| EU 'should ban inefficient cars'
The EU should ban the sale of cars that do under 35 miles to the gallon, the ex-chairman of oil giant Shell says. Sir Mark Moody-Stuart told BBC News the motor industry would adapt to cope with stricter environmental rules. The UK Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders opposes the idea, saying drivers of the most polluting cars pay extra through road tax and petrol duty. But Sir Mark said this simply let rich people avoid taking responsibility for tackling climate change. Expanding on the views he expressed in a BBC News website Green Room opinion column, Sir Mark said: "Nobody needs a car that does 10-15mpg. "We need very tough regulation saying that you can't drive or build something less than a certain standard. You would be allowed to drive an Aston Martin - but only if it did 50-60mpg." Sir Mark's rule would apply only to new cars.
Green, mean, plush plug-in machines
He designed the BMW Z8 roadster and Aston Martin's DB9 and V8 Vantage coupes. Fisker said he wanted to erase the image of green vehicles as awkward and small. "I wanted to make a real statement of how sexy a green car can be," he said. Otherwise, he said, green cars will never achieve the mass appeal needed to make an environmental difference. Fisker projects worldwide Karma sales of 15,000 a year. Fisker Automotive is talking to several companies about a partnership to distribute the vehicle and should have more details in spring, he said. "We know the system works," said Alan Niedzwiecki, a Fisker director and CEO of Quantum Fuel Systems, an investor in the carmaker. "We've had it for four years from a vehicle we did for the Department of Defense." Quantum will make a small number of that "jeeplike" vehicle for the military under a $5 million contract, he said.
Little Fiat sexiest car ever
Top Gear magazine has voted the humble Fiat 500, which looks like a cross between a Mini and a VW Beetle, No 1 for setting pulses racing. It tops a list of 100 sexiest cars because the mag claims anyone behind the wheel looks sexually charged ? even a nun. Contributing editor James May defended the bizarre choice yesterday, saying: The Fiat 500 advertises nothing about its owner, except that its someone who doesnt need to try. Top Gears top ten sexiest cars: 1. Fiat 500; 2. Aston Martin DBS; 3. Maserati Quattroporte; 4. Chevrolet Camaro; 5. Citroen C6; 6. Lincoln Continental; 7. Bentley Continental S1 Fastback; 8. BMW M1; 9. Rolls-Royce Phantom; 10. Sally the Porsche 911 Carrera (from the animated film Cars). .
'Ban all cars that do less than 35mpg'
It estimated that more than one in three models would fail the proposed fuel efficiency threshold. They include some versions of popular cars such as the Volkswagen Beetle, Citroen C4 and Peugeot 307, though diesel engined cars have lower fuel consumption than the equivalent petrol models.It is also thought that the 35mpg limit would be tougher than the 130g/km carbon dioxide emissions limit for cars proposed by the European Commission from 2012.Sir Mark, chairman of the United Nations' Foundation for the Global Compact, which raises money to improve sustainability, said: "We need very tough regulation saying that you can't drive or build something less than a certain standard. You would be allowed to drive an Aston Martin – but only if it did 50-60mpg."He said making people with less fuel-efficient cars pay more in road and fuel tax would simply let the rich avoid taking responsibility for tackling climate change.Sir Mark, who left Shell in 2001 and is now also chairman of mining group Anglo American, said of his plan: "You can buy the roomiest, vroomiest car, as long as it meets the efficiency standard.
CSI coed killed in Willowbrook crash
A 20-year-old Dongan Hills woman was mortally injured last night when she lost control of her sports coupe on a slick Willowbrook road and slammed into a utility pole. The victim, identified as Jacqueline Donadio, was pronounced dead at Richmond University Medical Center, West Brighton, about 40 minutes after the 7:50 p.m. crash. At this time, police suspect no criminality in connection with the accident. In an eerie twist, her brother was involved in a deadly car crash seven months ago. Ms. Donadio, the daughter of a retired police lieutenant, was a student at the College of Staten Island. She graduated from New Dorp High School in 2005. Her MySpace page featured rock music and cryptic images with the following phrases, "Live Fast.
Dierks Bentley tickets on sale Saturday
Tickets for country musician Dierks Bentley's April 12 concert at Rockford's MetroCentre go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday. They cost $36.50 and $29.50 and are available at centreevents.com, the MetroCentre box office at 300 Elm St., or at 815-968-5222. Bucky Covington will perform as the opening act. View Larger Map .
Detroit Concept Cars Show Considerable Promise
Auto show concept cars are often radical design studies that end up being tamed before they are produced (if they are produced at all). But the crop of concepts at this year's North American International Auto Show in Detroit shows plenty of promise, especially crossover utility vehicles (CUVs) like the Cadillac Provoq and Ford Explorer America, which use alternative fuel sources to improve efficiency and lower emissions. The Detroit auto show is held at the Cobo Center and is open to the public January 19-27.
Audi R8 V12 TDI
Audi is well on its way to changing the perceptions of diesel engines with its R8 V12 TDI concept. This sports car looks and performs like a Ferrari, but averages 23 miles per gallon, roughly the same as a family sedan equipped with a V6 engine.
Positive Rejection of Romney? [John O'Sullivan]
Tonight is not yet over, but I fear that one element in the voting may be a positive rejection of Romney. That seems to be a factor quite as much as an embrace of McCain. Hence the revival of Huckabee in the South. My southern belle wife always warned that many evangelicals would vote for anyone but a Mormon. I was skeptical — and we don't yet have the exit poll breakdowns on that kind of question — but it looks as if something like that may be at work. 02/05 10:30 PM .
McLean's wife stays on the move, lawyer says
In affidavits filed in Knox County Fourth Circuit Court, Eric McLean and his divorce attorney, Steve Sharp, allege former West High School student teacher Erin McLean is embarked on a rootless existence with a 19-year-old paramour. "(Erin McLean) has been to California and then to Austin, Texas, staying in cheap motels and then moving when she is unable to pay the bills," Sharp wrote. Attorney Bruce Poston, who is defending Eric McLean on charges that he killed Sean Powell, his wife's teenage student and lover, in March, said Tuesday Erin McLean has since surfaced in Boulder, Colo. Sharp has been trying to serve Erin McLean with divorce papers since September to no avail in an effort to gain custody of the couple's sons, ages 11 and 8. It was then that Erin McLean fled her mother's Nashville home with the boys after news surfaced that she had lied to get a job as a teacher at a private Christian school and allegedly tried to seduce a 17-year-old student.
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