(Source: The Infrastructurist & BNA)

A few days ago, Jim Oberstar, head of the House transportation committee, tipped his hand that he has big changes in mind for transportation policy in this country.

Now his outline for the new transportation bill has leaked. Oberstar has recently been circulating a “two-page handwritten outline” around the Hill, according to the BNA’s Daily Report for Executives, which obtained a copy of the document . They report the following tidbits:

Under the heading “the future of transportation,” the framework seeks to create a new undersecretary or assistant secretary for intermodalism that would meet monthly with all modal administrators. The outline includes the phrases “national strategic plan” and “mega-projects” in the list of agencies that would take part in the monthly meetings.  

It also includes a consolidation of DOT’s 108 programs into four “major formula programs”: critical asset preservation, highway safety improvement, surface transportation program, and congestion mitigation and air quality improvement. The “surface transportation program” section suggests that metropolitan planning organizations receive suballocations based on population.

According to the document, Oberstar would like the DOT’s management structure to shift “from prescriptive to performance.” He would call for DOT and states to design six-year targets for each of four performance categories and the framework would ask for annual reports to DOT and Congress as well as posting data online.   

Oberstar’s outline also addresses transit equity, including a hope to “level decision-making factors between highway and transit choices/projects.” The federal government pays for half of transit projects while it funds 80 percent of highway and bridge work, and transit advocates have been rallying for equal federal treatment.

SEE ALSO:

•  Reauthorization and Reorganization in the works for USDOT – House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman James Oberstar wants to reorganize the U.S. DOT to streamline infrastructure spending programs
• Boxer: Senate Aims to Index Gas Tax to Inflation, Is Considering Mileage Charge

(Source: Wired)

Top photo: Flickr / Phil Hawksworth.

Editor’s note: Robin Chase thinks a lot about transportation and the internet, and how to link them. She connected them when she founded Zipcar, and she wants to do it again by making our electric grid and our cars smarter. Time magazine recently named her one of the 100 most influential people of the year. David Weinberger sat down with Chase to discuss her idea.

Robin Chase considers the future of electricity, the future of cars and the internet three terms in a single equation, even if most of us don’t yet realize they’re on the same chalkboard. Solve the equation correctly, she says, and we create a greener future where innovation thrives. Get it wrong, and our grandchildren will curse our names.

Chase thinks big, and she’s got the cred to back it up. She created an improbable network of automobiles called Zipcar. Getting it off the ground required not only buying a fleet of cars, but convincing cities to dedicate precious parking spaces to them. It was a crazy idea, and it worked. Zipcar now has 6,000 cars and 250,000 users in 50 towns.

Now she’s moving on to the bigger challenge of integrating a smart grid with our cars – and then everything else. The kicker is how they come together. You can sum it up as a Tweet: The intelligent network we need for electricity can also turn cars into nodes. Interoperability is a multiplier. Get it right!

“Our electric infrastructure is designed for the rare peak of usage,” Chase says. “That’s expensive and wasteful.”

Changing that requires a smart grid. What we have is a dumb one. We ask for electricity and the grid provides it, no questions asked. A smart grid asks questions and answers them. It makes the meter on your wall a sensor that links you to a network that knows how much power you’re using, when you’re using it and how to reduce your energy needs – and costs.

Such a system will grow more important as we become energy producers, not just consumers. Electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids will return power to the grid. Rooftop solar panels and backyard wind turbines will, at times, produce more energy than we can store. A smart grid generates what we need and lets us use what we generate. That’s why the Obama Administration allocated $4.5 billion in the stimulus bill for smart grid R&D.

This pleases Chase, but it also makes her nervous. The smart grid must be an information network, but we have a tradition of getting such things wrong. Chase is among those trying to convince the government that the safest and most robust network will use open internet protocols and standards. For once the government seems inclined to listen.

Chase switches gears to talk about how cars fit into the equation. She sees automobiles as just another network device, one that, like the smart grid, should be open and net-based.

“Cars are network nodes,” she says. “They have GPS and Bluetooth and toll-both transponders, and we’re all on our cell phones and lots of cars have OnStar support services.”

That’s five networks. Automakers and academics will bring us more. They’re working on smart cars that will communicate with us, with one another and with the road. How will those cars connect to the network? That’s the third part of Chase’s equation: Mesh networking.

In a typical Wi-Fi network, there’s one router and a relatively small number of devices using it as a gateway to the internet. In a mesh network, every device is also a router. Bring in a new mesh device and it automatically links to any other mesh devices within radio range. It is an example of what internet architect David Reed calls “cooperative gain” – the more devices, the more bandwidth across the network. Chase offers an analogy to explain it.

“Wi-Fi is like a bridge that connects the highways on either side of the stream,” she says. “You build it wide enough to handle the maximum traffic you expect. If too much comes, it gets congested. When not enough arrives, you’ve got excess capacity. Mesh takes a different approach: Each person who wants to cross throws in a flat rock that’s above the water line. The more people who do that, the more ways there are to get across the river.”

“Today in Iraq and Afghanistan, soldiers and tanks and airplanes are running around using mesh networks,” said Chase. “It works, it’s secure, it’s robust. If a node or device disappears, the network just reroutes the data.”

And, perhaps most important, it’s in motion. That’s what allows Chase’s plural visions to go singular. Build a smart electrical grid that uses Internet protocols and puts a mesh network device in every structure that has an electric meter. Sweep out the half dozen networks in our cars and replace them with an open, Internet-based platform. Add a mesh router. A nationwide mesh cloud will form, linking vehicles that can connect with one another and with the rest of the network. It’s cooperative gain gone national, gone mobile, gone open.

Chase’s mesh vision draws some skepticism. Some say it won’t scale up. The fact it’s is being used in places like Afghanistan and Vienna indicates it could. Others say moving vehicles may not be able to hook into and out of mesh networks quickly enough. Chase argues it’s already possible to do so in less than a second, and that time will only come down. But even if every car and every electric meter were meshed, there’s still a lot of highway out there that wouldn’t be served, right? Chase has an answer for that, too.

Click here to read the entire article.

White House Sees U.S. Holding GM Stake for At Least 2 Years The Obama administration is planning for the U.S. government to hold an ownership stake in a revamped General Motors for “at least two years,” a person briefed by the administration on its plans said Friday.

 Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood says GM in ‘good hands’ – The Detroit News…LaHood says GM in ‘good hands’The Detroit News, MIWashington — US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood Friday endorsed General Motors Corp.’s new CEO as the right man to lead the Detroit automaker, saying, “GM is in very good hands.” Fritz Henderson took over as CEO on March 30 after the Obama …California in running for h…

More GM Cuts: Cadillac STS-V and Pontiac G6 GXP both gone for 2010…GM, Pontiac 2009 Pontiac G6 GXP Sedan – Click above for high-res image gallery Pluto, the Roman god of Hades, is currently on a tour of the General Motors product garage and he’s taking a few cars with him from the land of the living. After sending the Impala SS and the Cobalt SS to the underworld, he has just added to his collection the Cadilla…

Toyota hammered with $7.7B loss in Q1 …than even GM‘s just-reported loss of $6 billion. Toyota now expects to lose $5.5 billion for the year ending March 2010, surpassing the $4.4 billion it lost in the just-concluded year.The reasons for Toyota’s reversal of fortune is well documented. Global sales were down 21.9% last year, with the most stark losses occurring in the U.S. and Europ…

Song remains the same: GM loses billions, Volt still on track…res gallery GM‘s announced yesterday that it lost $6 billion in the first quarter of 2009. That’s par for the course for the General these days. What’s also pretty standard was the immediate confirmation that work on the Chevy Volt is going A-OK and that, as GM‘s product development chief Tom Stephens said, “At this point in time, I know of no r…

Toyota First Quarter Losses Higher Than GM [Carpocalypse]…more than GM lost! That’s some pretty big news — especially considering GM dropped $6 billion during the first quarter. Jeez, if only Toyota were building some fuel-efficient, dependable appliance-type vehicles, right? [Reuters, WSJ]

GM and U of M create new institute for research …GMGeneral Motors and the University of Michigan have been working together on vehicle technology for 50 years, and a new institute will take the long-standing relationship to the next level. GM researchers will work with U of M faculty and students to develop new battery, engine, manufacturing, and smart materials technology to expedite the adva…

Sandia Successfully Completes Hydrogen Storage System for GM…designed for GM. To the right is the “SmartBed,” featuring a thermal management system with individual control of four identical modules, each of which is a shell and tube heat exchanger. The sodium alanate material used to store the hydrogen resides within the tubes. (Photo by Randy Wong) Click to enlarge.Researchers at Sandia National Laborato…

Nissan skipping SEMA this year, Mazda limiting presence Filed under: Aftermarket, SEMA, Tuners, Mazda, Nissan, Holden Troy Lee Designs Mazda6 from SEMA 2008 – Click above for a high-res image gallery Participation at last year’s SEMA show was notable for its absences, with the event’s organizers struggling at the last minute to fill vacated floor space with companies that would have normally been shunne…

Booo! GM also canceling Cobalt SS Sedan for 2010 …GM also canceling Cobalt SS Sedan for 2010

G.M. Suffers Big Loss. Is Bankruptcy Next?General Motors could be one step closer to bankruptcy, after posting a $6 billion loss for the first quarter. The Obama administration’s auto task force has given G.M. until June 1 to come up with a plan to prove its viability. After reporting a 40 percent loss in worldwide sales, G.M. doesn’t seem likely to do […]

Save the Cheerleader? GM creates Hero Edition Corvette ZR1 to benefit Kids Wish Network…GM‘s team of Corvette designers and engineers equipped this particular ‘Vette with a bespoke graphics package with red accents in lieu of the normal blue. Other special bits include “additional carbon fiber components,” though we’re left wondering what those composite pieces may be.You can’t actually go to your nearest Chevy dealership and order…

 The Chrysler Building: Biggest Mopar Ever [Carpocalypse]…all know Chrysler‘s facing some rough times, but let’s turn back the clock to 1930 and talk about the biggest Chrysler ever built.Chrysler Corporation was growing and in desperate need for — something — to represent its achievements. What better place to shine than New York City. Designed by architect, William Van Alen, the Chrysler Building wa..

Rendered Speculation: Alfa Romeo Milano, the next 147…the next Chrysler Sebring. The versatile building block will offer various lengths and widths in FWD and 4-wheel-drive versions, and propulsion will be courtesy of MultiAir engines. Unveiling of the 5-door hatchback is expected at either Frankfurt later this year, or Geneva in 2010.[Source: Car]Rendered Speculation: Alfa Romeo Milano, the next 1…

Chrysler reveals more facets of “We Build” campaign…Chrysler, LLC. Click above to watch all five commercials after the jump Chrysler sales have been abysmal throughout 2009, and with the uncertainty of bankruptcy, the short-term sales outlook is decidedly bad. To get the word out to its customers that the Pentastar is alive and well (except for its idled plants), Chrysler is launching a new campa…

Classic Ad: Chrysler’s Promise of a Small Car…Chrysler‘s former chairman, Lee A. Iacocca, makes some lofty promises in this 1984 commercial, including the introduction of a small car. Will we hear the same from Fiat’s chief executive, Sergio Marchionne?

Greenlings: Can we build a better battery with lithium?…Chrysler ENVI battery packsGallery: Tesla smart mule and batteryContinue reading Greenlings: Can we build a better battery with lithium?Filed under: Emerging Technologies, Etc., EV/Plug-in, Hybrid, GreenlingsGreenlings: Can we build a better battery with lithium? originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Thu, 07 May 2009 19:52:00 EST. Please see …

Nissan skipping SEMA this year, Mazda limiting presence…out on Chrysler, and Honda is currently evaluating their presence, although it may be reduced compared to previous years. No matter what automakers pull-out of this year’s show, expect less products on tables, fewer vendors on the floor and even fewer attendees as the aftermarket continues to struggle to keep its head above water.Gallery: SEMA 2…

Misery loves company: Throwing our wig into the ring at Reno-Fernley LeMons…onto any Chrysler product “competing” in Reno to honor the automaker’s latest union.Registration ended on March 14, so those of you who missed the deadline narrowly avoiding our cold steel scythe of justice. But if you want to come out and enjoy the madness, spectator tickets are available for either a single day or the entire wretched weekend. …

The 2011 Jeep Phoenix… why not?…gallery With Chrysler‘s proposed alliance with Fiat all but a done deal, people have begun turning their attention towards the Italian automaker’s vehicle line up and creating a wish list of which ones they’d like to see for sale over here in the U.S. Thing is, those people should keep in mind that any Fiat making the long trek overseas may not …

Chrysler Plan’s Foes Step BackA group of Chrysler lenders who opposed the government’s restructuring plan for the auto maker is disbanding after two of its five members backed out.

The Energy Department has requested $30 million to relaunch a program to make radioactive plutonium-238, the supply of which is running low.

The Energy Department plans to restart its program of making radioactive fuel for NASA’s deep space missions, the agency announced Thursday, a decision that came only hours after the National Research Council warned that the nation was fast running out of the fuel.

Jen Stutsman, a spokeswoman for the department, said the agency had requested $30 million in its fiscal 2010 budget proposal to restart the fuel-making process. In its budget statement, the agency said it had “a long and successful history” of supporting NASA’s needs. It said it welcomed the National Research Council findings.

For such research, which includes the New Horizons mission now heading for Pluto and the Cassini mission now orbiting Saturn, the electricity that powers onboard instruments comes from devices called radioisotope power generators. The RPGs make electricity with the heat from the radioactive decay of small amounts of plutonium-238 carried on board. 

According to Ralph McNutt, a space scientist at Johns Hopkins University and co-chairman of the committee that produced the report, the United States stopped making Pu-238 about 20 years ago, with the end of the Cold War. Although Pu-238 is not weapons-grade material, it is a byproduct of making the more dangerous Pu-239, he said.

(Source: LA Times)

(Source: Autobloggreen)

The message has been hinted at before, but the federal government is now serious about shifting the focus away from hydrogen and onto plug-in vehicles. In an important statement yesterday, Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu said that hydrogen vehicles are still 10 to 20 years away from practicality and that millions in federal government funding for hydrogen programs will be cut from the 2010 federal budget. Chu said, “We asked ourselves, ‘Is it likely in the next 10 or 15, 20 years that we will covert to a hydrogen car economy?’ The answer, we felt, was ‘no'” (well, duh).

Did we mention this is a big reversal? Just a few weeks ago, Chu announced $41.9 million for hydrogen projects. A major switch, but not totally surprising. During the presidential campaign last fall, Obama did call for a million PHEVs by 2015.

The U.S. Fuel Cell Council and the National Hydrogen Association quickly released a joint statement against the budget cuts.  Here is the full presser:

PRESS RELEASE:

Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Associations Criticize DOE Program Cuts

Official Joint Statement
Washington, DC

May 7, 2009-The National Hydrogen Association (NHA) and U.S. Fuel Cell Council (USFCC) issued the following joint statement regarding the Obama Administration’s FY 2010 budget request for the U.S Department of Energy:

“The cuts proposed in the DOE hydrogen and fuel cell program threaten to disrupt commercialization of a family of technologies that are showing exceptional promise and beginning to gain market traction.

“Fuel cell vehicles are not a science experiment. These are real vehicles with real marketability and real benefits. Hundreds of fuel cell vehicles have collectively logged millions of miles. 

“Both the National Academy of Sciences and NHA’s recent Energy Evolution report conclude that a portfolio of vehicle technologies is needed to achieve the nation’s energy and environmental security goals and that hydrogen is essential to success. Hydrogen also advances the Obama Administration’s goals of greener power generation and a smarter power grid.

“The National Academy recommended a portfolio approach and we are frankly puzzled at the Energy Department’s decision to ignore that recommendation even as the Department uses other material from the same report to justify its proposed cut.

“We are also concerned that the Department appears to be walking away from its Market Transformation activities, which support fuel cell deployment in early commercial applications. This Congressionally-mandated program is demonstrating the ability of fuel cells to provide a competitive and green alternative to battery-based systems in vehicles and in power supply.

“Finally, we are concerned that the Department has proposed to cut funds for the Solid State Energy Conversion Alliance (SECA). SECA success could dramatically lower the cost of carbon sequestration, improve power plant efficiency, and enable a virtually pollution-free coal plant in the future. Additional funding will hasten SECA progress.”

The NHA and USFCC collectively represent more than 200 companies and organizations.

———————————————————————————————————————————————-

A related post on TransportGooru.com: 

Biofuels Get a Boost – Secretary Chu Announces Nearly $800 Million from Recovery Act to Accelerate Biofuels Research and Commercialization

 (Source:  BBC & NYTIMES)

Toyota, the world’s biggest carmaker, has made its worst annual loss as the global economic downturn has hit demand for its vehicles.  The Japanese company said it made a net loss of 436.94bn yen ($4.4bn; £2.9bn) in the year to 31 March, compared with a record profit the year before.

Toyota said expected to make a bigger loss in the current financial year.  Like many of its rivals, Toyota has cut production, including at its UK plants, as sales have declined. Toyota also blamed the loss on high raw materials prices and a strong yen, which makes its cars more expensive overseas.   “Both revenues and profits declined severely during this period,” said Toyota president Katsuaki Watanabe. He said the loss “was a consequence of the significant deterioration in vehicle sales, particularly in the US and Europe”.

Toyota said it expected to make a net loss of 550bn yen ($5.5bn; £3.7bn) in the financial year ending in March 2010.

Analysts say Toyota has strong cash reserves, and is far from the bankruptcy that has claimed the American carmaker Chrysler and that threatens General Motors. Despite a $15.4 billion infusion in U.S. government loans, General Motors burned through about $10 billion in the first quarter, driving its cash reserves down to a bare minimum and putting it on the brink of collapse.

Still, Standard & Poor’s, the ratings agency, on Friday lowered its long-term credit rating on Toyota a notch to AA, the third-highest rating, and gave a “negative” outlook for the company.

“Toyota maintains a minimal financial risk profile, characterized by a strong capital structure with massive liquidity,” Standard & Poor’s said in a statement. But with auto demand forecast to remain sluggish into 2010, Toyota will likely struggle before it can stage a recovery, Standard & Poor’s said.

Toyota’s latest forecast paints a grim picture for the year ahead. Toyota has been hit hard in its biggest market, the United States, where sales have plunged and show few signs of recovering.

In April, Toyota sold 126,540 cars in the United States — a 42 percent drop from a year earlier — slipping behind Ford Motor, which sold almost 130,000 cars.

Toyota has also suffered double-digit percentage drops in Japan as well as in China, where it is losing out to rivals with a wider lineup of smaller cars that have surged in popularity.

Toyota sold 7.56 million vehicles in fiscal 2008, down from 8.91 million units in its blockbuster 2007.

The company has so far held off from laying off permanent workers, who enjoy lifetime employment guarantees. Toyota says that guarantee is a key part of its “kaizen” management principle, in which workers are required to constantly suggest ways to be more productive. But some analysts question how long Toyota can hold off from deeper cuts.

Toyota is counting on its third-generation Prius hybrid, which will be unveiled later this month in Japan, to buoy sales. But the automaker faces stiff competition from its Japanese rival, Honda Motor, whose low-cost Insight hybrid is expected to eat into Toyota’s market share.

In a filing with the Japanese Finance Ministry, it indicated it may sell as many as ¥700 billion in bonds in the next two years, Bloomberg news reported.

The automaker is also rallying around its iconic founding family, tapping Akio Toyoda, the company founder’s grandson, to replace Mr. Watanabe next month. Mr. Toyoda has said he will focus on “green” technology like hybrids and plug-in electric vehicles to bring about a long-term recovery.

The automaker could also benefit from Japanese government stimulus efforts.

Last month, officials unveiled a so-called cash-for clunkers program under which car owners who upgrade to “green” vehicles from cars that are at least 13 years old will receive government subsidies.

(Source: Green Car Congress & Newspress, UK)

European automotive suppliers and vehicle manufacturers have united to submit a series of R&D priorities to the European Commission to shape the European Green Car Initiative (EGCI), announced by the EU. CLEPA (the European umbrella membership organization representing the interests of the global automotive supply industry) and EUCAR (the European Council for Automotive R&D from the major European passenger car and commercial vehicle manufacturers) jointly prepared the document.

The Green Car Initiative, a part of the European economic recovery plan, aims to allocate €5 billion (US$6.7 billion) through a Public Private Partnership to bolster innovation in the automotive sector and sustain its focus on environmental progress. The initiative complements the European Clean Transport Facility which, through the European Investment Bank, serves to provide more immediate financial relief to the sector.

The Green Car Initiative concentrates on long-term R&D, largely combining existing projects under a clear policy focus and underlining the importance of a joint approach between industries and policy makers. The CLEPA and EUCAR document is intended to harmonize the R&D directions and priorities of the auto industry, and then to communicate these to relevant authorities and bodies at national and EU level and to other key partners. The scope of the document is adapted and narrowed to the domain of the EGCI, and it does not claim to cover the broad spectrum of automotive and transport R&D.

The R&D domain in the document is structured into four major areas:

• Mobility and Transport (deploying information and communication technologies (ICT) and Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) for traffic and transport management, involving vehicles as well as route planning).
• Energy and Environment (exploring primary energy sources which are renewable, secure, sufficient and environmentally compatible; the electrification of vehicles and the road transport system as a whole; lightweight structures and new vehicle concepts for high energy-efficiency).
• Safety (ensuring safety of new vehicle concepts and types; development of cooperative systems for efficiency and safety based on communication between vehicles and infrastructure).
• Affordability and Competitiveness (achieving green objectives at an affordable level, taking into account the availability and use of raw and rare materials; (energy-) efficiency of production processes; handling of alternative materials; use of virtual tools).

All of these areas are equally important and none of them can be considered independent from the others, the organizations note.

Click here to read the entire article.  Here is a copy of the full report in PDF.

(Source: Lede – New York Times)

A young Saudi woman has launched an online campaign using YouTube,Facebook and Flickr to get Saudis to discuss, and possibly reconsider, the ban on women drivers in the Kingdom.

Image: "We The Women" campaign @ Flickr

As an article published last month in the English-language Saudi newspaper Arab News explained, the project, called “We the Women,” was started by a 24-year-old Saudi woman studying design in the United States who asked to be identified only by her first name, Areej. According to Arab News, she started thinking about how onerous the ban was when she saw that her retired father was forced to spend much of his time “chauffeuring her, her mother and three sisters.”

Image: "We The Women" campaign @ Flickr

The core of the campaign is a set of stickers, in the form of speech bubbles and bumper stickers, which Saudi men and women are encouraged todownload from Flickr, fill in with their thoughts, and then display. Some people are also taking pictures of what they write on their stickers and then adding those photographs to the project’s Flickr set of “Declarations.”

Printed at the foot of each sticker is the simple message: “To drive, or not to drive, that is the question.”

As the project description on Flickr explains, the woman behind it wants to hear other voices, not just amplify her own:

We the Women is a campaign that aims to raise the issue of women driving in Saudi Arabia and to start a real, public conversation. The We the Women declaration bubbles and bumper stickers were created as a space for self expression. Feel free to fill it out with your opinion on the issue and stick it wherever you feel it needs to be.

(Source: Green Inc, NY Times)

Eurostar,  the high-speed rail link between Paris, London and Brussels, says it met its carbon-dioxide reduction goals three years ahead of schedule .  In 2007, EuroStar annoucned that it would aim to reduce carbon-dioxide emissions by 25 percent per passenger journey over then-current levels — and do so by 2012. 

Previously, half of the energy in the tunnel came from Britain, which relies more heavily on coal and gas-fired power.

France generates about 80 percent of its electricity from a fleet of nearly 60 nuclear reactors — which produce little CO2. The company said the speedier-than-expected reductions could be attributed to a number of factors — from more efficient train driving and turning off half of all on-board lights, to increasing the number of people riding each train.

But the vast majority of reductions were achieved by switching to France as the primary provider of electricity for trains traveling the undersea tunnel between Britain and Paris, according to a spokesman, Richard Holligan.  

Not content with its progress, Eurostar is now moving ahead to raise its target to further cut emissions because it had already reached its original goals.  The new target: reducing CO2 emissions by 35 percent per passenger journey by 2012.

I plans to achieve its new reduction target by improving the efficiency of its air-conditioning and heating systems, further reducing the energy consumption of its lighting systems, and introducing more tools to assist drivers to drive the trains efficiently.

Note: Europeans are leading by example in the fight against global warming by switching to technologies that yield “green” power, while folks in the US are still bickering over “clean coal”.   We have a long way to go!

Booo! GM also canceling Cobalt SS Sedan for 2010…GM also canceling Cobalt SS Sedan for 2010 originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 07 May 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Save the Cheerleader? GM creates Hero Edition Corvette ZR1 to benefit Kids Wish Network…GM‘s team of Corvette designers and engineers equipped this particular ‘Vette with a bespoke graphics package with red accents in lieu of the normal blue. Other special bits include “additional carbon fiber components,” though we’re left wondering what those composite pieces may be.You can’t actually go to your nearest Chevy dealership and order…

Image: ToolPool.com

Special “Hero Edition” Corvette ZR1 [Corvette Zr1]“Hero Edition” Corvette ZR1: Finally, a special edition we can get behind. [CorvetteBlogger]

GM Kills Chevy Impala SS… Again [Carpocalypse]…analysis of GM ordering guides by forum fan-boys at GMInsideNews, GM‘s killed both the Chevy Impala SS and Chevy Cobalt SS sedan for 2010. You’ll still be able to get a Cobalt SS as a coupe, but the Impala SS is dead… for the second time. When GM said they were putting their performance divisions on indefinite hold we knew to expect no new per…

GM, University of Michigan announce new Automotive Research Institute…Michigan and GM are already partners in the Advanced Battery Coalition for Drivetrains (ABCD) and in helping to teach students to become alternative powertrain engineers. Today, GM and the school announced a new institute called the GM/U-M Institute of Automotive Research and Education that will focus on “reinventing the automobile and developin…

GM posts $6B loss in Q1, burns through $10B…GM, Earnings/FinancialsGeneral Motors reported its first quarter earnings today, and the beleaguered U.S. automaker posted a $6 billion net loss compared to a net loss of $3.3 billion one year ago. At the same time, GM burned through $10.2 billion in cash during Q1, though still has $11.6 billion in cash reserves on hand thanks in large part to …

Royal College of Art students imagine mobility in 2050, see vehicles powered by waterfalls…months with GM Europe to “gain valuable work experience and insight through hands-on experience with future technologies such as electric vehicles.” One of the more dreamy ideas from an RCA student was for “eco-touring machines powered by waterfalls.” It’s a safe bet this means hydropower, but I can’t shake the feeling that unicorns should be in…

RIP: Chevy Impala SS, again…line for GM‘s 5.3L V8 engine in the midsize front-wheel drive Chevy sedan. That means the biggest available engine will be the 3.9L LGD pushrod 60-degree V6.We’ve long questioned whether the current W-body Impala does justice to the memory of Super Sports of yore, despite the presence of the V8 engine. Regardless, we’d prefer to keep the 303-hor…

GM Hosting Fleet Buyers At Pricey Spa, USA Today Waves Populist Banner [Carpocalypse]…outrage over GM hosting 500 fleet buyers at a luxury-spa-resort. The difference between banks-funded-by-the-government and automakers-funded-by-the-goverment? Automakers invite potential car buyers to resorts. Banks send themselves to resorts. [USAToday]

Fesler-Moss Builds A Corvette ZR1-Powered Camaro SS [Tuner Cars]…of GM Performance fame) teamed up to create this custom limited edition 2010 Camaro SS for the mesh-wife-beater-wearing, previously-Monte-Carlo-Dale-Earnhardt-Intimidator-Edition-driving, family-franchise-starting crowd. They’ll build your Camaro with a custom body kit with molded rear lip spoiler (how they do that is anybody’s guess) and any LS…

GM’s Renaissance Center HQ: View From The Top [Carpocalypse]…these days GM‘s Detroit Renaissance Center HQ’s a tough place to work. But the view sure is killer. Let’s take a look. This city-within-a-city was actually commissioned by Henry Ford II as the world’s largest private development at the time. As you can see from the promotional video to the left, the John Portman-designed complex began construc…

Vauxhall going after city car market with Trixx EV?…GM, Opel, VauxhallWay back in 2004, GM‘s European arm put a toe in the water of the rapidly expanding city-car market with its Opel Trixx concept. A few years later, GM‘s Carl-Peter Forster indicated that the automaker would not be entering that microcar market after all. Fast forward another couple of years and (surprise!) it looks as if GM may…

GM And University of Michigan Form GM/U-M Institute Of Automotive Research And Education; Focus On Fuel-Efficiency And Reinvention Of The Automobile…formed the GM/U-M Institute of Automotive Research and Education, with a strategic focus on reinventing the automobile and developing the next generation of high-efficiency vehicles powered by diverse energy sources. The Institute, which builds on more than 50 years of collaboration between the organizations, supplements GM’s ongoing research a…

GM Posts First-Quarter Net Loss Of $5.9 Billion [Carpocalypse]…GM posts first-quarter net loss of $5.9 billion, revenue drops 47% to $22.4 billion. [Freep]

The 2011 Jeep Phoenix… why not?…gallery With Chrysler‘s proposed alliance with Fiat all but a done deal, people have begun turning their attention towards the Italian automaker’s vehicle line up and creating a wish list of which ones they’d like to see for sale over here in the U.S. Thing is, those people should keep in mind that any Fiat making the long trek overseas may not …

Look Who’s Talking: Automakers rated based on web conversation volume…Chrysler, LLC., Ford Justin Graves, the CEO of Infegy, which developed and offers a powerful research application for tracking online buzz, is a big Autoblog fan, particularly of our By the Numbers posts that detail sales figures for the entire U.S. auto industry. Graves makes his own monthly list of the Top 50 Social Brands, which ranks them ac…

Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne To Take Over As CEO Of Chrysler [Carpocalypse]…will assume Chrysler‘s CEO title upon exit from bankruptcy. [Detroit News]

BREAKING: Marchionne confirmed as post-bankruptcy Chrysler CEO…Chrysler, LLC., FIATAfter weeks of speculation, Fiat confirmed today that its CEO, Sergio Marchionne, will assume the same role with Chrysler once it exits bankruptcy. According to statements from the Obama administration, Chrysler could emerge from “surgical bankruptcy” in as little as 30 to 60 days, after which Chrysler‘s current chief executi…

The Chrysler-Kia alliance that never was…Chrysler, LLC., GM, Hyundai, Kia, FIAT, RumormillChrysler has been trying to shack up with another automaker for quite a while now, and the trail of relationships that never got off the ground reads like a middle school diary. While Chrysler‘s deal with Fiat has all but gotten 500s rolling out of plants on this continent, a deal with Kia had bee…

Chrysler bankruptcy: what happens with the electric car plans? to A123 Systems?…about what Chrysler‘s bankruptcy and partnership with Fiat might mean for cars like the Circuit EV and companies like A123 Systems, which is slated to supply batteries for Chrysler‘s electric vehicle lineup.Reuters says that “the sum of Fiat and Chrysler‘s parts does not amount to the kind of electric vehicle powerhouse that Renault and Nissan a…