Stalemate dims prospects for $25B auto bailout

WASHINGTON – Prospects dimmed Monday for enactment of a $25 billion bailout for the faltering auto industry before year's end, as congressional Democrats and the Bush administration seemed headed for a stalemate. Help for Detroit's Big Three, which have been battered by the economic meltdown that has choked their sales and frozen their credit, is falling victim to a partisan fight over where the money should come from.

Senate Democrats said they would press ahead with their plan to carve out a portion of the $700 billion Wall Street bailout to pay for the loans, but aides in both parties and lobbyists tracking the plan acknowledged they did not currently have the votes to do so. The White House and congressional Republicans insist that the automaker bailout money instead come from redirecting a separate $25 billion loan program approved by Congress to help the industry develop more fuel-efficient vehicles.

In addition, besides opposing the use of any of the $700 billion for the automakers, the administration has told top lawmakers it does not plan to ask for the second half of that huge fund that Congress approved this fall to aid the financial industry, congressional officials said Monday.

The Treasury Department said its message on not tapping half the fund applied only to the next few days and that no decision had been made for the rest of the administration's two months — but officials stopped short of saying the funds would be used before Bush leaves office.

Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he would hold a test vote this week on a broad economic aid plan — including spending on public works projects, aid to cash-strapped states, an extension of jobless aid, and the carmaker loans — that most now concede has virtually no chance of passing.

If that fails, he will seek a vote on the auto industry bailout and the unemployment benefits, Reid said. It could come as early as Wednesday.

"If we move forward, we can protect and create American jobs, help working families and prevent our economy from falling even further into recession," Reid said as he opened a postelection session. "I ask my colleagues to show the American people that in the face of tremendous economic pain and uncertainty, we will not wait until January."

The White House, meanwhile, took pains to clarify its position on the bailout, saying the administration "does not want U.S. automakers to fail." Press secretary Dana Perino complained that reporting on the White House's statements on this issue has involved "attempts to shorthand the administration's position."

Perino's statement also made clear, however, that the administration steadfastly opposes drawing funds from the bailout plan to help Detroit. The White House opposes the idea of automakers getting an additional $25 billion.

The debate in Washington comes as the financial situation for General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC grows more difficult.

"There's a high degree of urgency" for federal action if GM is going to stave off a financial crisis, Rick Wagoner, GM chairman and chief executive, said Sunday in a joint appearance with United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger on WDIV-TV in Detroit.

In her statement Monday, Perino said, "The auto industry is an important part of our manufacturing base, and we want the industry to succeed and compete in the global economy." But she also said that media reports have erroneously depicted the administration as taking too harsh a stand on financial relief.

"We believe this assistance should come from the program created by Congress that was specifically designed to assist the automakers — from the $25 billion Department of Energy loan program," Perino said.

She said the $700 billion rescue program "was never intended by Congress to assist automakers or other sectors of the economy. It was solely intended to deal with what is an ongoing credit crisis in our financial sector." Perino also said that any new legislative effort to help the big carmakers should require that those manufacturers are viable companies, ones willing to restructure themselves for the long term.

President-elect Barack Obama said he believes aid for the auto industry is needed but that it should be provided as part of a long-term plan — not simply as a blank check.

"For the auto industry to completely collapse would be a disaster in this kind of environment," Obama said in a "60 Minutes" interview aired Sunday night on CBS. "So my hope is that over the course of the next week, between the White House and Congress, the discussions are shaped around providing assistance but making sure that that assistance is conditioned on labor, management, suppliers, lenders, all of the stakeholders coming together with a plan — what does a sustainable U.S. auto industry look like?"source

Aston Martin

Aston Martin V12 Vanquish S

Aston Martin Volant Hot Babe

Aston Martin Zagato DB AR1

Aston Martin Lagonda Limited is a British manufacturer of luxury sports cars, whose headquarters are at Gaydon, England. The company name is derived from the name of one of the company's founders, Lionel Martin, and from the Aston Hill speed hillclimb near Aston Clinton in Buckinghamshire

Aston Martin Vanquish Speed

From 1994 until 2007 Aston Martin was part of the Premier Automotive Group, a division of the Ford Motor Company. On 12 March 2007, it was purchased for £479 million (US$848 million) by joint-venture of Kuwait's investors of Investment Dar and Adeem Investment and by English-businessman John Sinders. Ford retained a US$77 million stake in Aston Martin, setting the total value of the company at US$925 million.

Many of the James Bond films feature an Aston Martin as Bond's car.

Foundation

Aston Martin was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford. The two had joined forces as Bamford & Martin the previous year to sell cars made by Singer from premises in Callow Street, London where they also serviced GWK and Calthorpe vehicles. Martin raced specials at Aston HillAston Clinton, and the pair decided to make their own vehicles. The first car to be named Aston Martin was created by Martin by fitting a four-cylinder Coventry-Simplex engine to the chassis of a 1908 Isotta-Fraschini. They acquired premises at Henniker Place in Kensington and produced their first car in March 1915. Production could not start because of the outbreak of World War I, and Martin joined the Admiralty and Bamford the Royal Army Service Corps. All machinery was sold to the Sopwith Aviation Company. near

Alfa Romeo cars

Alfa+Romeo Kamal SUV Concept 2003

Alfa Romeo GTV Black

Alfa Romeo Brera Concept 2002

Alfa Romeo Brera Concept Car

Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione

Alfa Romeo 147 GTA




The Alfa Romeo 159 is a compact executive car produced by the Italian manufacturer Alfa Romeo since 2005. The 159 was introduced in production form at the 2005 Geneva Motor Show as a replacement for the successful Alfa Romeo 156. The 159 uses the GM/Fiat Premium platform, shared with the Brera, Spider, and concept cars Kamal and Visconti.

Alfa Romeo 147GTA

Car was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro in collaboration with the Alfa Centro Stile. Stylistically it shares a lot with 156. The front has traditional Alfa cloverleaf V-shaped grill and bonnet. The front is also underlined with light clusters with cylindrical shape. A high waistline broadens until it reaches the rear pillar. Inside it has features similar to the 156; instruments are turned towards driver. The car is much bigger than its predecessor 156, it is 4660 millimetres (183.4 in) long (225 mm (8.9 in) more than the Alfa 156), 1828 mm (71.9 in) wide and 1417 mm (55.7 in) high. Alfa Romeo 147 Sports Hatchback

Overview

The 159 is available with either front or four-wheel drive, called Q4. The AWD system utilises a Torsen type C twin differential (front and center differential in the same unit). Q4 four-wheel drive system is available with 3.2 L petrol and 2.4 L diesel engines. Gearbox is a six-speed manual on most models (1.8 has a five-speed), a six-speed automatic Q-Tronic (Aisin AW TF-80SC) is available for the 1.9 diesel, 2.4 diesel and 3.2 models. The Selespeed gearbox is for sale in some countries with the 2.2 petrol engine. There are four available trim levels: Progression, Distinctive, Exclusive and Turismo Internazionale (TI). In the UK there are three levels of trim: 159, Lusso and Turismo Internazionale (TI). Among other driving adds the car is also available with the Blue&Me infotainment system. Torsional rigidity of the chassis is one of the best in this category (180.000 daNm/rad).

Romeo 156GTA Autodelta


Alfa Romeo Spider 20 JTS

Development

A Sportwagon variant was introduced at the Geneva Motor Show in 2006. Also in 2006 came an automatic gearbox option for the 2.4 diesel, which was later added for other versions. In 2007 a four wheel drive diesel model was released and the 2.4 L diesel was updated to 210 PS (207 hp/154 kW) with TI trim level as an option.

For "model year" 2008 Alfa Romeo 159 got changes to mechanics and for interiors. The 3.2 litre V6 version will be offered also in front wheel drive version allowing top speed of 250 kilometres per hour (160 mph). All model variants are equipped with electronic Q2 "limited slip differential". By using more aluminium parts is achieved 45 kilograms (99 lb) weight reduction. These new versions were introduced in Geneva Motor Show in 2008. Alfa Romeo Nuvola Concept 1996

The Alfa Romeo 156 (known internally as the type 932) is a compact executive car introduced by Italian automaker Alfa Romeo at the 1997 Frankfurt Motor Show as the replacement for the Alfa Romeo 155. Cars were assembled at Fiat Group factory in Pomigliano d'Arco, Italy and General Motors facility in Rayong Thailand (production in Thailand started March 2002 and lasted couple of years, cars were targeted for Asia Pacific markets ). Between 1997 and 2005, 680,000 examples of the 156 were produced, a huge success for the brand.

Acura Cars

Acura Advanced Sedan

Acura (Japanese: , Akyura) is the luxury vehicle division of Japanese automaker Honda Motor Company.[1] It primarily competes with Lexus, Infiniti and BMW among others in the luxury vehicle segment. The Acura brand has been used in the US, Canada, and Hong Kong since March 1986 to market Honda's performance vehicles and near-performance vehicles. The brand was introduced to Mexico in 2004 and to China in 2006. The Acura brand will be introduced in Russia at the end of 2008. Honda plans to introduce Acura to the Japanese domestic market (JDM) sometime around 2010.[2] With the Acura brand, Honda is credited with being the first Japanese company to tap into the foreign luxury market. Before Acura, Japanese automobiles exports were primarily economical in design and largely targeted at low-cost consumers.

Acura brand
In 1986, following a decade of research, Honda opened 60 all-new dealerships in North America to support its Acura automobile division. Acura was the first Japanese luxury brand to be introduced, and its initial offering consisted of two models: the Legend, a V6-powered sedan, and the Integra, available as a five-door and three-door hatchback The success of these models led to competing Japanese luxury brand ventures (Toyota's Lexus and Nissan's Infiniti).

Since 2006, actor James Spader has provided the voice-over for Acura commercials.

Acura CL Type S Concept 2003

Acura DN X Concept Sport

Acura DN X Concept

Top 10 Scariest New Car Features

We like heated seats and high-end stereos as much as the next car shopper, but some of today's automotive features provoke more fright than delight. Take GM's left-hand steering-column stalk: Until recently, this stalk housed the cruise controls in the form of a tiny, three-position switch plus a secondary button. The same stalk also managed high-beam headlights, windshield wipers and turn signals. Twist something the wrong way and the car could turn into a five-passenger R2-D2.
With things like that in mind, we chose 10 not-so-delightful features in today's cars, from chairs that perform pneumatic jujitsu on your back to owner's manuals that could qualify for a summer

10. Rain-Sensing Wipers

Rain-sensing windshield wipers have crept from high-end luxury cars to everyday models like the Toyota Avalon.They generally use infrared sensors to monitor a certain section of the windshield for moisture or dirt, then trigger the wipers to respond according to a threshold the driver sets. They usually work OK — until, invariably, they don't. When one editor's Volkswagen Jetta tester had its rain-sensing wipers suddenly spring to action one cloudless night, it was mildly frightening, to say the least.

9. Soda Can Cool Zone

Various automakers offer air-conditioned compartments to keep sodas and other sundries cool. Problem is, those cool zones get hot in the summer when the car is off; we had a couple sodas explode in a certain Dodge after a 90-degree weekend. A spokeswoman told us the car's so-called Chill Zone is not intended to be used as a refrigerator. All the same, we came away a bit steamed. And sticky.

8. Smart Transmission

The Smart ForTwo deserves its own category. The minicar's automated-manual transmission shifts gears with its own electronic clutch while the driver sees a traditional automatic setup. Drive the thing and you feel like you're on a bucking bronco. Once you're through first gear, the transmission stutters, shudders and very nearly takes a personal day before engaging second. The same thing happens on the way to third, and fourth, and fifth. Sorry, Smart, but this gearbox is anything but.

7. Power-Sliding Doors

Parents, rest assured the power-sliding doors on upscale minivans employ all sorts of electronic cutoffs to ensure they won't eat your Brownie troop. But we'll admit the prospect of power doors that can do their thing by remote 20 or 30 feet away can be a bit, um, dicey. They can also add hundreds of dollars to a car's out-the-door sticker. If you're feeling the pinch, go with manual sliders and open 'em yourself.

6. Multi-Manual Owner's Booklets

The thought of wading through an owner's manual to figure out how something works is daunting enough. Try wading through 10 of them or more; that's the number of pamphlets, manuals and quick-start guides included in some cars' libraries. With online directories only a click away, do you really need a state-by-state list of dealerships? Memo to carmakers: Just because it goes in the glove box doesn't mean it needs to be a box set.

5. Self-Parking Cars

Ian Merritt, Cars.com

Lexus' self-parking feature is optional on the LS sedan. Line up the superimposed square in the backup camera with your intended parking spot, gently let off the brakes and the LS will slowly steer around adjacent cars as it backs into the spot. You have to press the brakes to bring the car to a stop at the end. We didn't know Big Brother had a valet job, either.

4. iDrive

Even among the trio of similar dashboard interfaces from Audi and Mercedes, BMW's iDrive is utter knobsense. Directional inputs send you to various submenus, but in most models there are no shortcut or previous-screen buttons around the knob. In many models, street labels sit on a horizontal plane no matter the direction of the street, and if you need to scroll along the map you have to spin the knob to move east/west, then click it down and spin it again to move north/south. If you get the hang of it, you'll be ready for "Survivor" tryouts.

3. Voice Turn-by-Turn Navigation

Navigation systems have been barking out orders for years. With the exception of Land Rover's charming Brit, most of them employ a female American voice whose intonations range from casually disinterested to downright annoyed. Some systems try gamely to pronounce street names, but the result is usually anything but clear: You're cruising along, and she suddenly directs you to turn left on ... what was that? Ah, Fockner Ave.

2. Heart-Rate Monitor

You read correctly. Volvo's Personal Car Communicator monitors the cabin and pulses a light on your keyfob if your car has an unexpected visitor inside. TV ads show a woman approaching her S80 in a deserted parking garage, seeing the warning and hightailing it away. The thought of having this feature is scary in and of itself — not for fear of being carjacked, but because we wonder what sort of paranoia would drive you to want it.

1. Overly Aggressive Seats

Driver's seats run the gamut, from flat benches to the sort of hip-huggers you'd get in an F-15, and some of the more extravagant ones don't sit so well with us.

The BMW 7 Series offers a massaging driver's seat, but its throbbing motions feel downright Frankensteinian compared to a real massage. In some of Mercedes-Benz's pricier models, active side bolsters automatically inflate to hold you in as you take a corner. They're convenient on highway offramps and winding roads, but 90-degree city turns can result in sudden rib pinching as the seats go hog-wild to keep up. Avoid large spicy meals beforehand — or wade through the Benz's onboard computer menus to turn the feature off.

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Least Expensive Cars To Drive

Nationwide, unemployment is at a five-year high of 6.1%. In some areas, Americans are experiencing inflation rates nearing 6%.

As a result, some may be snubbing trucks and sport utility vehicles in favor of fuel-efficient, smaller cars. But when it comes to saving money over the long haul, a range of costs--from depreciation to maintenance to taxes to insurance--has to be considered. This is especially important for a simple reason: Small cars aren't right for everyone.

In other words, when it comes to saving money on a car, size isn't everything. And neither is the sticker price.

"The sticker price is truly the tip of the iceberg," says Christie Hyde, a spokeswoman for AAA, the consumer motor vehicle association.

To find the least expensive-to-drive car in the class that best suits your needs, you'll need to do some homework as to what you'll be spending money on the instant you drive off the lot. And gauging what's most important to you--be it fuel efficiency or depreciation or reliability--could quickly sway your purchasing decision.

For example, it doesn't take much intuition to figure out that one of the least expensive cars to drive over a five-year period is indeed a small car, the $11,550 Toyota Yaris, which gets an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)- estimated combined 31 mpg. The five-year cost of owning the car is, on average, $33,831 (triple the purchase price), which is modest so far as long-term car expenses go. It's wise to consider, however, that while the car will save you on gas, with fuel taking up about 30% of the long-term costs (assuming you drive 15,000 miles per year), you'll be hit hard on depreciation. The car depreciates at a rate of 73%--the fastest of any car on our list.

Similarly, the popular Toyota Prius hybrid claims a spot on the list, with a markedly low 17.9% of the five-year costs going to fuel. But this car also depreciates quickly (though only just less than half the rate of the Yaris), as those in the market for a hybrid want the latest and newest technology, not a car that's a few years old.

Because of the range of factors that go into considering a car's expense over the first few years of ownership, the rest of the list of the least expensive cars to drive is a mélange with as many standouts as surprises. Some are fuel-efficient, some aren't; some hold their value well, others not so much.

Behind The Numbers

To identify the 10 least expensive cars to drive we used data provided by Vincentric, a firm that tracks vehicle life expenses for the auto industry. To calculate the cost of ownership, Vincentric evaluates depreciation, interest and opportunity costs, fuel, maintenance and repairs, insurance, taxes and fees over a five-year period. We then divided the market into 10 vehicle classes to find the least expensive-to-own 2008 models in each.

The most fuel-efficient and more affordable cars aren't necessarily the cheapest to own. Finding a spot on the list is the $43,175 Cadillac DTS luxury sedan. The cost of fueling this car is the highest of any on the list, helping boost the five-year cost of ownership to $69,663. However, the car's depreciation rate is among the lowest on the list, at 38%, and insurance is only 10% of the total cost--far less, percentage-wise, than that of the Yaris or the Prius.

Why such high insurance costs for the cheaper cars? Smaller cars usually have higher auto insurance rates than larger vehicles because they tend to have higher rates of injury and collision claims, says Russ Rader, spokesman for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. "Small cars are less safe than bigger vehicles, so people are more likely to be injured in them when they crash, and small cars also tend to get into more crashes to begin with, so they have more insurance claims for repair."

Big Car, Low Price
2009 Honda Fit
2009 Honda Fit

Also noteworthy on the list, then, is the Jeep Patriot, which has a long-term cost of ownership similar to that of the Toyota Prius. Along with a base MSRP about $4,000 lower than that of the Prius, the Patriot is among the more fuel-efficient SUVs on the road, getting a combined EPA of 24 mpg (thus reducing the fuel costs), and has one of the lowest maintenance and repair costs of any vehicle on the list. The insurance costs are also among the lowest on the list.

Where the Jeep isn't so hot is on depreciation, but the same could be said for any car on the list. Paying close attention to depreciation, in fact, is critical since a whopping 60% of the cost of ownership occurs in the first year, and most of that will be depreciation. Depreciation is also the largest annual ownership cost for vehicles up to six years old, according to Consumer Reports.

But because so many other factors are at play as well, car buyers are best served thinking about their individual needs first and foremost. There's no point in buying a cheap-to-drive small car if it doesn't fit everyone in your family, for example. After thinking about the class of car that's right for you, then start doing your homework.

"People are finally starting to understand how these costs work," says David Wurster, president of Vincentric. "As the economy gets a little tighter, consumers are becoming smarter at looking at the total cost of ownership."more

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No. 10: Lexus GS 450h

EPA-estimated mileage: 22/25

Lexus' GS 450h sedan comes in last because its cost increase outweighs the gains itgets in mileage. The base GS is the GS 350, a relatively efficient and low-priced V-6 model. There's a 24 percent premium between it and the GS 450h, and what you get for it is a 16 percent city mileage improvement and a 7 percent decrease in highway driving. One could argue that the 450h is being shafted because Lexus offers such a high-mileage gas-only version. (When compared to the V-8-powered GS 460, the hybrid isn't very expensive and gets better mileage.) But our assumption is that you want a GS and don't want to pay a lot for efficiency. The 450h's gains over the V-8 460 certainly have worth, but only you can conclude how much. In this ranking, the GS hybrid looks like a lot of money for little gain.
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No. 9: Saturn Aura Green Line

EPA-estimated mileage: 24/32

Known as a mild hybrid, the Aura Green Line delivers modest mileage improvements over the four-cylinder Aura — 9 percent in the city and 7 percent on the highway — but its price premium is a mere 12 percent. (Note: Chevrolet will soon also market a mild hybrid version of its Malibu. Later on, 2 Mode hybrid versions of each are expected to join or replace them, adding efficiency and cost.)want car loan

No. 8: Chevrolet Tahoe 2 Mode Hybrid

EPA-estimated mileage: 21/22

To people who say a full-size truck defeats the purpose of a hybrid, we say "nonsense." People who want or need a large SUV may have even better reason for cutting back on gas than the owner of an already-efficient car does. The Tahoe Hybrid gives up practically none of the original's capability, including towing, and gets a stunning 50 percent increase in city mileage and 16 percent bump on the highway. It comes in eighth not because of its size, but because of its added cost: 43 percent more than the lowest-priced gas-only Tahoe. In a rare twist, the cheapest Tahoe isn't the most efficient. The LT trim level gets higher mileage (it's an engine thing) but also a higher price. Here the price premium is less, at 35 percent, but the Hybrid's highway mileage is only 10 percent better than this version, rather than 16 percent.

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No. 7: Ford Escape Hybrid

MSRP: $26,505

EPA-estimated mileage: 34/30

The Escape Hybrid's rank is a little surprising, given its impressive mileage, but it's hard to overcome the fact that it costs 40 percent more than the base, four-cylinder Escape. Because of this, its 55 percent city and 7 percent highway mileage improvement can't compensate. If you compare it to the thirstier V-6, however, this hybrid would be higher on the list.more ford motor

No. 6: Toyota Highlander Hybrid

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EPA-estimated mileage: 27/25

The Highlander Hybrid comes only with AWD. The most efficient gas Highlander has FWD. In comparison, the Hybrid costs 23 percent more and delivers 50 percent better city mileage but only a 4 percent highway improvement. If you want AWD, however, the Hybrid costs only 17 percent more than the gas-only model and boasts 59 and 9 percent higher mileage in city and highway driving, respectively.
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No. 5: Lexus RX 400h

EPA-estimated mileage: 27/24

Though it's a luxury model, the RX 400h's price premium is a mere 10 percent over the gas-only RX 350. Combined with a 50 percent city mileage improvement and 4 percent highway bump, it's a compelling package overall. The RX is similar to the Toyota Highlander Hybrid, which has a lower overall price and 1 mpg higher highway mileage, but that model's higher price premium gives it a lower rank. With optional AWD, the RX 400h (26/24 mpg) is an even better deal, with mileage improvements of 53 percent and 9 percent compared to the all-wheel-drive RX 350.
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No. 4: Toyota Camry Hybrid

EPA-estimated mileage: 33/34

Not everyone wants a small, less-refined car like the Prius, which makes the Camry Hybrid the one for the masses. Priced 36 percent higher than the base four-cylinder model, it gets 57 and 10 percent better gas mileage (city and highway), and even more dramatic improvements over the V-6 versions whose prices it rivals.
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No. 3: Honda Civic Hybrid

EPA-estimated mileage: 40/45
Even though its cost premium over the base Civic is 51 percent, its city and highway mileage are 54 percent and 32 percent higher, respectively, than that already-efficient model, making the payoff quite high. It happens to be an excellent car, too.
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No. 2: Saturn Vue Green Line

EPA-estimated mileage: 25/32

Dramatic mileage boosts get all the attention, but Saturn is onto something with this mild hybrid approach. The current Vue Green Line's premium over the lowest-priced gas-only version is modest — only 14 percent. All the same, its city and highway mileage increases are 32 and 23 percent, respectively. What's more, it's priced below the V-6 version, whose mileage it roughly doubles. The only drawback: The Vue is the only hybrid SUV not to offer all-wheel drive. (Note: A second Green Line with 2 Mode technology is coming late in 2008 as a 2009 model.)Visit now

No. 1: Toyota Prius

Hybrid rankings have often been simplistic: Most are little more than lists of the highest-mileage models on the market. Here, we ranked hybrids based on how much fuel savings they get when compared to their non-hybrid version, as well as how much all that saved gas is going to cost you. Examinations that compare hybrids to "comparably equipped" versions miss an important point. Hybrids are almost always among the most expensive trim levels, if not the most costly, but our premise is that you're looking for efficiency first, followed closely by price. This isn't about acceleration, so the hybrids are compared to the lowest-priced, most-efficient gas-only trim level in their model line. Our rankings take into account the hybrid's mileage and price premium, in percent, as well as its suggested retail price. This gives less-expensive models a boost while penalizing more-expensive ones.

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