(Clifford Atiyeh/Boston.com)

Tesla Motors, which opened a Manhattan showroom in July, will have a stand at this year's New England International Auto Show as the company prepares to open a Boston dealership next year.

The company is bringing at least two Roadster models, both specified in the more powerful and luxurious Sport trim, according to Don MacNeil, sales advisor for New England. Tesla, which in July received $465 million in federal loans to build the 2011 Model S sedan, is eager to expand its customer base beyond the roughly dozen Roadster owners here in New England. Tesla's six-month wait lists have "dropped through the floor," MacNeil said, to as little as 10 weeks.

While Tesla takes the Boston stage, a surprising roster of manufacturers are opting out: Infiniti, Mercedes, Jaguar, Land Rover, and Porsche. That's in addition to Saturn, Pontiac, and Hummer, vestiges the "new" General Motors can't get rid of fast enough.

Saab, however, will be there with the first new 9-5 sedan in more than 10 years. But with struggling auto sales comes budget cuts, and many automakers, including Nissan, aren't even showing up to the Los Angeles auto show that same week.

"They've pulled out because of the enormous costs," said Barbara Pudney, a spokeswoman for Paragon Group, the show's coordinator. "Because of economic stress, there aren't concepts this year."

To fill the void in the huge space of the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, Pudney said the show will have 150 modified and tuner vehicles from private owners and various car clubs.

The show opens Tuesday, Dec. 2 and runs through Sunday, Dec. 6.

By Globe Staff

An estimated 38.4 million Americans will be traveling 50 miles or more from home over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, up 1.4 percent from last year when concerns about the financial crisis kept many folks home, AAA Southern New England said.

"Much of the increased travel is projected to come from the New England states, which are expected to show an overall increase of 8.8 percent over 2008," a press release from AAA Southern New England said.

AAA said its projections are based on research conducted by IHS Global Insight, a Lexington-based economic research and consulting firm.

In New England, people tend to live closer together, and shorter distances between family and friends often translate into more holiday travel by car. Throw in local unemployment rates that are generally lower than the national unemployment rate, and conditions are favorable for an increase in New England car travel this Thanksgiving holiday, said Christopher Pike, principal of travel and tourism at IHS Global Insight.

In its press release, AAA added: "Last year, Thanksgiving travel fell 25 percent from 2007 in the wake of the ongoing housing and financial crisis. This year’s expected increase in travel reflects improved consumer confidence from one year ago, better financial market performance, and a growing sense among many consumers that the worst of the global economic crisis is behind us."

(Toyota)

New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick can be credited with making the saying "It is what it is," a common part of this region's speech pattern. The term also can be applied to Toyota's fifth generation 4Runner, which will be coming to a showroom near you in the next few weeks.

Rather than pitch the 4Runner as a car for the masses, Toyota's executives said it, er, "is what it is" - that being a capable off-road vehicle aimed at buyers who utilize the vehicle's "go anywhere" capabilities. It's also a niche vehicle: the company expects to sell about 35,000 in the coming model year in the US market and many more worldwide.

(All photos: Clifford Atiyeh/Boston.com)

WAREHAM – Jay Rogers isn’t sleeping until his car is ready.

It’s 8 p.m., less than 24 hours before the dune buggy prototype must ship off to Las Vegas for the country’s biggest aftermarket auto show next week, and the front end isn’t mounted yet. Mechanics scurry around the cramped garage space, revving drill bits and metal grinders as yellow sparks fly off the front bumper. The gutted interior won’t be finished, but Rogers, CEO of Local Motors and charged with refinishing the back bumper, keeps a calm, straight face.

It has taken just 14 months and about $2 million to transform a sketch – chosen from tens of thousands submitted to his website from across the world – into the Rally Fighter, an extreme off-roader built for high-speed dirt and sand racing. Rogers is targeting race teams that compete in endurance competitions like the Baja 1000 in Mexico, and other lunatics in the western states with $50,000 to spend on a lightweight, street-legal race car.

The first-ever finalists for the Internet Car and Truck of the Year awards have been selected for the last round of voting. A jury of 12 automotive writers on the web narrowed their car favorites to the Ford Fusion Hybrid, Mazda 3, and Shelby GT500, while choosing the Ford Raptor, Chevrolet Equinox, and Volvo XC60 as truck finalists.

Consumers who voted in the first round on internetcarandtruckoftheyear.com (don't paste that URL in Twitter) preferred the Audi Q7 TDI over the XC60 in the truck category, and liked the Ford Taurus SHO and Chevrolet Camaro SS over the Fusion Hybrid and Mazda 3. Nearly 10,000 votes were tallied.

"Voting by the jury of Internet automotive writers reflects respect for technology, innovation, and, of course, power while the consumers, or Average Joes, want power, power and more power," said Keith Griffin, the award's creator and vice president of the New England Motor Press Association.

Vote for your consumer favorites now through Nov. 13 at 5:00 p.m. and catch the winners, along with those chosen by the journalist jury, at the Los Angeles Auto Show in December.

By Keith Griffin, Boston.com Correspondent

NEW YORK—Normally, one of the best jobs in the world has to be Bentley's US president and COO. That is, unless you are Christophe Georges on a Thursday morning in the Chelsea section of Manhattan and your company's new car petulantly refuses to come off the car carrier.

Such was the case as Georges, who works out of Bentley's Boston office, stood before a gathering of automotive media to make the Northeast introduction of the 2011 Bentley Mulsanne, the latest entry to the ultra-high luxury segment that is populated solely by the likes of Rolls Royce and Maybach.

"The challenge for me is I was supposed to show you a new car," Georges said. "This is only the seventh car made. These things are going to happen."

Miscues aside, the Mulsanne is a fine compilation of craftsmanship. "This car is totally consistent with our values, Bentley's DNA," he said. "This is our interpretation of the best car in the world."

(Suzanne Kreiter/Globe Staff)

By Glenn Gould, Boston.com Correspondent

The view high above the Staples headquarters parking lot in Framingham was fantastic. But why was I hovering over the parking lot in a boom truck bucket in the first place? Well, as the operator started to give me a fast 360 degree twirl I too wondered this.

This particular Eaton bucket truck was a hybrid vehicle, part of a lineup of alternative fuel vehicles designed for commercial fleets.

Admittedly, I am not a commercial fleet owner nor do I plan to be one. So, from my bird's eye view of the assembled vehicles I chose two familiar looking Mercedes-Benz vehicles to look at.

By Erin Ailworth, Globe Staff

Strolling amidst the alternative energy vehicles on display yesterday at the fifth AltWheels Fleet Day exposition in Framingham, Staples Inc. fleet equipment manager Michael C. Payette almost immediately started talking trash.

As Peterbilt district sales manager Bob Moreau explained, the trash hauler uses a “hydraulic launch assist” system. It stores pressure when the brakes are applied, then uses that force to propel the truck forward. In a truck that starts and stops constantly - up to 1,200 times a day - that conserves a lot of gas.

“You're saving two brake jobs a year,” Moreau said, “and [up to] 25 percent of the fuel.”

Also on display were more than 50 cars and trucks, many powered by electricity, compressed natural gas, or lithium-ion batteries.

(Toyota)

Toyota issued this illustration showing correct floor mat installation in a press release yesterday.

Hundreds of published reports yesterday claimed Toyota had already issued a recall to address the possibility of accelerator pedals getting jammed under factory floor mats, but the company fired back in an e-mail this morning stating yesterday's notice was nothing more than a safety advisory.

"Despite widespread reporting to the contrary, this is not yet a recall," wrote Toyota northeast PR manager Wade Hoyt. Hoyt said to the Globe this morning that "it wouldn't be a recall until we've worked out a fix that NHTSA approves."

Hoyt said it is likely a recall will be issued, but could not confirm a date or exactly how many cars would be included.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued a report yesterday warning that improperly positioned floor mats on certain Toyota models could cause the gas pedal to become stuck in full throttle.

The agency recommended that these owners "immediately" remove the driver's side factory floor mat as an "interim safety measure." All told, the agency has received 102 incident reports from owners "in which the accelerator may have become stuck," according to the Associated Press.

"Until Toyota can implement a remedy, it is asking consumers and associates who drive specific Toyota and Lexus models to take out any removable driver’s floor mat and NOT replace it with any other floor mat," Toyota said yesterday.

About 3.8 million Toyota and Lexus models are affected, including the 2007-2010 Camry, 2005-2010 Avalon, 2004-2009 Prius, 2005-2010 Tacoma, 2007-2010 Tundra, 2007-2010 ES 350, and the 2006-2010 IS 250 and IS350.

Toyota engineers are currently working on a fix "besides the retaining hooks" that secure the mats to the floor, Hoyt said. Part of the problem, Hoyt said, is that owners may remove the mats for cleaning and put them back unsecured, or place rubber winter mats, which are much thicker than carpeted mats, on top of the standard ones.

According to the NHTSA, Toyota issued a recall for similar accelerator concerns in September 2007 for rubber "all-weather" floor mats it sold as accessories for 2007 and 2008 Lexus ES 350 and Toyota Camry models.

A fatal crash last month in San Diego in which a 2009 ES 350 was speeding out of control at more than 100 mph may have been due to a stuck accelerator, officials say, but the crash remains under investigation.

Floor mats in approximately 3.8 million Toyota vehicles could cause accelerator pedals to become stuck in full throttle, potentially causing a crash or death, the federal government and Toyota said today.

While not an official recall, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recommended that drivers "immediately" remove the driver's side factory floor mat as an "interim safety measure."

"Until Toyota can implement a remedy, it is asking consumers and associates who drive specific Toyota and Lexus models to take out any removable driver’s floor mat and NOT replace it with any other floor mat," the company said in an e-mail this afternoon. Floor mats could potentially jam under the gas pedal if they are positioned incorrectly, turned over, or loose.

The affected models are the 2007-2010 Camry, 2005-2010 Avalon, 2004-2009 Prius, 2005-2010 Tacoma, 2007-2010 Tundra, 2007-2010 ES 350, and the 2006-2010 IS 250 and IS350. Toyota said it plans to conduct an actual recall.

(Mazda)

Mazda today said it would begin selling its redesigned 2 hatchback in the US and Canada by the end of 2010, the latest of several European and Japanese subcompacts finally taking a stake in the American market.

“You’ve asked us for it for a while now, and we’ve been studying the market to make sure we can make a business case for it across North America,” said Mazda's North American president Jim O’Sullivan to a dealer conference today. “As consumers’ tastes and attitudes toward small vehicles have changed, we now believe strongly there is a place in our lineup for a car below our current least-expensive car, the Mazda 3."

The Mazda 2, based off the Ford Fiesta which is also coming to the US next year as a 2011 model, has been on sale in Europe since 2007 (and has a longer history in Japan, where it's known as the Demio). The latest version, which debuted next to the Fiesta 3- and 5-door models at the 2008 Geneva Auto Show, offers a choice of 1.3 and 1.5 liter four-cylinder engines, plus a 1.4 liter turbodiesel. We'll see the US version at the 2009 Los Angeles Auto Show in December, and expect the US to get the 1.5 liter, which is good for 102 horsepower.

Small cars have typically bombed with the American public during long waves of cheaper gas prices, but the market is growing fast. Also next year, Chevrolet plans to introduce its Spark subcompact and Chrysler is intent on selling the Fiat 500 (as a Fiat) at its US dealers.

We've already got the Kia Soul, Nissan Cube, and Daimler's (struggling) Smart brand. So will Mercedes bring over its A- and B-Class cars, BMW its 3- and 5-door 1 Series, Volkswagen its Polo? Don't bet against it.

(AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

Keith Griffin, About.com's used car expert, may not have P. Diddy's grandiose marketing budget behind his push for a car and truck of the year award chosen exclusively by the Internet. But Griffin's get-out-the-vote message for consumers to voice their choices on the year's best models — much like Diddy's national youth tour during the 2004 presidential election — is equally as grassroots, yet completely free of awful rhyming, cheap cologne, and rap group upstarts.

Griffin picked 12 online automotive journalists, including Boston.com's "car doctor" John Paul, as jurors to vote on semi-finalists. Unlike every other automotive media award, the Internet and only the Internet will decide the winners.

Head over to www.internetcarandtruckoftheyear.com and vote for the finalists through Oct. 16. The finalists will be subject to another round of voting on Oct. 19, with the winner decided in November. Awards will be presented in real life, likely at the 2009 Los Angeles Auto Show.

And in case you don't vote or forget, we've let Diddy know all about it.

(All photos: Local Motors)

Wareham-based Local Motors, the start-up Massachusetts automaker behind the Rally Fighter dune racer, has revealed an all-electric hatchback concept that will be begin production in San Francisco within the next two to three years, the company said today.

The four-seat Ethylik, penned by 21-year-old French design student Ugo Spagnolo, is a hyper-aggressive styling exercise on the European hot hatch theme, to which the Ford Focus RS and mid-engined Renault Clio V-6 have become worthy legends.

Specifications are, at this point, speculations. Will there be an electric motor at every wheel to match the car's wild looks, like on the insane Mini QED concept? Or a tamer lithium-ion pack supported by a gas engine, like the Chevrolet Volt?

"We haven't set our hearts on one yet," said lead engineer Mike Pisani, noting that "battery technology could change dramatically" by the time the Ethylik debuts.

(Daimler)

In the United States, the Mercedes-built Sprinter has been marketed as the Dodge Sprinter. But not for much longer.

Now that Fiat has replaced Mercedes-Benz as a Chrysler owner, the Sprinter is moving back into the Mercedes lineup.

You have to wonder whether Mercedes will put the famed three-star emblem on the US-spec Sprinter – fearing some dilution of the brand’s image? – or keep selling it through its heavy-duty subsidiary Freightliner.

(iRacing.com)

Bedford-based iRacing.com, the motorsports simulation company, has launched an ambitious online motorsports news website - www.inRacingNews.com - that already has an almost overwhelming amount of information.

Already, it's possible to single out the racing series you wish to follow.

"The site is up and running now and we already are experiencing a good deal of traffic," said John Henry, Red Sox principal owner and co-owner of iRacing.com. "This is a very exciting development. Everyone is welcome to use inRacingNews.com; there's no registration or anything - just visit the site."

With existing partnerships with many manufacturers and sanctioning bodies across all types of racing and 40 percent of its membership outside of North America, the move was a natural one for iRacing.com's growing presence.

(Cars.com)

Few auto analysts and industry insiders would have predicted the success that Toyota's Lexus brand has achieved. Twenty years ago, the idea of a Japanese premium brand that would aim squarely at the established high-end players — namely, Mercedes — only in the North American market was sort of amusing. Introduced in 1989 as 1990 models, the original LS 400 was an S-Class copycat, the ES 250 a pricier clone of the Camry. That LS, like many Lexus models until the brand was formally established in Japan four years ago, was a rebadged home-market Toyota. But to us, it was brand new, and shocking that it could offer so much luxury for just $35,000, nearly $20,000 less than a base Mercedes 350SE. Lexus sold 16,000 LS and ES sedans from 81 dealerships that year.

Today's LS 460 and ES 350 are still the respective S-Class chaser and gussied-up Camry the cars were 20 years ago. But both of these cars have stolen hundreds of thousands of sales away from Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Jaguar, Cadillac, and Lincoln dealers in far less time. The secret, in addition to an obsession with quality, reliability, and undercutting competitors by thousands of dollars at a time? It's the "Lexus Covenant," a motivational poem straight from the company's general manager Mark Templin.

Today's Globe reported that Massachusetts dealers have filed for $65 million in rebates under the $3 billion Cash for Clunkers program, but less than 5 percent have actually been paid. The government's answer this time? Just wait a month. Promise.

President Obama, acknowledging the problems of the $3 billion Cash for Clunkers program last week, said the government was "victims of our own success."

But for all the 700,000 new cars bought in such a hurry under the program, the federal government has instead been the victimizer to dealers and customers across the country (and in our neighborhood here on Boston.com). Shall we repeat the issues once more?

OK: Excessive and confusing paperwork, understaffed offices processing the paperwork, dealers forced to take on mountains of debt and fearing huge losses because the government takes so long to pay, customers waiting weeks for their cars because of scared dealers, the EPA changing MPG numbers of old cars at random, customers again enraged that their trade-ins no longer qualify, the smog-friendly solution to destroying engines, destroying drivable cars instead of having them enter the used car market, and boosting sales of cars over other industries.

Robert O'Koniewski, executive vice president of the Massachusetts State Automobile Dealers Association, said last week that "the fact that it's ending will be a sigh of relief for everyone involved."

Perhaps it's also a lesson to never implement something of this level again without foresight, planning, and a little common sense. But then again, that's not the government's responsibility.

(Essdras M. Suarez/Globe Staff)

From left: Dan Lauber, Paul Karplus, Lennon Rodgers, Mike Nawrot, Kwadwo Nyarko, and Radu Gogoana stand next to their modified electric Porsche they raced in the "One Gallon Challenge."

The Boston GreenFest, a four-day celebration of the latest environmental technologies and engineering, is on now through Saturday at City Hall Plaza. Hand-built cars that raced in Thursday's "One Gallon Challenge," in which competitors attempted to drive 100 miles across the Bay State to Boston on one gallon, will be there, including MIT's snazzy electric Porsche 914.

The federal government said Thursday afternoon that it would shut down its Cash for Clunkers rebate program by 8 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 24.

The shutdown affects new deals submitted after the deadline, but the government has insisted that existing deals will be honored.

The news came shortly after an Automotive News report this morning cited a survey conducted by the National Automobile Dealers Association, which estimated that all of the program's money had been committed.

About $1.9 billion of the total $3 billion allocated has been claimed, according to the Department of Transportation, and dealers, according to the Detroit Free Press, have roughly $400 million in deals they haven't submitted.

"This program has been a lifeline to the automobile industry, jump starting a major sector of the economy and putting people back to work," US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a press release. "At the same time, we've been able to take old, polluting cars off the road and help consumers purchase fuel efficient vehicles."

While the program has generated an estimated 700,000 new car sales, the program's complex rules and paperwork &mdash which requires dealers to sell vehicles before getting reimbursed by the government &mdash has triggered a torrent of backlash from car buyers who have been waiting weeks without a new ride.

Volkswagen today said it was issuing a voluntary recall of 13,500 cars equipped with the company's dual-clutch automatic to inspect a possible faulty temperature sensor in the transmission. The affected models are the Jetta sedan and wagon, GTI, and Eos made between September 2008 through this month.

The company said that the sensor failure "could result in illuminated warning lamps in the dashboard, and in rare instances the transmission may shift into neutral."

The recall comes weeks after a July 17 investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration into "loss of power" problems associated with the DSG transmission. The affected cars involved 2008 and 2009 Eos, GTI, Jetta, and R32 models.

(Clifford Atiyeh/Boston.com)

A Taurus SHO, foreground, and SEL attract attention by the Government Center T stop.

As the first 2010 Taurus models enter dealerships this month, Ford's traveling street team of executives and marketers are visiting cities across America with brochures and new cars for passersby to sit in, touch, and start up.

Sure, they twittered and facebooked a group of select Boston bloggers into their cars the night before, but Wednesday's event outside the Government Center T stop - a pair of white Taurus sedans and a few vinyl signs - was decidedly low-key.

Perhaps Ford thought GM's torture campaign a few years back, which convinced Boston University students they might win a Chevy Aveo by living in it for five days, was a bad idea. Or that mounting giant Red Bull cans on a Taurus would destroy the car's upscale image, even though those snarky Mini people get away scot-free with those gimmicks. And the Taurus, which starts at $25,000 and can top $40,000 on the 365-horsepower SHO, is a big, grown-up sedan that's far beyond the budgets of most college students.

There's lots to be done before Ford enters the consciousness of a prospective Audi or Lexus buyer, but the Taurus, simply by showing up in public, is moving this idea along.

(David L. Ryan/Globe Staff)

Taxis idle by South Station in downtown Boston.

We're not sure whose victory this is — the Boston taxi drivers in beat-up Ford Crown Victorias, the police departments unloading these defunct cruisers on the cab companies, or Ford itself, which only sells Vics to fleets &mdash but one thing is clear: Boston can't mandate an all-hybrid taxi fleet by 2015.

A story this afternoon on Boston.com reported a federal judge's decision that the city had "exceeded its legal authority" by going above the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975, which says local officials can't set their own fuel economy standards. The city may appeal.

It's an odd ruling given that several states, including Massachusetts, have followed California in requiring manufacturers to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 30 percent by 2016. In January, the EPA granted a waiver to California and its 13 followers, effectively allowing a double standard for fuel economy.

But the big problem in Boston is that the city would bar taxi companies from purchasing used hybrids. Being forced to buy new cars and pay a premium for hybrid technology was a direct threat to many businesses, the Boston Taxi Owners Association had argued.

The ruling isn't stopping Boston Cab Association from moving to an all-hybrid fleet in three years. Currently, two-fifths of its 500 cabs are hybrids, according to its website, a mix of Toyota Camrys, Nissan Altimas, and the new Ford Fusion.

(Chrysler)

In December, I was test driving one of the rarest new cars in America, something nearly as difficult to buy as a Tesla Roadster and produced in such limited numbers like the Mercedes SLR McLaren Roadster parked in Brookline yesterday.

I was in a grey Dodge Durango Hybrid.

After years of co-engineering a heavy-duty hybrid powertrain with General Motors, Daimler, and BMW, months after debuting its 2009 Durango and Aspen Hybrids, and a few weeks before my drive, Chrysler said it would shut down its one and only hybrid assembly plant in Newark, Delaware by December's end.

All told, Chrysler only made 800 of the full-size SUV hybrids. What's really strange, however, is that the Chrysler and Dodge websites continue to advertise the hybrids as if they were still in production. Dodge has the hybrid Durango listed next to its three other trim levels, and while Chrysler makes you dig to find the "HEV Limited 4x4" trim, you're still allowed to build and "order" one from a local dealer. Good luck doing that.

A call to Chrysler was met with similar confusion. According to spokeswoman Lisa Barrow, the company still has a few unsold hybrid SUVs throughout the country, and by few, we're talking only six in the entire Northeast. Besides some of the Chrysler corporate sales staff and the unnamed dealers struggling to sell a nearly three-ton SUV (let alone survive), no one's sure where these cars are.

(Ford)

You know the drill. Someone sends you a link to a YouTube video in an email with the words "You've got to see this."

OK. Here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/v/K8nptFx1jug

Yes, you've got to see it. "It" is "Peak Performance," a 9-minute, 4-second film of Marcus Grönholm's second-place finish in this year's 12.42-mile race up Pikes Peak - the second-oldest (to the Indianapolis 500) motor event in the United States.

Its makers - Australians Tim Vincent and Scott Richardson - use modern technology in this work that was inspired by Jean-Louis Mowrey's award-winning 1990 Pikes Peak film "Climb Dance."

The makers used helicopter shots, cameras buried in the road surface, fixed cameras and an array of in-car (dash, rollcage) cameras

The new film also is a promotion for Ford's coming introduction of the Fiesta, though the street version will be a bit different from the 800-horsepower rallycross prepped vehicle that Grönholm and navigator Timo Alanne were driving.

Every viewer will take some favorite shots from the film. Mine include the ballet of Grönholm's feet across the pedals from an in-car camera.

Even environmentalists who deplore the once-a-year invasion of sound and speed on the pristine mountain will admire the scenic shots and marriage of technology and nature.

Happy viewing.

(Honda)

The 2010 Acura RDX gets the new corporate nose.

The MDX luxury SUV gets a more-refined 3.7-liter V-6 mated to a six-speed automatic. A rear-view camera will offer three different views for added safety and the nav system will tie into live weather radar.

The crossover RDX gets a freshened look, more technology, and a higher-end interior. Much of the rest of the country will be interested in seeing that a two-wheel drive version is going to be available.

The TSX high-end sports sedan will have a 3.5-liter V-6 and five-speed automatic with 280 horsepower and 254 lb.-ft. of torque. However, it doesn't have a manual transmission option. For that, you have to settle for the 2.3-liter four-banger.

(iRacing.com)

Bedford-based iRacing.com will be showing its colors at this weekend's NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Pocono International Raceway in Pennsylvania. The company has signed on for a single-race sponsorship of the No. 47 Camry driven by Australia's Marcos Ambrose. Ambrose has four top-10 finishes in the series so far this season.

iRacing.com is a motor sport simulation company that hopes to use this sponsorship to introduce its software in Australia. It's also looking to remind fans that iRacing.com will offer NASCAR-sanctioned virtual racing next year. Already, the company has scanned NASCAR series tracks and vehicles in preparation for the launch.

Mustang will be coming to NASCAR's Nationwide series next year as part of a limited rollout of some new cars in the series. The participation will add to Ford's presence in Sprint Cup (Fusion) and the truck series (F-150).

It will be nice to differentiate the look of Nationwide from the top-level Sprint Cup cars. Externally, the cars in the two series have been indistinguishable except to the cognoscenti. Rumors are that a Dodge Challenger may be joining the Nationwide series, too.

Nick Heidfeld drives his BMW Sauber car during a practice session for the Hungarian F1 Grand Prix at the Hungaroring circuit on July 25. (Reuters/Dominic Ebenbichler)

BMW announced Wednesday it is dropping out of Formula One racing at the end of the current season. It also said the upcoming 760Li will be powered by a twin-turbo V-12 producing 544 horsepower and 553 lb.-ft. of torque at 1,500 revolutions per minute. It will be coupled with an eight-speed transmission.

Automotive marketing often involves accessories. Mini, which has a history with bands such as the Sex Pistols, The Clash, and the Rolling Stones, is offering the latest in "Brit Chic" - a line of apparel including duffle coats, branded "Wellies," Lapeer trapper-style winter hat, and rock star belt.

Plastic wood? Many of us always though the highly coated dashboard "wood" on many vehicles wasn't real anyway. But now Ford is working with a German company to develop a plastic "wood" that can be used in injection molding. The goal is to have a product capable of being recycled (remanufactured) five times.

Whatever your opinion on the government dumping $1 billion on car lots everywhere — also known as the Car Allowance Rebate System, which began officially last Friday — you'll need to decipher the program's complex set of rules to see if you'll actually benefit.

Luckily, Keith Griffin, the used car expert at About.com, has done it so no one else has to go through the pain of reading a government website.

Oh, and that rebate? It might be taxable.

Get more used car advice at usedcars.about.com.

The GT by Citroën, shown at the 2008 Paris Auto Show, is headed to production.

(Joel Saget/AFP/Getty Images)

Ford will be bringing its EcoBoost technology to the 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine. My hope is that it will prove performance and economy can co-exist in a neat package.

Infiniti is offering special leasing and zero percent financing offers through August 31 on its complete lineup with the exception of the newly released G37 convertible.

OnStar's latest innovation – remote ignition block – should help recover stolen cars, provided the vehicle didn't go immediately to a chop shop via tow or under its own power.

The GT by Citroën concept car, designed for the video game Gran Turismo 5, is going to go into (very) limited production. The company is building six of the gull-wing coupes, each with a price tag of $2.1 million.

(Toyota)

When was the last time you spotted a Toyota at the bottom of a quality/reliability study?

It happened this week when J.D. Powers and Associates released the company's inaugural Vehicle Launch Index, which takes into account scores from the Initial Quality Study, APEAL study, and factors such as residual value, dealer profits, incentive spending, and turnover rates. With an estimated 205 new or redesigned vehicles coming to market between 2009 and 2012, there's going to be plenty to rate.

We'll get to the top five, but the bottom five was of interest, too.

Last was the Toyota Matrix and third-from-last the Pontiac Vibe, siblings in a Toyota-GM alliance. By most ratings, they're also better-than-average vehicles, but lost in the GM bankruptcy proceedings.

Fifth from the bottom was the Acura TL. Around the turn of the century, it was one of the best deals, dollar-for-dollar on the market; now it appears a bit lost in the company's pecking order of importance.

The top five, with scores based on a scale of up to 1000: 1. Hyundai Genesis (689); 2. Ford F-150 (673); 3. Volkswagen Tiguan (663); 4. Nissan Maxima (636); 5. Subaru Forester (631).

A Missouri car dealer is giving away vouchers for a free AK-47 assault rifle with the purchase of a pickup truck.

But it's not the first time Max Motors, which sells Chrysler, Ford, and GM vehicles, has had a gun promotion. Last year, according to the New York Times, the dealer gave its buyers a choice: a $250 gas card, or $250 toward a gun purchase. Few took the gas.

Listen to owner Mark Muller's story in the video above, or better yet, check out the Flash graphics on his website.

(Local Motors)

Several months ago, the Globe visited Local Motors in Wareham, a kit builder that challenged an Internet full of aspiring car designers to create a wild, one-off ride for series production. At the time, the Rally Fighter, chosen from more than 21,000 submissions and 1,600 users on Local-Motors.com, was only a scale model (and at full size, a wooden mock-up). Now the company, run by retired Marine John Rogers, Jr., is taking $99 deposits on their $50,000 Baja-style off-roader.

Local Motors — and the buyers themselves — will build a maximum of 3,000 Rally Fighters, each with a custom-designed vinyl wrap (as shown in the P-51 Mustang-like graphic above) and adjustable ride-height suspension. The chassis and various parts connecting with OEM-sourced components are made in-house.

Local Motors hasn't revealed the entirety of those OEM pieces, but the gem is the Rally Fighter's 3.0 liter twin-turbo diesel from the BMW 335d, which bellows 425 foot-pounds of torque at 1,750 r.p.m. Power steering, anti-lock brakes, a double-A arm front suspension and solid rear axle round out the mechanical specs, but there's still no word on transmissions or what the interior will look like and offer for comfort and convenience.

But luxury isn't the Rally Fighter's mission. This is a road-legal car that, with some modifications, should be race-ready for the dunes. More details on the Rally Fighter should emerge as orders arrive and the first owners begin their building experience.

We hope to land a first drive before the year ends, with the car wrapped like one of our green Boston Globe delivery trucks. Impossible? Not with these guys.

(Volkswagen)

There's already plenty of Jetta special editions (Wolfsburg Edition, Loyal Edition, the old Trek — can anyone think of others?), but the 2010 model year will offer a welcome "track" model based off the TDI Cup racers. It's called, of course, the TDI Cup Edition.

Introduced as a concept at the 2008 Specialty Equipment Market Association show in Las Vegas, the production TDI Cup Edition features the "Thunderbunny" body kit originally designed for the Rabbit and currently on all TDI Cup racers: a wide-mouth front bumper with a more aggressive rear valence and bigger side skirts.

While the brakes and sway bars are upgraded to GLI status, the rest of the car is unchanged. What really would have made this Jetta special (and justifiably pricier) is the racer's modified diesel engine, tuned for 170 horsepower and Volkswagen's claimed "nearly" 300 foot-pounds of torque. But the regular engine is quite satisfying, save for that clunky DSG.

(All photos: Clifford Atiyeh/Boston.com)

As part of a national marketing effort for its new Prius, Toyota yesterday planted five solar-powered charging stations in front of the Prudential mall. The solar panels are mounted on pedals of giant metal daisies up to 18 feet tall, and the generated electricity runs through a molded plastic green bench with 110-volt outlets and free wireless Internet.

With June's heavy rain and thick clouds continuing into July, Toyota's stunt is a bit ill-timed to advertise the company's optional solar roof panels on its Prius, which are supposed to power the air conditioner when the car is parked on a hot day. MBTA riders can feel the cool at five solar-powered bus shelters, which feature integrated fans, at City Hall Plaza, the Aquarium, Boylston and Clarendon Street, the Mass. Ave Orange Line station, and Huntington Avenue and Ruggles Street.

Unfortunately, the Wi-Fi and cool breeze will burn out July 19, when Bostonians can again remind themselves of increasing MBTA fares and brick-hard bus seats.

Check back for a review of the 2010 Prius and a special hybrid comparison test coming soon right here.

(Bentley Motors)

If I had real money, I’d buy one of the outgoing Bentley Arnages.   But I’d have to hurry because the new one, the "Grand Bentley" is set to debut next month at the Pebble Beach Concours. Usually Pebble Beach is home to the cream of collector cars.  Somehow we think the new Bentley will feel right at home from the get-go.

A decade ago, Camry and Accord ditched their station wagons.  Ever since, they’ve been inching back in that direction with SUVs and crossovers.   Toyota now has its Venza and Honda is coming out with a Crosstour this fall. 

Used car prices are inching upwards.  Why?  Because there aren’t quite as many out there.   Trade-ins obviously are way down and so are the number of cars coming out of rental companies fleets.

China’s latest strategy to crack the European market is by making a bid to buy GM’s Opel brand.  Beijing Automobile Industry Corp., which projects to sell a million vehicles this year, reportedly has offered $923 million for a 51 percent stake in Opel.

Mini recently reached the 1.5 million mark after eight years of selling the new Mini.   By comparison the classic Mini sold more than 5 million units between 1959 and 2000.

AutoWeek has a story about a fleet of 12 Toyota Priuses in London fitted with GPS-based speed governors.   The trial is being conducted by Transport for London, the city’s transportation agency, using its own vehicles.  

Outside observers fear Big Brother-like control of speed control and automated tolls/charges.  According to AutoWeek, the trial has been going for a bit more than a month. 

"Most drivers didn't like the idea at first," said Chris Lines, Transport for London road safety chief. "But some start to like it. It saves them getting speeding tickets."   Downsides? "   The main thing they notice is the big queue of vehicles that builds up behind them sometimes," Lines said. 

Read more at Autoweek.com.

Even after seven people not wearing seat belts died in three crashes over the July 4th weekend here in Massachusetts, the Globe easily managed to quote a handful of Boston-area residents today who tried proving seat belts as ineffective and just plain annoying.

Among the highlights:

“If you are driving in the city, you don’t need a seat belt; I only wear one on the highway."
“You don’t need one in town. If you are going 20 or 30 miles per hour for 2 minutes, it does not matter.’’
“Sometimes they scratch you.’’

About 67 percent of Massachusetts drivers are likely to use seat belts, compared to just over 80 percent nationwide, according to a study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. A law to allow police officers to stop anyone not wearing a seat belt failed last month to make it to the State House floor.

Currently, state law only allows officers to pull over a vehicle if a child younger than 12 is spotted unbuckled. Read more about this argument in today's Globe.

(Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

Michael Jackson may have died with hundreds of millions in debt, but his funeral procession this morning to the private service and then to the Staples Center in Los Angeles was led by five Rolls-Royce Phantoms and 10 Range Rovers.

All of the cars were black and provided to the Jackson family for free by a local dealer, according to TMZ.com (rumors on that site aside, TMZ was the first source to report Jackson's death).

The hearse carrying Jackson's gold coffin, however, was just a Lincoln Town Car.

Buick, which once had a straight eight-cylinder engine, will offer half of that — a four-cylinder &mdash in the 2010 LaCrosse. It will be the first four-cylinder offered in a Buick since the 1998 Skylark.

The 2.4-liter Ecotec engine will produce 182 horsepower and 172 lb.-feet of torque. Buick expects about 25 percent of buyers to choose the engine over the 3.0 liter or 3.6 liter V-6s. The LaCrosse is a total redesign for 2010 and will take aim at competing with the Acura TL, Infiniti G37, and Lexus ES 350.

Hyundai's gas-price guarantee, which locks its new car buyers into a year's worth of gas (12,000 miles) at $1.49 a gallon, is the latest in a series of well-timed marketing moves that have solidified the brand's name. (Update: Suzuki today announced it's giving away free gas to SX4 buyers, but only for the summer)

When Hyundai made its second attempt to crack the United States market in the 1990s, it offered a 10-year, 100,000-mile warranty to convince buyers that its latest cars would be reliable.

That corporate endeavor continues to drive the company: Hyundai vehicles ranked No. 4 (up from No. 13) in the J.D. Power Annual Ranking of Initial Quality (problems reported in the first 90 days of ownership).

In January, seeking to reassure skittish buyers, Hyundai offered an "Assurance" program, offering to take back vehicles from buyers who lost their jobs.
The program worked. Though sales are off 8 percent, well below the industry average of 37 percent, Hyundai's market share has increased from 2.9 to 4.2 percent.

Now comes the gas price guarantee. When gas was more than $4. a gallon last year, Chrysler offered a $2.99 guarantee, but the program fizzled when gas prices fell. It's doubtful that we'll see $1.49 gas again, giving this latest Hyundai marketing plan the look of another winner.

A question for another day is whether the company's plan to offer a vehicle for all buyers will be successful, instead of staying with its established strength of small and mid-sized vehicles. Hyundai plans to bring a top-of-the-line Equus coming to market in 2010, upstaging the acclaimed Genesis sedan and coupe.

Jetta TDI Cup drivers, like Theresa Condict, left, are required to wash their own cars. (All photos: Volkswagen)

A few weeks back, VW released a news item that F1 Boston, the outdoor karting facility in East Bridgewater, Mass., would be conducting a six-race series this summer with the winners advancing to final selections for next year's Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup series racing.

Why Boston? It's largely because R.J. Valentine, the owner/visionary behind F1 Boston, is regarded highly by the Volkswagen racing program. It's also significant for the Boston area because iRacing.com in Bedford is an official partner of VW Jetta TDI Cup racing. The folks at iRacing have simulators that put drivers in the same Jetta TDI cars and on the tracks that the series will be using.

The story sounded like a great future opportunity for young local racers who wanted to follow their dream of becoming a professional driver. After we ran an item in this space about the coming F1 series, we got an e-mail saying, "Hey. If you're interested, there's already a local driver who has qualified and is racing in this year's VW Jetta TDI Cup."

Making the story even better is that the driver is a woman. If you want to be a minority, try being a woman in racing. It's about 1 percent of the driving population. Generally, racing is a meritocracy. Drive well, and you get recognition. But getting started is the hard part.

For women, it's often a father-daughter proposition. And, for our local driver in the Jetta TDI Cup series – Theresa Condict of Lexington – that's how it started. She began competing in local autocross events with her dad, Michael, in 2004.

Now, after graduation from McGill University in Montreal with a double major in music and physics, she's gone racing in this VW series that's designed to develop professional drivers.

A custom Lincoln convertible once owned by the eccentric movie mogul, pilot, and aircraft manufacturer Howard Hughes was sold at auction in Tulsa last week for $1 million.

Hughes had his aircraft company convert the 1936 Model K V-12 from a fixed-roof limousine to a two-seat roadster reminiscent of the factory "Boat Tail Speedster." But his car's rear end is covered in riveted, polished sheet metal and tapers off into an aircraft-like cone. Hughes reportedly lightened the Lincoln and modified its engine and exhaust, possibly for use as a high-speed camera car to shoot scenes for his aviation films, according to the car's former co-owner, Bill Smith.

The car was discovered during an estate sale in 2005 — along with the billionaire's credit card — and has since been on display at the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum in McMinnville, Oregon, which also has Hughes' famous giant sea plane, the "Spruce Goose."

The Hughes Lincoln was the largest sale in the more than 30-year history of the Leake Auction Company.

Senator John McCain, who made it clear he wasn't tech- or Internet-savvy during the 2008 presidential campaign, posted a message onto his Twitter account the other day expressing his joy over his new Ford Fusion Hybrid.

"Getting my new car today @ 12:15 pm - excited about my Ford Fusion Hybrid!" is currently the latest post from @SenJohnMcCain, who boasts more than 789,000 followers. Mr. @BarackObama has more than 1.4 million.

The Los Angeles Times, in their witty political blog "Top of the Ticket," reported that many top White House staffers &mdash including those charged with fixing the domestic auto industry &mdash prefer foreign makes. McCain formerly drove a Cadillac CTS.

The Mercedes S400h is a mild hybrid, unlike the full hybrid powertrain in the more expensive Lexus LS 600hL. (Daimler)

When Honda introduced its V-6 Accord Hybrid, both the marketing folks and public were confused. Weren’t hybrids supposed to be the ultimate “Econo Box?” The Accord Hybrid was thriftier than the gasoline model, but it wasn’t a mileage miser. It was a performance car; unfortunately, only a few folks realized and appreciated that, and even fewer bought the concept.

Now we have hybrids expanding across the automotive spectrum. Besides the strictly economy versions, you’ve got SUVs (Highlander and Lexus RX 400h) trucks (Silverado and Sierra 1500) and luxury vehicles (Escalade, Lexus LS 600hL).

What’s next? How about the Mercedes-Benz S400h? If mileage is your goal, it’s predicted to get 23 city/33 highway. The price will be north of $90,000.

Over the years, Mercedes has been a leader in introducing new facets of motor-vehicle technology. Now they’re coming in along with many others. My prediction is that they’ve waiting to make sure their system is seamless.

Oh yes, the lithium-ion battery pack is guaranteed for the life of the car.

A bit less expensive (under $35,000 MSRP) will be the Lexus HS 250h, expected to be (naturally) roomier, wider and longer than its sibling, the Toyota Prius. Lexus expects to sell about 25,000 in the United States in the coming model year.

Look for some interesting sales comparisons among Prius, Honda’s new Insight, and hybrid versions of Camry, Fusion (Milan), and Altima in the coming year.

And add Mazda to the party. The brand is looking to hybrid-ize its model lineup beyond the Tribute compact SUV.

(Boston.com Photo Illustration/Tata/Apple)

Marketing assignment 101: Will the Tata Nano, called the world’s “cheapest” car, arrive in the United States before the recession eases? The US version is expected to cost double the $2,500 for the Indian version.

And, along the way, it must answer this series of questions:

1. Will a new generation of buyers/early-adopters eschew established brands to buy the Nano?
2. Can Tata re-engineer the Nano to meet US safety and emissions requirements, plus upgrade performance enough to make it drivable on interstate highways?
3. Will Tata, which already has joint ventures with Fiat, become part of the new Chrysler-Fiat Family?

For now, we’ll just say ta-ta.

Former GM boss Alfred P. Sloan Jr. is pictured in a slide presentation. (Gene Ritvo)

One of the classic books on organizing and running a major corporation is My Years with General Motors by Alfred P. Sloan Jr.

Joshua Davidson, who worked as an automotive consultant, speechwriter, engine-re-builder and publisher, has obtained the audiobook rights to Sloan’s book and plans to release it soon.

Davidson met with the New England Motor Press Association last Tuesday and gave his synopsis of how GM grew into a corporate giant … and how it lost its way.

Quotes from Davidson:

“Sloan introduced a logical way of doing business. He made it clear that GM’s primary objective was to make money, not motorcars.

“Ford was selling 1.1 million cars in 1920, and GM was a mess with Cadillac, Buick, Chevrolet and Oldsmobile all competing with each other.

(Photo Illustration/Boston.com/Fiat/AFP)

The Fiat 500 – the direct descendant of the model that was better known as the Cinquecento, or original "pregnant rollerskate" – will be in the first wave of Fiat products coming to the United States in the Fiat/Chrysler marriage.

The 500 is an updated version of the original (think Mini), and it should arrive on our shores by the end of 2010 – significantly smaller than the Mini.

On trips to Italy, we always looked for original "Cinquecentos" parked on side streets.  And we always found some survivors.  The Cinquecento (Italian for 500) stands for the original’s air-cooled engine 479cc engine.

How it will fare on American roads is a story yet to be written.

(Donald Miralle/Getty Images)

General Motors announced this morning that it has reached a "proposed transaction" to sell Saturn to the Penske Automotive Group.

No details have been released other than GM's claim that "more than 350 dealerships and 13,000 jobs" will be saved. CEO Roger Penske is the exclusive US importer of the Smart brand and we hear he also knows a thing or two about racing.

GM has another "proposed transaction" underway to sell Hummer to Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co. Saab hasn't come to any official agreement yet.

To the management in Michigan, South Shore Chrysler in Braintree is one of the 789 underperforming US dealerships the company plans to shudder ties with on Tuesday.

But for this South Shore town, it's the classic, hometown business that has helped build a community since opening in 1967, and until now, kept it.

"We're just a local family - been here a long time and have a local business. We live and work in the same town that we grew up in," said Michael Shea in today's Globe, who owns the dealer with his brother, Greg. The Shea brothers say they hope to sell used cars and expand their garage service.

It's unclear how damaging Chrysler's decision will be for employees, longtime customers, and the surrounding businesses of South Shore Chrysler, but it's a damning fate that will be witnessed across the country.

Read more about the possible impact in Erin Ailworth's story, and how used car demand is driving up prices.

(Bill Griffith/Boston.com)

The Little Tikes Cozy Coupe outsold every car in the United States in 2008 with more than 457,000 units delivered. Mrs. G insisted that our grandson get one on his first Christmas – and it had to be new. Used wouldn’t do.

The company has sold more than 10 million Coupes worldwide in the model’s 30-year run.

That’s why, on June 6, the Cozy Coupe will be inducted into Cleveland’s Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum.

President Obama, on a television monitor, discussed automaker General Motor’s bankruptcy filing in New York yesterday. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

After General Motors filed for a long overdue bankruptcy yesterday, Massachusetts dealers say they are worried about further closures and possible breaks in franchise contracts.

Brian Palmer, who owns Berkshire GMC in Sheffield and has been in business since his father started it in 1977, was doubtful over the company's plan to honor franchise contracts through the end of 2010, when his dealership is scheduled to close.

"I have a strong suspicion that [bankruptcy] may change the game," he said in today's Globe.

GM CEO Fritz Henderson said dealerships would not be closed earlier than expected. About 2,000 jobs will be lost in the Bay State, a number estimated from GM's earlier announcement of closing about 2,300 of its US dealers. The Massachusetts State Automobile Dealers Association says about 40 of the 98 GM dealers in the state will be closed.

Read more about GM's debts to Boston-based creditors, the Obama plan of majority government ownership, and more analysis from the Globe's front-page story today.

Hybrid sales are down - 39 percent year-over-year through April - along with the rest of the auto market, but that's not stopping major rental car companies from snagging the latest gas-electric models.

A Globe story reports how daily rental companies are adding more hybrids to take advantage of low demand and prop up their car-sharing divisions to tackle Zipcar, the Cambridge-based company that has turned car renting into a "green" lifestyle for city dwellers without wheels. The prospect that Zipcar will hit $1 billion in revenue within the next decade also has Hertz and Enterprise running fast to attract these hybrid-loving drivers.

Read more here.

(Bill Griffith/Boston.com)

On May 21, the International Motor Press Association, headquartered in New York City, invited the auto industry to bring an assortment of new products to the park to be viewed, photographed and driven.

We ran around taking pictures of vehicles before they all disappeared from the base parking lot, never thinking that finding a spot on the mountain would lead to more scenic action shots.

The local highway patrol had a field day, writing tickets to exuberant drivers, despite numerous warnings to "watch the speed limits." (One journalist caught speeding in a BMW didn't have any registration, and was almost jailed. That didn't happen to us.)

PHOTOS: Hybrids, an all-electric Mini, Ford products with the new EcoBoost V-6 engine, the new muscle cars (Camaro, Challenger, Mustang), a plethora of high-end Mercedes, and diesels from BMW and Volkswagen.

The front seats in the 2010 Taurus SHO have a slow massage feature to help you avoid fatigue on long trips. (Ford)

Gas prices are lower and people are driving long distances. That brings us to seat comfort and the "Dr. of Derrieres," Ford seating comfort engineer Mike Kolich.

The good doctor, the man behind Ford’s multi-contour seat with Active Motion massage features (which will debut on the 2010 Taurus SHO), offers seven tips for your seating comfort, the most important of which are in making adjustments before starting out.

1. Press your foot firmly against the floorboard behind the brake pedal. Adjust the seat so your knee is slightly bent.

2. If you have an automatic transmission, your left foot should rest comfortably on the "dead pedal."

3. If you have a manual transmission, you should be able to fully depress the clutch without pointing your toes and minimal (if any) hip rotation. Your left leg should have a slight bend when the clutch is fully depressed.

4. The small of your back should be pressed firmly to the seatback.

5. If there is a height adjustment, place the seat at a comfortable height for vision and reach.

6. For most people, it’s best to recline the seatback a bit. This reduces fatigue. But how far back? If you extend your arms over the steering wheel, your wrists should rest atop the wheel with your elbows slightly bent. (Note: This isn’t a recommended driving position. Most safety experts recommend hands at 9 and 3 p.m., or 9:30 and 2:30 p.m.). You should be able to turn the wheel 180 degrees (half a turn) without having a hand fall off the wheel.

7. Finally. Click that seatbelt, making sure it crosses your hips.

8. Oh yes, that contour seat? We can attest: it IS comfortable.

Chiara Gasparetto's "Good Vibes XV" features the Rinspeed eXasis. (Rinspeed)

There are so many filters, layer options, tools, and dialog boxes in Photoshop capable of altering a simple photo, or — in the typical case of self-taught computer wizards — destroying one.

Car-savvy PC geeks have all tried creating car art (who doesn't love putting fake lens flares on headlights, or using the cutout filter for an instant illustration?) Only the very few, like the European graphic artists in Rinspeed's new collection, get it right.

Several dozen examples of the Swiss automaker's wild concepts — including the iChange shown at this year's Geneva Auto Show — are available on canvas, art paper, or Plexiglas at reasonable prices (under $300).

Modern art collectors or auto enthusiasts looking for something other than Corvette posters to adorn bare walls should take notice. Those running stolen copies of the Adobe Creative Suite may try to recreate some of these works at a fraction of the cost. And they'll certainly look like it, too.

Hyundai ranks third in IntelliChoice’s Best Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) Programs for 2009 in the non-luxury category, trailing only Mini and Volkswagen. That’s a 24-place improvement since the program started in 2007.

"Hyundai’s CPO sales were up 58.5 percent in the first four months in an industry down 7.3 percent, evidence that our CPO program is attracting consumers to our brand," said Hyundai’s Tracy Bowes in a press release.
        
The enhanced pre-owned program launched to Hyundai dealers in May 2007 for vehicles up to five model years old with less than 60,000 miles being covered by the balance of the original 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty.

Volkswagen will provide aspiring racers with CRG Kali Karts like this. (VW)

For most of us, dreams of becoming a professional race car driver are just that – dreams.
         
Now Volkswagen is offering any North American resident between ages 16 and 26  a (somewhat) affordable opportunity to race locally with the potential to go national - in its Jetta TDI Cup - from a series of six karting qualifying events at Boston’s F1 outdoor facility in East Bridgewater.
          
The events will be held on July 14, July 27, August 3, August 17, Sept. 21 and Oct. 12.  A race entry fee of $995 is required upon entry and includes a day of kart qualifying with Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup driving instructors.
        
Competition will be in identically prepared CRG Kali Karts with Rotax motors. The top 10 finishers at each qualifier can move on to a finals event in February 2010.

A staid-looking grey Impala SS on a stark grey background - is it any wonder this car is going away? (GM)

There are a few pockets of positive automotive news.
       
For example, Chevrolet is increasing production of the new Camaro to meet demand for the revival of the nostalgic marque, with production lines working overtime to fill the early orders.
       
The Camaro SS version will remain among General Motors’ performance vehicles, along with the Cadillac CTS-V and Corvette Z06 and ZR1 models. 
       
However, the news isn’t so good for the Impala SS, which is being dropped, along with the Pontiac G6 GXP and HHR SS.
     
In limbo is the Cobalt SS.  The Sedan version is being dropped while the coupe version will continue for the time being.

Smaller surely can be better when it comes to automotive engines.
       
That lesson hit home in the mid-‘90s when I owned a Honda Accord EX with a 4-cylinder engine and all the performance I needed.
        
Ford today reached a corporate milestone as it began production of its 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6 engine.   The direct-injection, twin-turbocharged engines first will be placed in the 2010 Lincoln MKS, MKT, Ford Flex and Ford Taurus SHO.   After that, the F-150 will get a similar V-6 as Ford moves the technology across its product line, including a 4-cylinder version.
        
This version of the 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6 produces 355 horsepower and a responsive 350 ft.-lb. of torque, reported across a broad RPM range, meeting the company’s goal of delivering V-8 performance with V-6 fuel economy.

Ford says the technology will improve fuel economy by up to 20 percent while cutting emissions and improving the "driving experience."
       
The engines are being built at the company’s Cleveland Engine Plant No. 1, which had been shut down since 2007.  Ford projects that, in three years, it will be selling 750,000 Eco-Boost-equipped vehicles in North America and 1.3 million globally.

(BMW)

It may not be a yellow submarine, but Mini is celebrating the brand’s 50th birthday by producing a contemporary version of Beatle George Harrison’s psychedelic 1966 Mini Cooper S.

The one-of-a-kind Mini will be presented to Olivia Harrison at Silverstone this weekend.

In 1966, Beatles manager Brian Epstein gave each of the four Beatles a Mini as a gift.  Harrison’s had a place in the Magical Mystery Tour film.

The 2010 E-Class Coupe is in our opinion, better looking than the CLK. (Daimler)

It was about 10 years ago.   We were in an S-class Mercedes on Memorial Day, visiting family graves in Cambridge’s Mt. Auburn Cemetery.

When we were leaving, I punched the address of our next destination – Melrose – into the navigation system.   Amazingly for that era, the system chose the most direct way out of the labyrinth of the cemetery’s roads before guiding us through equally confusing Cambridge with then-amazing alerts such as "In 500 feet, move into the left lane and prepare to make a left turn."
    
That technology and many others tend to "trickle down" to the less-expensive models in a company’s lineup and become commonplace.

Who knows where it will end, but the coming 2010 Mercedes E-Class vehicles will inherit a lot of technology from the current S-Class.

The E-Class, with starting prices in the mid-50s, certainly qualifies as a well-established luxury sedan (and a coupe) in its own right. Now it will have as either standard or optional such S-Class technologies as night vision (with pedestrian-detection ability), lane-departure warning (with rumble-strip sound effects), drowsy-driver alerts, adaptive cruise control (with automatic emergency braking), intelligent lighting (automatic high beam control), and the latest Pre-Safe systems (pre-tensioning seatbelts and adjusting for maximum airbag protection when it senses a skid and possible rollover situation).

The new E-Class vehicles are scheduled to hit United States showrooms next month.

We're all used to American automakers offering huge factory incentives - and losing lots of profit in the process - but an e-mail this week claiming Ford was offering its new 2010 Fusion Hybrid for $11,700 off the current sticker was rather suspicious. (If anyone believed this, I've got some hot stock from Chrysler to sell you).

The e-mail's poor English grammar looks straight off the translated website of any Chinese manufacturer, but according to the Detroit Free Press, the scheme to collect "installments through the bank" is similar to Nigerian banking scams from a few years back. The culprit, Ford says, is likely from Europe. Making this scam truly international was the signature from "Gary Settles, Ford Sales Manager," who according to Autoblog is actually the sales manager of a Kentucky Ford dealership and not from Dearborn headquarters.

"Per our statement on the media site, the e-mail sender does not represent Ford and no such program exists," wrote Ford spokesman Steve Kinkade in an e-mail to the Globe.

The real hybrid price war is between the Insight and Prius, with Toyota last month cutting the base price of its 2010 Prius to $21,000 after Honda stole the limelight with its cheaper Insight.

Click the full entry to view the e-mail.

Jim Bickford, owner of Westminster Dodge in Dorchester, says he is "still bewildered" after learning his dealership would be closed. (Wendy Maeda/Globe Staff)

Chrysler's announcement that it would shutter 789 dealerships came as no shock as the beleaguered automaker filed a bankruptcy notice yesterday, but some of the dozen owners in Massachusetts who received closure letters were indeed surprised - and angry.

"We thought sure as heck that Chrysler would want somebody representing them here," said Charles Bickford, owner of Westminster Dodge in Dorchester, in today's Globe. "I've got 50 employees, and they've been here for years and years."

Bickford, who opened his doors in 1927 and is the only dealer in metro Boston, is one of 32 Chrysler dealers in New England on the company's black list, which according to Chrysler were chosen for selling fewer than 100 cars per year, or more used vehicles than new.

While many of the dealers are moving to other brands, setting up repair and parts divisions - or quitting the auto business entirely - the Massachusetts State Automobile Dealers Association and its national counterpart say they are finding "legal representation" for them. About 20 percent of the state's retail market is from new car dealers, the association said.

As of now, it's not clear if Chrysler will buy back parts or settle possible franchise lawsuits. It's safe to say that many dealers - despite losing hundreds of thousands, if not millions - won't be quieted without some form of buyout. For more details on the local closings, read Erin Ailworth's story.

(All photos: Ford)

Most of us have shuddered at seeing an abandoned shopping cart, pushed by the wind, careen across a parking lot and slam into a parked car. Or cringed when a car squeezes into a space next to us and someone opens a door, whacking our car.

Now Ford is incorporating such real-world "crash tests" to help develop and fine-tune such things as air bag pressure sensors. Test drivers take cars over curbs and through pothole-infested stretches, whack doors with basketballs and bicycle tires, and pepper the undercarriage with metal whips all in the name of R&D.

Another test uses a compressed air-powered water cannon – a device more commonly used in mining operations or state fair pumpkin-throwing competitions – that’s mounted on the side of the car. When fired, it throws the test car into a skid, testing stability systems.

Sounds like another day in the neighborhood.

Thanks a lot.   Sometimes we say that sarcastically.  This time we mean it.
       
Plymouth Rock, a Boston-based insurer, is offering to send you a free e-mail reminder 30 days before it’s time to renew your Massachusetts driver’s license. (You can sign up at mylesereminders.prac.com).

This service, which is open to anyone with a Massachusetts driver’s license and valid e-mail address, is worthwhile because the Mass. Registry of Motor Vehicles no longer sends out renewal notices.

The service is an extension of the company’s MYLES (Make Your Life Easier Services) program.  Plymouth Rock policyholders also can have reminders sent for auto registration and inspections.

At the least, the service helps motorists avoid citations, embarrassment, and inconvenience for having an expired license at a routine traffic stop.  We’ve heard from drivers who’ve checked their license and realized it was expired … and from other folks who’ve found out the hard way during a traffic stop.

The only catch in the program is that you have to provide your license number and give the company access to your Massachusetts RMV records.  If you have a clean record, the company also will likely make a pitch for your business.

Plymouth Rock already has signed up thousands of its customers and hopes to sign up thousands more with this outreach program.

"Ultimately, the MYLES eReminder Service will make the life of every driver a little easier. That is a significant part of Plymouth Rock’s corporate mission," said company president Hal Belodoff.

A parade of Ford Model A cars in downtown Plymouth during the town's annual Thanksgiving Parade. (John Tlumacki/Globe Staff)

Stories about long-term love affairs between drivers and their cars make for good reading and good commercials.

Autoweek and Hemmings Motor News both carried the story of Frank Hartmaier, who bought a car, then owned and drove it for just short of 80 years.

The vehicle, a 1929 Ford Model A, had gone more than 400,000 miles and been refurbished three times.

Hartmaier bought the Model A on May 16, 1929 for $560. He died in January, ending the 79-year relationship with his Model A.

So … I’m out on a morning run the other day, wondering what to get my wife for Mother’s Day, when I see a Prius parked in front of the First Parish Church in Newbury along with a notice that it’s being raffled.

Hmmmm.

The church has made news lately by selling its historic (1772) weathervane to the Museum of Fine Arts and by its green initiatives, including creating community gardens in the field behind the church building.

The Prius drawing hasn’t gotten a lot of local notice. Church officials say the raffle, originally scheduled for late April, will be held when the 300 tickets are sold. (The office is open Wednesday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.)

Well, there’s one fewer now. Happy Mother’s Day, Mrs. G.

The Solstice Coupe, premortem, at the New York Auto Show in April. (Stan Honda/AFP/Getty Images)

Ford has scrapped plans to offer a diesel version of its F-150 pickup truck. Blame the LOW cost of gas.

Roger Penske is rumored to be looking at buying Saturn. This man has 149 dealerships (40 brands), a successful track record of corporate and racing success, and apparently the start of another "plan."

April sales figures show no manufacturer with increases, year-to-year, for the first four months of 2009. Closest were Subaru and Hyundai, down 0.8 and 3.7 percent, respectively. Chrysler (-46.2), GM (-45.0) and Ford (-41.5) are still struggling as are Toyota (-38.4), Honda (-31.9), and Mazda (-31.1).

Pontiac’s phase-out means that less than 1,000 Solstice Coupes will be built. Savvy collectors likely will snap them up as special-interest cars, the last in the line for this still-proud marque.

Actor Patrick Dempsey (Grey’s Anatomy) will be a guest on SPEED this Sunday (May 10) at 9 p.m. with Dave Despain. Dempsey will chat about his love of racing, his experiences in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series, and his goal of competing with Team Seattle in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

And, as a regular parting note, this repeat reminder that the Mass. Registry of Motor Vehicles no longer is sending out driver’s license renewal notices. Check yours and don’t compound a minor traffic stop with a "driving without a license" citation.

Manufacturers have been offering cash-back incentives on new car purchases for years. Now you can add an Internal Revenue Service benefit to that package.

The IRS announced that state, local and excise taxes on new car purchases made this year can be deducted on the buyer’s 2009 tax returns next year.

“For those thinking about buying a new car, this deduction may give them a little more drive to make their purchase this year,” said IRS commissioner Doug Shulman.

The deduction applies to state and excise taxes paid on up to $49,500 of the purchase price of a qualified new car, light truck, motor home or motorcycle bought from Feb. 16 to Dec. 31, 2009.

Of course, there’s a catch. The amount of the deduction is phased out for taxpayers whose modified adjusted gross income is between $125,000 to $135,000 for individual filers and $250,000 to $260,000 for joint filers.

A stunt driver in a black Ferrari F430 lost control during a movie shoot in Times Square early this morning, injuring two people as the car smashed into a pizza restaurant and toppled over a traffic pole.

"One lady was knocked to the ground and a lamppost landed directly on top of a chap," a British tourist who saw the crash told the New York Post. Both injuries were not life-threatening, the Post said.

The stunt sequence was part of the upcoming Nicolas Cage movie, "The Sorcerer's Apprentice," in which Cage plays a sorcerer looking for - you guessed it - an apprentice in New York City.

Read more about the crash and watch the entire crash on tape here.

Ernie Boch, Jr. rests his feet on a 2008 F430 Spider, just $62,000 more than a new one. (John Tlumacki/Globe Staff)

Ernie Boch, Jr., the tutu-wearing, rock band-leading Massachusetts car dealer who sells the most Hondas in the country, said he won't sell as many Ferraris this year at his "Boch Luxe" dealership in Norwood.

Instead of the 34 last year, Ferrari will only send about 20 to 25 this year, Boch said. It's part of Ferrari's plan to keep its current two-year waiting lists steady - heaven forbid they drop to a year-and-a-half - by cutting production some 20 percent, according to a report in the Sunday Globe.

"Where we've made it up is with the preowned," said Boch. "We'll sell more of them. Those prices have come down and spurred the market a little."

Buying a used Ferrari is just like a college freshman's fraternity initiation. Behind the paddling, embarrassment, and obvious extortion going on, he's in love with the whole affair - and knows that exclusive labels come at a cost. Go to any Ferrari dealership anywhere in the world and try to find a used prancing horse that hasn't miraculously appreciated. You won't.

I first saw this two summers ago when I visited the Penske Ferrari dealership in Las Vegas, which happens to be conveniently located past the craps tables in the Wynn Casino. Upon paying $10 for gawking privileges, there wasn't a single new car on display, but plenty of 2005 models with a few thousand miles commanding nearly $100,000 above new sticker prices. Clearly, this would be the worst place to stumble in drunk after winning a big hand.

Ferrari says they don't encourage dealers to mark up prices, but their entire strategy is built around it. Case in point with the 2008 F430 Spider Boch is rubbing his feet on above. The sticker says $279,000, but a 2009 model bases at $217,310. Brand newbies have no other choice but pay their dues with these used entries, and for limited-edition runs like the Enzo, there's simply no chance unless you've owned several.

Ferrari is an MBA's dream, and is all the more incredible considering the flood of flashy, fast exotics on the market today. But nothing, it seems, comes near the attention and sheer lust the Ferrari name generates. Guess that $400 a semester in Boston University frat dues would have really, truly gotten me somewhere.

The upcoming Camaro Social Security Number, rendered in the logo style of the departed SSR. (Boston.com Photo Illustration/GM)

It’s hard to grasp the complexities of the GM and Chrysler corporate reorganizations, but here’s hoping the government comes up with an exit strategy for selling its predicted 50 percent share of GM and 10 percent share of Chrysler.  More important, let’s hope  there’s something left to sell off.   I’d much rather see a 2015 Chevrolet Corvette or Volt than a US-version of the former Soviet Union’s government-produced Ladas and Volgas.

If the United Auto Workers indeed wind up with 55 percent of Chrysler and 39 percent of GM, the workers will be in a bizarre position.  Instead of trying to cut a better deal with management, they’ll be management, with the tough task of trying to make enough to fund their pension and medical costs.

Here’s hoping a leadership group emerges to get the companies moving forward.  Somehow, it’s hard to imagine this scenario being part of MBA classes in the past.

(Boston.com Photo Illustration/Ford/YouTube)

NASCAR driver Carl Edwards had quite a weekend – going from a high speed wreck to participating in a record-setting "hypermiling" event.

Edwards, who drives for the Roush Fenway team, had victory in sight in last Sunday’s Aaron’s 499 at Talladega Superspeedway.   Coming to the finish, he tried to shut the door on challenger Brad Keselowski and wound up getting bumped and spinning out, then going airborne and hitting the safety fence.  The video clip was shown so widely even non-racing fans have seen by now.

After extricating himself from the wrecked car, Edwards jogged the remaining 100 or so yards to the finish line.

Meanwhile, another Ford team, one that was trying to surpass 1,000 miles on a single tank of gas in a Fusion Hybrid, was driving loops in the Washington D.C. area all weekend.

Edwards was able to join them Sunday night despite "a bit of a headache." He put in some time driving, including being at the wheel when the car passed the 1,000-mile mark.

But the Fusion kept going, finally rolling to a stop at 5:37 a.m. Tuesday after 1,445 miles, averaging 81.5 miles per gallon – far above the 59 m.p.g. needed to reach 1,000 miles.  The Fusion Hybrid’s EPA city rating is 41 m.p.g.

The 1993 Bonneville SSE was an advanced sedan in its day. (Colleen Reilly)

Monday was a sad day for Pontiac lovers. For the critics who have already stormed other articles and blogs regarding the brand's watered-down persona - platform sharing with Chevrolet, the Australian GTO, body cladding, the Aztek, among others - consider what Pontiac used to stand for: performance and high value.

As the former driver of a 1993 Bonneville SSE that pushed 230,000 miles, I can attest to Pontiac's mission statement, even though that car was also based on the Oldsmobile Eighty Eight and the Buick LeSabre. Yet while the chassis, front-quarter window glass, and the woefully inefficient 3.8 liter V-6 (only making 170 horsepower) tied the car to the GM family, the Bonneville was a true corporate outsider. Nearly a decade before the high-priced European cars offered such useful features as heads-up displays, power seat bolsters, radio controls on the steering wheel, an auto-dimming rearview mirror - and the early form of in-car navigation, the electronic compass - the Bonneville SSE had all of that.

In a press conference with CEO Fritz Henderson this morning, General Motors announced a tidal wave of unexpected cuts in a rush to save the company from bankruptcy and continue federal assistance as the Obama administration's 60-day deadline nears.

Pontiac, which GM said in its February report to Congress it would keep as a "niche" brand, will be "phased out by the end of 2010." The 2011 ultimatum for Saturn - which GM envisioned its dealers would buy as a cooperative - is now set for the end of this year. GM hopes to find buyers for Hummer and Saab - which have been for sale since February - before the end of this year.

GM said it will have 34 nameplates by 2010, two fewer in two years fewer time than originally planned. The company will "focus on four core brands" - Chevrolet, GMC, Cadillac, and Buick - and will shut down 500 additional dealers four years sooner for a total of 3,605, 42 percent fewer than in 2008.

Go here to read more about the financial details, including a $27 billion bond exchange by June 1.

The original 1964½ Mustang technically never existed. (Ford)

It was 45 years ago this past week that the first 1964½ Mustangs were born.

Technically, they were 1965 models; however, those built in the first six months were "different." Just ask a collector.

The 1964½ Mustangs used generators. Those built in the 1965 model year had alternators. The V-8 option was different. The 1964½ models used the 260-cubic inch V-8 engine, while the 1965 models employed a 289-cubic inch V-8 engine.

"People like to say there is no such thing as a 1964½ Mustang, and in theory they are correct," said Charles Turner, national head judge for the Mustang Club of America (MCA). "But there is a wide range of little differences between the cars built before and after August of 1964 that make them very unique. The MCA accepts the 1964½ as a model year because we view it as a different car."

(Ford)

1,000 miles on a single tank?

A team of drivers is attempting to drive a 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid 1,000 miles on a single tank of gas this weekend. Ford engineers have hit 70 miles per gallon in trips by using hyper-mileage driving techniques. The group will need to average 57 miles per gallon to achieve its goal during the 43-hour attempt, changing drivers every two or three hours.

Among its fuel-saving driving techniques:

• Slowing down and maintaining even throttle pressure


• Gradually accelerating and smoothly braking


• Maintaining a safe distance between vehicles and anticipating traffic conditions


• Coasting up to red lights and stop signs to avoid fuel waste and brake wear


• Minimize use of heater and air conditioning to reduce the load on the engine


• Close windows at high speeds to reduce aerodynamic drag


• Applying a “Pulse and Glide” technique while maintaining the flow of traffic


• Minimize excessive engine workload by using the vehicle’s kinetic forward motion to climb hills, and use downhill momentum to build speed


• Avoiding bumps and potholes that can reduce momentum.

A Toyota Camry Hybrid will be the pace car for six NASCAR events this year, starting with the 50th running of the Coca-Cola 600 on May 24 at Lowe's Motor Speedway in North Carolina.

Several thoughts:

1. So much for throaty exhaust notes being vital to the NASCAR experience.
2. A pace car needs to meet acceleration standards. At Lowe's that means hitting nearly 100 mph from a standing start in a quarter mile: approximately the distance from the pace car's standby position to the exit of Turn 2.
3. In collaborating with Coca-Cola, Southern fans can should look for a "golden can" in special 50th anniversary 12-packs for a chance to win what's left of the Camry after its pace-car service.
4. The times are changing and so is NASCAR. Question: What about the fans?

AAA of Southern New England is holding a "Battery Roundup" Saturday, April 25 from 9 a.m. to noon as part of its Earth Day observance.

Instead of charging for the service, AAA will donate $2 per battery collected to environmental and conservation-minded organizations. Last year, AAA collected more than 1,500 batteries.

The club sent an email to AAA members advertising the program, but the collection also is open to the general public. AAA notes that 99 percent of batteries are recyclable and advises those taking advantage of the program to wear gloves and transport the used batteries upright and in a box or leakproof container.

Go to the AAA site to find local drop-off sites in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

(Chrysler)

In a bid to convince Washington of the company's continued existence and green credentials, Chrysler today showed a pair of electric Town & Country minivans in blue and white Postal Service regalia.

The minivan's lithium-ion batteries are manufactured by A123 Systems of Watertown, which famously lost the bid to Korea's LG Chem to provide batteries for the 2011 Chevrolet Volt. Paired with a 200 kW motor (268 horsepower), the T&C is good for 50 miles. Weight and other performance specifications were not provided.

Should Chrysler survive the Obama administration's deadline to become viable by this month's end, the automaker would apply for federal grants to build a fleet of 250 demonstration models for use by government agencies, a Chrysler spokeswoman said.

But the Postal Service has plenty of its own problems meeting alternative fuel requirements for federal fleets. A Washington Post article last November, based on an October 2008 report from the Government Accountability Office, showed that alternative fuel was used less than 1 percent of the time from 2007 to 2008, and that its 37,000 ethanol-capable vans used 1.5 million additional gallons of gasoline last year.

Writing about the government's failure to enforce its own energy policies (such as the requirement that all federal agencies increase their use of alternative fuel by 10 percent each year) is a story we'll get to another time, especially how the General Services Administration is using $300 million of the stimulus money to buy new alternative-fuel cars.

(Honda)

Apologies, we've been busy in California with the Tesla Roadster this past week. Regular updates to continue soon, but for now, more automotive news and muses from Bill Griffith.

Dogs have chased cars for years. Now, at a time when much of the auto industry is going to the dogs, Honda is actively chasing dogs. The company has designed a Dog Friendly version of its Element, a vehicle that was shown at this month's New York Auto Show. Honda says the vehicle will go on sale this fall. The special package likely will contain:

• A cushioned pet bed in the cargo area on an elevated platform.


• An extendable loading ramp. (Did you ever try and lift a Shepherd into an SUV?)


• A 12-volt rear ventilation fan.


• Second row seat covers in a dog-pattern that matches the pet bed fabric.


• A spill-resistant bowl and all-season rubber mats with a bone pattern.


• Special Edition emblems.

The Way We Buy Cars I: As if we don't have enough new and used car dealers around. Now Sam's Club is offering an auto-buying option. Through April 30, Mitsubishi is offering its entire lineup of new vehicles to Sam's Club Members at special pricing, plus a $500 Sam's Club Gift Card. Details at Samsclubauto.com.

The Way We Buy Cars II: A hedge fund-investor group looking to buy GM's Saturn division gave a hint of its business model. The group initially plans to get vehicles from GM initially, but it expects to sell smaller, fuel-efficient vehicles from other global manufacturers in the future. Thus we would have an independent company telling manufacturers what to make for its dealerships, rather than the manufacturers deciding what goes on dealer lots.

The Way We Buy Cars III: We haven't heard details of the U.S. government's incentives to get older cars off the road, but Japan's model isn't bad. If I lived in Japan and were of a mind to turn in my 1997 Camry for a 2010 Prius, I'd qualify for a $2,500 replacement incentive, $1,000 for buying a vehicle that meets the highest government mileage standards, and another tax saving for a clean emissions vehicle.

Tesla Motors says it plans to open its first European dealership this spring smack-dab in Knightsbridge, the label-conscious epicenter of London high society.

Burberry's flagship store marks the corner of Knightsbridge and Brompton Road, but the beacon of the district is Harrods, the six-story, 4.5-acre department store castle that will leave you penniless. You can buy Burberry there, too, but a signature plaid scarf is still around $100 (sorry, more like £68).

Among the busy shoppers and obvious gawkers in Knightsbridge are the supercar owners. It's not uncommon to see an open-top Carrera GT inching behind a double-decker, or a Murcielago parallel-parked on one of the back residential streets. There's plenty of other deliciously rich parts in London - Piccadilly, Mayfair, Marlborough, Notting Hill, South Kensington - though none so teasingly retail as Knightsbridge.

On Wednesday, London's mayor Boris Johnson proposed a £60 million plan to fund 25,000 charging stations and get 100,000 electric vehicles on the road within the next few years. The Roadster, like all EVs, would be exempt from the city's congestion charge, a controversial attempt to curtail emissions and traffic by making drivers pay £8 to enter designated downtown zones. Biofuel-powered cars get a discount, but the authorities are strict: E85-capable Koenigsegg CCXRs are still full price.

Tesla says it's also considering dealerships in Munich and Monaco - where soup runs about $80 a bowl - when it starts European Roadster deliveries in late June. In a press release today, CEO Elon Musk said sales would "eventually be split evenly between the US and Europe."

The California-based automaker says a Chicago dealership will also open in the spring and that management is poring over locations in Manhattan, Miami, and Seattle.

A Segway employee behind the "wheel" of the GM-Segway PUMA in New York's Times Square. (AP Photo/Jin Lee)

The latest automotive news and muses from Bill Griffith.

Puma once was a huge rival of adidas in the sporting goods industry. Now, the PUMA (Personal Urban Mobility & Accessibility) is being introduced as a people mover. The two-person collaboration between GM and Segway has resulted in a prototype, said to be capable of 35 miles per hour and a 35-mile range for urban driving.

GM was No. 1. Is it soon to fall to No. 3? R.L. Polk of Germany notes that Volkswagen is poised to supplant General Motors as the world's No. 2 automaker (behind Toyota).

This ad from the Johannesburg edition of AutoTrader has been making the Internet rounds: "06 Suzuki GSXR 1000. This bike is perfect! Only done 7000 kms and has had its 1500 km dealer service. No falls/scratches. I use it as a cruiser/commuter. I'm selling it because it was purchased without proper consent of a loving wife. Apparently 'do whatever the #@%& you want' doesn't mean what I thought. Call me, Steve."

This photo is the closest representation yet of the crazed Maine driver. (Lance Staedler/20th Century Fox)

The last BMW driver of recent fame to lead police on a triple-digit speed chase was a young and hormonal Charlie Sheen in the 1994 film "The Chase." Consider that record broken.

Christopher T. Goehringer, 26, of Maine, raced his 1990 BMW south from Kennebunk on Thursday at "well over 100 miles per hour," the Boston Globe and several local papers reported today. In less than one hour, Goehringer tore through three states - 60 miles worth - before smashing into a Massachusetts state police cruiser in Haverhill. No injuries were reported.

Sheen and the red 325i he stole from costar Kristy Swanson were both in their prime back then. What car-loving moviegoer could resist a convict speeding in a European coupe with a pretty blonde, essentially a Hollywood take on the classic Sega video game OutRun?

What model Goehringer was driving remains unknown - or any frightening accounts from witnesses passed at more than double the normal highway speed. While there was no mention of any passengers or in-car romance, one thing is for sure: he ended up a lot cleaner than Charlie.

A Boston police cruiser was parked yesterday in a space reserved for MBTA buses. (Emily K. Williams/Globe Photo)

A team of Northeastern University journalism students have reported the unthinkable in today's Globe: Boston's finest parking their cruisers and personal cars in handicapped spaces, blocking exit lanes and bus stops, and halting traffic - all right outside police headquarters.

The best official excuse was that many officers need these spaces "because they keep their riot gear in their cars." I always keep a lint roller in mine, you know, just in case there's a sticky situation on Beacon Street.

This all comes three months after Governor Deval Patrick signed a state law raising the fine for parking at MBTA bus stops to $100. In February, the Globe reported how city councilors had been graciously giving up their parking immunity - granted to them under a special ticket dismissal program - ever since Michael Ross was fined by the ethics commission for not paying $1,000 worth of personal fines.

Read more about the Northeastern students report and the lukewarm responses from police officials here.

From left, former General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner, Chrysler CEO Robert Nardelli, and Ford CEO Alan Mulally testify on Capitol Hill last November prior to the automotive industry bailout. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Editor's note: Bill Griffith shares his take on the unprecedented automotive news from the past several days and highlights his favorites.

1. "As GM goes, so goes the country." With the government running the country's largest automaker, that certainly takes on new meaning. I have no problem with President Obama ousting GM CEO Rick Wagoner, someone I consider a good man trying to do an impossible job. Just wondering: Why didn't some Wall Street CEOs get the same treatment?

2. Some sort of bankruptcy/reorganization seems inevitable at GM, given President Obama's statement that the government will back all GM warranties.

3. That all begs the big question: Would you buy a GM vehicle now?

4. Ford's decision to avoid taking government loans – and the attached strings – looks wiser by the day.

5. AMC, Checker, DeSoto, Hudson, Kaiser, LaSalle, Nash, Packard, Rambler, Stanley, Studebaker, Tucker, Willys. I tried to come up with 10 defunct US automakers off the top of my head and wound up with a baker's dozen. Add Oldsmobile (GM) and Plymouth (Chrysler) as recent brands I miss.

6. Will the all-electric Chevy Volt come to pass? As time goes by, you know other carmakers are working on their electric vehicles, so chances for the Volt to be a company-saver are dwindling. Are batteries still the problem? Yes.

The puns and bad jokes could go on for hours. Instead, read this story from the Associated Press and prepare for hysteria.
http://www.boston.com/news/odd/articles/2009/03/31/ohio_man_charged_with_drunken_driving_on_bar_stool/

What a day yesterday.

General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner steps down (because President Obama told him to), the White House announces a bailout cutoff for GM and Chrysler (within 60 and 30 days, respectively) and a state warranty program should both automakers fail, Chrysler CEO Bob Nardelli says a Fiat partnership is advancing (but still dependent on $6 billion more in government aid), and Proton - the Malaysian state automaker that owns Lotus - said days after the Tesla Model S launch that it will retrofit its cars with electric powertrains and sell them in the US under the pre-WWI name "Detroit Electric."

Today Ford said it would cover monthly payments of up to $700 for up to a year on all its cars should customers lose their jobs (except Volvo, which could slip into a ill-fated tangle with the Chinese). GM just followed suit by offering up to $500 per month for nine months. Incredible.

Yesterday turned GM and Chrysler into steaming slabs of fresh, raw meat that columnists and editorial boards could have savaged. But many opinion pieces in the largest metro dailies refrained, and surprisingly, placed more skepticism on the Obama administration.

(Tesla Motors)

Tesla took the cover off its curvaceous Model S sedan Thursday, the second phase of the Silicon Valley automaker's lofty plan to sell electric cars for the masses.

If the $109,000 carbon fiber Roadster signified the new company's cocksure stardom against Porsche and the Italians - after all, celebrities and rich enthusiasts are on minimum one-year waiting lists - consider the Model S a detente with Tesla's exotic rivals.

The production version of the electric sedan, absent a $350 million loan from the Department of Energy and a manufacturing plant, will be tamer in performance but no less striking in its respective segment when it arrives in late 2011. Hours after embargoed studio photos of the concept car, above, were posted to a Flickr account, Tesla revealed the specifications at the official California launch: a 300-mile range, 45-minute charging, and zero to 60 miles per hour in 5.6 seconds.

Seven people can cram into the Model S - five adults and two children in a rear-facing seat under the hatch. The entire center console is one massive 17-inch touchscreen LCD, which wasn't demonstrated at the launch. Tesla's bold 300-mile claim, however, will only be met by its longest-range battery (two others will offer 160 and 230 miles). It's likely the 160-mile battery will be standard, and the others will be very pricey options that will see the car soar past the $57,400 base price.

That puts the Model S in the range of the Mercedes-Benz E-Class, BMW 5 Series, Jaguar XF, and other premium sedans. But Tesla buyers can now claim a $7,500 federal tax credit for electric and plug-in hybrid cars, which President Obama announced last week in addition to $2.4 billion in federal grants for electric car and battery manufacturers.

Tesla's grand plan to produce an electric car under $30,000 is no secret, but little more than a dream that's at least four years away, if that early. With the promised 100-mile-per-gallon Chevrolet Volt next year and Ford's 2012 roll out of plug-in hybrids, Tesla will have to compete with a slew of moderately priced EVs (and the 2013 Toyota Prius, which surely will have no less than a big fat "80" on its EPA window sticker).

According to CEO Elon Musk, Tesla is on its way to becoming profitable by mid-year after gathering $40 million in additional financing in December. That bodes well for the young automaker, but as old-timers General Motors and Chrysler can attest, a lot can go wrong in a short span of time. Hopefully nothing does until after April, when the Globe takes the Roadster for an exclusive, exhaustive three-day test in California. Check Boston Overdrive in the coming weeks for more details.

Hybrid car shoppers should all thank Honda for shoving its $20,000 2010 Insight in Toyota's face, because the world's best-selling hybrid manufacturer has just switched to bargain mode.

Automotive News reported today that Toyota will sell a hybrid "low-priced spinoff" of its subcompact Yaris below the $19,800 base price of the Honda Insight, which made headlines months ago for planning to undercut the $22,000 base price of the Prius (it's now $2,200 lower). The model won't be ready until at least 2011.

Despite a third-generation Prius that boasts a combined 50 mile-per-gallon EPA rating, a more refined interior, and a sportier powertrain that now registers a pulse, Honda has seen record sales for its Insight, which from the side looks almost identical to the Toyota icon. In Japan, Honda has reported more than 21,000 orders, soaring past the company's 5,000 monthly target since the car went on sale in early February, according to The Wall Street Journal. The Insight arrived at US dealers yesterday.

As gas prices dwindled since last summer's high, many would-be hybrid buyers have swayed toward traditional, cheaper fuel-efficient cars instead, as witnessed by last year's 10.3 percent drop in US hybrid sales. The current Prius - which had greedy dealers charging as much as $5,000 over sticker, Edmunds said - now has some genuine competition, including the $27,200 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid.

Mechanic Mahmood Rezaei-Kamalabad behind the wheel of his converted 1989 Dodge Colt.

Inspired by his Muslim faith and the almighty McLaren F1, Cambridge mechanic Mahmood Rezaei-Kamalabad of Aladdin Auto Service performed an odd miracle on a 1989 Dodge Colt: he moved the steering column, seats, and pedals to the middle of the car.

"If you look at the animal, the first things God created for us, we sit on the back of the animal. He did not create some animal you sit on the left or right side of the animal. The weight has to be even," said Rezaei-Kamalabad in Globe columnist Peter DeMarco's story last Sunday. "If the weight is on one side more than another, in a couple of months the animal is going to be crooked in shape. Basically, we are crooked in our mentality, but the people are not aware of it."

The sight of someone buying a Colt or its sister Mitsubishi Mirage - even in these cash-strapped automotive times - is a phenomenon itself. Rezaei-Kamalabad spent $200 on it and an untold amount converting the Colt into what he calls the "Celestial Car." It only has one front seat, one windshield wiper, and two rearview mirrors. The radio controls are split on either side of the driver, and prayer rugs replace the factory floor mats.

"The person goes to the synagogue, church, and mosque and prays, and he starts to [have a] healing sense in the middle. And he comes and sits in the car, and in five seconds all is gone."

Read more about this holy Colt conversion in Peter's column.

(Clifford Atiyeh/Globe Photo)

After my surprise drive of the BG C100 - a Chinese subcompact retrofitted with an electric powertrain that will be sold by a Philadelphia company - I wrote that the "very firm pedal felt as if the brakes were disconnected." Well, turns out they were, according to BG Automotive president Barry Bernsten.

"I called my engineers and they advised on where we can check for problems, and sure enough, I noticed a wire was disconnected that triggers the pump that controls the disc brakes," Bernsten wrote in an e-mail this morning. "I reconnected the wire, and the brakes worked like butter. The brakes worked perfectly and stopped dead when we slammed them on, unlike the slower stop when you test drove."

I asked the company about the issue after a reader posted a comment yesterday claiming the brakes were at fault, and that Bernsten had fixed them. This would make the C100 a lot safer than during my test, when the car had difficulty stopping from 10 miles per hour. Better for Bernsten to scare a writer in a parking lot, I'd say, than a customer who just wrote a $16,000 check.

Read the original review here.

(REUTERS/Osservatore Romano)

What's Pope Benedict XVI doing in Cameroon next to - of all possible cars - a fabricated convertible Chrysler 300?

We're not sure if this Chrysler is the latest in a long line of papal vehicles (probably not, as the Vatican prefers Mercedes-Benz) or is the official state Chrysler of Cameroon, but this photo certainly stood out in the long list of wire photos today.

The pope continues his African tour of Cameroon and Angola through Monday. For serious religion coverage, head over to Globe reporter Michael Paulson's blog.

So, how's the mileage on your Cadillac limo, Mr. President? (MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images)

President Obama stopped by Southern California Edison's electric vehicle garage in Pomona Thursday to promote his plan to fund $2.4 billion in federal grants for the development of plug-in hybrid vehicles.

"It's always nice to get out of Washington a little bit -- recharge your batteries," Obama said.

Obama, who famously traded his Hemi Chrysler 300C for a 2008 Ford Escape Hybrid to appear green-friendly at the start of his presidential bid, is shown above next to a plug-in prototype of his compact SUV. Ford has tested vehicles at the Edison facility — which includes fast chargers, battery labs, fuel cells and a fleet of almost 300 electric cars — since 2007, but won't roll out plug-in hybrids until 2012.

A dedicated electric version of the Transit Connect van will arrive next year as a 2011 model with a claimed 100-mile range. During a presentation in Brookline Wednesday, the company said it would sell "at least four more battery electrified vehicles" by 2012.

According to the White House and a Boston Globe report today, the funds include a maximum $1.5 billion for US battery manufacturers, $500 million for component manufacturers, and $400 million for testing purposes. Plug-in hybrid buyers should also be eligible for a $7,500 federal tax credit, but there's no word if a production limit will reduce that amount, as is current IRS practice for hybrid vehicles.

(Clifford Atiyeh/Globe Photo)

UPDATE, 3/18: Thanks to an astute blogger at China Car Times, the BG C100's real identity has been revealed as the Chang'an Ben Ben, also known as the Chana Benni. That explains the logo on the steering wheel that I couldn't quite pin down.

Automaker CEOs don't make a habit of pulling up to The Boston Globe in a rental truck, dumping a prototype in the parking lot, and handing the keys to a writer. But that's exactly what happened Monday as BG Automotive president Barry Bernsten and a lime green hatchback made an impromptu visit as I returned with lunch. Usually food has a much higher priority than thoughts of obscure manufacturers and strange-looking concept cars, but this time, my chicken burrito lost.

Bernsten, a Philadelphia steel entrepreneur turned environmentalist, formed "Be Green" Automotive in 2005 to make low-cost electric cars "unlike Tesla or Fisker," the high-performance electric and plug-in hybrid models that sell for more than $80,000. Earlier in the day, Bernsten showed his C100 prototype to Massachusetts officials - including energy resources commissioner Philip Giudice - and is now in other New England states trying to drum up support for loans, including a proposed $150 million from the Department of Energy, according to a report from the Boston Herald.

"It's a very capital-intensive business," he said to the Globe. "If I finance it personally, we could put a hundred cars a month on the road. If we could get some public assistance and loan guarantees or low-interest loans ... then we could put 15,000."

Bernsten says he's on target for a May or June launch, but he hasn't figured out where he's going to build the car, which will sell from $16,000 to $18,000. The goal is to construct six $25 million plants, each with a capacity for 15,000 cars per month and a workforce of 400 to 500 people. The Globe reported last month that BG Automotive was looking to open its first plant in Massachusetts, but the company will likely go to whichever state opens its coffers first.

"We're looking to hire auto workers, while auto workers are going out of business in Ohio, in Michigan, in Illinois," he said. "We're trying to bring auto jobs."

But Bernsten, after investing more than $3 million of his money and churning out three prototypes, hasn't made a fully road-worthy car. His C100, which has a maximum speed of 45 miles per hour, is certified in 47 states as a "neighborhood electric vehicle," or NEV. That puts it in the same class as the high-end golf carts from Global Electric Motorcars, which are restricted to roads with posted speed limits of 25 to 45 miles per hour, depending on the state.

(Globe Graphic)

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have made a fast-charge lithium-ion battery that could potentially be used to recharge an electric car in as little as five minutes, the Boston Globe reported today.

A "crystalized coating" over the electrodes allows the lithium ions to move more readily and lets the battery discharge about 100 times faster than current batteries, according to MIT studies. Such a torrent could cause explosive acceleration similar to nitrous oxide, but with the added benefit of "refilling" just as fast from an electrical outlet. While the technology is at least several years away, performance automakers will likely make an early jump on it (Tesla and Porsche tuner RUF, which introduced an electric 911 in Geneva, spring to mind).

As at least one reader pointed out, the potential for battery failure due to overheating and exploding is a serious concern for fast-charge batteries, as is the reduced overall life cycle. The Tesla Roadster, which uses 6,831 lithium-ion batteries on its speedy Roadster, has a performance mode that utilizes higher discharge rates, and another that maximizes durability and mileage. In the near future, there will be a battery that does both.

(Screenshot/gmfactsandfiction.com)

According to gmfactsandfiction.com, the official PR website intended to dispel rumors about General Motors' dire financial situation, it's still a "fact" that bankruptcy is essentially out of the question.

"It’s just not in anyone’s best interest - GM; our customers, employees, suppliers and dealers; or U.S. taxpayers. GM’s restructuring out of court remains the best approach for all constituents."

"Bankruptcy reorganization takes cash - lots of it. For a company like General Motors to operate in Chapter 11, it would need massive debtor-in-possession loans. With credit markets frozen, there is realistically only one source of such loans - the federal government. We estimate loans needed to reorganize GM in Chapter 11 could top $100 billion, far more than the out-of-court fix envisioned in our restructuring plan."

"Our future is dependent on our ability to execute our Viability Plan successfully or otherwise address these matters. If we fail to do so for any reason, we would not be able to continue as a going concern and could potentially be forced to seek relief through a filing under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code." (emphasis mine)

However, Northeastern University professor Harlan Platt brought a tingle of good tidings with this quote from the Associated Press this morning:

"I think the government has forced the hands of everybody," Platt said. "In 18 months to 24 months, I anticipate they will be profitable, in the black. A mean and lean competitor that will be world-class."

Some of Vermont's old roads, not unlike this dirt path, route through private land. (Marty Basch/Globe File Photo)

There's a cartographer sweepstakes of epic proportions happening in Vermont.

Here's the rules: towns must find and map unmarked roads in their borders - hidden in mountain passes, forests, and on private land - or lose the right to use them. There's no purchase necessary, but all entries must be received by July 1, 2015. Lawsuits may apply.

The Globe reported today on this historical endeavor, which involves poring over maps from the 1700s and scouting obscure areas, much like the state's first explorers and famous "Green Mountain Boys."

Yet it's as much of a nightmare as it is exciting. Upon reading an updated town map of Bethel, farmer Jim Giberti saw a public road running right through his land. He's suing to make the road exempt, and his story is likely one of many that will crop up as Vermont rediscovers its not-too-distant past.

Imagine even more twisty two-lanes, narrow hairpins, and evergreen-covered routes, all of which could be the best driving roads in New England (provided they're paved). That's certainly worth waiting for.

For the full story, go here to read more.

What will be left of the General Motors lineup in three years?

We're fast-forwarding to 2012 right now, when a slimmer and smarter GM won't have as many duplicate or low-volume models.

While Chevrolet plans to add three new cars by 2011 - the plug-in hybrid Volt, subcompact Spark, and Orlando compact crossover - the loss of a dozen models will likely span much further than Hummer, Saab, Saturn, and Pontiac. In a telephone interview with the Globe, GM spokesman Tom Wilkinson said the company doesn't plan to go under 36 models. However, since GM expects a "going concern" notice on its 2008 annual report - the audit world's death sentence - it's very likely more cars will be dropped.

"There could continue to be some shifting in there, depending on the markets," said Wilkinson. "I think the intention is to hit that 36 number. We're trying the skinnying-down of brands without losing a lot of market share."

In its Feb. 17 report to Congress, GM said it would reduce its nameplates by 25 percent in 2012, and shelve three of its brands altogether. Saab is under a three-month review by its stakeholders and Hummer could be sold by the end of March, Wilkinson said. Saturn dealers are still debating what to do past 2011, when the last cars will roll off assembly lines.

Pontiac is reverting to its performance roots, which means that only the Holden-based G8 sedan and Solstice roadster/coupe will remain. Much of the division's languid, rebadged Chevys (and a Toyota) never screamed "driving excitement."

Scared? Happy? Continue on for the full list. (Also, check out Wired's list of American cars that must die.)

Bentley has undone the Photoshop shadows on the ethanol-powered Continental shown last month, and - ta-da! - there's the usual and beautiful wheel, interior, and rear fascia upgrades. We predicted 650 horsepower and a 205-mile-per-hour top speed for the marque's fastest production car (it's actually 621 horsepower and 204 miles per hour).

Some 243 pounds have been cut, which means the Continental GT only weighs 5,000 pounds (about the same as a Hummer H3T or Lexus LS600hL). In place of the rear seat is a crossbar for added rigidity, and the interior also gets a mash of bright red leather, black Alcantara trim, and deeply-bolstered bucket seats.

The Supersports is part of Bentley's plan to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 15 percent across its entire lineup by 2012, the magic year when General Motors is profitable and the nation's fuel economy is so improved that daisies grow out of tailpipes. And like every cradle-to-grave estimate on alternative fuel, Bentley's claim that the Supersports cuts C02 emissions by 70 percent over the regular Continental is about as accurate as Timothy Geithner's tax returns.

But if Bentley must cite environmental numbers to keep Congress from outlawing their cars, we'll publish them no matter what. Zero to 60 miles per hour in 3.7 seconds, however, is nothing but the whole truth.

The "Gina Teleburb" shows enclosed roads that link to groups of homes. (Harvard University)

You may have read the post on the New York Times Wheels blog last month about ex-BMW design chief Chris Bangle's brief tenure at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. The 13 architecture students in the "GINA Studio" course - only offered last fall - created housing projects inspired from Bangle's fabric-wrapped GINA concept car, which bends and flexes according to the driver's needs.

Today's Globe highlighted a few more eye-popping drafts from the course, but oddly enough, none of the projects here mention space for a garage. More photos and descriptions follow in the full entry.

Governor Deval Patrick wants to raise the Massachusetts gasoline tax by 19 cents, charge higher registration fees for gas-guzzlers, and even suggested taxing drivers for every mile they drive, the Boston Globe reported this week.

Under Patrick's plan, the state gas tax would nearly double from 23.5 to 42.5 cents, making it one of the highest in the country. Plans to increase tolls along the Massachusetts Turnpike and the Ted Williams and Sumner tunnels could be shelved if a gas tax hike is approved before the end of March. If it fails, the tolls would be raised anyway in July. (Update: The Turnpike Authority says that all toll increases would roll back if the gas tax is approved after both dates).

The so-called "Hummer fee" would target SUVs and trucks - vehicles not covered by the federal gas-guzzler tax. Cars that already carry the tax would effectively be penalized twice. But these fees - which would fund the state's debt-ridden public transportation system and $15 billion Big Dig - may be unneeded if their claim is to promote fuel-efficient vehicles.

After all, General Motors unwittingly cut its carbon footprint this week by planning to eliminate the entire Hummer and Saturn brands and much of the Pontiac lineup (Hummer is for sale, Saturn will die in 2011 but could be bought by its dealers, and a slimmer Pontiac will arrive by 2012, if not sooner).

So in three years - with the likely demise of Saturn, a continuing industry sales decline, and assuming Pontiac and Hummer (if it still exists) sell at least half as many cars as in 2008 - roughly 400,000 cars will be gone from American roads. That's not all of the 12 unnamed models GM will drop by 2012, or the company's black flag on future high-performance variants like the Cadillac CTS-V and Chevrolet Camaro SS. Less vehicles, less pollution, and more fuel-efficient cars. Sounds like a win for the government.

But according to the Globe, Patrick has this scenario covered, too. (Even Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is on it.)

"But Patrick cautioned that even if lawmakers raise the gas tax, the state would probably collect less money in the future as drivers buy more fuel-efficient cars and need less gas. Because of that, he is also considering a replacement that would charge drivers a fee for every mile they drive."

Perhaps we also need a Soviet-style visa system that prohibits people from traveling outside their regions. Or, a government-issued black box chip installed in every vehicle that would be analyzed at every emissions inspection - wait, that's too realistic.

(Ford)

After a 10-year absence, the Super High Output nameplate is back - this time, on a much larger car with far more power. Taurus fans - who knew? - have hung a "mission accomplished" banner on the website bringbackthesho.com as the car was unveiled this morning in Chicago. Clearly, there's more than a few people willing to fork over $38,000 for this fully-loaded four-door.

Ford's 3.5 liter, twin-turbocharged V-6 makes a healthy 365 horsepower, 130 more than the last SHO's Yamaha V-8. Besides dual exhaust tips, a subtle rear decklid spoiler and wheels up to 20 inches, there's not much to differentiate the SHO from the standard Taurus, but according to Ford, that's the point of its "authentic sleeper sedan formula."

Unlike the first 1989 SHO, there won't be a manual transmission, but the six-speed paddle-shifter automatic will blip the throttle on downshifts. For a detailed history on all three prior SHOs, head over to bringbackthesho.com or watch this commercial.

(Ford)

Admit it. You'd rather make a delivery in the Euro-chic Transit Connect over that paltry Econoline.

Ford has sold more than 600,000 Transit Connects across Europe, where skinny high-top vans work wonders on the continent's narrow city streets. Thanks to the Dodge/Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, Americans are somewhat used to this style, but breaking the mold of the US commercial market is like trying to convince R.V. owners to buy minivans. It'll be tough at first, but Ford has finally recognized that its smaller, sleeker, and more fuel-efficient overseas models are an easy way to start making money again. (The Euro-spec Focus and Fiesta subcompact are coming in 2010.)

The Transit, shown in New York last year as a taxi concept, will debut at the Chicago auto show tomorrow and arrive at dealerships this summer. Ford claims 20 miles per gallon in the city, which should be a big improvement over the heavy-duty Econoline, which is exempt from EPA reporting. An electric version with a claimed 100-mile range will go on sale next year.

Two handy options: Tool Link, co-developed with DeWalt and ThingMagic of Cambridge, tracks cargo and tools with radio frequency identification tags, and an on-board computer allows Internet access, printing, and even remote access to an office PC.

The fishtailing, tire-burning yellow coupe that flashed on television during the first round of Superbowl commercials wasn't a Camaro, a Challenger, or anything remotely European. Most football fans were likely surprised at the Hyundai logo that appeared 20 seconds into the ad as the car slid maniacally in full opposite lock.

Unveiled in New York last year and seen as a concept in 2007, the Genesis coupe isn't new to car enthusiasts, nor are tease and suspense to automotive advertising. But during the initial hype of its Genesis sedan - the first Hyundai ever to cross $40,000 - the South Korean marque grasped the elements of surprise and bewilderment better than any automaker. The marketing folks can almost hear you saying, "That's a Hyundai?"

So far, it appears to be working. Total North American sales dropped just 14 percent last year, and the company reported a 14 percent year-over-year increase in January. The powertrain warranty is one of the best in the industry, and now Hyundai is letting buyers exit their leases without penalty.

But in spite of the J.D. Power awards, brand perception remains a big thorn in the company's side. The absence of a grill badge on the Genesis sedan, just like the prior XG300 and current Kia Amanti, makes this painfully obvious: that Hyundai lacks the self-confidence to charge premium prices.

In Boston, diplomatic immunity is getting a bit passé.

Yesterday's Globe reported how Boston city councilors have "mostly abandoned" their nine-year practice of having unpaid parking tickets dismissed. From 2000 to 2007, councilors were able to fend off 160 tickets they received while on city business, such as attending community meetings.

But the council was scared off in 2007 after Michael Ross paid back $1,000 in tickets he had dismissed over a four-year period. Ross was also fined $2,000 by the State Ethics Commission (read the archived article here). Last year, only about a dozen tickets were dismissed from four councilors.

Unlike treasury secretary Timothy Geithner and health secretary nominee Tom Daschle - who withdrew earlier today - Ross didn't get away with his "mistakes."

Neither do the rest of us.

(For more parking war stories, read our earlier post on the behavior of parking officials and Peter DeMarco's latest column on excruciating tickets.)

This doesn't guarantee the city will actually patch them, but Boston.com has a handy map of potholes submitted by a few dozen readers. Even if your alignment is fine, chances are you'll hit one of these craters.

For anyone with wheels larger than 17 inches, reading this map should be mandatory.

(Courtesy Jon Titone)

Thanks to "The Departed," the 2006 Martin Scorsese film where Jack Nicholson resembles Boston mob boss Whitey Bulger, moviegoers around the world now know the thuggish past of South Boston. Times have changed here, especially with the bourgeois influx of pricey hotels and convention centers on the waterfront. But past these props is the heart of this neighborhood, an alphabet soup of street names with a hearty mix of crumbled pavement and blind spots. If it's authentic Boston you're after, this is the right place.

Move that Elvis statue blocking a space on P Street, however, and you'll likely have slashed tires or scratched paint in less than 24 hours - or in the case of Chris Powers on N Street - a torn side-view mirror. The photo of Elvis was snapped by Jon Titone, a reader who responded to the Globe's "parking space saver of the day" feature (e-mail your photo here).

It's all part of the area's charming, medieval justice system. While the city allows parking space savers for up to 48 hours after a snow emergency, the locals have their own codes. Disobey them, and thou shall be punished with personal property destruction (thanks for the correction, astute readers).

For out-of-towners, see this photo gallery of parking space savers (chairs, cones, you name it), and for those that doubt retaliation, comb through the comments on this Globe article from last Saturday. One reader mentioned he'd rather "live in Gaza than Southie."

Automotive public relations staff have it down pat. Release a sexy teaser image, provide almost no details, and then have the media drool for a month before they can set eyes on the real thing.

Thank you, Bentley, for that wonderful promotional e-mail this morning. Indeed, we couldn't resist posting a shot of this ethanol-powered Continental coupe, the "most powerful and fastest production car ever" from Crewe. Rich enthusiasts were presented with the GTC Speed earlier this month, but now they may consider a car that should produce around 650 horsepower and likely top 205 miles per hour.

Rumors of gas-electric or diesel Bentleys - despite the marque's love for huge torque curves - are unfounded. A few supercars run on ethanol, like the upcoming Saleen S5S Raptor, the 1018 horsepower Koenigsegg CCXR, and a concept Ferrari F430. We won't delve into the pros and cons of ethanol, but added horsepower from the fuel's higher octane is always nice (the 20 percent drop in mileage is not).

More facts on this super Continental should arrive before the Geneva Auto Show in March.

(Photo Illustration/Boston.com)

Among the 45,000 jobs threatened by the blue chips yesterday are the 40 production workers on the Cadillac XLR assembly line. The range-topping, two-seat roadster - built alongside the Corvette in Bowling Green, Ky. - will be gone come spring.

The Bowling Green Daily News reported General Motors will fire 154 workers at the famous plant, which has produced the fiberglass Corvette since 1953 and is now temporarily closed along with several other plants.

Cadillac sold 1,250 XLR roadsters in the United States last year, a 28.6 percent drop from 2007. Meanwhile, Lexus sales of the SC 430 roadster sank 49.6 percent in 2008, to just 1,986. The icon Cadillac had chased from the very beginning - the Mercedes-Benz SL - sold 5,464 units last year and fell only 10.8 percent.

Based on the sixth-generation Corvette, the XLR, with its chiseled, fiberglass body and 320 horsepower V-8, was a design standout when it debuted in 2004. But the car drew early criticism for its semi-lackluster interior and substandard performance as compared to the SL500 (which at the time, was only about $10,000 more than a base $76,200 XLR).

Still, the XLR sported impressive hardware, such as the world's first electromagnetic shocks, which change stiffness in a claimed millisecond and were later offered on the Corvette Z06 and other Cadillac models (it remains the fastest-reacting active suspension, according to GM). The XLR-V model, supercharged to 443 horsepower, provided much more excitement, but Cadillac had - and has, at least for another month or so - a problem justifying its $100,000 price next to an AMG SL, 911 Cabriolet, or even the Corvette itself.

After the California Air Resources Board sent a letter last week pressuring new EPA administrator Lisa Jackson to accept the state's aggressive emissions reduction program - denied by the Bush administration three years ago - President Obama today directed the agency to accept it.

California - along with 13 other states including Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Maine, and Vermont - want automakers to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions 30 percent by 2016. The air board's chairman Mary Nichols called the former EPA administrator's denial "flawed, factually and legally, in fundamental ways."

According to the Los Angeles Times, this translates into a passenger fleet average of 42 miles per gallon by 2020, seven more than the current Corporate Average Fuel Economy requirements passed by Congress in 2007. Other estimates, most notably from Michigan attorney general Mike Cox, peg the number at 49 miles per gallon.

"If California and a handful of other states are allowed to dictate environmental policy for the entire country on a state-by-state basis and not a uniform basis, our nation's economy will become further weakened," said Cox in a Friday press release.

Both domestic and foreign automakers begrudgingly accepted the 2007 regulations but continue to argue against tougher standards, noting that high retooling costs and current product cycles - which typically span three to four years - stand in the way. The future could be especially troubling for low-volume manufacturers like Porsche, which are dependent entirely on high-performance cars.

"What we need is certainty and consistency, not confusion and chaos," said Charles Territo, a spokesman for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, on NPR this morning. "And I think we're all concerned that this would create chaos not only for consumers, but also for dealers and for manufacturers."

No doubt the strictest in the nation, California's emissions regulations have been a thorn in the industry's side since 1966, when the state required "bolt-on pollution controls" for new model cars. Historically, the tough requirements on carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and particulate emissions forced automakers to sell California-specific models of the same car. Only recently have diesel-powered cars like the Mercedes-Benz BlueTec and Volkswagen TDI models - equipped with expensive emissions controls - been allowed for sale in the state.

But California's persistence for tougher federal air laws has paid off. Most automakers design vehicles to meet emissions in all states, and other California initiatives - such as the ban on MTBE gasoline additives and the march toward ultra-low sulfur diesel - have trickled nationwide.

This showdown isn't going anywhere.

(Photo Illustration/Boston.com)

Keeping track of Chrysler management is like naming all the countries Angelina Jolie plucks children from. There's far too many, and some, like Cerberus Capital Management LP, you won't remember to spell correctly.

Daimler AG's divorce with Chrysler LLC is almost final as the German automaker prepares to sell its remaining 19.9 percent share to Cerberus. At the Los Angeles Auto Show last November, Chrysler pulled the bright yellow Dodge EV out of nowhere, a feat that turned lukewarm when the all-electric sports car was cited as a Lotus Europa clone (Dodge reportedly is in talks with Lotus to build the car in England within two years).

Fiat, apparently, is Chrysler's latest European salvation. The Italian auto giant - which owns Ferrari, Maserati, Alfa Romeo, Lancia, and Abarth - will receive a 35 percent Chrysler stake for access to its "small-car technology" and a dealer network that spans Russia, China, and South America, the Associated Press reports.

It's not the first time Chrysler has tried Italian. Three years after the first Caravan and five before Bob Lutz breathed life into the Viper, the company bought Lamborghini in 1987 and funneled millions of dollars into the Diablo, which would become the darling exotic of the 1990s. Chrysler sold it in 1993 for about $40 million.

Could there be a Chrysler version of the venerable Fiat 500? Or a Hemi-powered variant of the compact four-door Alfa Romeo 159? Perhaps the biggest question is: who in Argentina wants to buy a Chrysler Sebring?

The media would have you believe that Detroit is completely lost in the dark, an industry that has ignored the plight of the little, lightweight gas-sippers that are supposedly saving the world across the Atlantic. Writers on the auto beat are fixated on these cars, and so too, they say, is the American public.

The interest is indeed real, and the Big Three's European divisions have made happy profits from the sales of premium compact cars as their home bases struggled. Upcoming hatches like the Ford Fiesta and Chevrolet Spark will fill a void in the American market, and will no doubt attract younger buyers who want to save space and gas.

But compact cars have never been ideal for families, the industry's core demographic. Unlike Europeans, who like cramming relatives and luggage into Peugeots and Opels, the majority of Americans and their families like room. Those who don't salivate for giant SUVs and crossovers shop for midsize and large sedans, the bread and butter of American motoring that accounts for about 43 percent of all US car sales.

There's no bread or butter in the 2010 Ford Taurus and 2010 Buick LaCrosse. Instead of good intentions mixed with bland execution, there's spice, upscale flavor, and a wholehearted desire in these cars to lead the industry - as Detroit once did - by design. If these two Yankees drive as fantastic as they look, then Detroit is roaring into 2009 with its brights on.

(US Secret Service)

The United States Secret Service has torn the camouflage off the latest Cadillac DTS presidential limousine in time for President-elect Barack Obama's Inauguration next Tuesday.

Despite the rumors, Escalades and hybrids were out of the question (Tahoes, however, are the SUV of choice for the men in black). Based on GM's heavy-duty truck platform, the DTS is well over three tons and won't return more than 20 miles per gallon, which means Obama must offset his carbon footprint immediately. Hillary Clinton will ensure that - on Day One.

There are no other juicy details to share, but count on Jay-Z and Beyonce to spill some beans after the parties.

Might you fancy FDR's 1939 Lincoln instead? Browse photos and brush up on your automotive history in this gallery of past presidential limousines.

(REUTERS/Mark Blinch)

Lexus has been the only manufacturer to market hybrids as top-tier luxury trims instead of frugal, more expensive economy cars. The V-8-powered GS 450h sedan, RX 450h crossover and flagship $115,000 LS 600hL are not models in restraint, nor are they fuel-efficient. Saying "hybrid" to a Lexus dealer just meant another item checked off on an already lengthy list of features.

But even the affluent are cutting back and downsizing in this dour economy, all the better to introduce the Prius-based HS 250h, the "world's first dedicated luxury hybrid," according to Lexus. A 2.4 liter four-cylinder in a Lexus is also a world first, but those worried about noise, vibration, and harshness should know that Lexus surely did - and that the car probably has enough dampers, insulation, and seals to muffle five screaming babies.

Styling, however, is typical Lexus, a hybrid of attractive lines and copycat curves. With its large blue oval "L" in the middle of a three-bar chrome grill, the front fascia practically screams "Ford Fusion" (a good thing for Ford). Flat, square body panels shape the doors, trunk, and roof into a mold of the last-generation Mazda 6, but they contribute to a slick 0.27 Cd drag coefficient.

EPA estimates and pricing haven't been released, but Lexus says the HS 250h will return 30 percent better mileage than its most efficient model, the combined 24-mile-per-gallon IS 250. Expect the first models to arrive "late summer," right when gas prices should peak. Lexus really does think of everything.

For more photos, see the full entry.

Jimmy Justice, the so-called renegade who films New York City parking cops parking illegally, wasn't there for my run-in with the Boston Transportation Department this week.

On Tuesday, one of Boston's gracious parking agents whipped a K-turn right in front of me on Beacon Street, blocking two lanes with a massive Ford Econoline. Enraged, I held my horn down, which compelled her to complete the illegal maneuver even more slowly. The battle between the City of Boston and my nasally Suzuki SX4 lasted five glorious seconds, a cry for all motorists against those infuriating neon orange parking tickets.

When the dust settled, I inched a few feet further toward a busy intersection, held up again by a red light. She drove through it. How about a little visit to Beantown, Jimmy?

If that's not enough, here's some more pleasant parking news from the Globe Metro staff on increased fines at bus stops:

MBTA bus riders will get some help stepping from the door to the curb because of a new law signed by Governor Deval Patrick this week.

The law raises tickets to $100 for parking at bus stops. Under the previous policy, each city sets its own fine. Boston’s is $55.

MBTA General Manager Daniel Grabauskas called the signing of the bill, which was approved by the Legislature last week, “great news.”

“One of the biggest problems we have is people not taking bus stops seriously,” he said. “It’s a safety issue. You don’t want people running out 10 or 15 feet into the roadway or into traffic to try to get on a bus,” he said.

Grabauskas said that when a bus can’t get close to the curb, it also makes it difficult for disabled people to board.

“If you happen to be in a wheelchair, or a parent with a child in a stroller, it can mean it’s nearly impossible and very dangerous to get on board a bus,” he said.

He said the increased fine, which will apply both to the MBTA’s more than 8,000 bus stops and to bus stops for regional transit authorities statewide, was necessary to get people’s attention.

Launching a new convertible in the middle of winter is a batty idea for most manufacturers, but Bentley - which recently moved its American headquarters right into Copley Square - looks right at home in the frost with this new Continental GTC Speed.

Outfitted with 600 horsepower (up 48 from the regular GTC), 20-inch wheels, and a 200-mile-per-hour top speed (only 195 with the top down), the GTC Speed shares the upgrades already fitted to the GT Speed coupe and Flying Spur Speed sedan. Bentley expects two-thirds of GTC buyers will opt for the Speed edition next year, which should add at least $25,000 to the "base" model's $194,000.

Last year, members of the New England Motor Press Association slogged the standard Continental GTC through the slush and named it the best "Extreme All-Weather Vehicle" in their annual winter vehicle awards. Without all-wheel drive, the big Bentley wouldn't have stood a chance around here.

The California crowd, of course, could care less about winter performance, but what's a $200,000 convertible if you can't get it out of your garage?

Go to the full entry for more photos of the GTC Speed and its Boxster RS 60 color scheme.

(Bonhams)

Now may be the time to start picking all the locked cabinets and doors in your grandmother's house.

After discovering this extremely rare 1937 Bugatti Type 57S Atalante hiding in their late relative's barn in 2007, an English family is putting the car up for sale next month, according to the BBC.

This Atalante, an exotic in its heyday and more exclusive than any modern Veyron, is only one of 17 made, unrestored with just over 26,000 miles. Expected initial bids are no less than $4.35 million.

More details and photos of this stunning car can be found on Bugatti's website and on this amateur classic car website.

Here's another story in today's Globe that will raise the neck hair on Prius drivers. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, at today's gas prices it would take more than nine years to pay back the average $4,000 premium on a hybrid car, as opposed to only four years when gas prices soared over $4 per gallon.

Reporter Erin Ailworth found, unsurprisingly, that most Prius owners weren't second guessing themselves. Neither are other manufacturers, as Ford and Honda prepare their hybrid assaults early next year.

• For a quick graphic overview, click here.
• Go to the IRS site to see the latest federal tax credit information on 2009 and older hybrid (and diesel) models.

As exotic as the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren is, it never quite attracted the attention and respect befitting a half-million dollar supercar, the limited-edition 722 included.

Add another half-million worth of plastic surgery and now we're talking. Named for the British driver who brought Mercedes-Benz its most storied victories of the 1950s, the SLR Stirling Moss mimics the famous 1955 300 SLR roadster. While the race car was made of magnesium alloy, the Stirling Moss edition is entirely carbon fiber, which should give McLaren designer Gordon Murray some grief from the standard SLR's hefty weight.

With 650 horsepower, Mercedes estimates zero to 62 miles per hour in under 3.5 seconds and a 217-mile-per-hour top speed. Only 75 will be built next year, and all will go to current SLR customers (that means Paris Hilton's on the list).

Conjuring up 1950s racing nostalgia, however, brings back horrific memories for Mercedes. In 1955, a 300 SLR roadster killed about 80 spectators after slamming into a barrier at Le Mans. It was - and likely still is - the deadliest crash in motor racing.

Watch the historic news reel in the full entry here.

Perhaps you're one of the bank CEOs who just took a million-dollar bonus as your company received a fat, federal bailout. You slip out of the office into the executive garage, toss the Moët and congratulatory Hallmark cards in the back of the S600, and tell the maid to fix an early lunch. But out of nowhere, angry employees storm the garage and race toward your car. A paper weight nearly misses your windshield, but a Swingline stapler smashes into your side view mirror. Now what?

If you passed the tests at Advanced Driving and Security Inc., an evasive driving school in North Kingston, R.I., you'll be completely calm as you snap a perfect 180-degree J-turn, swerve past seething coworkers and head toward the surface. If you've never even heard of such a maneuver, you're now first-class lunch meat.

But this isn't some far-off dream. Today's Globe story explains how some firms have stepped up driver security following the economic crisis ("In a recession, executives make quick getaways"). At Advanced Driving, students pilot Crown Victorias around simulated road blocks, carjackings and ambushes.

Necessary? Ridiculous? Have your say in our comments section.

The Supra, left, may never return. Toyota says their next sports car will be more like the Celica, center, and fuel-efficient like the MR2 Spyder, right.

It's hard to remember, but once upon a time Toyota sold sporty cars within its ultra-bland, green-happy lineup. While they weren't any more aggressive than a Honda Civic Si, the last Celica and (mid-engine!) MR2 Spyder models in 2005 were some proof that Toyota employed performance-minded engineers.

For months, there's been talk about a Celica-type sports car that Toyota is developing with Subaru, which will use a "boxer" four-cylinder and rear-wheel drive. At the Boston auto show, Toyota's Northeast public affairs manager Wade Hoyt said the car will be made at the Subaru plant in Lafayette, Ind., but says the car is "a few years away still."

"It'll be a good replacement for the Celica," said Hoyt. "It will not be the next Supra, and with fuel economy regulations coming in and worries about energy, there may never be a next Supra."

That may be disheartening for fans of the 320 horsepower coupe, which bit the dust in 1996 right as other premium Japanese two-doors - including the Mazda RX-7, Nissan 300ZX and Mitsubishi 3000GT - were tanking.

Much closer to completion is the 500 horsepower Lexus LF-A, which Toyota has hot-lapped around Germany's Nürburgring numerous times. When that happens, Toyota can suspend some of the green talk and make its F1 and NASCAR teams relevant in the real-world. Let's have a go while gas prices are below $2.

Boston.com Cars is proud to have Boston Overdrive as its new blog, just in time for the city's 2008 auto show.

We know there's a ton of great auto blogs out there - Jalopnik, Auto Blog, Edmunds Inside Line and the New York Times Wheels blog are just a handful. But Boston.com is geared for locals in the Boston and New England areas, and we know about driving here better than anyone.

Together with The Boston Globe, Boston Overdrive will bring you the news, trends and exclusive car reviews that matter most. It's not easy having a car in Beantown - but it doesn't take away the pleasure of driving, especially when you've found that perfect road out of the city.

We'd like to hear your thoughts and suggestions, as well as your car gossip and news tips. Send an e-mail to cars@boston.com, bookmark us and spread the word.