California clean-vehicle goals may be cut

All those tree huggers that spend more money on luxury watches than you probably do on your food may be in for some bad news.

Samantha Young writing for the AP reported that California air regulators on Thursday were considering a major cutback to the state's clean-vehicle program, a move that would delay a large deployment of battery-powdered and hydrogen vehicles.

The decision also will affect efforts to promote zero-emission vehicles in 12 other states.

Tree huggers unite.

Some Video of the New GM Camero

GMnext presents an exclusive peek inside the Accessories Design Studio in Auburn Hills, Michigan and a sneak peek at the new Camaro. The video below shows a bit of the new Camero as well as a look at what kind of accessories are being revealed to potential car buyers. Everything from custom seats to technological toys you can play with instead of keeping your eyes on the road a head of you. So get out your cell phone and top diet pills and make this a hands free drive through the world of the GM Camero. You are well on your way to pissing off every other motorist on the streets!

BMW Profits Fall Victim to U.S. Success

Americans helped BMW sell more cars than in any other country, but the very weak dollar made those sales much less profitible than they could ahve been. The USD is being pounded in the world markets over the course of the last year and it showed in the bottom lines for the BMW sales.

Anyone making their sales in the U.S. from the International side has probably cleared their wine racks in the last year as the profits are being pounded by the weak dollar.

There was a surprise in last year's results, though. Audi's profit margin topped BMW's.

BMW's comparatively bad showing demonstrates just how right CEO Norbert Reithofer has been in pursuing drastic cost reductions. In the United States, BMW has become a victim of its own success. The weak dollar most hurts the import company selling the most in the United States.

According to Automotive News, in some ways, Audi should be grateful to Ralph Weyler, its departed sales and marketing chief for neglecting the American market.

Weyler's inattention helped put Audi far behind Mercedes and BMW in U.S. sales. But as an unintended positive result, the dollar's weakness today is barely affecting the company. It makes one wonder if the folks at Audi might be secretly hoping for Americans to buy a record number of BMWs again this year, too.

Compare low price quotes from local dealers on all new car models at PriceQuotes.com. Recommended by The Auto Channel.

2008 Jeep Grand Cherokee 3.0-liter Diesel Review

One of the most successful SUV lines ever made, the Cheep Grand Cheorkee tries to get back into the fold with this new breed of SUV. This vehicle is going to have the highest miles per gallon output of any in the Jeep Cherokee line. Something that is a must for SUVs. You may even be able to drive this to your Hilton Head rentals rather than other methods with its new and improved engine.

"Don't judge a book by its cover." You know this adage, and sometimes it even means something…like learning the tattooed girl from Starbucks is a Rhodes Scholar. The old saying applies to the 2008 Jeep Grand Cherokee diesel, and here's how: The Grand Cherokee last received a full makeover in 2005.

In industry parlance, this SUV is mid-cycle—another way of saying that its middle aged, old news, not worthy of much attention, and completely out of the media limelight. However, when fitted with the 3.0-liter clean diesel V-6 produced by Mercedes-Benz, the Grand Cherokee suddenly becomes a newly-relevant SUV. full review

Harley-Davidson Museum Rolls out Invitation to Adventure

Harley Davidson fans and fanatics have another place to quench their thirst for the king of all motorcycle brands. Harley-Davidson is inviting people worldwide to become a part of the Harley-Davidson Museum family through its new Membership program.

Opening its doors in July 2008, the Harley-Davidson Museum is offering several membership levels, and those who join the Museum by June 1, 2008 will be invited to a pre-grand opening preview of the Museum, subject to capacity. All who have signed up in 2008 will forever be known as “Founding Members.”

This is a great opportunity to show you are a hardcore Harley fanatic by becoming a founding member.

“Membership will allow our visitors to get the most out of their Museum experience,” said Stacey Schiesl, Harley-Davidson Museum director. “Through exclusive events and behind-the-scenes access, our members will be able to connect to the Museum and the history and culture of Harley-Davidson in a very meaningful way.”

Signing up doesn't require travel insurance to get there. To join the Harley-Davidson Museum family, log on to the Harley Davidson Museum membership page. Those who sign up prior to the opening in July 2008 will receive Membership that extends until one year after the official Museum opening date.

2008 Fuel Economy Guide

This is something that should be posted every year so i am going to post it every year :).

With the costs of driving now you are probably very interested in fuel economy, and I can't blame you. We all are. We want more money to buy our stair lift don't we?

Compiled below are some links that will be helpful in your study of fuel economy. These resources are pretty in depth so any effort by me to try and condense them would be futile.

2000-2008 New and Used Car MPG Database

Search By EPA Class

Search by Model

Search By Make

Cars That Don’t Need Gasoline

Best and Worst Cars MPG

Best and Worst Trucks

2009 BMW 1 Series Review

This is one of the cars you look forward to seeing every year. The yuppie power drive and the name to back it up. The convertible with the look to make any woman get a little bit excited under the down comforters in the back seat while you look up at the stars.

BMW’s new 1 Series is a genetic throwback to the first BMWs imported into the US. More curvaceous than the boxy 1600 and 2002 of your misspent youth, the new 1 Series—128 and 135 Coupe and Convertible—are spiritual successors. Powered by engines introduced in the 3 and 5 Series, the lighter cars have more performance in a smaller, and more affordable, package.

Introduced in 2007, the 230 hp N52 3.0-liter inline 6-cylinder engine injects every 128i with 200 pound-feet of torque. The price for a 128i Coupe, including destination, is $29,375 and a 128i Convertible, $33,875. full review

2008 Ford Shelby GT Wins Motor Trend Ponycar War

Shelby and Ford once again proved to be a winning combination when Motor Trend announced the champion of its “Pony Expressed” comparison test in its April 2008 issue.

This car is amazing. I wish I had some video for it to put up, but unfortunately I do not. Maybe in a couple days. Hopefully I remember to do it since I will have a hard enough time remembering to set my Chopard watch a head an hour on Saturday for the Daylight Savings Time change. Spring A Head, Fall Back is the way to remember. Now if there was just a good way to remember the date...lol

“The Shelby GT is a well-balanced, fun to drive machine that draws upon our experience of making Mustangs go faster,” said Amy Boylan, president of Shelby Autos. “Every lesson we learned while earning our stripes over the past 46 years is built into these ponycars. The competition was fierce with three very good cars in this test, so I’m proud that the Ford Shelby GT has earned another victory for both Team Shelby and every Ford Shelby owner.”

2008 Geneva Motor Show: Lancia Delta

Unfortunately most of the video I am posting here is in French, but that isn't a big deal. You don't need to have just unpacked your luggage from a Paris weekend to understand. What you are going to want to do is skip forward to about the 9 minute mark and watch the show. You don't need to speak French to enjoy the footage.

What are we watching here? With great fanfare, Lancia unveiled its stunning new Delta at the 78th Geneva Motor Show. Delta: a name that embodies all the strength of one of the highest moments in automotive history as well as a name that means ‘difference’ in mathematical terms; a difference conceived as evolution, improvement, excellence.

luggage

Image is from source

2008 Geneva Motor Show: Saab Hybrid Concept

Yesterday at the Geneva Auto Show, Saab introduced their plans for their hybrid concepts. In the video below you can see their presentation as it was meant to be shared. Not exaclty the company you would work with if you were looking for something to put your Jobox on, but they are leading the industry in turbocharging vehicle performance.

Saab already leads the automotive industry in applying its turbocharging expertise to enhance the performance and environmental benefits of E85 fuel (85% bioethano/15% gasoline). Saab BioPower models are the top-selling flex-fuel vehicles in Europe and produce more power with E85, as well as less CO2 emissions compared to gasoline.