The Automobile Center

Posted Nov 30th 2008 2:07PM by Jeremy KorzeniewskiFiled under: Sunday Drive Click the map above to view this week’s Sunday Drive This week, Autoblog steps out of California for the day, heading due east towards Arizona. That’s right, we’re headed to Phoenix, and this is the time of year to do it. It may be unbearably hot all Summer, but the Fall and Winter are the reasons why Phoenicians call the Valley of the Sun home. Trust me. There are plenty of good places to point your car in Arizona and we’ll be taking a look at a few of them as this series progresses. Today, we head due South for a three-hour tour of great roads and rugged terrain.We’ve started our day’s journey at the South Mountain Park Scenic Drive, which, at 16,500 acres, happens to be part of the world’s largest park. (Read the full post about ‘Autoblog Sunday Drive: In the Valley of the Sun, Part I’…)

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Posted Nov 30th 2008 10:46AM by Noah JosephFiled under: Etc. Sarcasm, they say, is the lowest form of wit, but in some situations it’s the only thing that will do. Take a poor parking job, for example. We’ve all been there, we’ve all seen it, and we’ve all had the same thoughts. And since anything and everything can be merchandised these days – including our thoughts – it was only a matter of time before someone brought something like this to market. And that someone is Jack Spade, who’s offering a set of cards that read “nice parking” — perfect for sticking under the windshield wiper of particularly offensively-parked vehicles. (Read the full post about ‘Say it like you mean it with “nice parking” cards’…)

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Posted Nov 30th 2008 12:38PM by Chris TutorFiled under: Sedans/Saloons, Supercars, Chevrolet, Vauxhall, CelebritiesAs much as Jeremy Clarkson complains about fat, uncool Americans and their crudely-made, overweight cars, General Motors managed to come out on top in two categories in Top Gear’s annual awards. If you said the Corvette ZR1 was a winner, you’d be totally correct. The 638-hp supercar was a shoo-in to win over the Top Gear team, just as we guessed when they were caught driving at at the Bonneville Salt Flats earlier this year. Chevrolet’s baddest Vette ever sped off with top honors in Top Gear’s Performance Car of the Year category. The second award winner won’t be quite as easy to guess, mostly because it’s not sold in the U.S. (Read the full post about ‘GM UK takes two Top Gear awards’…)

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• SEE ALSO: EV-Motoring.Com
• SEE ALSO: Plug-in 2008 Exclusive Coverage
• SEE ALSO: Plug-in Buyers Guide
• SEE ALSO: 350 Electric Vehicle Stories and Video

Santa Rosa, CA November 29, 2008: President-elect Obama plans to “put 1 million Plug-In Hybrid cars — cars that can get up to 150 miles per gallon — on the road by 2015,” according to his website Barack Obama. The problem with this plan is that it comes in the middle of economic turmoil and financial collapse of the Big 3 automakers.

Often financial stimulus goes from the government to large corporations, and smaller innovative companies like ZAP are omitted.

(Read the full post about ‘Tell Obama, Congress to Support Electric Car Entrepreneurs’…)

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Posted Nov 29th 2008 1:22PM by Jeremy KorzeniewskiFiled under: Hybrids/Alternative, Government/Legal, Green, Chrysler, LLC., Ford, GMRemember the growing movement to caravan a few hundred of Detroit’s most fuel efficient vehicles to the automaker’s next meeting with Congress? Not happening. Interestingly, it wasn’t for lack of support. In fact, it was just the opposite. So many people had voiced their support and announced their intentions to join in that the event’s organizers just weren’t able to keep up. Talk about a logistical nightmare. Organizers have not given up on the idea completely, launching a new website called TheEngineofDemocracy.com that’s supposed to drum up support for Detroit and fuel efficient cars in general. (Read the full post about ‘Detroit to DC caravan cancelled’…)

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Posted Nov 29th 2008 8:34PM by Frank Filipponio
Filed under: Motorsports, Auction Action, Misc. Auto Shows, Event Alert
Last year’s Motor4Toys event, which collected more than 15,000 toys for needy kids

We started our monthly calendar of events last month and learned almost immediately that we will never be able to make it as comprehensive as everyone would like, but that’s where you come in. Take a look at the list we’ve put together for December after the jump, and if you see changes that need to be made or events you’d like to add, leave a comment with event info and a link. (Read the full post about ‘Event Alert: December Calendar of Automotive Events’…)

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WOODCLIFF LAKE, NJ - November 30, 2008: BMW North America conducted a media launch of its new 2009 BMW Advanced Diesel with BluePerformance vehicles with a live web news conference on Tuesday, November 11th.

During the event, detailed information was revealed about the newest chapter in BMW’s EfficientDynamics initiative as it relates to the new BMW 335d Sedan and X5 Drive35d.

(Read the full post about ‘BMW News Conference Launches Advanced Diesel with BluePerformance - VIDEO STORY’…)

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WOODCLIFF LAKE, NJ - November 30, 2008: BMW North America conducted a media launch of its new 2009 BMW Advanced Diesel with BluePerformance vehicles with a live web news conference on Tuesday, November 11th.

During the event, detailed information was revealed about the newest chapter in BMW’s EfficientDynamics initiative as it relates to the new BMW 335d Sedan and X5 Drive35d.

(Read the full post about ‘BMW News Conference Launches Advanced Diesel with BluePerformance - VIDEO STORY’…)

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MUMBAI, India — Yet another challenge is facing the U.S. auto industry. And this time, it isn’t coming from Japan, South Korea, or Germany — or the economy.

In the next few years, Indian automakers and parts suppliers, long outcasts because of lackluster innovation and dormant technology, have ambitious plans to sell cars to American consumers and peddle parts to carmakers in the United States.

India’s anticipated foray into the already-downtrodden U.S. automotive market poses an immediate threat to Detroit’s Big Three and their domestic suppliers, already under threat of bankruptcy because of lagging sales, a tightening credit market, and competition from Asian automakers.

Indian automakers, aggressively recruiting engineers and ramping up research and development teams, are emphatic their entrance into the U.S.

(Read the full post about ‘India’s burgeoning auto production industry is latest challenge facing Detroit’…)

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Earlier this decade, when it was battered by cheap imports and burdened with pension and health care obligations, America’s hemorrhaging steel industry ensured its survival by swallowing the bitter pill of bankruptcy.

Throwing themselves at the mercy of judges who kept creditors at bay, Bethlehem Steel and other Rust Belt icons shed $8 billion in pension obligations and instantly made themselves more attractive targets for acquirers.

(Read the full post about ‘Why Big 3 can’t follow steel’s path’…)

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