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thecarconneciton.com's trivia quiz

Here is thecarconnection.com's latest car trivia quiz plus answers:

1. In the early 1970s, which Big Three company's dealers sold the DeTomaso Pantera sports car?

2. On what platform was the 1991-1996 Ford Escort based?

3. What road joins Dawson Creek, British Columbia and Fairbanks, Alaska?

4. What did Lara Croft drive in the 2001 movie Tomb Raider ?

5. What brand were the cop cars on the 1960s Andy Griffith Show ?

6. Who sang Paradise by the Dashboard Light ?

7. In 1980, this U.S.-built model introduced full-time, all-wheel-drive to the passenger-car market.

8. Which Chrysler car line was named for a 16th century Spaniard who explored the Mississippi?

9. Which U.S. carmaker advertised its Lifeguard safety design in 1956?

10. This 1969 model had an Eliminator performance-package option.

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

Ford Stays the Course, Wherever It May Lead

DEARBORN — What has changed in the year since Alan R. Mulally left Boeing to be chief executive at Ford?

In a sense, everything and nothing, according to the New York Times' Micheline Maynard.
Since his appointment last September made him the first outsider in recent memory named to run a Detroit auto company, Mr. Mulally has brought discipline to a company known for rivalries and infighting.

An admirer of the development team that created the Taurus sedan, he revived the nameplate, most recently relegated to a rental car. He mortgaged virtually all of Ford’s assets to amass the billions of dollars the company needs for its restructuring, and he has put up for sale Ford’s British luxury nameplates: Jaguar, Land Rover and Aston Martin.

Despite that, Mr. Mulally, who turned 62 this month, has not dispelled concerns about the future of Ford, which Toyota passed this year for second place in the American market.

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

GM engine may save fuel

General Motors is showing off a new engine technology that could cut fuel consumption by up to 15%, according to the Detroit Free Press.

The savings are the product of an engine-transmission system known as homogeneous charge compression ignition, or HCCI, that marries the high fuel economy of a diesel engine with the relatively low emissions of gasoline engines.

With the potential to deliver better fuel efficiency than even some of its gas-electric hybrids, GM calls HCCI "the most awaited advanced combustion technology of the past 30 years." Mercedes-Benz soon will show its own version of the technology, though neither automaker has said when it will make them in production vehicles.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 9:44 AM to Fuel economy , GM , Technology | Permalink | Comments 1

Same parts, different auto brands

There's a little bit of Toyota inside the Chevrolet HHR, according to the Detroit Free Press.

The HHR's seat frame was designed by the General Motors Corp. rival and produced by one of Toyota Motor Corp.'s suppliers.

This kind of sharing takes to a new level a trend the auto industry has been moving toward for decades. More recently, the Detroit automakers have been picking up speed with it.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 9:41 AM to Auto industry , GM , Technology , Toyota | Permalink | Comments 0

Verve points to future for Ford

Ford gave the first hint of its future small-car design vision in the new Ford Verve concept, photos of which were released Thursday, according to the Detroit Free Press.

The bullet-shape concept is bold, sporty and in a design style that Ford calls kinetic, for the visual effect that makes the vehicle look like it's in motion even when standing still.

The Verve, which will debut next month at the 2007 Frankfurt Motor Show, is the first of three subcompact concept vehicles that will debut in the key regions of Europe, Asia and North America.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 9:37 AM to Ford , Fuel economy | Permalink | Comments 0

Soybean price jump fueled by biodiesel

The alternative-fuel revolution is driving prices of another energy-producing crop to near-record levels, according to USA Today.

Soybean prices are expected to hit their second-highest average mark ever this year — and highest since 1983, says the Agriculture Department. Soybeans are used to make biodiesel fuel.

Production of biodiesel, a renewable alternative to diesel fuel, has increased more than 1,200% in the past three years, showing how the nation's truckers are being drawn into the alternative-fuels frenzy along with the auto industry.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 9:30 AM to Alternative fuels , Environment | Permalink | Comments 0

Oil drifts below $70, US slowdown fears weigh

LONDON - Oil hovered below $70 a barrel on Friday, overshadowed by worries about a possible U.S. slowdown and after Mexico's Gulf oil rigs suffered only minor damage from Hurricane Dean, according to Reuters News Agency.

U.S. light crude for October delivery was 9 cents lower at $69.74 a barrel by 0901 EDT. U.S. crude had gained 57 cents on Thursday, ending a three-day losing streak that had knocked prices to their lowest since late June.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 9:27 AM to Oil | Permalink | Comments 0

2 G.M. Brands, a Similar Car, but Very Different Results

DETROIT — When General Motors first showed off the Pontiac Solstice, the low-slung, head-turning roadster, it seemed the perfect antidote for the brand, whose flagship sedan had become known as the “Bland Am," according to the New York Times.
But the car, while a hit, did not generate much more interest in the Pontiac brand over all, and as a result even the Solstice itself appears to be hurting, just two years into its lifespan.

Meanwhile, demand for the Solstice’s fraternal twin, the costlier and more angular Saturn Sky, has shown no signs of subsiding. G.M. has about one month’s worth of the Sky available, and many buyers still have to wait several weeks or months for their Sky to arrive.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 11:18 AM to GM , Sales | Permalink | Comments 0

Mulally upbeat despite setbacks

DETROIT - Ford missed a key target for sales of new cars and trucks in the United States last month, according to the automaker's latest internal report card, which was released to employees Wednesday and obtained by the Detroit Free Press.

Cost savings are on track despite challenges, the report says, and employee optimism continues to grow, "but sales in July did not meet expectations."

Still, Ford Chief Executive Alan Mulally remains optimistic about Ford's future.

At a dinner with journalists Wednesday night -- set, in part, to commemorate Mulally's first year as the company's CEO -- Mulally said his vision for a new Ford, which is more centered than ever on the namesake blue-oval brand worldwide, is taking root.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 11:08 AM to Ford | Permalink | Comments 0

Chrysler to cut body weight by 13%

DETROIT - Using advances in high-strength steels and new design techniques, Chrysler LLC expects to improve fuel efficiency by reducing vehicle body structure weight by 13% over the next three to six years, a company executive said Wednesday, according to the Detroit Free Press.

The reduced weight -- 120 pounds from the vehicle's skeleton -- should improve fuel efficiency by 1%, said Bill Grabowski, Chrysler's director of body core engineering.

The method also will improve vehicle safety by strengthening its structure, the company said.

The move comes as Chrysler takes other steps to improve fuel efficiency, such as investing $3 billion in more efficient engines, axles and transmissions.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 11:02 AM to Chrysler | Permalink | Comments 0

High-tech lights could save gas

In a big garage-size laboratory in Ford’s sprawling research complex in Dearborn, Mich., Mahendra Dassanayake stands beneath a planetarium-like dome that can replicate the sun.

It can surround new cars and trucks with an eye-squinting 5,000 watts of light. Or mimic the fading light of dusk. Or make the room turn black, like a backwoods street where there are no city lights or ambient light from the stars or moon.

The research here is about improving fuel economy with more efficient lights, such as those that use light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs, according to the Detoit Free Press.

About 5% of fuel consumption goes directly to power a vehicle’s interior and exterior lights, said Dassanayake, a senior staff technology specialist at Ford. So, more efficient lighting systems, which offer good luminosity with less power, could ultimately save consumers at the gas pump.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 10:51 AM to Ford , Technology | Permalink | Comments 0

GM Cuts Production at 6 Plants

DETROIT -- General Motors said Wednesday it has cut production at six plants that make large sport utility vehicles and pickups, citing fuel prices and competition in the market, according to the Associated Press.

The largest U.S. automaker did not specify how deep the production cuts were.

But GM spokesman Tom Wickham said that starting this past Monday, the company eliminated previously scheduled overtime production at plants in Arlington, Texas; Janesville, Wis.; Fort Wayne, Ind.; Flint, Mich.; Silao, Mexico; and Oshawa, Ontario.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 10:44 AM to GM | Permalink | Comments 0

Oil Prices Climb to $69.68 a Barrel

Oil prices rose Thursday after hitting eight-week lows in the previous session on news of increased U.S. stockpiles, according to the Associated Press.

The U.S. Energy Department reported that crude inventories rose 1.9 million barrels to 337.1 million barrels last week, sending light sweet crude down 31 cents to $69.26 a barrel.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 9:59 AM to Oil | Permalink | Comments 0

Backseat Driver: Blood and money equals cheap fuel

Recent studies have found that we Americans prefer big vehicles and - manna to the auto manufacturers - small cars are not as safe as big cars.

Duh.

Of course we prefer big vehicles. Gas, after all, is still very cheap in the U.S. Yes, I know it is now hovering around the $3 a gallon mark, but that is less than half the price that it is in Europe. And when you are paying $8 a gallon, you can be sure that you are not going to drive a gas-guzzling SUV.

Why is gas so expensive in Europe? Because the governments tax the heck out of it. Here such a notion is anathema to a large portion of the body politic - in addition to the auto, oil, steel, rubber and plastics industries - and for a very good reason.

Unlike the Northeast and other urban centers - where small cars do make sense - most Americans live surrounded by vast expanses of space unimaginable in Europe. Small, economic cars don't make a lot of sense in Texas, for example, where the Chevy Suburban was always referred to as the state vehicle when I lived down there in the late 1980s.

And many Americans have rural roots they revere and for them a pickup is the only way to go. Many may use their pickups mostly for driving to and from work in the nearest city, but that is beside the point. The vehicles serve an emotional role, as indeed all vehicles do.

So forget about raising taxes on fuel. It is not going to happen and even if it did it would still be a nominal amount compared to European levels.

And so we will continue to have the best of both worlds, being able to afford to run big cars and SUVs and pickup trucks and, as an added bonus, having bought them, be comforted that we are safer in them.

Only two things cast a shadow on this self-indulgent picture: If you think the price we are paying in the Mideast - the lives of our military personnel, the maiming of thousands of others, the same of countless more Iraqis, the billions of dollars to equip our forces and run the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, the billions of dollars in aid we grant to Egypt, Israel, Pakistan and others to keep the peace - if you think all that blood and money is ALL about George W. Bush's war on terror and has NOTHING to do with the supply/price of crude oil and the price of gasoline you pay at the pump, then I would like to know the name of your drug dealer because you are obviously getting good stuff.

Personally, I think all that blood and money is a pretty high tax to pay for our cheap gasoline.

And the other shadow is the nebulous business of global warming which, while blindingly obvious to a simpleton like me, remains a debatable propostion in some quarters of our petro-driven administration.

- Peter C.T. Elsworth

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 11:38 AM to commentary | Permalink | Comments 0

Clean or Efficient? An Engine Goes for ‘Both of the Above’

FROM the outside, the dark blue Saturn Aura accelerating to a steady 50 miles an hour on the high-bank oval here at General Motors’ proving grounds looked altogether unremarkable, according to the New York Times.

From the driving position it’s another story. A laptop computer placed between me and a G.M. engineer, Jun Mo Kang, displays a graph that plots the car’s changing engine speed against the load on the engine, just colorful enough to draw my attention away from future cars and trucks in full disguises zipping by in the faster lanes of the track.

My time behind the wheel last month was the first test drive G.M. has given to a journalist of its prototype homogeneous-charge compression-ignition engine. An H.C.C.I. engine runs on a combustion process that researchers say holds the potential for significant gains in overall engine efficiency. G.M is one of several automakers developing H.C.C.I. technology.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 11:08 AM to Fuel economy , GM , Technology | Permalink | Comments 0

A New Chrysler and a New Marketer

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — From the executive suite to showroom lots, Chrysler L.L.C. is wasting no time in trying to persuade customers that it has come out from under the wing of its former German owners, according to the New York Times.

On Wednesday, Chrysler said it had hired Deborah Wahl Meyer, vice president of marketing at Lexus, the luxury division of Toyota, as its new vice president and chief marketing officer. She will start Aug. 28.

Her appointment came just 10 days after Chrysler’s new owners, Cerberus Capital Management, hired Robert L. Nardelli, the former chief executive at Home Depot, to run the auto company.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 11:05 AM to Chrysler | Permalink | Comments 0

Toyota plans new small car for India

NEW DELHI — Toyota plans to build a new small car and introduce it in India within two years, the company chairman said Wednesday, according to the Detroit Free Press.

“We are looking at several markets, but the first production will be in India,” Fujio Cho told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting of Indian and Japanese business executives. Cho, however, said the company was yet to finalize the type of the small car it plans to make.

Toyota Motor Corp. currently sells three models — Corolla, Camry and Innova — in India’s expensive premium segment.

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

GM focusing resources on growth markets

Explosive growth in General Motor's Latin America, Africa and Middle East division is driving the automaker to dedicate more spending and responsibility to those regions, said the division's group vice president Tuesday, according to the Detroit Free Press.

"These are growing markets and we must take advantage of the opportunity that exists," said Maureen Kempston Darkes during her visit to Detroit. "Critical for our success is to stretch the manufacturing capacity."

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 11:02 AM to GM | Permalink | Comments 0

Suit alleges oil giants fixed prices for 23,000 gas station owners

SAN FRANCISCO — Nearly two dozen gas station owners in California sued Shell Oil, Chevron and Saudi Refining, on Tuesday, claiming the companies conspired to fix prices for 23,000 franchise owners nationwide, according to the Associated Press and reported by USA Today.

The case filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco seeks class-action status for the plaintiffs. It is similar to another lawsuit filed in 2004 by other California gas station owners that was thrown out by the U.S. Supreme Court last year. The new group of plaintiffs hopes the court will consider a slightly different argument.

Like the previous case, the plaintiffs in this case say chairmen of the three oil companies met privately nearly every month starting in March 1996 for the "purpose of forming and organizing a combination."

The lawsuit alleges executives destroyed documents from the meetings, and a defunct joint venture violated U.S. antitrust laws and caused artificially high wholesale gas prices in nearly every state from 1999 to 2001.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 10:58 AM to Consumer rights , Gas prices , Oil | Permalink | Comments 0

Nissan to put lead-foot gauge on all models

Nissan plans to equip all of its cars and trucks with a gauge to tell drivers when they are being gas-guzzling lead foots, according to USA Today.

The "fuel-efficiency" meter, as the gauge is called, shows up already as a horizontal bar in the instrument cluster of the 2007 Nissan Altima and the 2008 Titan pickup, Armada SUV, Infiniti G35 car and QX56 SUV.

When coasting down a hill, the meter is long and orange, meaning little fuel is being used. When the pedal is to the metal, the line shortens dramatically.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 10:56 AM to Environment , Nissan , Technology | Permalink | Comments 0

First of Chrysler's next-generation minivans rolls off line

WINDSOR, Ontario — The first of Chrysler's next-generation minivans rolled off an assembly line Tuesday as the company celebrated the launch of a product it hopes will help return it to profitability, according to USA Today.

Chrysler launched the new 2008 vans, which feature a wider look and a second-row seat that swivels so passengers can sit on two sides of a table, after investing $511 million in the Windsor Assembly Plant.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 10:53 AM to Chrysler | Permalink | Comments 0

Oil Prices Rebound As Dean Does Damage

Crude oil prices rebounded Wednesday, approaching $70 a barrel as Hurricane Dean threatened to regain strength and possibly further affect oil installations in Mexico, according to the Associated Press.

While the storm was downgraded to a Category 1 storm Tuesday, it was closing in on the Mexican mainland Wednesday, battering evacuated oil platforms on the Bay of Campeche and threatening to regain some of the force it unleashed on the Yucatan Peninsula.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 10:09 AM to Oil | Permalink | Comments 0

Backseat Driver: Blood and money equals cheap fuel

Recent studies have found that we Americans prefer big vehicles and - manna to the auto manufacturers - small cars are not as safe as big cars.

Duh.

Of course we prefer big vehicles. Gas, after all, is still very cheap in the U.S. Yes, I know it is now hovering around the $3 a gallon mark, but that is less than half the price that it is in Europe. And when you are paying $8 a gallon, you can be sure that you are not going to drive a gas-guzzling SUV.

Why is gas so expensive in Europe? Because the governments tax the heck out of it. Here such a notion is anathema to a large portion of the body politic - in addition to the auto, oil, steel, rubber and plastics industries - and for a very good reason.

Unlike the Northeast and other urban centers - where small cars do make sense - most Americans live surrounded by vast expanses of space unimaginable in Europe. Small, economic cars don't make a lot of sense in Texas, for example, where the Chevy Suburban was always referred to as the state vehicle when I lived down there in the late 1980s.

And many Americans have rural roots they revere and for them a pickup is the only way to go. Many may use their pickups mostly for driving to and from work in the nearest city, but that is beside the point. The vehicles serve an emotional role, as indeed all vehicles do.

So forget about raising taxes on fuel. It is not going to happen and even if it did it would still be a nominal amount compared to European levels.

And so we will continue to have the best of both worlds, being able to afford to run big cars and SUVs and pickup trucks and, as an added bonus, having bought them, be comforted that we are safer in them.

Only two things cast a shadow on this self-indulgent picture: If you think the price we are paying in the Mideast - the lives of our military personnel, the maiming of thousands of others, the same of countless more Iraqis, the billions of dollars to equip our forces and run the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, the billions of dollars in aid we grant to Egypt, Israel, Pakistan and others to keep the peace - if you think all that blood and money is ALL about George W. Bush's war on terror and has NOTHING to do with the supply/price of crude oil and the price of gasoline you pay at the pump, then I would like to know the name of your drug dealer because you are obviously getting good stuff.

Personally, I think all that blood and money is a pretty high tax to pay for our cheap gasoline.

And the other shadow is the nebulous business of global warming which, while blindingly obvious to a simpleton like me, remains a debatable propostion in some quarters of our petro-driven administration.

- Peter C.T. Elsworth

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 12:37 PM to Gas prices , Safety , commentary | Permalink | Comments 0

Fuel cell Ford Fusion tops 200 m.p.h.

Last February, a group of Ford engineers set out to prove that an electric car powered by hydrogen could top 200 m.p.h. Last week, those engineers proved it, according to the Detroit Free Press.

The Ford Fusion Hydrogen 999 fuel cell car hit 207.297 m.p.h. at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah on Thursday and set a world record in the process. It is the world's first and only production-based fuel cell racecar.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 12:10 PM to Alternative fuels , Design , Ford , Technology | Permalink | Comments 0

Pay $10,000 for driving drunk, agency warns

Federal traffic safety officials kicked off their annual push against drunken drivers Monday, calling on states to toughen penalities and warning offenders that an offense could cost them $10,000 on average in fines, court costs and lost wages, according to the Detroit Free Press.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will bolster the effort with $11 million in national advertising.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 12:07 PM to Safety | Permalink | Comments 0

Flooded cars go to market with little to stop them

The Chevrolet Cavalier that Erik Leiken discovered on the Internet lacked curb appeal. Though only 5 years old, the car, with patches of primer paint, appeared to have had a hard existence.

Still, the odometer showed only 70,000 miles. And the car was a private-party bargain at $2,400, far below what he figured a dealer would charge.

But by the time the Chevy broke down a second time in San Diego freeway traffic, Leiken concluded that he had bought a clunker damaged in Hurricane Katrina, according to USA Today.
A Carfax vehicle-history report proved the car was in Louisiana when the hurricane struck.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 12:00 PM to Consumer rights | Permalink | Comments 0

People buy small cars even though they can be deadly

Americans are buying more small cars to cut fuel costs, and that might kill them, according to studies reported in USA Today.

As a group, occupants of small cars are more likely to die in crashes than those in bigger, heavier vehicles are, according to data from the government, the insurance industry and the National Academy of Sciences.

The newest small vehicles, of course, meet today's strict safety standards and can be laden with the latest safety hardware, such as stability control and side air bags. They are safer than ever. And differing designs mean some small cars are safer than average. But even the safest are governed by the laws of physics, which rule in favor of bigger, heavier vehicles, even in single-vehicle crashes.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 11:46 AM to Safety | Permalink | Comments 0

Oil Drops on Stock Market Worries

Benchmark oil prices slipped Tuesday as traders shifted focus from the threat of Hurricane Dean on U.S. energy facilities in the Gulf of Mexico to global stock markets, according to the Associated Press.

Hurricane Dean strengthened to a Category 5 storm Monday night as its rains and winds slammed the coasts of Mexico and Belize. A few companies evacuated some rigs and suspended production, but it didn't appear that the storm would cause much damage to operations in the United States.

As supply worries faded, concerns about the battered stock market's drag on global demand came to the forefront.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 11:39 AM to Oil | Permalink | Comments 0

Gas prices down for fifth week in a row

According to AAA Southern New England, we'll see cheaper prices at the pump for the fifth straight week, according to projo.com

The company's survey shows prices for regular, unleaded gasoline averaging $2.769 per gallon at the self-service pump. That's down five cents from last week and 19 cents from last month.

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

Car and Driver ranks safest new vehicles under $25,000

The 2008 Saturn Astra and the 2008 Dodge Charger are among the Top 10 Safe New Vehicles priced at less than $25,000, according to the latest rankings conducted by caranddriver.com and reported in the Detroit Free Press.

All the vehicles that made the list met a list of criteria that included being equipped with stability control and a minimum of six airbags.

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

Sold: ’84 Model. Runs Great.

Gooding & Co. sold an 1884 De Dion, Bouton & Trépardoux of France for $3.52 million, way up from the $1.5 million the auction house has estimated for the sale.

Tim Moore, who lives near Cambridge, England, was absent, saying he could not bear to be present when his beloved 123-year-old car is sold.

Last February in Paris, Christie’s sold a nonrunning 1890 De Dion for $929,773.

See a weekend New York Times story about the history of this fabulous car.

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

Gooding has record $60 million from 2007 Pebble Beach Auction

Gooding & Co. says its Saturday and Sunday's evening auctions following the Pebble
Beach Concours d'Elegance garnered more than $60 million in sales, according to PR Newswire.

The top sale was a 1931 Blower Bentley from the E. Ann Klein Estate which sold for $4.51 million. In the second-highest sale of the weekend, a 1959 Ferrari 250 GT
LWB California Spyder sold for $4,455,000.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 10:54 AM to Sales | Permalink | Comments 0

Oil slips as Dean seen sparing refiners

Oil fell more than $1 today after forecasts projected Hurricane Dean would skirt to the south of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico that is home to half of U.S. refining capacity and pumps a third of its oil, according to Reuters News Agency.

U.S. crude was down $1.06 at $70.92 a barrel by 9:44 a.m. EDT, erasing Friday's rally when the U.S. Federal Reserve cut its discount rate to restore order to financial markets and as Dean menaced

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 10:21 AM to Oil | Permalink | Comments 0