Taxes and fees are the pedal and the metal of state governments. Without em’, all you would be looking at is a bunch of big buildings with no one doing anything in them.

Most police cars would be busy hiding out in secret hideaways awaiting the next revenue source. Property taxes would go way up. Appraisals for those properties wouldn’t follow market realities, and the state and county governments would be busy up trying to drum up every pork barrel budget possible from the Federal government. From airports with no aviation traffic. To winding roads that lead to the eternal fountain of no accountability.

But then again, my kids need to be educated. Roads and sewers fall apart. Bad guys (and girls) need to be put away and rehabilitated.  Parks need to be protected. The roads need to be repaired. Restaurants need to be hygenic.  Fire departments. Libraries. Electric power. Water.  Disaster relief…. and dare I say it… health care. That last one is a real big issue for a lot of folks.

How does the government pay for it all? Simple. By trying to be fair. Stop laughing.

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“What to call these?” tweeted @edmunds.com. “Dudemobiles? Guy Cars? Testosteroners?” And they linked to their scientifically prepared list of the cars with the most men as buyers. Not a list compiled by basement dwellers, but by Polk. The list reflects total purchases made in 2011. And we are counting down … Read More >

Even with gasoline prices reaching higher and higher, and natural gas prices at decade lows, consumers are doing as little as possible to adopt natural gas vehicles. As investment blog Seeking Alpha found out, the answer isn’t so complex.

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It must be the grand plan to make Iran walk or ride mules, because the alliance between GM and PSA is not about reducing over-capacity. This is what PSA told just-auto today. Confessed a PSA spokeswoman: Read More >

With membership down to a quarter of the union’s peak size in 1979, dues are not enough to pay the bills at the UAW. The UAW continues to tap into savings to pay for its day-to-day operations, Reuters says.   Read More >

Now we know why GM bought seven percent of PSA, a move for which most of the industry had no explanation. Forget overcapacity and scale effects. It was a carefully crafted plan to bring traffic in the Iran to a halt. Stuxnet is nothing compared to this. Read More >

If it weren’t for a Manhattan nightclub shooting in 1999, there’s a very good chance that it would be Cadillac, not Lincoln, that would be undertaking a costly showroom upgrade program, a brand “reboot” to shed a mushy identity and a hail-mary attempt at saving the ailing luxury division.

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New car sales in Japan rose 72 percent in March to 751,888 vehicles. Sales of registered vehicles climbed 78.2 percent to 497,959, says the Japan Automobile Dealers Association JADA. Sales of separately reported mini vehicles rose 60.5 percent to 253,929, as indicated by data of the Japan Mini Vehicles Association. Read More >

JD writes:

Dear TTAC,

I realize opinions are like…elbows. But right now I am looking for a hit to the ribs.

I am moving to Northern California, and intend to live up in the hills around Skyline Blvd. / Highway 280.

I am debt free on a 2006 Mitsubishi Montero Limited. It is such a fantastic sleeper of an SUV; as rugged as I need for weekend camping, rock climbing and/or surfing excursions, and also cleans up well for mid-week business meetings (I work from home, so only need to drive to the office or customer site a couple days per week).

The Monty is in great condition, with 75K miles on the odometer, and still worth approx. $15-20K. It is safe for my wife, infant, and possibly future brood. The Monty is a gorgeous ”carbon grey metallic” color, without the cheesy spoiler option. It’s a stellar SUV in the classic sense.

That stated, I have the itch to sell the Monty and use that cash to buy a slightly ”lesser” vehicle (in terms of value), as well as an enduro-type motorcycle; perhaps a used BMW F 800 GS. Read More >

Even though Fisker is enduring the kind of misfortune that Job would be hard pressed to shrug off, the newer, smaller Fisker, dubbed the Atlantic, got an early reveal thanks to a Czech auto site that leaked these early images.

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(Today’s guest post comes from Peter Dushenski. While most journalists love to brag about what kind of press cars they can get access to, Peter is here to share the story of how he got banned from from fleets. It’s one you won’t often hear. – DK)

“Also I must inform you that I will no longer be supplying you with Toyota or BMW vehicles.”

That was it.

That was the very last line in an e-mail I received last week from The Press Fleet Manager. No explanation followed. Not even a sign-off remark. No “Sincerely”, no “Regards”. No frivolity.

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50 years ago, the Shelby Cobra made its debut at the New York Auto Show, spawning a rich legacy of American motorsport success, and rampant kit car clones.  Read More >

In the alleged police state China, speeders are not hunted down by testosterone-driven cops. Hey get fined through the mail. A system the Chinese have copied from Europe. Some Chinese have taken to using a little camouflage. Read More >

More and more of the daily news we consume is not written by people, but by robots and spiders. The people at Motor Trend will be painfully aware of that fact when they come back to work on Monday. Today, MT reports that “General Motors is investigating complaints that XM radios installed in Chevrolet Volts do not pick up the satellite radio service’s Fox station.” Read More >

Chrysler most likely will announce record growth in  market share for March. No such luck for Chrysler’s owner FIAT. Again, Fiat’s Sergio Marchionne is getting in front of a horrible story in order to soften its inevitable blow. Sergio told Italy’s newswire AGI that “March will be a terrible year for the Italian market.” Read More >