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Oil above $94, still nervous about U.S. economy

LONDON - Oil prices were steady near $94 on Thursday after a surge of more than $4 in the previous session, which followed central bank action to ease tight credit conditions in the financial system that could hurt global economic growth, according to Reuters News Agency.

U.S. light, sweet crude futures fell nearly $1 a barrel initially, but then recovered to stand 15 cents higher at $94.54 by 8:19 a.m. EST.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 5:40 PM to Crude oil market | Permalink | Comments 0

New Jersey Governor Appointed Group to Study Issues of Teenage Driving

In the six years since New Jersey enacted legislation imposing more restrictions on young drivers, including a graduated licensing system, to address its leading cause of death of teenagers and young adults, the number of accidents involving 17- to 20-year-old drivers has declined, according to the New York Times.

Still, 44 young drivers were killed last year in New Jersey crashes, according to the highway traffic safety division. And vehicle accidents remain the No. 1 killer of young people across the country, claiming thousands of lives each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

This year, Gov. Jon S. Corzine appointed a group called the Governor’s Teenage Driver Safety Study Commission, which is to deliver its report in March. The commission is analyzing a wide range of issues, including driver education, passenger restrictions for young drivers and penalties for newer drivers who violate traffic laws.

The co-chairman of the governor’s commission, Christopher D. Rafano, who is also a municipal prosecutor and Democratic Middlesex County freeholder, said that as far as recommendations, “Everything’s on the table.”

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 5:12 PM to Teenage Drivers | Permalink | Comments 0

Teenagers and Cars: A Deadly Mix

Each year, nearly 6,000 American teenagers die in car accidents involving teenage drivers, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, according to the New York Times, and more than 300,000 are injured.

The cost, in property damage and health care expenses, is $14 billion. The economic fallout will come as no surprise to anyone who has had to insure a male driver under 21.

Driving in the digital age has presented added worries. The cellphone owned by the 17-year-old girl who crossed the median into an oncoming tractor-trailer in one of this year’s most horrific teenage accidents was found to be texting just before impact. It is not known which of the five girls who died in the fiery collision near Rochester was using it.

“Nobody would want to see the crash photos I’ve collected,” said Ralph Miro, Trauma/E.M.S. coordinator for Waterbury Hospital in Connecticut. In 24 years as a paramedic, he has assisted at the worst roadside carnage.

The relentlessness of the slaughter and grief compelled him in 1998 to start a statewide driver education program aimed at high school students called the Hard Truth. Presented with the help of volunteers from Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Mr. Miro’s road show, with its graphic accident scene and emergency-room slides and heart-rending testimony from victims and offenders, is heavily booked all over Connecticut — especially during prom season.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 5:09 PM to Safety | Permalink | Comments 0

G.M.’s Fuel-Cell Test: 100 Cars, No Charge

AS Honda prepares to lease a handful of fuel-cell cars to consumers, General Motors is offering its own hydrogen cars free, according to the New York Times.

G.M. is preparing a January rollout of Project Driveway, which will park more than 100 Equinox Fuel Cell crossover wagons with selected drivers in Westchester County, N.Y.; Orange County, Calif.; and Washington, D.C.

G.M. said the research project would give it the world’s largest fleet of fuel-cell cars driven by consumers, who can apply for no-cost, three-month tests of the Equinox at chevrolet.com/fuelcell. For recipients of the Equinox, each valued at up to $1 million, G.M. will even cover the cost of hydrogen fuel and insurance.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 4:46 PM to Alternative fuels , GM | Permalink | Comments 0

European Automakers Likely to Build Plants in United States

DETROIT — The dollar’s falling value is making European automakers eager to build more vehicles in the United States, even as American car companies continue to shift production to other, lower-cost countries, according to the New York Times.

Fiat, the Italian carmaker, is the latest company to suggest that it may build a plant in the United States. Its chief executive, Sergio Marchionne, told Automotive News Europe for an article published Monday that its sports car brand, Alfa Romeo, needs a North American plant to be profitable. Alfa Romeo is returning to the United States next year after a 13-year absence.

Meanwhile, Volkswagen of Germany is scouting locations for a plant in the eastern United States. It was the first foreign carmaker to open an American factory, in New Stanton, Pa., but closed the factory in 1988.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 4:40 PM to Auto industry | Permalink | Comments 0

U.S. Senate Democrats to revive energy bill

WASHINGTON -- Senate Democrats said Tuesday they planned to revive their energy bill with a 40% increase in fuel economy standards on Thursday thanks to changes in a controversial tax plan, but Republicans said the bill still fell short of having enough votes and faced a certain veto by President Bush, according to the Detroit Free Press.

The bill passed the House last week, but fell seven votes short of the 60 needed in the Senate to block a Republican filibuster. Opponents, including a couple of Democrats, objected to a $21-billion tax provision and requirements on electric utilities to generate up to 15% of their energy from renewable sources.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 4:38 PM to Fuel economy | Permalink | Comments 0

GM dominates list of finalists for car, truck of the year

General Motors accounts for four of the six finalists for 2008 North American Car and Truck of the Year, the panel of journalists who present the award announced in a news conference at Cobo Center in Detroit today, according to the Detroit Free Press.

The Cadillac CTS sport sedan and Chevrolet Malibu midsize sedan are finalists for car of the year. The Buick Enclave crossover SUV and Chevrolet Tahoe hybrid SUV are finalists for truck of the year. The other finalists are the Honda Accord midsize sedan and Mazda CX-9 crossover SUV.

The winners will be announced at a news conference of the North American International Auto Show in Detroit Jan. 13.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 4:35 PM to GM | Permalink | Comments 0

Auto industry suit against Calif. rejected

SACRAMENTO — Handing a major defeat to the auto industry, a federal judge ruled Wednesday that California can regulate greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles, according to USA Today.

The ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Anthony Ishii in Fresno clears one of the hurdles in California's effort to regulate tailpipe emissions from cars, trucks and sports utility vehicles.

Automakers sued the state over the tailpipe standards it approved in 2004, which would force automakers to build cars and light trucks that produce about 30% fewer greenhouse gases by 2016.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 4:33 PM to Fuel economy | Permalink | Comments 0

What your CEO drives says a lot

http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2007-12-10-ceo-cars_N.htm?loc=interstitialskipCars often are big attention grabbers. That's especially true when it comes to what the CEO drives, according to USA Today.

Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton famously drove a pickup. Warren Buffett, worth $42 billion, drove a silver 2001 Lincoln Town Car with Nebraska plates THRIFTY until he auctioned it for charity on eBay last year for $73,200.

When Alan Mulally moved from Boeing to be CEO of Ford last year he caught flak for calling his Lexus the finest car in the world just when Ford was introducing him as its new leader. Now, he "rotates through an array" of Ford vehicles, Ford spokesman Mike Moran says.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 4:25 PM to Popular culture | Permalink | Comments 0

Oil Prices Jump on Inventories, Fed

NEW YORK -- Energy futures rose sharply Wednesday after the government reported unexpected declines in supplies of crude and heating oil last week and the Federal Reserve announced a plan to help banks weather the credit crisis, according to the Associated Press.

Crude supplies fell 700,000 barrels during the week ended Dec. 7, according to a weekly inventory report from the Energy Department's Energy Information Administration. Analysts had expected a 100,000 barrel increase.

Light, sweet crude for January delivery rose $4.37 to settle at $94.39 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, and January heating oil futures jumped 12.02 cents to settle at $2.6432 a gallon. It was crude's highest close since Nov. 27.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 4:15 PM to Crude oil market | Permalink | Comments 0