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Gas Prices Rise at Pump As Oil Rebounds

NEW YORK -- Millions of Americans planning car trips for the Thanksgiving weekend are finding they need to once again factor soaring gas prices into their budgets, according to the Associated Press.

Gas at the pump is within striking distance of May's all-time record of $3.227 a gallon, having risen 0.6 cent overnight to a national average of $3.111, according to AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. Fred Rozell, retail pricing director at the service, said gas may rise another 10 to 15 cents a gallon in the coming weeks as it catches up with oil prices that have soared close to $100 a barrel.

"We think there's room for the price nationally to set a new record," said Geoff Sundstrom, an AAA spokesman.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 3:49 PM to Gas prices | Permalink | Comments 0

Speed kills — and we are all at risk

People rail against drunken drivers and motorists who yap on the cell phones. However, speeding causes more than half of the deaths on Rhode Island’s roads — higher than the national average of 30 percent — and accounts for about the same percentage of fatalities as drunken driving. And, it’s as commonplace as any day’s commute.

Check out the Providence Journal's Amanda Milkovits' story on this serious problem.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 12:31 PM to Safety | Permalink | Comments 0

Even at $3 a gallon, gasoline prices still don’t reflect cost of oil

This is scary:

Gasoline surpassed $3 a gallon in Rhode Island yesterday, and forecasts by the U.S. Department of Energy say it will continue to rise because the price at the pump has not yet caught up with the cost of crude oil, according to the Providence Journal.

Although the forecast does predict lower oil prices next year, there is no immediate relief in sight.

The average price of regular self-serve gasoline was $3.069 a gallon yesterday, up 10 cents from last week, according to a survey of local stations by the state’s Office of Energy Resources. The lowest price the survey found was $3.019 a gallon and the highest was $3.139.

A similar survey by AAA Southern New England found an average price of $3.039 a gallon.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 12:30 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

UAW Workers at Ford Ratify Contract

DETROIT -- United Auto Workers members have ratified a historic four-year contract with Ford Motor Co. that sets lower pay for some newly hired workers and puts the company's huge retiree health care debt into a UAW-run trust, according to the Detroit Free Press.

The UAW, which represents about 54,000 workers at Ford, said Wednesday that 79 percent of those voting favored the pact.

Workers at General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC already have ratified similar deals, with the contract winning at Chrysler by only a small margin. Unlike the other two automakers, there was no strike at Ford.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 11:26 AM to Ford , Unions | Permalink | Comments 0

Far Out: Studios Imagine Smart Cars for a World Transformed by Robots

The Mercedes-Benz SilverFlow evokes the 1930s.

FIFTY years ago, tail fins were at their most extreme: cars seemed to want to be rockets. But 50 years from now, cars will want to be robots, at least according to the design challenge at the Los Angeles auto show this year, according to the New York Times.

“Robocar 2057” is the theme of the fourth edition of an event created by Chuck Pelly, the noted designer and teacher, who said the theme was inspired by the recent film “Transformers.”

So this year, automotive design studios in the Los Angeles area competed to produce designs showing how artificial intelligence might improve the automobile and integrate it more closely with human lives.

As usual in this competition, practical constraints like marketability, fuel economy, safety and even high school physics are put aside in the interest of exercising designers’ imaginations. These cars exist only on paper and in digital form.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 11:20 AM to Shows | Permalink | Comments 0

For G.M., Better Cars, Worse Sales

DETROIT — This year, General Motors has been getting some warm reviews for its new cars. Yet the company still has a hard time getting on drivers’ shopping lists, according to the New York Times' Micheline Maynard.

“At last, a decent midsize car from General Motors,” Automobile Magazine said of a stylish new version of the Malibu. The new Cadillac CTS is “an excellent luxury sport sedan,” raved Edmunds.com, which praised the more powerful engines that G.M. has made available on the car. And in January, the Saturn Aura was named the North American Car of the Year by auto writers.

This is all a sharp contrast to six years ago, when the legendary product expert Robert A. Lutz arrived at G.M. to take charge of vehicle development. Back then, the company was selling cars and trucks that he admits — in his typical blunt-talking fashion — he never would have parked in his vast personal garage.

Now, he says, G.M.’s new models can be compared to the best that the company’s Japanese and German competitors have to offer.

The question is, Will enough consumers compare them — and choose G.M.?

Despite Mr. Lutz’s efforts, G.M. still has a hard time getting on drivers’ shopping lists. Its market share, close to 28 percent when Mr. Lutz arrived, has dropped to just under 24 percent, in part because G.M. has pulled back on unprofitable sales to rental car companies.

But there are other factors holding G.M. back, too, that may be hard to overcome despite the improved lineup of cars.

Perhaps the biggest challenge is changing the way consumers think about its cars. The idea that G.M.’s cars have been a disaster, even if the trucks were passable, “has been so ingrained, and so hard to change,” Mr. Lutz said.

Even he acknowledges that this may take another generation of vehicles to change, meaning well into the next decade — a long time for a company that has lost billions of dollars in recent years and whose competitors keep getting better, too.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 11:14 AM to GM | Permalink | Comments 0

Oil rebounds, eyes U.S. inventory data

LONDON - Oil moved sharply higher on Wednesday, after falling for the past two days, supported by expectations of a further fall in U.S. crude oil supplies and as OPEC brushed off U.S. calls to raise output, according to Reuters News Agency.

U.S. light crude for December delivery rose $2.33 to $93.50 a barrel by 10:04 a.m. EST.

Oil has fallen more than $7 a barrel from last week's record of $98.62, pressured by evidence that high prices may be affecting demand, after the International Energy Agency's latest monthly oil market report cut predictions for demand growth.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 10:48 AM to Crude oil market | Permalink | Comments 0

Ford sees tough U.S. market

LOS ANGELES - Ford is preparing for the risk that higher oil prices and a slowing U.S. economy crimp demand and will cut production as needed to avoid building costly inventories, senior executives said on Tuesday, according to Reuters News Agency.

Speaking to reporters in advance of the Los Angeles Auto Show, Ford Chief Executive Alan Mulally said the economic concerns for Ford included tighter credit markets and a U.S. housing market that could remain weak for another year or two.

"When you add that together, it's a very concerning environment," Mulally said.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 10:43 AM to Ford | Permalink | Comments 0

'08 Volkswagens top list for resale value, Kelly Blue Book says

Model year 2008 Volkswagens are most likely to retain the largest portion of their value after five years of ownership, according to study by Kelly Blue Book, according to the Detroit Free Press.

Using information from the company’s analysis of new and used cars and trucks, Kelly Blue Book put Volkswagen at the top of a list of 10 vehicle brands with the best projected resale value. BMW and Acura were second and third on the list. The bottom three brands on the list were Suzuki, Kia and GMC, according to the report.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 10:41 AM to Sales , VW | Permalink | Comments 0

Auto industry improves satisfaction, and Lexus leads way

DETROIT — Auto dealers nationwide are getting better at serving their customers, collectively scoring at a record level this year in a survey of new car buyers by the J.D. Power and Associates research firm, according to USA Today.

The survey also found that Toyota's Lexus luxury unit led all brands in consumers' satisfaction with their car-buying experience.

Satisfaction with dealers overall was the highest in the 21 years the company has taken the survey. The industry average score was 852 out of a possible 1,000 points, up from last year's 847, showing that dealers are improving the sales process, J.D. Power said.

The survey measures consumer satisfaction with the dealership facility, sales representative, paperwork and finance process, delivery process and vehicle price.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 10:38 AM to Auto industry , Toyota | Permalink | Comments 0