No matter what you may think about the US Auto Industry, this is a bad thing.

Hopefully they can figure something out.

No flowers, no cake, not even a eulogy. The Los Angeles Times has delivered its auto section an ignominious ending. Tucked among Dan Neil’s Pulitzer-winning prose was a small, unceremonious Editor’s Note notifying readers of the change in a matter-of-fact fashion. Circulation figures are down, advertising revenues are way down, and the LA Times‘ ownership, Chicago’s Tribune Company, has been desperately slashing for years now, trying to return profitability. Fans of Dan Neil will now be able to find his Rumble Seat reviews and rants in the Business section, along with other automotive content. At least they’re smart enough to hang on to one of the best automotive writers out there, even if he does occasionally give advertisers hissy fits. Thanks for the tip, Dave.

Well, at least they’re smart enough to keep Dan Neil, but still, the hometown paper of the #1 car town in the world with not autos section?

Link

If Alfa indeed does come back to the states I’m psyched!

Of course, you might not want to watch this week’s Top Gear, if you love Alfas!

http://www.autoblog.com/2008/06/11/paris-pre-preview-mitsubishi-to-unveil-production-lancer-sportb/

Extreme Driving Techniques for Extreme Fuel Economy

Jim Kelly plods along a back-country road, hugging the right side of the right lane. He constantly looks for traffic, both behind him and far ahead. “That red light’s not likely to change in the next couple of minutes,” he says, pointing to the traffic signal hanging over the road 500 yards or so ahead, “so there’s no need to hurry.”

He builds up to 30 mph in his 2005 Toyota Prius hybrid, slows to 16 mph, accelerates to 28 mph, then slows back down again.

Kelly is using one of the techniques of “hypermiling,” the fine art of wringing the greatest fuel economy possible from a vehicle through a selection of clever driving techniques. The 100-mpg barrier is the elusive goal.

More…

I have to give kudos to General Motors for recognizing this and taking action. Hopefully this will speel a real change on our roads in the next few years.

High gas prices have achieved what no amount of legislation ever will, it has forced us to think bout more economic vehicles, and that’s a good thing.

You could tell it had been sitting for a while because the battery was almost dead, but, as soon as it started up, a huge grin came across my face.

I was going to just drive it to vote, and then home, but, somehow I ended up on the freeway, and then on PCH

I love this car

Oh, and with gas around $4.25 a gallon, there’s a LOT less traffic than there used to be!

Civic Pries Best-Seller Crown Away From Ford F-150’s Cold, Dead Hands

After an eleventy-billion year reign as the nation’s top seller, it looks as though the Ford F-150 has stumbled for at least one month.The month of May saw the Honda Civic overtake the F-150 in sales putting the Ford down in fourth place. Whaaa!? Indeed, 42,973 F-series trucks sold in May, against 52,826 Corollas, 51,291 Camrys and 53,299 Honda Civics. Since we know Toyota counts the Matrix towards Corolla sales, we’ll discount that figure, but who cares? As we called (sorta) yesterday, Civic for the win. According to Jim Farley, Ford group vice president for marketing and communications, “That’s just a sign of the times. I think May has been a watershed month.” Do people care about gas prices? We think this means the answer is “yes.” [Automotive News

Drove all over the place in my not really that bad Pontiac G6 Rental. Except for when  the tire pressure warning light kept coming on, even though there was plenty of air in the tires

But man, I wish I had my Miata on some of these roads.