Autoblog

If you've been following the ongoing roof strength regulation saga, this will likely come as no surprise. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters has again asked for an extension to rewrite the government's vehicle roof strength rule. We've been reporting on this for more than three years, and the delays never seem to end (of course, we can assume the big cheese in Washington have more pressing issues on their plates these days). Rewriting the legislation set back in the 1970s isn't as simple as specifying stronger roof pillars. Beefing up the roof will add weight – potentially making a vehicle more top heavy and likely increasing the possibility of a rollover. The new rules will need to address these concerns, and take into account new safety technologies (curtain airbags, stability control, etc...) that are on our current-generation models. While each previous request for an extension included new deadline dates, this latest appeal didn't. A wise move considering the administration's track record on this issue.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]

The exotic cars caught up in the Philippine smuggling controversy from Lamborghini, Ferrari, Porsche, and others were spared due to pending legal action. The owners of those high-end rides are hoping the legal system can help them regain their cars. Standing firm on her plan to crush the cars to discourage the rampant skirting of the law and smuggling of goods, Philippine President Gloria Arroyo went ahead with automotive destruction as planned, while the exotics sat out this round.

It didn't turn out to be quite the example-setting display of authority that President Arroyo had hoped. She didn't show - her backup helicopter was suffering a mechanical malady - and the officials that did attend took a few hours to get their act together and decide to smoosh some vehicles in the name of deterring smuggling. 18 vehicles eventually met the business end of a trio of backhoes, sending the message that Arroyo would rather forego the estimated $2 million US dollars the cars would have brought at auction. Instead of a multi-million dollar windfall, it looks like there's a new environmentally hazardous site at the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority's impound, and the cars will be sold for scrap for the paltry sum of 150,000 Philippine pesos, a little more than $3,200. Finance secretary Margarito Teves acknowledged that the government would be foregoing revenues to send an anti-smuggling message.

Thanks for the tip, Alex!

[Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer via Autojab]

A Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche Cayenne, Carrera, BMW and possibly 15 more high-end auos have been sentenced to death via steam roller by the President of the Phillipines, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

The cars had been smuggled into the country through a former US Naval base in Subic, and Pres. Arroyo is determined to make a spectacle of their destruction and discourage other would be smugglers from attempting to avoid import taxes. The event will be even broadcast live across the country, and will no doubt appear on You Tube soon after. We'll let you know when it does.

The Phillipines used to auction cars that were caught being smuggled into the country, but since the smugglers were usually the auction winners and got their cars back, President Arroyo will sacrifice sculpted sheetmetal, carbon fiber and low-profile rubber to make a point to her people.

Thanks for the tip, Paolo!

[Source: INQUIRER.net]

The state of California has taken a hard line against illegal street racing, the type of which has on occasion led to the death of innocent pedestrians and the racers themselves. They're employing a new deterrent to make these illegal racers think twice about competing on public roads – crushing the impounded cars of those caught street racing. This Fox News video clip (click this link to view) shows a local reporter present at the inaugural crush who appears a little too excited about the event compared to the disembodied anchorman whose voiceover we hear in the backgroiund. The tuned Honda Civic hatch is flattened quickly inside the crusher's jaws, the extreme pressure popping out its windows like eyeballs and some of the hatch's contents ejecting out the back like vomit. Fortunately, it looks like the aftermarket rims may have survived. The Ron Burgandy wannabe behind the desk says it best at the end exclaiming, "Half the guys in the studio are crying at what you just showed us."

[Source: Fox News via GMInsideNews]