Papa John Schnatter spent most of his summer on a nationwide road trip where he attempted a record for the world’s highest pizza delivery, taught children how to toss pizza dough, rang the Closing Bell at NASDAQ, and met countless customers, all for one purpose: to find his 1971 Z28 Camaro he sold more than 25 years ago to help his dad’s tavern stay in business. Initially, Schnatter offered $25,000 for anyone who could produce a title along with his long-lost Camaro. Eventually the offer went up to $250,000. The whole search was chronicled online at www.papasroadtrip.com, where thousands offered tips on how to find his car. After months and months of searching, Schnatter today was reunited with his Z28 Camaro with the help from our friends at Jalopnik. A man by the name of Jeff Robinson heard about the contest from a friend in Cincinnati, leading him to the Internet to search for details. He eventually ended up getting in touch with Jalopnik’s associate editor Matt Hardigree, who met Schnatter during his Road Trip stop in Houston in May. Hardigree investigated the details himself then contacted Papa John’s with the lead. As a result Jeff is now $250,000 richer (and can purchase a brand new 2010 Chevrolet Camaro). Papa John also offered a $25,000 reward to the family who originally bought the car from Schnatter in 1983, in appreciation for their help in linking the contest winner with Papa John’s. – By: Omar Rana Source: Jalopnik   Go here to see the original:  Papa John finally finds his 1971 Z28 Camaro, awards $250,000 to owner View original here:  Papa John finally finds his 1971 Z28 Camaro, awards $250,000 to owner

It seems that GM might be a little ashamed of being GM right now…or the automaker just wants to keep things on the low down. General Motors now has confirmed that it plans to stop using its corporate logo on its vehicles, so that it can promote its four core brands–Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick, and GMC. According to the Detroit News, the .. Go here to read the rest: GM Sheds Mark Of Excellence…Again

General Motors has again delayed its upcoming hybrid. Initially, it was slated to be a new full-hybrid version of the Saturn Vue, using a smaller, lighter version of the two-mode hybrid system. It was also originally supposed to be GM’s first plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, potentially preceding the Chevrolet Volt by about a month. When the company declared bankruptcy this summer, it abandoned its Saturn division and announced that the two-mode, plug-in Vue would become a Buick—a move that would delay its introduction by as much as a year. (Read: " Preview: Buick plug-in hybrid SUV .") Now GM says the car was not well received in a preview of upcoming models . Consumers and media writers apparently told the company the car didn’t have “the premium characteristics customers have come to expect from Buick.”   Now the company says it will cancel the model, and apply the hybrid powertrain to another unspecified model.   Whenever, and whatever that is, we’re eager to sample it. We were impressed with the two-mode hybrid system when we tested it in the Chevrolet Tahoe in 2007. It boosted the Tahoe’s fuel economy by almost 36 percent. Unfortunately, we found basic Tahoe features and underpinnings uncompetitive with other full-sized SUVs.   Meanwhile, we like the Chevrolet Malibu . But when we tested the Malibu Hybrid, we were unimpressed with its rudimentary hybrid system; it yielded a mere 8 percent improvement in fuel economy over the basic four-cylinder Malibu—and none on the highway. So, how will the new plug-in eventually measure up? We look forward to finding out, and before then, discovering what vehicle will receive the orphaned powertrain. — Eric Evarts More here:  GM pulls the plug on Buick plug-in hybrid

Gasoline prices are slightly down compared to the week before with just the Rocky Mountain region seeing a minor uptick, though diesel fuel is up coast to coast. The national gasoline average is now about a $1.06 below the price this time last year. Diesel fuel is $1.48 below this time last year. National retail fuel price averages Price Change from last week Regular gasoline/gallon  $2.63 ↓ .01 Diesel fuel/gallon  $2.67 ↑ .02 Regional regular gasoline prices Price Change from last week East Coast  $2.61 ↓   .01  -New England  $2.66 ↓ .01   -Central Atlantic  $2.67 ↓ .01   -Lower Atlantic  $2.55 ↓ .01 Midwest  $2.55       0 Gulf Coast  $2.49 ↓ .03 Rocky Mountain  $2.62 ↑ .01 West Coast  $2.95 ↓ .01   -California  $3.03 ↓ .02 Source: Energy Information Administration, 8/24/09. Figures rounded to the nearest cent. For more information on saving fuel see our reports on how to get the best gas mileage and where to find the cheapest gas . Go here to see the original:  Average gas prices — August 24, 2009

General Motors is currently working on a replacement for the aging Chevrolet Aveo but the automaker’s Brazilian division has just released a new compact car that may provide a hint as to what to expect for the North American model due sometime next year. Called the Agile, the latest compact hatch will go on sale in the Brazilian market this .. Read the original here: GM Brazil Unveils 2010 Chevrolet Agile

Many investors and auto hobbyists alike are understandably still pretty shaky about putting money down on the stock market. But that hesitation hasn’t shown any lasting sign of translating to the top of the market for collector cars. That’s the verdict after last weekend’s big Monterey auctions, long considered some of the top sales of the .. The rest is here:  Monterey Verdict: Collector-Car Market Surprisingly Strong

Proving once again that greed and idiocy often go hand in hand, federal regulators have revealed that investors are still plowing money into General Motors stock–the only problem being that the General Motors in which they’re investing is technically Motors Liquidation Company, aka “Bad GM”. What we think of as “Good GM” is now General Motors .. View original here:  Buyer Beware: Right Now, GM Stock Isn’t the GM Stock You Want

Media metrics powerhouse Nielsen Research spends a great deal of time analyzing TV ratings and buying habits, but the company has also kept its eye on the federal government’s Cash-for-Clunkers initiative. New data reveals some interesting insights about the program and its effect on the public. As we all know, Cash-for-Clunkers has generated .. More: Survey: Nielsen Reports Cash-For-Clunkers Online Data

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced Thursday that the government will end the popular cash for clunkers program on Monday. All applications for the rebate must be submitted by 8pm EST Monday, Aug. 24th. The program has been so popular with consumers it has quickly run out of money–twice: First on August 3 after consumers soaked up the first $1 billion originally budgeted for the program. It is expected to exhaust the additional $2 billion added to the program this weekend. The bigger question is whether cash for clunkers, officially called the Car Allowance Rebate System, accomplished the goals it was designed for? Specifically, political leaders said they wanted to stimulate the economy, particularly car sales, and improve the fuel economy of the whole vehicle fleet to reduce oil imports.  Consumer Reports ran some numbers, based on official government data to see what the overall effect has been. When it comes to stimulating the economy, the jury’s still out. So far, it looks like the clunkers program has been a moderate success. So far, it has directly accounted for an additional 457,000 car sales. Before the program, U.S. consumers were on track to buy about 9.5 million new cars in 2009. So the additional direct sales amount to a 5 percent increase. Assuming the government has spent the whole $3 billion, that would account for a total of about 700,000 new car sales directly credited to the program, an increase of about 8 percent. The program has indirectly brought consumers into showrooms who don’t qualify, or for other reasons don’t participate in the program, but who buy cars anyway. That has put us on track for more than 10.5 million new car sales this year, as of July 31, a greater than 10 percent increase. If all those additional new cars cost the national average of about $29,000, that would amount to a total economic stimulus of $29 billion, about half the cost of bailing out General Motors or an increase of about 2 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product. What remains to be seen, however, is how many of these sales might have happened anyway and were just accelerated. Or, put another way, how much sales will fall once the program ends. If they fall back below the levels seen earlier this year, the benefits may have...

It looks like it’s happened again– Cash for clunkers may have run out of money. The National Automotive Dealers Association (NADA) has asked the U.S. government to suspend the Cash for clunkers program following a dealer survey it conducted earlier this week that found the $3 billion fund has been depleted. Just yesterday, the Department of Transportation and NADA officials met to discuss the program and the process for ending it. Transportation Secretary Raymond LaHood announced that a phase out plan would come tomorrow. Now it looks like that may be too late. NADA issued a statement on its Web site last night, saying: “NHTSA has confirmed elsewhere that if the program's money runs out before a dealer is reimbursed, that dealer will not be paid. Dealers who accept additional 'clunker' deals face a growing risk that they may not be reimbursed." Quite a few dealers have already dropped out of the program due to the bottleneck in government reimbursements. NADA is asking the government to speed up the process to help dealers who are already facing financial hardship due to poor sales earlier this year. General Motors has announced that they will provide cash advances to dealers who are owned money in order to keep sales rolling and the dealers participating, but it isn’t clear how GM’s reimbursements might be affected if government funding runs dry. The initial $1 billion allocated was exhausted within a week of the program’s July 27th start date. An additional $2 billion was added just two weeks ago. According to NHTSA, 435,102 claims had been filed as of Wednesday morning amounting to $1,813 billion. But the last time the program ran out of money, NADA knew well before NHTSA based on its dealer survey. The Clunkers program has been wildly successful even through these administrative bumps. A number of manufacturers have announced increases in production to meet the demand. Just this week, GM announced they were adding 60,000 vehicles in the production forecast through the end of the year. Last week, Ford announced they will build more of their Focus and Escape vehicles, two of the most popular in the clunkers program. Toyota, Honda, Mazda, and Volkswagen have also beefed up production. However, there is some concern that this measure...

Times sure have changed from my days of Volvo ownership. I had two old-school, mega-mile Volvos: a 1984 240GL sedan and a 1987 740 turbo wagon. Volvo built these models essentially unchanged for decades. These were introduced back in the days when Volvo’s image was built on two pillars: the turbos were fast, and–their biggest claim to fame–if you had to crash, you wanted to crash in a Volvo. But what happens now that the much of the competition advertises 5-star crash test ratings or “Top Safety Pick” Insurance Institute for Highway Safety status? Beyond air bags and stability control, the next frontier in automotive safety is electronic aids that try and improve–or sometimes work around–the biggest variable in the system: the driver. Indeed, our XC60 has piles of electronics to improve safety, partially contributing to Volvo calling it their safest car yet. But once you strip away all of the electronics, and get beyond considering how the car crashes, what remains is this: how good is the car? That’s been something of a problem for Volvo, since while their cars are mostly solid mid-pack performers, they haven’t really stood out. The XC60 continues this tradition. It’s certainly not devoid of charms: the interior is very well finished, the turbocharged inline-six pulls well, and the XC60 is a handy size. But it still has Volvo’s typical stiff ride, and handling isn’t sporting. Despite Volvo’s reputation for creating great seats, these leather seats are too slippery, causing fidgeting. Like a lot of other upscale compact SUVs, the Volvo ultimately gets squeezed from both directions. The larger three-row Acura MDX drives better and costs about the same if you skip all of the electronic doo-dads. From the bottom, loaded versions of the Toyota RAV4 and Subaru Forester Turbo have similar space and pace yet cost much less. (But they won’t beep and flash a light at you if you’re tailgating someone.) Learn more about the Volvo XC60 , with road tests, pricing, and more, in the model overview (available to online subscribers).  Also, see our related blogs: Driving the Volvo XC60 with City Safety From the logbook: 2010 Volvo XC60   How I learned to stop worrying and like distance-sensing cruise control — Tom Mutchler...

The Department of Energy recently gave out $2.4 billion in grants for electric-vehicle and lithium-ion battery development. Analysts and investors are now saying that the DOE seems to be playing safe in its selection of 48 companies, picking big names and companies that plan to build plants in Michigan. Four out of every five applicants for the U.S. Department of Energy’s $2.4 billion were rejected and didn’t make the lists. Critics are now arguing that the funding was aimed to advance battery technology and not just hand it to the old boys to put present generation technology into production and on our roads. Start-ups like California-based Imara Corp, which claims to have a breakthrough in lithium-ion battery technology was ignored by the DOE. General Motors Company received the lion’s share of the money with a total of $241 million. FoMoCo and Chrysler followed with $93 million and $862 million respectively. Another $862 million is going to a group of four battery companies , most of which have partnered with a Big Three company to produce lithium-ion batteries in Michigan. – By: Stephen Calogera Source: Dow Jones (via Green Car Advisor ) Here is the original post: DOE’s $2.4 billion for electric-vehicle technology left small companies in the cold View post:  DOE’s $2.4 billion for electric-vehicle technology left small companies in the cold

NCE has finally finished chopping the roof of their 2010 Chevrolet Camaro Convertible. So while General Motors Company won’t offer a drop-top Camaro until 2011, you can have yours today for $16,000 and you provide the Camaro. If you’re interested give NCE a call at (714) 632-3287 or visit their contact page . Click through for the video . – By: The Daily Auto Editor Here is the original: Video: 2010 Chevrolet Camaro Convertible by NCE Read more:  Video: 2010 Chevrolet Camaro Convertible by NCE

Hyundai has recently let us know via press release that their Equus sedan will be making its North American debut in 2010. Previously only shipping overseas, this ultra luxurious Sedan will compete with similar offerings from automakers such as BMW, Lexus and Mercedes. The decision to bring the Equus to America was made when it was met with “fantastic” response after being shown at this year’s New York Auto Show which we were notified of back in May. After said response, Hyundai proceeded to demo 100 vehicles to dealerships around to world who, just like New York Auto Show goers, were generally pleased. We’ll keep you posted regarding specs, pricing and release windows as they are made known. Related Posts Hyundai Equus Coming To U.S. Hyundai to Launch National Advertising Campaign at the Oscars Hyundai Unveils Interior Previews for Equus Hyundai’s Pre-Owned Programs Blossoms Hyundai Launches Assurance Plus Payment Plan Tags: debut , equus , Hyundai , luxury Related posts Hyundai Equus Coming To U.S. (1) Hyundai’s Pre-Owned Programs Blossoms (0) Vehicle Companies Advancing with Radar-Based Obstacle Detection Systems (1) Urban Business Taxi Concept (1) The Best Cars for Campus Named by AutoWeek Magazine (3) Read more from the original source: Hyundai Equus getting 2010 US debut See the original post here: Hyundai Equus getting 2010 US debut

General Motors Company has no intention of reopening the sale process for its Opel brand and wants to complete a deal with one of the two remaining bidders as soon as possible. CFO Ray Young said yesterday that the automaker is looking to wrap up the sale as quick as possible even though GM’s financial position is no longer in immediate threat. Magna International and Belgium-based investor RHJ International are in the race to buy Opel from GM. Berlin has shown its support for Magna’s offer. Separately, RHJ improved its bid by stating that it will ask for less than 3 billion euros ($4.25 billion) of state aid as part of a bid for Opel. – By: Omar Rana Source: Reuters Read more from the original source: GM wants to get Opel sale done quickly, RHJ improves bid More:  GM wants to get Opel sale done quickly, RHJ improves bid