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A classic Bugatti car, which gathered dust in a Tyneside garage for almost 50 years, may fetch up to £3m ($4.35m) when it goes under the hammer. Relatives of reclusive Newcastle doctor Harold Carr found the 1937 Type 57S Atalante in a garage after he died. Now the classic car, thought to be one of just 17 built, is to be sold by Bonhams in Paris next month. It was originally owned by Earl Howe - first president of the British Racing Drivers' Club. Dr Carr, a former army surgeon, left the contents of a lock-up garage to his family...

SISSONVILLE, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- A scary wake up call for people in a mobile home in Sissonville Saturday morning. Dispatchers tell WSAZ.com that a car hit the trailer and then landed on its roof. The accident happened just after one o’clock on Saturday morning on Sissonville Drive in Sissonville. The people that live in the mobile home were home when the accident happened but no one in the trailer was injured. No information is available on the condition of the driver of the car. We will bring you more information as soon as we get it.

HILO, Hawaii – A Hilo Chevrolet dealer who tried to crush his Asian auto competition found the stunt a little harder to pull off than expected. Island Chevrolet general sales manager James Severtson arranged for a Chevrolet Suburban SUV outfitted with massive tires costing $5,000 apiece to drive over a Honda Accord. On the first attempt Friday, the monster truck blew a hydraulic hose and leaked vital fluid while the Honda remained intact and ready for more.

State panel endorses idea of levy tied to yearly miles logged on a car's odometer. A special transportation committee gave final approval Wednesday to a report that proposes a new tax on the number of miles a car is driven each year, as well as other options for generating highway and transit money. The vehicle miles tax would be calculated during the car's annual inspection and likely would supplement or replace the gas tax. Legislators on the 21st Century Transportation Committee cautioned that a new tax is unlikely to advance during a budget crisis. The special committee was formed to...

(11-23) 18:07 PST -- The idea of making San Francisco the first city in the nation to combat congestion by imposing a toll on motorists who drive on the local roads is "totally doable" from an administrative standpoint, a top city transportation official deemed. But clearing the necessary political and public opinion hurdles is another matter altogether. Charging people more for anything is always a tough sell. Talk about reaching deeper into people's pockets when the economy is in the tank is even more difficult. "We're going to have to get buy-in," said Jose Luis Moscovich, executive director of the...

As reported here after a King County Superior Court jury exonerated an Alki 18-year-old on Friday in the 10/13/07 deadly shooting inside a car at 59th/Admiral, the trial had one more phase: Since the teen’s legal team had filed a request, as allowed under state law, for compensation for what he’s gone through if it was found that this was justifiable homicide — the jury cleared him on the grounds of self-defense — the jury needed to convene again to consider that part of the case. That took all day today, after which both jurors and the teen’s mother had...

EIFORT, Ohio -- A Scioto County man was shot and killed in an early-morning confrontation today that began when he tried to enter a vehicle on the property of the resident who shot him, according to a release from Sheriff Marty V. Donini. Timothy L. Reese, 21, of South Webster died at the scene of the 4 a.m. shooting outside a residence along Rt. 140 in Eifort, bordering Jackson County, the release said. The man who shot him with a handgun was not identified. He told investigators he caught the victim trying to enter a vehicle on his property, confronted...

As shelter is the largest single expense for most people, the ongoing "Financiapocalpyse" could see more people trading that Tudor for a four-door. As your guides through this challenging time, we've identified ten cars you'd be happy to call home until your 401k is worth more than the postage used to send you those depressing reports. These rides are comfortable, affordable and most importantly, you can probably sleep in it. With car sales dwindling, now may be the best time to invest those dwindling funds in a home on wheels. More at: http://jalopnik.com/5066062/ten-cars-you-can-live-in-after-your-home-is-repossessed

In a further sign that full-electric drive vehicles are headed for the mainstream, BMW BMW Group will showcase a lithium http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium -ion battery powered version of the MINI at next month's Los Angeles Auto Show Detroit-Auto-Show-2008 ahead of a pilot project that will see 500 of the cars evaluated on US roads in 2009. Based on the current MINI Hatch, the MINI E will initially appear in two-seater form with rear seats dropped to make way for the battery pack. Rather than an in-hub motor arrangement, an electric motor mounted under the bonnet drives the front wheels through a single-stage...

This Magnetic Air Car appears to be an absolute miracle of engineering. We’re talking a vehicle that will travel at 100 mph plus for ‘an unlimited driving range’ without needing to refuel. Oh yes folks, you read that right. The technology seems to involve something called an air-bearing turbocharger which uses a $70 battery to run a magnetic motor to compress, use and re-compress air in the onboard storage tanks. The secret sauce as they call it is their new Air Cycle Machine, which apparently stirs up air through convection. Confused? Yep, same here. See if this magazine article helps. Oh and...

Spokesman suggests Obama better get his facts straight A Wednesday night presidential debate claim by Barack Obama has stirred up car dealers in Oklahoma City who dispute his claim that car dealerships are closing everywhere and people cannot get car loans. "I was surprised to hear it," admitted Peter Hodges, Executive Director of the Oklahoma City Metro Auto Dealers Association. "The facts of the matter are, about 500 dealerships out of 20,000 could close this year because of economic conditions." But what angered Hodges was Obama's claim that car loans are not available. "That's completely untrue," professed Hodges. "And I...

Two hundred Triangle drivers will be recruited this fall to road-test a satellite-technology system that might be used one day to collect highway taxes on every mile we drive -- replacing the gas tax on every gallon we buy. Computers mounted in volunteers' cars will use global positioning system tracking to count the miles -- even across state lines. Participants will receive make-believe state and federal tax bills for their miles. For their time and their opinions, they'll be paid $895 in real money. The $16.5 million Road User Charge Study will enlist drivers in six states to determine whether...

PARIS — Officials say that a John Travolta movie has suspended filming in one of the Paris area's toughest housing projects after 10 cars to be used in the movie were burned. Filming of the action movie "From Paris With Love" was supposed to start this week but local officials and the production company say it was put on hold because the cars were burned by unknown suspects early Monday. Cars are regularly burned in French housing projects, most famously during rioting that raged for three weeks in 2005 in poor neighborhoods across the country. The mayor's office of Montfermeil,...

An attorney for a 23-year-old Peoria man accused of allowing his five-month-old son to starve to death earlier this year has obtained court permission to have his client examined by mental health expert. William Loeffel, who represents James Sargent, says he wants the court to determine if Sargent is fit to stand trial or if he was insane at the time of the baby's death.

A Christchurch man who bought a personalised car licence plate STOWLN for a laugh, had the smile wiped from his face when his car was pinched from outside his house. Nathan Attwood discovered his $17,000 Subaru Impreza WRX stationwagon was missing from his driveway on the morning of September 26. "A while back me and a group of friends were sitting around thinking up great names for personalised plates, and someone came up with STOWLN," Mr Attwood, 24, said. "When I got my car, I thought it would be hilarious to get the licence plate, so I bought it and...

September 27, 2008 The Tesla Brand of luxury electric vehicles is certainly capturing a lot of the limelight http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limelight as the era of the EV dawns. The company has announced a state-of-the-art US$250(sic) assembly facility in the heart of Silicon Valley Silicon Valley . The facility will build a new US$60,000 five-passenger luxury sedan with exceptional perfroamnce and a lithium http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium -ion battery pack capable of delivering 240 miles per charge. The first sedans are likely to roll off the assembly line in late 2010. The new plant will be able to produce at least 15,000 sedans – up to...

Green With Envy: Prius Owners Smile as Neighbors Fume Monday , August 25, 2008 By Meg Shannon Every morning, as Lynn Schmidt walks out of her Long Island, N.Y., home, opens the door to her baby-blue Prius, waves to her grumbling neighbor and pulls out of the driveway, she has every reason to smile. It's not just the 45 miles per gallon her gasoline-electric hybrid vehicle is getting. And it's not only that she can go three weeks without a fill-up. It's also because that through her choice of automobile, Lynn is doing what she considers her share of being...

(CBS/AP) Russia took the first steps toward a troop pullback from Georgia on Tuesday but at the same time paraded blindfolded and bound Georgian prisoners on armored vehicles and seized four U.S. Humvees. The mixed signals came as U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her 25 NATO counterparts met in emergency session in Belgium and demanded Russia fulfill its promise to withdraw its forces from the small former Soviet republic. "The Russian president hasn’t kept his promise to abide by the terms of the ceasefire," Rice told CBS News chief foreign affairs correspondent Lara Logan in an exclusive interview...

I have a 2002 Olds Bravada that has an intermittent "propane" smell. My wife put a higher octane fuel /w cleanser in and my initial thought was that it's doing its job and the smell is residual from the gas. I think I am having problems with the AWD. It feels like it is always on. There are no dummy lights, that I know of to indicate that all wheels are active so I don't know if it is, but it feels like it. A google search uncovered that Chevy Blazers with 4x4, whose differential's are going bad will make...

I can't believe what I just saw a cop do...

A 13-year-old boy suffocated to death after his parents left him trapped in their car for more than 12 hours on the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe. The French teenager had tried desperately escape from the locked vehicle, where he had been left after his parents spent an evening with friends. When they returned to their holiday villa at night, they went inside to bed leaving their son asleep in the car. His body was discovered slumped on the back seat of the high-security 4x4 vehicle, parked in full sunshine, when his parents woke up at 10am the following morning. Temperatures...

Now being installed by a Japanese car manufacturer, the Accelerator Force Feedback Pedal (AFFP) gives warning of dangerous situations by vibrating and exerting counter pressure in the accelerator pedal. This should make the driver take his foot off the pedal and brake. With the aim of reducing accidents and CO2 emissions Continental's AFFP reaches market production for the first time. The system relies on warning the driver through sensory stimulation. The hazard warning is felt directly by the driver's foot, making him aware of the situation so that he can react. The pedal can also help to drive at...

WHITE BEAR LAKE — The ignition key is turned and all you hear is a “click.” For most automobile owners this would illicit a sinking feeling, followed by a scramble for jumper cables and assistance — for Thomas Birkeland, the “click” is a signal that his electric powered car is turned on and ready to roll. Early morning bird songs and the sound of the neighbor’s sprinkler are clearly audible as Birkeland quietly backs his vintage 1974 Volkswagen Beetle out of the garage. He shifts out of reverse and then begins whirring forward down Lake Avenue on his daily commute...

JINHUA, CHINA -- 08/12/08 -- Kandi Technologies, Corp. (NASDAQ: KNDI), one of China's leading designers, manufacturers and exporters of all terrain vehicles (ATVs), utility vehicles (UTVs) and its number one exporter of go-karts, announced today that the first shipments of its exciting new, gasoline powered, off-highway low-speed super mini cars, that can achieve up to 60 mpg, have begun to arrive in the U.S. It expects shipments will continue to build in succeeding months to meet anticipated strong customer demand. The Company said that sales, marketing and distribution in the U.S. of the new COCO super mini are being...

Was talking to a friend about old cars & old times today (for me, that means the early 80s, when I got my license). I've had a LOT of cars. Most clunkers, as I was usually broke, but a few gems. I've had better cars, and I've had worse. But here's my 1st & fav picks. My very first car, purchased in 1980 for the Princely sum of $150, was a true tank: the 1969 Chrysler Town & Country station wagon. Weighing in at an impressive 3,700 lbs (IIRC), it had a wheezing 383 CI, after-market manual choke sticking out...

The Florida Chamber of Commerce and The Florida Retail Federation argued for three years that business owners had an absolute right to control their employees. That's why they kept calling it the "take-your-guns-to-work" legislation. They claimed they could search employee vehicles and ban firearms from those vehicles in the employer's parking lot. They claimed businesses didn't care if customers had guns in cars, they only cared about their right to control employees. When the legislature passed the law protecting the rights of workers, The Florida Chamber of Commerce and the Florida Retail Federation filed a lawsuit in federal court asking...

A 23-year-old father was booked into jail under suspicion of second-degree child abuse after leaving his son in his car while he watched the midnight showing of "The Dark Knight." David Farnham of Salt Lake City left his 2-year-old son inside his car in the parking lot of the Century 16 Theaters at 125 E. 3300 South on Saturday night. An onlooker walking by the car at 1:22 a.m. on Sunday saw the baby inside the vehicle crying and sweating profusely, said detective Gary Keller with the South Salt Lake City Police Department. Farnham rolled the windows up in the...

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- A Florida woman preparing for her wedding over the weekend is instead mourning the death of her 4-year-old son after she left him in a hot SUV for three hours Saturday, reported WPBF, Newsnet5's sister station. The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office said Mirlande Jean-Baptiste, 29, may not have known that her son Gregory Cesar was in her Ford Expedition while she was inside a nail salon Saturday. Family members said that Jean-Baptiste had dropped off several children at a relative's house before going to the salon with her sister. Police told WPBF News 25...

July 17, 2008 Britain's Axon claims that its newly patented mass-production techniques will make carbon composite car frames and bodywork even cheaper than their metal counterparts - and only 40% as heavy. What a revolutionary technology this could be - the power to weight ratio of any vehicle on the planet could be dramatically increased for no extra cost! The company plans to release a highly affordable 500cc Review-of-Three-Wheeled-Vehicles Mar-08 passenger car making at least 100mpg from a basic petrol http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gasoline engine in 2010, and Axon is confident its simple, lightweight solution to the fuel economy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_efficiency challenge will be...

A man carjacked two vehicles Wednesday afternoon and crashed the second into a light pole in Moreno Valley, injuring himself and one other person, a Riverside police spokesman said.

To find the future of the auto industry, Doug Pelmear looked to the past. He says he's perfected an engine developed by his grandfather 60 years ago. An engine that gives his 1987 mustang 110 miles to the gallon. Doug Pelmear says "my grandfather had the idea back in the 40's that he can make a difference then. There was quite a need at that time also with the war going on and everything, there was quite the need then." And quite the need now. So, Pelmear, a mechanic in Napoleon, has been tweaking this engine for the past 10...

A 91-year-old Greendale woman who was trapped under a vehicle in her garage for about two days this week is recovering at Aurora St. Luke’s Medical Center in Milwaukee, her niece said. Betty Borowski, who lives alone, apparently became stuck sometime Sunday when she tried to retrieve her keys, which she thought had fallen under the vehicle, Greendale Police Chief Rob Dams said. Borowski’s head appeared to be pinned under the axle, Dams said. “She was pretty well wedged in there,” Dams said. “It looks like she crawled under head-first.” The keys were in the car’s door, Dams said. On...

The 'biggest American car show in the world' opened in Västerås in central Sweden on Thursday. More than 10,000 cars are expected for the Big Meet 2008 show. The annual event started 31 years ago and was founded by Kjell Gustafsson who has seen it grow from the humble beginnings of 40-80 cars in a parking lot in Anderstorp. "Just to keep the show going over three days costs 1.5 million kronor ($252,000). 160 officials work with this. That is around the same as the Hultsfred festival," Gustafsson said to Di.se. The Big Meet 2008 show will take place over...

The "HUVO" electric vehicle weighing 150kg: The resin parts were manufactured by RP systems. HUVO's body frame Topia Corp, a company engaged in designing and prototyping automobiles, prototyped a single-seater electric vehicle "HUVO," which weighs only about 150kg (330 lb). The vehicle was exhibited at the booth of Marubeni Information Systems Co Ltd in the 19th Design Engineering & Manufacturing Solutions Expo (DMS), which is an IT solution exhibition for manufacturers and runs from June 25-27, 2008, at Tokyo Big Sight. The HUVO was developed by using Topia's proprietary design and production technologies, the company said. If a vehicle...

HOW TO START YOUR CAR WITH A DOG (A breakdown patrol man who came to the rescue of a woman motorist has managed to get her car started using her dog.) How do you start a car with a dog? I guess you can stick its tail in the ignition and see if it starts or maybe attach the car to the dog like a rickshaw and pop it into gear when it gets rolling fast enough. What other solutions could there be? (Juliette Piesley, 39, had changed the battery in her electronic key...

Prototype vehicle with a superconducting motor. If you plan to visit the exhibition, do not miss the car because it is quite a plain display. Superconducting motor Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd prototyped an electric vehicle driven by a superconducting motor for the first time in the world. The new electric vehicle will be showcased at 2008 Integrated Exhibition of the Environment in Celebration of the Hokkaido Toyako Summit in Sapporo, Hokkaido in Japan from June 19, 2008. The company intends to prove the feasibility of high-temperature superconductivity technology for electric vehicle motors and promote the technology to the public....

http://www.disappearing-car-door.com/

Air ApparentInspired by air-powered car concepts in Europe, Dalhousie mechanical engineering students David Alderson, Scott Allan, David Langille, Michael Roy and Dave Spencer decided to develop a compressed air engine of their own for a year-long research project. They recently unveiled their air-powered go-kart, with the vehicle performing comparatively to electric-powered cars. Dalhousie engineering student, David Alderson test drives an air-powered go cart Newswise — It’s Sunday afternoon. Thousands of fans cheer wildly as race cars fly by at speeds nearing 200 mph for 200 laps. They whiz down the pit road making pit stops, changing tires and refueling. Only,...

They say beauty is only skin deep. Tell that to GINA. Instead of a metal or plastic body, BMW's latest concept, the GINA Light Visionary Model, drapes a flexible fabric material over a moveable wire mesh frame, creating a nearly seamless surface that can alter its form at the whim of the driver.

Capture your car's CO2 and use it to re-power your vehicle - and your home A new technology that can capture the carbon emissions from your car is about to be unveiled to the world for the first time. Origo Industries has developed a system that captures the CO2 from your vehicle’s engine and then allows you to turn these emissions into fuel at your own home to re-power your car. The same fuel could also be used to power your house. The system uses a revolutionary new approach where CO2 is regenerated through algae in a home unit, allowing...

Bo (woof) In Commentary: For all you old timers out there, do you remember how excited you used to get when it was time for a car ride? Check out this pup as he gets the question, “Wanna go for a ride? ” Note the sounds of a jealous, car door opening challenged cat in the background.....http://boknowsonline.com/2008/04/18/wanna-go-for-a-ride/

I have been seeing this item advertised. I have two four wheel drive suvs because of my location. Would love to cut my milage twentyfive percent. Can anyone here explain this to me and tell me whether it would work, not work, be bad for my cars...

An 8-year-old boy reportedly stole an idling car Thursday night and crashed into another car on Martin Luther King Boulevard in Pontiac, police said. Pontiac police said due to protocol, they notified Child Protective Service, but it's unlikely they will face any charges.

Americans like the freedom to travel. That trait makes sense. This continent was settled by people who were willing to travel in order to make a better life. One could say that the association between freedom to travel and prosperity is in our genes. The old GM commercial said, "It's not just your car. It's your freedom." Movement has always been a defining part of our culture. Today, we have cars. In the past, we had horses. In either case, the means of travel was personal and represented a private possession. Our heritage and history are not oriented towards mass...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- A Frankfort man was arrested on drug trafficking charges early Sunday morning after he was reportedly pumping gas into an imaginary vehicle. According to the arrest report, Metro Police arrived at a gas station at First and Jefferson streets in Louisville and immediately smelled marijuana coming from Joshua L. Moore, who station clerks contend was filling up an imaginary vehicle.

Here’s one set of wheels that is worth a trip downtown: the $2.4 million, 1001-horsepower Bugatti Veyron “Fbg par Hermès” special edition roadster. Volkswagen AG revived the formidable Bugatti brand name three years ago with the original edition Veyron. With a carbon fiber-composite body and a top speed of 250 miles per hour, it’s the fastest production car ever built. The Hermès edition, unveiled this morning at Battery Park Gardens and on display later today at the new Hermès boutique on Broad Street, costs more than twice the original version and recalls the early 20th-century friendship of racing legend Ettore...

PORTLAND, Ore. -- A driver backed a car into the studio at Newsradio 750 KXL and then drove away Friday afternoon. The crash happened at about 1 p.m. at the KXL building on Bancroft Street. The car involved is described as a white Toyota Corolla with a license plate of 683-RYU. Portland police are investigating the incident as a hit-and-run. KPTV.com will update this story as more information becomes available.

CHICAGO (AP) — Treffly Coyne was out of her car for just minutes and no more than 10 yards away. But that was long and far enough to land her in court after a police officer spotted her sleeping 2-year-old daughter alone in the vehicle; Coyne had taken her two older daughters to pour $8.29 in coins into a Salvation Army kettle. Minutes later, she was under arrest — the focus of both a police investigation and a probe by the state's child welfare agency. Now the case that has become an Internet flash point for people who either blast...

An explosion has been reported in central Stockholm. Police confirmed on Sunday morning that a bomb squad was at the scene and that no casualties had been reported. Neighbours reported to police early on Sunday morning that a large explosion had rocked the area around Surbrunnsgatan 4 in central Stockholm. Twenty windows were blown out as result of the blast. According to Eva Nilsson at Stockholm police something exploded under a parked car. "To the naked eye the car is in principle intact." A large area was cordoned off by police after the explosion, and Surbrunnsgatan was closed off between...

A new car could prove the perfect way to beat rush hour traffic - because at the flick of a switch it turns into a plane. The AirCar has four seats, four doors and four wheels in "ground mode" but in a matter of seconds its giant wings fold out to reveal a pair of propeller engines. Then, in "air mode", the diesel-powered plane will be able to cruise at speeds of 200mph - at 25,000 feet. To switch back from plane to car, the wings simply fold inwards, the rear wheels pivot forwards to give extra ground clearance and...