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Biomasstransit? Or is Honda Barking Up The Wrong Tree? 0000-00-00 00:00:00 While Toyota has declared itself fully committed to a hybrid-powered future, Honda
's hedging its bets. Honda is developing hybrids, more efficient gas-powered engines, clean diesels and now, biomass. Working with non-profit partner Research Institute of Innovative Technology for the Earth (RITE), Honda says they've developed a new bacterial strain that produces large volumes of ethanol. The microorganisms munch on widely-available waste products including wood, leaves and plant stalks to ferment sugar into alcohol. Quoted by Reuters, RITE's chief researcher at their molecular microbiology and genetics lab didn't beat around the bush. Hideaki Yukawa claims his team has cracked the biomass nut: "This achievement solves the last remaining fundamental hurdle to ethanol production from soft biomass." Next year, Honda plans to set up a test plant (so to speak). Read more:Barking
, Wrong
Trouble in The OC: Douglas Nissan Raided for Identity Theft, Bad Loans 0000-00-00 00:00:00 The Orange County Register reports that dozens of investigators from the Orange police and the county DA’s office raided a local Nissan
dealership on Monday. According to the report, Douglas
Nissan stands accused of using stolen pay stubs, driver licenses and social security numbers to secure car loans. “There may have been thousands of fraudulent loans processed with the stolen identities of thousands of unsuspecting people," the Chief prosecutor explained at a press conference held in front of the dealership. "The vast majority of the victims were Hispanic." And behind him... it was business as usual. Even as officers carted away hundreds of boxes of lease documents, dealer jackets and loan applications, customers continued shopping. “The only thing going on here is a big sale," claimed a manager. Talk about dedication. Read more:Trouble
, Raided
, Loans
Hybrid Surge Fails to Rally The Troops 0000-00-00 00:00:00 We've reported here about the huge surge in Toyota Prius sales over the last few months. In contrast, the number crunchers over at JD Power report that U.S. consumer interest in hybrid-powered automobiles has begun to fade. According to their second annual Alternative Powertrain Study, half of all new-vehicle shoppers polled (4k) are considering a hybrid. That's down from 57 percent of shoppers polled in their 2006 survey. Mike Marshall, director of JD's automotive emerging technologies unit, attributes the drop to the discrepency between inflated expectations and reality: "In the 2006 study, we found consumers often overestimated the fuel efficiency of hybrid-electric vehicles, and the decrease in consideration of hybrids in 2007 may be a result of their more realistic understanding of the actual fuel economy capabilities." In other words, the new EPA fuel economy calculations have hit hybrids hard. Read more:Hybrid
, Surge
, Rally
, Troops
Audi Steals The Truth! 0000-00-00 00:00:00 The Truth
About Cars has been telling the truth about cars since 2002. Ford was the first mainstream manufacturer to realize the potency of our brand, snapping-up www.thetruthabouttrucks.com to sell their highest margin vehicles. Now Audi's at it, launching a whole "TRUTH IN ENGINEERING" shtick to accompany their new driver experience program. According to our German admirers' website, the truth is fast ("The truth leaves others behind") and it's headed your way ("Discover the Truth in a city near you"). We're nervously expectant on this new tagline; will it replace Ingolstadt's previous, catchy boast: Vorsprung durch Technic (Progress Through Engineering)? Oh, and by the way, what the Hell does TRUTH IN ENGINEERING actually mean?
Big Brother is My Co-Pilot 0000-00-00 00:00:00 First, it was the OBD-II black box that records your speed just before an accident. Then it was GPS systems in rental cars keeping track of where you drive and how fast you drive there. Now the finance and insurance companies want their piece of the privacy intrusion business. According to the Detroit News, GMAC Financial Services' insurance unit is asking drivers with OnStar-equipped cars to let them track how many miles they drive, dangling the carrot of lowered insurance rates in front of them. OnStar president Chet Huber says data on when or where the car is driven wouldn't go to the insurer. (Yet.) The article makes no mention of whether or not OnStar would share driver information with any local, state or federal agencies and, if so, under what circumstances. Read more:Brother
, Pilot
, Big Brother
The Value of a Higher Education? 0000-00-00 00:00:00 Quick! Which will earn you more: a doctorate in physics and a professorship at a university, or a high school diploma and a job with Chrysler? It doesn’t take a PhD in economics to guess the right answer to that one. Dr. Mark Perry from the University of Michigan looked at the average total compensation for auto workers (Big 2.8 and transplants) and college professors. He found the average autoworker with a high school diploma and maybe a year or two of technical school earned about $134K per year, while the average college professor makes about $93K in exchange for eight years of college and post-grad work. We won’t even look at what the typical high school or elementary school teacher makes in comparison to the janitorial staff in the auto plants. Read more:Value
, Higher
, Education
A(nother) GM Diesel Sedan? How Great is That? 0000-00-00 00:00:00 In his fastlane blog, GM Car Czar Maximum Bob Lutz recently whipped-out his jargon generator and "it'll cost X thousand per car more to do this thing everybody wants us to do" excuse to explain why diesel engines ain'tgonnahappen in the American market. At the tail end of the something-less-than-riveting video clip, MB surprised us all, grabbing his lantern and proclaiming "The diesels are coming! The diesels are coming!" According to Bob (not the most reputable source), GM's developing a V6 diesel for passenger cars and a V8 diesel for its SUVs. Autoweek's done the right thing: asking if GM's last foray into diesel-powered passenger cars has killed the concept for all time. Alan Starling, a former chairman of the National Automobile Dealers Association, says he's not worried about GM's dire diesel history. "Those memories are painful for all of us," he says. "But I would rather have that discussion than not see customers at al Read more:Great
The iPhone Rocks! Apple Shows U.S. Carmakers How to Dial-up Profits 0000-00-00 00:00:00 Cell phones cooler than cars? No way! Way. CNW Marketing Research recently reported that thirty-two percent of today’s 16 to 29-year-olds view Apple
’s new cell phone as the hot ticket to campus stardom. Only twenty percent made the same claim for a car. In fact, the survey found that any kid fortunate enough to lift an iPhone
to his or her ear was guaranteed a seventy percent popularity rating. If we accept that the iPhone is the King of cool, what does Apple know that has the U.S. automobile industry doesn’t, that allows a nerdy little electronic device to trump the [formerly] ultimate symbol of adult independence? Read more:Rocks
Italian Grads Dream of Maranello Sheep 0000-00-00 00:00:00 CNN Money recently named Google as America's top workplace of choice. Among the Googliscious perks: free meals, a swimming spa and access to on-site doctors. Some 1300 people apply per day. In Italy, college grads seeking similar satisfaction send their resumes to the home of the Prancing Horse. Paddock Talk reveals that a study by Stockholm’s Universum Communications says Italian
engineering, science and economics students consider Ferrari their ideal workplace. Ferrari’s training initiatives, culture and wellness plan make for a happy workforce. Yeah okay, but what about “employee pricing?” Read more:Dream
, Sheep
Upselling necessary repairs? Wards’ Innaugural “Service 150″ 0000-00-00 00:00:00 Ward's Dealer Business lists the 150 top-performing franchised dealer service departments in America, including their income vs. total dealer revenue. The report also offers a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the biz of selling repairs. According to the article, franchised dealers' service department revenues tumbled by nearly $5b last year; improving vehicle quality is leading to less warranty work. With razor-thin new car margins, that's gotta hurt. To staunch the wound, dealers are getting more aggressive about selling repair work. "Part of the problem is that service advisors are too busy answering the phone setting up appointments rather than walking the customer around the vehicle in the service lane upselling necessary repairs." Remember that the next time you get shunted onto the service department's voice mail. Read more:ldquo
, Service
Snapshot: Chevy’s King of Prussia Marketing Mishegos 0000-00-00 00:00:00 King of Prussia Mall, outside Philly. At the "Chevy
Court," most people clock the static displays, follow Dionne Warwick's advice and walk on by. The Chevy Store-- easily mistaken for a NASCAR shop-- contains a last gen Vue and Silverado, a Cobalt SS and a Z06. Shoppers can buy car models, t-shirts, hats and other bow tie-branded chazerai. The full time assistant's AWOL. I ask the temp if the truck on display is a GMT-800 or -900. He shrugs his shoulders; he's a "Ford guy." I take an online survey. Afterwards, I win a Chevy key ring via a free scratch card. Apparently, 200 people per day wander into the store. I ask Mr. Ford if they generate any vehicle sales. One customer was set to buy a 'Vette, saw the Z06 and decided to upgrade. A lady ogles a pickup truck. She's driving a Honda Odyssey. Her teenage son is due to inherit his father's Civic. Dad's next vehicle? "Probably another Honda." I can only imagine what this Chevy store cost Read more:Marketing
Chrysler Bans 463 Dealers from Its Used Car Auctions 0000-00-00 00:00:00 Automotive News [sub] reports that the Chrysler
Corp. has banned 463 (out of 3700) dealers from its dealer-only used car auctions. Their crime? Failing to meet 50 percent of their new car sales target set by the corporate mothership. In fact, many of these stores have become little more than used car dealers specializing in late model, low-mileage Chrysler product. Representing the banned dealers, Doug Alley of Alley Chrysler in Kingsport, Tennessee says the company's goals are unachievable: "We got no choice but to be in the used-car business if we want to stay in business." Representing Chrysler, Steven Landry, Chrysler executive vice president of NAFTA sales, global marketing, service and parts, says once Chrysler notified dealers that the rule was going into effect, "it was amazing how many dealers propped themselves up over 50 percent." What's the bet that the booted dealers will sell someone else's product?
X5 4.8i Review 0000-00-00 00:00:00 The vast majority of today’s SUVs and CUVs share the same modus operandi. They’re good for a bus, bad for a car. They’re thirsty, overpriced, overweight and over here. Most now come complete with a market-mandatory third row that’s as about useful as a werewolf at Trader Vic’s. So when I read BMW’s characteristically modest tagline for their new X5 SUV CUV SAV on their official website-- “Room for everything except improvement”-- I considered myself an honorary Missourian. Ultimate driving machine on stilts? Show me.
BMW Art Cars - Your Suggestions Please 0000-00-00 00:00:00 New Zealand's modern art loving pistonheads are on tenterhooks, eagerly awaiting Wednesday's unveiling of BMW's "art cars" at the Auckland Museum. The traveling exhibit includes Bimmers modified by uber-pimpers Andy Warhol, Roy Liechtenstein, Frank Stella and Ken Done. (7er.com has the full collection here.) IMHO, BMW hasn't produced a really compelling art car since Esther Mahlangu's BMW 525i. I make this observation in the hopes that TTAC's culturally aware audience can suggest some artists from the naughties who should have a bash at painting one of Chris Bangle's cubist-influenced cars. For my part. I'd like to see a Z4 tagged by Jazz83. Read more:Please
81% Oppose Manchester (UK) Congestion Charging Scheme 0000-00-00 00:00:00 As Albany legislators head for an 11th hour decision on whether or not to authorize an as-yet-undetermined congestion charging scheme for New York City, anti-charge activists in Manchester [UK] claim that a clear majority of local residents oppose Manchester City Council's plans to implement road tolls. The Association of British Drivers (ABD) reveals that Manchester Against Road Tolls (MART) members hit the streets with an anti-charging petition. Some 81% of 1577 households signed. ABD Manchester Coordinator Sean Corker said "The Manchester authorities have spent £400,000 of tax payers money on glossy leaflets and American models featured in bogus case studies. Despite the huge propaganda campaign, this survey by ordinary people of ordinary people clearly shows that the overwhelming majority of residents object to the imposition of a congestion charge." Will NYC face a similar groundswell? Watch this space. Read more:Congestion
, Charging
, Scheme
Pelosi’s CAFE Crusade Bites the Hands of UAW, Big Oil 0000-00-00 00:00:00 Right after taking control of the House of Representatives, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi
formed a panel to look into global warming. Now she's locked in a battle with House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell over proposed CAFE standards, seeking to preserve a rapid rise in the new requirements. Domestic automakers haven't hidden their opposition to Pelosi's plan. Cerberus' Stephen Feinberg claims her approach would raise Chrysler's vehicle prices by $7K apiece. GM Car Czar Maximum Bob Lutz estimates it would cost GM $8K per vehicle. They're all predicting that drastic increases in CAFE would cripple or kill the U.S. auto industry. The result: cutbacks, layoffs and bankruptcies throughout industry. Thousands of industrial workers would lose their jobs. People who belong to labor unions. Labor unions that contributed to Nancy Pelosi's election fund, to the tune of $63K in 2006. In fact, according to Freedom Works, Pelosi ranks ninth over Read more:Crusade
, Hands
, Big Oil
Car Theft Fuels Gang Violence and International Terrorism… Still 0000-00-00 00:00:00 According to the San Jose Mercury News, Sergio Giron is an illegal immigrant from Guatemala, a member of the Mara Salvatrucha street gang (a.k.a. MS-13) and a convicted felon. Having served a 346-day sentence for assault with a deadly weapon after shooting a gang defector (charges since dropped), Giron awaits deportation hearings. To pay for an immigration lawyer, Giron’s fellow gang members began stealing cars and chopping them for parts. The admission illustrates the direct link between car theft and organized crime and, as this report from The Boston Globe points out, international terrorism. It's high time the states stepped-up their cooperation with federal authorities in this area. Read more:Fuels
, Violence
, International
, Terrorism
, hellip
Lexus’ Dealership Achitecture Sucks 0000-00-00 00:00:00 As one of our regular commentators recently pointed out, Lexus
owes much of its success to their dealer experience. The recently opened Newport Lexus in Newport Beach, California raised the luxury automaker's retail game to the next level. Designed and built by by Sauers Construction Inc., the $73m pleasure dome offers customers a putting green, game room, multiple lounges with giant-screen TVs, restroom stalls with smaller (though plasma TVs), wireless Internet, executive workroom, Wolfgang Puck cafe and Tommy Bahama boutique. Oh, and cars. The only thing Newport doesn't have is an attractive building. In fact, the Seattle Times coverage of the refurbished Lexus of Bellevue dealership confirms the trend: bland, monolithic surfaces adorning large pedestrian shapes. While Lexus' "L-Finesse" design language is moving their cars away from cod-Mercedes shapes, the Japanese automaker's dealership architecture remains heavily influenced by parking garages, governme Read more:Dealership
Schwarzenegger Accused of Favoring GM 0000-00-00 00:00:00 The San Jose Mercury news reports that the California legislature has pulled over Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
on the good intention-paved road to Hell. If that sounds confusing, that's because it is. The headline: Sen. Dean Florez, D-Bakersfield accused the Governator of rigging state contracts to favor GM products. The story behind the story: federal laws forced the state to buy alternative-fuel vehicles; only "flex-fuel" Chevrolet Impalas and Silverado pickups met the contract requirements. (So Kalifornia bought 1,138 of 'em.) The story behind the story that's behind the story: there's no place to fuel these vehicles with E85, save a privately owned station in San Diego (that the state doesn't use). When confronted with the facts, Florez wanted to know why the State didn't apply for a waiver that would have allowed them to buy "real" green machines. The man who OK'ed the contract had a simple reply: "Demand creates supply." Who
Volvo XC70 Review 0000-00-00 00:00:00 In 1998, Volvo was SUV deficient. As they didn't have a truck chassis upon which to build, those crazy Swedes grabbed a station wagon, raised it a couple of inches and added all wheel-drive. Since then, the XC70's ground clearance has risen, transforming a slightly jacked-up joy rider (6.5") to a Jeep-wannabe (8.2"). The move leaves Volvo with a fully-fledged... something. Whatever it is, it is what it is. And now that Volvo has a "proper" SUV, the question must be asked: is the XC70 an anachronism whose time has come and gone?
Subarus to get CVT Transmissions 0000-00-00 00:00:00 Winding Road reports that Subaru will begin fitting the Legacy with a CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission) in 2009, and all other models shortly thereafter. Given the poor reviews and slow sales of these "stepless" transmissions, the news is something of a shock. Ford recently abandoned the CVT in its quest to turn the Five Hundred into the Taurus. The Blue Oval Boyz and other mass market manufacturers are also busy gearing-up to install DSG (double sequential gearbox) or similar into their future products. Given the unlimited fun of a paddle-shift DSG gearbox vs. the whiny sloth of a CVT, it's hard to imagine many existing or potential Subaru drivers would trade spirited performance for an extra mile per gallon. [Note to Subaru: no one drives a Subaru for the gas mileage; they drive them in SPITE of the gas mileage.]
UAW - Big 2.8 Negotiations Set to Start: Veni, Vidi, VEBA 0000-00-00 00:00:00 When it comes to the United Auto Workers (UAW) contract negotiations with The Big 2.8, employee and retiree health care is the 1000lbs. monkey on the automakers' backs. General Motors' health care obligations total $46b, Ford clocks in at $23b and Chrysler's looking at an $18b tab. And consider this: GM's 432k retirees pay roughly $750 per year out of their own pockets for medical care, while their former employer shells out $3.3b on their medical benefits. That's a Hell of a lot of bananas. Read more:Start
Illinois ACLU: Stop Consent Searches to End Racial Profiling 0000-00-00 00:00:00 "We now know -- beyond any doubt -- that minority drivers are targeted for humiliating, degrading roadside searches even though there is no evidence that they have broken any laws." That's how Harvey M. Grossman, Legal Director of the Illinois
ACLU interprets recent stats prepared by the Northwestern University Center for Public Safety for the Illinois Department of Transportation. According to the report, in 2006, Illinois police officers asked 0.68% of white drivers for consent to search their car during traffic stops, compared to 2.04% of minority drivers. The ACLU wants to redress this balance by eliminating ALL consent searches (i.e. a police request for a search despite a lack of probable cause or reasonable suspicion of criminal activity). "State police forces in California and New Jersey have ended the practice of conducting consent searches," Grossman said. "The Illinois General Assembly should examine this data and move quickly to bar the practi Read more:Consent
, Racial
, Profiling
Smart Automotive Group Fined $5m for Deceptive Practices 0000-00-00 00:00:00 The SmartAutomotiveGroup
[website "under construction," no relation to the SMART city car] got more than a slap-on-the-wrist for sending out "promotions" on behalf of Georgia car dealers. The Governor’s Office of Consumer Affairs (OCA) whacked owners Michael and Ben Burst $1,660,320 each for violating the Fair Business Practices Act. Specifically, the Louisiana agency arranged ads that claimed ordinary sales were "liquidations" or "Georgia's only reprocessed vehicle event," told consumers they'd won cars they hadn't, misrepresented the monthly payments and the number of cars available for sale and claimed customers were preapproved for loans when they weren't. And this is AFTER they told the OCA they were no longer doing business in the state. Nice how the dealerships can shuffle off the blame to the advertising company, when they approved the ad copy and benefited from its mischaracterization.
VW Polo BlueMotion: 61.9 mpg on a single battery 0000-00-00 00:00:00 Autospectator reports that Volkswagen has raised the fuel mileage on its already stingy Polo BlueMotion
. Powered by a 1.4-liter TDI [diesel] engine, Volksie's miserly machine deploys every mileage stretcher known to mankind, from special transmission ratios to low-rolling resistance tires. Baby Blue was sipping 3.9 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers. VW's boffins "optimized the engine configuration" to squeeze an extra tenth of a liter efficiency from the mini (small "m") mill, dropping consumption to 3.8 liters per 100 klicks. That's almost 62 mpg folks AND it exceeds all Euro-emission requirements for diesels. VeeDub pulled-off this mpg miracle without relying on hundreds of pounds of batteries and electric motors -- if you know what I mean. Read more:single
, battery
Toyota Tundra. Fair enough? 0000-00-00 00:00:00 Earlier this year, GM admitted it was getting creamed on the coasts; the General promised to launch major marketing efforts to reclaim major metropolitan areas. Other than Chevy's recent tie-in with Rolling Stone magazine, we've seen little of what could be called bi-coastalistic marketing. Meanwhile, Toyota
continues to target their new full-size Tundra
pickup at the American heartland. Tomorrow, visitors to Minot's North Dakota State Fairgrounds will get a chance to put the Texas-built pickup through its paces as part of Toyoya's "Tundra, Prove it!" campaign. The high touch experience includes a limited slip diff demo, an "acceleration run" and a "braking zone" test with and without load. GM would be well-advised to watch its back.
Do Luxury Car Interiors Grow On Trees? 0000-00-00 00:00:00 True story: as a kid, every fall I’d ride my single-speed bike three miles to the local Chevy dealer. Inexplicably, the dealer staff let this mouthy, curious kid sit in their expensive, newly launched iron. In the autumn of 1968, I clambered into a brand spankin’ new ’69 Impala. Its lines were angular where the old ones were bulbous. As a “Chevy man” (boy), I was ready to show it some major love. But one detail grabbed my eye and just wouldn’t let go. Unlike previous Impalas, the dash and doors were covered with very large expanses of fake wood. A pet peeve was born. Read more:Luxury
, Trees
Intersection Crash Countermeasures Set for Field Test 0000-00-00 00:00:00 Pistonheads lamenting the rise of the machine will not be heartened to hear there's a new acronym in town: ICAV. "Intersection
Crash Avoidance, Violation" systems sound an alarm if a driver is about to run a stop sign, red light or other mission critical intersection warning. According to a pdf downloadable at Accidentreconstruction.com, researchers are set to field test practical ICAV systems. While enthusiasts may regret yet another attempt to "dumb down" safe driving, there's no denying the magnitude of the problem. In 1999, some 261k light vehicle crashes occurred at intersections where a driver was later charged with running a stop sign. That same year, 133k crashes involved traffic signal violations. Read more:Field
Niagara Falls! Slowly I turned. Step by step… into my electric car. 0000-00-00 00:00:00 ePower Synergies Inc. is a “designer, developer, and manager of transportation systems for sustainable eCommunities.” The company would like to offer Niagra Falls
tourists the chance to rent a ZENN Neighborhood Electric Vehicle. According to The Buffalo News, Brian M. Klumpp Jr., vice president of marketing and sales for ePower, thinks electric vehicle rentals would be "a great way to help attract people to this neck of the woods." Local Tourism Advisory Board member Debora Krieger pointed out that "Earth's Favorite Vehicle's" 35-mile range would leave ZENN drivers attempting to nip across the border into Canada stranded somewhere between Lewiston and Niagara
Falls. What then? Ever the pragmatist, Mr. Klumpp Jr. said they'd tow 'em back. Read more:hellip
, Slowly
, turned
, Niagara Falls
Lincoln Resurrected? 0000-00-00 00:00:00 Get out yer shovel, Ford is exhuming Lincoln
. The Motor Authority reports that the 415hp "TwinForce" V6 engine featured in the Lincoln MKS concept car is actually going into a Lincoln. (The "twin" part of the moniker refers to "improved efficiency and performance," not double forced induction.) But wait, there's more! Ford claims it's developing "TwinForce" four and eight cylinder engines, the latter destined for high end cars and Mustangs. Keep in mind that Ford has disappointed us once or twice before (Interceptor, 427, Shelby GR-1, every Lincoln concept in the past ten years, etc.). I'm expecting to drive a cool-looking 400-horse V6 Ford, along with the promised six-speed dual clutch transmission, about the time geneticists engineer airborne swine.
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