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Old-time cruisin' revs up a revival

Gas prices may have hit all-time highs, but cruising — that great American pastime of driving just to drive, hanging out in parking lots and watching others drive — is back, according to a report in USAToday.

"We're the next generation of cruisers from our parents, who used to cruise up and down this same road," said Angie Guerra, 23, a receptionist who spent Friday night in a parking lot off Woodward Avenue, a main artery connecting Detroit with its northern suburbs. "We hang out and socialize and watch the nice cars go by. It's fun."

She and her boyfriend, Brian Meissen, 20, brought folding chairs and drinks. They met up with fellow car-lovers who stopped in and out of parking lots like party-hoppers on a social circuit. When cruisers got hungry, they left their cars parked and walked across the street to a nearby KFC.

Posted by   at 9:45 AM to On the road , Popular culture | Permalink | Comments 0

Cerberus chief Snow backs Chrysler reform

The turnaround plan that Chrysler laid out in February was one of the key things that made it attractive to Cerberus Capital, the private-equity firm that will soon own it. And Chrysler will continue following that plan with its current leadership intact, says John Snow, chairman of Cerberus and former Treasury secretary, according to USAToday.

In a speech to the Detroit Economic Club Wednesday, Snow said that he plans to give Chrysler CEO Tom LaSorda the advice and money needed to successfully implement Chrysler's restructuring plan.

Posted by   at 9:43 AM to Chrysler | Permalink | Comments 0

Oil Prices Climb on Mixed US Fuel Data

Oil prices rose after a bigger-than-expected gain in U.S. gasoline inventories was matched by lower-than-expected crude stockpiles, according to the Assocated Press.

"The latest data on U.S. inventory levels was rather uninspiring, with a little something for both the bulls and the bears," PVM Oil Associates in Vienna commented.

Light, sweet crude for August delivery rose 77 cents to $73.33 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midday in Europe. The contract slipped 25 cents to settle at $72.56 a barrel Wednesday.

Posted by   at 9:38 AM to Oil | Permalink | Comments 0

World's oldest car for sale

A steam-powered car, billed as the oldest car in the world that still runs, will be sold in a Pebble Beach, Calif., auction on August 19, according to CNNMoney.com

The car was built in France in 1884, about a year before Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz of Germany built their first experimental gasoline-powered cars. (The two were working independently of one another.) Henry Ford finished his first garage-built car 12 years after this one.

The four-wheeled De Dion-Bouton et Trepardoux, nicknamed "La Marquise," was originally built for the French Count De Dion, one of the founders of the company. The car has had only two other owners since, according to auction house Gooding & Company, which is handling the sale.

Posted by   at 9:32 AM to Collecting , Sales | Permalink | Comments 0