Car News Articles

The disguise continues to fall off the next Mercedes E-class, and it’s plain to see that it won’t shock anyone – even in this musclebound AMG spec. Not for Merc the surprise and radical change that heralded the E60 BMW 5-series.

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Some Indianapolis 500 hopefuls will have to wait until May 17 to earn a spot in the 33-car field. Rain washed out the second day of qualifying at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday. Spots 1-11 were filled on Saturday and spots 12-33 will be determined on May 17, with Bump Day scheduled for May 18. The 92nd Indy 500 will run on May 25. Read more here.

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While doing a little research on female racecar drivers, I came across a few articles about a woman named Laleh Seddigh. Read any of these articles, and your idea of the “hostile” environs that female racecar drivers face in the U.S. will be turned on its head. You see, Ms. Seddigh races cars in Iran. And she wins, too.

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Justin’s got a job. A real job. Of course, TTAC’s Managing Editor and myself excepted, everyone who writes for this website’s got a real job. But props to Justin for landing a government gig. The position will pay-off his student loans, put a roof over his head, keep him off the streets and give him an opportunity to be glad-handed by President Bush. Although I fully expect this work to lead to a world-class whistle-blower moment (and, thus, a six-figure movie deal), I’m glad my tax dollars will soon be supporting Justin in the lifestyle to which his girlfriend is accustomed. Justin’s a tireless worker with a sardonic sense of humor (regular listeners and readers will know that already). He’ll be relocating to LA, and continuing to contribute news, reviews and blog items to this website on a need-to-know basis. Of course, the podcasting will have to cease (which is ironic, considering his Question of the Day). I’ll be auditioning contributors for a suitable replacement. But Justin will be missed.

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Apparently there are those that would disagree with you. The Local (in Sweden) is reporting that Claes Tingvall, a car safety specialist, told the newspaper Expressen that GM used human cadavers in a multi-year research project (imagine the smell) to test the safety of their vehicles, possibly on the Saab side of the house. In the ultimate gesture of brand devotion, all ah… participants… allegedly donated their bodies to the cause (no word on if any of them met an untimely end whilst in a GM vehicle). GM and Saab are refusing to acknowledge any tests using their most loyal customers… er, dead human bodies. I’ve heard of “Cradle-to-Grave” strategies, but does GM build a car that even a dead person could drive? I think Lexus has one. Anyway, the whole thing sounds fishy. Dead men tell no tales, and while you can dissect and glean facts from trauma, there’s a reason why crash test dummies are so expensive. They’re specially designed to measure stresses and forces from the inside in a quantifiable way, which is more useful than a “He’s dead, Jim,” from an autopsy tech. I like cars,but I guess I’d rather donate my body to real science, not to a bunch of yokels in lab coats that are going to strap me into (God forbid) a G5 and run it repeatedly into walls to test the effects of excrement-based interior materials on human flesh. 

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After the Chevy Volt makes its U.S. debut, GM plans to sell the  gas - electric hybrid worldwide. GM Car Czar Maximum Bob Lutz has already announced Australian Volt sales will begin “one or two years” after the car’s U.S. launch. GM also has their corporate eye on the “very important” European market. But just as the rest of the U.S. will have to wait for California to get their Volts, the rest of the world will have to wait for China. Rick Wagoner says his employer’s targeting The People’s Republic as the Volt’s second market– with one big “if.” According to Reuters, GM is “lobbying China’s government to provide subsidies for the development and sale” of alternative powerplants. Wagner wants China to provide tax credits and (while they’re at it) develop a hydrogen refueling infrastructure for fuel cell vehicles. Of course, much of GM’s credibility in such matters (and everything else) depends on a successful Volt launch in 2010, which Rabid Rick admitted is running “down to the wire.” God forbid they should release a not-ready-for-prime-time vehicle just to make the deadline…

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On April 1st, 2008 significant modifications to road safety regulations in the Canadian provinces of Québec and Nova Scotia went into effect. CTV.ca reports that handheld cellular phones are now verboten while at the wheel, though hands free devices are still tolerated. Nova Scotia will begin ticketing the offense immediately, while Québec has allowed for a three-month grace periods in which offenders will only receive stern warnings and moralizing sermons. The first offense in Nova Scotia will cost $165, while costing $80-$110 and three demerit points in Québec. Still not satisfied, road safety advocate Jean-Marie de Koeninck argues that “[h]ands-free is just as dangerous. (But) by forbidding the hand-held it does send a signal that there is a problem with the cellphone, there’s a problem with concentration”. Meanwhile, the same traffic safety bill in Québec also doubled all speeding fines , with new suspension of license provisions for those caught traveling at 40 km/h over the limit in under-60 zones, 50 km/h in 60-90 over zones, and 60 km/h over in 100+ zones. All in the name of safety, presumably.

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A while ago, James Fallows at the Atlantic Monthly asked readers to submit suggestions for “the stupidest policy ever.” He rigged the deck by taking The Gulf of Tonkin resolution off the table, but the winner, by a landslide, is the blind support our “independent” politicians gave to the bio-ethanol scam. (And you’re the victim.) The mag gave two of the winner’s proponents, Justin Cohen and his father Reuben, special mention for their comprehensive summation of all that’s wrong with bio-ethanol. “I think bi-partisan support for ethanol is more stupid [than the McCain-Clinton ‘gas tax holiday’ plan], because it’s actually harmful and because it not only panders to the public… worse it panders to a special interest group (Midwest farmers and their regional politicians). It’s harmful because: 1) it helped to catalyze higher levels of food inflation, 2) it consumes as much energy to make and distribute as it provides, 3) it deflects attention from developing/trying sound policies to enhance our energy security, 4) it didn’t allow for removal of taxes on the import of truly energy efficient ethanol produced in Brazil from sugar, and 5) it’s a such an extreme example of government dysfunctionality it causes people like me to become truly disillusioned with the political process.”

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This week I have been driving around in a press fleet Cadillac BLS 1.9 CDTI Wagon. I wanted it to coincide with the interview I did with Jonathan Nash (below link). It’s a pretty good piece of kit - the 1.9 litre diesel engine is turbocharged, there’s plenty of load space, nice interior finish, subtle but definitely not bland styling (the Cadillac ‘origami edges’ figure). And the handling is sharp on what is a fairly sizeable car. No complaints and an easy car to live with. Comments in the office on the styling were pretty favourable, too - plenty thought it resembled a Saab (BLS is also made in Trollhattan).

In short, it deserves a fair hearing amongst its mainly German peers here in Europe. But will it get one or more accurately, will there be enough customers who are attracted to the idea of a Cadillac badge on their status symbol? ‘Do different’ might make an appropriate brand tagline. One thing though - I certainly don’t think Cadillac will be emphasing Teutonic-like peer values, as per Citroen C5. This is an American brand and there’s a project ahead on communicating or maybe even reinterpreting Cadillac values for Europeans. But hang on, it’s built in Sweden…but there again Saabs will be built in Germany with the next 9-5, BMWs are built in the US etc. Place of final assembly is perhaps less important if other associated brand values are very strong. It’s a question of balance.

Just realised re Jonathan Nash. We are a similar age, but he’s ginger and has a good hair spread that has a lot less charcoal grey than me. Fair play: ginger upside. And, also, he sounds a wee bit like Chris Evans, too (listen to the embedded audio file on the below link…). Wait a minute, he actually looks like Chris Evans! Someone needs to ask him what he’s doing in the Radio 2 drivetime slot.  

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