Pontiac’s last hurrah

Pontiac has produced its final new model, the Solstice GXP coupe. It’s an aesthetically beautiful car that at once reminds us of what Pontiac could have been and what is was. The lines of the car are exciting and it has a somewhat exotic feel with its hood up and hanging over itself as if it were looking in on its own engine. However, a few details seemed to have been over-looked, such as the interior (all of it), the fact that there is no where on board to stow the removable top, and then there's the issue of visibility... with the roof panel in place you have to lean ahead to see traffic lights, the shape of the side glass and downward slope of the roof make the views out the side difficult, rearward visibility with the roof in place is virtually non-existent, the quarter windows are blocked by the C-pillars and the view is further compromised by the small size and steep angle of the glass hatch. Not that this matters much for the Solstice, at the end of an era its off to collectors’ garages.

We’ve probably all noticed at some point that “road work” tends to be more about show than work. Lanes are blocked off for months while workers never appear, equipment is conspicuously missing and there is no hint of progress. One NC State student has finally found a use for all those barrels that block the lanes “under construction.”

Cash for Clunkers Update

The Cash for Clunkers program has passed the Senate and now the bill will go to President Obama to sign it into law. The Transportation Department will then reportedly have one month to figure out how the Cash for Clunkers program will be run. Since Congress reduced funding for the program from $4 billion to just $1 billion, it's expected that the money will run out long before the program is scheduled to end on November 1.

The program's eligibility rules are stiff. Trade-in vehicles must be in drivable condition, insured by the same owner for the last year, manufactured in 1984 or later and have a combined EPA fuel economy rating of 18 mpg or less. The “insured by the same owner for the last year” rule means that buyers who bought a “clunker” in anticipation of this legislation are out of luck. The good news is that because many wholesalers bought “clunkers” to resell to people looking to take advantage of this program, who will not be able to do so, now is the perfect time to buy that “classic” car for your 16-year-old.

America's Worst Drivers

Raise your hand if you think your home state has the worst drivers in America. Now, lower your hands if you don't happen to live in either New York or New Jersey. Of course, that doesn't necessarily mean that the average driver in your particular state is all that great, regardless of what city you choose to call home. According to this year's GMAC Insurance National Drivers Test, an alarming 20.1% of licensed Americans would not pass a written drivers test exam if taken today.

For what it's worth, those people who couldn't manage to pass the basic driving test amount to roughly 41 million drivers that are currently piloting two-ton weapons of mass destruction on American roads.

Oh, the states that have the smartest drivers? That would be Idaho and Wisconsin, which tied for first place with an average test score of 80.6 percent.

Where are the most knowledgeable drivers in the nation? The following is a complete list of state rankings for the 2009 GMAC Insurance National Drivers Test.

1. ID 17. WA 35. KY
1. WI 19. NM 36. PA
3. MT 20. NC 37. LA
4. KS 21. VA 38. TN
5. SD 22. IN 38. MS
5. NE 22. MI 40. SC
7. UT 24. AR 40. MD
8. WY 24. TX 42. CT
8. IA 26. AL 43. FL
8. OR 26. NV 44. DC
8. MN 28. WV 45. MA
12. AK 29. IL 46. RI
12. ND 30. AZ 47. GA
14. VT 31. ME 48. CA
15. CO 32. DE 49. HI
15. MO 33. NH 50. NJ
17. OK 34. OH 51. NY

The survey, which polled more than 5,000 licensed Americans from all 50 states and the District of Columbia, is designed to gauge driver knowledge by administering 20 actual questions taken from state Department of Motor Vehicles exams.

Auto-Topia Auto-Stimulus Report

Need a new car?

There’s never been a better time to get you’re car stuck on top of a light pole! With the deep discounts available on Chrysler and GM products, combined with the government’s new programs discussed below, this summer may be the perfect time to buy.

Cash-for-Clunkers

The House and Senate came to terms late last night on a $1 billion 'cash for clunkers' initiative. Part of a larger $106 billion wartime spending bill, the program is not yet law, as the finalized bill must be passed by Congress (it is expected to be voted on next week) and signed into law by President Obama.

Under the terms of the compromise, vouchers worth up to $4,500 would be distributed to those who turn in old vehicles. The program's $1B backing figures to be well short of the $4B it is estimated to cost, meaning that the funding is expected to run out after September 30, the end of the fiscal year.

The House approved the measure earlier this week, but there were reports of some significant troubles in the Senate where funding and mileage requirements were concerned. In the end, the same mileage figures were reportedly agreed upon, meaning vehicles that return 18 mpg or less in combined city/highway are eligible to turn in their vehicle for a cash voucher. If the new car replacement achieves at least 4 mpg better, a $3,500 voucher would be awarded, and if the new car achieved at least 10 mpg more, the credit would be $4,500. Trucks figure to be a bit different, however, with replacement vehicles needing to net at least 18 mpg, with figures at least 2 mpg better than the soon-to-be-scrapped turn-in. In order to receive the full $4,500 voucher, however, truck buyers' new vehicle would have to improve their fuel economy figures by at least 5 mpg.

Tax Incentive

While we wait for the Cash-for-Clunkers bill to come out on the other side of Congress, there's already incentives available from the government that you can take advantage of when purchasing a new car. The main one is deducting the fees and taxes paid on a new car in next year's tax returns. Previously this tax deduction was available only in states that used a sales tax, but the U.S. Treasury announced this week that it would be extended to states without a sales tax like Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, Montana, New Hampshire and Oregon.

Since buyers in those states won't pay sales tax, they'll be able to deduct "other fees or taxes imposed by the state or local government that are based on the vehicle's sales price or as a per unit fee." That amount may not equal what buyers in other states can deduct, but at least it's something and they already don't have to pay sales tax on a new car.

To qualify, the vehicle must be purchased after Feb. 16, 2009 and before Jan. 1, 2010. The deduction also only applies to taxes and fees paid on up to $49,500 of the vehicle's purchase price, but it does apply to cars, trucks, motorhomes and motorcycles.

Monster Trucks – the environment’s best friend

This story from the Associated Free Press provides some interesting insight into “green transportation.”

PARIS (AFP) – Taking public transport may not be as green as you think, says a new US study. Its authors point out an array of factors that are often unknown to the public. These are hidden or displaced emissions that ramp up the simple "tailpipe" tally, which is based on how much carbon is spewed out by the fossil fuels used to make a trip.

In some circumstances, for instance, it could be more eco-friendly to drive into a city -- even in an SUV, the bete noire of green groups -- rather than take a suburban train. It depends on seat occupancy and the underlying carbon cost of the mode of transport.

For example, Boston has a metro system with high energy efficiency. The trouble is, 82 percent of the energy to drive it comes from dirty fossil fuels.

By comparison, San Francisco's local railway is less energy-efficient than Boston's. But it turns out to be rather greener, as only 49 percent of the electricity is derived from fossils.

The paper points out that the "tailpipe" quotient does not include emissions that come from building transport infrastructure -- railways, airport terminals, roads and so on -- nor the emissions that come from maintaining this infrastructure over its operational lifetime.

These often-unacknowledged factors add substantially to the global-warming burden.
And another big variable that may be overlooked in green thinking is seat occupancy.
A saloon (sedan) car or even a 4x4 that is fully occupied may be responsible for less greenhouse gas per kilometer travelled per person than a suburban train that is a quarter full, the researchers calculate.

I’m convinced; I’m selling my smart car and buying one of these:

Here's Your Sign

As I was speeding down the interstate at 13 MPH, I began to wonder, what causes traffic jams? If we are all going 70 MPH then it shouldn’t matter how many people are on the road. Could it be that driving while eating a Big Mac, texting, and reviewing a presentation that you have to deliver in 15 min. is a bad idea? Maybe, but I think the real problem is the road signs.

After reading this sign I was very concerned but wasn’t sure which exit to take.

This sign, on the other hand, was specific enough, but I was still skeptical.



If you’re still not convinced, check these out:

Prius Rap

Check this video out, the Prius has never been cooler!

GM Reinvention Controversey

You may have heard the controversy about the GM reinvention commercial, and its spoof, but if you haven’t seen it, check it out below. The views expressed in the spoof are not endorsed by Auto-Topia.

Original Commercial



Spoof

Due to my, uhmm, unique driving skills (see post below) I have been wondering what the right car for me is, you know something sturdy, reliable, indestructible. Happily, the kind folks at Top Gear have answered that question for me, head-on.

(Watch each of the videos below, it starts slow but you won’t be disappointed.)

Rubber Side Down

My brother coined this phrase a couple of years ago, he said this in front of one of my friends a couple of days ago and it sparked the following conversation:

Friend: What does he mean rubber side down.

Me: It’s a joke, I’ve had a couple of accidents, but I’m a great driver… really, trust me.

Brother : A couple? You’ve wrecked more cars than Evel Knievel.

Me: So, I’ve had a couple of accidents, that doesn’t make me a bad driver.

Friend: A couple? How many accidents have you had?

Me: What? Lately??

Brother: If you have to qualify it like that….

Friend: How many accidents have you had?

Me: I don’t know… exactly.

Friend: You don’t know??

Me: No, I’m sure lots of people don’t know.

Brother: No, I think pretty much everybody knows, I’ve had 2.

Me: Well, if I had to put a number on it… about 10.

Friend: 10??

Me: Just the ones I’ve caused right??

Friend: No, not just the ones… you know what yes, just the ones you’ve caused, what were they?

Me: Well, I rear totaled my brother’s van rear-ending someone. I totaled a truck rear ending someone on an on-ramp….

Brother: Was that the lady you hit so hard you knocked her off the interstate?

Me: Yes, but in my defense it was dark… besides she was okay.

Friend: Wow… this doesn’t sound good, there’s more?

Me: Just a couple… I rear-ended a friend of mine once, backed into one of my class mates one time, rear ended another person, ran into a poll… twice, ran into a wall, backed into one of my own cars once-- not, sure if that counts as one or two, and I ran into my own garage backing out once. Oh, and I uh, totaled a friend’s car by flipping it end-over-end nearly landing on top of a highly explosive gas line with complete strangers in the back.

Brother: That’s why I try and remind him that the rubber side goes down, it’s a public service announcement really.

Friend: Here’s a public service announcement, friends don’t let friends drive with this guy….

Chick Cars/My Brother's new PRIUS

My brother, who is a total car fanatic, bought a Toyota Prius last week. As I sat here questioning his, uhh, masculinity we’ll say I began thinking, what makes a car a chick car—other than the obvious, that it’s a Toyota Prius. The following list is the result of our highly technical scientific research on what makes a “chick car.”

• Any "sports car" that is available only with a four-cylinder engine and an automatic transmission is a chick car.
• Any car whose name means nothing is a chick car. This explains why a Camry is a chick car, but a Neon is not (unless it falls within the color categories listed below).
• Any car painted in pink, purple, light blue, or champagne is a chick car.
• Any car with numbers or letters for a name, or tacked on the end, can become a guy car. For example, F-150 or Civic-SI.
• Any car with a built in flower vase (we’re looking at you VW Beetle) is a chick car.
• Any convertible that can’t do 0-60 in less than 5.5 seconds is a chick car.

The following are definitely NOT chick cars:

• If the engine size is still given in cubic inches, especially if that number is over 400.
• If there was a movie or TV show built entirely around it. Examples include Burt Reynolds' Trans Am, the General Lee; and the Dodge Viper. The A-Team van probably counts too.
• The hood is more than five feet long.
• Full-sized pickup truck. Won't haul kids, but will haul 4x8 sheetrock. Points lost if it's too shiny. Cars with twice the horsepower needed. Used to show other guys how manly you really are.
• Ford Mustang (hardtop with V8 only). See above. Also benefit of having no place for a baby seat.
• Chevy Camaro: See Ford Mustang.
• Mercedes 500 Series, BMW 7 Series: No woman would ever spend that much on a car. (She would buy an SUV and have the living room redecorated.)
• Any car that won’t make it over a speed bump (either because it’s too low or because parts fall off each time it tries).
• Any car held together with bondo and painted entirely in primer gray (other than a Toyota Prius).

But it's not only the make, model, or color of the vehicle that makes it a chick car, but rather how the interior smells, and looks. The distinct aroma of the male car is a combination of stale, spilt coffee (the spilling occurs due to a female in the vehicle directly in front of you stopping for no apparent reason); windshield-wiper fluid (can't automobile manufacturers engineer a car that can hold a gallon of fluid rather than three quarts? which forces you to place the unused fluid, with the impossible-to-reseal cap, on the floor of the back seat, only to spill it when that same broad from the coffee encounter brakes, again for no apparent reason); and that musky Ben-Gay flavor (due to the soreness generated when you had to push the car to the tollbooth because you ran out of gas when you refused to stop and ask for directions.)

Chrysler and Fiat – a match made in repair shop heaven.

Court hearings on Chrysler's bid to escape liquidation through an alliance with Italy's Fiat are scheduled to end today.

Chrysler and Fiat, both companies that have tried and failed to make it in the U.S. automotive market are now joining forces to try and do what neither of them could do individually, make a car that someone would actually drive.

For those too young to remember (I was the rightful age of 5 at the time), Fiat was forced to pull out of the U.S. market in 1983 because of persistent complaints about poor quality. (The joke was Fiat stood for "Fix It Again, Tony.") And does anyone remember General Motors' 2000 plan to integrate with ... yes, Fiat. GM was supposed to learn the secret recipe for making profitable small cars from Fiat, but that venture cost GM $4.4 billion, and in the end they had nothing to show for it.

So if the Chrysler Fiat deal doesn’t go through today maybe it’s not all bad, Chrysler just needs to get this guy to sell their cars—after all it worked for Ferrari.