MARK PHELAN: Pontiac's roomy, fuel-efficient wagon flies under the radar

Some cars get far less credit than they deserve. They please their owners, start every day, look good and go about their business reliably without fanfare.

If the auto industry were a film, those cars would be Kevin Bacon.

Sexy, high-profile models like the Honda Civic, Chevrolet Corvette and Ford F-150 are the Harrison Ford-Jodie Foster faces on the posters for big-budget summer smash hits.

Bacon doesn't get many headlines, but the talented and versatile actor has played key roles in wonderful movies like "Mystic River" and "Apollo 13," turning in stellar work without a fuss.

In that spirit, I name the 2009 Pontiac Vibe Kevin Bacon Car of the Year.

The 2009 model is an all-new replacement for the Vibe wagon that went on sale in 2002.


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Metal thieves hit used car lot

Thieves who stole catalytic converters from 16 vehicles at a car lot Tuesday morning to sell recyclable metals left the business owner with 16 vehicles that now can't be sold.

Michael Ritter reported the thefts after he tried to start a used car for a customer at Mr. T's Auto Sales on Middle Tennessee Boulevard.

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"Smart Car" Small In Size, Great On Gas Mileage

From the inside, it looks like just about any car from its parent company, Mercedes. From the outside, it looks like a souped-up golf cart!

It's called the Smart Car, which we found is short for "brilliant."

Bob Gerding first spotted the shrunken car in Europe back in 1993 and just had to get one. "It takes up about half a parking spot," he explains. 15 years later, it's here in the states. "The waiting list right now is a year and a half."

Like any odd-looking foreigner, the smart car draws a lot of curious stares, and Bob spends half of his commute answering questions.

"How much did you pay for it?" One woman asked. "About $16,000," Bob replied. "I can pick it up and you can take it home with you, want me to grab it?" He adds.


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New Book Shows Car Dealers How to Rev Up Profits and Customer Satisfaction

28/04/2008 18:54:00 Business Wire Car manufacturing has been transformed by lean production over the last 20 years yet car dealerships have remained virtually untouched by lean principles.
Now that s changing.
Dealerships experimenting with lean principles have experienced a doubling of throughput, increases in productivity of 50% or more, and returns on sales several times the industry norm.
These are not "freak" results.
They occur every time lean principles are applied in a disciplined way -- as has already been done in service sectors such as healthcare.
Creating Lean Dealers, a step-by-step workbook for improving dealer operations, shows managers how to remove the many barriers to smooth the flow of work, starting in service and repair.
"Because lean thinking does not naturally fit the mind-set of dealers, the place to start is with service and repair," said Dan Jones, founder and chairman of the Lean Enterprise Academy (LEA) in the UK, the book s publisher.


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ICOP Wins Bid to Supply Digital In-Car Video to Law Enforcement Agency in Illinois County

LENEXA, Kan., April 30 -- ICOP Digital, Inc. , an industry-leading company engaged in advancing digital surveillance solutions, today announced that pursuant to its response to a Request for Proposal issued by one of the largest counties in Illinois, the Company has been notified that it has won the bid to equip the County's sheriff office's fleets with ICOP Model 20/20(R)-W digital in-car video systems.

Pursuant to its winning bid, ICOP has received an initial order valued at approximately $52,000. Following the determination of logistical protocols for installation and user training, phased fleet deployment of the ICOP Model 20/20-W in this agency is expected to occur as funding is approved. The total number of squad cars comprising this agency's fleet is approximately 90.

As noted in its March 27, 2008 press release, ICOP has won approximately one out of every three RFP's that it responded to in 2007.


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Crash scene near Dickens: Felon takes snow blower, leaves partner behind

Authorities aren't sure whether it was drugs, alcohol or head injuries from a car crash that left Ronald Moriarty disoriented Tuesday night.

But they do know Moriarty was a passenger trapped in a wreckage of late-model Chevy truck at about 6:07 that night just east of Dickens.

They know Thomas Carney, a 45-year-old Spencer man, was the driver.

And, their investigation suggests, Carney was worried about his own outlook when he gathered stolen property -- including a snow blower -- from a rural burglary, ran to an abandoned corn crib to escape authorities, and left his passenger behind.

"Not often, when a person is involved in an accident, that you're more concerned about your own skin than you are for your friend who is left in the vehicle," Clay County Sheriff Randy Krukow said.


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Everett Toyota dealer says the future is electric

Everett Toyota dealer Buzz Rodland, who drives a battery-powered RAV4, says the next step for automakers is incorporating lighter, more efficient batteries.

By Mike Benbow
Herald Writer

EVERETT -- Toyota dealer Buzz Rodland's ride these days is a used RAV4 that costs $225,000.

It didn't cost him that much -- he used some pull and perseverance to snag his model. But that's what Toyota spent to produce the electric car to meet California requirements for a zero-emissions vehicle.

There was a fleet of the vehicles leased in California and used by commuters who would recharge the batteries at a host of charging stations. Toyota is changing its program in California, and Rodland, who was a member of the company's national dealership council for four years, convinced officials after a lot of nagging to send him one of the all-electrics.



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