Hard to say what was cooler Saturday at the Still Saving Lives Car Show - a vintage ‘55 Chevy LAPD cruiser, a $1 million Ferrari Enzo or 100 other cherry sleds.

And it was hard to determine which bozo traffic behavior visitors deemed most unsafe.

“For me, it’s cell phones, (or) people shaving and putting on makeup,” said Los Angeles motor Officer Terry Turner of Valley Traffic Division. “With cell phones, drivers are not paying attention.”

The fifth annual show, presented by the Los Angeles Police Department and the Valley Traffic Advisory Council, drew more than 115 thumbs-up autos at Hansen Dam.

With its cars, live music, food booths and parachute car safety demonstrations, the Valley Traffic Advisory Council hoped to raise $20,000 for safety education.

And safety-conscious police and firefighters hoped to divulge the whys and wherefores of motoring safely.

“Seat belts and speeding - that’s No. 1,” said Los Angeles motor Officer Steve Carbajal. “Cars are now so fast and quiet, people feel comfortable exceeding the speed limit.”

For Los Angeles firefighter Greg Hoon, it’s drivers who fail to pull over to the curb during the approach of a screaming fire engine.

For at least one city Public Works street inspector, it is the condition of the roads themselves.

“Our city really needs to do a better job of maintaining all these potholes,” said Stuart Horwitz, an investigator with

Street Services. “And the freeways, too.”There’s a big chunk of concrete missing on the 405 near Burbank Boulevard that they haven’t fixed - it’s been four weeks.”

Whether it was getting cut off in traffic, seeing little use of left-turn signals, or encountering parents who let their kids play in the streets, people were peeved.

But when it came to some of the hottest iron in Los Angeles, they were all smiles.

“It’s the sweetest thing here,” said Horwitz, 61, of his immaculate ‘55 Bel Air LAPD cruiser with “PUL OVRR” plates, which he spent 1,500 hours restoring with his son, Dan. “This thing cranks, let me tell you.”

Then there was the blue-and-white ‘61 Chevy Impala with the faux knockoff hubs and air suspension that Efron Banuelos bought when he was 15.

“Every red light, you get pulled over, `Nice car, howdy doody,”‘ said Banuelos, 34, of San Fernando. “Makes you go home with a smile.”

Or the plastic red wagon towed by Rick Gerrity with his twin grandsons, Ethan and Rollin Gibson, bracing for speed.

“Give them the trophy,” joked Gerrity, 73, of Burbank. “It’s a ‘39 Ford convertible with a full race-car engine.”

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The alarms were sounding this week all around Mackinac Island during the Detroit Chamber of Commerce Leadership Conference.

We heard alarms about future energy needs while ignoring the exorbitant costs to consumers of the alternative fuel ideas being promoted and the plentiful energy supply that exists.

We heard alarms about the state’s health care costs and proposed future changes even while we enjoy the best medical care system on earth.

But the most serious alarm, which requires urgent attention, was sounded over the continuing inaction of state and local officials, a dereliction of duty that has led Detroit to the precipice of losing one of its most important events — the North American International Auto Show.

Executives of the Detroit Auto Dealers Association — who have built the auto show into a critical economic component of Metro Detroit — have, for the first time, begun discussing the possibility of abandoning their home base as the site of their highly desirable show.

For more than five years, officials have debated one plan or another, at proposed costs ranging from $90 million to $900 million, for a needed expansion of ancient Cobo Center, home of the auto show. The discussion has revealed a rare unanimity in Michigan, with widespread agreement over the expansion’s necessity, but widespread disagreement over the exact plan and financing of the project.

Meantime, the vultures have been circling.

As Detroit and Michigan have dawdled, other auto shows have been angling for advantage over the esteemed Detroit show and nibbling meat from its bones.

At the recent Beijing Auto Show this year, officials of the competing Chicago Auto Show “followed us around in meetings with manufacturers,” says Doug Fox, the senior co-chairman of the 2009 NAIAS.

“They (Chicago officials) told the Chineses manufacturers that we were putting them in the basement at Cobo while they were positioning them next to General Motors and the other major brands on the same floor,” Fox bemoaned.

And the competition to Detroit is gaining ground.

Detroit has seen the defection of manufacturers like Porsche from its show. It has seen the number of new car launches and major press announcements decline in recent years.

The Detroit auto dealer leadership is now openly discussing alternatives.

“The show is a commodity that can be traded,” Fox says.

Fox and his junior co-chair, Joe Serra, have introduced two bombshell possibilities in the absence of quick movement on a definitive Cobo plan by this fall.

Under the first plan, the Detroit auto dealers would take the NAIAS banner and, on a rotating basis, place it over the auto shows in other cities like Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York — which has already begun to bill its show as international.

Under the more severe, plan, the dealers would permanently sell its International Auto Show franchise to one of its competitors and reduce the Detroit show to a much smaller, regional event.

Serra, who says the Detroit area dealers’ goal remains “to stay in Detroit,” nevertheless warns that time for action is quickly expiring. His group’s understandable frustration is reaching a breaking point.

The dealers have watched while Michigan and Metro Detroit officials have bent over backwards, finding comity and resources to land occasional major sporting events like the Super Bowl, the Detroit Grand Prix and the Major League Baseball All-Star Game.

But these same politicos have been incapable of satisfying the needs of the area’s biggest regular draw in the NAIAS, which accounts for $600 million in annual economic activity, not to mention 16,000 jobs and $6 million in charitable contributions.

One would think that a state that quickly adopted a plan to hand out $140 million in cash incentives to the Hollywood movie industry would act with similar alacrity to develop a funding plan benefiting Detroit’s outmoded convention center and its most important client.

The Cobo project demands similar swift and immediate action.

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Iran Khodro Co. (IKC), Iran’s leading carmaker, is among the 27 world carmakers participating in Kiev’s Automotive Show 2008.

The company is showcasing its latest model of Samand, named Soren, in the exhibition, which is currently being held in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev.

Samand gets a new facelift under the name of Soren. The new model is equipped with the world’s latest technologies in the field, including an electronic warning system, the air bag with a host of other safety features, advanced safety belts with protection devices and telescopic steering wheels.

The safety equipment installed in Samand’s Soren model is expected to reduce lethal collision injuries by up to 25 percent.

At the event’s opening ceremony, the Islamic Republic’s ambassador to Ukraine visited Iran-made vehicles presented in the exhibition.

Given the high quality of Samand automobiles and their safety as well as their after-sale services, they have struck a chord with the Ukrainian drivers, IRIB News reported the IKC sales representative at the exhibition as saying.

The Kiev Automotive Show, which is to run from May 26 to June 1, has established itself firmly in the fair calendar of the region and is set to remain the most important fair for the Ukrainian market in the future.

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The NYC custom auto show kicked off this weekend at pier 94. It held host to about 4000 people you came to enjoy all its custom cars and performing acts. On-road, off-road and everything in between. Wheel Concepts Nation has truly perfected the auto show. From luxury to classics, tuned-out imports to monster trucks; bikes, exotics and donks…Their show proved today they have it all. Best of all, these aren’t concept cars but real vehicles owned and driven by some of the most devout automobile enthusiasts in the world! Here’s some photos from todays show. See all photos from todays show

Continued

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France’s Renault and Japan’s Nissan will sign a formal agreement next month for making their proposed small car in India, scheduled to be launched by 2011. According to sources close to the development, the yet-to-be-named ultra low-cost car — said to challenge the Tata Nano — would have most of the features of the concept car that was displayed at the Auto Expo in January and would be priced at $2,500 (slightly more than Rs 1 lakh), even in 2011.

On Monday, the three companies announced their intention to “develop, produce and market” the $2,500 car. Bajaj Auto managing director Rajiv Bajaj, Renault president and CEO Carlos Ghosn and Nissan said the JV will develop and market the car “at a wholesale price range starting from $2,500.” Bajaj will own 50% in the JV, while the rest would equally be held by Renault and Nissan.

The $2,500 tag will be ex-factory price, including excise and other levies, but excluding VAT, octroi, sales tax and local municipal tax. “The announced price will be effective till the car is actually launched in the market,” said Nissan spokesperson Simon Sproule. “The price has been decided keeping in view of the future changes in pricing of car material and other inputs. It will not include any of the taxes and costs outside the manufacturing plant that will be borne by the customers.”

According to sources, the car will be manufactured at a plant to be built at Chakan near Pune. Here, Bajaj owns 250 acres of land, close to its motorcycle plant.

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On April 27th, 2008, automotive enthusiasts from across Southern California converged on Pierce College in Woodland Hills for the Motor4Toys SWAT Support Charity Car Show organized by Dustin Troyan. The purpose of this show was to raise money for the families of Randal Simmons and James Veenstra, LAPD SWAT officers who were killed and injured in a standoff in February.

 

Organized through Drivenworld.com, a motorsports enthusiasts’ forum, petrol-heads of all kinds were rallied to help raise money for this very worth cause. Everything from restored and original classics to exotic cars, hotrods to luxury cars, racecars to low-riders, muscle cars to import cars were present for the day’s events. The show kicked off with a 6 mile memorial cruise escorted by full police motorcade. With over 700 cars participating, the cruise was definitely an unforgettable experience. After all the cars returned to the parking lot, it was time to enjoy the beautiful and eclectic assortment of cars present. The culmination of the show was a live auction with everything from free oil changes to $1500 collections of Patron Tequila. Dustin and his Motor4Toys Foundation successfully brought in over $46,000 in just four hours, with 100% of the money brought in going straight to the families of the officers.

When I asked Dustin what his plans were for the next show, he told me that his “focus is now on the 5th Annual Motor4toys Charity Car Show. We have doubled the attendees every year and more than doubled the toy count too. For this year’s event, I want to have 10,000 cars and to collect 30,000 toys. We are changing the location and the program this year. We will have vendors, displays, and an amazing location.” Dustin says that if it wasn’t for the remarkable car community we have here in Southern California, none of this would be possible. “They make all of the Motor4Toys events happen. In my mind, each and every one of them are heroes.” Stay tuned to Drivenworld.com for more updates on upcoming charity shows.

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Reed is relaunching Abu Dhabi International Motor Show (ADIMS) as commercial vehicle sales are set to cross 23 million by 2010.

The event will take place at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (Adnec) from December 17 to 21 2008, the organisers said.

“Abu Dhabi is a natural choice for an automobile show as it is the richest of the oil-laden emirates, has a large expatriate population and is effectively transforming itself into a global tourist destination,” said Reed Exhibitions Middle East president Frederic Theux.

“The regional automobile industry is growing thanks to the economic, technology, prices and competition while the global market for commercial vehicles is expected to cross 23.2 million units by 2010,” said Theux.

The fastest growth, in terms of both sales and production, of vehicles is expected from the developing economies of Asia-Pacific and Latin America.

“The automobile industry in the Middle East is buoyant and is boosted by an open trade environment, the region’s tax policies towards automobile sector and ready availability of consumer finance have also has spurred the industry’s growth prospects,” said Theux.

Theux said Abu Dhabi’s diversification of its economy and ongoing expansion has attracted people from far-flung corners of the world, settling to live and work, enjoying first-class shopping, elegant hotels and a unique culture in Abu Dhabi.

Forbes magazine, in March 2007, named Abu Dhabi as the world’s richest city. Responsible for more than 90 per cent of the UAE’s oil production, Abu Dhabi possesses the fourth largest oil reserves in the world.

According to media reports, Abu Dhabi has an investment fund exceeding $800 billion with more than $140 billion in government and privately-funded development projects currently underway in Abu Dhabi.

Launched over 20 years ago, ADIMS is one of the oldest automobile exhibitions in the Middle East. With a completely new management, a new state of-the art venue and a new brand identity, the 2008 exhibition is slated to be the largest and most comprehensive motor show in the Middle East this year.

Meanwhile Emirates Auctions has pledged its support for the Abu Dhabi Auto Show by announcing an auction of cars and license plates, part of the proceeds of which will go to charity.

“After the stupendous success of our auctions including the one in Abu Dhabi where we sold a number plate for $14 million, we will be conducting an auction at the Abu Dhabi Motor Show,” promised, Emirates Auctions Company CEO Abdulla Al Mannai.

ADIMS - a biennial event - will showcase luxury cars, high performance supercars, custom cars, executive saloons, concept and hybrid cars, sports cars, off roaders and 4×4s, family cars and SUVs, motorcycles and quad bikes as well as commercial vehicles such as trucks and pickups, vans and mini buses, luxury coaches, limousines, trailers and campers, the organisers said.

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