Archive for June, 2005 (Page 3)

Double-Nickel Doubletalk

By Marty PadgettMarty Padgett, June 23rd, 2005

Motor vehicle accident and fatality rates continue to fall, but not quite fast enough for the Feds, who still blame higher speed limits for highway deaths while nothing is done about lane discipline and unlicensed drivers. The Governors Highway Safety Association sent out a "survey" to automotive journalists under the header, "Speeding a Serious Problem 10 Years After National Speed Limit Repeal" -- implying that traffic accidents and fatalities have actually increased since Congress repealed the 55-mph National Maximum Speed Limit (NMSL) law back in 1995. In essence, the "speed kills" argument is being trotted out again by parties who'd... Read More

Tags: Enthusiasts

Buy a TerraPass - and Drive Guilt-Free

By Marty PadgettMarty Padgett, June 21st, 2005

Here we go again, SUV fans. There's another effort brewing to make you feel guilty for driving the vehicle you want and can afford. CNN says that a California company, TerraPass, will gladly take your money and promise to remove the CO2 emissions you produce with your vehicle out of the atmosphere. A HUMMER H2 will run you $160; a Chevy Cobalt, $40. The principle is like the emissions credits that car companies themselves can trade and use to relieve themselves of CAFE debts. TerraPass buys credits from clean power sources like windmills and, yes, dairy farms that use anaerobic digesters to produce electricity. There's even a carbon-emission... Read More

Tags: Industry

A new look - again - for the S-Class

By Marty PadgettMarty Padgett, June 21st, 2005

You'll notice on today's edition of TCC, we've posted pictures of the new Benz S-Class. Some of you out there already have checkbooks in hand. And maybe some of you are ready to start a petition like the one that telegraphed Bimmer fans' displeasure with the Chris Bangle team's 7-Series. Yes, it seems like Mercedes is wandering off into art-car territory. The question is, will their foray be as critically skewered as BMW's venture? Remember when the shape of German cars was predictable? The design philosophy of "one sausage, three sizes" was utterly predictable - but it worked, didn't it? You knew what a Benz looked like, and the Seventies... Read More

Tags: Reviews

Posted in: 2008, BMW, 7-Series