Wheels for my Mercedes 380 SL R107

The above photo is of a 1979 M-B 450 SL R107. See those wheels? They really look terrific, and those are what I eventually want on my 1980 380 SL! That mesh look is perfect, like the appearance  I had on my 1990 Mustang convertible years ago.

A Bentley SUV: Materialism Gone Wild!

Volkswagen AG gave its ultra-luxury Bentley brand approval to build a sport-utility vehicle, which may cost about 180,000 euros ($237,000), to expand beyond exclusive sedans and coupes.

The new model for the British marque will go on sale in 2016, creating more than 1,000 jobs in the U.K., the VW unit said Tuesday in a statement. Bentley plans to spend more than 800 million pounds ($1.23 billion) on developing the SUV and other models, as well as upgrading its headquarters in Crewe, England.

Bentley said the vehicle will be the most luxurious and powerful SUV on the market when it goes on sale three years from now. The price range of the vehicle, which stems from past comments from company executives, would make it the world’s most expensive SUV.

“It’s certainly a courageous step to see if other types of vehicles can establish themselves in the super-luxury segment,” said Stefan Bratzel, director of the Center of Automotive Management at the University of Applied Sciences in Bergisch Gladbach, Germany. “The business case isn’t that easy because the segment is pretty tight.”

The model is critical to Volkswagen’s goal to almost double Bentley’s sales to 15,000 vehicles by 2018. The addition of the SUV mimics the strategy followed by VW’s Porsche nameplate, which flanked its sports cars with the Cayenne SUV, now the brand’s best-seller. Porsche plans to add a compact SUV, called the Macan, by next year.

“Bentley fans all around the world are looking forward to the brand’s first SUV,” VW Chief Executive Officer Martin Winterkorn said in the statement. “Together we will make this new Bentley another true Bentley - powerful, exclusive and successful.”

While the vehicle will be based on the EXP 9 F concept presented at the Geneva motor show last year, the design has changed substantially since then, according to two people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified because details have not yet been released.

Bentley’s SUV prototype stuck out at its presentation in Geneva in March 2012. The car sported flourishes like picnic hampers for polo-ground tailgating, 23-inch wheels and gaping turbine-like air intakes.

The car will be made in Crewe, Bentley said today. The vehicle is due to share underpinnings with the Audi Q7, according to past company comments.

The Bentley SUV will complement the brand’s lineup, comprising the Continental GT coupe and convertible and the Flying Spur and Mulsanne sedans. Bentley delivered 8,510 cars last year, up 22 percent from 2011. Operating profit jumped to 100 million euros in 2012 from 8 million a year earlier.

The new Bentley will compete with vehicles like the 151,700-euro Porsche Cayenne Turbo S, the 131,300-euro Mercedes- Benz GL63 AMG, and the top-of-the-line Range Rover from Tata Motors Ltd.’s Land Rover marque, which starts at 112,400 euros.

The Bentley model is part of a trend of rolling out ever more expensive SUVs to cater to wealthy buyers in emerging markets that aren’t tied to traditional sedans. Fiat SpA’s Maserati plans to introduce the Levante crossover as early as 2015. Bentley’s sister brand Lamborghini showed an SUV concept in China last year that it hopes to get approval to build.

Demand will mostly likely come from markets like China and Russia, where there’s a growing class of wealthy consumers and SUVs are popular, said Jonathon Poskitt, an analyst with LMC Automotive in Oxford, England.

“This is super premium moving into uncharted territory,” said Poskitt. “The others will be closely watching how Bentley does.”

From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130723/AUTO0104/307230053#ixzz2ZuFUzgp5

So what was your happiest moment in a car?

Please answer the question by sending me an email at Jheitmann1@udayton.edu.  I will compile comments and post on the blog.

Was your happiest moment due to: romance; the freedom of driving; the scenery?  Or something else?

 Arkansas family from long ago. A house and a car was/is happiness

Uno vs. Toyota: the case of the runaway 2006 Camry

Uno's Toyota 2006 Camry is shown after her fatal crash, with the hand brake pulled up

Los Angeles — Noriko Uno was afraid of driving fast, often avoiding the freeway and taking the same route every day from her Upland home to and from her family’s sushi restaurant. She had put only 10,000 miles on her 2006 Camry in about four years.

So when her car unexpectedly accelerated to speeds up to 100 mph on a street with a posted limit of 30, the 66-year-old bookkeeper did everything she could to slow down, stepping on the brake pedal and pulling the emergency handle as she swerved to avoid hitting other vehicles.

Uno was killed when her car went onto a median and struck a telephone pole and a tree.

Her case is the first to go to trial in a proceeding that could determine whether Toyota Motor Corp. should be held liable for sudden unintended acceleration in its vehicles — a claim made by motorists that plagued the Japanese automaker and led to lawsuits, settlements and recalls of millions of its cars and SUVs.

“Toyota decided to make safety an option instead of a standard on their vehicles,” said attorney Garo Mardirossian, who is representing Uno’s husband and son. “They decided to save a few bucks, and by doing so, it cost lives.”

Toyota has said there was no defect in Uno’s Camry. The automaker has blamed such crashes on accelerators that got stuck, floor mats that trapped the gas pedal and driver error. The company has settled some wrongful death cases and agreed to pay more than $1 billion to resolve lawsuits where owners said the value of their vehicles plummeted after Toyota’s recalls because of sudden-acceleration concerns.

The Uno trial, starting with jury selection Monday, is expected to last two months. The proceeding represents the first of the bellwether cases in state courts, which are chosen by a judge to help predict the potential outcome of other lawsuits making similar claims.

Other cases expected to go to trial in state courts this year include one in Oklahoma and another in Michigan. There are more than 80 cases filed in state courts.

The Toyota litigation has gone on parallel tracks in state and federal court with both sides agreeing to settlements so far. A federal judge in Orange County is dealing with both wrongful death and economic loss lawsuits that have been consolidated. He’s expected to give final approval to the economic loss settlement next week.

Federal lawsuits contend that Toyota’s electronic throttle control system was defective and caused vehicles to surge unexpectedly. Plaintiffs’ attorneys have deposed Toyota employees, reviewed software code and pored over thousands of documents.

Toyota has denied the allegation and neither the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration nor NASA found evidence of electronic problems. A trial in one of the lead cases is scheduled for November.

The Uno trial will likely focus on why Toyota didn’t have a mechanism to override the accelerator if the gas and brake pedals are pressed simultaneously in Camrys sold in the U.S. The automaker put the brake override system in its European fleet, Mardirossian said.

Toyota said Uno’s vehicle was equipped with a “state-of-the-art” braking system and denied any defect played a role in her death.

“We are confident the evidence will show that a brake override system would not have prevented this accident and that there was no defect in Mrs. Uno’s vehicle,” the automaker said in a statement about the upcoming trial.

Legal observers said Uno’s attorneys won’t necessarily have to prove what was wrong with the vehicle, but show that the accident could have been prevented with a brake override system.

“If the plaintiff succeeds in convincing a jury it wasn’t human error, that it was attributed to the car, I think they have a strong case,” said Gregory Keating, a law professor at the University of Southern California. “Jurors, as drivers, are likely to believe strongly that cars shouldn’t become uncontrollable in this way.”

It was nearly four years ago when Uno, who was out grocery shopping and depositing receipts from the restaurant, died after her car went onto a median, struck a telephone pole and then hit a large tree. Witnesses told police they saw Uno swerve to avoid hitting an oncoming truck, according to the lawsuit.

Mardirossian said Uno was a cautious driver and neither floor mats nor driver error were to blame. He said witnesses heard the Camry engine racing and saw brake lights going on and off. Pulling the handbrake had “zero effect,” Mardirossian said.

“Imagine her strapped into her Toyota Camry driving 100 mph knowing the next move would be fatal,” he said. “She saved many lives by veering off into that center median knowing that death was near.”

That same day — Aug. 28, 2009 — off-duty California Highway Patrol Officer Mark Saylor and three family members were killed on a suburban San Diego freeway when their 2009 Lexus ES 350 reached speeds of more than 120 mph, struck a sport utility vehicle, launched off an embankment, rolled several times and burst into flames. A 911 call captured Saylor’s brother-in-law telling the others to pray before the car crashed.

Toyota, which makes the luxury Lexus brand, agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by the victims’ family for $10 million. An inquiry into the crash led to recalls of millions of Toyota vehicles. Investigators said a wrong-size floor mat trapped the accelerator and caused the accident.

The Uno family lawsuit, which claims product liability and negligence, seeks general and punitive damages. Mardirossian said Uno’s relatives want to have a jury decide that the crash was not her fault.

“They want to make sure to get their loved one’s name cleared,” he said.

From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130721/AUTO0104/307210025#ixzz2Zod5OeaA

MEMORIES OF A 1960 OLDSMOBILE CONVERTIBLE, ELEANOR ROOSEVELT, AND THE PRESIDENTAL ELECTION OF 1960

A contribution from Ed Garten!!!

MEMORIES OF A 1960 OLDSMOBILE CONVERTIBLE, ELEANOR ROOSEVELT, AND

THE PRESIDENTAL ELECTION OF 1960

Growing up in poor, southern West Virginia, I was nearly twelve years old in the fall of 1960 when John F. Kennedy ran against Richard Nixon in the general presidential election.  West Virginia, of course, had been critical to Kennedy's earlier primary nomination and so he held a special affection for the state and its people.  

On October 19, 1960, our little town of Hinton was visited by none other than Eleanor Roosevelt who was doing some last minute campaigning for Senator Kennedy (Indeed, this visit was only two weeks prior to the November general election.  

I'd just started as a rural newspaper boy for the Hinton Daily News and recall, as if it were yesterday, delivering to my customers the next day's paper with the following story and a big picture of Mrs. Roosevelt speaking from the front seat of an open convertible.  But at that age it wasn't so much the celebrity of Mrs. Roosevelt that stuck in my mind; rather, it was the fact that she was riding in a new 1960 Oldsmobile convertible, a car that we'd have rarely seen in our little town.

Today, we sometimes forget how important automobile caravans werewithin a successful political campaign, especially in rural areas and small towns.  But these "campaign caravans" were often critical as a means of connecting with small town folks and often provided a few minutes of excitement in a small town amid an almost parade or carnival like atmosphere what with horns blaring and sirens from police escorts (as this article notes)

Hinton Daily News
October 19, 1960

Hundreds Line Caravan Route To Welcome Mrs. Roosevelt

Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt's caravan was more than an hour late arriving in Hinton, but hundreds pf persons, including the Hinton High School band, waited to greet her as amateur photographers had a field day.

The open convertible carrying Mrs. Roosevelt and Mrs. Elizabeth Kee was stormed by persons trying to shake her hand and many of her well-wishers carried small children in their arms and held them for her to shake their hands.

Persons stood on the rear roof of the court-house, and also on the roof of the VFW as the caravan passed. Some persons even brought ladders, chairs and boxes to stand on.

Mrs. Roosevelt made no effort to get out of the car, but sat on the front seat as she spoke over a portable loud speaking system.

On several occasions her voice was inaudible as the milling crowd pushed against the speakers causing a short circuit, but she never lost patience, merely smiled, and talked quietly to those nearest her until the speakers could be re-connected.

Her remarks here were similar to those made in Princeton earlier, and quoted later in this story.

At the Mercer-Summers county line, a delgation of nearly 50 persons in 20 automobiles greeted Mrs. Roosevelt, and accompanied her into Hinton with horns and sirens screaming.

She remained here until 1:40 when she left for Beckley via the New River bridge, and headed for Beckley and Charleston where she is scheduled for a major address in the capital tonight.

Mrs. Roosevelt breakfasted with Senator John F. Kennedy in Washington this morning before enplaning for Bluefield.

The plane arrived 35 minutes late in West Virginia's air-conditioned city, but hundreds were on hand to greet the "First Lady of the World."

Riding in an open convertible with Mrs. Elizabeth Kee, congresswoman from the Fifth Congressional District, and several other state dignitaries, Mrs. Roosevelt was greeted by masses of well-wishers lining the motorcade route. Just outside Princeton, the entourage stopped at the Maiden Form Brassiere company plant where Mrs. Roosevelt made a brief three to four minute speech.

At Princeton, upwards of 1,500 people greeted the first lady and on occasion admirers broke through swarming over the vehicle to welcome the distinguished visitor.

In Princeton W. Broughton Johnston, former president of the W. Va. State Senate, introduced Mrs. Roosevelt who said:

"I am always happy to come back to West Virginia where I have so many friends and where I worked during my husband's first administration in developing projects to relieve [un]employment.

"This morning while I breakfasted with Senator Kennedy, whom I hope you will elect as your next president, he told me that he had already decided on a plan to help the distressed states and that West Virginia was on top of his priority list.

"John Kennedy, ladies and gentlemen, is a man with a heart and he knows the problems and holds the answer to assist your great state."

When leaving Princeton, she was accompanied by a caravan of 25 automobiles.  High school and grade school students lined the streets of Athens, her next stop, where she made a brief address at Concord College, before journeying to Hinton.

One of my favorite cars -- a 1964 GTO Convertible

Seeing this car brings back memories of childhood, my older cousin' brand new 1964 GTO Convertible -- Midnight Blue with a white interior and white top. And when I was 18 and he lket me drive it down the street -- wow, what acceleration!  The car, however, is just a touchstone for me to remember a person, a person now gone and greatly missed.

This car was seen at the Beavercreek Cruise-In last evening, and the only one there worth photographing.  I guess because people are just far more important than cars, that this was my only real interesting vehicle  for the night.

The difficulties of meshing two technologies: Consumer Electronics with the Automobile

Chris Knox braces for frustration every time he steps into his new Ford F-150 truck.

Mechanically, the pickup is perfect. But the MyFord Touch communication and entertainment system constantly seizes up as Knox tries to make hands-free calls from his iPhone 5.

“Sometimes it works for two weeks, and then I get into the truck and it just stops,” said Knox, a Torrance, Calif., driver’s education teacher. “I am constantly doing the master reset on the system.”

The latest in-dash “infotainment” systems are turning into a giant headache for drivers. Problems with phone, entertainment and navigation functions were the biggest source of complaints in the latest J.D. Power & Associates survey of new-car quality, easily outstripping traditional issues such as fit and finish and wind noise.

Much of the problem lies in the disconnect between product cycles for cars and smartphones. The technology in cars, which take years to come to market, can’t keep pace with relentless smartphone updates.

The compatibility issues highlight an industry debate: Should cars come with their own communication and navigation systems? Or should they simply mirror smartphones on their dashboard screens, tapping into the constantly updated mobile-application environment?

Meanwhile, car companies are spending millions of dollars developing interfaces, voice recognition software and navigation systems. Many of these functions either already come loaded on phones or can be downloaded at the swipe of a finger. Honda Motor Co., for instance, charges $2,000 for a satellite-linked navigation and traffic system on the premium version of its popular Accord sedan. But Waze, a division of Google Inc., provides the same functionality in a free app.

Automakers are attacking in-dash technology in a piecemeal way that could take years to sort out. Think of it as a modern version of the old Betamax-versus-VHS battle over videocassette recorder formats.

Ford Motor Co. has its own system. Apple Inc. is working with one set of automakers to design an interface that works better with its iPhone line. Some of the same car companies and others have joined the Car Connectivity Consortium, which is working with the major Android phone brands to develop a different interface.

All of this is complicated by the growing role of smartphones in daily life.

“People today bond more with their smartphones than their car,” said Tom Mutchler, the senior engineer at the Consumer Reports Auto Test Center. “Car companies are going to have to live up to the expectations that come with that.”

Some car brands, including Ford and Lincoln, are sticking to building their own systems into cars.

“For the safety and overall experience for our customers, we think allowing developers to create apps that will work with our system, using our specifications, is the best way to go,” said Jim Buczkowski, director of electrical and electronics systems at Ford Research and Innovation.

He’s not a fan of handing control of these functions to a smartphone, because many of the features in the vehicle’s infotainment system “are very deeply integrated into the overall vehicle.”

“It’s arguable that a phone does all just as well or better,” Buczkowski said. “And if you forget your phone, you’re out of luck.”

Knox, the F-150 driver, isn’t worried about forgetting his phone — he’s irritated that he can’t use it in his truck. In fact, he’s asked Ford to take the pickup back, a request the automaker has denied. Ford plans a software update this year.

Knox and other consumers would rather see automakers stick to making cars and leave communications technology to the experts.

“Google or Apple could do a better job, not Ford,” he said.

The static nature of the car-based systems creates compatibility problems down the road, said Pavan Mathew, a Detroit-based executive who heads automotive telematics for Telefonica, the European telecommunications giant.

“That’s the industry debate — built-in versus brought-in,” Mathew said. “When you have an embedded system, that vehicle will have two or three owners over 10 or 12 years. But you are changing your phone every other year, and the top-of-mind apps are continuously changing.”

That’s why Chevrolet, Mini and some other automakers are starting to offer screens that mirror apps from a smartphone. To cut back on distracted driving, the systems will work only with apps that are safe for automotive use.

Those types of mirrored systems will become more common in new models starting next year, said Jorg Brakensiek, the technical work group chairman of the Car Connectivity Consortium, which includes major automakers such as Honda, Toyota Motor Corp. and Hyundai Motor Co., as well as Samsung Electronics Co., HTC Corp. and other phone manufacturers.

From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130718/AUTO03/307180034#ixzz2ZVO799y4