If you could e-mail anyone...

If I could e-mail anyone it would be Ford Sr., the owner of the Detroit Lions. I mean what could this guy possibly be thinking about with the way he runs that team. Not only that, but look at how the Ford company itself is losing more money than the GNP of half the countires in the world. I would tell this guy that the sooner he retires and lets his son take over the sooner the Ford name can reclain its glory. This guy is just mailing it in at this point. Go away. That's Email Marketing my friends.



"This post brought to you on behalf of MindComet"

So what does everyone think of Ford's problems?

Everything this company seems to touch turns to crap. Do they even care anymore? It seems like they are just going through the motions these days.

Looks like I got another one...

So how long will it take you all this time? The last one took less than 20 minutes for you snipers to find...lol

This here is puzzle piece #26 for the postie Michelle who won the HP Photosmart M527 digital camera with another post she did. Like before this post is sponsored by HP and their Digital Photo Printing.

Considering I have 3 of these now I might actually try to win this thing. Of course I don’t have any of the other pieces so that would be a worthless effort. Good luck to all who come. You surely won’t have me as any competition in this contest.

This post sponsored by HP.

'HARD TO BELIEVE': Workers shocked that it's this bad

I can't realize how much money that is and I used to be a financial advisor. This state is already hurting for jobs and news like this isn't going to help anyone. These workers are going to get the shaft.

The size of Ford Motor Co.'s losses last year caught the company's rank-and-file workers off guard Thursday.

They had expected bad news from the company's annual earnings report, but not losses of nearly $13 billion -- an amount so high that for some workers it was hard to fathom.

"They really don't realize how much money that is," Bill Gazsi said of some of his coworkers at the Dearborn Truck Plant. "Sometimes it's kind of hard to believe."

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Here postie postie postie

Here we go. Another puzzle piece depicting the winner of a HP Photosmart M527 digital camera through a previous PPP Opportunity. This time it was a postie named Michelle. HP has been a great sponsor of PPP and they keep pouring it on.

They have some great Digital Photo Printing available at that link so give them some love like they give us love.

I guess everyone is here looking for the next piece of the puzzle. I’ll bet nobody finds this one unless I give it away. If you see this you are pretty luck I would guess. This may be one of those random ones that nobody ever picks up on.



HP sponsored this post.

FORD CEO: 'We are at the bottom'

Looks like Ford is in some serious trouble here. Not a suprise why they are the way they run this dump. Seems like everyhting the Ford name touches now turns to crap.

After unveiling Ford Motor Co.'s record $12.7-billion loss for 2006, Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally offered assurance to plant workers, engineers, managers, dealers and others stunned by the news.

"We are at the bottom," Mulally told the Free Press on Thursday afternoon.

He pledged that 2007 would end on a stronger note as the company progresses through a massive restructuring, though more losses are expected.

The costs of the restructuring, and a sweeping consumer shift away from Ford's most profitable pickups and SUVs, helped bring the company to this low point. The breathtaking loss reported Thursday represented a total of $1,925 for each of the 6.6 million cars and trucks Ford sold around the world last year.

High-Intensity Discharge (HID) headlight conversion

You know I could really use some of these Xenon High-Intensity Discharge (HID) headlights. I've seen them in action before and they really are way better than the garbage lights I have now. Feels like I have a pair of flashlights on my ride. The HID kit & Xenon Headlights are definitely something to take me out of the dark ages. Yeah I said that. :)

President targets oil, energy use

So....Georgie is trying to do a good deed, eh? Suprising since he is about to be out of a job. I guess he has a lot of speaking engagements lined up like Pops did. Remember how Sr. had that speach for stock options at one point and made like $5 mil from it? I can't imagine anyone really wants to hear G.W. ramble on about anything, but you never know. Surely he has a financial interest in this thing.

WASHINGTON -- President George W. Bush called for an ambitious increase in the fuel economy of cars and trucks and a surge in alternative fuels as a centerpiece of his State of the Union speech Tuesday, part of a plan to cut the nation's gasoline consumption by 20% in a decade.

Bush's proposal drew a wary reception from automakers and environmental groups, who likely will wage pitched battles in the coming months over the specifics, especially whether Bush's goals for fuel economy increases will be hard standards or soft targets.

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Car Refinance

Just wanted to give you a quick review of a site that does car refinance deals. Car Refinance is just like any other form of refinance, except it is for cars obviously. RateGenius refinances your current auto loan for the amount left in the current term i.e. if you have 42 months left in your current term, rateGenius will refinance you at 42 months at a lower interest rate so you will pay less for the same vehicle in the same amount of time. However, your term is flexible and may be shortened or lengthened to accommodate your particular refinance needs.

I've found that the site is very easy to navigate and that information is readily available. Options galore and plenty of in depth FAQs for you to see what car refinance is all about. Best way to figure out what refinance can do for you is to visit their help page and browse through the extensive Q & A. Their efforts will likely find you saving a bunch of money and help you cut that monthly payment down, or even shorten you rterm to get the loan over with quicker. Very good site, and service.

Honda FCX Redesigned

Photo from hybridcars.com

What an amazing difference from the old model of this car. Still it is said that they were trying to show that the hybrids could be a family car as well as a more sporty type. As you will see from the article comments however, this car has a lot of work left to it. It may never be worth its salt.

The sleek, sporty new design of the Honda FCX fuel cell vehicle certainly grabbed the attention of visitors to the 2007 North American International Auto Show, which runs through Jan. 21.

The FCX’s predecessor, by comparison, was downright dowdy—but don’t think for a minute that Honda’s design team was asleep at the switch. Honda was apparently making a point— a fuel cell vehicle could be an everyday car for an everyday family. In fact, the previous Honda FCX model has been doing commute and carpool duty by a family in Redondo Beach, Calif., for almost two years. Prior to that, the city of Los Angeles was giving a limited number of Honda FCX vehicles for everyday use.

Full Article

Wagoner calls for U.S. to focus on alternative fuel

Glad to see this in the news. Hopefully a big name speaking out like this will get more involved in the alternative fuel struggle. We need to stay ahead of the competition here and we need help doing it.

DEARBORN -- General Motors Corp. Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner said Washington should not slack off on efforts to develop alternative energy sources now that oil prices have fallen.

Wagoner pressed the issue during a speech Tuesday night at the Automotive News World Congress in Dearborn, where fuel economy and energy policy were hot topics.

"With the price of oil at its lowest level in 19 months, we run the risk of reverting back to our traditional energy policy," Wagoner said. "That is, relying heavily on the lowest-cost energy available on world markets, including imported oil, without providing adequate support for developing alternative sources.

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070117/AUTO01/701170401/1148

the $4 Million ‘Cuda

Get out your pocket books. Better yet take out a loan you can never repay and take a look at the 1971 Plymouth Hemi Barracuda Convertible.


image from www.thecarconnection.com

Classic-car collectors will converge onArizona this weekend, as the annual Barrett-Jackson and RM auctions bring a new crop of ultra-expensive rides to the Scottsdale area.

Over at Barrett-Jackson, the auction vehicles include the Hummer used by CNN to cover the Iraq War, with proceeds going to charity.

Meanwhile, at the RM Auction, the list of vehicles includes what could become the most expensive muscle car ever sold on the auction circuit. RM says it will auction off a 1971 Plymouth Hemi Barracuda convertible, valued prior to sale at more than $4 million. One of 11 built, the car raced the pro-stock drag circuit and sports an odometer with only 282 miles.

Arizona auctions include priciest musclecar ever?

475 Horses: Jaguar XKR GT3 Racing Car Makes Debut

image courtesy of Edmunds.com

Can't say as if I wouldn't want one of these to tear up and down the streets with.

BIRMINGHAM, England — If it sounds sacrilegious to put a big spoiler on the back of the Jaguar XKR, think again. Thanks to Apex Motorsport of the U.K., it looks like a natural on the luxury car.

The Jaguar XKR GT3 made its debut at the Autosport International Show here on Friday. Jaguar was quick to point out that this is not a factory motorsports program and that Apex race activities are independent of Jaguar. But it was clear that the British marque is wholeheartedly behind the idea.

source

How Toyota became a juggernaut

Out of small beginnings.

Toyota cracked the Big 3 in U.S. auto sales in 2006, passing DaimlerChrysler and closing in on both Ford and General Motors.

But a half-century ago, America was still a gleam in the eye of a few optimistic Toyota executives in Japan. Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. set up shop Oct. 31, 1957, in a former Rambler dealership in Hollywood.

Sales began in 1958. That year's total: 288 vehicles - 287 Toyopet Crowns and a Land Cruiser. Last year in the United States, the company surpassed 2.5 million sales of Toyota, Lexus and Scion models. Toyota also built 1.6 million vehicles and 1.4 million engines in North America in 2006.

full story

Crowds flock to auto show

Just wanted to get something out there on the North American International Auto Show. This article has many links and great coverage on the site with tons of pics and plenty to read about what's under the hoods of these fantastic rides.

Velvet S. McNeil / The Detroit News

DETROIT -- Slick roads and pinched pocketbooks didn’t keep auto aficionados away from the North American International Auto Show on Sunday, the second day the show was open to the public.

Car enthusiasts young and old ogled, photographed and handled automobiles displayed on the floor of Cobo Center. Some hunted for their next family car; many cruised the floor for their dream wheels.

“Nothing would have kept me away today,” said Keith Simmons, 47, who drove an hour from Toledo in the rain to attend. With camcorder in hand, he recorded his fantasy cars from all angles, like a sporty BMW and the Rolls-Royce Phantom convertible, a concept car with dramatic suicide doors.

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Vehicles of the future likely to be more plugged in

By John O'Dell, Los Angeles Times | January 14, 2007

The electric car, derided as impractical by automakers since General Motors Corp. pulled the plug on its revolutionary EV1, is staging a comeback in the United States amid lofty fuel prices and persistent worries about the nation's dependence on imported oil.

GM, the chief villain in the recent documentary "Who Killed the Electric Car?" had plans for a new family of electric vehicles as the annual North American International Auto Show in Detroit began its four-day media preview last Sunday.
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Pull Up, Plug In, Turn Up

Do you need to just pull over and whip out your axe every once in a while? I guess some people do because Panasonic is going to let you.

Pull Up, Plug In, Turn Up
By Tom Murphy
WardsAuto.com, Jan 11, 2007 1:34 PM

DETROIT – Panasonic Automotive Systems Co. of America clearly has been paying attention to the auto industry trend toward highly specialized niche vehicles that may strike a chord, literally, with certain potential buyers.

The audio system specialist pairs up with Fender Musical Instruments Corp. – whose world-famous guitars have been plucked, beaten, torched, painted, gouged and even licked by rock virtuosos such as Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan – for a concept vehicle that will resonate with novice and pro guitarists alike.

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New Viper raises the horsepower bar

Unbelievable.

DETROIT -- Dodge renews its claim to the all-American horsepower trophy with the 2008 Viper SRT10 sports car, which cranks out a whopping 600 hp, 90 more hp than the Viper it replaces.

The Chevrolet Corvette Z06 had held the horsepower crown with 505 hp.

The Viper's output comes from an aluminum V-10 engine. Chrysler group engineers worked with specialists from McLaren Performance Technologies and Ricardo Inc. to increase the horsepower by upping displacement, adding electronically adjusted variable valve timing, and raising the rpm limit.

See pics and rest of story

2007 Detroit auto show index

Ford to invest $866 millon in Michigan plants

Good old Ford family. With such great cars as the Ford Focus, a football franchise that only wins so they don't have to get the #1 pick, and allowing a man to put himself in a position that it would take him 3 straight perfect seasons to get to a .500 record. Yet they still make money.

By SARAH A. WEBSTER

FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER

Ford Motor Co. officials at the Livonia Transmission plant today announced investments in six southeastern Michigan Ford facilities totaling $866 million.

The investments will bring the manufacturing facilities up to date so they can more flexibly build new and current models, such as the 2008 Ford Focus and the 2009 Ford F-150, which will be all-new.

In August, Ford and the state jointly announced that the automaker would invest up to $1 billion in Michigan facilities and receive up to $151 million in state tax incentives.

Story

Detroit Show survival kit: Getting Ready for the Big One

Found this article when looking for some takes on what to put in an auto survival kit. Suffice to say this one was a bit more interesting and more comedic. Speaking on the North American International Auto Show, this gentleman has come up with quite the survival kit that you will need when you go.

Detroit Show survival kit: Getting Ready for the Big One