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A Just-Auto.com article discusses the new importation of London taxis to the US. These new vehicles will be an alternative to the ex-police Crown Victorias in common use. London taxis, made by London Taxis in England, are known for their massive interior space, comfortable and quiet ride, and longevity. The cabs have doors that open 90 degrees, wheelchair ramps, built in toddler seats, an interior intercom, passenger climate controls, and an ergonomic driver's seat (a far cry from the bench seats in most American cabs). However, the price is steep, at over $40,000 (used police cars can cost as little as $5,000). To be fair, the design life is 500,000 miles, the diesel engines are easy on fuel, and the parts are "simple and durable."
The company importing them, Boston's London Taxis of North America, has orders for seventy cabs so far, and is working to meet American environmental and safety regulations. The first batch of taxis is expected in December. London Taxis of North America is hoping that, once people see and experience the cabs, sales will take off.
...and the rest of the industry breathes a sigh of relief.
According to Detroit News, Ohio has given Ford $80 million in incentives to keep 2,000 jobs in the state for five years. The plant in question built the Nissan Quest, also sold as the Mercury Villager, which recently went out of production. Ford will build the Escape there, and continue to build Econolines in another Ohio plant. Originally, Ford had only guaranteed the 850 Escape jobs, while reserving the right to stop Econoline production in Ohio. The final agreement commits Ford to seven years of Escape employee employment and five years for Econoline employment. Ford said it never intended to eliminate the Econoline van jobs but could not guarantee them past five years.
Written by "Mr. NASCAR"
Chip Ganassi and third team It has now been confirmed by NASCAR.com that Ganassi will be running a third team next year and it will be the Texaco/Havoline Dodge. Ganassi and Texaco will be making the announcment at Richmond International Raceway in two weeks. Hopefully by then we will find out who will be the driver and if indeed they will be using the #28 or perhaps the #42 which was used earlier at the Glen with Jimmy Spencer.
Several names have been mentioned as possible drivers- Bobby Hamilton, Joe Nemacheck, John Andretti and Jerry Nadeu. Nadeu has stated that he would love to drive for Ganassi and would even take a pay cut if he doesn't perform up to expectations.
Petty/Andretti News As many of you may or may not know Petty Enterprises announced several weeks ago that Christian Fitapaldi will be driving full time with them in 2004. In 2003 he will be driving the ABCs (ARCA, Busch and Winston Cup) part time to get him ready for 2004. It is not known what car he will drive for but early specualtion is either the #43 or #44. John Andretti's contract is up at the end of this year and Petty has given John permission to look at other teams but has said that he wants Andretti back and Andretti has stated that he wants to come back as well. One of the main sticking points however is the fact that Andretti wants to run the double header of Indy 500 and Brickyard 400. Earlier this year he was denied by Petty. If Andretti should join Ganassi then he would be able to do it.
Kenny Wallace Kenny Wallace will be making his announcement on Tuesday on RPM2NIGHT at 6.30pm EST. It will also be announced on Totally NASCAR at 6.00 local and Speed Channel at 6.30 pm est. The announcment will be that he and Stacker2 will be moving over to Bill Davis Dodge for 2003. It is not known whether it will be as the #23 or #98 (his current number)
More Penske Dodge More rumors coming out of Penske. Evidently unconfirmed reports are that Dodge is offering Penske $20 million a year to switch from Ford to Dodge in 2003. Also Larry Wallace, chief engine builder for Penske NASCAR operations and one of the top engine builders may be taking command of the engine program for Ray Everham's three teams. Wallace's Penske contract is up at the end of this year.
Bristol Now that folks it why I love NASCAR so much, especially when it's Bristol. Short track racing and short tempers. What better place to watch Jimmie Johnson flip off Robby Gordon and Ward Burton throw things at Dale Jr? Bumping and pushing and the raw emotions make Bristol one of the best tracks on the circuit. My only complaint was the fact that Jimmy Spencer had a top five car all night but he knew that if he passed Busch dirty or bumped him in any way then it would be lights out for him. C'mon NASCAR! Bristol is all about bumping and if say that you can't bump a particular driver it makes it very frustrating and I knew that Jimmy was steaming under his helmet the entire night. But they allow Gordon to nearly send Wallace sideways at the end for the victory so what are you going to do?
Until next Monday folks! And remember this quote from Tony Stewart- "We (Tony Stewart and Bobby Labonte) don't even give him (Joe Gibbs) a radio so that he can talk ... we give him money to go to the concession stand to buy a hot dog,"
You know the auto industry supports something when Michigan representative John Dingell gets behind it, and based on a recent speech, that means the auto industry is pushing diesel. That's not surprising, since diesel engines are a relatively inexpensive way to get dramatic gains in gas mileage - for example, full size pickups can add about 6-8 miles per gallon by using diesel engines. The problem in the United States has been poor quality diesel fuel, which makes it harder to use the state-of-the-art, high-precision engines common in Europe, and also increases toxic emissions. While the government has mandated a conversion to cleaner diesel fuel by 2006, Dingell is pushing handouts to the wealthy oil industry (in the form of tax breaks) to provide an incentive for earlier production of clean fuel.
While petroleum-based diesel fuel is carcinogenic, new technologies can clean up diesel exhaust to make it as clean as gasoline emissions. These technologies are not yet fully used in the United States, but they can be if required.
Opposition is expected from environmentalists and health care professionals, if a shift to diesel comes without cutbacks in hazardous emissions, and also potentially from oil companies, who would need to spend money to convert refineries, and would also be more open to competition from biodiesel fuel (click here for details).
(Thanks, Doug Hetrick, for bringing this to our attention. Detroit News also has an article on the topic, which is notable for the number of slams to the Sierra Club and "Big Green" - presumably a very powerful environmental lobby we were previously unaware of.)
DaimlerChrysler has a massive diesel capability, including the recently acquired Detroit Diesel and Mercedes' own diesel engines - both state of the art. Ford has most recently started to push for diesels as a way to remain "green" in appearance despite low average fuel economy and high sales of oversized trucks.
At neons.org, Darrel Cox wrote that their SRT-4 has 756 horsepower and over 600 lb-ft at the wheels, thanks to help from Chrysler. The SRT-4 has the longest wheelbase in its class. Nick Riley noted that their own SRT will be showing up at Natural Bridge's import shootout, where they are shooting for times in the 7s or 8s (it's a street driven car with a full interior and pump gas but obviously modified).
David Harris wrote: The second annual Mopar Performance Parts Hemi Challenge II is set for the 48th annual Mac Tools U.S. Nationals at the historic Indianapolis Raceway Park over Labor Day Weekend. And like last year’s inaugural event, nearly 25 racers will be chasing the $10,000 bonus awarded to the winner of the Aug. 31, NHRA Super Stock showcase.
The Mopar Performance Parts Hemi Challenge II is a heads-up NHRA Sportsman category shootout for the world’s quickest and fastest Super Stock race cars. The event was inspired by the great history Mopar possesses within the class that it dominated prior to the development of the Pro Stock category in the early 1970s. Every driver that entered is eligible for competition.
West Virginia resident and NHRA Super Stock category standout Bucky Hess and his 1968 Hemi-powered SS/AA Plymouth Barracuda took home the cash last season in a dramatic final-round match up with James Keyes.
Hyundai, which is one-tenth owned by DCX, is looking to share more technology with the auto giant - specifically, they would like to tap DaimlerChrysler engines (e.g. Detroit Diesel) and "DaimlerChrysler's" large car expertise (there is no way of telling whether they mean Mitsubishi, Mercedes, Chrysler, or all three.) Hyundai and its partner Kia have been on a rapid expansion within North America, Australia, and other markets, and are becoming serious players in small and medium sized cars, SUVs, and minivans.
Gentex is now supplying Chrysler with its interior auto-dimming rear-view mirrors for the 2003 Chrysler Sebring coupe. These new mirrors include binary complementary white (BCW) LEDs for the driver and front passenger map lights. The mirror also includes Homelink (to replace garage door openers), and a compass and temperature display. Each of the LED components produces 7.5 lumens of light with just over half a watt of power. Previously, map lights required 4.25 watt bulbs along with special lenses and cooling vents. In addition, the bulbs tended to burn out before the vehicle did - while LEDs last longer than most vehicles, so there is no need to include replacement ability in the design. The result is a less bulky, and we suspect cheaper to manufacture, mirror.
The Chrysler Sebring coupe is heavily based on the Mitsubishi Eclipse and is produced by Mitsubishi in the United States.
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