Autoblog

Epilogue: remember Bob Oyster? He's the Shell station owner in San Francisco who jacked up his gas prices to protest what he considered Shell putting the squeeze on his profits. On his last day of owning the station, Oyster pulled his other card: he dropped the price of gas to $2.99 -- perhaps the lowest price in the entire Bay area. Oyster said he was going to pump at that price until he ran out of the 6,000 gallons in his tanks, and our tipster said there were cars lined up around the block. We don't imagine he had to wait too long for 'empty' to come. Today he hands the keys back over to Shell, and the saga comes to a close.

But remember a time -- not so long ago! -- when $2.99 for a gallon of gas was considered highway robbery?

Thanks for the tip, Patrick!

[Source: SF Gate]

Perhaps it's not just gasoline users that oil companies are squeezing -- station owners might be locked in the vice as well. Bob Oyster, a Shell station owner in San Francisco, is making a statement to Shell and to his customers to let them know what he thinks of it.

To hear Bob tell it, Shell has made it impossible to stay in business. After owning his station for 22 years, he's returning it to Shell at the end of the month. Shell charges him more for gas in San Francisco than in other parts of the Bay, where he also owns stations, but won't let him buy gas anywhere else. They have also raised his rent by leaps and bounds. Five years ago he fought to keep his rent at $6,000 per month based on real estate values, when Shell wanted $13,000. This year they again requested $13K. Shell says that's what the market is worth. Oyster says "I got fed up." What did he do? He raised his gas prices to well over $4 a gallon, and ever since, he hardly sees a customer.

"It makes a statement," he said, "and I guess when people see that price they also see the Shell sign right next to it." Like other independent owners, Oyster makes his money off the convenience store extras, but his lot is so small he doesn't have room for much other than candy and cigarettes. He believes oil companies are trying to squeeze out the independents, but Shell says most of its stations are independently-owned and that that number is increasing. "I'm going out with a bang,'' says Oyster. "And I don't care if I don't pump a gallon on the last day.'' And he probably won't: the Chevron across the street sells gas for 70 cents less.

Thanks for the tip, Mike!

[Source: SF Gate]

We're punchy for this one (just check out our outtakes at the end, even better than last time!). We start off with a lively debate over Hyundai's rumored full-size RWD truck on the BH platform and whether it will be good or bad. No consenus was reached, but it will be exciting to see if Hyundai can morph the concept of the Honda Ridgeline into something a little more haul-friendly.

We segue from unibody pick 'em ups into the exciting story of the 2nd most expensive car ever auctioned. That is, if the buyer doesn't fink out (Too late, already did! - Ed.) when it comes time to hit the old PayPal. John Schneider's personal "General Lee" Charger with history (if you can call 80's TV camp real history) was sold on eBay for 9.95 million dollars. The cash isn't going to fund some humanitarian effort, rather, it will be used to finance a sequel to Mr. Scheider/Duke/Kent's Collier & Co. - Hot Pursuit movie. We're sure it's the next Citizen Kane. Speaking of movies, we also touch on the despicably obvious product placement in the Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, which is essentially a popcorn-bucket-length Dodge spot.

Wrapping it all up, we ring the bell on the "duh" category a couple times for the Lutz. The Zeta is back on, not that we really thought it was dead. B.L. has decided that it's likely wiser to tweak powerplants than to toss away an entire product renaissance worth of engineering. Whew, and we thought he might actually do it. Speaking of questions, we had no question about GM's committment to developing the Volt's battery technology. It will require an infusion of hundreds of millions of dollars, which seems like a good deal to us. Someone somewhere will have to put some time, money and effort into working out the batteries, so why not GM? It beats just sitting around and waiting. We just hope that when Chevy drops the series hybrid on us, it's wrapped in a prettier shell than the Prius. That's it for this week, enjoy!

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If there's one thing Mr. Bob Lutz can't be accused of, it's backing down. The Car Czar will not only tell you exactly what's on his mind, but he'll also give you a chance to change it, and then tell you what he thinks of that, as well. Tuesday, at his office, Lutz met with the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) -- the same group that recently gave Honda its fourth green award in a row and ranked GM seventh out of eight automakers reviewed -- to give them a chance to show what his company was doing wrong.

Lutz actually asked them -- or rather, challenged them -- to come by. The UCS charged that "with off-the-shelf technology, the automaker could build a minivan that would reduce tailpipe emissions by 40 percent -- and cost just $300 per vehicle." Lutz's response was: "Let them come and see us. If the technology were readily and easily available, what on earth would be our motive for withholding it?"

Lutz met with Dave Friedman, head of the UCS's Clean Vehicle Research program, for two hours. Both parties had agreed not to comment on the meeting, but "loggerheads" was the quoted result. Friedman said "we didn't change any minds," and it was left to GM spokesman Chris Preuss to perhaps say what Lutz wouldn't, remarking "The challenge with environmentalists is that there is a complete lack of business and technical experience from which they can draw conclusions . . . [but] we think the meeting was very worthwhile."

[Source: Detroit News]

Lutz unveiles the Cadillac Sixteen concept at NAIAS 2003 in Detroit

It's official. It's been confirmed: Cadillac is preparing a new V12 flagship. That's straight from the mouth of our favorite man in the business, Bob Lutz. On a recent trip across the pond, GM's venerated product guru confirmed in an interview to the British car magazine AutoWeek that they are indeed working on a twelve-cylinder engine, slated to power a new range-topping, import-beating "Cadillac of Cadillacs," a super-luxury-sedan to rival the likes of the Mercedes S-Class and Lexus LS in the grandest of American style.

The new powerplant is being fabricated from two of GM's 3.6-liter 60-degree V6 engines mounted on a common crankshaft. Far from relying solely on cylinder count, sources speculate the engine will also benefit from such features as direct injection and cylinder deactivation, resulting in a 7.2-liter V12 with somewhere in the neighborhood of 600 horsepower and 540 lb-ft of torque.

And just where is GM testing such a behemoth of an engine? In Australia, of course! As has become de rigeur for American automakers of late, GM is relying on its Australian subsidiary to run the development work on the new flagship engine. Holden is reported to have already begun testing mules, based on a Commodore with a stretched-out engine bay, at its Lang Lang test center near Melbourne. Although the Zeta-based Commodore, (a.k.a. the upcoming Pontiac G8) is being used strictly as a test bed for the time being, it could end up providing the underpinnings for the Cadillac megasedan when the time comes.

Lutz has been pushing for a top-tier Cadillac for years now, and the impetus for its development has apparently come from the feedback received by the Cadillac Sixteen showcar debuted back in 2003. Although the showcase V16 engine was ruled out, apparently the V12 has gotten the green light for development. Shoot for the stars and land on the moon, eh Bob?

Related posts:

• Not so sweet Sixteen: GM says definitely no $100k+ sedan
• Cadillac shores up Ultra Luxury Sedan
• Lutz: Camaro could spawn big Caddy
• $100k+ Caddy a go, again?
  

[Source: Automotive News - subscription required]

On what was to be his holiday greeting to the world, Mr. Lutz has decided that he had a little more than a kiss under the mistletoe on his mind to close out 2006.

In his blog, GM FastLane, Lutz clarifies his feelings regarding the recent initiatives to revise the current CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) standards. He comments that pursuing the idea to increase the CAFÉ in the US by 4% annually, forcing manufacturers to sell smaller and smaller vehicles, is like forcing the clothing manufacturers to only make clothes in small sizes to cure obesity. What really needs to happen is a step-up in the development of alternative fuel solutions to reduce our dependence on petroleum.

In conclusion, Lutz asks for the government to get more involved in the development of alternative fuels, as the Japanese government continues to fund these programs with millions of dollars and will continue to be at the forefront of these technologies unless attitudes change.

Read his' full post here.

[Source: GM FastLane]