argus automobile

Federal Taxpayers Bankrolling San Francisco Congestion Tax Push

Each time drivers across the country fill up at a gas station, a small portion of the final sale price is going to fund the planning and implementation of a new tax on motorists in San Francisco, California. Later today the San Francisco County Transportation Authority will hold the latest in a series of "community discussions" to market a federally funded congestion pricing proposal that would electronically track and charge motorists each time they enter the city's downtown area. "The potentia...

XM's Coolest Car Challenge kicks off its 2nd year

Together with Motor Trend and Automobile, XM has launched the second year of the Editors' Coolest Car Challenge: from Sixty-Four cars to One. The challenge invites car enthusiasts to test their automotive-acumen by choosing from 64 XM-equipped new vehicles against picks made by Motor Trend and Automobile Magazine editors in a basketball tournament-style bracket. The editorial team at Motor Trend and Automobile will select the winner of each head-to-head matchup, round by round, to determine the ...

Who We Were: A Snapshot History of America

It's been more than two years since Mike Williams and Rich Cahan of City Files Press initially approached me with the idea of doing a snapshot book so I'm very pleased to announce that the book is finally done and available for pre-order now (click here for a preview and ordering details). It goes to press early next week and barring any unforeseen problems we should have them in hand on August 15th and we'll begin shipping the next day. The book truly was a collaborative effort with Mike and R...

General Motors to Showcase Historic Motorama Vehicles

More than fifty years ago, General Motors' traveling Motorama showcased dramatic concept "Dream Cars" as interpretations of future automobile design. From 1949 through 1960, expressive vehicles including the Cadillac Lemans and Firebird I traveled the United States as a statement of General Motors design leadership.

"New Car Smell" Less Toxic, But The Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder Smells Funny For A Reason [Industry News]

A group that keeps tabs on toxic car chemicals has released a study showing that new cars are improving in terms of the amount of interior toxins they off-gas: What we euphemistically call "new car smell." General Motors, Mazda and Nissan showed the greatest improvements over the inaugural year of the survey, according to HealthyCar.com. The best performing vehicle this year was the Acura RDX, which scored a 0.6 on their incomprehensible 10-point scale. It wasn't all coming up roses, as there ar...

Real Democrats. Real Platform. Real Change.

(Proudly cross-posted at Clintonistas for Obama) How many of you attended your local Platform for Change event(s)? I did... As well as a reporter from my own local paper and several dozen local Democrats. Oh yes, and so did one of our terrific local Democrats running for Congress. But despite what you may think, there were no signs of "elitism" or "talking down". If anything, we were all contributing our thoughts and ideas to our final proposed platform that will be presented to the DNC. Want t...

Washington: Police May Not Arrest Car Passengers Based on Smell

The Washington state Supreme Court ruled last Thursday that police may not arrest all occupants of an automobile merely because it smells of marijuana. The case began on April 6, 2006 while Lacee Hurley was driving with passenger Jeremy Grande. State Trooper Brent Hanger knew both Hurley and Grande and decided to pull over their vehicle, claiming Hurley's window tinting was too dark. Hurley became angry and claimed harassment. Hanger responded by saying that he smelled marijuana and proceeded to...

US Automobile Buyers Want Advancements in Alternative Powertrain Technology: J.D. Power and Associates

Small Cars and Hybrids Lead the Automotive Environmental Index Top 30. Photo: Smart Fortwo View Larger Picture According to the J.D. Power and Associates 2008 Alternative Powertrain Study released today, while most automotive manufacturers have shifted production to focus on smaller vehicles, nearly 70 percent of consumers say they want manufacturers to invest more in existing and emerging powertrain technologies. Photo: Lexus RX Hybrid Now in its third year, the Alternative Powertrain Study exa...

L.A. attorney James Aguirre elected to State Bar Board of Governors

Attorney James Aguirre was elected to the State Bar Board of Governors, the Metropolitan News-Enterprise reported. Aguirre is the lead attorney at Richardson and Fair's Los Angeles office and house counsel to the Automobile Club of Southern California. He won...

Algae-Biodiesel Nears Commercial-Scale in New Mexico

Researchers at a facility in New Mexico have reached a significant milestone in their hopes of producing biodiesel from algae. This story from the Carlsbad (NM) Current Argus has details: The Center of Excellence for Hazardous Materials Management recently harvested commercial-scale quantities of algae from its test salt water ponds located at New Mexico State University Agriculture [...]