Latest Auto News Blog

KBB Picks Best Redesigned Vehicle for 2007

2007chevysilverado2

Our friends over at Kelley Blue Book have racked their brains to choose what they consider the best redesigned vehicle for 2007. The search included any car, truck or SUV significantly redesigned as a 2007 model. And the winner is — if you couldn’t figure it out from the picture — the all-new 2007 Chevy Silverado.

Why? “The 2007 Silverado solidified its case for Best Redesigned Vehicle with its notably improved steering, braking, ride comfort, handling and power delivery,” said Jack R. Nerad, editorial director for Kelley Blue Book and kbb.com.

Past winners include the 2006 Honda Civic, 2005 Ford Mustang and 2004 Ford F-150. Keep reading for the full list of this year’s contenders to see the Silverado’s tough competition.

KBB's 2007 Top Redesigned Vehicles

Cadillac Escalade
Chevrolet Aveo sedan
Chevrolet Tahoe
Chrysler Sebring
GMC Sierra
GMC Yukon
Lexus LS 460
Mercedes-Benz S-Class
Toyota Camry

Tall trucks, a short bridge, and a video camera…

With all the serious news stories and debates about what should happen to the auto industry, sometimes it’s fun to just stop for a few minutes and watch people break things.

I suppose you can look at this video three different ways:

1. Drivers don’t pay attention to the height of their vehicles.

2. Does a lack of signage fail to let drivers know of an upcoming height restriction?

3. That bridge can take a serious beating.

I’ve seen scrape marks on the bottom of overpasses, I’ve run a rental car into a pole, and my sister-in-law even found a tuna sandwich under the seat of a rental, but I’ve never done damage to a vehicle like this!

Have you ever wrecked a rental car or truck? And please feel free to make your own rental insurance or instant convertible jokes!

-tgriffith

Fifty Years Of MINI

Fifty years ago today, the first Mini rolled off the production line at Cowley, now called Plant Oxford. For the first time in half a century that very car is returning to its birthplace for a celebration of 50 years of production.

Plant Oxford built 602,817 Minis from 1959 to 1968, before production was moved to Longbridge. Since 2001 more than 1.4 million new MINIs have been built at the production facility and in total, more than six million classic and new MINIs have been sold since the car first went on sale in 1959.

BMW Group member of the Board of Management for Production, Frank-Peter Arndt said: “Anniversaries are always a wonderful opportunity to look back at the past. But on days like today, it’s also good to look to the future. Therefore, our objective is absolutely clear: We are going to continue the success story of MINI and continue to strengthen it”.

[Source: Mini]

Shai Agassi pitches $100 billion plan

No one could ever accuse Shai Agassi, the man behind electric-car infrastructure company Project Better Place, of not being ambitious. He has been all over the planet making deals with major car makers and various countries. His American discussions have been somewhat more modest though with a city here, and an island-state there. No longer.

Speaking to the House of Representatives Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming (we have one of those?), Agassi said, "For the price of two months worth of oil, some $100 billion, we can put in place the infrastructure needed to power the nation's cars and end this oil dependence," Ambitious, no? He then threw in the "American jobs" angle with, "Of that $100 billion, moreover, some $80 billion will go into jobs that, by their nature, can only be performed in the US - the construction of the infrastructure itself."

In the mood for throwing out big numbers and lofty goals, the man-on-a-mission even pitched renewable sources to power the nations automotive fleet saying, "For the price of one year's worth of oil, some $500 billion, we can go even farther - creating fully renewable electrical generation sufficient to power all of the nation's vehicles. In so doing, we will again create jobs that can only be performed in this country, and we will give a much broader stimulus to the renewables energy market." No word on what kind of impression was made on the politicians but we hope it got some hamster wheels turning. Check out the video after the break to gain your own impression of Agassi's vision.

[Source: Globes]

2009 Aston Martin Vantage Roadster: Flashy

2009 Aston Martin Vantage Roadster: Flashy
How do you set yourself apart from the rest of the people that you see everyday riding around in a BMW or Mercedes Benz convertible, while still looking flashy and classy. The answer is 2 simple words, Aston Martin, and to be exact 2 more, Vantage Roadster. This new version will hug the road like a scared child to it’s mother, and rolling through the strip at night with this thing, all the ladies will probably try to do the same to you.

Gushan, China's largest biodiesel maker, readying large plant in Shanghai

Earlier this year, Gushan Environmental Energy Limited reached an annual biodiesel production capacity of 240,000 tons with a new plant in Beijing. At the time, Gushan said they hoped to reach an annual capacity of 400,000 tons by the end of 2008. They are now getting 50,000 tons closer.

Gushan started building a new biodiesel facility in Shanghai yesterday, and the 50,000-ton plant will help cement Gushan's place as China's largest biodiesel producer (by annual production capacity). Two more plants (30,000 tons each) are scheduled to open later this year, and the Beijing plant will be expanded by 50,000 tons. Gushan biodiesel's main feedstocks are "vegetable oil offal and used cooking oil." That's how the press release reads. Since offal usually means waste animal parts (or a delicacy, depending on where you live), I'm not sure if there is a comma missing or if the company is using the word to mean waste veggie oil. We'll see what Gushan's PR people can tell me.

[Source: Gushan Environmental Energy Limited]

More on the Mazda CX-7 Adrenaline Concept

Yesterday we brought you initial information on Mazda’s tricked-out CX-7 crossover concept at SEMA. Today we’ve received official images of the Adrenaline concept and are a bit more impressed by the level of customization. The fade-to-yellow paint job is a bit too wild for our tastes, but we’ll take the customized cargo compartment with matching luggage. We even like the wild interior, complete with yellow inserts in the seat fabric and steering wheel. Keep reading for more images.

Latest Auto News Blog

KBB Picks Best Redesigned Vehicle for 2007

Related posts:

Related posts:

Tall trucks, a short bridge, and a video camera…

Related posts:

Related posts:

Fifty Years Of MINI

Related posts:

Related posts:

Shai Agassi pitches $100 billion plan

Related posts:

Related posts:

2009 Aston Martin Vantage Roadster: Flashy

Related posts:

Related posts:

Gushan, China's largest biodiesel maker, readying large plant in Shanghai

Related posts:

Related posts:

More on the Mazda CX-7 Adrenaline Concept

Related posts:

Related posts:

Blog Archive