AutoWeek articles from December 2008

AutoWeek archives from December 2008

DRIVERS LOG.(NEWS)(Product/service evaluation)
December 8, 2008... HART: This is the best mainstream Ford product I've driven in a long time. The Shelby Mustang GT500KR was great, too, but this car is meant more for the masses, despite the sticker price. The interior is nice, with comfortable seats and a...

SPECS & DATA.(NEWS)(Brief article)
December 8, 2008... PRICING & OPTIONS Base (includes delivery): $112,095 As-tested price: $123,745 Options: Enhanced leather package ($5,500); premium package, with Audi parking system, six-disc CD changer, hill-control assist, Homelink, Bluetooth,...

Keep the Beeps to Yourself.(NEWS)
December 8, 2008... Byline: DENISE MCCLUGGAGE I DON'T LIKE BEING BEEPED AT, I grumble at the car I'm driving. It has just beeped at me. I'm backing up, and the car has gone into its approximation-warning mode. Beep-beep. I see nothing beepable in the mirrors,...

Part-Timer.(NEWS)
December 8, 2008... IT WOKE ME FROM MY MIDDAY slumber, the blare of my neighbor's leaf blower raking the window and forcing me up from the couch. The cats, toofour perfectly sound naps upset by the routine chores of autumn. After the first real snowfall, the...

TV DEC. 12 - 14.(NEWS)(Brief article)(List)
December 8, 2008... FRIDAY, DEC. 12 A1 Grand Prix from China, noon, Speed Formula Drift Series from Sonoma, Calif., 2 p.m., Speed American Muscle Car, 3 p.m., Speed Truck U, 3:30 and 4 p.m., Speed Chop Cut Rebuild, 4:30 p.m., Speed ...

USED BUT USER-FRIENDLY; WE BEGIN A SECOND-OWNER YEAR WITH AN AUDI R8.(NEWS)
December 8, 2008... Byline: KEVIN A. WILSON this should prove interesting. The latest addition to our long-term test fleet is a used quasi-exotic sports car that will serve deep into the cold and snowy Michigan winter. Ideal, eh? At least the Audi R8 is...

THIS WEEK'S SIGN THE AUTOMOTIVE APOCALYPSE IS NIGH.(NEWS)
December 8, 2008... For an entirely unreasonable $50,000 or so, you, too, can drive an Audi R8 replica based on the last-generation Mercury Cougar. Visit www.replicaaudir8.com.

Another Crazy School-Bus Driver.(NEWS)(Brief article)
December 8, 2008... Pennsylvania's Beaver County Times reports that a school-bus driver faces charges of reckless endangerment, disorderly conduct and careless driv-ing after being accused of slamming on his bus's brakes to knock down a 10-year-old boy. The boy...

DOLLARS & SENSE.(NEWS)
December 8, 2008... ORIGINAL LIST PRICE: N/A CURRENT MARKET VALUE: $300,000-$500,000* *Source: Cliff Reuter, www.etceterini.com

NEW AUDIS TO HIT TRACK.(NEWS)
December 8, 2008... Audi's all-new R15 TDI turbodiesel prototype will debut in the American Le Mans Series 2009 season opener, the Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring, but Audi has yet to commit to racing in the remainder of the ALMS season. The R15 and its smaller,...

ITALIAN TORPEDO; 1947 BANDINI FIAT 1100 SILURO.(NEWS)
December 8, 2008... Byline: ERIC TEGLER REBUILDING AFTER World War II was harder if you lived in one of the countries on the losing side, such as Italy. But Ilario Bandini had been somebody before the war, a mechanic and a Lancia dealer in his hometown of...

EXTRA.(NEWS)
December 8, 2008... WEBBER EYES QUICK RETURN Red Bull Racing's Mark Webber aims to return to Formula One in time to test the team's 2009 car as soon as it is finished. Webber fractured a leg in Tasmania when he collided with a car while riding his bike during...

LOOKS AREN'T EVERYTHING; THE CALIFORNIA IS A DIFFERENT KIND OF FERRARI.(NEWS)
December 8, 2008... Byline: ROGER HART FERRARI BOSS LUCA DI Montezemolo is famous for saying that the company's cars are like beautiful women, and for car lovers, it's easy to see why. When you drive a Ferrari around town, any town, people will notice you as...

Q&AHORNISH ON RACING:DREAMS DO COME TRUE.(NEWS)(Sam Hornish Jr.)(Interview)(Brief article)
December 8, 2008... AutoWeek: Was there any special pull calling you back to Indiana-polis this May? Sam Hornish Jr.: I planned to get down there, but there was just so much stuff going on with Cup and Nationwide. The All-Star race. I had nine races, six days...

SPECS & DATA.(NEWS)
December 8, 2008... PRICING & OPTIONS Base (includes delivery): $64,475 As-tested price: $66,675 Options: Adaptive cruise control ($2,200) DIMENSIONS Wheelbase (in): 114.5 Length/width/height (in): 195.3/80.8/57.5 Curb weight/GVWR...

Small-Town Boy; INDY 500 CHAMP SAM HORNISH JR.'S CAR COLLECTION IS ALL AMERICAN.(NEWS)
December 8, 2008... Byline: ROGER HART Sam Hornish Jr.'s face is etched in bas-relief on the Borg-Warner Trophyone of the world's most recognizable chalicescommemorating his Indianapolis 500 win in 2006. Despite the fame and fortune he earned for reaching the...

SMOOTH OPERATOR; WE BEGIN A YEAR WITH JAGUAR'S XF.(NEWS)
December 8, 2008... Byline: WES RAYNAL Jaguar's 2009 XF is widely regarded as a make-or-break car for the British brand now owned by Tata of India. The XF replaces two models, the forgettable X-Type and the decent S-Type, which never sold in any significant...

MARKET.(NEWS)(Brief article)
December 8, 2008... 1979 Chevrolet Corvette T-Top Coupe Barrett-Jackson, Las Vegas Oct. 16-18, 2008 White with black vinyl. V8, automatic. Said to have a brand-new crate motor; as a small-block, assumed to be 350 cid. Bad paint quality; looks as if a...

Get Out and Drive; MX-5 SCHOOL IS THE START LINE.(NEWS)
December 8, 2008... Byline: STEVEN COLE SMITH This is the bottom rung on the Mazda ladder, the easiest place to start and a good place to learn if racing is something you really want to do. It is not cheap, but fender-to-fender competition never is. We...

BMW M'S TO GET REV REDUCTION.(NEWS)
December 8, 2008... Byline: GK Tough emissions standards worldwide and soaring manufacturing costs in Germany are behind a decision by BMW to switch from high-revving, naturally aspirated engines in its M high-performance vehicles to turbocharged...

FAST ROAD; MAZDA OFFERS AMATEUR RACERS A STEP-BY-STEP PATH TO SUCCESS.(NEWS)
December 8, 2008... Byline: STEVEN COLE SMITH There is no arguing that 2008 has been a tough year for amateur racing, as spiking gasoline prices and a sagging economy kept a lot of racers home. But there's a bright spot: Mazda claims that more than 9,000...

WAYNE'S WORLD; Retired GM design chief builds a V-series hot rod.(NEWS)
December 8, 2008... Byline: BOB GRITZINGER Wayne Cherry hasn't been sitting still since he retired from General Motors in 2003. In the past year, he's put together the car that he didn't get to build when he was head of GM design: the VSR. "As a designer,...

ALFA'S BACK-SORT OF.(NEWS)
December 8, 2008... The first new Alfa Romeo sold in the United States since 1995, an 8C Competizione, was delivered to car collector James Glickenhaus on Nov. 26 in Connecticut. Price: $264,000. Before Alfa fever sets in, note that the 8Cwith just 85 cars coming...

EXTRA.(NEWS)
December 8, 2008... LF-A SPOTTING Toyota's LF-A supercar, revealed in concept form at the Detroit auto show in 2005 and 2007 and shown in production form when it participated in the Nurburgring 24 Hours in June, has surfaced again. This time, the Lexus LF-A...

RAY OF SUNSHINE; "09 MINI CONVERTIBLE DEBUT WILL BRIGHTEN THE DETROIT SHOW.(NEWS)
December 8, 2008... Byline: GREG KABLE Now that the new, bigger Mini is on the market, BMW will reveal the similarly bigger Mini convertible at Detroit's North American International Auto Show in January. Sporting revised bodywork with new detailing and a...

REVS.(NEWS)
December 8, 2008... SMALL PACKAGES Scale models flaunt their detail and craftsmanship This year's crop of dynamic cars in scale brings some surprises. The miniature masterpieces featured on these pages are 1:24 or 1:18 in scale, and each replica pushes...

STROKE OF GENIUS? AUDI FITS A DUAL-CLUTCH GEARBOX TO ITS S5.(NEWS)
December 8, 2008... Byline: MICHAEL TAYLOR WE HAVE ALWAYS liked the Audi S5. It somehow feels more together than its siblings, and it's not just the heart-warming burble and midrange thump of its 4.2-liter V8 that makes us think that. Its key advantage is...

Turkey Night Grand Prix; FANS GOBBLE UP NOVEMBER CLASSIC.(NEWS)
December 8, 2008... Byline: MARK VAUGHN You could say that the racing off-season separates real fans from those just looking for an infield party. Anyone can be a fan during the regular season, but you find the true blues at off-beat off-season events such as...

AN ACE OF TRUMPFS; 1936 ADLER TRUMPF JUNIOR KABRIO-LIMOUSINE.(NEWS)
December 15, 2008... Byline: BROOKS BRIERLEY WHY THE TRUMPF? COLLECTOR Alain Cerf asked when we expressed interest in this mass-produced Adler Trumpf convertible. It is one of the least assuming members of his Tampa Bay Automobile Museum in Pinellas Park,...

Drivers Log.(NEWS)(Product/service evaluation)
December 15, 2008... HART: This is one of those vehicles that you look at, scratch your head and wonder, "What were they thinking? It's an SUV. No, wait, it's a gigantic crossover. It's both. But really, for all purposes, this is a sport-ute. It handles like...

DOLLARS & SENSE.(NEWS)
December 15, 2008... ORIGINAL LIST PRICE: $1,200 CURRENT MARKET VALUE: $15,000-$20,000 (est)* *Source: Tampa Bay Automobile Museum

3-SERIOUS; BMW ANSWERS THE CALL FOR FRUGALITY.(NEWS)
December 15, 2008... Byline: BOB GRITZINGER JUST HALFWAY THROUGH ITS life cycle, it would be expected if BMW didn't make substantial changes in the 3-series line, especially considering that four years after its introduction, most enthusiasts maintain that the...

WRAP-UP.(NEWS)
December 15, 2008... MILES DRIVEN (QUARTER/ YEAR): 6,405/30,056 FUEL MILEAGE (QUARTER/ YEAR): 19.3/19.0 mpg FUEL COST (QUARTER/YEAR): $1,374.09/$4,931.53 DAYS OUT OF SERVICE (QUARTER/YEAR): None/17 MAINTENANCE: Repair rear bumper ($1,426.34);...

WELL-TRAVELED CROSSOVER; HIGH PRAISE FOR MDX'S UTILITY, COMFORTS AND RELIABILITY.(NEWS)
December 15, 2008... Byline: JONATHAN WONG Requests for the SUVs and crossovers in our long-term garage come early and often because few things better fulfill families' needs. So when a vehicle such as the seven-passenger Acura MDX spends a year with us, it...

Market.(NEWS)(product information of 1979 Mercedes-Benz 280 SLC Coupe)(Brief article)
December 15, 2008... Byline: DAVE KINNEY 1979 Mercedes-Benz 280 SLC Coupe Silver Auctions, Las Vegas Oct. 10-11, 2008 Six-cylinder, automatic transmission. Silver with gray cloth. Sun-roof coupe. European model, not imported to the States in this...

FRONT RUNNER; Randy Lewis is now a vineyard champion.(NEWS)
December 15, 2008... Byline: ROGER HART At age 63, Randy Lewis looks fit and trim and not all that different from when he last climbed out of an Indy car in 1991. Sure, there's a bit more gray hair, and there might be a pound or two more on his five-foot,...

Carmageddon on Capitol Hill.(NEWS)
December 15, 2008... Byline: Dutch Mandel HOW CAN YOU NOT WATCH with morbid fascination the systematic vivisection Wash-ington's politicos have undertaken on the bodies representing the Detroit Three and the UAW? It is theatera tragedy, a comedy and human...

IN SEARCH OF THE PERFECT CAB; A great wine is a great excuse for a road trip.(NEWS)
December 15, 2008... Byline: DON KLEIN iF TOURING WINE country in a drop-top German sports car is your idea of fun, there's a good chance your favorite homonym is "cab. This is especially so if the car is a fully optioned 2009 Mercedes-Benz SL550, and the wine...

TV Dec 19-21.(NEWS)(Automobile rallies)(Brief article)(Calendar)
December 15, 2008... FRIDAY, DEC. 19 Wrecked, 9 and 9:30 a.m., Speed A1 Grand Prix from Malaysia, noon, Speed Formula Drift Series from Irwindale, Calif., 2 p.m., Speed American Muscle Car, 3 p.m., Speed Truck U, 3:30 and 4 p.m., Speed...

RESULTS.(NEWS)
December 15, 2008... COURSE: RALLY GREAT BRITAIN DATE: DEC. 5-7 1. Sebastien Loeb, Citroen C4 WRC, 2h 43m 9.6s; 2. Jari-Matti Latvala, Ford Focus RS WRC 07, +12.7s; 3. Dani Sordo, Citroen C4 WRC, +1m 20.6s; 4. Petter Solberg, Subaru Impreza WRC 08, +1m...

FACTORY WAR; PORSCHE BARELY EDGES ACURA IN AMERICAN LE MANS SERIES.(NEWS)
December 15, 2008... Byline: GARY WATKINS ACURA CERTAINLY SENT A message to Porsche at the start of the 2008 American Le Mans Series and stuck to it all year long. The Honda-owned brand redeemed its promise to continue developing its ARX-01b LMP2 prototype in...

SERIES SURVIVES TRYING SEASON.(NEWS)
December 15, 2008... Byline: STEVEN COLE SMITH It is hard to imagine the pressure the Atlantic Championship's management was under last year. After planning a schedule paired largely with parent series Champ Car, suddenlywith Champ Car's demiseAtlantic had to...

JESUS SAVES, BUT GOD PATROLS THE HIGHWAYS.(NEWS)
December 15, 2008... A Texas man rammed his truck into a woman's car while traveling more than 100 mph because God told him that "she needed to be taken off the road. Both vehicles spun across the median before coming to rest against a barrier. "God must have been...

TURKEY BASTED.(NEWS)
December 15, 2008... From the Associated Press comes the tale of Fred Louis Ervin, who robbed a North Carolina gas station before assaulting and carjacking a woman across the street in a grocery-store parking lot. Ervin took off with the car, but not before he...

DRINKING GAMES.(NEWS)(Brief article)
December 15, 2008... According to Newsday.com, New York's Nassau County police arrested two drunk driversin the same car. Police watched as Jacqueline Diaz, 30, tried unsuccessfully to complete a three-point turn before handing off to a passenger in the car,...

ECONOMIC CRISIS HITS AUTO RACING; Honda and Acura are the latest casualties. Will anyone be left?(NEWS)
December 15, 2008... Byline: AUTOWEEK STAFF The global economic crisis hit racing hard on Dec. 5, as Honda and Audi dropped the biggest bombs yet on a sport long notorious for consuming enormous sums of money. Combined with layoffs already announced in NASCARa...

PAPER-THIN MARGIN; NOT MUCH SEPARATED LEWIS HAMILTON AND FELIPE MASSA IN 2008'S FORMULA ONE SEASON.(NEWS)
December 15, 2008... Byline: NIGEL ROEBUCK WILL THE FORMULA ONE world championship ever be closer than this? Probably not. Eighteen races stretched across the globe, and the season came down to the last part of the last lap of the last Grand Prix, when Lewis...

STILL CLIMBING; Raphael Matos wins Indy Lights title.(NEWS)(Brief article)
December 15, 2008... Byline: CURT CAVIN Raphael Matos did not have the same type of dominant Firestone Indy Lights season that Alex Lloyd had in 2007, but it ended with a championship just the same. Matos won three races and five poles and used his...

Consistent Bowyer Takes Title.(NEWS)(Carl Edwards won race)(Clint Bowyer won racing)(Brad Keselowski also won the race)
December 15, 2008... The adage about speed winning races and consistency winning championships was Exhibit One in this year's final Nationwide Series points standings. Roush Fenway Racing's Carl Edwards won seven times in his Ford, had 19 top-five finishes and 22...

CLUTCH PERFORMERS; JIMMIE JOHNSON WINS THIRD-STRAIGHT CUP AFTER ROUGH START.(NEWS)
December 15, 2008... Byline: AL PEARCE There were moments throughout 2008 when Jimmie Johnson, crew chief Chad Knaus and their No. 48 Hendrick Motor-sports Chevrolet Impala looked downright mortal. From mid-February through late August, for example, they...

BRIGHTER IN BOLOGNA.(NEWS)
December 15, 2008... Byline: MICHAEL TAYLOR THE MOTOR SHOW IN THE ancient Italian university city of Bologna somehow managed to avoid the doom and gloom pervading the car world. Bologna has a unique consumeroriented feel, with small, scattered halls and five...

CLASS MOVE; 2010 AUDI A5/S5 CABRIOLET REPLACES THE A4/S4 DROP-TOP.(NEWS)
December 15, 2008... Byline: GREG KABLE An evolutionary change has been sweeping through the Audi lineup. New models are getting larger and more comprehensively equipped, and in some cases, they've been given whole new identities. This is all part of a program...

FERRARI CUTS LOOMING.(NEWS)
December 15, 2008... Byline: MICHAEL TAYLOR The world's most glamorous car company denies it has fallen victim to the global economic crisis, even though it plans to shed up to 10 percent of its workforce this month. Italian supercar maker Ferrari saw its...

Speedster Spied.(NEWS)(Porsche AG)(Brief article)
December 15, 2008... While Porsche engineers labor on the next-generation 911the 998 due in about three yearsothers in the company have been busy creating this Speedster variant of the current 997 model. The long-dormant convertible body style, featuring a cut-down...

A Season of Seasons; TONY SCHUMACHER MAKES HISTORY.(NEWS)
December 15, 2008... Byline: ROB GEIGER Tony Schumacher domi-nated Top Fuel, Cruz Pedregon finished strongest in Funny Car, and Jeg Coughlin Jr. was his usual unflappable self in Pro Stock as the 2008 NHRA Championship Drag Racing season closed with three...

BENSON EDGES HORNADAY.(NEWS)
December 15, 2008... Byline: AL PEARCE The secondclosest championship in 14 years of the NASCAR Truck Series was not decided until the last turn of the last lap of the last race. Johnny Benson held off Ron Hornaday by one positionseventh place to eighthto win...

POBST AND CUNNINGHAM CLAIM CHAMPIONSHIPS.(NEWS)(Sports Car Club of America )(Brief article)
December 15, 2008... Byline: STEVEN COLE SMITH The SCCA Speed World Challenge motored along in 2008, with competitive fields filled with mostly familiar faces. One big reason: With the Speed network as title sponsor, a solid television package is in place. ...

RECORD RUN; SEBASTIEN LOEB WINS HIS 11TH OF THE SEASON IN GREAT BRITAIN.(NEWS)
December 15, 2008... Byline: ANTHONY PEACOCK Sebastien Loeb's season can be summed up by his own comments after he won the Rally Great Britain, his record-breaking 11th win of the season. "It's nice to have the record now for 11 wins in one year, he said. "But...

DRIVERS LOG.(NEWS)(Product/service evaluation)
December 22, 2008... WONG: In preparation for a busy Thanksgiving, I easily stuffed a fold-up table and eight folding chairs in the back. The rear seats were a snap to fold down, a nice thing when it's cold out and you have a lot of stuff to load. When the roads...

SEE YOU NEXT YEAR.(NEWS)
December 22, 2008... Enjoy this final issue of AutoWeek for 2008. Our staff will take a needed holiday break and will return with our next issue, dated Jan. 12, 2009.

Last Call, 1 A.M.(NEWS)
December 22, 2008... I HAVE NEVER BEEN ABLE TO attend the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona. Cable television and the Internet help pull the excitement closer, but it wasn't always so. In the mid-'80s, my brother Ed and I followed IMSA closely, spending our beer money...

TV DEC. 26-28.(NEWS)
December 22, 2008... FRIDAY, DEC. 26 Hot Rod TV marathon, 7 a.m., Speed Livin' the Low Life marathon, 1:30 p.m., Speed Pinks marathon, 8 p.m., Speed SATURDAY, DEC. 27 Gearz marathon, 7 a.m., Speed 2008 NHRA Thrills and Spills from...

Juris-imprudence.(NEWS)(Brief article)
December 22, 2008... The New York Post reports that 63-year-old Simon Belsky has battled the city of New York for more than two years over a parking ticket that he says he did not deserve, and he pledges to see his battle through to the end. In November 2006,...

CRAIGSLIST POSTING OF THE WEEK.(NEWS)
December 22, 2008... 67 camaro trade or sale Reply to: sale-950602119@craigslist.org Date: 2008-12-08, 9:42PM I need to sale this car or trade for a minivan. i have second baby on the way and i am unsure of who the father is so i need to get rid of...

BODY CHECK.(NEWS)
December 22, 2008... Want to show your support for the domestic auto industry and its workers? Visit www.theengineofdemocracy.com, and while you're there, order a hockey jersey that tells people just what your state has to lose.

F1 TEAMS AGREE TO DRASTIC CHANGES.(NEWS)
December 22, 2008... On Dec. 12, the FIA World Motor Sport Council approved initiatives to reduce the operating costs of Formula One teams immediately. The WMSC also approved regulations that preclude the previously projected and highly controversial switch to a...

SUZUKI QUITS WRC >.(NEWS)(World Rally Championship)
December 22, 2008... Suzuki announced that it will quit the World Rally Championship, effective immediately. Company bosses blamed the global recession for the pullout, butas with Honda's Formula One exitmany in the series believe that the SX4 WRC car's debut...

EXTRA.(NEWS)
December 22, 2008... TOUGH TIMES CONTINUE Watkins Glen International is the latest NASCAR track to enter 2009 without a title sponsor for its Cup race, after Centurion Boats opted out of the final year of its contract because of the poor economy. Watkins Glen...

AN ITALIAN LOVE AFFAIR; 1964 FIAT ABARTH 1000 TC.(NEWS)
December 22, 2008... Byline: LARRY SANATA ALAIN RAYMOND always dreamed of owning a Fiat Abarth. He had owned its lowly cousin, a Fiat 600, while he was a student in Lebanon. "It was a basket case. But anyway, it was my car, he recalls. Many years...

LOADED KARTS; STARS TURN OUT FOR CLASSIC.(NEWS)
December 22, 2008... Byline: STEVEN COLE SMITH WEATHER PREdictions were diretorrential rain, possible tornadoessuggesting there might be a repeat of the first All Stars Karting Classic in 2006, held in a downpour. There were plenty of rain tires mounted on...

MARKET.(NEWS)
December 22, 2008... 2005 Cobra Replica Factory Five Roadster Barrett-Jackson, Las Vegas Oct. 16-18, 2008 Ford V8, 289 cid; T5 manual. Black with tan leather. Registered in California as a special-constructed vehicle; 471 recorded miles. Autometer...

SPECS.(NEWS)
December 22, 2008... ON SALE: Spring BASE PRICE: $28,845 DRIVETRAIN: 4.6-liter, 315-hp, 325-lb-ft V8; RWD, five-speed manual CURB WEIGHT: 3,356 lb 0-60 MPH: 5.3 sec (est) FUEL ECONOMY: 21 mpg (est)

BACK ON TRACK; TrackPack suspension leads Mustang mods.(NEWS)(Ford Mustang)
December 22, 2008... Byline: MARK VAUGHN We drove a herd of 2010 Ford Mustangs last week on the road and at a pretty good racetrack, and we can say with certainty that the muscle car is alive and well in America. Changes to the 2010 model are relatively...

No Doze; MERCEDES E-CLASS WILL SNAP TO ALERT WHEN IT DETECTS A DROWSY DRIVER.(NEWS)
December 22, 2008... Byline: MICHAEL TAYLOR With fatigue causing more than 100,000 crashes and 1,500 deaths annually on roads in the United States, Mercedes-Benz has rushed to make the world's first drowsy-driver detection system standard on next year's new...

TOP THIS! 2009 BMW Z4 GETS FOLDING HARDTOP.(NEWS)
December 22, 2008... Byline: GREG MIGLIORE and BOB GRITZINGER BMW will unveil its first roadster with a retractable hardtop, the all-new 2009 Z4, at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in January 2009. The first complete makeover of the...

Electronic Blip; CONSUMER ELECTRONICS SHOW POWERS ON, DESPITE ECONOMIC BROWN-OUT.(NEWS)
December 22, 2008... Byline: MARK VAUGHN At the last Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner gave a keynote address ("Detroit Invades Las Vegas, AW, Jan. 21), following techno ubergeek Bill Gates. It was the first time an auto...

FUZZY FUTURE: DODGE EV PROTOTYPE SPIED.(NEWS)
December 22, 2008... Byline: GREG MIGLIORE Yes, it's a fuzzy image, but as we write this, so is the future of the Detroit Three automakerswith Chrysler's prospects possibly the fuzziest. So it's good to see evidence that the company is continuing to develop...

EXTRA.(NEWS)
December 22, 2008... PONTIAC MIGHT SKIP SPORT TRUCK Pontiac officials are reconsidering whether to launch the 2010 G8 ST sport pickup in 2009 amid discussions that the General Motors division might become a one-car company in the next three years. That one...

Roadster Vision Revisited; Mercedes considers expanding U.S. small-car family.(NEWS)
December 22, 2008... Byline: GREG KABLE The success of premium-priced small cars and the Smart car has Mercedes-Benz thinking about introducing the next generation of A- and B-class models in North America. The small-car duo gets a redesign for the 2012...

Get Your Kudos Here.(NEWS)
December 22, 2008... Byline: Kevin A. Wilson WITH ONLY TWO YEARS BEtween elections, congressional representatives never stop running for office. So when it comes time to decide whether, or how, to help domestic automakers out of the current jam, showing them...

911 SOUNDS BETTER, ANYWAY.(NEWS)
December 22, 2008... Porsche had to change the 901 name originally chosen for its new sports car to 911 when the car reached dealers after its world debut at the 1963 Frankfurt motor show. Peugeot had already secured the rights to the 901 name, along with every...

The Little Sports Car Company That Could; 60 years later, Porsche rules the world.(NEWS)
December 22, 2008... Byline: J.P. VETTRAINO PORSCHE'S ESSENCE MAY have come about when company patriarch Ferdinand Por-sche began tinkering with cars. In 1900, he built what may have been the first hybrid, with a combustion engine under the hood and electric...

THE PORSCHE FILE >.(NEWS)
December 22, 2008... Lightweight Spyder > The 909 Bergspyderwhich was built in small numbers in 1968, mainly for hillclimbsis the lightest Porsche race car of all time. The brainchild of Ferdinand Piech, it boasted a gas-filled magnesium frame and a composite body,...

PORSCHE RACING: SERIOUS BUSINESS.(NEWS)
December 22, 2008... Byline: GARY WATKINS PORSCHE HAS always raced in a unique way. Under the company's model, motorsports is not just about winning but also about selling carswhether the 906 in the "60s, 934s in the "70s, 962s in the "80s, 911 GT2s in the...