Talk about a foregone conclusion. Researchers at Canada's John Molson School of Business at Concordia University in Montreal took thirty-nine typical young men (i.e. college guys) and placed them in one of two cars. The first was a Toyota Camry. The second was a Porsche 911 Cabriolet. They then let the men drive up and down on two streets. One was busy and filled with women. The other was deserted. After each little cruise, each man's saliva was measured for levels of testosterone. Results?
Interestingly, whether there were ladies present or not, the mens' testosterone didn't increase at all after driving the Camry. Can anyone else hear Toyota's CEO Akio Toyoda groaning? The Porsche? Well, this is interesting. When a young man drives down a skirt-filled street in a Porsche droptop, his testosterone level rises. And when then same young man drives down a totally empty road all by his lonesome in a Porsche convertible his testosterone level... rises. To the same level, in fact, as it did when all the ladies were around.
Says lead researcher Gad Saad, "In other words, just put a guy in a Porsche, and his testosterone levels shoot up, whether people watch or not." This biological reaction, according to Saad, is a form of "sexual signaling." A way of signaling to potential mates that the driver of said car is the best breeding stock, the best potential mate. Continues Saad, "It's saying, 'all you pretenders out there - you couldn't be driving this Aston Martin - you couldn't even rent it.'" Insert crack about auto journos borrowing it for a week here.
Let's all collectively thank the glorious bit of technology that is Google Street View for letting the world know about the rare and mostly undocumented breakout of Elephantitis in Canada's deer population. Unlike the human form of the disease which is generally characterized by the swelling of a single body part, deer Elephantitis apparently morphs the hapless affected creatures into real-life elephants. If you're driving in the area, extra caution is advisable.
It seems that this street sign was spotted by a Google Street View camera car somewhere in Vancouver. We're not sure how it got there or if it's nothing more than a funny prank, but it is most definitely real. Oh, and for the record, the proper medical term is really Elephantiasis (thanks, Wikipedia!).
When GM decided to hand 55% of Opel to Magna, you didn't think the Belgians were just going to have some waffles and call it quits, did you? Oh no. Belgium's prime minister made a call to the EU president about the deal, and the EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes told a Belgian newspaper, "If something happens against the rules, I will take action."
more ...
Before there was a Motors Liquidation Co, post-bankruptcy GM's hived-off shelter for useless assets, there was Old Carco LLC. That's the company Chrysler built to house its useless assets, and unsurprisingly, it doesn't have good news for unsecured creditors. Old Carco was left with liabilities of $20.5 billion, but has less than half of that to pay off everyone it owes.
The latest accounting says there is $2.345 billion to pay things off. With a shortfall that drastic, even the U.S. Treasury and the Canadian governments are waiting for their money, with a $3.34 billion loan and $29 million in interest going not being repaid. The Treasury sent Old Carco a notice of default last month, which strikes us as a waste of a stamp and paper.
And since Old Carco isn't allowed to borrow any more money, there is almost no chance that creditors will be made whole. At this point, as the company tries to unload leftover factories and property, it looks like the best anyone's going to get is pennies on the dollar -- or just fractions of that -- and that could be for the folks first in line. Old Carco is dead, long live Chrysler...
Facebook is changing its privacy settings again, to fall in line with the recommendations of the Canadian Privacy Commissioner. The Commissioner was primarily concerned with how much access third-party apps were getting to user data on Facebook. As a result, apps will have to be more specific about the data they use, letting you know precisely which info they need and whether they access your friends' profile info.
From a developer standpoint, this means changes to the API in the coming months, so apps will have a uniform way to tell users which data they're accessing. This could slow the growth of some of the popular viral (or spam-based, depending on your perspective) apps that rely on surreptitiously sending out messages to your entire network to get new users. With greater transparency, it'll be easier for users to make informed decisions about which information to share, and with whom.
When General Motors named the Chevrolet Nova, the majority of customers in America had no issues whatsoever with the spacey moniker. Spanish speaking countries were a different matter entirely, as the literal Spanish translation of "no va" is "no go." As the story goes, Chevy's Nova was less than successful south of Texas, although some analysts (armchair and otherwise) dismiss this historical naming issue as nonsense. Whether the Nova was an issue for GM or not, the automaker wasn't looking to tempt fate when the Buick LaCrosse began production in 2005. The French translation of "LaCrosse" is something along the lines of "self love" – not a flattering name for a family sedan. This being the case, the LaCrosse was renamed Allure in Canada and Buick buyers north of the border were free of ridicule and humiliation.
After careful consideration, GM has decided to ditch the Allure nameplate and instead leave the LaCrosse badging on the sedan's boot for the new 2010 model. GM Canada spokesman George Saratlic told the National Post that the decision was made to help streamline marketing costs. The feeling at GM is that Québécoise accept the name lacrosse in reference to the popular sport, so the benefits of having a consistent naming convention across North America far outweighs the negative stigma of the name.
Saratlic adds, "We do think that this will help customers learn more about the new Buick LaCrosse sedan thanks to the strengthened advertising push this will enable and that the car will have distinctly upscale characteristics that clearly define what it stands for in the market." Since we've poured precisely zero dollars into investigating the impact of the LaCrosse name in Canada, we'll take the company at its word. We would, however, suggest that Canadian LaCrosse drivers keep both hands on the wheel, at least for now.
Cash for Clunkers helped all automakers move some metal during the month of August and now Ford is looking to capture lightning in a bottle up in the Great White North. Ford of Canada is working with the Clean Air Foundation to provide incentives of up to $3,000 for vehicles 15 years or older. Three hundred of those dollars would come from the Canadian government as part of its Retire Your Ride program.
The plan sounds good based solely on its ability to save customers up to $3,000 per clunker, but info from NRCan's Fuel Consumption Guide for Canada shows that the program will also save you big at the pump. Replace the typical sedan from 1995 with a 2010 Ford Fusion 2.5L and save $325 per year in fuel prices.Things look even better if you're driving an SUV from and you trade it in for a FWD 2010 Ford Escape 2.5L as you can shed $975 per year at the pump. The move is also good for the environment, as the Clean Air Foundation states that the average vehicle from 1995 emits 19 times more pollutants than a comparably sized 2004 model.
Here is how the incentives break down. The government's Retire Your Ride program offers $300, transit passes, discounts on bicycles and more to the owners of 1995 model year vehicles or older who turn in a clunker. The Blue Oval will pitch in $1,000 towards the purchase of a Ford car, $2,000 towards a crossover or SUV or $3,000 towards a Ford truck or Lincoln vehicle.
China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001, at which point it was given five years to adjust to the rules of open trade before any complaints were lodged against it. On schedule, in 2006, the complaints began, lodged by the U.S., Europe, and Canada.
In one example of open trade prohibitive practices, Automotive News reports that if a car built in China uses a percentage of imported auto parts above a specific threshold, China taxes each imported part an additional 25%. In such a price-competitive atmosphere, such a policy all but proscribes the use of imported parts, a move that has lead to complaints from all three continents.
The original complaint was decided at the end of last year in a ruling against China. Beijing appealed, to no avail. In response, China has rescinded the tax, which is an initial step to truly opening the market up for foreign parts- and automakers. The U.S. trade in auto parts to China is not even 113th what it is to Mexico, a statistic that a host of companies would clearly like to change.
Roger Penske's purchase of the Saturn nameplate and sales organization from General Motors is intended to make money, and the business case for keeping Canadian dealers is apparently poor. Half of Saturn Canada's 60 dealers had already decided to give up, while the remaining 30 stores were willing to try and keep going. Penske's decision to discontinue sales of the brand in Canada altogether will directly impact 2,000 people."Saturn has a passionate customer base and outstanding dealer network," Penske said upon the announcement of his purchase in June. "We want to build onto those strengths," he continued, and the Canadian operation must be more albatross than mint in the scheme of things. Tip of the chapeau to Luc and Pat.
Stare at the maple leaf in the center of a Canadian flag long enough and it really starts to look like someone's giving you the bird. Especially if you've been sucking down Mooseheads, eh?
We mention this because a man was pulled over in Port Hope, Ontario, for going about 85 miles per hour (135 km/h) a few weeks back. After constable Bettina Schwarze wrote the motorist up, he flipped her off. Schwarze then pulled the man over a second time and issued him a ticket for an "improper hand signal." We kinda dig cops with senses of humor.
