With European Union legislation banning the use of R134, it's time once again to look for another refrigerant. This time around, C02 looks to be the fluid of choice, with Behr and Visteon preparing to introduce systems by 2009. Both of the aforementioned are greenhouse gases, but R134 is supposedly much worse (the link below - registration required - states that R134a depletes the ozone, but that is not correct). Given that o

Volvo is making it clear in no uncertain terms that it will not build cars in the US, or even source a significant quantity of parts here. The company has sufficient capacity in Sweden for its assembly needs, and does not see the currency exchange advantage offering sufficient reason to do business in the US. As Volvo's VP of manufacturing states, "We are sourcing from low-cost countries, and the U.S. is not low cost". That, apparently, is the thanks we get for being Volvo's largest marke

With the redesigned RAV4, Echo and Camry and the all-new FJ Cruiser, Toyota expects a 100,000 unit increase in its U.S. sales. When it's GM or Ford talking, we tend to scoff; however, Toyota has already sold over 8% more than it sold last year and is already at 1,223,778 after selling 1.67 million last year. If the company keeps its pace, it could break 2 million vehicles for the first time ever. Additionally, the FJ Cruiser, Toyota expects, will sell 30,000 next year without c

Fearing a consumer backlash caused by the recent rise in gasoline prices, European governments are moving quickly to pressure oil companies and refiners. In Britain, the government urged OPEC to increase production to control crude oil prices, while in France, gasoline producers have been threatened with a windfall profit tax. Gas prices fell as much as 7 cents a liter in Britain over the weekend. Meanwhile, French oil company Total has pledged to build more refineries and to p

The admin of Trollhattan Saab, one of the best Saab blogs on the web (if not the only one), has informed us in a not so subtle way that our coverage of Frankfurt's IAA has yet to touch upon his favorite Swedish brand. Point taken, so here it is with apologies for our tardiness. The big news at the Saab display was the world premiere of the redesigned 9-5 sedan and Sport Combi (wagon). Having been due for some attention from the desi

This company, Automoblox, approached me to check out its line of heirloom quality toy cars, to wit I replied, "You want me to play with toys? Sweet." In all honesty, I have to say these toy cars are a cut above the plastic crap on Wal-Mart shelves. I really dig the philosophy of the company, which is that it's better to have one great toy than 10 cheap ones. The concept behind Automoblox was to create a toy durable enough to last a few generations, interesting enough to tear y

The Car Connection's spycams have finally uncovered the much-talked-about souped-up Solstice roadster. After all, the only thing better than a pretty roadster is a FAST pretty roadster. The pictures snapped of the car show the increased breathability required by a faster car, as well as some bodywork inlcuding a honeycomb grille, sharper lines, an additional air intake slit at the bottom of the face, and a lip spoiler at the rear. By all initial calculations, the new turbo'd Sol