http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/suv/ en-us Thu, 17 Jul 2008 13:55:00 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2046887/posts Disinformation Age OPEC lies, the SUV dies. By Clifford D. May The folks over at OPEC, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, must think we’re pretty stupid. The other day, Chakib Khelil, the current OPEC president, asserted that “the intrusion of bioethanol on the market” is responsible for 40 percent of recent increases in the price of oil. Now how exactly would that work? How does growing sugarcane in Brazil or corn in Iowa push up the price of oil sucked from holes in the ground in Saudi Arabia, Iran and Venezuela? If we roasted the corn and put the... NRO http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2046887/posts#comment Thu, 17 Jul 2008 13:55:00 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2038439/posts Having their S.U.V.'s and converting them, too by Fara Warner New York Times, 4/11/04 ------------------------------ KEVIN RICHARDSON, who at 32 is the oldest member of the Backstreet Boys, took delivery last week of his 2004 GMC Yukon sport utility vehicle. He raves about its "F.B.I. look" - all black and chromeless, with lacquered wheel rims - and the 5.3-liter V-8 engine that puts close to 300 horsepower under the hood. And he dreams of ordering a customized license plate for this, his perfect Hollywood ride. It would read "CLEAN." That may sound as contradictory as Mr. Richardson himself - an... csl productions (orig NY Slimes) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2038439/posts#comment Mon, 30 Jun 2008 05:08:13 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2034303/posts Allow me to show you a couple of mental snapshots. First imagine a picture of a family in a modern SUV. Mom and dad up front with three kids in the back, safely secured with their seat belts on. That’s snapshot number one. Now, imagine two men dressed in tuxedos embracing and kissing at their wedding ceremony. Both are wearing flowers in their lapels and a beaming clergyman is standing behind them having just pronounced them “husband and husband.” That’s snapshot number two. Now, hold these pictures in front of you and ask yourself this question: Which of these represents... Townhall.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2034303/posts#comment Sat, 21 Jun 2008 12:53:37 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2033358/posts To slow its production of pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles, the Toyota plant in Princeton, Ind., is letting employees decide if they will come to work on six days between now and August. The company announced today that it would refrain from producing the Tundra pickup truck and Sequoia SUV at the Princeton plant on six days before the end of August. Both vehicles are made in the west side of Toyota's factory in Princeton. The "nonproduction days" will affect about half of the 4,500 employees at the plant. The other half works in the east side of the... Evansville Courier Press http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2033358/posts#comment Thu, 19 Jun 2008 15:28:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2031839/posts Johnathan Goodwin can get 100 mpg out of a Lincoln Continental, cut emissions by 80%, and double the horsepower. Does the car business have the guts to follow him? “Check it out. It's actually a jet engine," says Johnathan Goodwin, with a low whistle. "This thing is gonna be even cooler than I thought." We're hunched on the floor of Goodwin's gleaming workshop in Wichita, Kansas, surrounded by the shards of a wooden packing crate. Inside the wreckage sits his latest toy--a 1985-issue turbine engine originally designed for the military. It can spin at a blistering 60,000 rpm and... www.fastcompany.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2031839/posts#comment Mon, 16 Jun 2008 17:04:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2031013/posts Last April 9th, at Dugway Proving Ground in Utah, two soldiers were driving a rented SUV about five kilometers from the part of the range used for live firing. It was at night, and an F-16 that thought it was firing at something in the live fire area, lit up the SUV instead. Only 70 20mm rounds were fired. Fortunately, the two people in the SUV were only injured (both from flying glass, the passenger got a dislocated shoulder as he rapidly exited the vehicle when it quickly turned off the road and stopped.) The investigation of how this happen... Strategy Page http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2031013/posts#comment Sat, 14 Jun 2008 12:02:10 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2026847/posts With gas at $4 a gallon, there's a lot of pain at the pumps. And a lot of people looking to trade in their gas-guzzling SUV for a fuel efficient hybrid. No wonder automakers report that sales of these vehicles are in freefall. GM just shuttered four plants that make them. But even in this economy, trading in your SUV for a hybrid may not make the best financial sense. You may be better off keeping the vehicle, taking the pain – and just driving less. Or looking for a cheaper alternative car. Look at the numbers. A Toyota Prius... Wall Street Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2026847/posts#comment Fri, 6 Jun 2008 02:18:01 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2026419/posts In an Age of $4-a-Gallon Fuel, Some Drivers Could enefit By Getting a Bargain SUV Today's SUV deals, which include cash-back offers and special financing terms, have gotten fatter over the past several months as sales have continued to slide. In April, auto makers offered an average of $5,786 in discounts on midsize SUVs, according to the most recent data from Autodata, up from $4,909 a year earlier. On large SUVs, manufacturers offered an average of $4,829, up from $3,070. Among the better deals are Ford's flagship SUVs, the Expedition and the Explorer. An Expedition with four-wheel drive has a... Wall Street Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2026419/posts#comment Thu, 5 Jun 2008 13:29:52 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2025470/posts NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- U.S. auto sales tumbled in May as buyers fled from pickups and sport utility vehicles in the face of average gas prices that are now just shy of $4 a gallon. The trouble hit not only U.S. automakers General Motors (GM, Fortune 500), Ford Motor and Chrysler LLC -- which have long depended on sales of pickups and SUVs -- but also trimmed the sales of their top Japanese rival Toyota Motor (TM). But other Asian automakers held up reasonably well. Nissan (NSANY) reported a narrow sales gain while Honda Motor (HMC) and Kia rode American... CNN http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2025470/posts#comment Tue, 3 Jun 2008 21:15:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2025320/posts WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — General Motors is closing four truck and SUV plants in the U.S., Canada and Mexico as surging fuel prices hasten a dramatic shift to smaller vehicles. CEO Rick Wagoner said Tuesday before the automaker's annual meeting in Delaware the plants to be closed are in Oshawa, Ontario; Moraine, Ohio; Janesville, Wis.; and Toluca, Mexico. He also said the iconic Hummer brand will be reviewed and potentially sold or revamped. Wagoner said the GM board has approved production of a new small Chevrolet car at a plant in Lordstown, Ohio, in mid-2010 and the Chevy Volt electric... AP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2025320/posts#comment Tue, 3 Jun 2008 14:45:18 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2024572/posts (Demand picking up as price of gas soars and economic incentive rises) How's this for oil-shock value: Scott Olson of Brookfield went to his car dealership to get the oil changed on his sport utility vehicle and drove home in a new SUV that gets nearly twice the gas mileage. "I was filling it up every five days," he said of his old Ford Escape. "Now I'm only filling it up every eight or nine days." Olson, 43, now the proud owner of a blue Mercury Mariner hybrid SUV that gets nearly 40 mpg in city driving, is part of... JSOnline http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2024572/posts#comment Mon, 2 Jun 2008 00:10:45 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2020720/posts Jorge Fernandez strolls across the used-car parking lot littered with dozens upon dozens of sport utility vehicles the size of small tugboats. With gas at $4 a gallon, many have sat there since last summer. "The cars are literally just sitting, and it doesn't matter how much you sell them for," Fernandez says of the SUVs and trucks nobody wants anymore. Fernandez, a wholesale auto dealer who has been in the business for more than 20 years, says SUV owners are hit especially hard. The really large ones with V-8 engines that can get as little as 12 miles per... CNN http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2020720/posts#comment Sat, 24 May 2008 15:37:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2020385/posts Trading in gas guzzler may cost you By Terry Jackson • Bankrate.com Like a lot of people, you may be watching the price at the pump soar and wondering whether it's time to dump your current, less-than-efficient SUV, truck or car. It's tempting to simply haul your 15 miles-per-gallon vehicle down to the dealership and drive out in something that gets 30 mpg or more. But that may not be smart, at least from a financial point of view. People thinking of going this route need to take several factors into account. For starters, your gas guzzler is worth considerably... Bank Rate.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2020385/posts#comment Fri, 23 May 2008 19:48:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2018311/posts Did you hear that Obama criticized us for driving big SUVs and eating our foods? I heard it on Fox News' 'Special Report' a few minutes ago. Mr. Barak Hussein Osama Bin-Laudin Obama, I do not want my GOVERNMENT to tell me either: a)What kind of car I can drive or b)What food I can eat. I live in a FREE COUNTRY -- so I don't need a NANNY STATE to tell me what to do. That is SOCIALISM you JACK@SS!! Fox news http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2018311/posts#comment Mon, 19 May 2008 22:18:23 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2014898/posts While Hyundai offers a front wheel drive minivan in the U.S. market called the Entourage, it's only available with the Korean manufacturer's 3.8L gas V-6. It gets an EPA overall rating of 18mpg, which is competitive in its segment here in North America but no great shakes overall. Overseas, Hyundai has just released a new eight-seat rear wheel drive full-sized van called the i800. The i800 gets motivation from a 2.5L four cylinder diesel engine with common rail injection. The diesel generates 170hp and 289lb-ft of torque which won't get any enthusiasts excited in this application (what enthusiast would... www.autobloggreen.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2014898/posts#comment Mon, 12 May 2008 19:32:12 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2012234/posts Like a lot of people, you may be watching the price at the pump soar and wondering whether it's time to dump your current, less-than-efficient SUV, truck or car. It's tempting to simply haul your 15 miles-per-gallon vehicle down to the dealership and drive out in something that gets 30 mpg or more. But that may not be smart, at least from a financial point of view. ADVERTISEMENT People thinking of going this route need to take several factors into account. For starters, your gas guzzler is worth considerably less as a trade-in than it was even six months ago.... bankrate http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2012234/posts#comment Wed, 7 May 2008 00:05:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2010159/posts PHILADEPHIA: As gasoline prices hit records on almost a daily basis, an increasing number of motorists in US are following a radical driving technique designed to eke out every last mile from a tank of fuel. Known as 'hypermiling,' the methods can double gas mileage, even in gas-guzzling vehicles. Promoted on a growing number of websites, hypermiling includes pumping up tires to the maximum rating on their sidewalls, which may be higher than levels recommended in car manuals; using engine oil of a low viscosity, and the controversial practice of drafting behind other vehicles on the highway to reduce aerodynamic... Reuters via, The Times of India http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2010159/posts#comment Fri, 2 May 2008 12:13:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2009175/posts ...Latarian Milton is not your typical 7-year-old. Few his age have ever driven an SUV up and down several busy streets. It all started at his mother's townhouse. Latarian said he took the car keys and hopped into his grandmother's Dodge Durango.... "I took my grandmother's car because I got mad at my mom. And I saw my friend come in and he smoke cigarettes. He started the vehicle and put it into gear. I yanked. I yanked it. I yanked the thing and off they went," Latarian said. Latarian drove several miles through Lake Park and Palm Beach Gardens.... WFTV http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2009175/posts#comment Wed, 30 Apr 2008 15:22:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2008381/posts Sagging pickup truck and sport utility vehicle sales have forced General Motors Corp. to shut down one shift each at four North American factories and lay off about 3,500 workers. The world's largest automaker by sales said Monday that the cuts, to take effect starting this summer, were brought on by weak demand due to high gasoline prices and an economic downturn. The cuts will affect pickup factories in Pontiac and Flint, Mich., and Oshawa, Ontario, as well as the full-size SUV plant in Janesville, Wis. The layoffs represent just over 4 percent of GM's hourly manufacturing work force of... BusinessWeek http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2008381/posts#comment Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:13:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2007540/posts MIAMI - For used car dealer Ivan Hoyos, accepting a sport utility vehicle as a trade-in is no longer good business. The only SUV he's offering at his Florida Auto Sales and Finance is his mother's red 2004 Mitsubishi Endeavor. ap http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2007540/posts#comment Sun, 27 Apr 2008 03:59:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2007088/posts Americans like the freedom to travel. That trait makes sense. This continent was settled by people who were willing to travel in order to make a better life. One could say that the association between freedom to travel and prosperity is in our genes. The old GM commercial said, "It's not just your car. It's your freedom." Movement has always been a defining part of our culture. Today, we have cars. In the past, we had horses. In either case, the means of travel was personal and represented a private possession. Our heritage and history are not oriented towards mass... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2007088/posts#comment Fri, 25 Apr 2008 22:05:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2004679/posts FAW's premium HonQi (Red Flag) division has unveiled its V12 luxury SUV concept in Beijing. While photoshopped images based on the Lincoln MKT concept surfaced on a Chinese website ahead of the show, the actual vehicle on display looks nothing like those. It is, in fact, a unique design. HonQi, you might recall, will put the 6.0L V12 engine into production next year and have it power the production HQE limousine, a Rolls-Royce Phantom doppelganger that all the party big shots are sure to be seen in. In the SUV, the engine is said to produce 402 horsepower and 405... www.autoblog.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2004679/posts#comment Mon, 21 Apr 2008 12:46:35 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2000636/posts While most automakers are jumping on the trend of smaller, more fuel-efficient cars, Alton Manufacturing has taken the opposite route. They've created a whole new vehicle category with their extreme-SUV variant, the "XUV" Daily Tech http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2000636/posts#comment Sat, 12 Apr 2008 19:38:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1993151/posts A New Zealand man got the fright of his life when a runaway SUV crashed into his house and knocked him off the toilet, a newspaper reported Friday. The vehicle had been parked with its emergency brake only half on, and rolled backward down a 32 foot bank into the house Thursday in the southern city of Christchurch, "The Press" newspaper reported. Police said a building contractor working next door had parked the vehicle at the top of the bank minutes earlier. "He came back to his vehicle and found it next door, basically," Christchurch police Sgt. Kim Reid was... AP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1993151/posts#comment Fri, 28 Mar 2008 15:58:46 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1993146/posts A New Zealand man got the fright of his life when a runaway SUV crashed into his house and knocked him off the toilet, a newspaper reported Friday. The vehicle had been parked with its emergency brake only half on, and rolled backward down a 32 foot bank into the house Thursday in the southern city of Christchurch, "The Press" newspaper reported. Police said a building contractor working next door had parked the vehicle at the top of the bank minutes earlier. "He came back to his vehicle and found it next door, basically," Christchurch police Sgt. Kim Reid was... WWSB http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1993146/posts#comment Fri, 28 Mar 2008 15:53:50 GMT