Charles A. Tilt did not believe trucks had to be homely. Tilt borrowed liberally from styling concepts of the most eye-catching automobiles of the 1920s and 1930s, enabling his Diamond T Truck Co. to thrive even during the Great Depression. Diamond T’s 201 pickup was so pleasing to the eye and so smooth to drive that automotive historians have debated good-naturedly about whether it was better compared to a Cadillac or a Rolls-Royce.

In 1905, Tilt, the son of a shoemaker, began building cars, but he was making only trucks by 1911. His name eventually became synonymous with one of the engineered functions of his cabs: They were tilted forward to allow for engine maintenance.

continue reading "ESCAPE ROADS: 1949 Diamond T 201: Truck for the boss"

With the deal done for the sale of Jaguar and Land Rover to India’s Tata Motors, Ford Motor Co. is reorganizing its global product development and purchasing operations.

Ford said today that its new structure designates global product development centers in specific regions for vehicle segments. The goal is to reduce the amount of time it takes to bring a new vehicle to market, cut development costs and reduce duplication in engineering and purchasing.

For instance, small cars — such as the upcoming Fiesta — would be designed, developed and engineered in Europe. Big pickups, such as the F-150, would be created in North America, while compact trucks would be developed in Asia and Africa.

continue reading "Ford reorganizes product development, purchasing:"

Chrysler LLC co-President Jim Press has a PR problem–and so does his former employer, Toyota Motor Corp.

In an interview published Thursday, March 24, Press told BusinessWeek that the Japanese government “paid for 100 percent of the development of the battery and hybrid system that went into the Toyota Prius.”

On March 14, 2007–when he was still Toyota’s top U.S. executive–Press told something else to a subcommittee of the U.S. House Energy and Commerce committee. U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Texas, questioned Press about the seven years of r&d that went into Toyota’s hybrid technology:

continue reading "Jim Press creates PR mess for Toyota and Chrysler: Debate over Japanese randd subsidies continues"

FIA president Max Mosley apologized Tuesday for embarrassing racing after a British tabloid published photos of what appeared to be him participating in an orgy.

He sent a letter to FIA clubs and governing bodies saying he doesn’t plan to resign his position and is pursing an invasion of privacy against the paper, according to the Associated Press.

Mosley, 67, also denied in the letter that there were Nazi connections to the sex scandal. He is the son of Nazi sympathizer Sir Oswald Mosley, who founded the British Union of Fascists in the 1930s.

Last weekend, the News of the World
continue reading "Mosley won’t resign, apologizes for scandal:"

Jean-Marie Balestre died on Thursday, March 27, at the age of 86. The fiery Frenchman served as president of FISA from 1979 to 1991 and as the FIA president from 1986 to 1993.

Balestre was always a controversial figure, in part because he served during World War II in the French regiment of the Nazi SS. He was imprisoned when the nation was liberated in 1945 but subsequently convinced the authorities that he had been a double agent for the Resistance. He became a successful publisher, owning Auto Journal magazine and the Le Figaro newspaper. He became an official with the French national motorsports body in Paris, the Féderation Francaise du Sport Automobile, and was elected as its president in 1973.

continue reading "Former FISA, FIA president Jean-Marie Balestre dead at 86:"

(February 14, 2008)– At first glance, you might wonder what Champ Car racing and golf have in common. The answer, for starters, is that Bridgestone is the Official Tire of the Champ Car World Series and the Official Tire of the PGA.

With that in mind, Bridgestone Golf decided to bring those two worlds together in their latest television commercial, shot earlier this week outside of Los Angeles and featuring David Martinez in the Pacific Coast Motorsports DP01 Champ Car and Bridgestone Golf-backed PGA pros Freddie Couples, Stuart Appleby, Brandt Snedeker and Charles Howell III.

Ford Motor Co. on Thursday told Jaguar and Land Rover workers that it is in “focused negotiations” to sell the brands to India’s Tata Motors.

Ford of Europe Chairman Lewis Booth said in a statement: “Ford is committed to focused negotiations at a more detailed level with Tata Motors concerning the potential sale of the combined Jaguar Land Rover business.”

Booth added: “We will proceed with further substantive discussions with Tata Motors over the forthcoming weeks with a view to securing an agreement that is in the best interests of all parties concerned.”

Ford put Jaguar, a sports-car maker, and Land Rover, which makes SUVs, up for sale in June.

continue reading "Tata closes in on Jaguar, Land Rover: Ford in ‘focused negotiations’ with Indian carmaker"

Mario Andretti was the first to win both Champ Car and Formula One championships and is the only driver to have scored big-time, professional race wins–such as the Indy and Daytona 500s–over the course of five decades. His name is synonymous with racing success.

Despite not having competed on a racetrack since 1994, he remains close to the sport, watching son Michael (owner of Andretti Green Racing) and grandson Marco, an IRL regular who tested in Formula One.

In Napa, as we talked wine with Mario, the conversation drifted to bench racing.

When were you last in a race car?

continue reading "Mario on racing:"

WASHINGTON — The Senate has approved a streamlined energy bill that will raise vehicle fuel economy standards 40 percent to 35 mpg by 2020. The Senate voted 86-8 Thursday night for the measure.

The phase-in of higher standards for cars and light trucks would begin with the 2011 model year. It would be the first congressionally mandated hike in the corporate average fuel economy program, or CAFE, since its creation in 1975.

Senate approval came after Democratic leaders bowed to veto threats by President Bush. They removed tax hikes and provisions to require utilities to use more renewable fuels.

continue reading "Senate OKs CAFE hike:"

We first attended the Electric Vehicle Symposium 13 years ago (AW, Dec. 26, 1994), when an electric-powered future was being forced on the auto-motive industry by the state of California with its zero-emissions-vehicle mandate. That mandate fizzled (long story), but the number of electric-vehicle makers and suppliers seems to have risen regardless (another long story), spurred this time by commerce instead of government.

This year’s EVS23 in Anaheim–yep, they’ve been doing this since 1984–was sort of a Woodstock for EVs. There were electric bicycles, scooters, skateboards, cars and even full-size Class 7 trucks running on nothing more than the juice that comes out of a wall socket.

continue reading "Woodstock for EV lovers: Lithium iron phosphate produces biggest buzz"