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Posted on 05.16.2008 09:01 by Simona
Filed under: Dodge | coupe | dodge Challenger | muscle cars | future cars

City of Long Beach police cruisers were movie stars in the original Gone in 60 Seconds film. The 1970’s cult classic featured the black and white playing chase with a 1973 Ford Mustang Mach 1. These days, though, the officers use more efficient methods to capture muscle cars; they invite them over for a fundraising car show. Over the weekend, the Long Beach Police Academy held a classic car show to benefit the department’s K9 Officers Association. A few dozen impeccable examples of automobile preservation took over the grounds of the Long Beach Police Officers Association Park. Not to be rude hosts, the organization even showed off an old Dodge Cornet and Model T police cruiser amongst the numerous Bel Airs, Mustangs and Vegas.

Browsing through the rows of vintage automobiles wasn’t the only event incentive for us to attend. The Orange County German Shepherd rescue showed off dogs available for adoption and the K9 officers put on a training demonstration. As a new GSD owner, I could not resist the combination of sleek cars and furry wet noses. The dual purpose car show/charity event is always a relaxing way to spend a Saturday afternoon. Be sure and check out the event gallery in the link below.

After years of talk, Chery is finally entering the North American market later this year, but the small car will be badged as a Dodge, and it’ll be sold exclusively in Mexico. The decidedly un-Hornet-looking A1, which was designed by Bertone of Italy, will be rebadged as a Dodge and virtually unchanged from its Chery twin. While Chrysler execs are adamant that the A1 isn’t coming to the US, the Pentastar is still working with Chery on a small car to be sold north of the border. Don’t hold your breath waiting for an ultra-cheap Chery in the US, though. Chrysler co-pilot Tom LaSorda says Chery has “three or more years” before the Chinese automaker can meet US safety and emissions standards.

[Source: Automotive News (subs req’d)]

The wait for an all-electric highway commuter just got a whole lot shorter. If you wanted to buy a Tesla and had the cash, you would still have to wait until the 600 (and counting) folks in line in front of you received theirs before you could stop buying gas and start turning heads. That could take a while. Then there’s the Aptera. They only begin building their birds this Fall and there are 2,400 (and counting) folks with paid reservations in that line-up which ends, or at least pauses for effect, at the magic number of 3,000. But now, if you act fast, you may be able to jump into the beginning of a brand new queue. AutoblogGreen has just received word that Green Vehicles is accepting reservations (with a 10 percent fully refundable reservation fee) for July delivery of their new Triac (pictured above). That’s only 60 days away!

You want to try before you buy? The three wheeler will be available for test drives around the middle of July and, according to Green Vehicles president Ehab Youssef, they anticipate leasing as well as selling the vehicle. They can ship cars throughout the U.S. (though Ohio could pose a licensing problem) and Canada, not to mention most other countries as well. The missive sent out by the company also gives reassurances about the quality and safety of their product. What kind of reassurances? Join us on the other side of the break to find out.

Reassurances… As I was saying, the prototypes have been in testing for a year now and they say the safety, power and functionality have all been improved. For instance, in the safety department, a structural steel safety cage designed by race car fabrication experts, Impact Engineering of San Jose, CA, has been integrated into the vehicle. The cars will be inspected and tested in the U.S. before they are sent home with their new owners and will come with a one year bumper-to-bumper warranty. Not only will the Triac come with a detailed manual that could help guide your local technician to resolve any problems that might arise but they also plan to carry and ship replacement parts. If the book isn’t providing the necessary insight, technical support will be made available to you over the telephone with qualified (non-outsourced) people.

The lithium ion batteries that supply the power are said to be good for 2000 cycles (about 5 years) and, as they are “monitored by the world’s most advanced battery management system,” you will be notified if there is a problem with any particular battery or if there is a charging or discharging issue.

Their website is being upgraded as we speak with even more details appearing over the next few days. You should soon be able to check out all the specs as well as see if there will be a dealership appearing sometime in your neck of the woods. So, come on: Triac, you’ll like it.

[Source: Green Vehicles]

Madrid, Spain, is currently a very polluted city where 1.8 million vehicles are responsible for 75 percent of the pollutants in the air. Madrid’s City Hall has decided that it will switch all its vehicles over to “clean” fuels, that is, they will be all running on electricity, natural gas, biodiesel or ethanol. The city also announced that it will join the BEST (BioEthanol for Sustainable Transport) European project to promote the use of ethanol in cars. Madrid has also worked out agreements with groups like taxi organizations that get up to a 75 percent discount on the road tax, depending on fuel.

[Source: Ayuntamiento de Madrid via Agroinformación]

Click above for a high-res gallery of the 2009 Dodge Journey

Making a step towards a more fuel-efficient vehicle lineup, and reducing the number of overlapping vehicles between its brands, the plug has been pulled on a Chrysler-branded version of the 2009 Dodge Journey. Chrysler LLC will instead focus the resources on a Nissan-manufactured compact car.

While the automaker currently captures the bulk of its sales from light trucks and SUVs, Chrysler is trying to pare down its lineup significantly to cut costs. So far, they have cut four models. Moving forward, the Jeep Commander SUV is expected to be dropped next year, and the company has already said they were canceling the PT Cruiser Convertible. While the 2009 Dodge lineup gains the aforementioned Journey, Dodge Challenger, and a redesigned Dodge Ram pickup, Chrysler’s product lineup for the next twelve months looks particularly bleak with nothing significantly new in the pipeline. Company officials are holding their breath for 2010, when the new Nissan-built compact, new Jeep Grand Cherokee, and redesigned Chrysler 300 sedans arrive.

[Source: Bloomberg]