Ok, so you want to do your part to stop global warming, be part of the solution to problems with humanity's impact on the environment, and do the right thing.  But given the keys to a fun car, your inner race car driver leads you to find twisty roads so you can hit the apexes, enjoy the pleasure of perfect rev matched downshifts, and do your best to fully heat up the brakes and the tires while "cleaning" carbon buildup from the valves.  So there you are, on one shoulder you have a little angel espousing the virtues of hypermiling, and on the other, the little devil who knows why there is no replacement for displacement, and lives for a tight switchback filled mountain road. 

So which one wins?  It's no longer socially acceptable to consume petroleum at alarming rates, but all hypermiling and no play makes you a very dull person.  I've struggled with this issue personally for some time.  I've gone so far as to start commuting by bus and bicycle to work to reduce my car use, sold off all my race cars, and reduced annual mileage to under 12,000 miles per year for the whole household.  And yet, what has this accomplished?  A serious longing for a fun car, a warm day and a curvy road. 

As I started to type this, Fellow Neuwerks member Brian Hjelt is piloting the Audi we are riding in through some insanely dense fog in northern Illinois. For me this is somewhat fitting as I haven't been paying attention to the media surrounding the show this year. In a sense, there is a dense fog with regards to my expectations but not in my hopes for the auto industry in 2009.

Traditionally, the Chicago Auto show is a less visited event when compared to Detroit. With that said,  some automakers have started to withdraw from attending the Detroit show during these tough economic times, meanwhile focusing more on markets they traditionally sell well to. While new automobiles are becoming a luxury that many are deciding to live without, it is going to be interesting to see how marketing in the auto industry has progressed since the Detroit show in January.

 We are now at the show and actually sitting at Ford's Press event waiting to have the newest news from this maker unveiled to the automotive media.  Ford is expected to unveil the Transit in a special event, and since the Transitt is actually a European model that is highly praised! Stay tuned for more from Neuwerks Media, and CarDomain.com, also keep tuned for special pictures and previews!

 

 

^{Now heading deeper into 2009, Neuwerks is again planning on attending the Chicago Auto Show this week at McCormick Place in Downtown Chicago. The overall vibe of this show is quite different than that of Detroit by being smaller, and having fewer press conferences for media to rush to. With that, it gives us a chance to look more closely at some of the vehicles, and also more time to talk to individuals responsible for many of the introductions showcased at NAIAS last month.}

 

^{This year I am thankfully not going solo, and will have Katherine Helmetag and Brian Hjelt to help split duties, and hopefully keep the site full of interesting Blog entries to keep those interested, posted on what is shown.}

 

^{Stay tuned as we will be starting coverage Wednesday morning, and continue to post items up throughout the week!}

 

 

^{Taking us through time "transporter" style, watch as he tries car after car before he finds the correct fit!}

 

 

 

 

It appears that more companies will be going small to help cope with increasing pressure to have affordable, fuel efficient vehicles. With fuel costs expected to go up again, and increasing pressure by states like California, more foreign automakers are looking to bring over more vehicles to raise their companies average fuel economy. We have seen this more and more recently with vehicles like the Honda Fit, Toyota Yaris, and the Nissan Versa selling relatively successfully.

Click here to read more on CarDomain.com Blog 

d ... What's the "d" stand for? Well, since you asked. It stands for diesel. BMW has finally decided to bring its technology stateside. Somewhere lots of people are rejoicing that they get a decent performing car without suffering at the gas pump. Now, before "you people" start saying well "Diesel gas costs more at the pump." Yes, yes it does. However, you get more miles out of a gallon of diesel gas than you do our of premium gas. When was the last time you got 600 miles to a tank of fuel? So that squashes that argument...

 

  Full Article Link

 

 

Photo by Volkswagen, from Baja 1000 Race

Volkswagen is today reporting that two of their race prepped Tourag TDI race trucks have taken first and second place in the world famous Dakar rally. Equally impressive, Volkswagen's 6th place finisher still edged out all actively competing BMW X3 CC Diesel's. BMW's best finish was 8th place, with it's second fastest time pulling past the finish in a respectable 9th. The duo driving the first place finishing Touarag composed of a South African-German duo Giniel de Villiers and Dirk von Zitzewitz.

While an impressive win for VW,  one must keep in mind that these are all purpose built vehicles that share very little with the production version of the Touareg we all know and love. The Race Touareg features a 2.5L TDI 5-Cylinder engine capable of producing a respectible 280hp according to Volkswagen. I am really curious if we will see ads from VW both mocking and congratulating BMW for their 8th and 9th place finishes.

 

 

 

Now in our Second year of doing so, I am proud to post up a link to CarDomain, and the coverage we assisted them with for NAIAS 2009. As always, it was a great time working with Katherine Helmetag as we covered the hottest unveilings of the season, and continued our new tradition of a walking tour of the floor, by doing in car video podcast recordings during the show.

 As it stands today, Neuwerks.com is planning on attending the Chicago Auto Show next month, and hope to expand on the coverage we posted up during the 2008 show. If you have any questions or suggestions for coverage at Chicago, please Contact us !.

CarDomain NAIAS 2009 Gallery