Even if DaimlerChrysler AG sells its Chrysler unit to a labor-friendly private equity buyer, it may still cut 25,000 jobs, a leading brokerage told the Detroit Free Press.
Chrysler Group, which lost $1.5 billion last year, already has announced plans to cut 13,000 jobs in the next three years in hopes of returning to profitability.
Lehman Brothers analyst Brian Johnson said that number could grow to 25,000 and the plan could include health care concessions from U.S. autoworkers.

Posted by   at 10:56 AM to Companies | Permalink | Comments 0

Toyota contiunues playing catchup with GM

Toyota continues to close in on General Motors as the world’s biggest vehicle maker as its global production climbed in February for the 28th straight month, according to the Detroit Free Press.
Toyota reported worldwide output totaled 680,968 vehicles in February, up 0.9 percent from the same month last year. Last year, Toyota’s global output surged 10% to 9.018 million vehicles, bringing it closer to Detroit-based GM, which produced 9.18 million vehicles worldwide in 2006.
Honda, Japan’s second-largest automaker, said its global production rose 5.6% to 301,897 units in February.

Posted by   at 10:50 AM to Companies | Permalink | Comments 0

Mich. Gov. seeks support of UAW

Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm urged UAW members at its bargaining convention today to support her efforts to prevent massive cuts in the state budget, according to the Detroit Free Press.
Granholm also commended UAW leadership for continuing to fight for worker rights, wages and benefits, the paper said. State and federal officials should be working to “level up” the playing field by requiring other nations to raise their standards, Granholm told more than 1,500 UAW delegates.

Posted by   at 10:47 AM to Auto industry | Permalink | Comments 0

UAW head takes stand against more concessions

The head of the United Automobile Workers union says auto workers are done making sacrifices,according to the New York Times. Ron Gettelfinger opened the U.A.W.’s two-day bargaining convention yesterday by saying that he would take a hard line against more concessions, even if it meant calling a strike.
Gettelfinger has been criticized by some members for not taking a firm enough stance against wage and benefit cuts, made clear Tuesday that workers are done making sacrifices.

Posted by   at 10:43 AM to Auto industry | Permalink | Comments 0

KPMG to announce world car at N.Y. Auto Show

Accounting firm KPMG said today the three finalists for its 2007 World Car of the Year are the Audi TT, Lexus LS460 and MINI, according to PR Newswire
The winners of the 2007 WCOTY will be unveiled during Press Preview at the upcoming New York International Auto Show Thursday, April 5. To be eligible for a World Car award, the contender had to be in production, and sold, in at least five countries on two continents during 2006. Vehicles are selected and voted on by an international jury panel comprised of 44 top-level automotive journalists from 22 countries around the world.

Posted by   at 10:31 AM to Shows | Permalink | Comments 0

Porsche taking over VW - not?

It's not as simple as it seems - Porsche's apparent takeover bid of VW, that is, according to Forbes.com
Having just increased its stake in Volkswagen to 30.9 percent, Porsche is now going through the rigmarole of bidding for the whole company, as required by German law, says Forbes.com. But it has made the minimum offering legally allowed - $145.60 for each common share and $84 for each preferred share - so that few, if any, investors will want to sell.
"We don't think many shares will be offered to us," Porsche spokesman Frank Gaube told Forbes.com, which says the oveall plan is designed to protect VW from any hostile takeover by ensuring that Porsch and the German state of Lower Saxony effectively control just over 50 percent of the company.

Posted by   at 3:08 PM to Companies | Permalink | Comments 2

Bush Continues Tour of Alternative Fuel Vehicles

Today was day two of President Bush promoting the use of
alternative fuel vehicles, to help meet his goal of reducing oil consumption
in the US, by 20 percent in ten years. See a clip on AP Video

Posted by   at 3:03 PM to Alternative fuels | Permalink | Comments 0

Gas prices on the rise

Gasoline prices are on the rise again, according to USAToday, citing figures from the Energy Information Administraton, the statistics arm of the Energy Department
The average for a gallon of unleaded regular was $2.61 yesterday, up 3.3 cents in a week and is 11.2 cents more than a year ago.
A different survey more or less agrees, the paper said. A daily tally of prices at some 80,000 stations by the Oil Price Information Service, published by travel group AAA, showed the U.S. average was $2.581 Monday, up 0.4 of a cent overnight, up 3 cents in a week, and 7.8 cents more than the year-ago average.

Posted by   at 11:30 AM to Gas prices | Permalink | Comments 0

Nanjiang unveils its first MG cars and sedans

Nanjing Auto unveiled its first made-in-China MG sports cars and sedans Tuesday, the first step in a plan to use the iconic British brand as a platform for global expansion, according to China Daily.
China's oldest automaker introduced the 1.8 liter MGTF roadster and the MG 7295 and 7275 sedans at its $450 million plant near eastern Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province.
The brand, renamed "Ming Jue" or "Modern Gentleman", will go on sale in China in the second half of the year, priced between $23,000 and $52,000.

Posted by   at 11:23 AM to Companies | Permalink | Comments 0

Motorcoaches are most fuel efficient per passenger

Motorcoaches are the most fuel-efficient transportation mode in the United States, according to a new study authored by Nathan Associates and released today by the American Bus Association Foundation.
The motorcoach industry provided 148.4 passenger miles per gallon of fuel in 2004, the study reported, more than double the second most fuel-efficient sector, intercity trains at 74.1 passenger MPG.
Total transit achieved 55.8 passenger MPG, air carriers achieved 40.9 passenger MPG, and automobiles achieved 35.4 passenger MPG.

Posted by   at 1:16 PM to Transportation | Permalink | Comments 0

Is Chrysler going north of the border?

Canadian auto parts supplier Magna International and a private-equity partner have offered to buy Chrysler for $4.7 billion, according to leftlanenews.com which cites a report by KeyBanc Capital Markets analyst Brett Hoselton.
Hoselton says the bid is low but no one seems to know what the company is worth. Estimates range between $0 and $13 billion.

Posted by   at 1:02 PM to Companies | Permalink | Comments 0

Porsche seen acquiring VW

Porsche plans to increase its stake in Volkswagen to 31 percent, according to a report in leftlanenews.com. The move will force the famed sports car maker into making a formal bid to acquire all of VW, the Web site says, as German law requires Porsch to make a takeover bid if its stake in VW exceeds 30 percent.

Posted by   at 12:57 PM to Companies | Permalink | Comments 1

Toyota gaining stature among collectors

Toyota cars are finally getting some respect from collectors, according to The New York Times. Even the much ridiculed Toyopet Crown which the company introduced into the United States in 1957 is looking desirable now. Check out the photo of a 1961 model.

Posted by   at 12:34 PM to Companies | Permalink | Comments 0

Will 178 mph on Germany's autobahn soon be history?

Last week, the European Union’s environment commissioner, Stavros Dimas of Greece, set off a national debate here by suggesting that the German government introduce a general speed limit on the autobahn.
While most of the famed highway already has speed limits, there are sections with none which attracts German gearheads like Marc Bongers and his specially modified 435 horsepower Porsche.
The New York Time's Mark Landler discusses the proposed limits - based on concern about emissions - with an unhappy Bongers as he takes his car out for 'a spin.'

Posted by   at 10:47 AM to Environment | Permalink | Comments 0

Light fingers at Ford

Federal prosecutors have forced a retired Ford Motor Co. manager to hand over nearly $660,000 he amassed in what they called a kickback scheme with trucking companies that generated millions over several years, according to the Associated Press.No criminal charges have been filed against John K. Perry, former manager of material planning and logistics at Ford's assembly plant in St. Louis, but a civil lawsuit U.S. Attorney Steven M. Biskupic filed this week in Milwaukee federal court says authorities seized about $660,000 Perry had in a brokerage account, the AP said.

Posted by   at 10:31 AM to Companies | Permalink | Comments 0

Oil prices pop after Iran seizes British sailors

Oil prices rose above $62 a barrel after Britain said Iranian naval vessels seized 15 British sailors and marines in Iraqi waters and gunmen kidnapped three foreigners in southern Nigeria, according to the Associated Press.
Britain's Ministry of Defense said the personnel were "engaged in routine boarding operations of merchant shipping in Iraqi territorial waters," and had completed their inspection of a merchant ship when they were accosted by Iranian vessels, AP said.

Posted by   at 10:27 AM to Oil | Permalink | Comments 0

GM going to town - New York that is

General Motors is planning to introduce six never-before-seen production cars and one concept car at the New York Auto Show which opens April 6, according to leftlanenews.com
Some of vehicles are expected, such as two new Buick super models, but GM says the concept is a "closely guarded world concept," according to leftlanenews.

Posted by   at 10:06 AM to Companies | Permalink | Comments 0

Ford to introduce Flex at New York auto show

Ford will introduce the Ford Flex, its new crossover vehicle which is based on the Fairlane concept, first shown two years ago and recently on display at the Providence Auto Show, according to leftlanenews.com
The report says Ford could be aiming for sales of about 100,000 a year.

Posted by   at 10:00 AM to Companies | Permalink | Comments 0

Consumer reports discusses infant seat crash data

Consumer Reports says its efforts to remain independent of industry and government contributed to crash-testing errors in a recent report on infant seats.
The February issue article, which was retracted two weeks after it was released, said most of 12 infant seats tested performed "disastrously" and that one should be recalled. Now the magazine is also retracting its request that the Evenflo Discovery infant seat be recalled as well as the seat's "not acceptable" rating.
Tests subsequently conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found the side-impact crash tests were run at about twice as fast as the 35 miles per hour the magazine said they were.

Posted by   at 9:56 AM to Safety | Permalink | Comments 0

The flying Dutchman

Talk about concept cars, check out the fabulous PALV, a combination car-motorbike-helicopter designed in Holland and being offered as "a personal air and land ... solution to increasing congestion in our cities, highways and skyways." SeeSparkdesign's description and make sure you scroll down to the pictures.

Posted by   at 12:57 PM to Design | Permalink | Comments 0

Can I have a supercar, Mommy, please? No

Forbes' Dan Lienert has assembled a list of mouth-watering beauties, starting with the $412,000 Rolls-Royce Phantom Dropdead - sorry, make that Drophead convertible. It will be available in September. Other corkers include the $1.2 million Bugatti Veyron 16.4 supercar, the $453,000 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren supercar and Monaco's $392,000 electric Venturi Fétish.

Posted by   at 12:43 PM to Marques | Permalink | Comments 0

What is home made?

USA Today's Chris Woodward has a fascinating piece today which examines the complicated world of international auto manufacturing where vehicles are build in one country from parts made in many others with profits going to yet another. It seems buying American is not as simple any more. But then who was it said Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel?

Posted by   at 12:26 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

More on air cars

More information on the development of compressed "air cars" is available from a video clip from Australian TV show "Beyond Tomorrow 2005" available on YouTube.com. Developments in Nice, France, and Melbourne, Australia, are demonstrated in strine (Australian accent) while driving working cars.

Posted by   at 3:50 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Is compressed air the future?

The first commercial compressed air car is on the verge of production and beginning to attract a lot of attention, according to Gizmag.com. With a recently signed partnership with Tata, India’s largest automotive manufacturer, the prospects of very cost-effective mass production are now a distinct possibility. The MiniC.A.T is a simple, light urban car, with a tubular chassis that is glued not welded and a body of fibreglass.
The car costs less than $3 to fill a tank on which it can run for about 160 miles. The car will cost about $7,300 and has a top speed of nearly 70 mph. The oil - vegetable, naturally - has to be changed about every 30,000 miles. Initial plans are to produce 3,000 cars per year."

Posted by   at 10:44 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Callaway Cars to unveil C16 Cabrio at New York Show

Callaway Cars said it will unveil its C16 Cabrio at the New York International Auto Show, according to leftlanenews.com.The Cabrio is the convertible version of the Corvette-based speedster and was designed by Paul Deutschman who has a 20-year history working wiht Callaway.

Posted by   at 10:29 AM to Marques | Permalink | Comments 0

Surprise, surprise. Top Gear to go on

Top Gear, BBC's popular auto show starring the larger-than-life Jeremy Clarkson, will go on, according to Clarkson who recently raised doubt abouk its future. This from leftlanenews.com

Posted by   at 10:25 AM to Shows | Permalink | Comments 0

Nissan loses the keys to promote Altima

The New York Times' advertising columnist Stuart Elliott reports on Nissan's campaign to promote a push-button ignition system on its 2007 Altima sedan by deliberately losing 20,000 key rings in bars, concert halls, sports arenas and other public places in seven large markets. The campaign begins is this week and continues through March 30.
Each ring will have a key that resembles a car key and two others that look as if they could fit the locks on house or office doors. One tag declares, “If found, please do not return,” because the Altima “has Intelligent Key with push-button ignition, and I no longer need these,” a reference to the technology that allows an Altima owner to start the car by pressing a button on the dash rather than inserting a key.
The same tag invites the finder to learn more about the ignition system by visiting a section of the Nissan Web site (nissanusa.com/altima)."

Posted by   at 12:13 PM to Companies | Permalink | Comments 0

Top Gear's future being debated

Jeremy Clarkson's famous BBC show Top Gear will not be returning next season, the outspoken star tells the a local British newspaper, according to a report in leftlanenews.com. Apparently Clarkson and his co-hosts James May and Richard Hammond have been rowing with producers over the show's future, with management said to be wanting more celebrity appearances and less focus on cars. It's always been a bit of a loony show but to take the cars away would seem an odd plan.

Posted by   at 11:47 AM to Shows | Permalink | Comments 0

Sex and the single driver

What is it about cars and sex? The two go together like Frick and Frack. The Providence Auto Show had its share of leggy birds expounding the virtues of various cars and trucks and leftlanenews.com has a gallery of photos of various beauties at the current Geneva Auto Show in Switzerland. I suppose it's all very irregular nowadays, but maybe cars and sex go together so well because both activities are such jolly good fun!

Posted by   at 11:45 AM to Shows | Permalink | Comments 0

Knock, Knock. Now you see it, now you don't

Check out how the boffins at MIT are doing in their efforts to make ­the century-­old internal-combustion engines smaller and to reduce engine knock. "An engine this size," says Daniel Cohn, a senior research scientist at MIT's Plasma Science and Fusion Center, pointing out an ordinary-looking 2.4-liter midsize gasoline engine, "would be a rocket with our technology."
By combining turbocharging technology and direct fuel injection and augmenting them with a novel way to use a small amount of ethanol, Cohn and his colleagues have created a design that they believe could triple the power of a test engine, an advance that could allow automakers to convert small engines designed for economy cars into muscular engines with more than enough power for SUVs or sports cars.
By extracting better performance from smaller, more efficient engines, the technology could lead to vehicles whose fuel economy rivals that of hybrids, which use both an electric motor and a gasoline engine. And that fuel efficiency could come at a fraction of the cost.
The full report is in MIT's Technology Review.

Posted by   at 11:28 AM to Technology | Permalink | Comments 0

Nanjing to start production of MG this month

Nanjing Automobile Corporation of China is scheduled to start production of a convertible MG sports car this month, according to The New York Times.
"The rebirth of MG is the latest and most splashy example of how China’s growing economic might is reaching carefully into foreign markets, buying up troubled companies with established brands and using them to build bridgeheads for some of the hundreds of billions of dollars that the country has to invest overseas," writes NYT correspondent Craig S. Smith. Nanjing acquired the legendary MG marque last year.

Posted by   at 12:20 PM to Companies | Permalink | Comments 0

A domestic solution for Chrysler?

Check out venerable auto columnist Jerry Flint's suggestion that a group of wealthy Americans buy up Chrysler and put it back together. Flint sees billions of dollars to be made and suggests starting by recruiting proven leaders - such as Dieter Zetsche f- or the job.
"(Zetsche) should be happy to quit that pain-in-the-neck job as chief executive of Daimler and join a bigger company, American Chrysler," Flint writes. "If Zetsche could offer Wolfgang Bernhard the No. 2 position, it would be perfect."
Then focus on product, the company's biggest challenge, he writes. Read Flint's wide ranging analysis, Dreaming of a new Chrysler, on leftlanenews.com.

Posted by   at 12:06 PM to Companies | Permalink | Comments 0

Bentley considering going green

Bentley, one of the last of the old auto aristocrats, is considering offering hybrid and diesel versions of its luxury models, according to leftlanenews.com. Of course, the brand while ostensibly British, is owned by Volkswagen. Leftlanenews.com cites the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung for the news.

Posted by   at 11:42 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Ford expected to sell Aston Martin today

Ford is expected to sell Aston Martin, the iconic luxury brand, to iconsortium of business interests from America and the Middle East, headed by Prodrive founder and world rally championship owner David Richards, according to Britain's Daily Telegraph.
The deal is estimated to be worth $900 million. According to its Web site, Prodrive is is one of the world’s leading motorsport and automotive technology businesses, employing more than 1000 people at operations in the UK, USA, Germany, Thailand and Australia.

Posted by   at 11:33 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Exxon Mobil to produce extra million barrels of oil a day

Exxon Mobil Corp. said Wednesday it will spend some of its record profits on more than 20 new global projects in the next three years, investments expected to add 1 million oil-equivalent barrels a day to the company's volumes at peak production, according to the Associated Press.
Chairman and CEO Rex Tillerson said the company's capital spending would be about $20 billion a year through the end of the decade. The company's capital spending tab in 2006 was nearly $20 billion, up $2.2 billion from 2005.

Posted by   at 12:45 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Gas prices edging up in Western states

Gasoline prices have jumped above $3 a gallon in some parts of California and Hawaii, and may hit that level in other parts of the country when the busy summer driving season approaches, according to the Associated Press.
Analysts say drivers should brace for more increases in the coming weeks. Crude oil, which makes up about half the price of gasoline, is trading above $60 a barrel. Higher demand, refinery maintenance and fears about springtime shortages are also driving up prices, particularly on the West Coast.

Posted by   at 12:39 PM to Gas prices | Permalink | Comments 0

Ford recalling certain Crown Victoria police cars

Starting next week, Ford will be recalling nearly 110,000 2003-2005 Crown Victoria police cars because possible wheel cracks could cause rapid air loss in tires during high-speed pursuits, according to an Associated Press report in USA Today. The cracks have been reported in only a small percentage of the wheels.

Posted by   at 12:23 PM to Companies | Permalink | Comments 0

Germany's dirty cars a hurdle for Chancellor Angela Merkel

Europe prides itself on its pioneering approach to climate change. However, Germany's fabled cars are among the dirtiest when it comes to carbon dioxide emissions. That means Chancellor Angela Merkel, currently president of the European Union, must face down the German auto industry before trying to persuade Europe to accept stringent new cuts in carbon dioxide emissions, according to a report in The New York Times.

Posted by   at 11:15 AM to Environment | Permalink | Comments 0

Small and mid-size steal Geneva Auto Show

The Detroit Free Press's auto critic Mark Phelan reports that small and midsize cars are dominating the Geneva Auto Show in Switzerland. Sure, the glamor cars are there - Ferrari, Rolls-Royce, Bentley - but he says it's cars like the Ford Mondeo, Mercedes-Benz C-Class, Toyota Auris, Opel GTC, Honda Small Hybrid Sports concept and Dodge Demon concept that are stealing the show.

Posted by   at 12:05 PM to Shows | Permalink | Comments 0

NHTSA mulls changes to crash tests

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is holding a hearing today on proposals to overhaul its crash tests of cars and trucks, according to USA Today. The agency has been rating vehicles for 30 years and currently gives vehicles one to five stars, five being best, based on how they perform in a 35-mile-per-hour head-on crash and in a side-impact crash. The agency is thinking of adding tests at lower speeds and considering how well vehicles avoid crashes.

Posted by   at 11:52 AM to Safety | Permalink | Comments 0

Toyota unveils future of hybrid design

Toyota introduced its Hybrid X concept car at the Geneva Motor show Wednesday which the auto giant says represents the future of its successful Prius. It's a 4-door conventional family car with a radical futuristic design that can be viewed at leftlanenews.com

Posted by   at 11:35 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Oil prices are popping again

Oil prices have topped $60 a barrel today as many European and Asian stock markets bounced back from a weeklong slide, and strategists pointed to robust demand for gasoline and falling petroleum inventories, according to an Associated Press report cited on signonsandiego.com.
Light, sweet crude for April delivery rose 63 cents to $60.70 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midday in Europe. The contract fell 2.5 percent yesterday to settle at $60.07 a barrel, the lowest for a front-month contract since Feb. 21.

Posted by   at 10:49 AM to Oil | Permalink | Comments 0

R.I. Gasoline jumps 17 cents in just a week

Check out Tim Barmann's story about spiking gas price in today's Business Section of the Providence Jouranl. Barmann writes that any hope of $2-a-gallon gasoline in the near future seems to have evaporated with the latest survey of area gas prices. The state Office of Energy Resources said that the average price of regular, self-serve gasoline yesterday was $2.499 a gallon, a jump of 17 cents a gallon from last week’s average price of $2.329 a gallon.
That was the biggest one-week increase since last April, he writes. Gasoline prices have now gone up a total of 33 cents over the past four weeks, after declining for several weeks. The average price has not been this high since September of last year. It is 26 cents higher than it was one year ago when the average cost was $2.239, AAA said.

Posted by   at 10:40 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Workers nix production plans for Chrysler Imperial

leftlanenews.com reports Chrysler's workers at its assembly plant in Brampton, Ontario, rejected a company proposal that asked them to give up $115 a week in exchange for a contract to build known as Product X, but which has been identified by WardsAuto as the Chrysler Imperial.

Posted by   at 10:15 AM to Companies | Permalink | Comments 0

Private group seen circling Chrysler

Reuters reports that U.S. buyout firm Blackstone Group is showing an interest in Chrysler which effectively went up on the blocks after DaimlerChrysler Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche announced last month ago that "all options were open."
Reuters today cited a a person familiar with the situation as saying said the private equity group has approached Chrysler and been granted access to its books in preparation for a possible bid.
But Reuters said he source said there was no guarantee that the firm, already an investor in Germany's Deutsche Telekom, would make an offer for Chrysler.
Blackstone, which is majority owner of TRW Automotive and formerly an investor in American Axle and Manufacturing declined to comment. And Zetsche gave reporters at the auto show in Geneva no details on the status of the Chrysler's status.

Posted by   at 10:05 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

If you have to ask how much ...

LP Wheel Group's Tony Lee seems to have topped the charts with his ultra-blingy diamond studded stick shift, according to Sunday's New York Times. For a $165,000 Bentley Continental GT, the master of glitz created a diamond studded, 18-karat white-gold shift knob, priced at a mere $150,000.

Posted by   at 1:07 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

GM ending production of Monte Carlo coupe

General Motors is shutting the production of its Monte Carlo coupe at its Oshawa plant in Canada in June, according to leftlanenews.com. Despite a model update and a new V8 and a slight uptick in sale in 2006, sales have fallen 60 percent early this year. In addition, Chevrolet expect sales of its 2008 Malibu to cut into potential Monte Carlo sales further.

Posted by   at 1:45 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Institute finds bumpers weak in fender-benders

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety is releasing the results of a new series of crash tests today (New Low-Speed Crash Tests: Costly damage is the rule when bumpers don't bump). The tests were designed to find out how well modern bumpers protect cars in low-speed collisions like the kind that happen in commuter traffic. The tests were at 3 mph and 6 mph.
The institute says the tests were intended to measure how much crash damage happens because cars don’t have bumpers that can withstand what should be minor fender benders. It found some midsize cars sustained $4,500 damage in just one 6 mph crash test into a barrier that represents the bumper of another vehicle.
A lot of the damage happens because bumpers slide under or over the bumper they’re hitting. This is especially a problem when cars hit SUVs or vice versa.
Cars were once required to have bumpers that could withstand a 5 mph hit, but that rule was rolled back by the Reagan Administration. It also tested a 1981 Ford Escort that met the old standard to show that it could handle the new bumper tests with little or no damage.

Posted by   at 12:06 PM to Safety | Permalink | Comments 0