Other motors stories in brief
New Lexus RX closer to production - with new 6-speed transmission
Lexus has been working on a revamped RX for some time now but this is the latest incarnation - and probably the closest to production.
A significantly revised RX is due next year, with production beginning in late December of 2008. The "new" RX will measure in a fraction larger than the last and will still offer a 3.5-litre V6, but we're expecting a new 6-speed transmission to go with the V6. A 400-horsepower hybrid powerplant is expected to follow in 2010 or 2011.
Overall, the RX will retain many of the styling cues of the current model, with slight changes to bring it into line with recent launches like the sleeker IS, GS and LS models.
GM offers incentives to save SUV sales
General Motors rolled out fresh incentives in the US this week in an attempt to boost plummeting sales of gas-guzzling sport-utility vehicles, pick-up trucks and other slow-selling models.
The Detroit-based carmaker said it would offer interest-free finance for up to six years on vehicles such as the Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon SUVs, the big Hummer and the Chevrolet Silverado pick-up.
Total US sales of big SUVs were 42 per cent lower in May 2008 than a year earlier, according to Autodata, a New Jersey market research firm. Big pick-up sales were down by 32 per cent.
Recent reports indicate that the dive has steepened this month for both new and used models.
"You really can't force them down the customer's throat," said John Tack, used-car manager at a Ford dealership in Maryland.
Trade-in prices have tumbled by about a quarter over the past year, and Tack said his dealership had stopped buying these vehicles at used-car auctions "unless we have a firm request from the customer".
$300m prize to battle oil dependency
John McCain has proposed a $300 million (€192.4 million) government- funded prize to encourage development of more energy-efficient cars, in an effort to reduce US oil dependency. The Republican presidential candidate said the prize would be won by anyone to produce a battery 30 per cent more efficient than current technology.
He said the bounty was "a small price to pay to break the back of oil dependency".
This was the latest in a series of initiatives by McCain and Barack Obama, his Democratic rival, amid voter concern about petrol prices. On Sunday, Obama vowed to clamp down on the speculation that he said was contributing to record oil prices.