Main page | February 3, 2008 - February 9, 2008 »

Bob Tasca III earns Nitro Funny Car license

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Bob Tasca III and the Tasca Racing team completed the final step needed for entrance into the NHRA Nitro Funny Car class with a 4.96 second, 317 mph run during testing at Firebird International Raceway on Jan. 31, according to a news statement.

The run qualified Tasca’s NHRA license to be upgraded from Top Alcohol to Nitro Funny Car status.

“It has been a long test session,” said Tasca, driver of the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Shelby Mustang. “A new car, new team and a tough track to deal with, but we did it. It was a big difference in acceleration compared to my Top Alcohol car. To run over 317 mph in under five seconds – it was incredible. We made great progress on our tune-up and the guys got up to speed on servicing the car. Pomona, here we come.”

Tasca will start his run for Rookie-of-the-Year honors in the Nitro Funny Car class next week with the NHRA season-opening Winternationals in Pomona, Calif.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 3:24 PM to Racing | Permalink | Comments 0

Ford '07 retail share drops: Toyota, Honda record gains; GM stable; Chrysler down

Automakers report their U.S. sales for January today amid a continuing economic slowdown. But new information about last year's showroom sales already reveals who has momentum in the struggling market, according to the Detroit Free Press.

Ford was the biggest loser in U.S. retail sales last year, dropping nearly a full percentage point of retail market share, according to the latest retail sales estimates provided exclusively to the Free Press by the Power Information Network.

In all, Ford's share dropped from 15.1% in 2006 to 14.2% last year, a decline that represents about half the production for an assembly factory.

Meanwhile, Toyota and Honda picked up most of Ford's decline in the U.S. market. And General Motors has stabilized its retail share, with about 22% of the U.S. market.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 10:18 AM to Chrysler , Ford , GM , Honda , Toyota | Permalink | Comments 0

UAW Local fights Chrysler

UAW Local 412 leaders claim Chrysler LLC broke their new labor agreement when it laid off 119 workers Thursday. The union leaders vowed to fight the move, making it the first union local to go public with a labor disagreement since new contracts were signed last fall with the Detroit automakers, according to the Detroit Free Press.

More than 100 UAW members rallied at the local's Warren headquarters over the lunch hour Thursday, just hours after being told by the company that those salaried designers would be laid off indefinitely.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 10:16 AM to Chrysler , Unions | Permalink | Comments 0

OPEC: No Boost in Oil Output

VIENNA, Austria -- Shrugging off calls to pump more oil, OPEC ministers said Friday that output levels will not be increased out of fear that a softening global economy will translate into weakened demand, according to the Associated Press.

Any decision by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to produce more would have acted as a shot in the arm for countries struggling with weak growth, the fallout from the U.S. subprime crisis and negative economic factors.

"In view of the current situation, coupled with the projected economic slowdown, the conference decided that current production is sufficient to meet ... demand for the first quarter of the year," an OPEC statement read.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 10:13 AM to Crude oil market | Permalink | Comments 0

Oil Prices Extend Decline

Oil prices were slightly lower Friday but showed little reaction to news that OPEC would maintain current output levels, as worries of a possible U.S. recession weighed on crude futures, according to the Associated Press.

Claims for unemployment benefits in the United States jumped by 69,000 last week, the Labor Department said, more than three times what economists expected.

Light, sweet crude for March delivery lost 39 cents to $91.36 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midday in Europe.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 10:08 AM to Crude oil market | Permalink | Comments 0

More auto giants join the Super Bowl ad blitz

This Super Bowl Sunday, look for ads about earth-friendly SUVs, fuel-efficient compacts and German sports cars, joining the fray of talking animals and silly beer commercials, according to the Detroit Free Press.

Automakers and auto-related companies, like tiremaker Bridgestone and cars.com, typically are the second-largest buyer of ad time during the Super Bowl.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 10:01 AM to Sales | Permalink | Comments 0

US Unveils New Child Seat Ratings System

WASHINGTON -- Parents who struggle to install their child safety seats or fasten their toddlers in the back-seat chairs are receiving some new guidance from the government, according to the Associated Press.
The Transportation Department said Wednesday it was revamping a consumer ratings system for child safety seats to help parents and caregivers make the best choice for their kids.

The new approach will use a five-star rating system, based on the seats' ability to secure a child and the ease with which the seats are installed. It will also consider the seats' labeling and instruction manuals.

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

Isuzu to Quit U.S. SUV, Light Truck Sales in 2009

Isuzu Motors, which helped popularize sport-utility vehicles in the 1980s, said it will exit the U.S. consumer auto market next year, the first departure by an Asian brand since 2002, according to Bloomberg News.

Sales of Ascender SUVs and i-series pickup trucks, both supplied by General Motors Corp., will halt at the end of January 2009, Isuzu said today in a statement. U.S. demand for the company's vehicles has fallen 93 percent in eight years.

``There are no forecasts for continuation of the SUV business through introduction of a next-generation vehicle,'' Tokyo-based Isuzu said.

Isuzu's boxy Trooper sparked interest in truck-based SUVs in the late 1980s, helping push its U.S. sales to a peak of 103,629 in 1999. Since then, it's had the industry's steepest decline, selling just 7,098 vehicles last year -- the smallest volume for any Asia-based brand in the U.S.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 9:55 AM to Sales | Permalink | Comments 0

Chicago auto show: Trucks come out early and often

The Chicago auto show has a reputation as a truck show, and it won't give much ground on that this year. General Motors, especially, is rolling out an intriguing array of trucks not seen at the Detroit show last month — or anywhere else, according to USA Today.

Other automakers have a variety of models top show, including sleek coupes and updated sedans. Dodge is unveiling the production version of the Challenger at the show.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 9:50 AM to Shows | Permalink | Comments 0

Ten Luxury Cars Not Sold In The U.S.

You can buy handmade Italian leather shoes or perfectly aged French wine in the United States, but don't waste time looking for certain luxury cars, according to Forbes.com

Among the sets of wheels not available to U.S. buyers are the French-made Peugeot 407 and Citroen 6, and Italian-made Alfa Romeo Brera and Spider, and Lancia Thesis.

The reasons are simple. Many European automakers, such as Peugeot, produce diesel-engine vehicles, which haven't caught on with U.S. car buyers. And some vehicles made in Europe, like the BMW 1 Series hatchback and Mercedes-Benz B Class compact, have yet to stir interest among U.S. luxury car buyers who bypass such small hatchbacks, preferring roomy sedans and coupes.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 11:55 AM to Design | Permalink | Comments 2

Britain's AutoCar spies Rolls-Royce's RR4 prototype

This is one of the first full-bodied prototypes for the car known internally at Rolls-Royce as ‘RR4,' according to British car mag AutoCar. The smaller saloon is due to go on sale in 2010.

Our spies have exposed the new smallest Rolls-Royce in its entirety for the first time.

These shots, snapped recently in Munich, show how faithfully the new car will adopt the Phantom’s design language (reference the car’s thick C-pillar and suicide rear doors).

However, it’s also significantly lower and shorter than a Phantom, has a shorter bonnet, and a much less upright grille, than its bigger sibling.

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

GM Exec: Car Prices Could Jump

DETROIT -- U.S. automobile prices could rise significantly in the near future because of industry restructuring and rising raw material and regulatory costs, General Motors Corp.'s chief financial officer said Tuesday, according to the Associated Press.

Fritz Henderson said the industry has less manufacturing capacity than in the past and therefore less pressure to sell vehicles cheaply just to move inventory.

It also faces higher raw materials costs, rising technology costs and increased costs from fuel economy and other government regulations, he said.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 10:41 AM to GM | Permalink | Comments 0

PBS names "Car Talk" cartoon

PBS has confirmed the title of its first-ever animated sitcom, based on the hit NPR show "Car Talk" starring Tom and Ray Magliozzi.

As the real life animated duo say on their Web site:

"That's right — thanks to the creative brainpower of Car Talk listener Geoff Groff (of Lancaster, Penn.), our new TV show finally can be called something other than, "that animated thing we're working on with PBS."

It's, "Click and Clack's As the Wrench Turns."

Good work, Geoff!

Now, the bad news: For having his suggestion selected, Geoff scored himself a cameo in an upcoming episode of, "Click and Clack's As the Wrench Turns." We figure it's only fair. The infamy that will haunt him for the rest of his days will more than offset the pride and joy he's experiencing right now."

The show, which follows the on and off-air adventures of the dynamic duo in ten 30-minute episodes, will premiere this summer.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 12:02 PM to Fun | Permalink | Comments 0

Vegetable-oil drivers deserve credit

Motorists who modify an old diesel vehicle to run on straight vegetable oil make use of a greasy byproduct of the restaurant industry, reduce demand for petro-fuels and don’t use up materials needed to make a new car, but they get little respect, according to an opinion piece by Jim Kozubek in The Providence Journal.

The Internal Revenue Service gives tax credits to buyers of brand-new hybrid and lean-burning vehicles, but gear-heads who modify their own vehicles to run on straight vegetable oil get no tax credit.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 11:17 AM to Alternative fuels , commentary | Permalink | Comments 0

NYT's Jim Cobb answers auto related questions

My old pal Jim Cobb, automobiles editor at The New York Times, is answering reader questions Jan. 28-Feb. 1 and so far the questions and his answers are very intersesting.

Check them out at Talk to the Newsroom: Automobiles Editor James G. Cobb

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

Chrysler offers buyouts to 13,000 in Detroit area

Chrysler offered buyout and early retirement packages Monday to about 13,000 Detroit-area hourly UAW members as the automaker works to cut its overall hourly workforce by as many as 10,000 people, according to the Detroit Free Press.

Monday's effort aims primarily to reduce workers at support facilities that are seeing the domino effect of recent production cuts at the automaker's assembly plants.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 9:52 AM to Chrysler , Unions | Permalink | Comments 0

Toll Discounts for Going Green

A small but growing number of toll agencies around the world are giving discounts to owners of some alternative-power vehicles, according to the New York Times.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced last November that it would offer a $2 E-ZPass discount to the owners of three hybrid models, following the example of the New York State Thruway Authority, which introduced 10 percent E-ZPass discounts on those cars in 2006.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 11:15 AM to Alternative fuels | Permalink | Comments 0

So Efficient, L.E.D.’s Are Now Fashion Plates, Too

IN recent seasons, a new fashion accessory has become a must-have for the debutants of the auto-show circuit. No automaker introduces a new concept car, it seems, before dressing it up with L.E.D. jewelry, according to the New York Times.

Light-emitting diodes are replacing the car’s trusty glass light bulbs much as compact fluorescents are replacing Edison’s ancient incandescents in home lamp sockets. L.E.D.’s are longer lasting, more compact and consume less electricity.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 11:13 AM to Design | Permalink | Comments 0

White Wins; Silver Fades

WHITE has nudged out silver as the most popular automobile color in North America, ending silver’s seven-year run at the top, according to the New York Times.

The NYT cites DuPont’s annual color survey, released last month, which reports 19 percent of the cars and trucks sold in North America in 2007 were white and 18 percent were silver.

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

Ernie Boch gets surprise 50 year birthday bash

Kristen and Ernie Boch

Car czar Ernie Boch Jr. was toasted, roasted, feted and fawned over by hundreds of pals, cohorts and fans at a rockin’, rollin’ surprise 50th birthday bash at The State Room the other night, according to the Boston Herald.

At the “Backstage” themed blowout, guests grooved to the tunes of Pure Energy Live, mingled around pool tables, lined up for airbrush tattoos and applauded an illusionist, all orchestrated by Pure Energy’s Johnny K.

Of course, the driving force behind the car baron’s bash was his lovely bride, Kristen, who was the hostess with the mostest in a fab white-and-silver strapless gown.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 11:01 AM to Fun | Permalink | Comments 0

Oil Slides on Renewed Recession Worries

NEW YORK -- Oil futures fell below $90 a barrel Monday, extending their recent streak of back and forth trading as recession fears reasserted themselves, according to the Associated Press.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 10:57 AM to Crude oil market | Permalink | Comments 0