23rd
March
2008
Good news! The April issue of Ethanol Producer Monthly (EPM) is already online! Actually, if Sarah Smith’s article “Ethanol’s Excedrin Headache: Where Have All the Good Sites Gone?” is anything to go by, the news isn’t that great for the mag’s target market. EPM has identified organized ethanol plant protests in 14 states. “Rural communities that once heralded the arrival of an ethanol plant are now thumbing their noses at them.” Before listing litigation from California to Wisconsin, Smith gives ethanol boosters a quick course in how not to win friends and influence people. “Plaintiffs swap strategies over the Internet, trade petition forms, success stories, failures, even going so far as to design T-shirts and coin the perfect acronym for their groups. Their reasons for filing causes of action are as myriad as the ethanol technology itself: not in my back yard, zoning board decisions, economic benefit, industry distrust, environmental concerns and water use issues. The view from the third tee box, listed in one cause of action, illustrates the lengths plaintiffs will go to halt a project in its tracks. After all, golf is life, isn’t it?”
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23rd
March
2008
I’m on the M4 and nothing is moving. Nothing has been moving for a long time now and the bile is rising. Thoughts turn from the present gridlock to a more general sense of stagnation, a creeping belief that something is rotten at the heart of the nation.
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23rd
March
2008
Just posted a reflective piece on BMW and now it’s time to go out of the door. I’m going to Jeff Daniels’ funeral at Mortlake crematorium (London) today. Sad event, but I wanted to take time out to pay my respects to Jeff. And a good turnout from people who worked with him sends a positive message to his family that he was very much respected and liked by colleagues.
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23rd
March
2008
Via
Barbados Advocate
The re-introduction of Flexitime hosted by the Public Sector Reform in collaboration with the National Union of Public Workers during day one of a two-day seminar, sought to encourage the adaptation of variable work schedules to ultimately monitor employees time and productivity.
Mr. Michael Archer, Director in the office of Public Sector Reform disclosed that his office is still making attempts to promote a culture of punctuality, and encouraged the government offices and private sector contingent to practice a culture of timeliness in there organisations
Complete Article
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23rd
March
2008
Submitted by Michael H. Epstein
Like many of my friends, I lust over the first car I ever owned. In 1970, when I turned 16, I didn’t get my dream car because my parents thought it to be unsafe. I lusted for a 1970 GTO Judge convertible, but instead I received a 1970 Grand Prix (albeit a 455-cubic-inch 4-barrel).
Even with the 455, I thought it was an old man’s car. But now, as I tentatively approach middle age, with my son constantly reminding me what an old man I am, I longed for another flawless optioned-out 1970 Grand Prix.
I searched for two years until I found the right one–a one-owner 39,000-mile 1970 Grand Prix SJ, loaded with rare options including real leather, power everything, and even a wood sport steering wheel. Its one owner was 78, so maybe it actually is an old man’s car!
Right now I’m restoring it, and I’m anxious for it to be finished. It’s due to be finished in about a month. It will stand among my small collection of German and English marques. The pictures here are of the car before the restoration.
Will I drive it? Not much–our 1994 Morgan has 2,200 miles on it. But it will be fun to look at and remind me of my long-lost youth. During that youth, I put 29,000 
miles on my first Grand Prix in the first year until I upgraded to a 1971 Corvette. I remember my father asking, “How the hell can you spend $150 a month on gas?” This, by the way, was when gas was about $0.38 a gallon.
I’m going to cherish this car.
–Michael H. Epstein
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23rd
March
2008
CRAIOVA, Romania — Ford on Friday officially took control of Automobile Craiova, the former Daewoo operation here, for a token payment of $80 million and a promise to invest more than $1 billion. Ford executives said the factory will assemble the Transit Connect in 2009 and a new small car in 2010.
Ford plans to boost the plant’s annual production capacity to 300,000 units and double employment to 7,000. In 2006, Daewoo built only 24,000 vehicles there.
John Fleming, president and CEO of Ford of Europe, said the Transit Connect, a compact commercial delivery vehicle, will go into production in Craiova in mid-2009. The vehicle currently is built only in Turkey, but Ford’s assembly operation there is at full capacity. Earlier this year, Ford announced plans to begin marketing the Transit Connect in the U.S. in summer 2009.
Fleming said a second model — a small car other than the new Fiesta — will go into the Craiova plant in 2010 and will be sold across Europe.
Ford will continue building a handful of Daewoo vehicles through the end of 2008, before converting the factory to build the Transit Connect.
What this means to you: American buyers of the Ford Transit Connect may wind up getting a vehicle that’s built in Romania rather than Turkey. — Paul Lienert, Correspondent
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23rd
March
2008
Base Price: 2008 Mitsubishi Concept-RA Concept - n.a. (last update: 1/14/2008)
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23rd
March
2008
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03.04.08
Honda Becomes Official Vehicle of PGA National Resort & Spa
Home of the Honda Classic to feature Honda automobiles year-round
American Honda Motor Co., Inc., and PGA National Resort & Spa have entered into a three-year agreement naming Honda as the official vehicle of PGA National Resort & Spa, the companies announced today. Building upon a relationship started in 2007 with the hosting of the Honda Classic golf tournament, the resort will now feature Honda vehicles on display, as shuttle vehicles, for limited test-drives, and even as a perk of staying in the newly designated Honda Suite.
“Golf is a favorite pastime of many Honda owners, and the Honda Classic has become a highly anticipated stop on the PGA Tour,” said Dick Colliver, executive vice president of sales for American Honda. “Bringing Honda vehicles to PGA National Resort & Spa full-time offers the perfect opportunity to build upon Honda’s already great golfing legacy.”
The three-year agreement with PGA National Resort & Spa includes provisions for on-site displays of Honda vehicles, consumer-based promotions associated with Honda, advertising on in-room TV channels and renaming of select resort venues. This includes the new outdoor pavilion (now called the “Honda Pavilion”) which overlooks the 18th hole of the Championship Course.
Boasting a new multi-million dollar renovation, world-class European spa, five championship golf courses, seven spectacular restaurants and lounges and a wide array of meeting and event facilities, PGA National Resort & Spa is home to the Honda Classic golf tournament. It’s a retreat that provides leisure and business travelers with experiences both exciting and memorable.
For more information and downloadable high-resolution images of Honda vehicles, please visit www.hondanews.com. Consumer information is available at www.honda.com. For more information about PGA National Resort & Spa, please visit www.pgaresort.com.
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23rd
March
2008
Cars.com’s resident Suburban Dad, Patrick Olsen, takes a look at Volvo’s new SUV, the XC60. It competes with the BMW X3 and Land Rover LR2 but is remarkably large for what’s considered a compact segment. Patrick shows off the cargo area and rear seat room, as well as the fancy interior duds.
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23rd
March
2008
You’d be brave to accuse the locally made Ford Falcon and Holden Commodore of being overpriced.
After all, you get a lot of car for the money, and these days Commodores and Falcons deliver when it comes to the driving experience and list of standard equipment.
But after spending a week in a Pontiac G8 – a rebadged, mildly restyled version of the Holden Commodore SS – it’s clear Americans are getting an absolute bargain.
The V8-powered Pontiac G8 GT sells from US$29,310, or about $32,000.
In Australia the Commodore SS sells from $45,290 and, for now, it doesn’t get things like the cylinder cutout system – which can reduce the V8 to a four-cylinder when cruising. Holden will start fitting the system locally from the end of this year. The Pontiac also comes standard with the six-speed auto transmission that adds another $2000 to the price of a Commodore SS.
So even after the Commodore – badged as a Pontiac G8 – is shipped overseas it still works out to be more than $10,000 cheaper than a Commodore. And that’s after it’s made the almighty trek to the US.
Sure, there are different taxes and different market dynamics. But it’s fair to assume Holden is still making a profit on the G8, which begs the question of why we pay so much for what is essentially the same vehicles. Little wonder here at Drive we’re getting questions asking the same thing.
A Holden spokesman says it’s misleading to simply conduct comparisons using current exchange rates, because rates can fluctuate so much and decisions on pricing and positioning are usually conducted a long way out and take into account the life of the vehicle.
“They’ve (Pontiac) set the price of their car relative to the price of their market,” says the spokesman. “We set our price relative to our market.”
Still, you can’t help wonder if Australians are subsidising sending affordable Pontiacs to the US.
What do you think? Are we paying too much for our Commodores? And are we getting ripped off?
Or are the Americans paying too little?
Toby Hagon
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Good news! The April issue of Ethanol Producer Monthly (EPM) is already online! Actually, if Sarah Smith’s article “Ethanol’s Excedrin Headache: Where Have All the Good Sites Gone?” is anything to go by, the news isn’t that great for the mag’s target market. EPM has identified organized ethanol plant protests in 14 states. “Rural communities that once heralded the arrival of an ethanol plant are now thumbing their noses at them.” Before listing litigation from California to Wisconsin, Smith gives ethanol boosters a quick course in how not to win friends and influence people. “Plaintiffs swap strategies over the Internet, trade petition forms, success stories, failures, even going so far as to design T-shirts and coin the perfect acronym for their groups. Their reasons for filing causes of action are as myriad as the ethanol technology itself: not in my back yard, zoning board decisions, economic benefit, industry distrust, environmental concerns and water use issues. The view from the third tee box, listed in one cause of action, illustrates the lengths plaintiffs will go to halt a project in its tracks. After all, golf is life, isn’t it?”
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