Bill would use stimulus cash to pay for Delphi retirees' health care | detnews.com | The Detroit News
-- A Senate bill introduced Friday would pay for health care coverage for tens of thousands of Delphi Corp. retirees who have lost their insurance. U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, introduced legislation that would shift up to $3 billion from the $787 billion stimulus bill approved in February to pay for health care coverage for about 65,000 retirees and their dependents. The bill would create a Voluntary Employees' Beneficiary Association, or VEBA, to provide health coverage to hourly workers in the...

Automakers, banks, must disclose 'luxury' expense policy | detnews.com | The Detroit News
-- In an effort to put a halt to the $1,400 trash can and the $50 million jet, corporate bailout recipients must disclose by Monday policies limiting "luxury expenditures." In June, the Treasury Department imposed a number of restrictions on automakers and financial institutions that received government loans under the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program. The requirement came after Congress said companies that received TARP funds, including Chrysler Group LLC, GMAC Inc., Chrysler Financial LLC...

Car dealers fight slow sales after end of Clunkers | detnews.com | The Detroit News
-- As Gene Butman Ford opened its doors Saturday, salesmen outnumbered the shoppers looking at a depleted stock of cars and trucks, and it didn't appear that many customers were ready to buy. Like many dealers across the country, the dealership in Ypsilanti Township is suffering from a Cash for Clunkers hangover, and Sales Manager Paul Grahl isn't sure when it will end. "We're getting some traffic, but my business is a long way from healthy," said the longtime salesman. "We suspect it's going to be 90...

Samoa Switches to Left-Hand Driving
There are only few countries in the world that have left-side driving, but another one is joining the group: Samoa has just announced about switching from driving on the right side on the road to the left. The drivers were not ready for the change this is why there have been some protests throughout the country. The switch took place at 6 a.m. on Monday, September, 7. In order to help the drivers adjust to new rules, the government mandated a two-day holiday and set spectators along the roads to watch...

Dealers paid $1.22 billion to date under 'cash for clunkers' | detnews.com | The Detroit News
-- Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said today the administration has paid auto dealers $1.22 billion for 289,000 of the 690,000 vehicles sold under the "cash for clunkers" program. LaHood said the department has 5,000 people working to process voucher requests and will complete payments by the end of the month. Dealers have sought about $2.877 billion during the program that ended Aug.24. The department has said it expects to spend about $100 million administering the program that offered consumers...

New E2 Sport Sedan Lineup
Australia Holden Special Vehicles is launching a new line of sedans: E2 sport. The main model is GTS which is styled in a unique way and priced high: around $70,075. The new E2 sport sedan has LS3 V8 power plant which outputs 436 horsepower. It features specific front and rear styling with hood scoops. The manufacturer also equipped it with high-flow intermediate exhaust with bi-modal muffler, electronic stability control, launch control on manual transmission models, four-piston front and rear brakes...

Wixom plant will get new life as renewable energy park | detnews.com | The Detroit News
-- Two out-of-state renewable energy firms have selected Ford's shuttered Wixom plant for an ambitious $725 million redevelopment project, creating what officials are calling the nation's largest renewable energy park, company officials said Thursday. The companies, Xtreme Power of Austin, Texas, and Clairvoyant Energy of Santa Barbara, Calif., plan to retool the aging factory, which once built such icons as the Lincoln Town Car and Ford Thunderbird, to manufacture solar panels and utility-scale...

Gadgets in race to keep drivers safe, multitasking | detnews.com | The Detroit News
It's shaping up to be a shootout to manage and balance human behavior, convenience and public safety. But will it be the smart handheld device or the intelligent car that crosses the finish line first? The race to seamlessly synchronize car and driver, easing traffic congestion, enhancing safety while still allowing us to multitask is falling short even as cars adopt more high-tech devices. For now, lawmakers are forcing motorists to choose between driving and texting. One in four motorists admit to...

Horn kids add new language to cars' vocabularies | detnews.com | The Detroit News
Is the roar of a finely tuned engine or that very particular exhaust note the only aural signature of your customized vehicle? If so, consider this statement from Drew Hoffman, an automotive aftermarket parts producer: "A horn is your audio statement to the world." Also consider a friend who recently bought a used Mazda Miata. He didn't find the tone of its standard horn as satisfactory as the car's driving dynamics, so he went to the aftermarket. Now, his car sounds just like a Ferrari -- at least from...

Ad blitz targets diesel fuel's noisy, smelly image | detnews.com | The Detroit News
Imagine trying to market a product that most Americans regard as old and obsolete, that is remembered -- if at all -- as low-class and low-tech, noisy and noisome, and whose most notable advocates are truck drivers with prominent trouser cleavage. CB radio? An excellent guess, but no. Diesel, the oilier cousin of gasoline, dominates the European auto market, where fuel prices hover around $7 per gallon. Diesel is about 25 percent to 40 percent more fuel-efficient than gasoline, with commensurate...