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| » March 22, 2007 |
Nissan launches "lost key" advertising
campaign in U.S. cities
Nashville, Tennessee - Nissan North America has embarked
on a unique grassroots advertising campaign in major U.S.
cities, leaving mock sets of keys in popular nightclubs so
it appears someone has lost their keys. The ring contains
a traditional car key and two generic house keys, and a key
chain that reads, "If found, please do not return. My
Next Generation Nissan Altima has Intelligent Key with pushbutton
ignition, and I no longer need these." The automaker
has collaborated with Vibe magazine, and those who find the
keys can redeem either a gas gift card or a six-month subscription
to Vibe. The company plans to drop 20,000 sets of keys in
targeted hot spots in New York City, Chicago, Atlanta, Miami,
Dallas, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C.
Federal budget includes "green" vehicle
initiatives
Ottawa, Ontario - The new federal budget was released yesterday
and includes two "green" vehicle initiatives that
will offer incentives on fuel-efficient vehicles and more
money for vehicle scrapping programs. The budget proposes
a new Vehicle Efficiency Incentive, which will have three
distinct components and take effect today, March 20. The
incentive includes a performance-based rebate program offering
up to $2,000 for the purchase of a new fuel-efficient vehicle;
neutral treatment of a broad range of vehicles with average
fuel efficiency; and a new Green Levy on fuel-inefficient
vehicles. The threshold will be based on a combined Transport
Canada city and highway fuel efficiency rating; cars will
be eligible for a rebate if their combined rate is 6.5 L/100
km or less, while minivans, SUVs and other light trucks must
meet 8.3 L/100 km. The thresholds will be reviewed periodically.
The basic rebate amount will be $1,000, with an additional
$500 added for each half-litre per 100 km improvement in
the combined fuel-efficiency rating, to a maximum rebate
of $2,000. Efficient E-85 vehicles will be eligible for a
rebate of $1,000. A proposed "Green Levy" will
apply to new passenger vehicles, excluding trucks, with fuel-efficiency
ratings of 13.0 L/100 km or more, payable by the manufacturer
or importer when the vehicles are delivered into the Canadian
market. The levy will start at $1,000 for vehicles between
13.0 and 14.0 L/100 km, and will increase in $1,000 increments
for each full litre per 100 km increase in the combined rating,
to a maximum of $4,000 for vehicles with ratings of 16.0
L/100 km or more. The budget will also provide $6 million
over the next two years to existing not-for-profit vehicle
scrap programs that offer incentives to Canadians to scrap
their older, higher-polluting automobiles. The allocation
represents a seven-fold increase in federal support for these
programs. The government says that vehicles from before model-year
1995 accounted for 35 per cent of all vehicles on the road
in 2005. The budget will also provide up to $30 million over
the next two years for incentives designed by Environment
Canada and Transport Canada, in consultation with stakeholders,
to remove older vehicles from the roads.
Ford is latest to say: Drive farther between
oil changes
Modern engine lubricants extend 3,000-mile axiom. Most major
automakers agree: The adage that you should change your car's
oil every 3,000 miles is outdated, and even 5,000 miles may
be too often. Ford Motor Co. became the latest manufacturer
to extend its oil life guidelines, making public that it
is raising the recommended oil change interval from 5,000
miles to 7,500 on its newly redesigned 2007 models and all
subsequent redesigned or new models. The company, like many
other manufacturers, said Tuesday that higher oil quality
standards and new engine designs were responsible for the
change, which affects vehicles driven under normal conditions. "The
oils have advanced a lot since the days when 3,000 miles
were the typical oil drains," said Dennis Bachelder,
senior engineer for the American Petroleum Institute, an
industry organization that sets quality standards. "They're
certainly more robust than the oils of 10, 15 years ago." These
days, motor oils start with a higher-quality base oil than
in the past, and they have more antioxidants that make lubricating
properties last longer and other additives that keep deposits
from forming on engines, he said. Pete Misangyi, Ford's supervisor
of fuel lubricants, said the company conducted numerous fleet
and laboratory tests with newer oils before it raised the
interval. "That allows more comfort, if you will, in
extending the intervals using the new oils," he said.
Honda Motor Co. and General Motors Corp. have stopped making
recommendations on all or most of their models, instead relying
on sensors that measure oil temperature extremes and engine
revolutions over time to calculate oil life and tell drivers
when to get the lubricant changed. Oil can lose its lubricating
properties if it runs at too low or too high of a temperature.
Peter Lord, executive director of GM's service operations,
said oil can last 12,000 miles or even more for many drivers
who don't run their vehicles in extreme heat or cold or tow
heavy loads. "It really does depend on the individual
customer and how they've used the vehicle," he said.
Customer arrested at car dealership for “hammering” out
a deal
The customer’s Samurai sword was a
tip-off to dealership staff that something wasn’t
quite right about this guy. A customer wearing a Samurai
sword and carrying a sledgehammer was arrested as he
stood, poised to do damage, atop a car for sale at
a Lincoln Mercury dealership in California over the
weekend, reports the Sacramento Bee. Police said the
man became upset after a salesman at the store refused
his trade-in offer on a 1990 Honda CRX and his promise
of an IOU for a newer car, a used 2004 Chrysler. The
sales manager at the dealership, said the customer
showed up shortly before 1 p.m. Saturday and made his
offers, which included asking for $7,000 on his Honda.
The sales manager said the car wasn't worth close to
that amount. "It was a beat-up Honda with the
bumpers hanging off, and the paint was faded," he
said. After being turned down, the rebuffed customer
returned to his vehicle, where he took out the sword,
the sledgehammer and a large pry bar, and began trying
to get into the Chrysler, which the salesman had locked
with a remote. Failing to unlock the door, the man
then climbed onto the roof of the Chrysler and appeared
ready to swing the sledgehammer when the first police
officer arrived. The man was arrested without incident.
75-year-old man nabbed for shooting out windows of
Maryland car dealership
Investigators are trying to figure out why the man
went on a months-long vandalism spree aimed at the
dealership group. Police have arrested an elderly man
in connection with a series of window-shootings at
the Pohanka Automotive Group in Maryland, according
to Baltimore’s WBOC-TV. Maryland State Police
say that since 2006, troopers have responded numerous
times to malicious destruction of property and assault
complaints at the dealership. According to police,
on Monday, March 19, a state trooper responded in reference
to two shootings that had occurred. A surveillance
video showed a gold Mazda MPV bearing a Maryland registration
traveling in front of the dealership. As troopers were
viewing more video, a third shooting occurred at another
Pohanka dealership. The suspect vehicle was described
as a gold Mazda MPV with an older white male driver.
Dealership employees followed the vehicle and were
able to get a tag number. Authorities picked up the
owner of the Mazda, 75-year-old George W. Edwards Jr.
He has been charged with first- and second-degree assault,
reckless endangerment and reckless endangerment from
a vehicle. The man is sitting in a jail cell on $100,000.00
bond. |
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