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November 19, 2008

Today in automotive history - on this day in 1954, the first automatic toll collection machine was placed in service at the Union Toll Plaza on New Jersey's Garden State Parkway. In order to pass through the toll area, motorists dropped 25 cents into a wire mesh hopper and then a green light would flash permitting passage through the toll. On this day in 1993, Toyota and General Motors signed an historic agreement to sell the Chevy Cavalier in Japan as the Toyota Cavalier. Read more about this day in history at The History Channel.

DETROIT NEWS (MICHIGAN, USA) Senators skeptical of helping ailing auto industry
Detroit's Big Three CEOs and the president of the United Auto Workers drew a skeptical reaction from senators this afternoon as they urged quick passage of $25 billion in emergency government-loans. Sen. Chris Dodd, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, supports passage of the funds from the $700 billion Wall Street bailout fund but delivered a tongue-lashing to automakers.    [more]   [top of page]

DETROIT NEWS (MICHIGAN, USA) Big 3 unlikely to get aid from $700B bailout package
The Democrats' plan to carve out $25 billion from the $700 billion Wall Street rescue package was all but dead Tuesday, while the Senate's top Republican endorsed the White House call to rewrite the rules speeding up the Energy Department's retooling program. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said he backed a White House proposal to drop the fuel efficiency requirements on the $25 billion retooling program to allow automakers to get immediate aid to help them continue to operate.    [more]   [top of page]

DETROIT NEWS (MICHIGAN, USA) Political titans clash in auto loan war
Detroit's bailout battle in Washington, shifting this week into high gear, is about more than the survival of three automakers. It's a multifront war between warring factions in Congress, titanic political egos, union versus nonunion companies and competitive business models within a single industry. And on each front, the odds look increasingly stacked against the sides most sympathetic to the existential concerns of General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co., Chrysler LLC and the United Auto Workers.    [more]   [top of page]

CANADIAN DRIVER (ONTARIO, CANADA) Auto cutbacks could affect 3 million jobs: CAR
Researchers at the Center for Automotive Research (CAR) in Michigan report that the effect on the U.S. economy would be substantial if only half of the three Detroit-based automotive manufacturers' U.S. facilities were to cease operations. CAR estimates that nearly three million jobs would be lost in the first year if there is a 100 per cent reduction in the three companies' U.S. operations.   [more]   [top of page]

CANADIAN DRIVER (ONTARIO, CANADA) U.S. Sugar may build world's largest ethanol plant
U.S. Sugar Corp. has announced that it has entered into an agreement with Coskata Inc. of Illinois to explore building a 100 million gallon per year cellulosic ethanol facility in Florida. The facility, which would be the world's largest second-generation ethanol facility, would convert leftover sugar cane material into ethanol.   [more]   [top of page]

CANADIAN DRIVER (ONTARIO, CANADA) SCE announces milestone in advanced battery performance
Utility company Southern California Edison (SCE) has announced a "major milestone" in advanced battery performance, following testing of a lithium-ion battery that demonstrated an equivalent lifespan of more than 180,000 miles (289,682 km) in a commercial delivery van with minimal deterioration.   [more]   [top of page]

CANADIAN DRIVER (ONTARIO, CANADA) CAA-Quebec asks politicians about fuel-efficiency incentives
CAA-Quebec has questioned the province's main political parties during the current election campaign, starting with a letter asking them if they plan to introduce direct, truly beneficial incentive programs for consumers who opt to purchase fuel-efficient vehicles.   [more]   [top of page]

TIMES OF INDIA (INDIA) Will Detroit's cash crisis kill the electric car?
Call it an economic and environmental murder mystery in the making: Will a cash-strapped Detroit kill the electric car -- again? Stung by an association with gas-guzzling SUVs and pushed to the brink of failure by plunging sales, U.S. automakers have been touting efforts to roll out more fuel-efficient small cars, gas-saving technology and gas-free electric vehicles.   [more]   [top of page]

CANADIAN DRIVER (ONTARIO, CANADA) Ontario proposes new laws for novice or impaired drivers
Ontario is proposing tough new legislation that, if passed, will change the province's Graduated Licensing System and also crack down on all drivers who drive while impaired or under suspension.   [more]   [top of page]

ASSOCIATED PRESS (NEW YORK, USA) Slowdown saps promise of emerging auto markets
Smoke and flashing lights, dancing girls in white go-go boots - the world's top automakers put on dazzling shows Tuesday as they wooed Chinese buyers with their latest models. But for all the flash at this year's Guangzhou Auto Show, automakers face a dimmer outlook for global sales, even here in the world's second-largest vehicle market.   [more]   [top of page]

TIMES OF INDIA (INDIA) Mitsubishi, Honda follow Nano trail
Nano is paving the way for global car-makers to drive into Gujarat. After Tata Motors decided to relocate its small car project in Ahmedabad, Japanese auto giants Honda and Mitsubishi want to park themselves in the state. Officials from both Honda and Mitsubishi met representatives of Gujarat's delegation that visited Japan last week. Teams from both the car companies met Maheshwar Sahu, managing director of Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) on November 11 and 12 in Japan.    [more]   [top of page]

REUTERS (NEW YORK, USA) Top anti-drink cop caught drunk driving
A senior Tokyo police official tasked with keeping the city's roads clear of drunk drivers has been arrested for driving under the influence, police said on Tuesday. The deputy inspector, on his way home from a camping site, was caught late on Monday after bumping into another car and veering off the road, said a police official in Ibaraki.   [more]   [top of page]

UPI (WASHINGTON - DC, USA) Police: Carjackers couldn't drive manual
Police in Kansas City, Mo., said attempted carjackers were forced to abort their theft when the vehicle turned out to have a manual transmission. Investigators said two males, an adult and a juvenile, approached a woman sitting in her car outside of a store at about 11 p.m. Monday and one of the suspects pointed a gun at the woman, The Kansas City (Mo.) Star reported Tuesday.   [more]   [top of page]

November 17, 2008

Today in automotive history - on this day in 1906, Honda Motor Company founder Soichiro Honda was born the son of a blacksmith in Hamamatsu, Japan, about 150 miles southwest of Tokyo. Honda, who displayed remarkable mechanical intuition even at a young age, began working in an auto repair shop in Tokyo at age 15. On this day in 1970, Lunokhod 1, a self-propelled vehicle controlled by Soviet mission control on earth, rolled out of the Luna landing probe, and became the first wheeled vehicle to travel on the surface of the moon. Read more about this day in history at The History Channel.

USA TODAY (VIRGINIA, USA) Republicans blast auto bailout plan
Top Republicans heaped scorn Sunday on a plan by Democrats to spend $25 billion rescuing American automakers, raising doubts about whether the auto bailout can pass the lame-duck Congress that begins today.   [more]   [top of page]

DETROIT NEWS (MICHIGAN, USA) Gettelfinger: No more UAW concessions
Even as Detroit's Big Three teeter on collapse, United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger said Saturday that workers will not make any more concessions and that getting the automakers back on their feet means figuring out a way to turn around the slumping economy. "The focus has to be on the economy as a whole as opposed to a UAW contract," Gettelfinger told reporters on a conference call, noting the labor costs now make up 8 percent to 10 percent of the cost of a vehicle.    [more]   [top of page]

DETROIT NEWS (MICHIGAN, USA) Levin: Big 3 CEOs should resign if need be to get aid
Michigan Sen. Carl Levin said Sunday the top executives of Detroit's Big Three automakers should consider resigning if necessary to convince Congress to quickly pass up to $25 billion in emergency loans for the struggling companies. "If it was the difference between getting this kind of support or not, obviously the management should consider resigning," Levin told NBC's "Meet the Press." The Detroit Democrat said the government "should have more than a say" in management through an oversight board that would oversee the $25 billion in loans if they are part of the broader $700 billion Wall Street bailout, the source Democrats pushing for the aid prefer.    [more]   [top of page]

DETROIT NEWS (MICHIGAN, USA) Pelosi: Aid bill will require Big 3 to restructure, meet fuel-efficiency goals
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Saturday that Democrats would move to add new conditions to an aid package of up to $25 billion for struggling domestic automakers, requiring them to further restructure in order to receive government assistance. "Recognizing the severe challenges facing the domestic automobile industry, whose failure could jeopardize millions of jobs here at home and have a devastating impact on our economy, the House Democratic bill will provide immediate, targeted assistance to allow the carmakers, together with affected unions, time to develop a plan to assure the long-term viability of the industry," she said.    [more]   [top of page]

CANADIAN DRIVER (ONTARIO, CANADA) Larger vehicles staying longer on lots: J.D. Power
The retail turn rate, or number of days a new vehicle stays on a dealer lot before it is sold, reached a five-month high of 64 days in October, according to a report by J.D. Power and Associates. The turn rate was also two days higher than in October 2007.   [more]   [top of page]

SPOKESMAN REVIEW (WASHINGTON, USA) Compressed gas car a rare commodity
Spokane Community College is being cited as evidence by those who believe Honda is suppressing sales of a car the federal government calls "the cleanest internal-combustion vehicle in the world." The college, which plans to begin training mechanics to work on hybrid cars this winter, hopes also to become a training center for those who would work on cars burning compressed natural gas iV CNG, as it's called by advocates and carmakers.   [more]   [top of page]

THE GREEN CAR WEBSITE (UK) Peugeot looks to green car future
The PSA Peugeot and Citroen group laid out its plans for a greener future at the H2Roma - an annual sustainable mobility event. As part of the show PSA gave visitors the chance to try out the Peugeot 308 and the Citroen C4 HDi hybrid models on the streets of Rome. However, as fun as this was for visitors, it is PSA's future plans that are really turning heads.   [more]   [top of page]

NASCAR (FLORIDA, USA) Hybrid pace car sends positive message to fans
The country elected its first "green president" and now it may be a step closer to its first green NASCAR.Perhaps taking a page from President-elect Barack Obama's playbook of greening the nation's auto fleet, NASCAR and Homestead-Miami Speedway announced their plan to debut the first hybrid pace car this weekend at the Ford 400. With this, NASCAR fans have been sent a message: Hybrid cars are no longer exclusive to tree huggers and environmentalists; it's cool to go green in the off-track sense.   [more]   [top of page]

BUSINESS STANDARD (INDIA) Price cut may clear Civic Hybrid inventory
The special discount of Rs 8 lakh offered on the Honda Civic Hybrid is not sustainable by the car-maker and could be a strategy to clean up its inventory. On Wednesday, Honda had cut the price of the hybrid version of the Civic sedan from Rs 21.50 lakh to Rs 13.36 lakh and shocked the market with such an aggressive pricing. However, while the company has sold 130 cars till today, it is offering only 190 cars under the scheme, which have been imported from Japan. "It seems we would be able to achieve this target in a few more days and the aim was to popularise the scope of the hybrid cars," says Jnaneswar Sen, senior general manager (marketing), Honda Siel Cars.   [more]   [top of page]

THE AGE (AUSTRALIA) Subsidy key to hybrid production: Toyota
Toyota Australia's chief has reaffirmed that without government help the company's hybrid car would not be built in Australia. The statement came as analysts warned that Holden and Ford might not have sufficient funds to develop a green car here. Toyota chief Max Yasuda said the company had got what it requested from the Federal Government's green car innovation plan. Without federal and state government support, "hybrid investment would not have come to Australia", he told a Committee for the Economic Development of Australia lunch in Melbourne.   [more]   [top of page]

ASIA ONE (SINGAPORE) Shanghai may axe Grand Prix
Shanghai is considering axing its loss-making Formula One Grand Prix after the contract runs out in 2010, a senior official told AFP, dealing a potential blow to the sport. Qiu Weichang, deputy director of the Shanghai Administration of Sports, said the situation was being assessed and a decision would be announced next year.   [more]   [top of page]

CANADIAN DRIVER (ONTARIO, CANADA) European car sales down for six consecutive months
Sales of new passenger cars in Europe fell 14.5 per cent in October and declined for the sixth consecutive month, according the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA). Overall, the decline from January to October was 5.4 per cent.   [more]   [top of page]

UPI (WASHINGTON - DC, USA) Ice bomb singles out man's car
A Minneapolis man visiting the Canadian city of Winnipeg lost his 2-month-old used car when a freak load of heavy ice and snow crushed it on a city street. Marcus Montana, 28, said he parked his 1997 Oldsmobile Achieva near a large intersection around 12:30 a.m. Wednesday and went to a restaurant with friends, the Winnipeg Sun reported. When he returned, he said he was shocked to see a mass of ice and snow where the roof had once been.   [more]   [top of page]

November 14, 2008

Today in automotive history - on this day in 1914, John and Horace Dodge completed their first Dodge vehicle, a car informally known as "Old Betsy." The same day, the Dodge brothers gave "Old Betsy" a quick test drive through the streets of Detroit, Michigan, and the vehicle was shipped to a buyer in Tennessee. On this day in 1945, Tony Hulman purchased the Indianapolis Motor Speedway from Edward Rickenbacher for $750,000. Read more about this day in history at The History Channel.

THE ECONOMIST (UK) Saving Detroit
Politicians, business and the unions all want a bail-out of Ford and General Motors. That would be a mistake. Detroit is running on empty. General Motors and Ford announced on November 7th that they had burnt their way through a total of nearly $15 billion of their precious spare cash in the third quarter. GM is on course to run out of money early next year; Ford a little later. Chrysler, 80% owned by Cerberus Capital, a private-equity firm, is less open about its suffering. But most people think it is already roadkill.    [more]   [top of page]

DETROIT NEWS (MICHIGAN, USA) Exclusive: Ford's survival plan bets on new models, cost cuts
For the last six weeks, Ford Motor Co.'s top executives met almost daily to craft a plan to keep the company solvent in the face of the worst financial crisis in decades. Surrounded by black-and-white photographs of Henry Ford and the Model T in the Thunderbird Room on the 11th floor of Ford's world headquarters, they waged a battle to decide Ford's future.    [more]   [top of page]

DETROIT NEWS (MICHIGAN, USA) Dems push $25B for Big 3, fed equity stake
Executives from Detroit's Big Three automakers and the president of the United Auto Workers are scheduled to testify Wednesday before a House committee in a dramatic show of support for $25 billion in emergency loans to help the ailing automakers. General Motors Corp. has warned it could run out of money by the end of the year, and congressional leaders vowed to quickly pass aid next week.    [more]   [top of page]

DETROIT NEWS (MICHIGAN, USA) Detroit auto mess turns toxic
Short of the subprime mortgage racket, perhaps nothing is more toxic right now than the Detroit car business. The begging for taxpayer cash in Washington, led by General Motors Corp., is in overdrive. The equity values of GM and Ford Motor Co. are approaching zero. Their congressional protector, Rep. John Dingell, D-Dearborn, is under siege by his own party, a testament to the industry's weakened clout. And the bankruptcy vs. bailout debate rages, with either solution spelling trouble to anyone considering additional exposure -- i.e., credit -- to the Detroit business.    [more]   [top of page]

CANADIAN DRIVER (ONTARIO, CANADA) University receives DOE grant for biomass research
David Wu, a professor at the University of Rochester in New York, has received a US$1.75 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to investigate a way to turn waste biomass, such as grass clippings, cornstalks and wood chips into useable hydrogen or ethanol.   [more]   [top of page]

CANADIAN DRIVER (ONTARIO, CANADA) California pilot plant opened to produce renewable diesel
California-based Amryis Biotechnologies has announced that it has opened its first pilot plant to produce its "No Compromise" renewable diesel fuel. The plant, which was completed in September, marks a milestone in Amyris' goal to develop and commercialize its sustainable, hydrocarbon-based fuel, which it expects to bring to market in 2010.   [more]   [top of page]

CANADIAN DRIVER (ONTARIO, CANADA) U.S. "green" market lags globally: JATO
Automotive data and intelligence provider JATO Dynamics has reported that the U.S. car market is currently behind Europe and Japan in the global drive for more fuel-efficient cars. Analysis revealed that buyers in the U.S. are choosing much the same cars as previously, whereas their Japanese and European counterparts are making a move towards more fuel-efficient cars with lower CO2 emissions.    [more]   [top of page]

BUSINESS WEEK (NEW YORK, USA) Autos: A Bailout Could Have a Green Twist
As Washington weighs a potential bailout of the U.S. automobile industry, environmental groups urge that such a rescue should come with eco-friendly strings attached. Automakers have already started to move in that direction. After years of devoting themselves to building bigger, more luxurious vehicles, car manufacturers are shifting their focus to more fuel-efficient vehicles in the hopes of driving up profits.   [more]   [top of page]

CANADIAN DRIVER (ONTARIO, CANADA) Honda to demonstrate collision-avoiding technology
Engineers from Honda will demonstrate an advanced vehicle-to-vehicle communications system that helps vehicles avoid collisions with one another as part of Honda's participation in the 15th annual World Congress on Intelligent Transportation Systems. The working prototype will be demonstrated on a public road in front of the Jacob Javits Center in New York from November 17 to 20.   [more]   [top of page]

CANADIAN DRIVER (ONTARIO, CANADA) Transport Canada issues latest recalls
Transport Canada has issued its latest recalls, which may affect vehicles from Nissan, General Motors, Kia, Mini, Chrysler, Mitsubishi, Honda, Hyundai, and certain Britax child seats.   [more]   [top of page]

AHMEDABAD TIMES (INDIA) Now, Nano to brave political onslaught in Gujarat
Ratan Tata may have shifted his Nano car plant from Singur in West Bengal to Sanand in Gujarat, but this ambitious project is unlikely to move forward without facing any political hindrances. While the recently formed Maha Gujarat Party (MGJP) by the BJP rebels will go on an indefinite dharna at the Ahmedabad Town Hall from Friday, the CPI (M) has announced an elaborate protest programme in December.    [more]   [top of page]

ANANOVA (UK) Tractor bucket wedding
A Chinese couple got married in mid-air in two tractor digger buckets. The idea was to honour a tradition in Xi'an that the bride's feet shouldn't touch the ground during the journey from home to the ceremony, reports Huashang Daily.   [more]   [top of page]

MIAMI HERALD (FLORIDA, USA) Man marks 101st birthday with spin in vintage car
An Ohio man got to take a trip back in time on his 101st birthday. Marvin Hertel wanted to go for a drive in an antique car, since he has fond memories of cranking up a Ford Model T back when he was a teenager in Illinois. So, his social worker arranged for a 1936 Auburn Speedster to pick him up from his assisted living apartment in the Dayton suburb of Miamisburg.   [more]   [top of page]

November 12, 2008

Today in automotive history - on this day in 1927, the Holland Tunnel between New York City and Jersey City, New Jersey, was officially opened when President Calvin Coolidge telegraphed a signal from the presidential yacht, Mayflower, anchored in the Potomac River. On this day in 1946, the Exchange National Bank of Chicago, Illinois, instituted the first drive-in banking service in America, and anticipated a cultural phenomenon that would sweep across America in the coming decade. Read more about this day in history at The History Channel.

DETROIT NEWS (MICHIGAN, USA) Big 3 woes imperil Japanese
Japan's leading automakers are beating Detroit's Big Three in the plunging U.S. auto market, but they would sustain enormous damage if one of the domestic carmakers collapsed. Toyota Motor Corp., Honda Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co., the biggest foreign producers of vehicles in the United States, rely on the same parts suppliers as the U.S. automakers. So the failure or bankruptcy of a domestic automaker would also disrupt the Japanese car companies' operations in what has traditionally been their most lucrative market.    [more]   [top of page]

DETROIT NEWS (MICHIGAN, USA) Commentary: Activists attack auto aid
Environmental activists smell blood in the water. And why not? Last year they were successful at getting Congress to act on their behalf and increase the Corporate Average Fuel Economy guidelines, despite those regulations having done nothing in 30 years to save fuel. Now they want any federal aid to the automakers to be awarded only if California and some other states are granted the right to set their own tailpipe emissions.    [more]   [top of page]

DETROIT NEWS (MICHIGAN, USA) Pelosi pushes fast auto aid
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Tuesday she wants a quick vote next week to allow the troubled domestic auto industry to tap into the $700 billion Wall Street bailout. Pelosi's commitment came after another sharp decline in General Motors Corp. shares, which closed Tuesday at $2.92, down 13 percent, on concerns the company will run out of cash by the end of the year. Earlier in the day, the company's stock hit a 65-year-low.    [more]   [top of page]

CANADIAN DRIVER (ONTARIO, CANADA) Big 3 bailout is a payoff to UAW: NLPC
Peter Flaherty, President of the National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC), criticized proposals to bailout GM, Chrysler and Ford, arguing that the plans are actually intended to bailout the United Auto Workers union (UAW). "The $700-billion Wall Street bailout was not meant to be a prize for special interest groups that were on the winning side of the election. It is a mistake to use TARP to reward high-tax, non-right to work states like Michigan. It was argued that failure of financial firms posed systemic risk; no such risk exists with the automakers."    [more]   [top of page]

CANADIAN DRIVER (ONTARIO, CANADA) U.S. Senator proposes tax breaks to boost auto sales
U.S. Senator Barbara A. Mikulski, D-Md. and National Automobile Dealers Association's (NADA) Chairman Annette Sykora announced new legislation designed to stimulate U.S. new vehicles sales through tax incentives.   [more]   [top of page]

NW SOURCE (WASHINGTON, USA) Eco-friendly, Seattle-friendly: National franchise Pizza Fusion opens on Capitol Hill
Pizza Fusion's M.O. is that it's an organic, earth-friendly national franchise. They deliver their pies in hybrid cars, offer gluten-free crust and pour vegan microbrews, and they're spreading their brand like wildfire with a dozen new stores popping up all over the United States since the company's founding in 2006. Yes, I said the 'F' word. But look a little closer and the Ft. Lauderdale-based chain gets a lot more of our local flavor than you might think.    [more]   [top of page]

ECONOMIC TIMES (INDIA) Honda's Civic Hybrid cheaper by Rs 8 lakh
Honda has slashed the price of its Civic Hybrid cars in India by an unprecedented Rs 8 lakh, as it looks to boost sales of the environmentally-friendly sedan in an unfriendly economic environment. After the price cut - the sharpest in Indian automobile history and introduced with immediate effect - the hybrid Civic will cost Rs 13.36 lakh compared to its launch price of Rs 21.5 lakh.    [more]   [top of page]

BRISBANE TIMES (AUSTRALIA) Residents angry as commuters clog suburban streets
The problem of rail commuters clogging up inner-Brisbane streets by parking their cars close to train stations has sparked a wider debate over the future of dedicated "park-and-ride" locations. At a Brisbane City Council meeting on Tuesday, the Liberal National Party administration voted down a strong push by the Labor Opposition to introduce a residential parking permit system to give local residents and businesses some relief from commuters who drive to inner-city train stations, park their cars and then catch the train to work.   [more]   [top of page]

THE NEWS REPUBLIC (WASHINGTON - DC, USA) A Plug-In Pioneer in Boulder
In Boulder, Colorado, public utility company Xcel Energy recently teamed up with University of Colorado Chancellor Bud Peterson to conduct the first commercial tests of a vehicle-to-grid (V2G) plug-in hybrid automobile. The company donated a converted Ford Escape hybrid to Peterson to help pioneer a key piece of the "SmartCityProject," a long-term strategy to replace the country's outdated power grid with a smart grid.   [more]   [top of page]

CANADIAN DRIVER (ONTARIO, CANADA) NHTSA offers instant recall alerts by e-mail
The U.S. National Highway and Traffic Administration (NHTSA) announced a new, free service that allows vehicle owners to be instantly informed of a safety recall. The recall alerts can be received via e-mail or RSS-feeds on personal computers, cell phones or PDA devices-automatically and free-of-charge.    [more]   [top of page]

NEW CAR NET (UK) Drive more carefully... and get paid
Nine people die everyday on UK roads. Commercial vehicles, such as trucks, vans, coaches and buses, account for 1 in 5 of all road deaths, or 20 road deaths each week. Vehicle tracking and telematics company Masternaut Three X has launched a nationwide safer driving initiative, Drive For Life.    [more]   [top of page]

NEW CAR NET (UK) Graphic new seatbelt campaign airs
As a new 'belt-up' campaign begins, research reveals that 19 per cent of British motorists admit to driving while not wearing a seatbelt. The government's latest THINK adverts show the consequences of crashing without wearing a seatbelt in graphic detail.   [more]   [top of page]

CHINA.ORG.CN (CHINA) To buy or not to buy ...that is the question
The global financial crisis is hurting consumer confidence and consumers' willingness to purchase big ticket items such as cars. "To buy or not" has become the latest question for consumers who are deciding to hold onto their cash, leaving Chinese car makers with a sales slump and loss of profit. Analysts said that they expect sales growth for passenger cars to fall below 10 percent this year, compared to an average increase of more than 20 percent over the past few years, but that the steady growth of China's auto industry was an irreversible trend in the long term.   [more]   [top of page]

EDMUNDS INSIDE LINE (CALIFORNIA, USA) Detroit's Auto Show Gets Two Chinese Automakers; Two More Won't Show
The 2009 North American International Auto Show in Detroit will feature the first appearance and North American debut of Chinese automaker Brilliance Auto, and a repeat showing from Byd Automobile. However, Changfeng Motor, the first Chinese company to show in North America with appearances at Detroit in 2007 and 2008, won't be back. Nor will Geely, which was at the Detroit show last year.   [more]   [top of page]

UPI (WASHINGTON - DC, USA) Cops: Dogs drove car through fence
A miniature Schnauzer and its Chinese Crested friend were fingered as the culprits in a Swedish runaway car incident, police said. The canines were found curled up in the backseat of a car that had smashed through a fence and ended up in the yard of a home in the southern Swedish town of Skurup Friday, the Swedish news agency TT reported.    [more]   [top of page]

REUTERS (NEW YORK, USA) Ferrari boss smashed TV after F1 finale
Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo smashed a television set after seeing McLaren's Lewis Hamilton snatch the Formula One world title from Felipe Massa in last weekend's season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix.   [more]   [top of page]

November 10, 2008

Today in automotive history - on this day in 1965, Formula One racer Eddie Irvine was born in Newtownards, Northern Ireland. Read more about this day in history at The History Channel.

DETROIT NEWS (MICHIGAN, USA) Democratic leaders ask Bush to help ailing automakers
The top two congressional Democrats warned Saturday in a letter that Detroit's Big Three automakers were "at risk" unless the Bush Administration moved quickly to extend government financing. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Sen. Majority Harry Reid, D-Nev., also said in the letter to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson that the government should get equity stake in the automakers in exchange for loans.    [more]   [top of page]

DETROIT NEWS (MICHIGAN, USA) Obama says righting auto industry is a high priority
President-elect Barack Obama singled out the U.S. auto industry for special attention Friday as Detroit's largest automakers reported poor quarterly results that underscored their precarious situation. General Motors Corp. lost $2.5 billion in the third quarter, bringing its losses since 2004 to more than $70 billion. It cautioned that it might run short of cash next year unless it obtains private or public funds or the economy improves.    [more]   [top of page]

CANADIAN DRIVER (ONTARIO, CANADA) Ford will cut costs, concentrate on small cars
The Ford Motor Company has announced that it will continue to cut costs, both in North America and on a global scale, and invest in smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles, in the wake of a third quarter net loss of US$129 million.   [more]   [top of page]

CANADIAN DRIVER (ONTARIO, CANADA) GM-Chrysler merger talks set aside
In separate statements, General Motors and Chrysler have confirmed that the companies have set aside merger talks that could have seen the two automakers combined.   [more]   [top of page]

CANADIAN DRIVER (ONTARIO, CANADA) CAW calls GM job cuts "terrible news"
Canadian Auto Workers Union (CAW) national president Ken Lewenza has called the announcement of 500 temporary job cuts at General Motors' Oshawa, Ontario car plant "terrible news" and "further evidence of the need for government support of Canada's failing auto industry."   [more]   [top of page]

THE GREEN CAR WEBSITE (UK) Chauffeur company goes green
On paper it would appear that a chauffeur company and green cars are not meant to mix - the image of gas guzzling limousines living large. However, one company has other ideas. Ecochauffeur is an offshoot of established online chauffeur company iChauffeur. It was launched in early 2006 to fill a void in the industry and set its sights on leading the way with hybrid and alternatively fuelled vehicles.   [more]   [top of page]

THE LANTERN (OHIO, USA) OSU researchers look to make new hybrid cars
Ohio State researchers think they have found a way to reduce fuel costs. SMART@CAR is a new project being proposed and developed by professionals at the Ohio State Center for Automotive Research. SMART@CAR is an acronym for Sustainable Mobility: Advanced Research Team at the Center for Automotive Research. An introductory meeting was held Oct. 23 by OSU researchers, automotive partners and electric companies who are trying to improve and market a plug-in hybrid car that is electricity-efficient.   [more]   [top of page]

STREEM (AUSTRALIA) Green cars get $1 billion boost
The car industry will be given a $1.3 billion incentive to develop and manufacture so called green cars. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd unveiled today a plan worth more than $6 billion which will assist in maintaining jobs and employment in the Australian manufacturing industry.   [more]   [top of page]

GAS2.0 (OREGON, USA) "150 MPG" Hybrid SUV Company Claims it is Being "Muzzled"
Just weeks before the 2008 LA Auto Show, hybrid car and powertrain maker AFS Trinity is pulling out after saying that show management "muzzled" them by disallowing claims that their highly modified Saturn Vue plug-in hybrids can achieve 150 mpg.   [more]   [top of page]

CANADIAN DRIVER (ONTARIO, CANADA) New driver training program teaches survival
The B.C.-based Driving Unlimited Academy has announced a new program that trains teenagers as young as 15 to survive on the road, not just to pass the driving test.   [more]   [top of page]

CAR TRADE INDIA (INDIA) General Motors to Launch M800 Competitor Car in India
General Motors is planning to launch a new small car in India. It will compete with the Maruti 800 which is the most popular model in the country. The Maruti 800 is currently the cheapest car in India, and it was expecting rivalry only from Tata Nano in the near future. However, General Motors is planning massive expansion plans for its product portfolio in India. The company is already facing tough times back home in the US.   [more]   [top of page]

BLOOMBERG (NEW YORK, USA) China Will Help Fund Development of Fuel-Efficient Car Models
China will boost research into alternative-energy automobiles after investments totaling more than 200 billion yuan ($29 billion) failed to create a brand capable of rivaling Toyota Motor Corp. and Volkswagen AG.    [more]   [top of page]

CANADIAN DRIVER (ONTARIO, CANADA) GM opens new plant in Russia
General Motors has opened a US$300 million, flexible assembly plant in St. Petersburg, Russia. The plant will add an additional 70,000 units of capacity to the more than 100,000 already available to GM at joint venture and partner facilities in the country.   [more]   [top of page]

INDEPENDENT ONLINE (SOUTH AFRICA) Boy takes family car for a spin
A nine-year-old Japanese boy drove a car alone for three kilometres to see his grandmother, saying he was confident at the wheel after playing video games, police said on Friday. "I learned from playing video games at arcades and watching my father drive," the boy said, as quoted by a police spokesperson in central Japan.   [more]   [top of page]

UPI (WASHINGTON - DC, USA) Police: Dog backed car out of wash
Police said no one was injured when a dog shifted its owner's car into reverse at a Pryor, Okla., car wash and backed the vehicle into highway traffic.    [more]   [top of page]

YAHOO! NEWS (UK) British car dealer makes two-for-one offer
A British car dealer has found one way around the looming recession -- by offering a buy-one-get-one-free offer on new cars, a report said Saturday. Online car broker Broadspeed.com, based in Colchester near London, offered customers two Dodge Avenger SXT saloon cars, complete with leather seats and air conditioning, for 20,000 pounds (24,450 euros, 31,300 dollars).   [more]   [top of page]

November 7, 2008

Today in automotive history - on this day in 1957, the first Trabant, which translates to servant in English, was produced at the former Horch auto works in Zwickau. On this day in 1965, drag racer Art Arfons from Ohio, returned to the Bonneville Salt Flats in a revamped Green Monster, and shattered Breedlove's record from the previous year, when he raced to 576.553mph across the one-mile course. Read more about this day in history at The History Channel.

DETROIT NEWS (MICHIGAN, USA) Toyota slashes annual earnings forecast
Toyota Motor Corp. sliced its earnings outlook Thursday, predicting its annual income would fall by more than two-thirds after reporting sharply weaker second-quarter results because of falling auto sales in North America and other key regions and the impact of a strengthening yen. While the automaker previously forecast a drop in profits for the year and its Japanese rivals recently reported weak results, Toyota's steep downward revisions stunned financial analysts.    [more]   [top of page]

DETROIT NEWS (MICHIGAN, USA) Doomsday scenario is all too real
As Detroit's automotive lobby readies its full-court press on President-elect Barack Obama, it should deliver a simple message -- something's got to give. Here we have a trio of beleaguered automakers and their equally beleaguered union, the United Auto Workers, assembling abysmal sales figures and even worse financial results to make the case that Washington must help them out of their deepening hole because the threat of not doing so would be even worse. Their newest weapon is a report from the Ann Arbor-based Center for Automotive Research, released Wednesday, which predicts a nationwide industrial cataclysm if the feds don't act.    [more]   [top of page]

DETROIT NEWS (MICHIGAN, USA) Automakers optimistic help may be on the way
Detroit's Big Three automakers, facing their worst financial crisis in decades, are counting on President-elect Barack Obama to deliver on his promise to help. Obama confronts a domestic auto industry in turmoil and the prospect that one or more of the Big Three could run out of money by next year without government assistance. Obama has endorsed providing $50 billion in direct government loans to automakers. And last week, he vowed that, if elected, he would "immediately" meet with the CEOs of the Big Three and United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger.    [more]   [top of page]

CANADIAN DRIVER (ONTARIO, CANADA) U.S. hybrid sales down, market share up
Reported sales of hybrids in the U.S. dropped by 10 per cent in October 2008, when compared to October 2007, according to a report by the Green Car Congress. Sales dropped from 24,443 units in October 2007 to 21,979 in 2008. However, with the overall 31.9 per cent decline in overall vehicle sales in the U.S., hybrids represented 2.62 per cent of all vehicles sold, up from 1.98 per cent in October 2007. Year-to-date, hybrids have a 2.4 per cent share of the new vehicle market.   [more]   [top of page]

CANADIAN DRIVER (ONTARIO, CANADA) Nissan and city of Yokohama partner to reduce CO2
The Renault Nissan Alliance and the city of Yokohama have announced a partnership to study sustainable mobility solutions for Yokohama. Under the Environment Model City pilot, Yokohama aims to achhieve significant CO2 reductions by experimenting with a range of methodologies across key sectors, including transportation, housing and renewable energy development.   [more]   [top of page]

CANADIAN DRIVER (ONTARIO, CANADA) Oxford researchers turn glycerol into methanol
Researchers at Oxford University have announced they have discovered a new way to produce the biofuel methanol from glycerol, an industrial waste chemical. Methanol can be used as a fuel on its own, or in the manufacture of biodiesel.   [more]   [top of page]

MOBILE MAG (BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA) Car Runs on Compressed Air, Costs Under $5000
Although gas prices aren't nearly as high as they were a few months ago, we're all not happy about how much it costs to fill up a tank at the pump. In responding to this ongoing trend, the major automakers have slowly started to make some headway into creating more energy-efficient vehicles. They're making them physically smaller with smaller engines and lighter materials. They're tossing in hybrid technology and considering biofuels. They're building hybrids and so on, but none of them are quite as environmentally friendly as this creation.   [more]   [top of page]

HYBRID CARS (CALIFORNIA, USA) Hydrogen Hybrid Supercar Revealed in Las Vegas
The Scorpion is a one-of-a-kind hydrogen hybrid supercar. "We have a system that produces hydrogen as we drive down the road," said Ronn Maxwell, chief executive officer of Ronn Motor Company. Texas-based Ronn Motor Company rolled out its hydrogen hybrid supercar Tuesday at the Specialty Equipment Marketing Association Show (SEMA) in Las Vegas. The Scorpion is a wildly sculpted exotic vehicle that can hit 200 miles per hour, while promising 40 miles per gallon on the highway.   [more]   [top of page]

CANADIAN DRIVER (ONTARIO, CANADA) B.C. police target intersection safety
British Columbia's Solicitor General John van Dongen has joined police and the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC) to kick off a month-long campaign to reduce intersection crashes across the province. "We all need to take responsibility for our driving behaviour if we want our roads to be safer," van Dongen said. "The province, police, ICBC and community volunteers are doing their part by stepping up efforts to reduce intersection crashes and save lives."   [more]   [top of page]

CANADIAN DRIVER (ONTARIO, CANADA) 25th annual Operation Red Nose announced
The Ontario Safety League (OSL) and the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) have announced the 25th Operation Red Nose campaign, offering partygoers and their cars a safe ride home.   [more]   [top of page]

EDMUNDS INSIDE LINE (CALIFORNIA, USA) 2008 Johannesburg Auto Show Goes for World-Class Status
The 2008 Johannesburg Auto Show opened its doors on Saturday with an investment of some $12 million from the country's car, truck and motorcycle companies, all determined to see the biennial show join the pantheon of the world's top automotive expositions alongside Tokyo, Geneva and Frankfurt. It even gets a new name, Johannesburg International Motor Show (JIMS), replacing the previous moniker, Auto Africa. To underline the importance of the show, the headliners include such world-class cult cars as the Nissan GT-R - which will go on sale here next year. The show runs until November 9.   [more]   [top of page]

IBN LIVE (INDIA) Slowdown ahead? Tata's Pune plant in trouble
The economic slowdown seems to have caught up with Tata Motors. Sources tell CNN-IBN that the company's car production plant in Pune could see a shutdown after a slowdown in sales and an inventory pileup. However, Tata Motors hasn't confirmed this officially. However, it is believed that the shutdown will have no impact on the production of Tata's small car Nano.    [more]   [top of page]

TIMES OF INDIA (INDIA) Renault to design Nano's rival
French car major Renault is going to style the rival of Tata Nano. Along with Japanese group company Nissan and India's Bajaj Auto, Renault is developing a rival to the Tata Nano budget car under the code-name 'ultra low cost' (ULC) and the car is scheduled to roll out by early 2011 from Chakan in Maharashtra.    [more]   [top of page]

SUN-SENTINEL (FLORIDA, USA) Alaska man tells police he accidentally stole a car outside a gentleman club
A motorist confronted by a state trooper said he was stunned when the officer told him the car had been stolen. Charles J. Schultz explained that he was driving his Chevy Cavalier and everything was fine. That's when the trooper informed Schultz that he was actually behind the wheel of a Ford Escort.   [more]   [top of page]

REUTERS (NEW YORK, USA) Thieves caught with 12 pigs in car
Two thieves were caught in southern Hungary with 12 pigs stuffed in their small van during a routine traffic check, Hungarian police said on Thursday. Police stopped two men in a Renault Kangoo near the town of Szigetvar, about 220 km (137 miles) south of Budapest, as they attempted to drive off.   [more]   [top of page]

UPI (WASHINGTON - DC, USA) Controversial turkey pedestrian killed
A turkey that drew both support and animosity for its habit of walking in the streets of Evansville, Ind., has died in a traffic accident, area residents say. Evansville resident Connell Jones said Wilson the turkey died after being struck by a car during one of the bird's regular attempted road crossings Tuesday, the Evansville (Ind.) Courier and Press said.   [more]   [top of page]

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