Category: Automobiles

Speed cameras banned statewide

In Texas, not here.

Famous for liking things big, Texas lawmakers have laid the smackdown on red light and speed cameras in a large manner. HB.922 states “A municipality may not implement or operate an automated traffic control system with respect to a highway under its jurisdiction,” which means that cameras, automated radar or laser, or anything else designed to snag an image of a car, driver, or license plate and record its speed is now forbidden. The even larger racket of red-light cameras have had the brakes applied by HB.1052, which requires giving motorists notice of the devices at least 100 feet out.

These bills have passed through the legislature and are awaiting Governor Rick Perry’s inscription. If the measures do make it into law, we hope that other states follow suit. Ticketing egregious speeders and actual red-light scofflaws is one thing, but the systems have been calibrated in a cynical manner to generate loads of revenue (and kickbacks) for the companies that sell and administrate the systems for municipalities. Rather than keeping people safe, random ticketing amounts to a tax….

Autoblog

Car names

There were thirteen American car brands sold by the Big Three when NewMexiKen was a kid. GM had Cadillac, Buick, Oldsmobile, Pontiac and Chevrolet. Ford had Lincoln, Mercury and Ford. Chrysler had Chrysler, Imperial, DeSoto, Dodge and Plymouth. (When I was very little other manufacturers sold Kaiser and Studebaker and Nash and Willys and Packard, and I suppose some others I’ve forgotten.)

So, other than the obvious Ford, how did the brands get their names?

Continue reading Car names

General Motors’ Branding Fiasco

A quick study of GM over the years from The Truth About Cars. It begins:

Imagine a different GM from today’s confused and embattled automaker. A General Motors where each division has a clear and coherent brand, universally known and recognized by automotive consumers. Where each division’s image and related price range is unique, without overlap. Where each division is the dominant brand– or at least highly competitive– in its respective market segment. Welcome to General Motors circa 1930.

In 1930 a Cadillac sold for 12 times the price of a Chevrolet. By the 1960s it wasn’t even twice the price.

Stuff

The “Forever” stamp is a bad deal:

In December, President Bush signed the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act, which ensures that future price increases will be kept below an inflation-based ceiling. In other words, postage hikes will never surpass inflation—and the forever stamp will never become a good investment.

Slate Magazine

Which seems obvious enough, but the Slate story tells of some bonehead who bought $8,000 worth of things.

Red light cameras are evil:

In Fayetteville, North Carolina a red light camera struck a woman, sending her to the hospital with critical injuries. Danielle Christina Polumbo, 20, is accused of driving drunk on Bragg Boulevard at 1:40am today. According to WRAL-TV, Polumbo swerved into a red light camera pole, sending the heavy device down onto the vehicle’s roof. Emily Elizabeth May, 24, suffered critical injuries from the camera hit and was rushed to Cape Fear Valley Hospital for treatment.

TheNewspaper

Driving drunk is, of course, the real evil.

Yeah! Texas

The Texas House of Representatives yesterday crafted a compromise measure aimed at eliminating red light cameras in the state. The legislative body adopted a series of amendments to Senate Bill 1119 requiring cities to produce concrete evidence whether the devices reduce accidents or merely are revenue raisers. Unless the legislature is convinced of the latter by September 1, 2009, the cameras would be unplugged.

Texas House Votes to Sunset Red Light Cameras

Oh, yeah, and Nevada:

The Nevada state Senate overwhelmingly rejected red light cameras by a 15-6 vote last month. Nevada is one of a growing number of jurisdictions with a specific statute banning automated photo ticketing.

Nevada Rejects Red Light Cameras

It has everything, except, perhaps, the fun factor

Dan Neil really is my favorite writer. Who else could begin a car review with:

PROPOSED: The Lexus LS600h L is the most complicated, most elaborate machine ever to take to four wheels. What “Ulysses” is to light reading and Confucianism is to the simple declarative sentence, this hybrid-powered limousine is nothing less than everything Toyota has ever learned about cars poured into one stupendous, stupefying, “because we can” performance piece.

I’m willing to entertain contrary opinions. Is a Formula 1 car more high-tech, more highly engineered? These are extraordinary confections, it’s true — all aero-optimized carbon fiber and ballistic engines — but in terms of the sheer number of parts, subsystems, processors and electronics, an F1 car is a Babylonian goat cart compared to the mega-Lexus. The LS600h L, just as a for instance, monitors the driver’s face with infrared beams and detects if he or she is nodding off. This system seems prudent, since the car is so smooth, so honeyed with refinement, with such a gliding, lighter-than-air ride, that a deep coma only ever seems just a few exits away.

The car has everything: “You can fine-tune the loudness of the Lexus’ door lock-unlock beep;” or “rear seating with a climate-controlled ottoman recliner with shiatsu massage function.”

Take me for a ride in your car, car

From Forbes, Ideal Cars For The World’s Ultra-Scenic Drives:

This story is for you. We have prepared a list of 10 of the world’s most scenic roads–routes on which you can stretch out and see what your sports car is capable of.

What’s more, some exhilarating, exotic cars are just now beginning to appear in dealerships (think of Ferrari’s new 599 GTB performance flagship and Bentley’s new Continental convertible), and these hot new rides deserve only the best roads on which to spin.

Ride-Worthy Roads

One place to find them? California. The state’s thoroughfares rank high on the list of auto-industry newsmakers’ favorite roads.

There are photos and the briefest description of the 10 road trips.

Traffic law question

What is the controlling law for making a U-Turn in New Mexico? Only at intersections? Never at intersections? Only when permitted (by sign)? Anywhere that’s not marked to prohibit it?

U-turns are not covered in the driver’s license manual.

In some states, U-Turns may only be made at an intersection.

In others, U-Turns may not be made at intersections (I was cited for this once in California).

The Big 2.5’s Fleet Sales Fiasco

Maybe it’s just the native Detroiter in me, but I found this at The Truth About Cars interesting:

From September 2006 to February 2007, Chrysler (division) offloaded 48.5 percent of its total sales to the fleets, while 32.1 percent of The Dodge Boys’ sales went to the same market. And even though GM overall has cut back on fleet sales, 44.9 percent of Pontiac’s and 29.6 percent of Chevrolet’s total sales ended up in fleets. Ford (the division) off-loaded fully one-third of their total sales to the fleets, with half of that number going to rental companies.

The problem with this business model is that all these sales to fleets (Hertz, Avis, etc.) put a lot of used cars on the market quickly:

With this many vehicles still flowing into the fleet market, destined to reemerge at auctions, Chrysler, Pontiac, Chevrolet and Ford will have a tough time convincing retail customers to pay full whack for vehicles facing epic depreciation.

The Auto Show

NewMexiKen attended the New Mexico International Auto Show Saturday (it runs until 10 tonight at the Albuquerque Convention Center). It’s not L.A. or Detroit (both of which I’ve attended at one time), or Geneva or Shanghai, and is, frankly sadly lacking in concept cars, but it was still fun. I was born in the Motor City. I love cars.

The nature of the layout (in three different rooms) dictated the sequence of cars so, without too much planning, the expensive car room was saved for last, always a good move.

I love that car colors are now five words long; for example, Red Rock Crystal Clear Coat or Inferno Red Crystal Pearl Coat (Chrysler), the later too orange, the former pretty nice. (Lexus has a Royal Ruby Metallic that was “the” red of the day.)

The first car I fell in love with was the Acura TL S, a 286hp sports sedan that gets 20 city, 28 highway. Give me that car in Nighthawk Black Pearl with the 5-speed automatic (I’m a wuss and wouldn’t want the 6-speed manual) and I thought I could drive it happily right up until I move into the assisted living facility. In the room that had Ford, GM, Chrysler and Honda, and all their brands, it was the car I wanted. (The one they had was Alabaster Silver Metallic, but I could picture the Nighthawk Black.)

(As an aside, I must say, I think I could happily sit in the seat of a Honda 2000 to read or watch TV. Never, ever, been in a car seat that was so molded to my shape.)

Then, it was the Isuzu, Suzuki, Toyota room. No love here, but some sense of utility. How about those big Tundra trucks? I could pull a nice fifth-wheel RV with one of those. Or that Prius with it’s 51 miles per gallon, that would be nice. We didn’t stay too long in this room.

Last was the fancy cars room — Mercedes, Lexus, Infiniti, Jaguar, Audi, Porsche, BMW, Volvo. And Mini. Every 12-year-old boy in the place was sitting in the driver’s seat of a Mini, or waiting to. Cute, but I was 12 in the fifties.

First, the Mercedes. You knew you were in a $100,000 car (one was, I think, a $130,000 car). I can’t tell you exactly what makes a car worth $100,000, but I know it when I sit in it. Same for the BMW 550i, a $65,000 car. I could be happy with these sedans. Or even the Lexus GS400h, a hybrid, another $65,000 automobile.

But the Porsche Cayman won my heart. This is the new coupe based on the Boxster. Reportedly it’s solid body makes it handle more like a 911 than a Boxster. Top track speed 171. At the end of the day, I wanted a Cayman S in Basalt Black Metallic. Christmas is coming.

And what better way to follow-up the auto show than a burger and shake at the 66 Diner?

Quacks me up

Amusing photo.

And this, amazing photo.

Meanwhile:

An angry Romanian doctor has cut off a patient’s penis during surgery and chopped it into small pieces.

Surgeon Naum Ciomu was operating on patient Nelu Radonescu, 36, to correct a testicular malformation when he suddenly lost his temper.

Grabbing a scalpel, he sliced off the penis in front of shocked nursing staff, and then placed it on the operating table where he chopped it into small pieces before storming out of the operating theatre at Bucharest hospital.

AOL Lifestyle

Couldn’t he have just counted to ten? Great plot for Grey’s Anatomy, though, especially if the victim is one of those asinine male doctors. Karev, Shepherd or O’Malley, any will do.

Some good advice:

1. Styrofoam cups
Styrofoam is forever. It’s not biodegradable.
* I can’t remember the last time I used a styrofoam cup but for all those takeaway coffee drinkers, it’s worth finding an alternative.

2. Paper towels
Paper towels waste forest resources, landfill space, and your money.
* I couldn’t imagine going without paper towels. I do buy the eco friendly variety but I should probably use old clothes or towels to clean up.

3. Bleached coffee filters
Dioxins, chemicals formed during the chlorine bleaching process, contaminate groundwater and air and are linked to cancer in humans and animals.
* I’m not a coffee drinker which looks to be a good thing if this is what is used to make coffee.

Top 10 Products to Avoid | Buy Organic

And:

Want to stay safe on the roads? Then avoid listening to Guns N Roses, Meat Loaf and Bruce Springsteen behind the wheel.

The trio are among the artists featured on a top 10 of tracks that get people’s blood pumping and in the mood to drive aggressively.
. . .

It includes classic rock tracks, such as Meat Loaf’s “Bat Out Of Hell” and Springsteen’s “Born to Run,” as well as tracks such as Motorhead’s “Ace of Spades” and Guns N Roses’ “Paradise City.”

Reuters via Yahoo! News

Safety First

Dan Neil likes the Volvo S80 (around $50K+):

You may have seen the S80 commercial in which the driver and his wife are out for a late-night run to Pink’s hot dog stand. He’s not looking where he’s going and runs up on a slower vehicle. The system flashes. She laughs and looks at him lovingly. Not in real life she doesn’t.

Attuned to the fact that women think of safety not just in terms of crash protection but personal security, Volvo offers the optional Personal Car Communicator (PCC), a high-tech keyless entry device that tells you if the car’s alarm has been activated while you’re away; the car even has a heartbeat sensor to tell you if anyone is hiding in the car. Cool.
. . .

So now I have to reorder my favorite cars in this class. The Volvo — which has the added advantage of being neither German nor Japanese, a nonaligned nation in a segment where nationality matters to a lot of buyers — nudges the Acura RL from the top spot. Coolly Euro, quietly indifferent to its competitors, understated and overachieving, this V8 powered son of Gothenburg is most definitely a good idea.

A best line and more

“If Republicans in this election vote in such a way as to say a candidate’s personal life and personal conduct in office doesn’t matter, then a lot of Christian evangelical leaders owe Bill Clinton a public apology.”

Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, a minister, who’s running for president himself. Guess he’s thinking about Rudy and Newt and St. McCain.

At Functional Ambivalent, Tom takes the side of the grumpy tourist who wouldn’t give the Starbuck’s barista his name.

Dan Neil gets to drive a Formula 1 car.

Some come to Vegas to visit the town’s fleshpots or to enrich its fleecing parlors, or simply to pass out by the pool. But in a nation obsessed with cars, sex, speed, diversion and the unholy mingling of same, it’s no surprise that the city of demiurges has become a major destination for people who want to get their wheel freak on.

Here you can rent a Ferrari by the hour, drive a rooster-tailing sand buggy, go roundy-round on the Las Vegas speedway in a 650-horsepower stock car, learn to ride the sickest racing motorcycle the deviants at Honda or Ducati can devise.

At the top of this particular pile of coin-operated thrills, however, is LRS Formula USA, a company that sells mere mortals the chance to wedge, and I do mean wedge, themselves into an full-on, honest-to-Odin F1 car.

“I don’t have little cars,” says LRS principal Pierre-Louis Moroni. “They’re not toys. These are as close to a race-ready F1 car as you can drive, unless you buy one yourself.”

Neil goes on to relate his experience — he’s so low to the ground and the car is so finely suspended, “I could read a newspaper if I ran over it.” $3,395 for four laps if you’re interested.

Glenn Greenwald reports on conversations National Review‘s Ramesh Ponnuru had with Cato Institute’s President Ed Crane.

Crane asked if Romney believed the president should have the authority to arrest U.S. citizens with no review. Romney said he would want to hear the pros and cons from smart lawyers before he made up his mind.

Crane said that he had asked Giuliani the same question a few weeks ago. The mayor said that he would want to use this authority infrequently.

These gentlemen are running to be President of the United States and they are unable to express an understanding of the basic tenets of our Constitution and Bill of Rights.

Gasoline in San Francisco

Gasoline in Albuquerque is $2.65/2.75/2.85 a gallon. Buy your gas early in the day so you can save the several cents a gallon it will go up by nightfall. We need an election to get the price back down again. Photo from Crooks and Liars. Don’t you just love the persistence of the 9/10ths?

The new NewMexiKen design is a work-in-progress, but then isn’t everything?

Alarming

Dan Neil is good today. Here’s the first paragraph to set the scene:

“Is that the car alarm?” my wife said as she shook me out of a dead sleep, and then I heard it, the WHOOP! WHOOP! WHOOP! of the Bentley Arnage T’s alarm system going off like Hell’s Ladder Co. No. 5 in my driveway. It was precisely 3:48 a.m. Let me just now pause in the narrative — the part where I run panicked through the night in my tighty whities and T-shirt — to say that the Bentley’s alarm system is the most piercing in automotive Christendom. I don’t live that far from Forest Lawn, and I had visions of Sid Grauman and Irving Thalberg holding me while Norma Shearer punched me in the head.

Toyota’s lightweight

Dan Neil, such a delight to read, speculates about Toyota. Is the Yaris its tipping point? He begins:

TOYOTA Motor Corp. is the colossus of roads. It is, or soon will be, the largest car company in the world. Its worldwide sales are up year after year, as are its profits, as are its stock prices. In the U.S., the world’s largest car market, Toyota’s sales rose an astonishing 12.5% in 2006, grabbing even more market share from the oxygen-starved domestics. To meet the demand, the company is putting down factories and expanding facilities in this country like it was playing automotive Monopoly.

The company builds Lexus, the best-selling luxury brand in the U.S. It builds the Prius, the hybrid shuttlecraft with more green cachet than macrobiotic tofu. It created Scion, which in three years went from a Scrabble word to the last word in Gen-Y branding.

So is this the company that can do no wrong? Not really.

I give you the Toyota Yaris, a surprisingly routine and summarily undelightful B-class subcompact that feels as mailed-in as if it had a stamp on it.

Smile, and pay up

[Albuquerque] started fining people caught by traffic enforcement cameras in May 2005, but it never developed a program to collect money from people who didn’t pay. It doesn’t even know exactly how much money is owed, or how many people owe.

According to police records obtained by the Journal, three other vehicle owners whose cars have repeatedly been caught on camera owe more than $5,000 in fines and late fees.

As many as 30 others owe about $4,000.

City officials estimate hundreds of thousands of dollars are owed by drivers caught on camera.

Under the program, drivers are fined $100 the first time they are caught running a red light, $250 for the second violation, and $500 each for third and subsequent violations. Speeders are fined based on how fast over the speed limit the vehicle is traveling.

Late fees— assessed after 30 days— are twice the original fine.

The Albuquerque Journal

Infractions caught by the camera are civil actions, not traffic violations. They don’t count on your driving record. Until recently there was no appeal. The city’s approach to these cameras has been pretty much the same as a counterfeiter with a nice new printing press. It appears they’ve thought through none of the administrative or legal consequences and most of the process is contracted to out-of-state companies.