KEY POINTS:
It was in Spain, late at night and on the main drag from Burgos to Salamanca. A bright light appeared in the distance, a lighthouse of sorts across kilometres of inky landscape. It turned out to be a huge triangular warning sign mounted high above the roadside from
the back of a parked truck. It said that 1km ahead, the road becomes one lane. Oh that Auckland's road rulers would show the city's motorists similar courtesy. Lane-change warning signs here appear so late in the piece they are downright dangerous.
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This from New York Senator Gary Ackerman after the heads of ailing US carmakers General Motors, Ford and Chrysler arrived in Washington, DC, in corporate jets to lobby Congress for a US$25 billion ($45.3 billion) bailout: "There's a delicious irony in seeing private luxury jets flying in to Washington, DC, and people coming off of them with tin cups in their hands saying that they're going to be trimming down and streamlining their businesses. It's almost like seeing a guy show up at the soup kitchen in high hat and tuxedo."
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The Auckland Triumph Car Club is holding its annual Show and Shine event at St Heliers Bay next Sunday, December 7. Organisers expect a turnout of between 40 and 50 models, a mix of sedans and two-door TRs and Stags. The earliest model in New Zealand is a 1927 Triumph 7. There are around 600 TR owners in the country.
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America's Big Three car companies are not spending nearly as much on advertising in 2008 as they have in recent years - but their rivals are spending up big. A Nielsen survey shows both Ford and Chrysler have spent 22 per cent less on advertising in 2008, while General Motors' spending has dropped by 6 per cent. Honda, on the other hand, has boosted its advertising budget by 13 per cent over 2007 while Daimler and Volkswagen raised their ad spending by 48 per cent and 23 per cent respectively. Toyota's is the same as it was in 2007.
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British carmaker Lotus is reporting a US$6 million ($10.8 million) profit for 2007-08, a turnaround from the $15 million loss it recorded the previous financial year. It said part of its success was due to its work as an engineering consultant. One project involved teaming up with a hospital to design a machine to test the ability of patients who had had reconstructive knee surgery to brake hard enough in an emergency.
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The last Yugo has rolled off the production line in Serbia, nearly 30 years after it first appeared as a people's car in communist-era Yugoslavia. The Fiat 128-based hatchback was sold in the United States in the 1980s, where it became the butt of many jokes.
- What do you call a Yugo's shock absorbers? Passengers.
- The new Yugo has an air bag. Before an accident, start pumping real fast.
- What do you call a Yugo at the top of a hill? A miracle.
But among its admirers is Serbian Momcilo Spajic. "This is driving in its most natural form. You feel every bump, squeak and jolt, and one can enjoy the sweet smell of petrol and exhaust fumes."