Autoblog

Red light cameras are nothing more than a surreptitious tax. Oh sure, they're sold to municipalities as a safety benefit, but what else would you say if you wanted to be paid to install, administrate, and monitor your little ticket-writing bots? The cities and towns that put the cameras greedily snap up the extra revenue generated by dangerously short yellow lights and overzealous cameras. Patrick Bedard has been poking holes in the theory that traffic cameras are the salve for behind the wheel idiocy, and a recent study by the University of South Florida Public Health agrees that the cameras actually cause accidents. Other studies also back up the findings that drivers are quicker to slam on their brakes at yellow lights when they spot the cameras. While it should not play out with a rear ending, nobody maintains a safe following distance, or even pays attention. In some cases, the rate of red light running is low enough that the cameras cause a spike in incidents, proving that the cure can sometimes be worse than the sickness.

[Source: Kicking Tires, Photo: Morning Chu Hi]

In light of the "backwards-travelling wave" that researchers recently discovered as a cause of congestion, another study has pinpointed a possible major contributor. The University of Utah's Traffic Lab uncovered that drivers paying more attention to yapping on their phone – hands free or not – add to the suffering of us all. Talking while driving leads to drivers who take considerably longer to change lanes when following slow-moving vehicles, drive slower overall, and take longer to arrive at their destination.

Any benefits from slower speeds and more deliberate movements are mitigated by the distraction of a conversation. Thinking along the lines of chaos theory, even the small slowdowns created by poky drivers can grow into exponentially larger traffic problems quickly. Then, when we're all stuck in the stop and go, we call someone else and bitch about how bad the traffic is. Sounds like what they've really discovered in Utah is the fuel for a perpetual motion machine. Car stops, jaw continually flaps.

[Source: Reuters, Photo: hotrodscustomstuff.com]

Spyker was looking like a bright young protégé for a while. It had some great ideas, a beautiful vision for the future and unstoppable ambition. Then it finished school and stepped out in the real world, ran out of money, had to cancel some of its more expensive plans, take some less glamorous jobs, sell off some of its assets, take a new direction, and hunker down to the realities of running a small operation with limited resources. Fortunately for the Dutch niche automaker, a group of students has seen eye-to-eye with its situation and have offered a helping hand in the form of this intriguing concept.

The C69 design study is (theoretically) equipped with two hybrid V6 engines (front and back) and bodywork straight out of Michael Bay's mind: one door scissors forward, the other rearward, and the front and rear shells tilt outwards. It's a slick little package, but we doubt Skyker would build it...at least not before paying off its student loans.

Check out the dramatic video after the jump for extra credits, and have your student ID number ready.

[Source: Motor Authority]

UPDATE: It turns out there were actually some running and driving versions of this car, link in text below.

The fact that AMC never produced this car is probably part of the reason why they were able to hang on as the last independent automaker until the twilight of the 1980s. Looking at it now, though, makes us wish they'd gone after the mid-engined supercar segment with their iconoclastic flair. Sure, that'd mean an interior done up in noxious orange tartan, but look at that design! Richard Teague and crew managed to create a very muscular form evocative of what may have happened had a Toronado mated with Signor Miura. There were several development cars created, but no production version. What has recently surfaced is one of the "pushcars" used at events to show off the exterior styling. Pushcars were basically fiberglass bodies splashed from molds of the clay bucks. Underneath the exterior was a wooden framework and rudimentary axles front and rear.

Other pushcars from the same program have surfaced, one was even stuck atop a pole at a used car dealership before being rescued and restored (as a pushcar, that is.) The AMX/3, however, remained sealed away in Bruce Wayne's underground lair, it would seem, until earlier this year. The seller, second owner of the AMX/3, had intended on mounting the body to a Pantera chassis, but decided to sell it instead. New owner Tom Dulaney intends to restore the pushcar back to its original setup, but not before taking molds from the body to possibly create replica pieces. So, in the end, we may actually be able to own the sexiest AMC that never was, even if it is underpinned by a Fiero. Actually, there's no word on what would serve as a chassis, so let your imaginations run. We know what will be circling our heads as we fall asleep tonight.

[Source: Hemmings]

The University of Michigan's National Quality Research Center released its American Customer Satisfaction Index today, which found that in general customer satisfaction has slightly increased this year in the automotive industry, and specifically domestic automakers have gained ground on their import competitors. While Lexus leads all brands with a score of 87 out of 100, Cadillac (86), Buick (86) and Lincoln-Mercury (86) all came within spitting distance of Toyota's luxury leader. Toyota and Honda, meanwhile, slid compared to last year, both achieving a score of 84. While improving, Ford (80), Chevy (82) and Dodge (80) still have a gap to close on their Japanese competitors.

These scores actually mirror closely the rankings in J.D. Power and Associates recently released 2007 Vehicle Dependability Study, and one would assume a customer's satisfaction with his or her vehicle has something to do with its dependability. That study saw Lexus tied with Buick for first place, with Cadillac, Lincoln and Mercury not far behind, as well.

[Source: University of Michigan, Automotive News]

Honda took four categories in the latest J.D. Power's 2007 Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) Study. APEAL measures how happy an owner is with the design, content, layout, and performance of their car within 90 days of purchase. When the votes were tallied from the 91,000 respondents, Honda won with the Fit (Sub-compact), CR-V (MAV), Ridgeline (Mid-size pickup), and Odyssey (Van), beating Mercedes and BMW who both took three categories each.

Among the domestics, Ford was the only winner, with the Mustang and the Edge. According to J.D. Power, new or redesigned vehicles tend to score the best, and that cars that score well in the APEAL Study need lower incentives to lure buyers. And in case you were wondering, closely following another study that took the same measure of owner happiness, the Jaguar S-Type did not make the list this time.

[Source: J. D. Powers]

"Accidents happen." It's the oft-quoted mantra of anyone who spends time behind the wheel. Sooner or later, you'll witness or partake in a vehicular mishap. The Japan Automobile Research Institute aims to take a less stoic attitude about accidents and have set up a model street to evaluate accident prevention systems and practices.

The model street, which is larger than three football fields, includes straight and curved sections and will offer Institute researchers better insight into the conditions that cause accidents. We can't speak for what causes fender benders in Japan, but in the US, the number one cause has got to be drivers with absolutely no training paying limited attention to the task at hand. Who can blame them? The allure of text messaging is so much more enticing than piloting a 3500-pound projectile rendered in metal, composite and glass. Familiarize yourself with good car-brandishing skills and then observe the idiots that surround you. There's no institute needed to discern that inattention and ineptitude often play roles, but there are often plenty of other factors. That's what the model street has been developed to study. Here's to safer travels for drivers and pedestrians alike -- and let's hope they export the stuff that actually works at reducing incidents.

[Source: MSN - Mainichi]

Does a three-hour marathon session of Burnout Revenge on the Xbox 360 give you the urge to go wreak automotive havoc on an unsuspecting public? Perhaps not, but you might be more inclined to run a red light or wantonly speed according to a new study that confirms the correlation between racing games and risky behavior behind the wheels. While surveys have been done to establish this correlation in the past, this is one of the first hardcore studies conducted to back up this theory.

Conducted by Peter Fischer at Ludwig-Maximilians University and the Allianz Center for Technology in Germany (Allianz is one of the largest insurance companies in the world), the study took a very scientific approach. Published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology, it began with interviewing a number of subjects on their driving habits and how often they played video games that featured driving in a real-world setting. Next, researchers actually compared the effect of playing games like Burnout, Midnight Racer and Need for Speed on the brain. It was found that such games did increase cognitions that relate to risk taking and arousal/excitement. Finally, the study gauged whether these types of driving games actually translated into risk-taking behavior by using the widely accepted Vienna Test System. Sure enough, it was found that men (though not women) were more likely to take risks in traffic after playing these games.

The linked article from Arstechnica makes the good point that the study steered clear of driving games like Project Gotham Racing, Forza and Gran Turismo that take place on virtual tracks in controlled environments. Such games, if studied, might be found to promote increased motor skills and concentration since the goal is to get the best lap time and not run over granny in your Gremlin.

What's worrisome, however, is if the correlation between these types of driving games might eventually give the insurance industry cause to increase rates for gamers that like to indulge in a little Grand Theft Auto.

[Source: Arstechnica]

According to the Financial Times, General Motors has actually created a group to explore a potential purchase, alliance or other relationship with the Chrysler Group. Rumors have continued to persist that General Motors is interested in outright purchasing the Chrysler Group from DaimlerChrysler, but the fact that this exploratory group is headed by the same guy, Fritz Henderson (shown), who led the team that studied and eventually recommended against a possible tie-up with Nissan/Renault, adds more fuel to the fire. Of course, GM is still sticking to its original comment on the situation, which is that it regularly has discussions with other automakers on topics of mutual interest.

So far Hyundai, Volkswagen, Fiat and Nissan/Renault have ruled themselves out as potential buyers for the Chrysler Group, though reports have surfaced that at least four private equity groups are in preliminary talks with DCX concering a possible purchase deal. DaimlerChrysler CEO Dieter Zetsche has been quoted as saying that "all options are on the table." Just like it was with the exploratory group set up to study the Nissan/Renault deal, it will be months before Fritz and the gang will be able to provide a recommendation to GM.

[Source: Just-Auto - sub. req'd]

It struck us as an odd pairing when BMW and PSA Peugeot-Citroen formed their initial partnership. BMW, a German conglomerate building premium performance and luxury automobiles and controlling a couple small but iconic British marques, and PSA, a grouping of two run-of-the-mill mass-production French brands. Their products don't overlap much, but the all but total lack of competition is probably what helps them get along. No competition means no threat.

Now the two groups are looking at expanding their cooperation along the lines of their current partnership. PSA developed and builds the engines for the Mini, the French firm imparting their expertise with small engines on their Bavarian friends who are more adept at high-output performance powerplants. PSA and BMW are now undertaking a study to assess new ways the two can collaborate, and if they both like the findings, we may see Peugeot-Citroen engines in other BMW products, and maybe vice-versa.

Now isn't it so much nicer when the Germans and the French get along?

[Source: AP via Detroit News]