Autoblog

Canadian auto outposts Windsor and Essex counties in Ontario have lost thousands of jobs in the recent past. Out of concern for the future of not only their jobs, but their communities and standard of living, nearly 40,000 people took part in a rally organized by the Canadian Auto Workers Union on Sunday, May 27th. The CAW claims that every single manufacturing job supports 12 non-autobuilding jobs, and with the big goings on down south with the sale of Chrysler and Ford's Way Forward, the union is understandably concerned. The rally, part of the CAW's wider "Manufacturing Matters" initiative, was held at Ford's Windsor, Ontario test track, and was intended to demonstrate the gravity of Canada's loss of manufacturing jobs. There will be pain associated with the domestic automakers scramble to stay alive, and part of that has taken the form of shipping jobs elsewhere. It's not just the car assembly plants, it's the multitudes of smaller suppliers that build the subassemblies and components the autoworkers actually assemble. It's happening in the US, as well, and it's tough to realize that in the jaws of the vice are families that have little recourse. Click the pic above for a slideshow of the Windsor rally with audio.

Thanks for the tip, Peter!

[Source: Autonorth]

On a Saturday in August every year, more than 1.5 million people and 40,000 muscle cars, street rods, exotics and collector cars descend on Detroit for the Woodward Dream Cruise. The Cruise is a 12-hour petrol-powered ode to 50s and 60s and the days when Woodward Avenue -- the Boulevard of Dreams! -- was the heart of Cruising, USA. Now in it's 12th year, the entire cruise and the satellite events that surround it during the weekend are being protested by a 63-year-old retired schoolteacher named Joellen Gilchrist.

Her complaint is that the Cruise is environmentally unfriendly, and her protest is part of the Step It Up campaign that has an admirable goal -- to convince Congress to reduce carbon emissions by 80% in time for 2050 -- that targets "the world's largest one-day celebration of car culture." The Cruise features vehicles from before the passage of the Clean Air Act, so they aren't sterling examples of eco-friendly motororing. But as AutoblogGreen rightly points out, most of the vehicles in the Cruise don't get many miles outside of events like the Cruise and the random joyride. While she aims to keep her protest friendly, even humorous, it might make more sense if she simply protested the commuters headed to and from work every day. This kind of enthusiast event, however, provides a target that will be sure to get some attention.

Intriguingly, even The Sierra Club has remained on the sidelines. The Club hosts a Green Cruise the weekend before -- sans motorized appliances -- and the folks who don't like the cruise simply spend the weekend out of town.

[Source: Detroit Free Press via AutoblogGreen]

Though I attended the 2007 LA Auto Show, like you I wasn't present in the room when a pair of environmentalists from Global Exchange sauntered on stage at the end of Rick Wagoner's keynote address and asked the surpised CEO of General Motors to sign a pledge to make his company the most fuel efficient in the world by 2010. Damon was present, but didn't have the handy cam on (tsk, tsk). I didn't fret, because I knew it would only be a matter of time before the official video hit the web, and it has.

Go ahead and let it load, then skip to 23:00 to see some environmental guerilla warfare. What makes the move these guys particularly epic is the fact that you're not sure when the stunt begins. The man that grabs the mic at the end plays the whole MC role so convincingly that you think it's his job to send the Ricker off with a handshake and a wave. He deserves a Supporting Actor nod for his role in Wagoner, Interrupted.

[Source: Google Video]

Related post:

• Environmental protestors crash Rick Wagoner's keynot

The same group of protestors who took the stage with Rick Wagoner yesterday have returned on the second day of the 2006 LA Auto Show. This time, instead of confronting the head honchos of the Big 6 automakers directly, they've set up shop outside and staged a "Greenwash Car Wash". The protestors from Global Exchage, Rainforest Action Network, Ruckus Society and Code Pink are clad in bikinis and board shorts while washing down a HUMMER H2 in green sudsy water. There's also a green MC on hand interviewing people in the crowd, which numbered in the single digits while we were outside observing the event. We're sure they'd like us to report all their facts and figures about how the Big 6 automakers are contributing to global warming and should be doing something about it, but you've heard it all before. Truth be told, this is actually the greenest auto show we can remember. New hybrid models are everywhere, a plug-in hybrid was finally announced, and alt-fuel vehicles line the curb outside for jounalists to test. Well, now we can add a sopping wet HUMMER H2 to the list of green cars at the LA Auto Show.

You can find more pics of the protest after the jump.