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Rising fuel prices, both in the U.S. and abroad, means that automakers can now offer similar engines in vehicles sold throughout the world. According to Automotive News, General Motors' next small car, the Chevrolet Cruze, will be offered with a new 1.4-liter force-fed four-banger, putting out between 120 and 140 horsepower and returning fuel mileage in the 40 mpg range.

General Motors is considering a new Chevrolet mini car for the United States as it reworks its product lineup to cope with a dramatic consumer shift to more fuel efficient vehicles, a spokesman said. GM spokesman Dee Allen said bringing the Chevrolet Beat to the U.S. market is among the options the company is studying. About the size of a Honda Fit or Toyota Yaris, the Beat is a front-wheel-drive, three-door hatchback. The Beat, to be built in South Korea, will be rolled out in other global markets faster than it would in the United States, Allen said. The car...

Motorheads don’t want to hear it; refuse to believe it — but ugly realities are coming down hard on the ‘09 Camaro that will very possibly cause GM to pull the plug before the first one ever rolls off the line. Doubt that? Consider the stillborn rear-wheel-drive next generation Chevy Impala — nixed because of concerns within GM about the possibility of meeting the pending (2012) 35 mpg fuel economy edict recently passed by Congress. A lighter front-drive car with a V-6 instead of a V-8 can make the cut; a V-8 RWD Impala can’t. So it’s gone. So is...

The Chevy Tahoe Hybrid is as provocative and political a vehicle as you'll see this year. Why, it's practically a polemic. And those are just the "P's." By way of a fantastic exertion of technology and human capital -- which I hereby honor and praise even as I question them as misallocated -- GM has managed to give one of its behemoth SUVs marginally better fuel economy. Here are the relevant data points: The two-mode hybrid Tahoe returns an EPA estimated fuel economy of 21 miles per gallon in the city, 22 mpg highway; the 4x4 version gets an even...

DAYTONA, FL - When you visit Orange Grove Baptist Church, the first thing you see is a lot of the number three. The number is on the cars, on the trucks, in the nursery, and even in the worship center. You may think, "Wow, they really like the Trinity here." They may, but that is not the reason for the ubiquitous 3. "We really like Dale Earnhardt, and we know he is part of 'Heaven's Racing Team,'" said deacon Frank Drake. This type of obsession is probably harmless in most places, but not in Daytona, a hotbed of NASCAR. However,...

This weekend over 10,000 classic cars will converge on Västerås at the Power Big Meet as car enthusiasts from Sweden, Europe and as far afield as Russia, Israel and Australia make their annual pilgrimage to the biggest Classic car event in the world. For Sweden’s Raggare, the Power Big Meet is more than just a car show - it’s a celebration of a way of life that is peculiarly Swedish, despite being entrenched in the fashions, music and motor cars of Americana. Since the 1950s, a version of the American Dream has been embraced with an enthusiasm that has endured...

2006 Callaway C16 The look may be familiar, but the Callaway C16 is anything but just another Corvette. The latest in a long line of products from the well-regarded "tuner," the C16 makes some significant changes to Chevrolet's two-seater, including a complete redesign of its body by Canadian stylist Paul Deutschman. Under the sleek new skin, Callaway supercharges the base, 6.0-liter LS2 V-8 - the first time the tuner has used a blower, incidentally, rather than a turbocharger. The result is an engine making an impressive 616 horsepower and 582 lb-ft of torque, more than enough to launch the C16...

July 18, 2006, 8:45AM Toyota recalls 418,570 vehicles By HIROKO TABUCHI Associated Press TOKYO -- Toyota Motor Corp. said today it was recalling 418,570 vehicles globally, including some Echo and Prius models sold in the U.S., over a faulty engine part. The faulty part is the latest in a string of problems requiring recalls by Toyota, raising doubts over whether the automaker can maintain quality standards amid booming sales. The recall affects 268,570 vehicles sold in Japan across 12 models manufactured in 2001, including Corollas, the compact cars Vitz and Platz and the hybrid Prius, the company said in a...

J.D. Power and Associates Ranked the different classes of cars by quality. There were 19 classes of cars. Asian car makers too 14 of the top spots in the 19 classes. Japan was on top in 12 classes. 11 of those were taken by Toyota alone! The last Japanese spot was taken by Mazda. South Korean car makers Kia and Hyundai each took a top spot. Subcompact: Kia Rio Compact: Toyota Corolla Compact Sporty: Mazda MX-5 Miata Entry Premium: Lexus IS 250/350 Mid-size Premium: Lexus ES 330 Large Premium: Lexus LS430 Premium Sporty: Lexus SC 430 Mid-size sporty: Toyota Solara...

A Canadian company has developed a new, more efficient process to make the alternative fuel ethanol from farm waste. With today's high oil prices, experts hope the new technology could reduce demand on fossil fuels and increase energy security. "In the past, ethanol fuel use has been limited, because the cost of production was too high," said Jim Easterly, a Washington, D.C.-based bioenergy consultant. "Ethanol produced from corn kernels and wheat grain has historically been more expensive than gasoline produced from oil." Producing corn-based ethanol, for example, uses energy from oil and electricity for everything from growing the corn to...

Seven people were injured when the driver of a pickup truck fleeing from Border Patrol agents crashed into a second pickup in Marana. A Border Patrol agent spotted the Chevrolet truck on Arizona 86 near Sandario Road about 10:30 p.m. Sunday, said Agent Sean King, a Border Patrol Tucson Sector spokesman. The agent was suspicious because the truck had no license plate. He tried to pull it over, but the driver sped away, King said. A helicopter followed as the truck turned onto Interstate 19 and then Interstate 10, he said. It left the freeway at Tangerine Road and ran...

<p>You can tell a lot about a person by what he or she carries around in the back of the pickup truck during the eight months it's not summer in Alaska.</p> <p>The battered bed of my 1995 Ford 150 contains essential survival gear, in addition to the usual assortment of Alaskan accouterments...</p>

DETROIT – Combining dramatic design and exciting performance, the Chevrolet Camaro Concept recaptures the spirit of one of the most popular sport coupes of all time and redefines the Camaro for new generations of fans. The Camaro Concept embodies the performance and passion that have made first-generation Camaros some of the most sought-after collector cars, updating the formula with a fuel-efficient powertrain, sophisticated chassis and contemporary design execution. The goal is to make the sport coupe relevant to younger enthusiasts while retaining its appeal to its current fans. “Millions of people of all ages fell in love with the Camaro...

Chevy beats Ford in 2005 DETROIT -- Chevrolet beat the Ford Division in U.S. sales by 17,084 units in 2005, dislodging Ford from the top of the sales chart for the first time since 1986. On Dec. 1, Chevy led Ford by 9,318 units. In 2004, Ford beat Chevrolet by 18,801 units. Sales at both automakers fell in 2005. Chevrolet outsold Ford in cars. Chevy sold 899,116 cars in 2005, compared with 742,423 cars sold by Ford. That was a difference of 156,693 units. But Ford, while it sold more trucks than Chevrolet in 2005, saw a bigger drop in...

The company is bleeding billions, but management is beginning to see the light. There are a few bold steps -- including the scrapping of one of its brands -- GM execs should take to keep the auto giant running. According to some analysts on Wall Street, General Motors lost credibility last week when the company said that it would be restating 2001 earnings. That’s what it took for GM’s management to lose credibility? How about years of mismanaging its production effort? Or refusing to aggressively streamline its product offerings, recklessly pursuing incentive strategies, failing to address ballooning health-care and pension...

If you missed your opportunity to buy a brand-new Chevrolet Camaro before General Motors stopped making them in 2002, here's your chance. You'd better have some serious cash, though. The reincarnation of a muscle-car era team that specialized in making high-performance Chevrolets has brought the reincarnation of the Camaro itself. This time, they're making their own Camaros from scratch with bodies designed with the help of a 22-year-old California car artist. The look of the new Baldwin-Motion 540 Camaro SuperCoupe calls to mind the the 1969 Camaro, but this is a bigger, broader two-seat monster. The SuperCoupe is powered by...

President Bush last week spoke three sentences in response to a Texas reporter's question on the teaching of evolution and "intelligent design." In doing so, he lit a match under a powder keg. "Christian" conservatives rejoiced. Scientists and liberals recoiled. "Intelligent design" suggests that creation is too complicated to have occurred through natural selection. Its advocates distance themselves from "creation science," but similarities abound. The clash of science, belief and culture is not new. When Copernicus replaced Ptolemy's Earth-centered universe with the solar system, he dedicated De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium to Pope Paul III and made clear that his motive...

Many music-minded viewers of the MLB All-Star Game earlier this month were shocked, astonished and disillusioned at the newest truck commercial Chevrolet unveiled. I know I was when I saw it a week or so later -- there were the standard shots of Chevy trucks sending up billowing clouds of dust as they thrummed down rutted dirt roads, crashing and splashing through rocky streams, and burly, flannel-shirted rednecks tossing bales of hay around -- but what was that music playing in the background? It was infinitely familiar yet, given its surroundings, completely out-of-place and exotic, like running into your spinster...

Title and link only. All GM vehicles except the Hummer H3 at GM employee discounts? Huge! Read about it, especially if you are in the market for a newer vehicle. http://www.freep.com/money/autonews/gm28e_20050528.htm

Many people have many problems with many things. Some you have control over and some you don’t. The real problem begins when you can’t get your problem solved. “What? You won't help me? But? You have my money! My product doesn’t work!” Have you ever been in this situation? I have had problems with products or services several times and they are usually quickly resolved. Well, over the past year I have had several problems that just haven’t gotten resolved. So, what better place to take them than to the public. I may even make this a recurring column and...

This is a shameless and selfish solicitation for solid sage advice from fellow Freepers. My car is leaking oil, is due for new brakes, has other problems (due to my trying to sell it three times to deadbeats who neither paid nor maintained the vehicle. I've decided to get a diesel pickup for commuting. * Pickups are utilitarian. * Diesel engines have a long lifetime. * Fuel economy is decent for a large diesel rig. Have been looking primarily at vehicles in the 2000-2003 model year range with under 100k miles, and around $20k. We've all seen the little boy...

Mitsubishi Motors Cuts Jobs, Closes Japan Plant By YURI KAGEYAMA Associated Press TOKYO -- Japanese automaker Mitsubishi Motors Corp. will cut nearly 11,000 jobs, or 22 percent of its global work force, close an assembly plant in Japan and receive a $4 billion infusion from the Mitsubishi group and other investors under a revival plan its chief executive described as its "last chance." Under the plan announced today, Mitsubishi Motors will keep open its U.S. plant in Normal, Ill., but will shutter an engine plant in Australia while keeping a passenger car plant there. The company will close a passenger...

They've printed one thousand T-shirts to give away bearing the slogan "Who shot the blimp?" A sign at the dealership over the weekend proclaimed "No Hunting" and featured a bullet-ridden blimp. Cloninger Ford-Toyota officials say public interest in the April 17 shooting of a blimp that was advertising the dealership has led them to use the situation for more advertising. It certainly has spread the dealership's name. Type the words "blimp,""shotgun" and "advertisement"into the Google search engine, and more than 1 1/2 pages of links featuring the story pop up. On his office computer, Cloninger Sales Manager David Wilson has...

The Los Angeles Times has acknowledged that over one thousand subscribers have cancelled their subscriptions to the newspaper since they ran a series of "hit pieces" on Arnold Schwarzenegger during the last days of the recall election. The damage to the newspaper may not end there though. Jeff Morris, owner of Wm. L. Morris Chevrolet in Simi Valley, California spoke on Tuesday's Hugh Hewitt Radio Show and announced that his dealership is pulling its advertising from the newspaper. Morris said that the company had recently met with the paper and agreed to a new advertising package, but that the apparent...

"What would Jesus drive?" asks the new religious campaign against SUVs. Naturally, everyone has been eager to supply a punch line. My initial thought was a donkey, which has considerably less passenger and cargo space than an SUV, along with emissions problems of its own. Then a colleague pointed out that Jesus was a carpenter, so he'd probably want a pickup truck, which falls into the same mileage and emissions category as an SUV, to haul his lumber. On CNN's "Talk Back Live," a guest suggested that Jesus might very well drive a big SUV, especially if he was...

'What would Jesus drive?' gas-guzzling Americans are asked Oliver Burkeman in New York Thursday November 14, 2002 The Guardian The midwestern United States, equally devout in its worship of God as in its worship of gas-guzzling four-wheel-drive vehicles, is about to be asked to choose between the two. "What Would Jesus Drive?" is the slogan dominating a television advertising campaign about to blanket cities in Iowa, Indiana and Missouri, along with the southern state of North Carolina. The question presumably did not arise in first-century Galilee, but the Christian group behind the ads believes the answer would not include...

SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. -- Aaron Alvey homered and set two pitching records as Louisville, Ky., beat Sendai, Japan, 1-0 Sunday night to win the Little League World Series. With one out in the top of the first, Alvey sent the first pitch he saw 250 feet -- the outfield wall is 205 -- to center field to put Louisville in front. He then struck out 11 on his way to setting World Series records for strikeouts (44) and scoreless innings (21), and tying the mark for consecutive no-hit innings (12). Louisville is the first U.S. team to win the title...