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Axes and Axles: Cars and guitars celebrated at the NHRA museum:

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 15:33:00 +0000

WITH VIDEO — Cars and guitars–who can explain why the two go together? NHRA Museum director Tony Thacker says they both represent freedom. You could say they’re both a means of self-expression.

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Do we need an FHA-like agency to back car loans?

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 15:31:00 +0000

That subprime market is bigger than ever, industry analyst Jesse Toprak told me yesterday.

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Ford settles $131m Explorer rollover case

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 15:29:00 +0000

Filed under: SUV, Government/Legal, Safety, Ford

Ford’s second-generation Explorer has just cost the company $131 million. Despite the popularity of the seminal SUV, it’s had more than its fair share of legal scrapes regarding its rollover resistance. And while the Explorer/Firestone tire kerfuffle has long since exited the headlines, the Blue Oval continues to get its pocketbook dinged by the SUV. According to Autoblog sister site AOL Autos, this week, a jury in Jackson, Mississippi was to decide on possible punitive damages in the lawsuit over the death of Brian Cole, a promising baseball player headed for the New York Mets. Ford settled with the family over the matter of the 2001 rollover accident after a jury awarded $131 million in damages. Punitive damages were the next decision the jury was to consider before Ford settled.
Ford apparently disagrees with the blame placed on its vehicle, saying that the 22-year-old Cole [...]

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Who pays the highest auto loan interest rates in the country?

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 14:58:00 +0000

Filed under: Car Buying, Etc., Earnings/Financials
Map

It’s that time of the year again, kids. Manufacturers are busy trying to put people in cars in order to move leftover stock and make room for incoming models, and many are doing so with ridiculously low financing rates. But who’s the fairest of them all? As it turns out, that depends entirely on where you live. The crew over at Kicking Tires has compiled average loan interest rates from across the country and organized the data into the incredibly handy map you see above.
As it turns out, car buyers in places like Los Angeles and Las Vegas are getting the short end of the financial stick when it comes to their loans, with buyers dealing with 9.55 percent and 9.58 percent APR, respectively. Meanwhile, those in places like Oklahoma City are shouldering a much more reasonable 3.65 percent APR.
The Kicking [...]

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Cities under consideration for Fiat 500 sales outlets listed?

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 14:31:00 +0000

Filed under: Car Buying, Budget, Hatchback, Chrysler, Fiat

Fiat 500 receives a model introduction - click above for high-res image gallery

We’ve been anxiously awaiting the availability of Fiat’s 500 bubble bauble in the States for so long that we’re beginning to feel like we’re waiting for Godot and that the four-wheeled confection will never actually arrive at all.
But there appears to be hope on the horizon.
Earlier this week, Chrysler hosted hundreds of potential dealers at its Auburn Hills, MI headquarters as it is working to pull together a network, and it’s understood that the automaker wants to sell 50,000 units per year through 165 dealers. While we think the Cinquecento is small and cuddly enough to pop out of a few strategically placed vending machines, Fiat will definitely need a cohesive countrywide network to sell its planned full lineup of vehicles. So where are they thinking about planting their [...]

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Will Land Rover Add Small, Hybrid Models?

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 14:22:19 +0000

New owner Tata Motors says yes, but not when.

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Autoliv CEO says demand still firm, repeats outlook

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 14:16:00 +0000

Autoliv, the world’s biggest maker of airbags and seat belts, has seen no decline in demand despite slower car production in the second half of the year, its top executive said on Friday.

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Porsche’s Deadly Sin #6 — 2006 Cayman “S”

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 14:05:16 +0000

Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet; and especially whenever my hypos get such an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong [...]

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Feds Push ‘Active Transportation’ For Healthy Communities

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 14:00:01 +0000

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is on a mission to help create a transportation system that makes us fitter, not fatter
The agency, which promotes and protects public health and safety, is pushing active transportation systems in a big way, and it’s fitting in light of the undeniable fact the United States is getting ever fatter. The number of states with an obesity rate of 30 percent or more tripled, to nine, between 2007 and 2009.
Active transportation systems promote pedestrian mobility, bicycle usage, connectivity to mass transit and so-called complete streets that make room for all modes of transport. The CDC outlines the ambitious goals in its Transportation Recommendations. The focus is on developing more efficient transportation systems while improving Americans’ quality of life and health.
The CDC is not alone in pushing this agenda.

First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move Campaign aims to make children more active [...]

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Mercedes-Benz updates Mbrace app with ‘Concierge’ service

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 13:58:00 +0000

Filed under: Technology, Mercedes-Benz, Luxury
Mercedes-Benz and its partners at Hughes Telematics have released an updated version of its Mbrace app for the iPhone, and 2.0 brings along a new line of location-based services.
In addition to the usual array of safety and convenience features (locking and unlocking doors, finding the Benz in a parking lot, etc.), the app now includes Mercedes-Benz’ Concierge service which can pull down everything from driving directions and traffic updates to movie times and restaurant listings and then ports them directly into the navigation system. The Roadside Assistance program has also undergone a rework and Mbrace Plus subscribers can download it now from the App Store. Full details in the press blast below the fold.
Continue reading Mercedes-Benz updates Mbrace app with ‘Concierge’ service
Mercedes-Benz updates Mbrace app with ‘Concierge’ service originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 08:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use [...]

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