Friday, June 15, 2007

2008 Scion Preview

Scion: Then Next Generation By Carey Russ (c) 2007 Scion is a young brand, and that's appropriate as Scion is Toyota's youth-oriented division. It's been remarkably successful since it debuted in California in June, 2003, and spread in a controlled fashion across the country by June of 2004. That success was due, in no ... Continue reading

2007 Volkswagen Eos 3.2L Review

DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD WITH CAREY RUSS DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD WITH CAREY RUSS 2007 Volkswagen Eos 3.2L Sometimes you want a coupe, sometimes you want a convertible. And so, for the past 50 years there have been cars built with folding metal hard tops instead of the traditional cloth or vinyl convertible top. The first fo ... Continue reading

California Takes Action to Increase Use of Ethanol in Gasoline

FRESNO, Calif., June 15 -- The California Air Resources Board (CARB) at their June 14th meeting in Fresno voted on a new reformulation of California gasoline that will allow an increase up to 10 percent of the amount of renewable, clean-burning, low carbon ethanol into California's gasoline blend. Both ethanol and petr ... Continue reading

Kia Motors America Announces New Vice President of Sales

Tom Loveless Joins Kia IRVINE, Calif., June 15 -- Kia Motors America, Inc. (KMA) announced today that Tom Loveless will be joining the company as vice president of sales, effective June 20, 2007. In his new position, Loveless will report to Len Hunt, executive vice president and chief operating officer, who has persona ... Continue reading

Michelin Announces Motorcycle Tire Recall

To date, no accidents or injuries reported GREENVILLE, S.C., June 15 -- Michelin has notified the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and Transport Canada that it is recalling Michelin(R) Pilot(R) Power 2CT and Pilot(R) Power 120/70 ZR 17 (58W) front motorcycle tires with the "Made in France" marking ... Continue reading

1957 Plymouth Belvedere - Rusty but Whole

TULSA, OK June 15, 2007: The 1957 Plymouth Belvedere that was buried underground since June 15, 1957 was finally unearthed today at a ceremony that began at 11:30 a.m. CST. Tulsarama co-chair Sharon King Davis and legendary Tulsan John Erling led the festivities, which highlighted those individuals in attendance that p ... Continue reading

ALMS (LE MANS) - ACO MANDATES CLOSED-TOP PROTOTYPES IN LMP1 FOR 2010

Scott Atherton: Thursday annoucement "is another significant advancement in the overall value and ROI represented by the American Le Mans Series." The Automobile Club de l'Ouest, the organizing body of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, introduced future regulations Thursday that will transform the LMP1 class from 2010 onward. T ... Continue reading

TEAM REPORTS (LE MANS) - Pole position for Peugeot-Michelin car N°8...

Last night 53 cars took part in the second qualifying session of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The coveted pole position remained with Peugeot Michelin car N°8 driven by Stéphane Sarrazin. The French driver took home the fastest time on his last lap at two past midnight on Wednesday. No other competitor was able to improv ... Continue reading

IIHS: Good News About Teenage Drivers - Fatal Crashes Decline

Arlington Va. June 2007; The IIHS Status report shows teen drivers' crash rates have declined sharply since 1996. A new study from the Institute shows continued progress in reducing fatal and nonfatal crashes per population of 16-year-old drivers, and these gains haven’t been offset by higher crash rates among old ... Continue reading

GRAND AM (COLUMBUS) - Mark Martin & Southard Motorsports Prep For Iowa

NASCAR driver Mark Martin will make his Daytona Prototype debut in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Special Reserve in the Friday, July 13th race under the lights at Iowa Speedway. The 1.3 mile track located in Newton, Iowa is designed by former NASCAR Champion and ABC/ESPN sports commentat ... Continue reading

INDYCAR (INDIANAPOLIS) - SERIES NOTES

1. Carpenter penalized for improper comment at Texas<P> 2. Firestone to serve as presenting sponsor of Detroit Indy Grand Prix<P> 3. Helio Castroneves, photographer<P> <P> 1. Carpenter penalized for improper comment at Texas: IndyCar Series officials have fined driver Ed Carpenter for violating Rule 8-3-A of the IndyCa ... Continue reading

TEAM REPORTS (BROOKLYN) - CGRFS ASKS FANS TO Drive for Design

Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates (CGRFS) is inviting NASCAR fans to turn their ideas into reality with the “Drive For Design Contest.” This new and innovative competition is encouraging motorsports enthusiasts to create their own unique fan gear, from which one talented winner’s creation will be pr ... Continue reading

Ultra Super Cars More Super Than Their Ultra Rich Drivers

Washington DC June 15, 2007; The AIADA newsletter reported that auto makers are turning out a new breed of supremely fast sports cars (click here for a list) that sell for upwards of $250,000 and share many characteristics of purebred racecars. Unfortunately, a growing number are ending up wrapped around trees. The Cal ... Continue reading

FSBO: Jaguar; Land Rover - Luxury Brand Autos on the Block

Washington DC June 15, 2007; The AIADA newsletter reported that CNN reports that recently, fabled car brands are going on sale like grapefruits in a grocery store. First Chrysler went on the block with its Dodge, Chrysler and Jeep lines and was whisked away at a bargain price by Cerberus Capital Management. Now, after ... Continue reading

Toyota, Isuzu Consider Diesel Partnership

Washington DC June 15, 2007; The AIADA newsletter reported that Toyota Motor Corp. has announced it's in talks with Japanese partner Isuzu on developing diesel engines, but no details have been decided. The Nikkei reported in its Friday's editions that Toyota, Japan's top automaker, will outsource diesel engine product ... Continue reading

AIADA Supports New Proposal for CAFE Increase

After months of wrangling, Congress has produced a fuel economy bill that AIADA believes the Auto Industry cannot only live with, but flourish under. Click here for a transcript of yesterday's press conference where the Pryor-Bond-Levin amendment was unveiled. This amendment raises fuel economy standards by more than 3 ... Continue reading

Volvo Decides on Investments in Production of Engines and Gearboxes

STOCKHOLM, Sweden--AB Volvo’s Board of Directors has decided to invest slightly more than 1.7 billion in Volvo Powertrain. The investment will result in manufacturing capacity for heavy diesel engines increasing by 20 percent and capacity for heavy gearboxes increasing by 50 percent. As a result of increased deman ... Continue reading

Nissan Announces All-New Clipper Rio One-Box Mini-Wagon and Wheelchair Model

- Nissan also Releases Personal Chair Cab Model - TOKYO (June 14, 2007) -- Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. today announced the release of the all-new Clipper Rio one-box mini-wagon, which goes on sale today at Nissan dealers across Japan. The Clipper Rio is available in a wide range of model variations to meet diverse customer ... Continue reading

New Bentley Brooklands Coupe Celebrates Circuit's Centenary

Crewe, 15th June 2007 … This week, as the Brooklands track celebrates its centenary, the most famous of the vintage Bentley racing cars are reunited at the circuit for the first time in the company of the very latest Bentley Brooklands coupe. Bentley’s proud sporting pedigree, forged by the exploits of the im ... Continue reading

TEAM REPORTS (INDIANAPOLIS) - KINETIC MOTORSPORTS HEADS TO INDY FOR HISTORIC IMSA CUP EVENT

IMSA GT3 Cup Competitors Will Share the Same Venue As F1 for the First Time in History Buford, Ga. - Kinetic Motorsports and the IMSA GT3 Cup presented by Michelin will make history this weekend racing at the hallowed Brickyard for the first time. Not only will the Porsche based series compete at one of the world's bes ... Continue reading

Full Size Diesel Pick-up From Nissan Coming to US

TOKYO, June 15, 2007; Reuters reported that Nissan Motor Co. is preparing a diesel-powered version of its Titan full-sized pickup truck by 2009 for the United States, with engines built by local truck and engine maker Navistar International Corp., industrial daily Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun reported on FridayJapan's third-bi ... Continue reading

Beverly Hills and West Hollywood in Partnership to Launch New Innovative FlexPay Parking Meters

WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif.--The Cities of Beverly Hills and West Hollywood, two of the most innovative cities in the country, have joined in partnership to kick-off the new FlexPay Parking Meters at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, June 19, 2007 at the Beverly Gardens Park located on the north corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and Dohen ... Continue reading

Toyota to delay launch of next Prius hybrid

TOKYO, June 15, 2007; Reuters rweported that Toyota Motor Corp. has decided to postpone the launch of the third-generation Prius hybrid model by half a year to the spring of 2009, industrial daily Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun said on Friday. The world's biggest automaker has not officially announced the timing of the launch, b ... Continue reading

50 Years Later, City of Tulsa to Unveil 1957 Plymouth Belvedere

- Time capsule with revolutionary car to be opened June 15 as Tulsa celebrates centennial of Oklahoma statehood - Car with design 'three full years ahead' was product of famed Chrysler design team - Big-finned '57s thrust Chrysler into styling leadership TULSA, Okla., June 14 -- "Suddenly it's 1960!" That's what the ma ... Continue reading