It's 'bailout talk' time again as a new study that was conducted by Thomas D. Hopkins, a Professor of Economics at Rochester Institute of Technology, for the 362,000-member strong National Taxpayers Union (NTU), finds that the American taxpayer will have put up $12,200 for every GM vehicle, and $7,600 for every Chrysler, sold from the beginning of 2009 to the end of 2010. Together, the taxpayer subsidy for Chrysler and GM, will theoretically exceed $10,700 per vehicle sold.

But that's only if, and we repeat if, the two companies fail before 2011 and don't repay their government loans. That's a big 'IF', if you ask us, but anyway.

Hopkins came out with these figures by making guesstimates on the 2009 and 2010 combined yearly sales of GM (5.06 million vehicles total) and Chrysler (2.3 million units total) and then dividing the numbers with the loans received by the two automakers, including GMAC's bailout money as the company now provides financing services to both GM and Chrysler. More in the jump!

The professor says that the result is a GM/GMAC bailout of $61.5 billion ($52.9+$8.6), and $17.4 billion ($13.5+$3.9) for Chrysler/GMAC, which amounts to $12,200 for GM and $7,600 for Chrysler on a per vehicle basis.

Hopkins does note however that for each year of survival beyond 2010 and as long as no additional government loans are provided, the taxpayer burden per vehicle would decline.

"Of course one could adopt a more optimistic set of assumptions, developing a scenario in which this rescue turns out so successfully that most (but certainly not all) of the taxpayers' investment ultimately is returned, perhaps indeed with some profit," says Hopkins. "In that event, most of the taxpayer burden would disappear."

"But the plausibility of such rosy assumptions is not easy to defend. For starters, some $6.4 billion of the bailout funds, in the form of loans to the former (now bankrupt) GM and Chrysler, are not legal obligations of the newly-structured GM and Chrysler," Hopkins added.

Pete Sepp, NTU Vice President for Policy and Communications, was even more aggressive in his commentary about the report:

"Every time someone in your neighborhood drives home in a shiny new Chevy Silverado, remember that it cost American taxpayers more than $12,000," said Pete Sepp.

"Between this and GM's plan to payback their bailout debt with other taxpayer funds, I wonder if all those Americans without work right now could think of any better ways to spend that money. This is a play out of the Bernie Madoff ponzi scheme playbook, and would be the equivalent of paying your Master Card bill with your Visa."

Leaving aside the fact that the 'taxpayer burden' per vehicle is based on the assumption that neither company will pay back any loans and that they will both fail by 2011, the report also does not take into consideration any other factors whatsoever including the cost for taxpayers if both companies went bankrupt leaving tens of thousands of workers directly and indirectly employed by GM and Chrysler without a job.

Source: CarScoop

Well, we suppose that in a country where supercars and ultra luxurious sedans and SUVs of all sorts are as common as Fords and Chevys here in the States, it's only fit for the UAE's police forces to patrol the roads and highways of the capital city of Abu Dhabi in a Nissan GT-R. Albeit less extreme that Italy's Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 Polizia, a 485-horsepower GT-R in full police livery is an extremely rare sight whichever way you see it.

Source: CarScoop

Here's the list! Full read at the source!

Large cars
Buick LaCrosse
Ford Taurus
Lincoln MKS
Volvo S80

Midsize cars
Audi A3
Chevrolet Malibu (built after Oct. 2009)
Chrysler Sebring 4-door (with optional ESC)
Dodge Avenger (with optional ESC)
Mercedes C-Class
Subaru Legacy
Subaru Outback
Volkswagen Jetta sedan
Volkswagen Passat sedan
Volvo C30

Small cars
Honda Civic 4-door (with optional ESC, except Si)
Kia Soul
Nissan Cube
Subaru Impreza (except WRX)
Volkswagen Golf 4-door

Midsize SUVs
Dodge Journey
Subaru Tribeca
Volvo XC60
Volvo XC90

Small SUVs
Honda Element
Jeep Patriot (with optional side thorax airbags)
Subaru Forester
Volkswagen Tiguan

Source: AOL

Mechanics were supposed to be fixing a leaky radiator, but when the owner of a £30,000 Vauxhall Monaro car collected it from the local garage, he discovered it had been taken on a joyride at speeds of 125mph

The owner of the car, who doesn't want to be named, had installed a Roadhawk black-box recorder three months earlier.

When he left his car for repair at the garage in Redditch, there was a quarter of a tank of petrol left. When he collected it, he noticed the tank was empty.

"I looked at the video from the Roadhawk and was completely stunned. They had taken it out for a spin on the A435 at 120mph.

"When I confronted the garage they denied it. Then I told them I had the video and they admitted everything and apologised."

The Roadhawk device records video, GPS data and g-forces for every journey.

Video captured during the incident, which has been posted on YouTube, shows the driver overtaking cars and lorries on the A435 Alcester Road between Redditch to Portway.

The vehicle speeds past a garage at 100mph, before hitting a narrow slip-road at 90mph and continuing through country lanes.

The owner said: "The outside of that lane is marked off and lorries sometimes park up there. If you go wide on that corner at that speed you could easily slam into the back of one."

The 5.7 litre Vauxhall Monaro has a top-speed of 170mph and won Top Gear's best Muscle Car award. West Mercia police confirmed they are investigating the incident. The owner of the garage said he had seen the video but refused to comment.

Two armored Secret Service vehicles, a Chevrolet Suburban and a limousine that belong to Vice President Biden's fleet, hit and killed a pedestrian just over the D.C. border in Maryland. The accident happened in the early hours of Wednesday morning as the vehicles were being returned from Andrews Air Force Base to a secure storage location. No dignitaries were on board.

The man was crossing at an intersection on Maryland's Suitland Parkway under rainy conditions at 2:27 a.m., the Washington Post reported.

The limousine and Suburban had been used on the vice president's visit to Fort Lewis in Washington State, where he attended and spoke at a memorial service for seven soldiers based there who were killed in Afghanistan. Following the service, as is customary, the vehicles were flown back to Andrews. The vehicles are both armored and therefore must be driven by specially trained employees who have taken a "protective operator's driving course," the Post reported. The paper quoted Secret Service spokesman as saying the armor protection makes them "tricker to handle than ordinary vehicles."

U.S. Park Police are currently investigating the accident.

Source: InsideLine

British supercar make Keating has announced that its Keating TKR has become the fastest production car in the world (unofficially). The car, which made its debut at this year’s MPH Show featuring Top Gear Live at London’s Earls Court, is capable of hitting a top speed of 260.1 mph – that’s 3 mph more than the existing title holder, the Shelby Aero TT. It also beats the Bugatti Veyron by 7 mph.

Power for Keating TKR comes from a 7.0L engine that is capable of producing 1,800-hp. Other technical details will be made available at a later date.

The top speed record was done at the Salt Lake Flats in California last month. Keating must hit 260.1 mph once again for the Guinness Book of World Records to make it official.

Last we heard, Shelby Supercars said that its 2009 Ultimate Aero is gunning for a world-record speeds of 270 mph, topping its current record of 257 mph. Seems like they have some competition from Keating.

Source; eGMCarTech

Introducing the AutoExec WM-01 Wheelmate Steering Wheel Desk Tray - Gray - , featured in our Other Vehicle Parts department. This product generally ships within 2 business day(s) from Pinellas Park, Florida, and weighs 2 pound(s). Attaches to your steering wheel for easy access to a writing and drink storage surface. The Go Office Wheel Mate Steering Wheel Desk is flat for writing and perfect for lunch or a snack. This Go Office Wheel Mate Steering Wheel Desk stores neatly in your car when used with the larger Auto Exec Laptop Car Desk. For safety reasons, never use this product while driving. Easily convert your car into your personal automobile office with the Wheel Mate car desk by MobileOffice.

Enjoy the pictures and reviews in the link!

Source: Amazon

The U. S. Patent and Trademark Office this week approved a new winged logo for the Chrysler brand, according to the Detroit Free Press.

As reported last month by Allpar.com, Chrysler appears to be preparing to tweak the winged badge that has branded its cars since the mid 1990s. The new logo keeps the wings, albeit a streamlined version of them, and centers the word "Chrysler" between the spans, resting in a field of blue.

Chrysler and Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne will unveil his 5-year plan for Chrysler today during a day-long press event. It is unclear whether he will confirm Chrysler's new badge -- or whether there will be any changes to the corporate pentastar.

Source: Automotive News

When asked by AutoWeek about the game's budget, Gran Turismo creator Kazunori Yamauchi dropped this price tag: $60 million.

"There are other games that cost more," Yamauchi added. "Considering the size and scale of the game, I think it's probably a fairly small amount."

Other games that cost more? Games like Shenmue or Grand Theft Auto IV?

With Polyphony Digital's know-how and expertise, the game probably cost less that it could have considering the lengthy development cycle. But then again, GT5 is apparently 50 times more than the first Gran Turismo. We're not sure if that amount includes marketing and what not.

If Yamauchi and his team curbed the dev cycle and turned around the game in a more timely fashion, they could has brought down the game's budget even more. Not our money, though! Perhaps the inevitable GT6 won't take as long — or cost as much.

Source: Kotaku

Toyota has announced it is withdrawing from Formula 1 with immediate effect, becoming the third carmaker to quit the sport in less than 12 months.

Following months of rumours about the Japanese manufacturer’s future, the F1 team’s parent company the Toyota Motor Corporation revealed following a board meeting on Wednesday that it had taken the decision to pull out of the sport following eight seasons without a win.

In its statement announcing the move, Toyota said that while it had remained determined to compete in F1 in the face of the worldwide recession that started towards the end of last year, it had now revised its position with the F1 spend not fitting into its mid-term business plans.

“Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) announces it plans to withdraw from the FIA Formula One World Championship (F1) at the end of the 2009 season,” the Toyota statement said.

Source: ITV

Even though we know the winners, it's nice seeing the spread that was out there racing.

BMW has joined forces with carbonfibre specialist SGL Group to produce lightweight parts for its new MegaCity electric vehicle. MegaCity will take on Daimler's struggling Smart division with a range of affordable urban vehicles, in both two- and four-wheeled forms. Two plants will be built in North America and Germany to manufacture carbonfibre parts on a “large scale” for the first time.

"We will enter into a new dimension in the use of carbon-fiber reinforced plastics, both in terms of volume per car and in vehicle numbers," a BMW spokesman said.

The companies are said to be investing 230million euros ($500mil.) in total.

Source: AutoCar

Given Pontiac’s demise, it’s clear there won’t be any factory-baked Pontiac Trans-Am coming from General Motors. Enter the aftermarket, which has become suddenly eager to serve buyers wanting a new-school T/A. Indeed, joining the conversion kit offered by Phoenix is this Lingenfelter take on turning your brand-new Camaro SS into the modern Trans-Am of your dreams. The concept debuts in the metal at this year’s SEMA show in Las Vegas.

Of course, Chevy looks won’t do, so there’s a new front fascia, a shaker hood, revised rear quarter-panels, functional front fender vents, and an integrated decklid spoiler. New lighting front and rear as well as 20-inch honeycomb wheels complete the exterior transformation, while new blue woven-vinyl seats and a metal-turned instrument panel add retro feel to the inside. We have to admit, this thing really does resemble the 1970s original, and we like it.

Given the company’s penchant for pumping up horsepower, of course Lingenfelter would rework the engine, too. Under the striped hood—there’s no huge screaming chicken as of now—sits an aluminum 455-cubic-inch (7.5-liter) V-8 block with a lofty 11.5:1 compression ratio, ported-and-polished Lingenfelter heads from the Corvette Z06’s LS7, a forged crankshaft, and high-flow intake. The custom stainless-steel exhaust comes courtesy of Corsa. Power output is quoted at 655 hp and 610 lb-ft of torque, up significantly from the 426 hp of a stock manual Camaro SS. Also present are a new twin-disc clutch and flywheel assembly and tougher rear half-shafts to withstand the extra grunt. Handling alterations are limited to the addition of Nitto tires.

More photos at the source!

Source: Car and Driver

The 2010 Ford Taurus SHO made a guest appearance on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien last night. The comic host still owns and drives his beloved 1992 SHO, claiming it's the finest car ever built, so Ford invited him to Galpin Motors in Los Angeles to check out the new one. Amy Marentic from Ford is his tour guide and does a great job keeping up with the jokes, at one point refusing to massage Conan's neck where the multi-contoured massaging seats won't reach.

After trying out the new SHO, Conan shows Amy what's up with a tour of his own 1992 SHO – "The Beast" – that's parked right beside. We won't ruin all the laughs for you, suffice it to say that Ford got some sweet product placement in a skit that makes you chuckle more than it tries to sell you a car. Hit the jump for the video!



Source: AutoBlog