According to a poll released last week by the Liverpool Victoria Insurance Company, UK motorists drive more erratically in the presence of speed cameras. The firm, which insures 3.8 million in England and Wales, commissioned ICM Research to survey how the driving public responds when automated ticketing machines are present. The firm concluded that, since 2001, photo enforcement may have contributed to thousands of accidents that would not have otherwise occurred.

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For the first time in recorded history, the Volkswagen Group sold (not just produced) more than 4m vehicles in the period from January to July. Actually, it’s 4.16m units. In the same period of 2009, they had moved 3.65m units. Which translates into a growth of 13.7 percent. In a communiqué, Volkswagen proudly announces that they outpaced the overall world market. Which had grown 13.4 percent in the same period. (Read More…)

I recently attended a fancy-pants dinner held by Chrysler PR for some Houston-area bloggers. We were wined, dined and introduced to the 2011 Grand Cherokee. While free food and journalistic integrity are a tough combo to swallow, I found something entertaining and inherently blog worthy: the castrated 2011 Ford Explorer is in the new Grand Cherokee’s gunsight. Why? One of the SUV’s most famous nameplates is now a crossover, while another is still an SUV. But neither of them like being called names.

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Collectively, the the Detroit Three have enjoyed precisely one market share turnaround in the last several years: Ford in 2009. This year, Detroit’s market share looks downright stagnant. Chrysler’s got a tiny bump going on, but Ford’s lost its fizz and GM is skidding bottom… at best. On the other hand, if this graph is just too gloomy for you, hit the jump for one of the first glimmers of (market share) hope for Detroit in years.

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We’ve got a tight fight for the top spot again this month in the Mid/Large CUV segment. Traverse, Pilot, Edge, Outback and Sorento are all running between 9k and 10k monthly units, and between 50k and 65k YTD sales. All of these top-selling nameplates improved over their July 2009 numbers, but the flagging Highlander and Venza both fell back year-on-year, as did the Flex. Can Edge ride a mid-cycle refresh to the 2010 Mid/large CUV sales title? That could just depend on whether or not Chevrolet opens up more production capacity for its Traverse. Meanwhile, Ford’s Explorer and Jeep’s Grand Cherokee should start eating into this segment… which begs the question: should these two nameplates be migrated out of SUVs and into the burgeoning segment? While you ponder the answer, we’ll be preparing an July SUV sales chart for tomorrow.

[Update: My left hemisphere really predominated when I wrote this piece. Please don’t get the wrong idea: I was totally thrilled to find this well-kept 7-Litre sitting on the street in a neighborhood (South University) where it’s been a family heirloom for decades; possibly forever (according to a relative who came out). It’s an awesome representative of a class of car that is hard to find anymore, and my critical comments are designed to help those inexperienced with them to put it into context. The 7-Litre rocks!]

The sixties, that golden decade of American performance cars, had two very distinct eras. The first half was dominated by the full size bombers with their ever-larger big block V8s sporting dual quad or triple deuce carbs. Think Impala 348/409, the wild cross-ram Chrysler 413 and wedge 426, Pontiac’s 421 HO, and Ford’s specialized 406/427, which powered the Blue Oval to enduring glory, even at LeMans.  These over-sized sleds were the terror of the drag strips, NASCAR, and Main Street on Saturday night, duking it out for the glory of their respective makers, with the hope of more sales on Monday morning.

But with the arrival of the mid-size GTO and the compact Mustang in 1964, the full sized performance cars became doomed dinosaurs almost overnight. Yes, the big hairy engines were still available in them (for a price), but why bother when a dirt-cheap 327 Chevy II had a better power-to-weight ratio? So the Big Three tried something else to prop up sales of the profitable mega-sized rods, like this 7 Litre Galaxie. In the case of the Ford at least, the tip-off is the affected spelling of Liter. (Read More…)

In December 2008, the city of Chicago, Illinois leased for 75 years its 36,000-space parking meter system to Chicago Parking Meters LLC. This firm, which is owned primarily by Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners, made a one-time, $1.16 billion up-front payment for the right to collect meter revenue for the life of the deal. By next year, Mayor Richard M. Daley will have spent the entire payment shoring up the budgets for 2010 and 2011.

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One might imagine that GM wouldn’t want to scare anyone away from its forthcoming IPO, but triskadecaphobes might just want to sit this one out. With a $5b credit line reportedly secured from a group of “at least 15” banks, Reuters [via Automotive News [sub]] reports that GM could file its S1 with the SEC as soon as tomorrow. In case that date is too pregnant with superstition, GM could wait until next Monday to file paperwork. Either way, GM is expected to go public by the Thanksgiving holiday.
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Andy writes:

This is a perfect question for the first day of summer: I would love the readers’ input on plow trucks, specifically using a 1500 vs 2500. I will be doing some light duty plowing in Eastern MA, in a small to medium sized parking lot with plenty of obstacles. I thought of a Wrangler since it could also be a great summer toy, but it seems like it might not be suited for plowing. I know some of the readers will have some good experience to share. Thanks!

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Here’s some interesting automotive op-art to contemplate. Meanwhile, kudos to DaveWest for nailing the Cimarron, with this well executed comment: A Cadillac Cimarron with the hood medallion removed and modified to accept a stand up wreath & crest which has since been swiped? That would explain the duck (Cadillac) and the horrified expression (Cimarron).

GM Chairman/CEO Ed Whitacre just announced during GM’s Q2 financial conference call that he will step down as CEO on September 1, and as Chairman at the end of 2010. GM board member Dan Akerson will take over both of Whitacre’s position. Whitacre called Akerson “very involved” and said he expects a smooth transition. Whitacre planned to leave after “returning GM to greatness,” and says that “with a good foundation in place,” he’s ready to leave. The board’s been aware of Whitacre’s plan, and the board was ready to act when Whitacre said he was ready to step down. Akerson says he and Whitacre “share a vision” for GM, so instead of setting an agenda now, he’s focusing on a smooth transition. Akerson noted that Whitacre “had made some management changes” already, and he’s confident in his “deep bench.” The major transition, he says, “is me,” because he needs to gain a day-to-day, operational perspective on the business.

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GM has released its Q2 earnings, and it’s pulled off a $1.3b net profit on improved North American revenue, and narrower losses on GM Europe. Revenues for GM International, however, were down to about half of their Q1 level. Despite over $1b in capital expenditures last quarter, GM  managed to improve free cash flow from $970m in Q1 to $2.834b in Q2. Full chart packet available in .doc format here, presentation slides available in PDF format here.

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We had been reporting for quite a while that estranged Ford and Mazda had filed for divorce that would annul their three-way ménage with China’s Changan. If you’ve ever been through a divorce (don’t remind me) you know that that can take a while and can drive you bonkers. Time for a celebration: (Read More…)

The Nikkei [sub] reminds Toyota fanpersons and Toyota haters alike that Toyota “still faces uncertain times despite the preliminary findings of a U.S. Transportation Department investigation that indicate driver error may have been a contributing factor.” You mean, that wasn’t the fat lady? You mean, we have to wait for someone more obese? (Read More…)

I know that stories about who will buy a down and out Korean carmaker called Ssangyong are not a major click-through magnet. Therefore, just for the record: Ssangyong selected India’s Mahindra & Mahindra as the preferred bidder to acquire a majority stake. And just in case, they named India’s Raghav Industries as the secondary preferred bidder, says The Nikkei [sub]. (Read More…)