Ethanol Craze Cools as Doubts Multiply

The AIADA newsletter reported that a little over a year ago, ethanol backers were promising greater U.S. energy independence and fewer greenhouse gases.

Today, critics of ethanol blame it for pushing up food prices, question its environmental bona fides, and dispute how much it really helps reduce the need for oil.

So which of them can look into their bathroom vanities and feel like they are telling everyone the truth?

A study coauthored by Nobel-prize-winning chemist Paul Crutzen said corn ethanol might exacerbate climate change as the added fertilizer used to grow corn raised emissions of nitrous oxide. In additions, the Agriculture Department projects that by 2010, less than 8% of the U.S. gasoline supply will come from corn-based ethanol - and 30% of the corn crop will be used to make it. more

2007 Dodge Sprinter Review

While you think about getting some christmas decorating tips, why not look for some things that will help decorate your driveway, or tips on how NOT to decorate it?

I'm not sure if anyone finds this vehicle nice to look at, but the Dodge Sprinter may be a very useful vehicle for the holiday travel season. A vehicle that is used as a delivery van, work truck, airport shuttle, hauler of anything, and in this case, a nice bus for holiday travel. Take a look at this Sprinter Review to show the use for such a vehicle as a travel caravan instead of just something to haul things. It is a story about some Michigan State University students taking a trip and using the van.

2007 LA Auto Show

Got quite a bit of coverage on this with some 2007 LA Auto Show video from some of our friends at the AutoChannel. Being the travelpro that I am I wasn't able to get to this particular show, but I did catch a really crappy "auto" show in town here and got to see a bunch of the worst cars ever made. It was rather funny actually in that all the cars there were basically donations to junk yards for that customary $50 payoff you get when you just hand them over your title to a car that is dead.

Anyways, the LA Auto Show features the Mercedes-Benz Celebrates AMG 40th Anniversary, and they also unveil Unveils C63 which you can see in the video above.

2007 LA Auto Show: Lincoln Unveils its New Flagship Vehicle MKS

Continuing coverage of the LA Auto Show. There are tons of great videos out there including this Lincoln MKS Unveiling Video.

This bad boy is quite the luxury vehicle that you will want to keep your exterior lighting on at all times and just stare at it in your driveway. Probably don't even want to put it in your garage so you can stare at it :).

"Lincoln has reestablished itself as a quality and design leader with award-winning products like the Lincoln MKZ, MKX and Navigator," said Mark Fields, Ford Motor Company's president of The Americas. “With the Lincoln MKS, we are raising the bar even higher with unparalleled amenities and performance, and a price that should be irresistible to luxury customers.”

Chrysler Town Country and Dodge Grand Caravan Earn Popular Science Magazine's 'Best of What's New' Award for 2008

Although they don't have a fancy car spoiler on them they have been named the best of "What's New" for 2008.

"For 20 years, Popular Science's Best of What's New awards have honored the innovations that make a positive impact on life today and change our views of the future," said Mark Jannot, Editor and Chief -Popular Science Magazine. "PopSci's editors evaluate thousands of products each year to develop this thoughtful list. There's no higher accolade Popular Science can give," said Jannot.

Chrysler continues to impress the masses, including the editors at Popular Science Magazine, who have chosen the Chrysler Town Country and the Dodge Grand Caravan as the "Best of What's New" for 2008 award recipients. more

Get Competing Car Quotes for Better deals

I was screwing around looking for aHonda Car Quote and came a crossed that site there in which you can throw out what you are looking for and they will give you quotes from those competing to get your business. You register for the site for free and then start looking for what you need. It helps you compare quotes at wholesale prices and on top of that allows you to get competing offers. So you don't just have to drive around to a few dealers and let them know what kind of offers you are getting. This place allows you to tell them what you are looking for and then have dealers compete for your business by giving you direct offers.

2008 Volvo XC70 Road Test

Interesting way to promote a vehicle I must say. Can't seem to think of seeing a story written this way as a sort of quasi-review for a car before. I've seen stories liek this for things like wedding shirts, or bride dresses, but nothing for a car. Maybe we should all write reviews like this from now on.

I'm on a forest service road in the mountains of northern Montana, just outside of Glacier National Park and only a few miles from Canada. I really don't need the ice-alert light in the instrument cluster to tell me that it might be cold enough for slippery, icy conditions. I can feel the cold through the window glass if I touch my hand to the side window, and I can see the white stuff coming down. It's sticking, too - just a light covering, but still a little unusual for mid-September. full story

Better Garage Flooring

One of the worst things about most garages is that they are made of untreated cement, and have ugly stains all over them from leaks of any fluid that leaks out of your car. They become difficult to clean, and the floor just looks terrible. Finding better garage flooring options is something I decided to look for today and see some very nice ones in the link I have provided. Take a look a the professional grade epoxy images at the bottom of this page to see how much better a garage can look. It also is easy to see that it is much easier to clean such floors.

2008 Volkswagen GLI Review

VWs are always a great car. This one is is joked as being called "Arrest Me Yellow", like the Porsche used to be called for being red.

A hilarious sitcom comes to mind as I think about this week’s ride, the hot-shot sports sedan from VW called Jetta GLI Fahrenheit. It’s been about a dozen years since the show was on the air but one classic line jumps out at me. The star, a cute, bubbly, vivacious little blonde, in bed with her young man (marital status eludes me), is telling him about something important that happened at her job that day. He appears distracted by whatever is on TV, probably sports if the stereotype holds. In frustration she throws one leg over his, turns right into his face and demands, “Pay attention to me!” full review

2008 Cadillac Escalade on Sale in China for $149K

Whoa Nellie. Get out your headache treatment program and figure out how you would be able to pay for this. Better yet, figure out how you would be able to stomach it when your wife told you she just bought it...lol

Shanghai General Motors (Shanghai GM) announced today that it will start to sell 2008 Cadillac Escalade at dealerships in China starting today. The vehicle will be priced at about 1.12 million yuan ($149,843).

Since the second generation Cadillac Escalade went on sale in the Chinese market last July, some 350 vehicles have been sold and new orders have been increasing continuously, Shanghai GM said. more