Obama to unveil new fuel-economy standards tomorrow, calls for 35 mpg by 2016

Sources say that the Obama administration is ready to unveil a new fuel-efficiency policy that will resolve a dispute between California and the U.S. government over emissions.

The new proposal will run from 2012 to 2015 and will maintain a single national standard for fuel-economy. It will also give automakers flexibility for meeting the new standards.

Sources familiar with the plan say that the strategy calls for raising the fuel-economy standards of cars and trucks to 35 mpg by 2016.

Two months ago, the government said fuel-economy standards for U.S. light vehicles would increase 8 percent to an average of 27.3 mpg by 2011, costing the auto industry $1.45 billion to make the necessary changes.

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How To: Scandinavian Flick - Feature

Beginning in the 1960s, Scandinavian rally-car drivers popularized a technique that became known as the “Scandinavian flick.” The goal is to briefly unbalance the car enough to produce a spectacular drift. It’s done by inducing oversteer—the sliding of rear wheels—that in turn will carry the vehicle through a corner and scrub off speed in the process. The point of the technique, aside from looking cool, is to allow better car control by “steering” the car with the throttle. So here’s our Arthur Murray–inspired guide to the seven-step Scandinavian flick. One last thing, a mandatory mommy warning: It’s not a good idea for beginners to do this on public streets or in a nursing-home parking lot.

  

Keep Reading: How To: Scandinavian Flick - Feature

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Mayor Abolishes the Western Extension of the London Congestion Charge - Car News

Boris Johnson, the new mayor of London, has announced that the western extension of the London Congestion Charge will be abolished but not until 2010. The $12-a-day charge was introduced by his predecessor, Mayor Ken Livingstone, and at first, it applied to only the commercial heart of London. In 2007, the downtown area subjected to the charge was expanded to include the largely residential area west of London. The charge cannot be reversed immediately for administrative reasons. Johnson also has dismantled Livingstone’s scheme to increase the congestion charge for cars that emit too much carbon-dioxide, a plan that Porsche

fought in court until the new mayor took office.

Keep Reading: Mayor Abolishes the Western Extension of the London Congestion Charge - Car News

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Luso Motors reveals working LM23 prototype

Despite a plunging global economy and tough economic times for the car industry as a whole, there are small bright spots where innovation and development are still burning brightly. Luso Motors appears to be one of those, as it has recently unveiled a working prototype of its LM23 mid-engined track-day kit car. Ernesto Freitas, the design force behind Portugal's Luso Motors, released the design concept early in 2008, but instead of reviving the Ferrari Dino or the Avions Voisin brand, the new car was a self-branded track-focused two-seater.
Luso Motors LM23

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Honda tapped to supply racing bike engines for new Moto2 series

Could things be turning around for Honda’s racing department? The Japanese industrial giant began canceling its motorsport programs one by one when things took a turn for the worse economically, but after withdrawing from the AMA Road Racing motorbike series a few months ago, Honda is getting back in the saddle according to reports by supplying the engines to all the teams competing in the upcoming new Moto2 series.

Like GP2 is to Formula One - or the Nationwide Series is to the Sprint Cup in NASCAR - the new Moto2 championship slots in as a feeder and support series to the top-tier MotoGP. Currently the 250cc class (like the Honda example pictured above) serves that function, but like the organizers did with MotoGP and the pre-extant 500cc class, the new Moto2 bikes will be mixed into the field for next season before the new formula replaces the old one in 2011. The new Honda engines, however, will be 600cc, four-stroke units with over 150 horsepower on tap, potentially prepared by European Honda tuner Ten Kate. Who knows, maybe they can still bolt a couple of these together and get back on board with Brawn GP, too.

[Source: Autosport]

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The White Coats Say 'Trust Hormone' Makes Us Hoard Terrible Old Cars

You know how your friends all laugh at you because you can't bring yourself to get rid of that rattly-ass, decades-old junker you love so deeply? You're just a slave to your hormones, buddy!

That's what Times Of London writer Anjana Ahuja tells us, quoting Professor Paul Zak of Claremont Graduate University; it's all about the oxytocin, also known as the "trust hormone." It turns out that one's attachment to an inanimate object- say, an early-60s Vanden Plas Princess 1300, for example- can trigger a release of oxytocin… and, next thing you know, you can't bring yourself to get rid of a car that breaks down approximately once every two months. Ms. Ahuja, however, triumphed over her body chemistry and ditched her Vanden Plas for… no, we can't say it. It's just too painful. One of these things.
So let's get this straight: you get rid of a seriously cool example of classic British coachbuilding- to which you've given an affectionate name and everything- and you replace it with a Fiat Multipla? The horror! We think Ms. Ahuja needs to start mainlining oxytocin and stockpiling Humber Sceptres!
[Times Of London]

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Subaru Announces Pricing on 2010 MY Forester

Subaru of America, Inc. today announced pricing on the 2010 Subaru Forester. The newly redesigned Forester - introduced last spring - hit an all-times sales record for the company as it was the right vehicle, at the right time, for people looking to downsize from larger SUVs without giving up valuable cargo room. Among its [...]

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