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AMERICANS WON'T PAY FOR GREEN CARS
MASS. MAY ADOPT CALIF. STANDARDS
FORD SHOWS
OFF HYDROGEN STATION
JAG CASTS DOUBT ON SUV
DC IN TALKS TO SHARE SMART?
AUDI RECALLS
TT
ACURA RECALLS RL, TL
NHTSA
CHECKS FORD BLADES
LINCOLN LS IS A SELLOUT
HONDA CHARGED WITH DISCRIMINATION
AUTOALLIANCE NAMES COLEMAN
PRICELINE BIDS ON SEERGY
DC GETS
GM'S LYONS
SWEDE KIDS RACK UP TICKETS

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MASS. MAY ADOPT CALIF. STANDARDS Massachusetts may
become the second state to require light trucks to meet the same emissions
standards as passenger cars, beginning in 2004. The state's legislature is
considering a bill that would level the emissions requirements for light trucks
and SUVs with the emissions of cars — a law that California implemented last
fall. Earlier this year, the Environmental Protection Agency lost a court battle
to implement that standard nationwide after its methodology was deemed too
vague. A new proposal is expected by the end of the year.
FORD SHOWS OFF HYDROGEN As part of a partnership with
DaimlerChrysler AG and the Canadian research firm Ballard Power Systems, Ford
will start field testing a small fleet of fuel cell-powered "supercars" in
California next year. Fuel cells combine hydrogen and oxygen to produce water
vapor and electricity, the current powering the 100 horsepower motor under the
hood of Ford’s P2000 prototype. And to go along with that fleet, Ford has opened
"Bill's Filling Station," only the second facility of its kind anywhere in the
world, designed to support Ford’s increasingly aggressive effort to turn
hydrogen, the most abundant element in the universe, into the fuel of the
future.
JAG CASTS DOUBT ON SUV An SUV with claws may be farther
off than expected, according to Jaguar's president, Mike Dale. Dale, speaking
with a group of reporters last week, insinuated that an SUV is far down on the
wish list: "Have you ever seen an elegant SUV? There's lots of other good
things to build that we haven't built yet." Dale also noted that a station wagon
is "everything Jaguar isn't." Instead, Jaguar may build an all-weather activity
vehicle of undetermined shape and size. But first, Dale said, the company will
focus on the new S-Type, which is expected to top 22,000 sales in its first 12
months, and a future small sports sedan, dubbed the X400, which may arrive as
early as 2001.
DC IN TALKS TO SHARE SMART? Is it once bitten, twice shy
at DaimlerChrysler? As the company plans the second generation of its Smart
microcar, rumor suggests the company is looking for a partner to ease the
birthing process. German business daily Handelsblatt said last Thursday
that DC was interested in an alliance with France's PSA Peugeot Citroen for the
next Smart car. "We are planning the introduction of a second series but when
that will happen and what it would look like is not decided. In that context we
are talking to other companies," MCC spokesman Hubert Kogel told Reuters. The
Smart project has not been a joyous one for DaimlerChrysler. The project ran six
months overdue when the Smart car failed a lane-change "moose test" and had to
be extensively re-engineered for more stability. Slow demand has also forced DC
to cut production forecasts from 140,000 per year to 80,000.

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ACURA RECALLS RL, TL Honda will recall about 144,060 of
its 1996-99 model-year Acura RL and 1996-98 TL sedans to fix faulty bolts that
could disable the transmission. The sealing bolts may cause the axle and
differential to separate, preventing the car from moving. No injuries or
accidents have been reported, Honda said. Honda is recalling about 115,000 of
the cars in the U.S. and 29,060 in Japan. Owners will be notified by mail later
this month to have the bolts replaced at no cost.
NHTSA CHECKS FORD BLADES The National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration is looking into windshield wiper blades on the 1997- 99
Ford Explorer and Mercury Mountaineer sport-utility vehicles. The investigation
into a possible defect on the blades covers nearly 1.5 million vehicles. The
NHSTA is also investigating a complaint from New York that Ford's compressed
natural gas E350 van releases gas "in an explosive manner." An internal Ford
review found a possible defect in the fuel-filler pipe, which is also found in
CNG Crown Victorias and F-150s.

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HONDA CHARGED WITH DISCRIMINATION A lawsuit filed on
behalf of all black employees at Honda's plants in Ohio charges the company
discriminates against minority workers. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in
Columbus, alleges that Honda of America Manufacturing Inc. has excluded black
employees from promotions for more than 20 years and allows white and Japanese
employees to dominate the ranks of upper management. It claims that only 3
percent of Honda managers as of 1998 were black, despite the fact that the
percentage of blacks in the company's overall workforce has been significantly
higher, according to the AP. Employees at Honda of America plants in Marysville,
East Liberty, and Anna, Ohio, are those named as plaintiffs.
AUTOALLIANCE NAMES COLEMAN AutoAlliance International Inc., the Michigan-based joint venture between Ford and Mazda, named Deborah Stewart Coleman as its president. Effective Sept. 1, Coleman will replace Bruce Bowman, 57, who is retiring after 34 years with Ford and AutoAlliance. Coleman, who joined Ford in 1987, became the first African-American woman to manage one of the automaker's assembly plants, in Lorain, Ohio, in September 1994. Currently, AutoAlliance produces the Mazda 626 and Mercury Cougar from its plant in Flat Rock, Michigan.
PRICELINE BIDS ON SEERGY Priceline.com, the Web
site whose patented business model allows customers to name their price on
airline tickets and hotel rooms, has named former Nissan North America marketing
guru Mike Seergy to its executive team. Seergy, 44, will oversee all of
Priceline.com's day-to-day operations, including sales, marketing and dealership
relationships. He joins the company a month after former ING Barings Furman Selz
automotive analyst Maryann Keller became president of Priceline.com's new-car
service. Priceline is experimenting with allowing users to bid online for cars
in the same way as its other services. Seergy, who worked with Nissan for nine
years, was formerly vice president and general manager of Nissan North
America.
DC GETS GM'S LYONS DaimlerChrysler is tapping GM
for its newest executive. Larry Lyons, 51, formerly director of vehicle
integration at GM, will become DC's small-car development guru. Lyons was a
34-year veteran of GM, and opted to retire from the company before joining
DaimlerChrysler, a GM spokesman acknowledged. DaimlerChrysler and GM have been
swapping employees this year in the wake of the DaimlerChrysler merger and
turmoil within GM. Lyons replaces Cindy Hess, who becomes vice president of
corporate quality.
SWEDE KIDS RACK UP TICKETS From our wacky Scandinavian
file comes news that several youthful Swedes are racking up serious parking
fines. One 10-year-old girl has run up 286 parking fines worth more than $44,000
over the past nine months, Reuters reports. Stockholm's parking authority also
lists a 5-year-old girl with 15 parking fines amounting to $2,600 and a
3-year-old girl with five fines. Spokesman Tapio Tuomainen told the news agency
the young offenders were not suspected of driving — just being used by parents
to take advantage of a loophole in the rules by registering cars in their
children's names. Currently, there are 5,000 vehicles registered to children
aged under 16 in Sweden, where parents are not liable for their children's
debts. "Parents who register cars in their children's names almost always get
away," Tuomainen said. "It is immoral to use children in this
way."
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