by Ken Zino | Jun 2, 2010
Dealers for the four remaining brands at General Motors – Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC – sold more than 222,000 vehicles in May, up 32% from the year earlier when GM was bankrupt. Retail retail sales were up 11%. This is the fifth consecutive month of...
by Ken Zino | Jun 2, 2010
The problem with all-season tires is just that. By trying to come up with rubber compounds and tread designs that work year round, engineers trade off such things as maximum traction on dry pavement, or noise generated by the tread, or the best grip in snow. Moreover,...
by Ken Zino | Jun 2, 2010
A study of accident data from 250 stretches of U.S. Interstate highways shows that Florida, California, New Jersey, Louisiana, Illinois, Massachusetts, Delaware and Tennessee are the top ten states when it comes to fatal crashes on our aging interstate highway system....
by Ken Zino | Jun 1, 2010
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is warning owners of 2010 Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan vehicles not to place any unsecured floor mats on top of the standard, carpeted floor mat in the driver’s side footwell. A stuck gas pedal can result...
by Ken Zino | Jun 1, 2010
Starting with the next race at Windsor, Canada, on 6 June, Volkswagen will be providing support to the increasingly popular Red Bull air races as a global sponsor. It is an extension of the marketing cooperation that VW and Red Bull have done since 2004 when the logo...
by Ken Zino | Jun 1, 2010
The largest oil spill in U.S. history is creating the obvious need for the rebranding of BP so that when it inevitably uses bankruptcy to escape its still growing multi-billion dollar liabilities, the new, clean corporation can remove itself as much as possible from...
by Ken Zino | Jun 1, 2010
The 1964 Aston Martin DB5 James Bond car will be auctioned this fall at the Battersea Evolution in London on 27 October. What is arguably the world’s most famous movie prop is expected to bring in excess of $5 million, according to RM Auctions, which is handling the...
by Ken Zino | Jun 1, 2010
The ongoing after effects of Toyota’s cover-up and delay in recalling millions of vehicles for unintended acceleration continue to have broader industry-wide implications. In the latest instance, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration overruled General...
by Ken Zino | May 28, 2010
The herd mentality of the media is in full view during this week’s feeding frenzy and rampant speculation over the impending demise of the Mercury brand. Such a move, if it is presented to and approved by Ford Motor Company’s board of directors at its next meeting,...
by Ken Zino | May 28, 2010
Volkswagen is the first automaker to develop a digital customer magazine as an app for the Apple iPad. The “innovative” digital product – dubbed DAS for Digital Automotive Space – is appearing as the launch of the new Apple tablet computer proceeds across...
by Ken Zino | May 28, 2010
BMW is using a 635d model, d for diesel, to demonstrate that electronic noise cancellation can be used instead of heavier materials to decrease the noise created by the compression ignition engine. At the same time, engineers claim that they can tune the sounds that...
by Ken Zino | May 27, 2010
Students from Mississippi State University placed first in the 2010 EcoCAR: The NeXt Challenge finals in San Diego today after designing and building a biodiesel extended-range electric vehicle (EREV). Virginia Tech earned second place with an ethanol-powered EV...
