Money.net reports that various U.K. authorities have destroyed some 45k uninsured vehicles during the first nine months of '07. Which is OK with Nick Starling, director of general insurance at the Association of British Insurers. "These figures show that the determination of the insurance industry and the police to drive them [uninsured motorists] from our roads is beginning to bear fruit." The Manchester Evening News says their local constabulary can claim 10k of that total. "Since January 2006 we have seized more than 25,000 vehicles," boasts Sgt Mark Beales of the Greater Manchester Police's traffic section. "We will continue to ensure there is no hiding place for those who break the law." While the Association of British Drivers (ABD) doesn't dispute the police's right to confiscate uninsured motorists' vehicles, ABD Environment spokesman Ben Adams argues "This government is so venomously anti-car, that confiscated vehicles are thoughtlessly crushed out of sheer spite. They claim the environment to be their top priority yet it appears they are encouraging the mindless destruction of huge resources of used parts that could be recycled and destroying serviceable cars." Fair dues?

Driverless cars, intra-traffic electronic crash avoidance, plug-in electric hybrids, fuel cells, expanding foreign markets– GM CEO Rick Wagoner is on a tear, talking about everything and anything except, you know, the fact that GM NA isn't making a profit or, God forbid, predicting when it might be back in black. So what the Hell, let's add E85 to the list. C/Net reports that Rabid Rick reckons we need to increase the number of American gas stations selling E85 from the current 1400ish level to 15k to 20k (out of approximately 170k total). To serve corn juice to all those GM Flex-Fuel vehicles earning the company federal fuel economy credits, GM claims it's been working with big box retailers "like Wal-Mart and Target" to install ethanol pumps. "It has been remarkably difficult to get pumps installed," Mr. Wagoner admitted. "We've been doing more work than I thought we would need to." I think that's Rick's way of saying it ain't happening– which makes sense as Wal-Mart spokesman Kory Lundberg told us "we don't have a timeline for E85 implementation." In any case, Rick's well-up on the farm-based limitations of increasing E85 distribution ten-fold. "To get beyond a certain level, it is going to have to go beyond grain-based in the U.S.," he said. By then we should all be driving around in flex-fuel E-flex Volts.

It's a Hell of a good question. Strangely, few Western media outlets have tackled it. While TTAC's take is forthcoming, The Liverpool Daily Post's Alastair Houghton casts his beady eye on Tata's prospects with the damaged British brand. It may be painful for Jag fans to reconsider the fate of the ill-fated X-Type and re-scan the arterial spray or red ink dogging the cat, but they'll be heartened to read Houghton's historical analysis of the Indian conglomerate's success with other British concerns. The story surrounding Tata's entry into the steel market is especially resonant. “Do you mean to say Tata proposes to make steel rails to British specifications?" Frederick Upcott, Chief Commissioner for Indian Railways reportedly remarked at the turn of the last century. "Why, I’ll eat every pound of steel rail they succeed in making.” Last year, Tata ate Corus, the company that had eaten British Steel. Equally reassuring (to "traditionalists"), the chief executive of the UK India Business Council doesn't see any branding issues. “If you look at Tetley [tea], you don’t see the Tata brand on it at all," Sharon Bamford says. “They put the interests of the brand and the community they serve at the forefront. The process we’ve seen appears to be a typical Tata deal.”

So, GM's toe-dip into web 2.0 yielded its first on-line chat in its "virtual media forum." The General's Web Slingers tapped GM Director Vehicle Emissions Issues Bob Babik for its inaugural e-chin wag. In case you thought GMNext was all about the glasnost, please note the word "media" in the title. As far as we can tell, only three (non-TTAC) members of the press were allowed to put questions to Mr. Babik. And either the transcript has been heavily edited or it was the world's shortest live chat. And yet there's still a gem or, uh, well there's a gem. “The key is offering technology at a cost-effective level so that the consumer values it and makes that choice," Babik e-opines. "This is why in the early years of a certain technology, GM supports government incentives when the technology may be more costly to help consumers make that choice.” Did any of GM's pet journos explore this issue? What kind of financial support was he talking about? For what? To whom? How much? If the journos did what journos are supposed to do, GM ain't sayin'. And there you have it: proof (if proof were needed) that GMNext is the same old you-know-what in a new wrapper. 

WardsAuto reports that BMW will reveal the U.S.-bound diesel-powered X5 xDrive 35d cross/utility vehicle and 335d coupe at the upcoming (TTAC-attended,) North American International Auto Show. The big news here is that Bimmer's boffins have designed a urea-injection exhaust treatment to capture those nasty particulates before they can weld themselves onto the inner surface of your lungs. In other words, BMW's "BluePerformance" technology meets California's way-tougher-than-European-Union-regs diesel engine emissions requirements. Yada yada yada. Here are the stats oil burner aspiring pistonheads want to know. The 3.0-liter inline six cylinder. twin-turbo diesel engine develops 265 hp and, get this, 425 lb.-ft. of torque. That's enough to sling the big ass X5 xDrive 35d from 0-62 mph in 7.2 seconds, and power the 335d from 0-62 mph in a respectable 6.2 seconds. Of course, the sprint time doesn't reflect the ENORMOUS in-gear shove. Perhaps more saliently, the diesel X5 gets 19/25 mpg, while the 335d clocks in at 23/33 mpg. Do you have to pee in the urea tank? And is this the long anticipated re-start of America's oil burning aspirations? That depends on the price. Hey, there's got to be some surprise left for the show.

USA Today reports that a new study by the Center for International Climate and Environmental Research (CICERO) claims that cars, trucks, airplanes, trains and ships generate 15 percent of the manmade CO2 in the Earth's atmosphere. "The scientists reported that within the transport sector, road transportation (cars, buses and trucks) contribute the most greenhouse gases, which includes CO2, ozone, methane, and others." So big ass yachts and U.S. presidential candidates' private jets get a pass, eh? According to the report by CICERO Research Director Jan S. Fuglestved, the remaining 85 percent of atmospheric CO2 comes from industry, buildings and agriculture. Meanwhile, writing for Yahoo! News, one Jack Kelly argues that the mass media "Promotes Global Warming Alarmism." In the piece, Weather Channel founder John Coleman says "Some dastardly scientists with environmental and political motives manipulated long term scientific data to create an illusion of rapid global warming. Their friends in government steered huge research grants their way to keep the movement going… In time, in a decade or two, the outrageous scam will be obvious." So should we even be running this story?

Wow, that's some kind of price jump. You might even file it under scarcely credible alarmist prognostications. But there it is. "Options to buy oil for $US200 on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 10-fold in the past two months to 5533 contracts, a record increase on any similar period." The Sydney Morning Herald casts its journalistic net to find experts who say you ain't seen nothin' yet. "One hundred dollars a barrel is actually 14.9 cents a cup, so we're still talking about oil being remarkably cheap," said investment banker Matthew Simmons. Inventories "are tight as a drum and I don't see how we get out of this box." It's all about rising demand chasing static supply. "We haven't got to $US100 on just a whim," said Paul Horsnell, the head of commodities research at Barclays Capital in London. "This is at heart also about longer-term concerns that supply capacity investment needs higher prices to keep up with demand growth." Needless to say, if U.S. oil prices spike to $200 a barrel (29.8 a cup), truck-heavy U.S. automakers will go to the wall, double-quick. Detroit is a city of crossed fingers… [thanks to David Holzman for the link]

Heads-up Autoblog! Buried in a boring-looking post on Toyota's Open Road blog: news that the Japanese manufacturer will follow Nissan's lead and add a real-time fuel economy gauge to all its Toyota, Scion and Lexus vehicles. The yet-to-be-finalized gizmo will debut in the next-generation 4-Runner, launched in August ‘09. ToMoCo's Corporate Comms Director Jon F. Thompson writes that the Eco Driving Indicator will include an "Eco Zone Display" that will tell the driver that they are saving money and the planet, and reducing our need for oil-related foreign military entanglements [paraphrasing]. Autobox-equipped vehicles get an "Eco Lamp" that illuminates once the driver enters the “Eco Zone” (da da da da da, da da da da). Drivers of manual transmission-equipped vehicles (do they still make those?) light the lamp by hitting the most fuel efficient shift point. The system will, of course, include an Average Fuel Consumption Meter to help aspiring hypermilers frustrate dangerous drivers yakking on the cell in their [non-Toyota] gas hogs. I mean, optimize their fuel economy. Oh, and Thompson says social engineering rocks! "We’ve learned that as we work to make our vehicles more efficient, we also can work to make our drivers more efficient."

Kelley Blue Book is one of the good guys; the organization that led the way towards pricing transparency for consumers. So it's no surprise that their Western Sales Manager Jay Campbell thinks car dealers' websites would benefit from some user generated content. Writing for Dealer Marketing Magazine, Jay uses the term CGC (Consumer Generated Content) while making his case for e-Glasnost. "Today, consumers turn to auto enthusiast sites, online forums and message boards, question and answer sites, and blogs to post their feelings. Imagine how large and untapped this opportunity is for your dealer Website?" The misplaced question mark tells the tale; the idea that car dealers would open themselves up to potentially negative comments from the great unwashed requires a leap of imagination that Evil Knieval wouldn't have attempted in his [fall into the] heyday. Although Jay's heart is in the right place (gold star from TTAC), I felt compelled to call him and see if he lives anywhere near planet Earth.

The Detroit Free Press reports that U.S. District Court Judge Robert H. Cleland has granted the United Auto Workers (UAW) and GM a gag order preventing either side from revealing the details of their $29.9 VEBA health care superfund. Cleland deemed the cone of silence necessary to protect financial, proprietary and personal information (?). To that end, he forbade the release of "documents containing information that would cause named plaintiffs, prospective class members, the UAW, GM or any other present or current employees of the UAW or GM 'annoyance, embarrassment or oppression.'" Well guess what? The UAW rank and file rightly consider the gag order a major "annoyance," as it prevents them from knowing how far up the river they've been sold. "These workers have paid for that plan over the years with forfeiture of pay, and cost of living and many other concessions that were made over the years," Jerry Tucker, a former UAW International executive board member, kvetched. "They are entitled to know everything about the plan." Given the union movement's long and ignoble history of fraud, corruption, theft, mismanagement, extortion, bribery and violence, he may have a point. This is the second time Judge Cleland has agreed to keep union members in the dark about "their" VEBA; he issued a similar order for the UAW-Chrysler filing on November 15. Ford's VEBA-related judicial filing hasn't yet gone dark, but it's only a matter of time. For shame.

You gotta love fark.com. Anyway, I've resisted the urge to blog this story because, frankly, who cares what GM's CEO thinks about driverless cars? While the media is all abuzz with Wagoner's forthcoming speech to the Consumer Electronic Show, is there anyone out there with even the slightest knowledge of GM's current technological chops who believes that the same automaker that's struggling to get their electric – gas hybrid Volt onto the streets before the next generation Prius arrives to kick its ass is about to launch a successful initiative to create the driverless car of tomorrow? Sure, we agree with the speech's basic premise– our spiritual advisor Stephan Wilkinson has convinced us that it's only a matter of time before humans are denied accelerative access (excess?). But comments like this (via foxbusiness.com) just make me laugh: "'This is not science fiction,' Larry Burns, GM's vice president for research and development, said in a recent interview" and ""Just imagine all the funerals that won't take place." Sorry guys, but I'm Jewish. I imagine non-existent funerals all the time, and they don't have driverless cars in the cortege. 

GM's spinning the fact that they're not renewing their $4.1b standby credit because they don't need it. Speaking to CNNMoney, GM spokeswoman Melisa Tezanos claimed GM never borrowed under the agreement and "a review of its capital needs for the first half of the year showed the auto maker had enough liquidity and flexibility with the standby credit pact." Texanos also said that the fact that the credit line was collateralized by GMAC "was not a factor" in GM's decision to terminate the credit revolver. We call bullshit. Our spy reports that the banks won't lend on the line since the GMAC security interest is worth less than the line, thanks to the strong potential of bankruptcy at GMAC/Cerberus-owned mortage lender Residential Capital. "Obviously, it's not good to admit you can't renew your line. Better to tell the story you don't need it now." But, they do. Although the automaker hasn't drawn upon the line of credit, it still relies on it as a backstop for certain financial transactions. Oh, and if RESCAP goes belly-up, how do you think that will affect GM's auto loans? This could get really nasty really quickly…

Engadget sends us news from the '08 Consumer Electronic Show that Pioneer has unveiled a dashtop gizmo charmingly called the AVIC-F500BT. For those who speak Geek-speak, it's "a gateway for your personal technology. Large DB with 12 million POIs, text to speech, Bluetooth, SD slot, USB, voice recognition, OEM integration. Plugs into an AUX jack on your vehicle or via custom integration. Conversation commands, 'I want to listen to Justin Timberlake.' Yes, it will control your phone and iPod, just speak your commands." We prefer to think of it as "anything Microsoft can do, we can do better;" although we don't actually know that. Yet. But the Pioneer system can run on batteries, so motorists can move it from car to car, which has GOT to be a HUGE advantage over Ford's SYNC system. Looks like we're back to the whole in-dash vs. portable sat nav deal– just in time for the debut of Lincoln's in-dash SYNC. You see? A better car is more important than better doo-dads, every time. [Thanks to starlightmica for the link.]

KCRG-TV reports that the Iowa legislature is getting ready to roll out the pork barrel for the ethanol industry. Previewing the Tall Corn State's upcoming legislative agenda, the TV station foreshadows the tax breaks to come, and makes it seem as if there's a passel of pistonhead demand for E85, motorists just itching for a local E85 station. "Lawmakers also expect to talk about ways to make it easier for drivers to pump ethanol into their vehicles. 'There's tens of thousands of vehicles in Iowa right now that could run on E85, but they really don't have access to the infrastructure where they can go buy it,' Rep. Kraig Paulsen (R) said." Could or would? (We sure as Hell don't recommend Iowans try and find one of 69 state stations with an E85 pump via Iowacorn.org's "E85 finder;" the Adobe player crashes your browser.) Iowa already pays 50 percent of the total cost of an E85 pump. Question: if one of the nation's top E85 producing states– a state without large ethanol transportation expenses (E85 can't go down a standard gas pipe)– needs more subsidies to convince gas stations to provide E85 pumps, what does that tell you? 

Automobile.com reports that the brand best known for symmetrical all-wheel drive and seemingly endless aesthetic affronts is set to launch the R1e electric vehicle (EV). Subie developed the EV version of its brand faithfully ugly R1 in conjunction with the Tokyo Electric Power Company. "Its battery pack affords the car a small-ish range of 50 miles, but the car can be recharged to 80-percent capacity in just eight minutes. A full charge takes about six hours." Never mind the range; EV supporters reckon most in-city journeys are less than 40 miles. Feel the longevity! "Despite the low range, Subaru says that the car has a lifespan of 120,000 miles or ten years." So not only can you go nowhere slowly, but you can do so for a long, long time. In terms of production numbers, Automobile goes for passively constructed English understatement. "Subaru isn't being overly optimistic about the EV's take-rate either, so for its first year only 100 units will be produced." But here's the real news: "To help promote electric vehicles, the Japanese government has agreed to slash the car tax and sales tax by a whopping 90-percent, and will allow the car to park in public areas and travel on toll routes at a reduced rate." What was that commentator Stu was saying about the Japanese government encouraging long term investment?