8th
June
2008
Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) union officials are meeting with “top GM officials” about closing the Oshawa, Ontario truck plant. After CEO Rick Wagoner’s announcement that The General’s terminating Oshawa production– along with three other plants– workers blockaded GM headquarters. The Detroit News reports CAW president Buzz Hargrove supports the blockade. Hell, he won’t “rule out” the possibility of a strike. Buzz says the Wagoner’s announcement was “an insult” as it’s been just two weeks since the company promised workers the plant would be open at least until 2011 (what happened to 2010?). GM spokesman Stew Low says the protest is “understandable.” I’m sure that really made the workers who are losing their jobs feel better. Maybe next, GM will offer them a spot of tea to go with that sympathy. But don’t count on GM changing their plans to ship work from that plant to cheaper ones in the U.S. and Mexico.
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8th
June
2008
Then, towards the end of the week, Jezza told some socialist hippies at a book festival in a field that he’d driven at 186 mph through the Limehouse Link.
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posted in Car News Articles |
8th
June
2008
You’d think that with gas prices where they are there would be rich pickings in the US for Toyota with the Prius. But apparently not - sales of the Prius in the US were off 40% in May - yes, 40% down! There’s a problem with getting sufficient battery supply, Toyota says.
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posted in Car News Articles |
8th
June
2008
Via
Pakistan Daily Times
ISLAMABAD: If the government wants to be competitive in international market, it had to enhance the efficiency and productivity of all sectors of the economy, Minister for Industries and Production, Mian Manzoor Ahmed Wattoo said.
Complete Article
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posted in Car News Articles |
8th
June
2008
Yes, it’s time to celebrate the weird and wonderful Nissan Pulsar–available in the United States in two different generations, both of which were strange enough to be completely endearing. Strange–and somehow reminiscent of Lego creations.
The first-gen American Pulsar was a pretty conventional and slow coupe, remarkable mostly for its weird, blocky styling. That’s the version in the first photo here (courtesy of Flickr user aperture_lag). It had Nissan’s economy car hardware, so its speed didn’t live up to whatever strange promises its unorthodox styling promised, but at least it looked interesting. I have an aunt who owned a Dodge Daytona Turbo Z and, later, one of these Pulsars; needless to say, she has great automotive tastes.
But the next Pulsar is where things really got weird. The next-generation car looked a little more conventional, with a more normal roofline and a Toyota Corolla GT-S-like wedgy front end and hidden headlights. There were still a few quirks, though; for example, the oddly striped taillight covers, which presaged an unfortunate aftermarket trend and looked as if a teenager had constructed them in a garage with a router and a sheet of fiberglass.
The Pulsar’s real claim to fame, though, was its modular body, which was an incredibly cool idea that somehow failed to translate.
This is what I loved about the 1980s–you could buy a Nissan economy car with wedgy performance car styling, uniquely 1980s striped taillights, and … removable, modular rear body sections! Now, with about an hour of backbreaking work, you could convert your Pulsar from a conventional coupe to a “Sportbak” quasi-wagon. Was the car actually more useful as a result? Umm … we’ll have to get back to you on that, and the additional modular rear ends came only in gray, adding to the Lego effect. I can’t imagine they sealed particularly well, either.
Most Car Lusts tempt me as used cars; I hear their siren calls from the used-car listings, and I have to fight hard to resist the urge. Not so Pulsars–I like them, I appreciate them, but more as a historical artifact than as a car I’d like to drive.
The commercial below isn’t one of the greats, but there are two things I like about it–the contemplative piano music, and the dramatic unfurling of the hidden headlights. Dramatically opening the hidden headlights was one of the great artistic flourishes of the 1980s.
The conventional white Pulsar NX belongs to Flickr user emperor_tyrant, and the silver Sportback Pulsar picture was taken by Flickr user sportsracer-5.
–Chris H.
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8th
June
2008
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Why choose a Specialist over a Generalist? Independent over Dealer?
As a specialist we know your car better, especially when it comes to the right way to make economical repairs that a general repair shop wouldn’t know about or a Subaru dealer would never consider. Sometimes a vehicle will develop a pattern failure and a real solution needs to be found or a more economical repair procedure can be had.
Through the years we have found solutions to replacing expensive parts by making repairs to existing components rather than just blindly install new ones. We have been able to become very good at repairs and service work by specializing in Subaru and we try to share this experience with our customer with lower labor prices.
We know what parts we can use on your Subaru without sacrificing longevity. Most automakers have become pure design and assemble companies leaving the parts manufacture to other companies. These auto parts companies are free to sell the same parts in aftermarket channels with out the Subaru logo. While in some cases in only makes sense to stick with Subaru parts especially when it comes to slower moving items that may have not been introduced in the aftermarket by the companies that originally made the parts for Subaru. There is also a good chance that the exact replacement part can be found at a 20% savings if you know how to look (we do).
From top to bottom we really know your Subaru well and want to help you get as many trouble free miles out of it as possible. We have seen these cars go well over 300k and I am the owner of a 1992 Legacy with 292k and counting. We take pride in servicing cars with higher miles and often have suggestions to help keep them going. Even though your Subaru may be getting up there in miles don’t discount just how long they will run.
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8th
June
2008
TURIN, Italy — Fiat’s new Phylla minicar concept was developed by Centro Ricerche Fiat to display the Italian automaker’s latest green-car technologies. The experimental urban electric vehicle is powered by a hydrogen fuel cell and comes equipped with photovoltaic solar cells.
Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne revealed that this electric concept is the forerunner to Fiat’s new Topolino minicar family, and one of the vehicles will be an all-electric vehicle based on this fun-sized Phylla. The goal of the Phylla project was to create an urban car that costs 10 times less to drive than a conventional gasoline-powered vehicle.
The split-frame vehicle is made of a mix of aluminum and bioplastics. The Phylla name, which means “leaf” in ancient Greek, seems appropriate: The car is fully recyclable and solar-capable and can do just about everything with sunlight except create photosynthesis.
The design uses modern styling cues while still allowing room for the innovative features that define the vehicle. An asymmetrical layout offers great visibility to the driver and gives off a different visual impression depending on the onlooker’s point of view.
Fiat’s Phylla is equipped with 15-inch rims wrapped in green-colored tires and ambles to 30 mph in less than 6.0 seconds. Its peak output is 72 horsepower, and the vehicle can get up to speeds as high as 81 mph.
Although there is speculation that the Fiat 500 might find its way to the States by 2010, there are no plans to bring the Phylla to the U.S. anytime soon.
This electric minicar should be priced at around the cost of the other Topolino variants, which start at $19,500.
What this means to you: Fiat responds to the latest fuel-price crunch with the all-electric, solar-powered Phylla. — Mike Lysaght, Correspondent
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8th
June
2008
Maximum output of the 911 Carrera with its 3.6-litre power unit is up by 20 bhp to 345 bhp (254 kW). Output on the 911 Carrera S with its 3.8-litre power unit is equally impressive, up by 30 bhp to 385 bhp (283 kW). With this extra power, the Carrera S Coupé now offers a top speed of slightly over 300 km/h or 186 mph.
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8th
June
2008
Meet the 2009 Jaguar XF-R. If you’re looking at the rear of the XF-R, you’ll be following a subtle lip spoiler on the bootlid, chunky quad pipes and we’d guess lurking under that white plastic disguise is a discrete diffuser. There is also a new design of alloy wheel reserved just for R models. Even standard cars can be specced with 20-inch wheels, so big rims are a must for the XF-R.
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8th
June
2008
Courtney Messenbaugh recently took a vacation in Los Cabos, Mexico with her family. Aside from soaking in the weather, scenery, and local flavor, her young son managed to develop his first crush and Courtney noticed a peculiar habit of Mexican drivers: They overuse the hazard lights. Everywhere she went, Courtney faced down vehicle after vehicle blinking its warning, even when no particular hazard was apparent.
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Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) union officials are meeting with “top GM officials” about closing the Oshawa, Ontario truck plant. After CEO Rick Wagoner’s announcement that The General’s terminating Oshawa production– along with three other plants– workers blockaded GM headquarters. The Detroit News reports CAW president Buzz Hargrove supports the blockade. Hell, he won’t “rule out” the possibility of a strike. Buzz says the Wagoner’s announcement was “an insult” as it’s been just two weeks since the company promised workers the plant would be open at least until 2011 (what happened to 2010?). GM spokesman Stew Low says the protest is “understandable.” I’m sure that really made the workers who are losing their jobs feel better. Maybe next, GM will offer them a spot of tea to go with that sympathy. But don’t count on GM changing their plans to ship work from that plant to cheaper ones in the U.S. and Mexico.
