|
Browse by Tags
All Tags » SUVs » Government/Legal ( RSS)
-
|
Filed under: SUVs , Government/Legal , Hirings/Firings/Layoffs , Chrysler, LLC. , Jeep , Renault , Rumormill The latest rumors regarding Cerberus-owned Chrysler and its possible sale point to the breakup of Chrysler's assets, and in particular its brands. General Motors may be interested in bits and pieces of its cross-town rival, but perhaps not the entire automaker. Jeep is considered Chrysler's most valuable asset and was purchased by the automaker from Renault in the '80s, around the same time that AMC ceased to exist. A similar scenario may put Jeep back in the hands of Renaul t . This purchase could allow the French automaker an easier entry back into the U.S. market with dealerships and excess production capacity leftover from Chrysler. General Motors main interests are rumored to be the minivan line along with some production sites, including the plant in Mexico that assembles Dodge Ram trucks. In exchange for the pieces of Chrysler that GM is interested in, the automaker...
|
-
|
Filed under: SUVs , Government/Legal , Safety , HUMMER , Police/Emergency , Australia Question: What's more intimidating than a group of Australian Police roaming the streets in search of drunken party-goers? Answer: Aussie Police driving Hummer H3s with the same intent... supposedly. The Hummers in question were provided by the General in all-black before getting custom livery from the authorities, complete with a blue-and-red flashing light bar on top. Police hope to be a bit more conspicuous in the SUVs, which will be prowling the nightclub districts in Melbourne. There may be a few problems with this scheme, as there will only be five such vehicles making the rounds and they are only equipped with the standard five-cylinder powerplant. We think the Police should have visited another side of the General and raided the Holden parts bin for flat-black Mad Max-style Police cars made from the HSV W427 . For added attention, a straight-through set of true duals with Cherry Bombs would...
|
-
|
Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative , SUVs , Government/Legal , Green , Mercedes-Benz Click above to enlarge the Mercedes-Benz ML 450 Hybrid Batteries are an integral part of any hybrid automobile. No batteries means no electric assist, which means no point in lugging around all that extra hardware. So Mercedes-Benz is in a world of hurt as it alleges that Cobasys, the chosen battery supplier for the upcoming ML 450 hybrid SUV , has decided not to fulfill its obligation to the German automaker. You might recall that General Motors had problems with leaky batteries from Cobasys, reportedly leading the automaker to consider purchasing the supplier outright from its current parents, Chevron and Energy Conversion Devices. For its part, Mercedes-Benz has sued Cobasys and petitioned the court to order Cobasys to supply the batteries in had committed to. Cobasys CEO Thomas Neslage has denied that his company ever agreed to supply the batteries in the first place. If this situation isn't resolved...
|
-
|
Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative , SUVs , Government/Legal , Green , Ford The Blue Oval has gifted the U.S. Department of Energy a one-of-a-kind vehicle: a plug-in Escape Hybrid that can run on E85, has a 30-mile range on pure electric power at up to 40 mph, and gets 88 mpg in the city and 50 mpg on the highway. Yes, you read that correctly. But you might want to read it again. The Escape uses a 4-cylinder engine assisted by a 10kW lithium-ion battery pack made by Johnson Controls/Saft. In pure electric mode, the battery pack runs until it is 70-percent depleted, and then the gasoline engine kicks in. The vehicle's emissions are estimated to be 60-percent less than that of a traditional gas vehicle, and that could climb all the way to 90-percent less if the car used cellulosic ethanol. This is one of 20 vehicles that Ford is giving to government and research bodies in order to help push the growth and penetration of hybrid vehicles. Mark Fields, Ford's president of the Americas...
|
-
|
Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative , Sedans/Saloons , SUVs , Government/Legal , Green , Jaguar , Land Rover With the cash-infusion that Jaguar and Land Rover are getting from their recent acquisition by Tata Motors, hybrid vehicle development for the two brands is now underway. Indeed, production hybrid vehicles are expected within the next five years. A three-liter liter diesel six cylinder engine, an enlarged version of the current 2.7 liter, and a new five-liter direct injected V8 will be used for these planned hybrids. While JLR knows it wants a hybrid, the exact system for development is still under debate. Mercedes plans to use a new transmission from supplier ZF for its upcoming S-Class, and Jaguar is said to be considering this unit as well. According to Autocar , another option for Land Rover is known internally as the 'Electric Rear Axle Drive' electric motor. Both Jaguar and Land Rover have recently received government funding for the development of eco-friendly technologies...
|
-
|
Filed under: SUVs , Government/Legal , Ford By now everyone knows the story about Bridgestone's massive recall of tires that were used as original equipment on Ford Explorers from 1991 to 2001. The faulty tires had been linked to some fatal crashes that were caused by either blowouts or the tread separating from the tires. Many people who own Explorers from this period were miffed that the value of their SUVs dropped solely on account of Bridgestone's mistake, so they did what most Americans do when they're angry: they sued Ford. Yesterday a judge in the Sacramento Country Superior Court approved a settlement for this class-action lawsuit on behalf of approximately 800,000 Explorer owners that will cost Ford a sizable chunk of change, but it's not the Explorer owners who got the most money. As part of the settlement, Ford has agreed to hand out discount certificates valid for one year that these plaintiffs can apply to the purchase or lease of a FoMoCo product. The discounts...
|
-
|
Filed under: SUVs , Trucks/Pickups , Government/Legal The United States Government does not believe consumers have enough safety measures in place in their automobiles. The House Energy and Commerce Committee has passed a bill that will require government regulators, such as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), to adapt their standards to require various means of diminishing blind spots in trucks and large SUVs, increased prevention of vehicles rolling away and more finger (or neck) friendly power windows. This bill relates to similar legislation passed by a Senate committee back in May. It is different from previous versions though, because it does not specify rear-view cameras as the solution to the visibility issue. It leaves NHTSA the ability to regulate through the use of additional mirrors, sensors, cameras, etc. All this legislation may sound helpful to consumers, but honestly just because better visibility exists doesn't mean the driver will use it. You...
|
-
|
Filed under: SUVs , Government/Legal , Safety , Ford FoMoCo is on the brink of settling a class-action lawsuit brought by owners claiming that Ford's Explorer was prone to rolling over. The settlement covers approximately one million people in California, Connecticut, Illinois and Texas who've owned 1991 through 2001 Explorers. Ford's spokesperson, Kristen Kinley, believes that "the settlement is fair and reasonable," but declined to given an estimate of how much Ford would be shilling out to slighted owners. However, vouchers are expected to be issued to owners in the four states that would allow them to put $500 towards a new Explorer or $300 for another Ford, Lincoln or Mercury product. [Source: Detroit News] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
|
-
|
Filed under: Sports/GTs , SUVs , Government/Legal , Green , Porsche The Senate bill to raise CAFE changes the definition of a low-volume manufacturer from a company that produces 10,000 cars worldwide per year, to a company that has less than 0.4-percent of the US market -- which would be about 64,000 vehicles currently. Porsche sold 34,227 cars and SUVs in the U.S. last year, and if the new classification stands, as a low-volume manufacturer Porsche could benefit from relaxed standards and save itself a heap of money in fines. The provision would also open the door for Jaguar and Land Rover to be reclassified once they are sold. Under current CAFE regulations, Porsche paid $4.6 million in fines last year. When the new regulations are adopted, that number stands to increase significantly, which is why Porsche wants to keep the new low-volume provision in tact and has hired a full-time lobbyist to make that happen. Other automakers, of course, are not too happy about Porsche's efforts...
|
-
|
Filed under: SUVs , Etc. , Government/Legal , Safety , HUMMER , Military TPI Composites has built a Hummer for the Army that is made of composite materials. The Hummer loses 900 pounds of metal body panels and parts, which are then replaced with parts...
|
-
|
Filed under: SUVs , Etc. , Government/Legal , BMW The K-9 unit in Hilliard, Ohio is completely funded by donations from local businesses and organizations. The latest firm to give something to the K-9 team is BMW Financial Services, which provided a specially...
|
-
|
Filed under: Car Buying , SUVs , Government/Legal , Chrysler Jason Vines, Chrysler's VP of Communications, read about John Edward's comments about SUV buying and just couldn't hold his tongue. Democratic presidential hopeful Edwards let slip during a...
|
-
|
Filed under: SUVs , Government/Legal , Green http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-chelsea_hundleyaug11,1,5531900.story Ken Livingston , London's mayor, says he's has had enough of what he calls, "Chelsea tractors." That's what we Yanks call...
|
|
|
|