By Edd Snyder

THE financial storm that has swept across the globe since late summer has touched virtually every segment of the economy. It has hit millions of homeowners and affected thousands of small businesses as well as major corporations and even sovereign governments.

It has had a devastating effect on the auto industry, which has encountered a sales slump unlike any other in more than two decades and 2.5 million jobs in the U.S. are at risk.

The financial crisis is affecting the auto industry because the car business runs on credit, and the credit markets are not functioning as normal.

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By Agence France-Presse

BRUSSELS — Cars stuck in traffic or on slippery roads will be able to communicate with other vehicles in a bid to cut down on traffic jams and road accidents, plans of the European Commission showed.

“Today’s commission decision is a decisive step towards meeting the European goal of reducing road accidents,” said EU Telecoms Commissioner Viviane Reding.

Getting critical messages through quickly and accurately is a must for road safety, Reding said.

She said 24 percent of driving time in Europe was spent in traffic jams that could cost the EU economy 80 billion Euros ($124 million) by 2010.

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Editor’s Note: This is an account of Team CAR in the Rush Hour Commute race written by Stephanie Asuncion and Elvira Mata.

WE may have clocked in second and spent a fortune on gas, but we got to our destination without killing anyone for a seat. Best of all, our clothes were unwrinkled.

Expecting the ride to be long, we packed mineral water, pan de sal, gummy bears, audio CDs and weird conversation ranging from the difference between WiFi and WeRoam and how to tell if that homeless man is sniffing glue or just happy to see us.

Team CAR took an hour and 19 minutes to travel from EDSA North station all the way to Pasay Taft station, which has a distance of 16.8 kilometers. A dry run of the same route done on a rainy Sunday took all of 22 minutes.

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By Reuters

TOKYO, Japan - Nissan Motor Co. has developed an accelerator pedal that can push back on the driver’s foot when it detects excess pressure and poor fuel efficiency.

Japan’s No.3 automaker said it would install the “ECO pedal”, which can be switched on or off by the driver, in its cars from next year. It didn’t specify which models would be equipped with the new technology.

Internal research showed that the system, which comes with real-time fuel consumption levels displayed in the instrument panel, could improve fuel efficiency by 5 to 10 percent depending on driving conditions.

Nissan is taking a three-pronged approach to reducing carbon dioxide emissions, comprising improvements in vehicle technologies, driving behaviour and traffic conditions.

Last year, it promised to equip all new cars with the fuel consumption indicator, which indicates the optimal level for fuel-efficient driving by displaying a green, flashing or amber light.

By Andre Palma
Philippine Daily Inquirer

IT is easy to fall prey to preconceived notions, biases if you will. Even the world of cars and motoring is not free of arbitrary, foregone conclusions. Rain always brings horrendous traffic. Station wagon owners have large, hairy dogs. Traffic cops like doughnuts.

Ask yourselves, ladies and gentlemen, what comes to mind when you think of the Hyundai brand? Honestly, in our subconscious’ hierarchy of automotive brands, cars with the italicized H aren’t vehicles that we are completely comfortable with. More often than not, a little sense of hesitation always creeps in when thinking of this marque.

Chalk up this line of thinking to a less than stellar complement of vehicles that initially introduced Hyundai cars to the local market around a decade ago. To say that the current generation of automobiles from this Korean manufacturer is now radically different would just state the obvious. Inevitably, everything changes over time. What really has to be said is that change has been kind to the Hyundai brand and the second generation Santa Fe is confirmation of the good news.

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By Andre Palma
Philippine Daily Inquirer

FIRST, congratulations on your status as a respected leader in the international automobile industry. No, strike that. Rock star seems a title more appropriate. Turning around the worldwide operations of Nissan is possibly one of the greatest feats in the history of man making the automobile. You did that as an outsider, a gaijin at that. And now you have a Japanese cartoon character in your likeness to show for it.

Everything you seem to do is done in boldface. Unveiling the R35 Nissan GT-R, the spiritual successor of the Skyline, to the driving world last year in Tokyo, stole the show for all intents and purposes. Standing there, elbow to solar plexus with the rest of the world’s motoring press, even our habitually cynical lot was obviously excited. I was there in the Godzilla-frenzied mosh pit and have lousy, ill-taken photos filled with other journalists’ heads and shoulders to prove it.

Your statements at Davos this year were typically far from low-key as well. Betting Renault’s and Nissan’s future on electric vehicles is considerably risky. Add to that the pledge that your electric car will be fun to drive and provide a significant economic advantage over the internal combustion engine. Imagine the anticipation for this landmark endeavor, especially when it’s the CEO of world’s fourth largest automotive conglomerate doing the talking. Double the expectation since Carlos Ghosn spoke those words himself.

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By Tessa R. Salazar
Philippine Daily Inquirer

THE 1.6-LITER LS Chevy Optra wagon stands all by its lonesome in its market segment. The only wagon in the country that carries a submillion price tag (P869,000 for the automatic, P829,000 for the manual, to be exact), it’s also probably the only wagon that’s not ashamed to highlight its “mama’s toy” character.

It certainly knows where it’s going: right to the school zone and PTA meetings, where functionality and safety are more important than tuner-delight performances.

For a 1.6-liter engine powering a 1,190-kg body (for automatic), the heaviness makes up for its stability and loads of safety features. It has dual airbags, standard antilock brake system and four-wheel disc brakes.

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By Aida Sevilla-Mendoza
Philippine Daily Inquirer

DRIVING fast is not much fun these days — what with oil prices soaring and the guilty feeling that pricks your conscience when you exceed 100 kph. So you learn to moderate your speed in your daily commute.

Just the same, you still want a car that can zoom way ahead of the pack when the spirit moves you on the highway.

Enter the 2008 Subaru Impreza 2.0R Sport.

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By Aida Sevilla-Mendoza
Philippine Daily Inquirer

PICTURE in your mind this photo op: the 2008 Volvo XC70 AWD in all its rugged elegance parked on a sandy beach, the waves lapping at its 17-inch alloy wheels while the sun sets behind it on the horizon of the South China Sea.

The opportunity to set up this photo op came last week, so I broached it to the Volvo representatives present. But unfortunately the beach at Puerto del Sol resort in Bolinao, Pangasinan is fenced off and therefore inaccessible to cars.

But let me tell you how an XC70 ended up at a beach resort in the distant north.

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By Tessa R. Salazar
Philippine Daily Inquirer

CAR manufacturers seem to shrug off successive oil price increases as just part of the inevitable, and hope that Filipino buyers would do the same. And from the looks of it, things are still going the carmakers’ way, as new car launches continue left and right, and buyers aren’t just window shopping.

The newest car launch was courtesy of General Motors (featuring its new Chevy Aveo hatchback). This is to be followed by other launches of Mitsubishi (public launch of the new Lancer EX), Motor Image Pilipinas’ Subaru (launching the full-sized SUV Tribeca) and Nissan (introducing the Livina MPV).

In April, the auto industry registered a year-to-date growth of 14.8 percent compared to the same period (January to April) last year. There were 39,981 units sold, of which 11,078 units were sold in April alone.

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