Blog Category Results

Like we need another place to have our money disappear for no good reason. At the pumps, it's virtually impossible to find non-ethanol laced gasoline. The "up to 10%" blend has reduced the mileage on my vehicles a solid 10% for the two years I've been forced to use it...

Be sure to check out the feature article on Inside Line by Carlos Ghosn of Renault-Nissan, Electric Cars Now, Not Tomorrow Electric vehicles are not new to our industry. Manufacturers were offering battery-powered cars 100 years ago. But due to constraints on range, affordability and the supporting infrastructure, battery-powered cars were never mass-marketed and the internal combustion engine became the standard...

From freep.com - At the Los Angeles Auto Show Dec. 2, General Motors will announce the initial retail markets where the electric-drive Chevrolet Volt will be sold, the company said Tuesday. I'm still not sure how a car that's not going to make Dollar One in profit is going to turn GM around and get me my $165 back (roughly the amount spent on the bailout for every man, woman, and child in the US) The markets will no doubt be picked to maximize sales and buzz, but the car is going to have to stand or fall on it's own merits and not the hype.

AR Index     663.56  +28.25  (+4.45%) Stocks of individual interest Toyota  80.20  +1.08 GM        0.64    +0.06 Ford      8.71    +0.53 Dow 10406.96  +180.02   (+1.76%) Lots of green this week as everything is up and the news seems good. Somehow they're even calling a $1.2 billion loss at GM in less than a quarter a positive sign. (I'll believe we're getting our money back when I see it) The only place I'm seeing red, and it's a good red, is that prices at the pump eased again as the speculators were unable to have their way, although as the three recent bumps in the graph show, that have been trying!

"I'm not sure he's wrong about automobiles," Eugene said. "With all their speed forward they may be a step backward in civilization -- that is, in spiritual civilization. It may be that they will not add to the beauty of the world, nor to the life of men's souls...

From The Independent World The Dutch government is to become the first country in Europe to introduce a green tax to replace annual road tax on cars. Drivers will have to pay per kilometer driven in a bid to end chronic traffic jams and cut carbon emissions. The system, which will use Global Positioning Systems (GPS) to monitor cars, could be used as a test case for other countries weighing options for easing crowded roads...

Dear Dub, Did you see the new 15 Series tires that were displayed at SEMA? I bet you're going to have fun changing them! Bob Holland The only ones that are going to have fun with those are the wheel companies who will get to sell more wheels...

As reported on Inside Line, the Detroit Auto Show is going to have a feature area for electric vehicles named Electric Avenue. I suppose the manufacurers are hoping to amp up interest in the auto show with a battery of EV's ( they haven't named the vehicles that will be displayed yet). I imagine it's going to be a high voltage display that will overload your senses, although I'm not expecting to be transformed into an EV enthusiast by the sparks...

General Motors Co. has decided to produce the Cadillac Converj, an extended-range electric car using the same technology as the Chevrolet Volt, The Detroit News has learned. I guess it's the natural followup to the wild success and overwhelmingly positive reaction that the public has had to the Volt...

AR Index     635.31  +27.34  (+4.50%) Stocks of individual interest Toyota  79.12  +0.00 GM        0.58    +0.03 Ford      8.18   +0.60 Dow 10226.94  +437.50   (+4.47%) I'm still slightly amazed that Ford really has been the driving force in the AR Index right from when I started to record things back in April 2008. There were many things I half-expected to see once enough data was recorded, but this really wasn't one of them. I suppose the next big test for Ford will be whether they can weather the hissy fit the UAW just threw when they rejected the contract changes.