Sheriff: Car cameras aid crime fight

Some patrol cars for the St. Landry Parish Sheriff's Office are now equipped with video cameras and recording devices thanks to a $72,000 grant from the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission.

Sheriff Bobby Guidroz said the devices, in use in numerous departments throughout the nation, are an important crime fighting tool.

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Home-equity credit line one way to finance car

Q. I need to buy a new car and was wondering what would be more beneficial: Getting a home-equity loan or home-equity line of credit for approximately $25,000 at the average going rate, use the money to buy a car and deduct the interest from taxes, or pay cash for the car. I do not have a mortgage on my house, so obtaining home equity should not be a problem.

-- Looking for tax breaks

A. Cash is often a better bet than borrowing money on which you'll pay interest.

But the best choice for you really depends on three factors, says certified financial planner Reed Fraasa of Highland Financial in Riverdale, N.J.: first, what you think the cost of borrowing will be over the next three years; second, what your tax bracket is; and third, what you can earn on a fixed-rate investment over the next three years.


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Demand revs higher in Franklin County for hybrid vehicles

With gas prices climbing, new car buyers aren't turning their backs on trucks and sport utility vehicles, sales managers at area dealerships say. But many consumers, especially younger ones, are contributing to increased sales of hybrids and cars boasting fuel economy.

"It's pretty well a mixed bag," Jennings Chevrolet general sales manager Bruce Cameron said this week.

He said many buyers going into the Chambersburg dealership's showrooms are looking for vehicles that get the best gas mileage. The trend toward smaller, more economical cars is not as great as expected.

"We are seeing a trend to smaller cars, but not as much as we had expected," he said.

Cameron and sales managers from other area dealerships said consumers that still want a utility vehicle or a pickup truck may now pay less for those vehicles, simply because they aren't in as high a demand as they once were.


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GM posts big loss as U.S. sales hurt

General Motors Corp. reported a large first-quarter loss Wednesday, due in large part to struggles at its former finance wing GMAC, a strike at American Axle and slumping U.S. car sales.

But the loss was narrower than expected and sales topped forecasts, helping to lift shares of GM (GM, Fortune 500) 9% to $23.15.

GM, the nation's largest automaker, posted a net loss of $3.3 billion, or $5.74 per share. That was much wider than the $42 million, or 7 cents a share, loss from continuing operations it reported in the same period last year.

Excluding one-time losses from GMAC and $731 million in bankruptcy support for auto parts manufacturer Delphi, GM lost $350 million, or 62 cents per share. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial, who generally exclude one-time events from their forecasts, were looking for a deeper loss of $1.60 per share.


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Easy Export Starts Overseas Car Shipping from the Port of Los Angeles

Car buyers now have the option to buy vehicles on the East coast or the West coast at any auction.

Miami Beach, FL (PRWEB) May 2, 2008 -- Easy Export Corp., the U.S. car export company, launched an international vehicle shipping service to Europe from the Port of Los Angeles, the busiest port in the United States.

Easy Export is well known for their prompt supply of vehicles for export from North America to Europe. The company buys automobiles from dozens of car auctions through their network of auto dealers; it enables them to provide their buyers with quality cars at wholesale prices.

According to the CEO of Easy Export, Vadim Liakh, buyers now have the option to buy vehicles on the East coast or the West coast at any auction. "In addition to the U.S.



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Explore the Major Passenger Car OEMS and the Markets in Which They Operate with the Automotive Quarterly Review (AQR) ...

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c90763) has announced the addition of Automotive Quarterly Review (4 Issues) to their offering.

Now in its 15th year of publication, the Automotive Quarterly Review (AQR) series of reports is an essential source of information for anyone with an interest in the operational activities of the world's major passenger car OEMs and the markets in which they operate.

By subscribing to the AQR you will receive four reports over a period of 12 months. The reports, which are made available online in January, April, July and October of every year, contain the following:

- Strategic analysis of the activities of the world's top 19 passenger car OEMs (BMW / Daimler / Fiat / Ford / Fuji Heavy / General Motors / Honda / Hyundai / Isuzu / Mazda / Mitsubishi / Nissan / Porsche / Proton / PSA Peugeot Citroen / Renault / Suzuki / Toyota / Volkswagen)

- New registrations data for more than 50 countries across four regions

- Production data by group, model and location (Western Europe, NAFTA, Japan, South Korea, Argentina, Brazil, China and numerous other countries)

Content Outline:

List of contents

List of figures

Preface

Summary

BMW Group

Daimler

Fiat Auto

Ford Motor Company

Fuji Heavy Industries (Subaru)

General Motors

Honda Motor Company

Hyundai Motor Company

Isuzu Motors

Mazda Motor Corporation

Mitsubishi Motors Corporation

Nissan Motor Company

Porsche

Proton Holdings

PSA Peugeot Citroen

Renault Automobile

Suzuki Motor Corporation

Toyota Group

VW Group

Notes on new registration data

Notes on production data

List of figures

Figure No.


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Car dealers say fuel labels out of date

Car buyers are being urged to visitGovernment websites for accurate fuel-efficiency data, rather than rely on mandatory new labels for which some information is already out of date.

The Independent Motor Vehicle Dealers Association says buyers should consult fuel consumption ratings on the www.fuelsaver.govt.nz or www.rightcar.govt.nz websites for more reliable guides to vehicle efficiency before turning up at showrooms to buy.

Association chief David Vinsen said yesterday the organisation supported giving customers as much information as possible in choosing a vehicle.

But the new labels on display in showrooms should be treated as "a last resort", for comparative purposes only.

The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority acknowledges fuel cost estimates on labels which dealers must display where available - or face fines of up to $5000 - will become more outdated with each petrol price rise.


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