Archive for September 28th, 2008

Gaze into the glazed eyes of Heather Locklear, taken after she was arrested around 5 p.m. Saturday evening when CHP officers found the actress in her parked car blocking traffic in Montecito, Calif. Exciting, yes, but the best part of the story’s the police report, especially where a “concerned citizen” called police after witnessing Locklear… »

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, AutoblogGreen Exclusive, Santa Monica Alt Car Expo

Click for more images of the electric MEGA van
The hurdles to moving from a gasoline-dominated private transportation environment to one that contains a lot of batteries and plug-in vehicles are many. If nothing else, that’s one message we can take away from the Sustainable Mobility Seminar… »

Filed under: Motorcycles

Click above for more shots of the 2009 Kawasaki ZX-10R
Kawasaki has pulled the covers off its new motorcycle line for ‘09, and there’s lots to discuss. A revised, lithe ZX-6R sheds about 20 pounds, much of it from the engine itself. It also gets updated Showa Big Piston forks and a new look… »

Filed under: Manufacturing/Plants, Ford

A week ahead of its debut at the Paris Motor Show, the new Ford Ka started rolling off the assembly line in Tychy Poland. The new mini Ford shares an assembly facility with the Fiat 500 with which it also shares a platform. Over the 12-year run of the original Ka, Ford… »

Filed under: Etc., Event Alert
And now, a brief public service announcement and reminder. The Garage419 Invitational takes place exactly four weeks from today at Grand Prix New York in Mt. Kisco, NY. All proceeds from the event benefit benefit Racing4Research and the Children’s Tumor Foundation, as they work to raise awareness and find a cure… »

Filed under: SMART

The Smart ForTwo has only been on sale in the U.S. market for 9 months, but the company is already preparing to refresh it for 2010. A number of owners of current Smarts were recently invited to come drive cars with some proposed updates for 2010. Based on postings in the SmartCarOfAmerica forum,… »

Filed under: Etc., Plants/Manufacturing, GM, Canada

Sure, the Chevrolet Impala and Buick LaCrosse are not the most exciting models in GM’s lineup, but the Oshawa, Ontario plant that’s been cranking out well-assembled W-platform vehicles for years has won a rare honor from J.D. Power and Associates. Power’s Founder’s Award is reserved for people or corporations that… »

Filed under: AutoblogGreen Exclusive, Automotive X-Prize, NEV (Neighborhood Electric Vehicle)
So, the other day I heard the Progressive Automotive X PRIZE’s Cristin Lindsay say that about 50 of the 100+ teams that might be part of the contest were working on small, neighborhood vehicles. Specifically, Lindsay said the following: “With our competition, we are seeing many,… »

Filed under: Spy Photos, Sedans/Saloons, Euro, Audi
Click above for a gallery of possible 2010 Audi A8 images
The Audi A8 is understated and elegant…but its design is a little long in the tooth. It stays as is for model year 2009, but a significant revision is due for 2010, and we should expect to see that… »

Filed under: Chrysler, Ford, GM, Legislation and Policy, USA

The U.S. Senate on Saturday passed a continuing resolution that keeps funding federal government operations at current levels for several more months and also includes funding for low interest loans for U.S. automakers. The bill is expected to be signed by president Bush by Tuesday when the… »