Autoblog

Nearly two years ago, the Cougar Ace, a 900-ft long ship loaded with more than 4,700 brand-new Mazdas, tipped over while transferring ballast in the North Pacific just south of Alaska. The huge ship took on water, but since there was no breach in the hull it remained afloat. Within days, a salvage team was called aboard to attempt a rescue of the stricken car carrier.

Listing nearly 90-degrees to one side, the massive Cougar Ace was towed and moored in Wide Bay before it was finally stabilized and nearly fully righted a month later. The ship was eventually saved, but tragically a member of the salvage team was killed during the recovery operation. While Mazda reported little damage to the vehicles on board, in December of that year it made the decision to scrap all of the vehicles that were stranded on the Cougar Ace. This month, after sitting in a huge parking lot for more than a year, 4,703 of the Cougar Ace Mazdas were dropped into a 50-foot-tall shredder in Oregon and finally destroyed.

Wired magazine just published an interesting in-depth article about the salvage operation to recover the Cougar Ace. It's a long read, but we're bloggers with the attention span of a gnat and got through it just fine.

[Source: Wired]

LoJack's international recovery network makes it increasingly difficult to escape its satellite eyes. Here's the best example yet. Two Albanian thieves broke into the Italian vacation of home of a Frenchman and knocked him out with sleeping gas. They then stole his French-registered Gallardo. When the man came to he called LoJack France and reported the car stolen. They called LoJack Italy, who turned on the recovery system, and located the car on its way to Naples. The Italian police were called, and bada-boom, bada-bing, you've got two rustlers behind bars and a wayward bull returned to its owner. LoJack also has a Mexico/US agreement to help ward off thieves closer to home. We wonder if the guys who lifted the Lambo got pulled over by this.

[Source: Telematics Journal and Inside Line]

Defying all the odds, we're glad to report that Top Gear host Richard Hammond has been released from the hospital and is recovering with his family at an undisclosed private location. Despite the very serious nature of his crash and the potential brain damage incurred, Richard's doctors all expect him to make a 100% full and complete recovery.

For those joining the saga a little late, "the Hamster", as he's affectionately known, was filming a segment for the popular BBC television program Top Gear, driving a record-setting jet-powered dragster when it blew out a tire at 288 mph, sending the car, with Richard in it, flipping endlessly through a field. Hammond was rescued from the overturned jet-car with his head plowed into the dirt, barely responsive. He was airlifted to an emergency hospital in Leeds before being moved out of intensive care to another hospital in Bristol.

Now speeding down the fast lane to recovery, Richard has given personal accounts to the Mirror, a British newspaper for which he writes a regular column. In four separate articles, Richard describes the crash, his hospitalization, the effects on his family and the things that have helped him recover. Click the Read link to see what the Hamster has to say about his ordeal and recovery.

[Source: The Mirror]

As Top Gear host Richard Hammond recovers from his 300-mph crash, the show's future remains in limbo. The crash occurred while filming a segment for the upcoming series, but with Hammond still in hospital with the full scope of his injuries still unknown, the new season is being postponed indefinitely.

That doesn't mean it's being cancelled. Not yet, at least. The BBC is simply putting it off until Richard's back to his usual smiling self and the team can together decide how to proceed. A strong indication came from co-host Jeremy Clarkson, who boldly declared, "Next week I intend to be down on the track driving faster than ever", and from the show's producer Andy Wilman, who said he'll quit if they have any restrictions placed on the show.

With simultaneous investigations underway by the police and highway safety departments, and a mounting campaign to take the show off the air (or at least curtail the extent of their high-speed shenanigans), the Top Gear team is fighting hard to keep the show, and keep its integrity.

Do you think Top Gear should continue its unrelenting quest for the best in automotive adventures, or have they gone one rev too far? Leave your opinion in our comments section.

Related posts:

Hammond Update: "Was I driving like a tw*t?"

Giving in the name of Richard Hammond

Top Gear's "Hamster" in stable but serious condition day after crash

UPDATE: Details on Richard Hammond crash

Top Gear's Richard Hammond in critical condition

[Source: Reuters]

Jim Press, the new president of Toyota Motor Corp. North American, foresees a bright future for the U.S. auto industry. While speaking at the women's business group Inforum in Detroit last week, he pointed out that:

• The Baby Boom generation that continues to purchase new vehicles won't reach its peak until 2009.
• Generation Xers are buying larger vehicles to accommodate their new families.
• Generation Y members are now reaching driving age.
• The number of immigrants in the U.S. is increasing.

"All this together adds up to a golden opportunity in the years ahead for auto makers, suppliers and all those who support the industry," said Press, who included Ford and General Motors in his presentation. He believes the troubled automakers' current strategies will eventually result in both rebounding and stronger than before. Their recovery, he emphasized, is important to the auto industry, Detroit, and the economy. Further, Press feels that in the end, consumers will be the ultimate winners, as competition improves the breed.

Industry spin or genuine concern? Read the full details at the link and type out your comments.

[Source: Marketwatch]