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Backstreet Driver: Navigating the I-95 Speedway

If you ever wanted to know what it's like to be in the middle of a pack of high-speed cars on a NASCAR oval, a very cheap way of finding out is to get onto I-95 in Connecticut, down toward the New York area, and wait.

You may be cruising along at a respectable 70 mph - 5 mph over the speed limit - along with everyone else, but it is only a matter of time before a car, usually driven by a young driver, sweeps past you at 90, 100, sometimes over 100 mph.

Listen, I know my time will come but if I am taken out by some little jerk playing NASCAR on the public highways, I am going to be extremely cross.

Give me an effing break.

These NASCARettes overtake you on either side, sometimes even at an angle as they weave their way through the traffic. You see them coming up behind and the only thing to do is to maintain course and speed. Trying to get out of their way could easily result in an accident because they are travelling too fast to adapt to 'moving' objects; at their speed, the rest of us are stationary objects to navigate around.

On my return from the Greenwich Concours d'Elegance on Sunday, a number of these young heroes flashed passed me but one whipped by on the inside lane so fast that my car - and it's a heavy Volvo station wagon - literally shook.

What can the police do? I presume most of the young speedsters are armed with radar detectors and so are practically immune from being stopped. Plus a police chase with one of these drivers in heavy traffic could easily lead to increased danger for all concerned.

Maybe the only alternative is having the public call in the license plates of drivers they consider to be particularly dangerous. But what can the police do then? I don't know, but its sounds like it may be worthwhile to find out.

Hoping that they will drive themselves off the road and into the oval in the sky may nurse a sense of outrage but is not a practical solution to a public menace.

Posted by   at 10:29 AM to Safety , commentary | Permalink | Comments 0

Renault-Nissan to seek deal with Chrysler, Ford?

After a failed attempt at forming an alliance with GM last year, French-Japanese automaker Renault-Nissan will look at new partnership possibilities in 2009, possibly with including newly independent Chrysler or even Ford, CEO Carlos Ghosn told the French newspaper Le Parisien, according to leftlanenews.com.

Posted by   at 10:24 AM to Companies | Permalink | Comments 0

CEO says GM turnaround is on track

General Motors is making progress in its turnaround effort, CEO Rick Wagoner said Tuesday at its annual meeting, where 10 shareholder proposals were rejected, according to USA Today.

GM cut structural costs by $6.8 billion in 2006, and Wagoner told shareholders the automaker is on track to reach its target of an additional $2.2 billion in cuts this year.

He said this year's priorities include finishing a deal to let former parts subsidiary Delphi exit bankruptcy and cutting its own health care costs, which he said were "a staggering $4.8 billion" in 2006.

GM's shares, which lost 50% of their value in 2005, rose 58% last year, the biggest rise of the 30 stocks in the Dow Jones industrial average. Investors gained confidence in GM's turnaround as its annual net loss narrowed to $2 billion from $10.4 billion in 2005.

Posted by   at 10:09 AM to Companies | Permalink | Comments 0

GM puts Volt, hybrids on fast track

General Motors has awarded two contracts to companies that will help speed up development of its plug-in hybrid car called the Chevrolet Volt, GM Chairman Rick Wagoner said Tuesday, according to USA Today.
Wagoner, speaking at the company's annual shareholders meeting, also said GM would introduce four new hybrid models this year.

Posted by   at 9:48 AM to Alternative fuels , Companies , Environment , Fuel economy , Technology | Permalink | Comments 0

Auto Execs Go to Hill to Discuss Mileage

The heads of the domestic auto industry are pressing congressional leaders to revisit a plan to increase fuel efficiency standards that automakers say could hurt their industry, according to the Associated Press.

Leaders of General Motors, Ford and the Chrysler Group on Wednesday were to discuss the impact of health care, trade and energy policies on their companies, and urge congressional leaders in private meetings to consider an alternative to a proposed overhaul of Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards for vehicles.

Posted by   at 9:40 AM to Auto industry , Companies | Permalink | Comments 0