Variance

I can't take it anymore. I have to get a new computer and I need it soon. This POS desktop of mine is hinging on my last nerve: the slowness, the loudness, the slowness, the ancient (by today's standards) monitor, the slowness, the fact that if I so much as touch the tower, the computer will inexplicably black out and require a hard reset (I'm not kidding) and did I mention the slowness? Then there's the laptop with a dead keyboard, dead touchpad, several dead LEDs, and a line of dead pixels in the corner of the screen. Plus, it's thick and heavy as hell, the battery life sucks (which wouldn't be that much of an issue if the AC jack worked properly...which it doesn't) and it's scratched to all hell. Frankly, I'm sick of looking at it. I may have to delay my new car plans a bit because I am getting a new computer this month no matter what. My only issue is, which one do I replace first? I've had the desktop longer and as such it's the older and slower of the two. On the other hand, I'd like to have the ability to take a computer to my classes (and elsewhere) again. I can't afford to replace both of them this year (my car is older than both of my computers put together and I'm eager to replace it as well) and don't plan on spending more than $1000 on one (give or take $100). Assuming both of your current rigs equally irritated you, which would you replace first?

Anybody know how much of the petroleum we get here is sourced from OPEC as opposed to elsewhere?

Congratulations. You have now made my guys-that-own-GTOs-before-me-that-I-hate list.

You'd have a point if Mitsubishis actually sold well. They don't. Ever wonder why they haven't provided sales charts for months now like every other automaker?

Ooh, burn!

Your own quoted item says it best: *Owing to the compromise with performance during summer, winter performance is usually poorer than a winter tire. You can probably get by with decent all-seasons but there's no questioning specialized winter rubber is your best choice. And those crappy special eco-tires fitted on the Prius are probably the worst "all-seasons" out there. The low-friction properties of them make them useless in the snow it sounds like. The point: If the owners are too lazy or cheap to swap in snow tires, they should be suprised if they get stuck. And for what it's worth, I've never seen a Prius up here stuck in the snow. Must be because CT owners know damn well you better have snow tires on your car when winter rolls around.

Want to explain how over a 10% percent rise in sales over last February and a 23.7% increase in total sales over last year isn't successful?

Feb. 2007 Sales: Toyota Motor Sales Spurred by record hybrid sales, Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A., Inc., today reported best-ever February sales of 187,330 vehicles, an increase of 12.2 percent over February 2006. "Sales were brisk at both ends of our product lineup," said Jim Lentz, TMS executive vice president. "Setting an all-time record, the Prius hybrid led the way, nearly doubling last February's sales pace; while the new full-size Tundra got off to an impressive start since hitting showrooms February 5th." The Toyota Division posted best-ever February sales of 164,812, up 13 percent. The Lexus Division reported best-ever February sales of 22,518 units, an increase of 6.6 percent. Toyota Division Toyota Division passenger cars recorded best-ever February sales of 106,429, up 21.1 percent over the same period last year. Passenger car sales were led by Camry, which posted February sales of 32,148, up 17.5 percent over the same period last year. Camry Hybrid reported sales of 3,332 units in February. The Prius hybrid gas-electric mid-size sedan posted all-time best-ever sales of 12,227, an increase of 87 percent. The Yaris subcompact posted sales totaling 5,702 units for the month. Corolla reported February sales of 28,321, an increase of 12.9 percent. Toyota Division light truck sales were up 2.4 percent, with a best-ever February total of 80,901 units. Light truck sales were led by the RAV4 compact sport utility vehicle (SUV), which reported best-ever February sales of 11,643, up 5.2 percent over the same period last year. The all-new Tundra full-size pickup reported sales of 9,669. The Highlander and Highlander Hybrid posted combined February sales of 9,368, up 3.7 percent over the same period last year. The Highlander Hybrid gas-electric mid-size SUV reported sales of 1,892 units for the month. FJ Cruiser reported February sales of 5,040 units. Scion posted February sales of 8,956 units. The tC sports coupe led the way with February sales of 4,366 units. Scion xB posted sales of 2,868 units for the month. Lexus Division Lexus passenger cars reported best-ever February sales of 13,491 units, an increase of 27 percent over February 2006. Passenger car sales were led by the ES 350 luxury sedan with best-ever February sales of 5,286 units, up 64 percent. The all-new LS 460 reported sales of 2,423, an increase of 138.7 percent. Lexus Division light trucks reported February sales totaling 9,027 units with the RX 350 and RX 400h reporting combined February sales of 7,086 units. The RX 400h hybrid luxury utility vehicle reported sales of 1,249 units for the month. TMS calendar-year-to-date hybrid sales totaled 31,933 units, an increase of 67 percent over the year-ago. In February, TMS posted sales of 18,860 hybrid vehicles, up 92 percent over last February. Toyota Division posted sales of 17,451 hybrids, up 90 percent over the same period last year, while the Lexus Division posted sales of 1,409 hybrids. There were 24 selling days this sales month and last February. TOYOTA RETAIL SALES (INCLUDES FLEET & HAWAII) February, 2007 -- CURRENT MONTH -- -- CALENDAR YEAR TO DATE -- DSR % DSR % 2007 2006 CHG 2007 2006 CHG YARIS 5,702 0 -- 11,572 0 -- COROLLA 28,321 25,088 12.9 53,840 49,975 5.5 CAMRY 32,148 27,354 17.5 63,609 54,794 13.7 AVALON 5,583 6,900 -19.1 12,112 13,846 -14.3 PRIUS 12,227 6,547 86.8 20,526 14,201 41.6 SCION xA 1,722 2,285 -24.6 3,480 4,343 -21.5 SCION xB 2,868 4,074 -29.6 5,701 7,910 -29.4 SCION tC 4,366 5,048 -13.5 8,779 9,855 -12.7 TOTAL TOYOTA DIV. PASS. CAR 92,938 77,304 20.2 179,620 154,942 13.6 ES 350 5,286 3,223 64.0 10,606 6,556 58.5 LS 460 2,423 1,015 138.7 5,429 2,205 141.2 SC 430 282 446 -36.8 584 851 -32.8 GS 300 1,388 1,771 -21.6 2,756 3,470 -22.2 GS 430/450h 175 278 -37.1 358 557 -37.0 IS 250/350 3,937 3,882 1.4 7,332 7,955 -9.7 TOTAL LEXUS PASS. CAR 13,491 10,615 27.1 27,065 21,594 22.8 TOTAL TOYOTA PASS. CAR 106,429 87,919 21.1 206,685 176,536 14.7 SIENNA 11,039 12,329 -10.5 21,888 24,103 -11.0 RAV4 11,643 11,068 5.2 23,568 20,450 12.9 FJ CRUISER 5,040 0 -- 9,988 0 -- 4RUNNER 7,555 8,613 -12.3 14,885 17,125 -14.9 HIGHLANDER 9,368 9,033 3.7 19,690 17,781 8.5 LAND CRUISER 226 297 -23.9 460 587 -23.2 SEQUOIA 2,312 2,868 -19.4 4,370 5,622 -23.9 TOTAL SUV 36,144 31,879 13.4 72,961 61,565 16.1 4X2 TACOMA 8,698 8,124 7.1 16,176 15,514 2.1 4X4 TACOMA 6,324 5,611 12.7 11,909 10,631 9.7 TOTAL TACOMA 15,022 13,735 9.4 28,085 26,145 5.2 TUNDRA 9,669 10,566 -8.5 15,990 20,025 -21.8 TOTAL PICKUP 24,691 24,301 1.6 44,075 46,170 -6.5 TOTAL TOYOTA DIV. LT TRUCK 71,874 68,509 4.9 138,924 131,838 3.2 LX 470 269 452 -40.5 556 996 -45.3 GX 470 1,672 1,813 -7.8 3,385 3,759 -11.8 RX 350/400h 7,086 8,247 -14.1 13,630 14,436 -7.5 TOTAL LEXUS LIGHT TRUCK 9,027 10,512 -14.1 17,571 19,191 -10.3 TOTAL TOYOTA LIGHT TRUCK 80,901 79,021 2.4 156,495 151,029 1.5 TOTAL TOYOTA DIV. 164,812 145,813 13.0 318,544 286,780 8.8 TOTAL LEXUS 22,518 21,127 6.6 44,636 40,785 7.2 TOTAL TOYOTA 187,330 166,940 12.2 363,180 327,565 8.6 MEMO: DOM. COROLLA 25,549 22,549 13.3 48,311 45,793 3.3 DOM. CAMRY 24,990 25,271 -1.1 47,834 50,135 -6.5 DOM. PICKUP 24,691 24,301 1.6 44,075 46,170 -6.5 DOM. RX 350 4,832 5,065 -4.6 8,621 8,419 0.3 SELLING DAYS 24 24 49 48 TOYOTA DIV. IMPORT CAR 36,816 22,584 63.0 71,363 45,168 54.8 LEXUS IMPORT CAR 13,491 10,615 27.1 27,065 21,594 22.8 TOYOTA DIV NA BUILT CARS 56,122 54,720 2.6 108,257 109,774 -3.4 TOTAL TOYOTA CARS 106,429 87,919 21.1 206,685 176,536 14.7 TOYOTA DIV. IMPORT LT TRUCK 33,832 29,011 16.6 68,591 55,943 20.1 LEXUS IMPORT LT TRUCK 4,195 5,447 -23.0 8,950 10,772 -18.6 TOYOTA DIV NA BUILT LT TRUCK 38,042 39,498 -3.7 70,333 75,895 -9.2 LEXUS NA BUILT LT TRUCK 4,832 5,065 -4.6 8,621 8,419 0.3 TOTAL TOYOTA LT TRUCK 80,901 79,021 2.4 156,495 151,029 1.5 SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES 40,131 42,391 -5.3 80,544 80,756 -2.3 Memo: Lexus Sport Utility 9,027 10,512 -14.1 17,571 19,191 -10.3 SMALL VANS 11,039 12,329 -10.5 21,888 24,103 -11.0 PICKUPS 24,691 24,301 1.6 44,075 46,170 -6.5 * NORTH AMERICAN BUILT VEHICLES COROLLA 25,549 22,549 13.3 48,311 45,793 3.3 CAMRY 24,990 25,271 -1.1 47,834 50,135 -6.5 AVALON 5,583 6,900 -19.1 12,112 13,846 -14.3 SIENNA 11,039 12,329 -10.5 21,888 24,103 -11.0 PICKUP 24,691 24,301 1.6 44,075 46,170 -6.5 SEQUOIA 2,312 2,868 -19.4 4,370 5,622 -23.9 RX 350 4,832 5,065 -4.6 8,621 8,419 0.3 TOTAL 98,996 99,283 -0.3 187,211 194,088 -5.5 N.A. VEHICLES % OF TOTAL 52.8% 59.5% 51.5% 59.3% SELLING DAYS 24 24 49 48 DSR = DAILY SELLING RATE [source: Toyota Motor Sales]

Feb. 2007 Sales: American Honda Motor Co. With record sales of the all-new 2007 Honda CR-V and Accord sales up sharply, American Honda Motor Co., Inc., posted record February results of 110,026 Honda and Acura vehicle sales, an increase of 3.2 percent over February, 2006. American Honda light trucks also posted record monthly results with sales of 49,521 up 7.0 percent. Year-to-date American Honda total vehicle sales of 210,816 are up 0.7 percent on a daily-selling-rate basis. The Honda Division posted its best February ever with record sales of 96,368 cars and light trucks, an increase of 4.2 percent over year-ago results. Strong Accord sales of 30,370 reflected a 20.1 percent February increase. On its third consecutive month of record postings since its redesign, CR-V sales of 13,524 rose 31.0 percent, helping the division post record February sales of 43,157 trucks, up 2.8 percent over year-ago results. Honda sold a total of 2,236 hybrid vehicles, including 1,924 Civic Hybrids, an 8.1 percent increase over last year. "Accord is displaying a great deal of momentum as we move into the spring selling season," said Dick Colliver, executive vice president of American Honda. "It remains a compelling product and our customers are validating it with their purchase decisions." The Acura Division posted total vehicle sales of 13,658, with record February sales of 2,769 for the TSX and record truck sales of 6,364 units. The MDX luxury SUV was Acura's best-selling model with February sales of 4,330 and year-to-date sales of 8,483. [source: American Honda Motor Company]

Except it didn't. Edmunds 2004 Fullsize Truck Comparison -- Titan 1st, F-150 3rd: http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Drive...rticleId=101958 Car and Driver 2004 -- Titan 1st, F-150 2nd: http://www.caranddriver.com/comparisons/76...-4x4-page6.html Truck Trend 2005 -- Titan 1st, F-150 3rd: http://www.trucktrend.com/roadtests/pickup...ison/index.html

Feb. 2007 Sales: Mitsubishi Motors N.A. Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc., (MMNA) today reported February sales of 9,726 units, up 22% from last February's total of 7,976. Mitsubishi's calendar year sales have increased 23.7% compared to the first two months of 2006. The February increase follows a January increase of more than 25%. Mitsubishi sales have increased in eight of the eleven months of the current fiscal year (FY2006). "While we are pleased with the sales of the past two months, all of MMNA is enthusiastically looking to the future," said MMNA CEO Hiroshi Harunari. "The marketplace performance of our products provides tremendous forward momentum and in the Spring we will add the exciting all-new Lancer sedan to the mix." The Lancer shares a platform with Mitsubishi's new fuel-efficient Outlander crossover SUV, which saw February sales of 1,956 units, up 84% from last February's volume. Other February sales highlights: -Outlander sales were up 114% year-to-date. -Galant sales were up 9.7% in February and 7.2% year-to-date. -Eclipse coupe sales were up 12.8% in February and 24.1% year-to-date. -Eclipse Spyder convertible sales were more than ten times higher this February than a year ago. -Endeavor SUV sales were up more than 35 percent in February. [source: Mitsubishi Motors North America]

Feb. 2007 Sales: Volkswagen of America Volkswagen of America, Inc. today announced February 2007 sales of 16,367 units, a 0.2 percent increase over the February 2006 total of 16,329 vehicles. The Jetta, one of three “V-dubs” available under $17,000, continues to be the volume carline with year-to-date (YTD) sales of 14,352, a 1.2 percent increase. The award-winning GTI continues to perform well with YTD sales of 2,450, a 23 percent increase over the previous year. Combined, the New Beetle and New Beetle convertible had a strong February, posting sales of 2,398 units, up 11.8 percent over February 2006. The New Beetle is also available under $17,000. Sales chart: http://media.vw.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=10088 [source: Volkswagen of America]

Well, any person that stops to think about knows that if it's winter time and snowy in your area, you should probably get snow tires. Any car with stock tires that aren't meant to handle snow is likely going to have problems.

Feb. 2007 Sales: Audi of America Audi of America, Inc. today announced a 37.5% increase in February 2007 sales compared to the same period last year. Sales totaled 6,609, for the month. Sales in 2007 have reached 13,008 vehicles, an increase of 19.4% versus the same period last year. Sales of the A4 model continue to set the pace for the brand. A4 sales increased 18.6%. The Audi Q7 also continued its strong sales performance with 1,747 deliveries. Audi saw its largest regional sales increase in the West. Sales in the region increased by 57.9% to 2,058. Gains were also seen in key metropolitan areas, including Cleveland (+117.6%), Memphis (+77.1%), Miami (+72.5%), and Los Angeles (+71.1%). “The A4 model line continues to impress.” stated Johan de Nysschen, Executive Vice President, Audi of America, Inc. “With class-leading fuel economy, excellent residuals, and officially acclaimed safety performance, the A4 offers customers an abundance in choice, luxury, and value.” Audi Certified Pre-Owned sales hit record levels last month. The February total of 1,936 was a 17.8% increase over the previous year and was the best February ever. CPO sales total 3,795 for 2007, up 11.6% over 2006. Sales chart: http://media.audiusa.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=9844 [source: Audi of America]

Feb. 2007 Sales: Nissan North America Nissan North America, Inc. (NNA) today reported sales of 85,218 units in February, up 1.2 percent from the prior year. Nissan Division sales increased by 0.7 percent over last year. Infiniti Division posted a sales increase of 5.0 percent versus the prior year.　　 NISSAN HIGHLIGHTS · February sales for Nissan-brand vehicles of 75,514 units increased by 0.7 percent on a daily sales rate basis compared with last year’s 74,997 units sold. · The Altima continued to build momentum with sales of 22,114 units, up 10.1 percent over last year. · Sales of the new Versa subcompact, with the sedan out last month, reached 5,125 units. INFINITI HIGHLIGHTS · Sales for Infiniti were up 5.0 percent, with 9,704 units sold, as compared with last February’s 9,244 units. · The all-new G Sedan contributed sales of 4,345 units, up 50.3 percent over last year. NNA INFORMATION · Combined February sales for Nissan and Infiniti totaled 85,218 units, a 1.2 percent increase when compared with last year’s sales of 84,241 units. Sales chart data (Word document): http://nissannews.com/corporate/news/curre...70103_98351.doc [source: Nissan North America]

Feb. 2007 Sales: General Motors Despite an expected decline in U.S. industry sales, GM reported a 3.4 percent total sales increase, compared with February 2006. The sales gain was due to an 11 percent retail sales increase. Retail and fleet sales by GM dealers in the United States totaled 311,763 vehicles, compared with sales of 301,545 in February 2006. Fleet sales were down 18 percent due to a planned 25 percent reduction in daily rental sales. "Our pickup, SUV and crossover business was terrific across the board. Our customers are telling us that we have the winning formula - the best products, industry-leading fuel economy and the best value," said Mark LaNeve, vice president, GM North American Sales, Service and Marketing. February's performance was led by the new GMC Sierra and the North American Truck of the Year Chevrolet Silverado full-size pickups. Silverado had its best February sales month in five years, total full-size pickup sales were up 29 percent and total truck sales were up more than 7 percent compared with last February. The critically-acclaimed new GMC Acadia and Saturn Outlook drove a 97 percent retail increase in the mid-crossover segment. "With GM offering the best coverage in our 5 year/100,000 mile powertrain limited warranty with roadside assistance and courtesy transportation, we believe customers see our vehicles as having outstanding value and quality that is better than the competition. With a less than stellar industry performance, our February sales results stand out," LaNeve added. The Chevrolet, GMC, Saturn and Pontiac divisions all saw retail increases in February. Retail truck sales were up 16 percent compared with February 2006 and total truck sales were up 7 percent. Leading the retail sales gains were full-size pickups, up 36 percent compared with February 2006, with positive showings by Chevrolet Avalanche, up 110 percent and Silverado, up 34 percent. GMC Sierra retail sales volume was up 27 percent compared with last February. Retail increases by the Cadillac Escalade ESV and Escalade EXT, compared with February 2006, pushed GM's large luxury utilities segment up 7 percent compared with last February. Driven by an increase in Chevrolet Aveo retail sales, GM's economy car segment retail volume was up 17 percent compared with February 2006. A 45 percent retail increase in Pontiac G6 and a 65 percent increase in Chevrolet Impala retail sales, compared with the same month a year ago, pushed GM's mid-car segment retail volume up 25 percent. In February, GM's mix of total fleet to retail sales continued to improve significantly. Retail sales were 78.5 percent of total sales, compared with 73 percent last February; fleet sales were 21.5 percent, compared with 27 percent last year. GM February sales reflected the continuing strength of the new product portfolio with competitive incentive spending, balanced with ongoing reductions in daily rental fleet sales. See link for sales chart: http://media.gm.com/servlet/GatewayServlet...amp;docid=33729 [source: General Motors]

-Variance March 1, 2007 Welcome to C&G’s Registry Rundown, a new monthly Feature Article rife with information and speculation. Here, yours truly will be reporting on the goings on within the records of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, bringing you the newest trademark applications made by auto manufacturers. Newly filed applications, ones published for opposition, finalized/fully registered and killed trademarks will all be covered. Here’s a quick explanation of each level of trademark registry, from the least to most likely to be seen used on a production product or concept car: Dead: This is the official USPTO term for a trademark that will not go through (or any further through) the registration process. Trademarks can die because an automaker gives up and/or just decides not to use it or because the trademark is opposed by another party. It is unlikely these will see use on any final product. Filed: These are applications that have just been filed with the USPTO and have otherwise not been published for opposition (the next step in the registry process). Most filed trademarks stay at this level and are sometimes made just so other companies cannot use them. What this means is just because an automaker has filed a trademark does not mean they will necessarily use it. Published for Opposition: This is the next step in the registry process in which the applicant makes the trademark available for other companies to object to or, oppose. There is a published of opposition date given (the date I’ll be providing). If no one opposes within 30 days or opposition of the trademark fails, the application goes to the final stage of the registration process. Publishing an application for opposition speaks well to an applicant’s intent of using the name or symbol. Registered: Applications/names here have been finalized and approved for a manufacturer to do with as they will. These are the trademarks you will most likely see publicly used. Now with all that said, let’s see what new trademark developments have been occurring as of late. This month, we begin with four Ford filings (the only intentional alliteration this issue, I swear). Interceptor (1/26) is of course, Ford’s concept 300C competitor. Note the date it was filed, a good set of days after its Detroit debut. Could this mean that there are production plans for this car? Transit and Transit Connect (1/26) are Ford’s already-announced-for-U.S.-sale Euro cargo vans much like Dodge’s Sprinters. Last and smallest, we have Fiesta (2/7). Not to be confused with the Korean-made catastrophe known as the Festiva. Think of it as a mini-me Euro Focus. You can check it out at Ford’s UK website. Next stop, General Motors. Here we come across Cascade (1/30), described as being a name for either a light-duty truck, SUV or van. In my opinion, the name sounds too “soft” to be for a pickup and it sounds like a name that a Chevy would have. Maybe a Chevy Lambda is on the way? Well, this is still just at the filing stage, so all we can do is wait n’ see. In spite of the company’s current turmoil, DaimlerChrysler still is finding the time to make plenty of USPTO applications. Sky Slider (1/26) equals a fancy name for a moonroof (I’m guessing a panoramic affair). Advanced Agility and Agility Control (1/24)... Leave it to DCX to give semi-enthusiastic names to mundane things like “structural parts, chassis, brakes, gearboxes, springs, dampers for vehicles”. Lifebox (1/31) sounds to me like a Jeep accessory, an emergency/first aid kit of some sort. Speaking of Jeep, who could forget the classic Willys (1/26) moniker? If it should return to life, people may once again be able get wet Willys when they ford streams off-road. Coming soon from Hyundai? The Elantra Touring (2/14). Yay...next. Toyota marketing will soon ask you: “Want2BSquare”? (1/30) Best guess: Part of the ad campaign for the new Scions (at least the xB). I’m hip. Finally, from Honda there is the FCX Catalyst (2/6). It’s not clear if this the actual name of a future Honda fuel-cell vehicle or just part of its running gear as the USPTO description encompasses both of those possibilities. Ford’s ancient fullsize van line looks like it may be getting its largest edition yet with E-550 (3/6) being published. (Nice opening for this section, starting with Methuselah’s van.) GM’s super Corvette wall of secrecy has been recently breached somewhat but the is still some speculation on what the damn thing will be called officially. Publishing both Stingray and ZR-1 (3/6) doesn’t seem to help matters but only ZR-1 has also been published for use on several other products aside from a motor vehicle. Might be a clue... Other General products include Terrain and Seneca (both trucks), Copo (supposedly a name for a car), as well as, unsurprisingly, Camaro (3/6). Miss the Chrysler Group Cloud cars? I know I don’t. But apparently Chrysler think some people do as evidenced by the appearance of Breeze (3/6), the name of the Plymouth version on the publishing list. In case you forgot, this was the Breeze: Chrysler must know something I don’t. Care to take a guess on what type of car the F-Cell (3/6) could possibly be? The possible power source could be the Nucellsys (3/13). Remember the turbocharged Ford Twinforce touched on in month’s Rundown? It sounds like Chrysler may have been inspired with the Bi-Flex (3/13) engine. Lastly, from the makers of Stow N’ Go, Swivel N’ Go and Gulp N’ Blow we have Pop N’ Go (3/13). Might it have something to do with some type of removable storage compartment you can take with you? Volkswagen has recently published Lupo (3/13) for opposition for use in the States. The Lupo was the smallest vehicle in VW’s range when it was produced (smaller than the Polo even) and has since been replaced by the Fox. Why they seem to be planning on reviving the old name is a mystery to me. And that’s not the only thing that confuses me about the name. The word “Lupo” is Italian for wolf and I gotta say, when I think of “wolf” as applied to a car, I think of something like this... ...not this... Finally, we have a manufacturer that is making their first-ever appearance on the Registry Rundown. Suzuki offers up the XV6 (3/27). From what I gather, “XV6” is what the current Grand Vitara was originally scheduled to be called (which would explain why the application was originally filed in 2005). I guess Suzuki is going to be next in the line of car brands to transition to an all alphanumeric naming scheme. R.I.P. real names on cars. Sorry, nothing here for this month. (Lazy automakers.) Come back again for the next RR in April, fools.

Do Five-Star Ratings Really Mean a Safer Ride? Part of shopping for a car is, or should be, checking out the crash-test scores for the vehicle you have in mind. But do those government "star" ratings or the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's "poor" to "good" rankings indicate anything meaningful about how you'll fare in a real-world collision? A new study suggests the answer is yes, but only for cars, not sport-utility vehicles and pickup trucks. David Harless and George Hoffer, economics professors at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Business, took a look at the relationship between the crash-test scores of various vehicles going back more than 20 years and the government's records of fatal accidents involving those models. An important choice Messrs. Harless and Hoffer made when analyzing this data was to focus on what happened to the fatality rates for a specific nameplate as the model was redesigned and retested over time, according to a draft of the soon-to-be-published study. Yahoo

Bill would make cars kid-safe In a bid to keep children safer, automakers could be forced to install rear-view cameras and power windows that automatically reverse under a bill to be introduced today. The Cameron Gulbransen Kids and Cars Safety Act -- which U.S. Sens. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., and John Sununu, R-N.H., will introduce at a news conference today -- is named after a 2-year-old New York boy who was accidentally run over and killed in 2002 when his father backed his SUV out of his driveway. "Nearly every other day, a child dies in the United States from a completely preventable tragedy -- backed over by a driver who could not see behind (the) vehicle, strangled in a power window or killed when an automobile inadvertently shifts into gear," Clinton said on the Senate floor in December. The bill "will help to ensure that America's cars (are) properly equipped to prevent these tragedies from happening." The Detroit News

Health tab to soar at GM Health care costs at General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. will continue to rise at an alarming rate and are likely to spark a showdown with the United Auto Workers during upcoming contract talks, according to a new report released Monday by the respected credit-rating firm Fitch Inc. Fitch looked at cash costs for health care at both GM and Ford and concluded that concessions made by the UAW in 2005 have not been enough to offset inflation-driven increases in health care spending, production cuts and the flow-back of workers from both automakers' former parts subsidiaries. Ford will see some modest gains as a result of its blue-collar buyout program, but both companies will continue to trend upward. "The recent health care agreements with the UAW, changes to salaried health care programs and employee buyouts have pushed out the slope of the health care curve, but have done little to erase, or even narrow, the significant competitive disadvantage that these costs represent versus the transplant competition," Fitch stated in its report. "Health care will be the No. 1 issue in the upcoming labor talks, which are likely to be contentious." The Detroit News

The best Japanese animated rapping dog in the world...

Reviews: 2007 NISMO 350Z It'll be interesting to see if Americans are willing to pay a premium for a track-ready Z-car that doesn't feature a special measure of added engine power, but the new VQ V6 is so impressive that they might not notice. With the 2007 Nismo Z, Nissan has taken one of the world's best sports cars, given it a look that's both unique and functional and built up a razor-sharp chassis that's capable of extreme performance. You'll want to keep the engine on the boil at nearly 7,000 rpm just like we did. Edmunds

Those Titan numbers are with E85. Ram gets the same numbers, Silverado gets 10/14. This isn't going to help the ethanol cause, that's for sure.

There will be 8-foot beds available for the king cabs in the spring (7-foot on the crew cabs) in addition to the current 5.5' and 6.5' beds. Nissan has four trims: XE (base/work trim), SE (well-equipped/intermediate), PRO-4X (off-road) and LE (high-end/luxury). The comparable trim the Titan lacks is the STX (stepside) trim which no one else has either these days. I don't think they were saying by beating the F-150, the Titan beat the F-250 through 650 as well. Guess all we can do is wait and see.

Yeah, I know the Titan doesn't come in HD versions yet. Comparing apples to apples, (1/2 tons) come spring the only things the Titan will be lacking are a regular cab and V6 (and the V6 is rumored to be coming later). Interior...again, improved on in the 2008 model and I trust the earlier build bugs have been ironed out by now.