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Backseat Driver: Driving slower can definitely save money.

Well, I experimented with driving slower this week and found I can definitely save money.

My 1999 Volvo has readouts that tell me my miles per gallon at any one moment and also for a preset trip. I found I could average 32 mpg at around 60 mph over the 30 mile trip from Jamestown to Providence compared with 27 mpg on a more normal, faster run.

(Even at 60 mph, I guess I was exceeding the speed limit. But that is the speed in the slow lane and cars drive were driving around me.

It reminds me of the time an officer pulled me over in a 25 mph zone. I make no defense for the speed I was going, but have you actually tried driving at 25 mph? It is remarkably slow!)

Getting back to my experiment, I should point out that I was driving most of the time on the highway. City driving in a heavy Volvo quickly brings the fuel economy down.

But all in all, there is no question that a lighter foot on the pedal will save money – and lives.
Meanwhile, as if to confirm that fuel economy is on all our minds, J.D. Power and Associates announced that “drivers of new cars were less satisfied with their vehicles this year for the first time in at least five years due mainly to rising fuel prices.”

It noted in its annual survey of vehicle owner satisfaction that part of the problem is that gas prices have risen dramatically over the last 12 months while fuel economy has basically stayed the same.

And the latest Auto Pulse Survey conducted by the Consumer Reports National Research Center shows more than 77 percent of consumers cited the government’s failure to implement an effective energy policy as a root cause for high gas prices.

It also found that nearly 80 percent of car shoppers intend to buy a vehicle with better fuel economy, with 80 percent considering a diesel, flex-fuel, or hybrid vehicle.

Indeed, 31 percent of new-car shoppers said fuel economy was the most important consideration. That is nearly double the share recorded in 2007.

And 54 percent said they would pay more for a more fuel-efficient vehicle while 74 percent are driving less due to fuel costs.

- Peter C.T. Elsworth

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 2:54 PM to Fuel prices , Safety | Permalink | Comments 0

Backseat Driver: Paul Bailey Chrysler-Dodge makes pitch for Speedcraft customers

No sooner did I blog the decision by Speedcraft to close its Chrysler-Dodge dealership, than Paul Bailey Chrysler-Dodge takes out an ad in the South County edition of The Providence Journal welcoming “the customers of the former Speedcraft Chrysler-Dodge.

“We invite you to bring your vehicles to our totally renovated facility in North Kingstown for service, maintenance and collision repairs,” the ad reads.

Actually, Speedcraft general manager Harry Garabedian said the Chrysler-Dodge service department will remain open to service customers.

Speedcraft may lose some customers, but it would probably not begrudge Bailey the business. Speedcraft, after all, has just made over its Volkswagen dealership and that is where its focus is now directed.

And with five new models coming out this year, including the exciting clean diesels Jettas, there is good reason to believe that VW sales will be up as the year progresses.
But what of Chrysler?

The company is crippled with almost no small cars at a time when they are what people want, and has been offering all sorts of promotions – including the famous $2.99 a gallon gasoline for 12,000 miles for three years – in face of awful sales declines and rumors of imminent bankruptcy.

So good luck to owner Maureen Bailey and general manager Larry Cronin, good folks we profiled back in February of last year. I fear they may need it.

- Peter C.T. Elsworth

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 1:03 PM to Local dealerships | Permalink | Comments 0

GM leads way into downward spiral as auto anxiety soars

The Detroit auto industry appeared to be imploding Thursday, according to USA Today.

Shares of General Motors (GM) stock hadn't traded so cheaply since the 1950s. Ford Motor (F) stock was at a 52-week low. Privately held Chrysler doesn't trade but still felt compelled to deny a rumor that it will file for bankruptcy protection.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 9:53 AM to Auto industry , Chrysler , Ford , GM | Permalink | Comments 0

Oil reaches $142 on view dollar will keep falling

NEW YORK -- Oil futures climbed briefly to a new record above $142 a barrel Friday on expectations that the weakening dollar, a major factor in crude's stratospheric rise, will extend its decline and add to oil's appeal, according to the Associated Press.

Retail gas prices inched lower overnight, but are likely to resume their own trek into record territory now that oil futures have broken out of the trading range where they had been for nearly 3 weeks.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 9:51 AM to Crude oil market , Gas prices | Permalink | Comments 0

Projo blogs upgrade set for Saturday

Saturday morning we plan to upgrade the active projo blogs to a new version of the Movable Type software. All blogs will remain available during this process. Afterwards you’ll see a new look and some new features, and we’ll welcome your comments about them.

Posted by Sheila Lennon  at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Oil jumps above $140 on OPEC, Libya comments

NEW YORK -- Oil futures shot above $140 Thursday after OPEC's president said crude prices could rise well above $150 a barrel this year and Libya said it may cut oil production, according to the Associated Press.

The advance raised the likelihood that gasoline prices would also extend their march higher, and that prices of goods and services throughout the economy would also keep rising.

Light, sweet crude crossed the $140 level minutes before the New York Mercantile Exchange closed Thursday, then retreated slightly to settle up $5.09 at a record $139.64. In after-hours electronic trading, prices rose as high as a record $140.39.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 5:15 PM to Crude oil market | Permalink | Comments 0

Oil jumps on OPEC, Libya comments

NEW YORK -- Oil futures shot up to nearly $139 a barrel Thursday after OPEC's president said oil prices could rise well above $150 a barrel this year and Libya said it may cut oil production, according to the Associated Press.

Light, sweet crude for August delivery rose as high as $138.95 a barrel shortly after the New York Mercantile Exchange opened before retreating some to trade up $3.59 at $138.14.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 12:48 PM to Crude oil market | Permalink | Comments 0

High court: Stiffer penalties apply to breath-test refusals

Providence — The state Supreme Court today ruled that harsher penalties approved in 2006 do apply to motorists who refuse to take Breathalyzer tests, according to The Providence Journal's Edward Fitzpatrick.

In making the ruling, the high court rejected the argument that the new penalties were wiped out when Governor Carcieri signed a budget bill containing the law’s old language.

Justice Paul A. Suttell began the court’s 13-page opinion with a quote: “If you like laws and sausage, you should never watch either one being made.”

Suttell said, “Otto von Bismark’s laconic observation is apropos to this appeal in which we are asked to consider two legislative acts passed in the waning days of the 2005-2006 session of the General Assembly.”

Before the penalties changed, nearly 85 percent of motorists suspected of drunken driving in Rhode Island were refusing to submit to Breathalyzer tests, while the national average was 25 percent.

So in 2006, the General Assembly passed a law aimed at cracking down on those who refused to take the tests. For first offenses, the law doubled the minimum license suspension to six months, and it made subsequent offenses criminal rather than civil. For second offenses, the law provided penalties of up to six months in prison, fines of up to $1,000 and up to 100 hours of community service.

Governor Carcieri signed the bill on June 28, 2006. And two days later, he signed the annual budget bill, which added a $200 assessment for refusing a Breathalyzer test but did not include the stiffer penalties contained in the other legislation.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 12:46 PM to Safety | Permalink | Comments 0

Backseat Driver: Speedcraft closes Chrysler-Dodge dealership, keeps service department

Speedcraft has closed the Chrysler-Dodge new car and truck dealership next to its Volkswagen shop on Old Tower Hill Road in Wakefield, according to General Manager Harry Garabedian.

But it is keeping the service department open and will continue to sell pre-owned vehicles out of the location, he said.

"We have closed the Chrysler-Dodge (new car) dealership, but will continue to service Chrysler-Dodge cars with our factory trained technicians," he said.

"We're still selling pre-owned (vehicles) and still servicing our customers," he said. "But we are no longer selling new Chrysler-Dodge (vehicles)."

Meanwhile, Speedcraft's Volkswagen dealership has just had an extensive makeover and Garabedian and owner Lisa Lichtenfels are bullish about the new products the German auto maker is bringing in this year.

As we recently reported in a profile of the dealership, VW could rack up strong sales with its new vehicles, especially with its clean diesel technology which is due with the new Jetta range of sedans and wagons, starting in August.

However, Chrysler has been hard hit with the surge in gas prices, having only a limited number of small cars on its books. The company's sales have fallen nearly 20 percent so far this year compared with the first five months of 2007, including a drop of nearly 25 percent in May.

Garabedian declined to comment on Speedcraft's decision to shutter the Chrysler-Dodge dealership, but it is hard to believe that Chrysler's declining fortunes did not play a part.

Meanwhile, he said, Speedcraft is "always looking for other opportunities."

- Peter C.T. Elsworth

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 4:05 PM to Local dealerships | Permalink | Comments 0

Drivers slow down as costs accelerate

Some drivers across the nation apparently are cutting their speed slightly to squeeze more mileage out of $4-a-gallon gasoline, according to a USA Today review of preliminary state traffic data for the first five months of 2008.

Average speeds along some stretches of interstate highways were down in Tennessee, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin and unchanged on others, electronic monitoring showed.

Of 20 states providing data on speeding citations issued by state troopers, the number of tickets was down in 13 states — Arkansas, California, Delaware, Iowa, Kentucky, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Washington — and up in seven — Alabama, Connecticut, Idaho, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina and Ohio.

The state agencies emphasized that the data are preliminary and apply only to roads patrolled by state police.

Transportation experts and some law enforcement professionals caution that it's too soon to establish a link between gas prices and driving speeds.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 3:51 PM to Gas prices , Safety | Permalink | Comments 0

Backseat Driver: What’s going on at Speedcraft in Wakefield?

We recently profiled the Speedcraft Chrysler-Dodge-Volkswagen dealership on Old Tower Hill Road in Wakefield and focused on the smart redesign of the VW shop which was just being completed.

Now it seems Speedcraft is closing its neighboring Chrysler-Dodge dealership, although the company declined to comment on the possible development.

But with just a few new Chrysler vehicles outside and the Chrysler-Dodge brand names removed from Speedcraft’s Web site, it would seem the small dealership is being shuttered. The dealership is still signed Chrysler-Dodge.

Indeed, the only Chrysler vehicles listed for sale on the Web site are in the pre-owned category, although there do seem to be a bunch of new Dodge Nitros parked round the back.

Speedcraft, which is owned by Roderick and Lisa Lichtenfels, acquired the Fred W. Smith Chrysler-Dodge dealership, which had a long history in South County, along with its 30 or so employees in December 2005. The plan called for operating both dealerships alongside each other.

But both Chrysler and Volkswagen have been navigating declining sales.

With some exciting models coming out this year, VW could be on the verge of a comeback, especially with its clean diesel technology which is due with the new Jetta range of sedans and wagons, starting in August.

Chrysler, on the other hand, has been hit in the chops with the surge in gas prices, having only a limited number of small cars on its books. The Dodge Caliber may be holding its own, but even the PT Cruiser is not selling well, with sales down nearly 40 percent in the first five months of this year compared to last year, according to the latest edition of Automotive News.

Indeed, as I reported in last week’s blog, Chrysler has seen overall sales drop nearly 20 percent so far this year compared with the first five months of 2007, including a drop of nearly 25 percent in May.

As a result, it has made a number of moves to push sales, including the grand offer of guaranteeing $2.99 a gallon gasoline for 12,000 miles a year over three years for each new vehicle, and a decision to follow General Motors and sell certified used Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep vehicles on eBay.

The company also announced it plans to undercut GM in the pricing of its hybrid SUVs – the Chrysler Aspen and Dodge Durango – but does anyone want such oxymorons anymore?

As for closing dealerships, all three Detroit manufacturers have been moving toward cutting costs and increasing profits by closing small shops and bringing all corporate brands under one roof in the remaining ones.

- Peter C.T. Elsworth

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 12:55 PM to Chrysler , Local dealerships | Permalink | Comments 0

Oil Prices Rise After Saudi Meeting

JIDDA, Saudi Arabia — A hastily convened global energy summit meeting led by Saudi Arabia ended largely in disagreement on Sunday, with only a modest pledge of increased production by the Saudis and no resolution on what other practical steps should be taken to ease the crisis over soaring oil prices, according to The New York Times.

On Monday, the global oil market shrugged off the news, pushing up prices and oil was up $1.59, to $136.95 a barrel in New York.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 4:44 PM to Crude oil market | Permalink | Comments 0

McCain proposes $300M prize for advanced auto battery

PHOENIX — John McCain hopes to solve the country's energy crisis with cold hard cash, according to the Associated Press.

The Republican presidential nominee-in-waiting is proposing a $300 million government prize to whomever can develop an automobile battery that far surpasses existing technology.

The bounty would equate to $1 for every man, woman and child in the country, "a small price to pay for helping to break the back of our oil dependency," McCain said in remarks prepared for delivery Monday at Fresno State University in California.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 11:32 AM to Alternative fuels | Permalink | Comments 0

Tasca out early in tragic racing weekend at Englishtown, NJ

NHRA funny car driver Scott Kalitta died after his car explodes an engine during qualifying for the Super Nationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, NJ.

ENGLISHTOWN, N.J. – On a day when winning is usually the only thing on the minds of teams and drivers in the NHRA, race day in Englishtown today was different, according to Bob Tasca III's publicist Alexis Kinch.

NHRA funny car driver Scott Kalitta in January.

Scott Kalitta died Saturday when his Funny Car burst into flames and crashed at the end of the track during the final round of qualifying for the Lucas Oil NHRA SuperNationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park, according to The Washington Post.

The NHRA said the 46-year-old Kalitta _ the 1994 and 1995 Top Fuel season champion who had 18 career victories, 17 in Top Fuel and one in Funny Car _ was taken to the Old Bridge division of Raritan Bay Medical Center, where he died a short time later.

Kalitta's Toyota Solara was traveling at about 300 mph when it burst into flames.

“It’s hard to be happy about racing when you’re sad,” said Tasca. “Not being out here as long as some of the other guys, I wasn’t fortunate enough to spend a lot of time with Scott. But, during the time that I did spend with him, he was always a gentleman. I’m just brokenhearted for him and his whole family. The unthinkable and the unspeakable happened yesterday. It’s just a very bad day in the NHRA world.”

Tasca competed at his hometown track for the first time in his professional career on Sunday. Tasca lost to point’s leader, Tim Wilkerson, in the first round of the NHRA Supernationals, but was able to hold on to his 10th position in the championship.

“We had a tune-up in the car to run a high 4.90,” said Tasca. “It probably would have run that, but I shut it off when I saw Tim go through the lights. That’s why our time was down a little bit.

“We qualified eighth, but we ran against the No. 1 guy in the points. That’s just the way the draw was. He’s No. 1 for a reason. Tim Wilkerson has run really, really well this season and you’ve got to give his team a lot of credit. They made an amazing run in the heat yesterday, which probably gave them some great data for today. Now, we just pick up and move on down the road, but it’s been a tough, tough weekend.”

The Motorcraft/Quick Lane/Custom Accessories Shelby Mustang team will leave right from Englishtown and head to Norwalk, Ohio for the 2nd annual NHRA Nationals June 26-29. The race marks the halfway point of the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series season.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 10:59 AM to Racing | Permalink | Comments 0

R.I. gas prices drop for first time since March

Gasoline prices in Rhode Island have dropped by one cent this week, according to AAA Southern New England and reported by projo.com.

It's not much, but it follows 12 straight weeks of price increases, for a total of 93 cents, according to AAA.

AAA’s survey of prices found self-serve, regular unleaded averaging $4.099 per gallon in Rhode Island.

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

Updated with video | Backseat Driver: I get paid to drive a race car

Okay, I confess, this is a dream job.

So many of you tell me that and yesterday's visit to Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, Conn., was a good reminder that you are right.

Journal photographer Steve Szydlowski and I went to the famed race track to get an update on the $5 million makeover that is currently underway. And while we were there, we got a chance to drive a couple of race-prepped Mazda MX-5 Miatas.

Click here to view the video of a day at Lime Rock.

With the main track out of commission, we joined a number of members and would-be members of The Club at Lime Rock at the Auto Cross track in the middle of the park. This is a short track between half and three quarters of a mile long but extremely curvy.

Instructors Peter Argetsinger (son of the late Cameron Argetsinger, founder of Watkins Glen) and Brit Simon Kirkby, racing veterans with wins and championships on both sides of the Atlantic, were timing runs when we arrived.

After they had each taken a run, we broke for lunch and then returned for our runs. I squeezed into the cockpit which had been stripped of every comfort. A framework of steel piping reinforced the door, forcing me to slither into the tight bucket seat. (Getting out was also a procedure involving leveraging myself on the door and roof, NASCAR style.)

Once in, I was strapped into a four-point harness and the steering wheel was attached.

Kirkby joined me on the first few laps, pointing out how the track had been "mapped" with cones to indicate where to take the car as it entered and exited bends. He also talked me through, telling me when to accelerate and when to brake (while still going straight before I turned the wheel.)

It was exciting. The speeds do not sound impressive - 60 mph down the short straight - but when you are going through very tight curves at full speed with your bottom six inches off the ground, it seems very fast indeed.

Kirkby then told me to pull in and said we were going to change places. This was my first indication that race car driving is way beyond anything one can imagine from everyday driving. Accordingly we slithered out and slithered in and were again strapped down and off we went.

I don't think he was showing off, although it did cross my mind at first. But once we had settled - if you can call it that - into the blistering pace he set, throwing the car through beds at speeds I could not begin to come to terms with, I did comment that my tepid driving must have been driving him crazy.

No, he said. He just wanted to show me what the car could do. And what I could do.

I was just beginning to regret that lunch when he brought the car in and we again changed places. I was a completely new driver. As he had demonstrated and confirmed by talking about it, there was no way I could roll the car. The speeds were not great enough and the wide, low-slung design combined with fat racing tires provided enormous stability.

Nor could I damage myself or the car on this track as there were no barriers to hit. That was by design: it's a safe track for beginning drivers to get a sense of controlling a fast car going through very tight corners at high speed.

This time I threw the car through the corners and jammed down my foot when he urged me to, earning every so often a much appreciated "Good," and "Well done."

After three laps or so, we pulled over and I was exhausted. More than the astonishing stablity of the car, the sheer muscular strength needed to control a car going through a corner while accelerating with my foot to the floor was astonishing.

And no sooner had that curve been negotiated but I was in the middle of another one in the opposite direction. As Kirkby kept reminding me, I had to keep looking ahead to the next curve.

Three laps of that effort literally left me breathless and now it was time to do a series of timed laps by myself. I felt like an out of shape athlete staggering up to the finish line only to be told the next race started immediately.

Gritting my teeth through my exhaustion and wanting to put a good show, I set off trying to internalize the pointers of Kirkby's short lesson. Full acceleration, braking on the straight as I enter the corner, work the car round it using all my strength, accelerate out, brake again, wrestle the wheel the other way, up a short hill on the curve before hitting the accelerator full speed again to take me over the brow and another brake and curve, holding the wheel with all my strength while I went round it.

And so on through about five more corners before coming round to the short straightaway with it blast of full acceleration, and then brake and back into that first hairpin corner and off we go again.

By the end I was aching and shaking. I told Kirkby I could not imagine what it takes to keep up that kind of pressure up in a real race, lap after lap. He laughed and said race car drivers have to be very fit. No kidding.

I lost the car on one bend in the second lap, the tail spinning out before quickly recovering. But it cost me time and my final tally for the three laps was about 2 minutes and six seconds which was four seconds slower than Steve (But he has driven race cars before!).

After we had done our laps, we were each treated to a couple of laps in a new Porsche 911 Turbo courtesy of prospective club member Paul Marsala from Long Island.

Oh dear, I'm afraid I really did regret that lunch sitting in the passenger seat as he put his Porsche through its paces!

Did I mention that this job does have its drawbacks?

- Peter C.T. Elsworth

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 1:00 PM to commentary | Permalink | Comments 0

Backseat Driver: Lime Rock Park is going to be awesome

With more than 130 members signing up with The Club at Lime Rock Park – most of them at $110,000 for a 50-year membership – the track at the famed park is undergoing a radical makeover.

Just how radical Journal photographer Steve Szydlowski and I discovered yesterday when we went to visit and talk with track owner and president Skip Barber and members of his team.

The site is a beehive of activity, with men and women and machines working all round the track. Excavators are carving out great swaths of earth while trucks move it from one end to the other.

Some of the track is being milled down for resurfacing; other parts are being dug up completely and relaid. Runoff areas are being widened and graded, and new barriers are being put in.

Hills are being regraded and three new, optional corners are being added in an effort to slow down one of the fastest tracks in the nation.

Most but not all of the work will be completed by July 11-12 when the track hosts the American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix. Additional work will done next year.

Make no mistake, this is a $5 million makeover and the end result will be stunning – a flawlessly smooth track with additional features and safety margins that will be a treat to race and visit.

Read more about our visit in my article in this Saturday’s projoCars section.

- Peter C.T. Elsworth

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 12:59 PM to Racing | Permalink | Comments 0

High gasoline prices changing lawn-mowing habits

When Eric King moved from his apartment in Pittsburgh to a single-family home with a lawn, he bought a manual lawn mower instead of the usual gas-powered kind. He figures he's putting money in his pocket and saving trips to the filling station.

He's got plenty of company, according to the Associated Press.

Sales of manual - or push reel - mowers with the cartwheeling blades are on the rise this year. Officials attribute the surge to increased environmental concerns because of emissions from gas-powered mowers, the faltering economy that makes the generally less expensive push reels more attractive, and $4-a-gallon gasoline.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 9:45 AM to Gas prices | Permalink | Comments 0

Will Hummer end up in Asia?

The Hummer brand could be sold in the near future and if it is, analysts say the buyer won't be a familiar one but instead might come from Russia, India or China, according to The Detroit Free Press.

Speculation about the future of the military-style brand that epitomizes the in-your-face, gas-guzzling SUV began at General Motors Corp.'s annual meeting June 3, when Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Rick Wagoner said the company is considering "all options" for the brand: from a complete revamp of the product lineup to a partial or complete sale.

But with oil prices continuing to rise and Americans making an about-face from trucks to cars and more fuel-efficient crossovers, many analysts say the future of Hummer as a GM brand looks bleak.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 10:12 AM to GM | Permalink | Comments 0

Prepare to pay even more for gas if you don't fill up rental car

If it was difficult to swallow $4-a-gallon for gas, try digesting $8 — the current price you'll pay at some car rental locations if you return your vehicle without a full tank.

A USA Today survey of eight car rental companies found prices of $7.99, or $8, a gallon at all 10 airports surveyed.

The prices were levied upon renters who return a car without a full tank of gas or don't prepay for a full tank at the car rental company's set price.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 9:57 AM to Fuel prices | Permalink | Comments 0

Backseat Driver: Chrysler's survival saga continues

Chrysler continues to flail in a market where it seems ill positioned, with its latest move designed to move its new hybrid SUVs off the lot.

But hybrid SUV was always a contradiction in terms – a case of wanting your cake (updating the outmoded SUV with green technology) and eating it too (big SUV-style profits) – that has now fallen flat in an age of high gas prices.

SUVs on the whole do not appeal to environmentally conscious consumers and the savings – going from around 15 combined miles to the gallon to around 20 mpg – are not necessary going to appeal to consumers seeking to save money at the pump.

This is the latest move from privately owned Chrysler which is lumbered with a lineup that include few small cars – the Chrysler PT Cruiser/Convertible and Dodge Caliber – and a bunch of big, aggressive vehicles seemingly from another universe - including the Chrysler 300 and Pacifica and Dodge Challenger, Charger and Magnum, let alone its SUVs and trucks.

Indeed, Chrysler has seen sales drop off nearly 20 percent so far this year compared with the first five months of 2007, including a drop of nearly 25 percent in May.

As a result, it has made a number of moves that seem to reflect a “We’ll pay you to drive them away” mentality.

They include the grand offer of guaranteeing $2.99 a gallon gasoline for 12,000 miles a year over three years for each new vehicle, and a decision to follow General Motors and sell certified used Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep vehicles on eBay.

Last week, chairman and CEO Robert Nardelli had a Jimmy Carter moment of crisis in the face of bad reviews from both Consumer Reports and J.D. Power & Associates, sending off an email to all employees asking them why they thought no one wants to buy the company’s products.

His recommendations included such corporate/marketing mumbo jumbo examples of the something obvious as: “Don’t hesitate to confront problems;” “Everything is about pleasing the customer” and “Raise the standard defining excellent quality.”

Excellent quality indeed!

Now the company has announced it will undercut General Motors in the pricing of its 2009 hybrid SUVs – the Chrysler Aspen and Dodge Durango. Both will be priced at around $45,000 which is about $8,000 less than GM’s 2008 hybrid SUVs – the Chevrolet Tahoe and the GMC Yukon.

But with consumers falling over themselves to buy small, fuel-efficient cars, it remains to be seen whether the SUV hybrid schtick will carry in a world of high gas prices.

- Peter C.T. Elsworth

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 1:42 PM to Chrysler | Permalink | Comments 0

Backseat Driver: Ernie Boch hits home run on small Hondas

It has been an open secret for quite some time: with skyrocketing gas prices, small, fuel efficient cars – new and used – are all the rage.

And as for hybrids, forget about it. As my colleage Bruce Miranda found out in his search for a Toyota Prius, the few used ones entering the market are snapped up right away and buying a new one means a wait of two to three months.

So credit local auto dealer Ernie Boch for having the foresight to see where gas prices were going and the moxie to buy up some $2 million’s worth of small Hondas from dealers around the nation, according to Automotive News.

“We could see it coming,” he told the authoritive industry trade paper of the run on small, fuel efficient cars.

As a result, sales at Boch’s Honda dealership in Norwood, Mass., which is the top-selling Honda store in the nation, are “brisk” while many other dealerships are staring at clogged lots and little foot traffic.

“Civics are going like crazy,” Boch is quoted as saying below a front-page photo of him leaning out the front window of a Civic with a big grin and a thumbs up.

- Peter C.T. Elsworth

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 12:14 PM to Fuel economy , Fuel prices , Honda , Local dealerships | Permalink | Comments 0

Drivers Turning to Lower-Grade Gas

ARLINGTON, Va. — As the price of fuel continues to climb, more drivers are trying to save 20 or so cents a gallon by using regular or midgrade gasoline, even when their owner’s manuals recommend premium, according to The New York Times.

For gas station managers, fuel suppliers and motorists across the country, the run on the cheaper fuel has led to more uncertainty at the pumps, as some stations have run out of the cheaper grades.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 5:42 PM to Gas prices | Permalink | Comments 0

Bad economy a yellow flag for smaller racecar venues

A misfiring economy and rising energy prices are choking off the racing done by the semi-pro drivers who grind gears each summer at Seekonk Speedway and other small tracks around the Northeast, according to The Providence Journal.

Record oil prices are pushing up the cost of many products associated with auto racing, including the fuels used to tow racecars to the tracks and to propel them once they arrive, the parts used in the racecars, and even the food sold in the stands.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 10:50 AM to Racing | Permalink | Comments 1

Backseat Apologia: Mea cupla on Greenwich Concours d'Elegance

Many apologies to anyone who read a short squib about the Greenwich Concours d'Elegance in Saturday's projoCars section.

I wrote that it was taking place last weekend when in fact it had already taken place the weekend of June 7th and 8th. Thanks to Tom Fair for pointing this out.

I have no excuse other than to quote Dr. Johnson when asked by a woman why, in his famed dictionary, he had defined a pastern as the knee of a horse.

"Ignorance, madam, pure ignorance."

I sincerely hope no one was seriously put out by my exhibition of pure ignorance.

- Peter C.T. Elsworth

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 10:32 AM to commentary | Permalink | Comments 0

Honda rolls out new zero-emission car

TAKANEZAWA, Japan -- Honda's new zero-emission, hydrogen fuel cell car rolled off a Japanese production line Monday and is headed to Southern California, where Hollywood is already abuzz over the latest splash in green motoring, according to the Associated Press.

The FCX Clarity, which runs on hydrogen and electricity, emits only water and none of the noxious fumes believed to induce global warming. It is also two times more energy efficient than a gas-electric hybrid and three times that of a standard gasoline-powered car, the company says.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 10:21 AM to Alternative fuels , Honda | Permalink | Comments 0

Oil hits record near $140 a barrel on dollar, fire

NEW YORK -- Crude oil futures hit a record near $140 a barrel Monday as investors shrugged off Saudi Arabia's promise to boost production and instead focused on a weaker dollar. Retail gas prices rose to a record $4.08 a gallon, according to the Associated Press.

Light, sweet crude for July delivery soared to a trading record of $139.89 before retreating to trade up $3.33 at $138.19 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 10:18 AM to Crude oil market | Permalink | Comments 0

Driver's Edge offers teens free course in advanced driving

A team of racing professionals – including many current and former IndyCar, NASCAR, drifting and sportscar drivers – will offer free driving tips to young drivers aged 15-to-21 at Foxboro Stadium June 28 and 29.

Driver’s Edge is a non-profit organization based in Las Vegas that this year has added Foxboro to its schedule of some 40 cities. To date, some 50,000 teenagers and their parents have taken the course which includes classroom and hands-on training.

The course is “designed to alter young driver attitudes and behavior and to serve as a “wake-up call” to help erase the video game mentality that is common among many of today’s young drivers,” according to a news statement.

Founder and president Jeff Payne said he founded the non-profit in 2002 because he was frustrated with what he perceived to be inadequacies in training young drivers.

“Everyone blames the kids,” he said in a recent interview. “Everyone points fingers at the kids, but they have never been taught to drive.”

“They’ve been taught to pass a test, and that’s good, but they are not prepared for the hazards of everyday life,” he said. “They’ve never received the proper training.”

The training is divided into four separate groups scheduled for morning or afternoon sessions on the Saturday and Sunday. Each session has space for 100 students, but the program tends to fill up fast. In addition, Payne says he encourages parents to attend.

Course and registration details are available at www.driversedge.org.

Driver’s Edge’s four-and-a-half-hour course is similar to the training offered by Boston-based In Control (incontroladt.com), which offers $300 courses at five locations in the area, including Seekonk Speedway where it conducted courses last Wednesday and Thursday.

In Control is smaller, having trained some 7,500 students since it was founded in 2002, according to spokesman Sean Martin.

In Control founder Brandon Bogart said his company offers training in such real-life problems as tailgating which he said was a major cause of accidents, especially among teenagers.

Payne, a former race car driver, said he supported all efforts to educate teenagers, including the courses offered by In Control and the Skip Barber Racing School (the nearest is at Lime Rock Park).

But he said he wanted Driver’s Edge to be free – “I did not want to be tearing my hair out worrying whether enough kids had registered,” he said – and found a major supporter in Bridgestone Tires.

“How can we help you, what do we do,” he said Bridgestone asked him and the company has been a national sponsor ever since.

“Driving,” Payne said, “continues to get more difficult for kids.”

He said teenagers need a car and it’s a sense of freedom for both parents who don’t have to drive them and for the teens who are on their own.

Meanwhile, “there are more and more distractions,” he said, citing iPods and cell phones. “It’s getting worse and worse.”

He said statistically, young male drivers make up 75 percent of the fatalities while young female drivers, who drive slower but are often distracted, make up over 50 percent of the injuries.

“With guys, it’s peer pressure,” he said, noting they tend to egg each other on with such famous last words as: “Come on, Dude, you can catch the light.”

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 1:58 PM to Safety , Teenage Drivers | Permalink | Comments 0

Backseat Driver: Slow down and take YOUR time

There is no question about it: if you want to save gas (and money), slow down.

That’s the overriding advice on all the Web sites I went to while researching a piece for Saturday’s projoCars section on practical solutions to high gas prices.

But driving slower is not so simple as it sounds because it requires a radical change in one’s attitude toward time.

Most of us are hopeless managers of time. And that’s an odd thing when you think about it, because time and energy are about all we get on this good earth. (Think of money as an abstract form of time and energy.)

As a journalist, it has been my privilege to meet people from all walks of life and I have found that successful people tend to be great time managers. Their offices are neat, their affairs ordered.

The rest of us bumble along, lurching from one apparent crisis to another. I say apparent because all too often the crisis is more in the line of getting the kids to school, paying the bills, buying the groceries, doing the washing, organizing the family holiday, worrying about gas prices … well, the list goes on and on. And on.

The net result is that most of us are often in a hurry. And when you are in a hurry, it’s mighty hard to cruise along in the middle lane at a steady 65 mph. Cruising along is the last thing on our minds.

But if we want to save gas (and money) by developing good driving habits, they start long before we get in the car or truck. They start with an entirely new perspective toward time and making better use of it. And that may not be a bad thing at all.

- Peter C.T. Elsworth

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 1:56 PM to commentary | Permalink | Comments 0

Oil prices jump on stock report, gas prices at record level

NEW YORK -- Oil prices soared Wednesday as the dollar fell and the Energy Department issued a mixed report on the nation's fuel inventories. At the pump, gas prices rose to a new record over $4.05 a gallon, according to the Associated Press.

The department's Energy Information Administration said oil inventories fell more than expected last week, and that gave oil a kick upward. But prices eased back to their pre-report levels as traders read further into the EIA's release and found that supplies of fuel such as gasoline and heating oil rose and demand fell.

Light, sweet crude spiked up nearly $5.50 to $136.80 a barrel soon after the report's release, then retreated to trade up $3.06 at $134.37 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 12:10 PM to Crude oil market | Permalink | Comments 0

Teen Driving course at Seekonk today and tomorrow

In Control Advanced Driver Training is conducting morning and afternoon courses in advanced driving techniques for teenage drivers at Seekonk Speedway today and tomorrow.

This is the first time In Control’s program, which costs $299 and has trained more than 7,500 students, is being made available to young drivers in Southeastern Mass and Rhode Island, the Wilmington, Mass.-based company said in a news statement.

Teenage drivers will have the opportunity to learn, hands-on, how to react in potentially dangerous situations, and reduce their risk of being involved in an accident. These classes are taught in a monitored, closed-course environment to ensure the safety of all its participants.

When: Wednesday, June 11th and Thursday, June 12th. Two sessions available each day: 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 3-7:30 p.m.

Where: Seekonk Speedway – 1710 Fall River Avenue (Route 6), Seekonk, MA

Why: According to In Control Advanced Driver Training:

· The number one cause of teen deaths is automobile accidents;

· 93 percent of all automobile accidents involving teen drivers are caused by driver error;

· 70 percent of all teen drivers will be involved in an accident during the first two years of driving;

· With warmer weather approaching, more teens will be hitting the roads;

· Drivers who complete In Control’s program reduced their risk of getting into an accident by 70 percent; and

· The skills learned in this program gives drivers the best chance to avoid serious injury or death if involved in an accident

To schedule a course, call (888) 301-SAFE (7233) or go to:

http://www.incontroladt.com/

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 11:56 AM to Teenage Drivers | Permalink | Comments 1

"American Chopper" chopper on view today

If you want to check out a chopper custom built by the famed Teutul family of Orange County Choppers and cable TV show American Chopper, a new Dryvit custom penguin chopper will be displayed today at 1 p.m. at the Rhode Island headquarters of Dryvit Systems Inc., according to a news statement from Dryvit Systems Inc.

The motorcycle will be featured on a new episode of American Chopper on The Learning Channel (Cox channel 39) at 9 p.m. tomorrow, June 12.

The one hour program will show how the custom chopper was built for Dryvit, whose wall system was used in the new Orange County Chopper headquarters in Montgomery, N.Y.

Dryvit's headquarters are at One Energy Way, West Warwick, RI 02893. The chopper is expected to be available for viewing and photos for about an hour.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 9:48 AM to Motorcycling | Permalink | Comments 0

Supply of hybrids runs out of gas as demand soars

Even as car buyers stampede for vehicles with better fuel mileage, there are fewer hybrids, the gas-stingiest, to go around, according to USA Today.

While sales of conventional small cars soared last month, sales of the most popular gas-electric hybrids were flat or down because dealers had fewer left. There was plenty of demand, but hybrid assembly plants are running as fast as they can, and some are short of components, particularly batteries.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 9:39 AM to Alternative fuels , Toyota | Permalink | Comments 0

Crude oil at $133, waiting on stock report, new record for gas

VIENNA, Austria -- Oil prices rebounded as the dollar weakened against major currencies Wednesday, but investors braced for a volatile trading day ahead of a report on U.S. crude inventories, according to the Associated Press.

Gas prices, meanwhile, advanced further into record territory Wednesday, reaching a new record national average of $4.052, according to a survey of stations by AAA and the Oil Price Information Service.

Light, sweet crude for July delivery was up $1.91 at $133.22 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by noon in Europe.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 9:33 AM to Crude oil market | Permalink | Comments 0

Spanish Truckers Block Border with France

Idle trucks trucks at the La Jonquera border crossing between France and Spainin Girona, Spain, during a protest against rising fuel costs.

MADRID — Gasoline at $4 a gallon? If that was America’s nightmare at the weekend as fuel prices reached a record national average, pity poor Europe, where the price of oil and taxes levied at the pump combine to push prices to about double the United States’ level.

In the latest show of distress, Spanish truckers Monday began a blockade of their country’s border with France, lining up their rigs and slowing them to a crawl to protest the cost of diesel fuel, according to The New York Times.

The strike blocked the highway in both directions in southwestern France. The protest turned ugly when would-be strike-breakers in Spain found their windshields and headlights smashed and their tires slashed.

But the Spanish drivers were not the only ones feeling the pinch. French drivers slowed traffic near Bordeaux to demand lower fuel prices, offering a foretaste of a planned national strike by truckers next Monday. Portuguese drivers blocked roads and in Belgium thousands of labor union members demonstrated in Liege to protest the rising cost of living as a result of fuel costs.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 1:43 PM to Fuel prices | Permalink | Comments 0

Saudi seeks meeting to tackle high oil prices

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia -- Saudi Arabia will call for a summit between oil producing countries and consumer states to discuss soaring energy prices, Information and Culture Minister Iyad Madani said Monday, according to the Associated Press.

The kingdom will also work with OPEC to "guarantee the availability of oil supplies now and in the future," the minister said following the weekly Cabinet meeting, held in the seaport city of Jiddah.

The Saudi announcement comes just three days after the biggest single-day price leap ever, when oil surged more than $11 to surpass $139 per barrel.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 1:38 PM to Crude oil market | Permalink | Comments 0

Backseat Driver: Gas prices don't hit as hard here as some other states

If you think $4.15 or so a gallon is expensive, try crossing the border into Connecticut where the price of regular was around $4.35 a gallon this weekend when I was down in Mystic.

And with the way crude oil prices are going, can $5.00 a gallon be far away? I don't think so, not with crude prices seen at $150 a barrel by July 4th, according to Goldman Sachs.

How symbolic is that? All the guff talked about energy independence over the decades and nothing done about it apart from filling salt domes with crude oil.

Why? because no president has had the desire or the vision or the courage to push through energy saving measures like imposing higher taxes, as was done in Europe after the run-up in oil prices in the early 1980s. Gas prices in Europe may be double those of the United States, but nobody is driving a hogmobile.

Instead U.S. politicians kowtowed to consumers who didn't want to pay more at the pump and to the auto companies who wanted to continue feeding at the trough of profits from gas-guzzling SUVs.

Well, here we are about to celebrate Independence Day with crude oil prices possibly at $150 a barrel. Maybe even more.

Looking on the bright side, Rhode Island is a small state, so we don't have to travel that far to go to work or to the beach.

By contrast, big rural states, especially in the south and stretching up thorugh the Plain States, are distinguished by rural poverty and big distances which are often driven in old, clapped-out cars and trucks that are hopeless gas guzzlers. For the most part, public transportation is not available, or indeed feasible.

By contrast, we in the Northeast may be least affected because we "make more money and drive shorter distances, or ... take a bus or train to work," according to The New York Times.

As a result, a much higher percentage of the rural's poor's household budget goes to gasoline compared to the average household in more densely populated regions, the Times said.

So spare a thought for those who are a lot worse affected by the high gas prices than we are here in Rhode Island.

- Peter C.T. Elsworth

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 12:22 PM to Gas prices | Permalink | Comments 0

Nissan announces 'clean diesel' SUV and Maxima

TOKYO — Nissan said Monday that it plans to launch a "clean diesel" SUV in Japan this fall and plans to introduce a clean-diesel version of its popular Nissan Maxima passenger car in the USA in 2010, according to USA Today.

The automaker said it will send a prototype of its X-TRAIL SUV to next month's Group of Eight leaders' summit in Toyako, in northern Japan, where climate change tops the agenda.Delegates will be able to test drive the diesel sport-utility vehicle, which is based on technology developed with French partner Renault.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 10:27 AM to Clean diesel | Permalink | Comments 0

Oil prices fall; traders see choppy market ahead

Oil prices fell Monday, retreating from a record surge late last week, and traders said the market would remain choppy amid jitters about supplies, growing global demand and a weak U.S. dollar, according to the Associated Press.

The average price for a gallon of gasoline in the United States hit $4 for the first time ever Sunday, according to AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. Record prices threaten to shake consumers who are spending and increasingly large share of paychecks on transportation.

By the afternoon in Europe, light, sweet crude for July delivery was down $1.99 to $135.55 a barrel. The contract was volatile, trading between $135.27 and $138.25 so far in the session.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 10:23 AM to Crude oil market | Permalink | Comments 0

Tasca out in first round at Route 66 Raceway, still ranked 10th

JOLIET, Ill. – Despite an exit in the first round at Route 66 Raceway, Bob Tasca III maintained his spot at 10th in NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series points. Tasca shook the tires against Cruz Pedregon in the duo’s first meeting in the first round of eliminations on Sunday,according to his publicist Alexis Kinch.

“We were a little bit too aggressive,” said the driver of the Motorcraft/Quick Lane/Custom Accessories Shelby Mustang. “I felt it shake, and I pedaled it. I think I did a pretty good job trying to get it to recover. It recovered and it started to charge, and then it knocked the tires off again. When that happens, you’re looking out at the driver in the left lane and you’re hoping he smokes the tires. Unfortunately for us, Cruz went A to B, didn’t spin the tires, and we lost.

"I had a good reaction time [0.030], and I felt very comfortable in the car,” said Tasca. “I’m very pleased with how we performed through qualifying. We missed a couple of the night sessions because we had some set-up issues. But for us, it’s not about staying the same; it’s about getting better. And sometimes you have to take one step back to make a full step forward. We’re not just going to send this car down the track and not try to improve it. And in order to do that, you need to try things. Sometimes they work and sometimes they don’t.”

Tasca was able to maintain his spot in the championship after Ashley Force defeated Gary Scelzi, who sits 11th in points, in the second round of eliminations.

“This championship deal will go to Indy,” said Tasca. “I truly believe that the top 10 won’t be decided on before that. That’s what keeps us going at all of these races, because we know that we have a racecar that can race solidly into the top 10. But even being sixth or seventh right now, you’re not safe. You’ve got to go rounds and you’ve got to qualify well to give yourself that chance. We’re looking forward to a weekend off, we’ve been running hard here for a month. Literally it’s been every weekend between building cars and racing, so we’ll recharge our batteries and come home ready to race in Englishtown.”

The series has next week off before heading to Englishtown, N.J. for the 39th annual Lucas Oil Supernationals June 19-22. The hometown race for the Rhode Island resident will be the 11th race of the 24-race Funny Car schedule.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 10:19 AM to Racing | Permalink | Comments 0

Oil Prices Skyrocket, Taking Biggest Jump Ever

Oil prices had their biggest gains ever on Friday, jumping nearly $11 to a new record above $138 a barrel, after a senior Israeli politician raised the specter of an attack on Iran and the dollar fell sharply against the euro, according to The New York Times.

The unprecedented gains on Friday capped a second day of strong gains on energy markets, and fueled suspicions that commodities might be caught in a speculative bubble.

Oil futures surged $10.75, or 8 percent, to $138.54 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The record gain followed a jump of 5.5 percent on Thursday, bringing total two-day gains to $16 a barrel.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 3:39 PM to Crude oil market | Permalink | Comments 0

Oil rises almost $7, closing in on record

NEW YORK -- Oil prices shot up nearly $7 a barrel Friday, extending big gains from the previous day and racing toward an all-time high after a Morgan Stanley analyst predicted prices could hit $150 by the Fourth of July, according to the Associated Press.

A further weakening of the dollar helped keep prices high by enticing overseas buyers armed with stronger currencies and other investors looking for a hedge against the greenback.

Light, sweet crude for July delivery jumped as much as $6.96 to $134.75 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, before easing slightly to trade at $134.40, up $6.61.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 1:03 PM to Crude oil market | Permalink | Comments 0

$45 trillion needed to combat warming

TOKYO -- The world needs to invest $45 trillion in energy in coming decades, build some 1,400 nuclear power plants and vastly expand wind power in order to halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, according to an energy study released Friday and reported by the Associated Press.

The report by the Paris-based International Energy Agency envisions a "energy revolution" that would greatly reduce the world's dependence on fossil fuels while maintaining steady economic growth.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 1:01 PM to Environment | Permalink | Comments 0

Backseat Driver: Lock up your cars! Mechaphilia is in town!

I could not make this up!

Edward Smith, 57, of Washington State is currently in a monogamous relationship with a white Volkswagen Beetle named Vanilla, but admits to having had sex with 1,000 cars - many of them belonging to strangers or car showrooms, according to Britain’s Telegraph Media Group.

And he has no desire to change his ways.

"I appreciate beauty and I go a little bit beyond appreciating the beauty of a car only to the point of what I feel is an expression of love," he said.

And he is not alone; there are about 500 “mechaphilias” worldwide, according to the Telegraph.

Smith said he first had sex with a car at age 15 and said claims he has never been attracted to women or men. He said his most intense sexual experience was with a helicopter.

Smith may be committed to Vanilla, but he said he regularly spends time with his 1973 Opel GT, named Cinnamon, and 1993 Ford Ranger Splash, named Ginger.

Before Vanilla, he had a five-year relationship with a 1969 VW Beetle named Victoria.

Baby!

- Peter C.T. Elsworth

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 10:06 AM to Fun | Permalink | Comments 1

Backseat Driver: It's a Brave New World

The era of the SUV is officially over.

As if General Motors' announcement yesterday that it was closing four light truck and SUV assembly plants did not get the point across, May's auto industry sales figures sure do.

As The Detroit Free Press puts it: "America is now officially a car market."

Indeed, for the first time many years, Ford's F-Series truck did not take top spot in sales. It was nudged out by four passenger cars - yes, you guessed them - the Honda Civic, the Toyota Corolla, the Toyota Camry and the Honda Accord.

Auto industry sales overall were off 11 percent in May, but car sales were up nearly 2.5 percent compared to a decline of sales of 24 percent for light trucks and SUVs, according to the Free Press. Car sales accounted for 60 percent of new vehicles sales.

As for the Hummer, get out the shovel. It's sales were off a staggering 62 percent last month. No wonder G.M. also announced yesterday that it was mulling the sale of the unit.

Hummer's travails will be music to green ears to whom the vehicle reflected the epitome of anti-environmentalist sentiment as expressed by G.M. vice chairman Bob Lutz who says he personally thinks global warming is nonsense.

Ford again bested its Detroit rivals in car sales by posting gain of nearly 4 percent compared with drops of 14 percent at G.M. and 28 percent at Chrysler.

Meanwhile, Honda car sales were up 32 percent while Hyundai posted a 26.3% gain, Nissan was up 19 percent and Toyota was up a marginal 0.5 percent.

Times have changed. As a Brit, it always seemed to me sheer folly to ride the gravy train of low gas prices. (I thought the invasion of Iraq was sheer folly too, but what do I know?)

To heck with the environment, to heck with dependence on foreign oil! The monster vehicles that relied on low gas prices reaped massive profits for Detroit's Big Three.

But it was unsustainable. To be sure, the sudden growth in demand from the giant emerging economies in the developing was a totally new variable. But in many areas, U.S. energy and environmental policy has been out of sync with the rest of the developed world.

Now the balloon has burst, prompting what Dick Colliver, executive vice president of American Honda, described as "one of the most profound shifts in automotive buying patterns in more than a decade,"

So we are will adapting, just as G.M. is adapting. But it is certainly a painful process for consumers at the gas pumps and for dealers contemplating crowded lots and little foot traffic.

And hopefully after Jan. 20, 2009, we will rejoin the rest of the world in a coordinated effort to develop sustainable global policies.

- Peter C.T. Elsworth

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 10:22 AM to commentary | Permalink | Comments 0

Backseat Driver: G.M. closing four plants, mulling sale of Hummer

General Motors has finally seen the light.

After years of printing money on the back of trucks posing as cars, the staggering run up in gas prices over the last few months has caused the behemoth to adjust course.

In addition to announcing the closure of four plants that make SUVs and large trucks, G.M. Chairman Rick Wagoner said today the company was mulling the sale of its iconic Hummer brand, according to The New York Times.

“These prices are changing consumer behavior and changing it rapidly,” Mr. Wagoner said at a briefing before G.M.’s annual meeting in Wilmington, Del. “We don’t believe it’s a spike or a temporary shift. We believe it is, by and large, permanent.”

He said G.M. would close plants in Janesville, Wisc.; Moraine, Ohio; Oshawa, Ontario; and Toluca, Mexico by or before 2010. The company has already cut shifts at two truck plants in Michigan.

Two thoughts here.

It is common knowledge that we seldom do things we don't want to do. For years, environmentalists have rued the era of the SUV, arguing that the fuel inefficient monsters were wasteful and polluting. But with gas in the U.S. so cheap compared to most nations, who can blame consumers for wanting to drive SUVs and companies for making them given the high profit margins?

Sure the auto companies paid lip service to global warming - although G.M.'s vice chairman Bob Lutz famously once said he thought it was rubbish - but at the end of the day, corporations are in business to make money, not save the world.

But now that gas prices have moved north of $4 a gallon, SUV sales have stalled and the gas guzzling monsters are lining the lots like cordwood.

That does not make business sense.

And so G.M., like Ford before it, has cut bait and made a dramatic shift away from large vehicles. Which brings up the second point which is that the great strength of market economies is that they are able to adjust and move on, with change a constant theme.

Of course, some companies change too slowly and G.M. may indeed have ridden the SUV and small truck gravy train too long. Certainly it is a much slimmed down version of its former self.

But the moves will cut "North American production to 3.7 million vehicles from 4.2 million," according to the Times, and "add $1 billion in cost savings to an existing target of reducing costs by $5 billion by 2011."

And with increased investment in smaller vehicles, and alternative fuel vehicles like the electric Chevrolet Volt, G.M. may at last be able to turn itself around and become a leader in a field it once ruled. Certainly the financial publication Barrons thinks so, with its cover story this week simply called "Buy GM."

When it comes to the dynamism of the American market place, there is always room for redemption and rebirth.

- Peter C. T. Elsworth

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 9:42 AM to commentary | Permalink | Comments 0

Bob Tasca III moves into 10th place in NHRA

TOPEKA, Kan. – While Bob Tasca III’s holeshot loss in the second round of the NHRA Summer Nationals in Topeka was a tough one for the rookie driver, he was able to gather enough points on the day to move into the top 10 in championship points, according to Tasca's publicist Alexis Kinch.

“As a driver, losing on a holeshot is the worst thing that you can to for your team,” said Tasca. “The guys gave me a car that could win and I got beat. It happens. It wasn’t a terrible light, but it wasn’t good enough. With the margins of victory that we’re dealing with, there’s no room for error.”

Tasca’s second round loss came against Gary Scelzi, who had a .081-second reaction time to Tasca’s .100.

“We had a great qualifying weekend and moved into the top 10 in points, which is ultimately where you need to be to run for this championship,” said Tasca. “We continue to move on down the road. You can’t dwell on the loss. You can’t look back; you’ve got to look forward. You always wish that you could have it back. You just don’t want to lose on a holeshot. You don’t ever want to lose, but as a driver, that’s the worse way to lose.”

Tasca’s win the first round of eliminations came against his best friend, Tony Pedregon, where he posted a .017 reaction time off the line.

“We had a great run against Tony with a great reaction time,” said Tasca. “I think that kind of played into my head the second round because it was really good for me. I just didn’t want to red light, but I guess it’s probably worse to red light than to lose on a holeshot. That played in my mind a little bit more than it probably should have.

“But winning against Tony in the first round was really neat. He’s a champion in this sport, so any time that we get to race him and get the win, is just really great for us. He is one of my dearest friends. You know, you can count your best friends on one hand, and for me, Tony is the first one.”

Despite the earlier than expected exit from the race, the Motorcraft/Quick Lane/Custom Accessories Shelby Mustang team was able to achieve some team firsts for the weekend. They earned their first No. 2 qualifying position, and for the first time, won the Full Throttle NHRA Pit Crew Challenge for the weekend, which awards a payout to the team in each class with the top-performing pit crew for the weekend.

“I’m really proud of my guys and how hard they are working,” said Tasca. “It’s exciting for them that they were able to win the Full Throttle award for the weekend. They gave me a consistent car every time down the track this weekend, so it’s great for me to see them get rewarded.”

The NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series competes again next week with the running of the 11th annual Torco Racing Fuels Route 66 NHRA Nationals June 5-8, marking the 10th race of the season.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 11:47 AM to Racing | Permalink | Comments 0

Gas up for 10 straight weeks, hits $4.019

Gasoline prices in Rhode Island have risen for the 10th straight week, surpassing the $4 mark by nearly two cents, according to AAA Southern New England, according to projo.com

The average price for a gallon of regular, unleaded gasoline is $4.019 at the self-service pump, up five cents from last week, according to AAA's weekly survey.

Rhode Island hit an average of $4 per gallon Thursday, and the Ocean State is now among 13 states averaging at least $4 per gallon, AAA says.

The price has climbed 88 cents the beginning of the year.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 11:03 AM to Gas prices | Permalink | Comments 0