(Source: Baltimore Sun, New York Times & Wired)

Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon smiles after test-driving a Maya 300 electric car outside the Maryland Science Center Tuesday, June 23, 2009 in Baltimore. ExxonMobil and Electrovaya, a manufacturer of electric car battery systems, announced an all-electric car-sharing program Tuesday in Baltimore. (AP Photo/ Steve Ruark -via Baltimore Sun)

The nation’s first all-electric car-sharing program debuted in Baltimore, Maryland this week. The nation’s first all-electric car-sharing program debuted Tuesday at the city’s Inner Harbor, with manufacturer Electrovaya hoping urban residents seeking to go green and curious tourists will take the concept for a spin.   Electrovaya Inc. is offering its Maya 300 for rent at the Maryland Science Center. The car can go up to 120 miles on one charge of its lithium-ion battery system, and it gets its juice from a regular 110-volt outlet.

The altcar car-sharing service has a fleet of 10 electric cars at the Maryland Science Center.  Ten cars will be available starting Wednesday through the new car-sharing Web site Altcar.org. A two-hour trip costs $29, with discounts for science center members. (Wired reports that the cars won’t be available to the public until Aug. 1). Signing up requires a $25 application fee to pay for the background check and a $50 membership fee.

Image Courtesy: AltCar.org

This rental program gives Baltimore residents and tourists the opportunity to rent a five-door, five- passenger Maya-300 at the Maryland Science Center and drive it around the city.  The car makes little noise, provides dashboard gauges for battery life and temperature, and offers other conveniences of gas-powered cars.  Electrovaya’s battery technology is made possible by ExxonMobil Corp.’s battery separator film. The film, with lithium-ion batteries, allows for the units to operate at higher temperatures with a reduced risk of meltdown.

“This is an example of what science centers do best,” said Van Reiner, president and CEO of the science center. “We are showcasing new technology, and that’s what makes us so excited.”

The manufacturer calls the fleet of emission-free cars a “game changer” in urban transportation alternatives. Electrovaya CEO Sankar Das Gupta said that’s because the vehicle has the look and feel of a four-door, gas-powered sedan and should appeal to consumers who want to reduce oil dependence.

Das Gupta said he hopes to ink deals with larger fleet operators to scale up production of the Maya 300, which is currently manufactured in Michigan. He hopes to begin selling the vehicle to the general public within a year for about $25,000 apiece.

“Ultimately, in order to drop the price of electric cars, you have to generate large volumes,” explained Das Gupta, who said the lithium-ion battery his company makes constitutes 40-50 percent of the Maya 300’s cost.

In addition to manufacturing and selling the Maya 300, Electrovaya would supply major automakers lithium-ion batteries — which move lithium between an anode and cathode when charging and discharging. Das Gupta declined to say with whom he is discussing such an arrangement.

The Maya 300’s debut came as President Obama and his advisers dished out $8 billion in loans to Ford Motor Co., Nissan Motor Co. and Tesla Inc through DOE grants. “We have an historic opportunity to help ensure that the next generation of fuel-efficient cars and trucks are made in America,” Obama said.

More than 50 million new vehicles hit the world’s roads each year, and President Obama has set a goal of 1 million electric vehicles on U.S. roads by 2015.

Electrovaya’s Das Gupta is bullish on America’s — and the world’s — ability to achieve the Obama’s goal.

“We expect that within the next few years, one third of these vehicles will be electric,” he said.

Click here to read the entire article.

(Source: GAO)

The Highway Account within the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) is the principal means for funding federal highway programs. Administered by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) within the Department of Transportation (DOT), it channels about $33 billion in highway user excise taxes annually to states for highway and related spending.

Estimated outlays from the Highway Account under the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act—A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) exceeded estimated receipts throughout the authorization period—fiscal years 2005 through 2009. Furthermore, actual account receipts were lower than had been estimated and the account balance dropped more rapidly than anticipated, approaching zero in August, 2008. Congress subsequently approved legislation in September 2008 to appropriate $8 billion from the General Fund of the Treasury to replenish the account. Agency officials anticipate the account will reach a critical stage again before the end of fiscal year 2009, and estimate that about $15 billion will be needed to ensure account solvency through the end of fiscal year 2010.

This report summarizes GAO’s past work on:

• The collection and distribution process for the Highway Account of the HTF,
• Options for improving long-term sustainability of the HTF, and
• Mechanisms to help manage Highway Account solvency.

Image Courtesy: GAO

The collection and distribution of funds through the Highway Account is a complex process. Collection involves Treasury receiving excise taxes from business entities, estimating how much should be allocated to the Highway Account, and adjusting the estimated allocation several months later after actual tax receipts are certified. Distribution begins with a multi-year authorization act that provides contract authority and establishes annual funding levels.

DOT apportions the contract authority to the states and divides the funding level among federal highway programs and states. DOT then obligates funds for projects and reimburses states as projects are completed. Improving long-term sustainability is one of GAO’s key principles for restructuring existing transportation programs, and GAO has reported on options for improving sustainability:

• Improve the efficiency of current facilities,
• Alter existing sources of revenue,
• Ensure users are paying fully for benefits, and
• Supplement existing revenue sources, such as through enhanced private-sector participation.

Each of these options has different merits and challenges, and will likely involve trade-offs among different policy goals. Improving existing mechanisms intended to help maintain Highway Account solvency could help DOT better manage the account balance. For example, statutory mechanisms designed to make annual adjustments to the Highway Account have been so modified over time–particularly through changes in SAFETEA-LU–that they either are no longer relevant or are limited in effectiveness. Furthermore, monitoring indicators that could signal sudden changes in revenues could help DOT better anticipate changes in the account balance and communicate with stakeholders on the account’s status.

DOT is acting on recommendations GAO made in February, 2009 to help improve solvency mechanisms and communication with stakeholders.

Click here to download the entire report.

(Source: Jalopnik & Oregon Live, Car and Driver & CNBC)

If you use a cell phone, chances are you’re aware of “text messaging”—brief messages limited to 160 characters that can be sent or received on all modern mobile phones.  Texting, also known as SMS (for short message service), is on the rise, up from 9.8 billion messages a month in December ’05 to 110.4 billion in December ’08. Undoubtedly, more than a few of those messages are being sent by people driving cars. Is texting while driving a dangerous idea?

Image Courtesy: Jalopnik

The boys fromCarandDriver spent time determining just how bad it really is versus, say, drunk driving. Turns out drunk driving‘s safer. Here’s why.  Drivers distracted by texting are four times slower to brake to avoid a collision than those driving under the influence.  (The results in a nutshell:  Unimpaired: .54 seconds to brake; Legally drunk: add 4 feet; Reading e-mail: add 36 feet; Sending a text: add 70 feet.  If are somene who has a lot of time to spare, continue reading the test details and the explanation of the test results conducted in different scenarios.)

The testers wired a Racelogic VBOX III data logger to the test vehicle (in this case a Honda Pilot) to record vehicle speed via the VBOX’s GPS antenna and brake-pedal position and steering angle via the Pilot’s OBD II port. The testers then wired a red light to the windshield to play the role of brake lights from an imaginary car ahead of the Pilot. When the red light lit up, the driver’s supposed to hit the brakes.    Each trial, one with a younger test candidate (Jordan Brown) and using an iPhone, the other with old man (Eddie Alterman) and a Samsung Alias, would have the driver respond five times to the light, and the slowest reaction time — the time between activation of the light and driver hitting the brakes — was dropped.

Image Courtesy: Car & Driver

The results from the first test scenario involving the younger driver are as follows:

• The younger driver’s  baseline reaction time at 35 mph of 0.45 second worsened to 0.57 while reading a text, improved to 0.52 while writing a text, and returned almost to the baseline while impaired by alcohol, at 0.46. At 70 mph, his baseline reaction was 0.39 second, while the reading (0.50), texting (0.48), and drinking (0.50) numbers were similar. But the averages don’t tell the whole story.
• Looking at the younger driver’s slowest reaction time at 35 mph, he traveled an extra 21 feet (more than a car length) before hitting the brakes while reading and went 16 feet longer while texting. At 70 mph, a vehicle travels 103 feet every second, and older driver’s worst reaction time while reading at that speed put him about 30 feet (31 while typing) farther down the road versus 15 feet while drunk.

The results from the 2nd test scenario involving the older driver are as follows:

• While reading a text and driving at 35 mph, the older driver’s average baseline reaction time of 0.57 second nearly tripled, to 1.44 seconds. While texting, his response time was 1.36 seconds. These figures correspond to an extra 45 and 41 feet, respectively, before hitting the brakes. His reaction time after drinking averaged 0.64 second and, by comparison, added only seven feet.
• The results at 70 mph were similar:  The older response time while reading a text was 0.35 second longer than his base performance of 0.56 second, and writing a text added 0.68 second to his reaction time. But his intoxicated number increased only 0.04 second over the base score, to a total of 0.60 second.

Well, do you know what’s happening in the real world?  According to one industry study, still, 20 percent of drivers regularly send texts or e-mails on the road.  Governments at all levels (State, Local and Federal) are combating the texting meance with a legal and PR campaigns.  As of now, 14 states have banned driving while using handheld cell phones and a bunch of them are expected to join the bandwagon. in teh near future (Oregon is reportedly on the verge of enacting a ban).  Click here to watch a video of this story that appeared in this morning’s Today’s show.

(Source: Wired)

Image Courtesy: Wired

A company that provides communications systems to law enforcement agencies around the world has developed a black box similar to those used in aircraft to record crash data in cars.

The Smart Black Box by KCI Communications sticks to your windshield and uses a built-in camera, GPS unit and G-force shock sensor to document accidents. The info could come in handy when trying to determine fault or explain to your insurance company just what happened when you crunched your car.  KCI says the GPS unit will record the time and location of an accident and document your speed and direction of travel. The company says that could be useful when trying to prove that red light you ran was actually yellow or in cases where you dispute the reading on a cop’s radar.

The Smart Black Box costs about $300 and constantly records video footage on a loop as you drive. Should the shock sensor detect an accident, the device saves the 15 seconds prior to impact and the 5 seconds afterward. The footage is saved to a SD Card, like that found in your digital camera, making it accessible on a home computer.

Click here to read the entire article.

The Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITS America) is pleased to announce a series of Webinars focusing on how climate change can affect surface transportation.

• 
  “What Does Climate Change Legislation Mean for Surface Transportation?”  – Wednesday, July 8,  from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
• “How is California Addressing Surface Transportation Issues?” – Wednesday, July 15, from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
• “What is Detroit Doing to Alleviate Environmental Concerns in Surface Transportation?” –  Wednesday, July 22 from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

The registration fee for members of ITS America is $45 per Webinar (or $105 for the series) and $90 per Webinar for nonmembers or ($240 for the series).

To register, download the registration form here.

Do you know that over 90% of the world’s fatalities on the roads occur in low-income and middle-income countries, which have only 48% of the world’s registered vehicles?

Image Courtesy: World Health Organization

Approximately 1.3 million people die each year on the world’s roads, and between 20 and 50 million sustain non-fatal injuries. In most regions of the world this epidemic of road traffic injuries is still increasing. In the past five years most countries have endorsed the recommendations of the World report on road traffic injury prevention which give guidance on how countries can implement a comprehensive approach to improving road safety and reducing the death toll on their roads.

To date, however, there has been no global assessment of road safety that indicates the extent to which this approach is being implemented. This Global status report on road safety is  the first broad assessment of the status of road safety in 178 countries, using data drawn from a standardized survey conducted in 2008.

The results show that road traffic injuries remain an important public health problem, particularly for low-income and middle-income countries. Pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists make up almost half of those killed on the roads, highlighting the need for these road users to be given more attention in road safety programmes.

Image Courtesy: Apture

The results also suggest that in many countries road safety laws need to be made more comprehensive while enforcement should be strengthened. TheGlobal status report on road safety results clearly show that significantly more action is needed to make the world’s roads safer.

The results provide a benchmark that countries can use to assess their road safety position relative to other countries, while internationally the data presented can collectively be considered as a global “baseline” against which progress over time can be measured.  Here is a quick summary of key findings from WHO’s Director-General, Dr. Margaret Chan’s  statement during the June 15, 2009 release of the report in New York City:

• Over 90% of these deaths occur in low-income and middle-income countries, which have less than half of the world’s registered vehicles.
• Second, the report highlights that nearly half of those dying on the world’s roads are pedestrians, cyclists or motorcyclists. These people, who lack the protective shell of a car, are particularly vulnerable to severe and fatal injuries following a crash.  In some low-income and middle-income countries, this proportion is even higher, with up to 80% of road traffic deaths among these vulnerable groups. Clearly we are not giving enough attention to the needs of pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists, many of whom end up in clinics and emergency rooms, overloading already stretched health-care systems.
• Third, the report shows that, in many countries, the laws needed to protect people are either not in place or too limited in their scope. Indeed, only 15% of countries have comprehensive laws on all the risk factors we measured. And even when legislation is adequate, most countries report that enforcement is low.  The development and effective enforcement of legislation are key ways to reduce drink-driving and excessive speed, and to increase the use of helmets, seat-belts and child restraints.
• Finally, the report demonstrates that in many countries information about road traffic injuries is scarce. To set priorities and target and evaluate their actions, countries need to know the size of the problem, and additional information such as which groups are most affected.

Click here to access the PDF report.

(Source: Wall Street Journal, Detroit Free Press,  Reuters, Autoblog, JDPower.com)

* Ford, Chevrolet close in on Toyota brand

* Lexus, Porsche rank No. 1 and No. 2 for new car quality

* BMW’s Mini ranks last in J.D. Power survey

New vehicles sold by Chrysler, Ford and GM’s domestic brands have improved in initial quality by an average of 10% compared with 2008, but Toyota Motor Corp. was the star of this year’s study on initial quality from J.D. Power and Associates.

The study was released today at an Automotive Press Association luncheon at the Detroit Athletic Club.

Image Courtesy: J.D Power and Associates via Autoblog

Toyota’s Lexus brand ranked first among all nameplates with 84 problems per 100 vehicles. Toyota also captured 10 segment awards — more than any other corporation in the 2009 study.

Luxury brands captured the top three spots, while Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota were in what amounted to a statistical dead heat further down in the rankings, the survey by J.D. Power and Associates found.

“Have the leading domestic nameplates caught up with Toyota? The answer is almost,” Dave Sargent, vice president for auto research at J.D. Power, told reporters at a briefing in Detroit. The quality gap between the foreign imports and the Detroit auto makers is now the smallest it has ever been, David Sargent, JD Power’s vice president of automotive research, said during a speech at the Automotive Press Association in Detroit. The domestics lagged behind the foreign auto makers by just six points.

The 2009 Initial Quality Study (IQS) provides information gathered from over 80,000 purchasers and lessees of 2009 model-year vehicles. Performance is measured using a “problems per 100 vehicles (PP100)” metric. A lower PP100 score indicates better performance and a higher PP100 score indicates worse performance. The 2009 study covers a total of 228 total problems, and organizes them into the following eight categories:

• Exterior
• The Driving Experience
• Features/Controls/Displays
• Audio/Entertainment/Navigation
• Seats
• HVAC, or Climate Controls
• Interior
• Engine/Transmission

The highlights of the 2009 IQS study (courtesy of J.D. Power & Associates):

• Overall, the industry average for initial quality is 108 problems per 100 vehicles (PP100) in 2009, down from 118 PP100 in 2008. Initial quality for domestic brands has improved to an average of 112 PP100 in 2009 from 124 PP100 in 2008, while import brands have improved to an average of 106 PP100 in 2009 from 114 PP100 in 2008.
• Lexus leads the overall nameplate rankings, averaging 84 PP100. This is the 12th time Lexus has been the highest-ranked brand in the 20 years it has been included in the IQS and the first time since 2005.
• Following in the rankings are Porsche, Cadillac (which moves from 10th rank position in 2008 to third in 2009),Hyundai (improves from 13th rank position in 2008 to fourth in 2009) and Honda, rounding out the top five.
• Toyota Motor Corporation captures 10 segment awards—more than any other automaker in the 2009 study—including five for Lexus, four for Toyota and one forScion. Lexus receives awards for the IS, GS, GX, LSand LX models. The Lexus LX has the fewest quality problems in the industry, with just 52 PP100. Toyota models receiving awards in their respective segments are the 4Runner (in a tie); Sienna; Tundra (in a tie); andYaris.
• Ford receives three awards for the Edge (in a tie); F-150 (in a tie); and Mustang. Garnering two awards each are Nissan (Altima and Z); and Honda (CR-V, in a tie, and Ridgeline).
• Also receiving segment awards are: Chevrolet TrailBlazer (in a tie), Chrysler PT Cruiser (in a tie), GMC Yukon, Hyundai Elantra Sedan, Mercury Sable and Scion tC.
• Suzuki is the most-improved nameplate in the industry this year. A reduction of 49 PP100 moves the Japanese brand from 32nd place in 2008 to ninth place this year. Suzuki is also the most improved nameplate for both Defects/Malfunctions and Design-related problems. Also, Saturn improves by 37 PP100 and Jeep by 30 PP100.
• The Toyota Motor Corporation assembly plant in Higashi-Fuji, Japan, receives the Platinum Plant Quality Award for producing vehicles yielding the fewest defects and malfunctions. Averaging just 29 PP100, the plant produces the Lexus SC 430 and Toyota Corolla. (Plant awards are based solely on average levels of defects and malfunctions and exclude design-related problems.)
• Among North and South American plants, the Honda plant in East Liberty, Ohio, which produces the Civic Sedan, CR-V and Element, achieves the Gold Plant Quality Award.
• In the Europe and Africa region, Daimler’s East London, South Africa, plant, which produces the Mercedes-Benz C-Class, receives the Gold Plant Quality Award.

The results underscored the competitive pressure on the industry at a time when U.S. sales have been driven to 30-year lows and both GM and Chrysler have been forced to rely on federal financing to restructure through bankruptcy.

U.S. automakers have spent heavily in recent years in a bid to close the gap with the Japanese automakers led by Toyota and Honda, which have established a reputation for eliminating flaws from engineering and manufacturing.

This year, GM’s Cadillac brand is the highest ranked domestic nameplate with 91 problems per 100 vehicles. Cadillac is ranked third and moved up from 10th last year.

Ford Motor Co. received the second most segment awards of any automaker with top rankings for its redesigned F-150 pickup, Ford Mustang mid-size sports car, Ford Edge crossover and Mercury Sable full-size sedan.

Brands that do well — typically luxury cars top the list — can use the results to bolster advertising campaigns. The vehicles were evaluated between November through February. “High quality enhances an auto maker’s reputation for reliability which is a critical purchase consideration for many consumers,” Mr. Sargent said.

Boosted by a strong reception for its high-end Genesis sedan, Hyundai Motor Co (005380.KS) pushed ahead of both Toyota and Honda Motor Co (7267.T) to become the top-ranked mass-market auto brand and No. 4 overall.

Honda ranked No. 5, followed by Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, Ford and GM’s Chevrolet.

Click here to read the entire 2009 Initial Quality Study Results.

(Source: Grist.org via T4America)

Image Courtesy: Photo illustration by Tom Twigg/Grist

You’ve heard all the reasons before: We drive too much. We eat too much meat and processed food. We spend too much time with plugged-in devices—computers, TVs, air conditioners.

But what problem are we talking about—climate change, or the worldwide rise in obesity?

Both, according to Globesity: A Planet Out of Control?, a book by four public-health researchers who show how climate change and obesity draw from a shared web of roots. Both problems worsen as car culture spreads, desk jobs replace manual jobs, and carbon-intensive foods (including meat) become available to more and more eaters, according to the book, published first in French and this spring in English.

The two issues spread across the planet in similar ways. Those paying attention to climate change know the planet can’t afford for the developing world to emit carbon dioxide at the same levels as the industrialized world. Public-health workers, too, foresee enormous trouble if developing countries adopt the worst dietary and lifestyle habits of rich countries. That shift is well underway, according to Michelle Holdsworth, Globesity’s lead author and a nutritionist with the World Health Organization (WHO) in Montpellier, France.

Rates of obesity—defined by the WHO as a body mass index of 30 or higher—are now higher in Germany, Finland, and the Czech Republic than in the U.S., according to data from the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF). The same is true in some Mediterranean countries famed for their healthy diets: Greece, Egypt, and Cyprus. Traditional olive oil-centric diets have become too high in fat for populations that are less active than they used to be, said Holdsworth. And traditional diets are losing ground.

(Source:  New York Times – Wheels Blog)

There has been a lot of talk this year about American cars. Bailout money has gone to companies with the goal of preserving the jobs of Americans who make American cars. Legislators have debated cash-for-clunker bills that would provide incentives for buying new American cars. Foreign investments have been scrutinized to see whether they would further the goal of producing more American cars.

So what’s an American car?

In today’s economy, propped up by global investments and free-trade zones, it isn’t so easy to tell. As Cheryl Jensen points out in her introduction to ournew interactive resource detailing where cars and trucks are made in North America, “Which is the more American product, a Honda Accord built by Ohioans for a company with its headquarters in Japan, or a Ford Fusion built in Mexico for a corporation that is based in Michigan?”

Indeed, under the North American Free Trade Agreement, vehicles built in Canada and Mexico can be considered “domestic.” So don’t tell your flag-waving super-patriot neighbor that his Chevy Impala, the one with the “Buy American” bumper sticker, came from Ontario.

To help cut through some of this confusion, we’ve put together an interactive map that lists every model built in the United States (with separate lists for Canada and Mexico). If you click the model name, you’ll see where it was assembled, whether that plant is unionized and whether the engines and transmissions are from the U.S. as well.

This information, gathered by Ms. Jensen, is up to date as of this weekend, but will of course be changing as automakers like G.M. close more plants, eliminate some models and shift production around. The Times will work to keep this resource up to date in the coming months.

If you’ve ever wondered where that car came from, now you can know.

Click here to read the entire article.

(Source: Autoblog, Washington Post,  Detroit Free Press, AFP via Google)

Image Courtesy: Jalopnik

Clears Senate

After narrowly surviving an attempt by Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H. to strip it from a war-spending bill, the Cash for Clunkers program passed the Senate yesterday evening. Well, the $106 billion war-spending bill passed the Senate on a 91-5 vote, but the $1 billion scrapping program earlier survived Sen. Gregg’s attempt to have it removed and thus passed, as well. Now the bill makes its way to President Obama, who is expected to sign the bill into law, after which the U.S. Transportation Department reportedly has one month to figure out how the Cash for Clunkers program will be run. Since Congress reduced funding for the program from $4 billion to just $1 billion, it’s expected that the money will run out long before the program is scheduled to end on November 1.

“We are gratified that the Congress delivered on this administration priority, and President Obama looks forward to signing it into law,” according to an administration statement.

Details, Details, Details,

Vehicles purchased after July 1 will be eligible for the refund vouchers worth as much as $4,500 to turn in gas guzzlers and buy new cars that are more fuel efficient.

The agency in charge of administering the program, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, will work out all the details within 30 days of enactment, according to Rae Tyson, spokesman for NHTSA.

Congress predicts this will result in the sale of about 250,000 new vehicles. The funding is good only until Nov. 1 and could run out before that. In that case, the voucher pro gram — unless Congress ap propriates more — would end.

Consumers would be able to start using the vouchers as soon as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration finalizes the rules — a process that must conclude within 30 days of the president’s approval.

Under the program, trade-in vehicles, 1984 models or newer, must have average fuel economy of no more than 18 miles per gallon. And the new car or truck must get better gas mileage than the one that was scrapped.

The payoff grows depending on the difference in the fuel efficiencies of the old and new cars. For instance, a new car getting at least 4 more miles per gallon than the old car will be eligible for a $3,500 voucher. A new car getting at least 10 more miles per gallon would get a $4,500 voucher.

To guarantee vehicles are actually roadworthy — and not just sitting on cinder blocks — trade-ins must be registered and insured to the same owner for at least a year.

Kudos & Pats in the Backs

Image Courtesy: Apture

Cash for clunkers proponents in Congress said the subsidies will spur sales.”The simple fact is that we need to get Americans into car showrooms and this is the bill that will do it,” said Rep. Candice Miller, R-Mich., in a statement.

Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., said the program will boost jobs in auto states. “This program will provide an economic stimulus at a time when hardworking families need it most,” Stabenow said in a statement.

GM said it had decided to keep 60 of the more than 1,000 dealers with whom it had sought to terminate agreements. The reversals were made after the automaker corrected financial information that was used to evaluate which stores to keep.  Dealers applauded the Senate’s action yesterday, and some got additional good news.  John McEleney, chairman of the National Automobile Dealers Association, hailed the measure, saying it “will boost consumer confidence, get the economy going again and reduce our dependence on foreign oil. Congress is giving consumers a strong incentive to replace their older vehicles with new, more fuel efficient cars and trucks.”

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said “The program is an important step forward for America. “It provides incentives for consumers to buy new, more fuel-efficient cars and trucks, providing a boost to the auto industry and protecting jobs, while limiting fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions.”

The legislation comes with number-one US automaker General Motors in bankruptcy and Chrysler emerging from court protection under a government-backed alliance with Italy’s Fiat in the face of plunging auto sales.

Cash for Clunkers Update from Europe (Channel 4 via Autobloggreen)

Several other countries, such as China and Italy, have offered similar trade-in vouchers. And lawmakers point to the success of Germany’s program as indication that vouchers can turn dismal auto sales around.  At the end of the program’s first month, sales in Germany were up 21 percent from a year before. During the same period, U.S. sales slumped 41 percent. Now,  a leading provider of automotive data and intelligence says the European motor industry is showing signs of recovery following the introduction of scrappage schemes on the continent.  According to a new study by Jato Dynamics, the European automotive market may be rebounding ever so slightly from its alarming lows of early 2009.

Though new car purchases are down by just over 13 percent year-on-year, there was actually a mild 2.4 percent improvement in May over April. The German market is now 39.7% up on May 2008 – a 20.3% improvement over last month’s figures. France, meanwhile, is up 11.8% over the figures for April.  “If Germany provides a template for the other markets where scrappage schemes have been introduced, we may be at the very beginning of a period of recovery in Europe. It’s far too early to know what the sustained effects of the incentives will be, but at a time when the industry needs to see some rays of hope, it’s encouraging to witness some improvement ” says David Di Girolamo, Head of Jato Consult. Interestingly, small, fuel efficient hatchbacks are performing better than the rest of the market, which is thought to be due to the various scrapping schemes in Europe.

The US market has steadied somewhat from lows earlier this year but the sales pace in May remained 33.7 percent below that of one year ago.  Let’s hope the American consumers will follow their European counterparts in boosting the vehicle market> Eeven if it is only a liitle, the market can use any push to build its recovery.