In not-so-surprising news for those who have been paying attention, Rolls-Royce has officially announced it’s planning to ship the current Ghost out to pasture, and soon.The farewell declaration was sandwiched within the announcement of the Black Badge Ghost, which will debut at the 2019 NEC Classic Motor Show in the U.K.The internet had already got ahold of some spy shots of the current-generation Ghost’s successor. Now it’s just official. “Ghost has been selected because 2019 marks the end of the model family’s remarkable ten-year tenure in which it has secured uninterrupted commercial and critical success,” said Rolls-Royce in a press release. The Ghost first debuted at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2009 and quickly earned a reputation as the British luxury manufacturer’s more youthful-feeling and approachable car, partly due to its design, but mostly because of its price. In 2011, Rolls-Royce dropped a long-wheelbase version, followed by a fully updated Ghost Series II in 2014. Five years (how long is that in new-car years again?) and one last special edition later and it’s time for the first-gen Ghost to step aside to let the next one take over.Similar to its brethren in black, the Black Badge Ghost will deliver more power and torque, and come finished in all the shades of black.
Origin: Rolls-Royce is letting the current-gen Ghost cross over
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Chevrolet stops selling 2020 Camaro V6 cars over ’emissions issue’
Chevrolet issued a voluntary stop-sale at the beginning of November on 2020 Camaro muscle cars equipped with the 3.6-litre V6 while it investigates what it calls a potential emissions system issue.While the automaker has not disclosed specifically what the issue is, blog GM Authority surmised it may be linked to an evaporative emissions canister that exceeds emissions standards in the U.S.Other details were still slim after the weekend, but for now any new Camaros with those engines will be sitting on dealership lots and not going
Origin: Chevrolet stops selling 2020 Camaro V6 cars over ’emissions issue’
Trump administration sues California over its emissions deal with Quebec
Traffic jam in Los Angeles at sunsetGetty The Trump administration is suing California and its all our fault (although were not saying sorry). The lawsuit against the state, filed on Wednesday, is over an agreement California made with Quebec in 2013, to link the two governments via a cap-and-trade emissions-trading program.The U.S. federal government has been fighting with California over its environmental strategies for some time, and in this latest skirmish, said its because the agreement violates the U.S. Constitution, which doesnt allow states to enter into treaties or pacts with foreign governments.The state of California has veered outside of its proper constitutional lane to enter into an international emissions agreement, said Jeffrey Bossert Clark, Assistant Attorney General of the U.S. Justice Departments Environment and Natural Resources Division.The power to enter into such agreements is reserved to the federal government, which must be able to speak with one voice in the area of U.S. foreign policy. Californias unlawful cap-and-trade agreement with Quebec undermines the Presidents ability to negotiate competitive agreements with other nations, as the President sees fit, Clark said. Under the cap-and-trade system, companies that emit large amounts of greenhouse gas must purchase credits in relation to their pollution output. In Quebec, automakers are required to sell a specified number of zero-emission vehicles. If they do not meet the minimum, they must purchase credits, either from the provincial government or from other automakers with extras to sell.Unique among the U.S. states, California has the ability to set its own emissions standards that can be more stringent than the federal standards. This dates back to the 1970s, when the state was granted a waiver so it could clean up its smog.Other states can choose to follow either the federal regulations, or those of California which doesnt seem to make Trump, who has traditionally favoured businesses over environmental concerns, very happy.Quebec premier Franois Legault said he would prefer that California remain in the agreement, but that the program will continue in the province even if the state leaves. He also said other states have shown interest in being part of the program.California governor Gavin Newsom said Trump going after a five-year-old program is about a political vendetta against California, and that this latest attack shows that the White House has its head in the sand when the comes to climate change, and serves no purpose other than continued political
Origin: Trump administration sues California over its emissions deal with Quebec
Trans-Canada Highway may be built right over Nova Scotia sinkhole: report
In this file photo, construction continues on the Connecting Link section of Highway 101 in northern Ontario.Len Gillis / Postmedia Network Back in May, this publication wrote about a sinkhole threatening the main road leading into the town of Oxford, Nova Scotia. At the time, your author also included an image from Google Maps, highlighting a trio of areas that seemed to indicate the problem could spread to the nearby Trans-Canada Highway.Now, nearly half a calendar year later, it seems other people including the Department of Transportation have begun to pick up on the problem as well.According to aerial photographs collected by the CBC dating back to the 1930s, there is the potential for sinkhole calamity to rear its head underneath a busy part of the Nova Scotia highway.Looking at the CBC photos, its clear that stretch of highway was built over something whether it was a sinkhole or small pond is currently up for debate. However, the general understanding is that when the link was built nearly fifty years ago, common roadbuilding techniques would have had construction crews simply fill the offending area with rocks and gravel. An animation of aerial photographs of the affected area, compiled by the CBC National Air Photo Library and Brett Ruskin / CBC If the spot is indeed a sinkhole a reasonable assumption given the topographical challenges nearby that decision could spell disaster if the floor of the sinkhole shifts, something sinkholes tend to do.These days, building around or over a sinkhole isnt too much of a problem, as construction of a special bridge will shift the roadways weight away from the trouble spot. This author travels this section of highway several times a month, and can confidently assert there is no bridge of any kind on the main part of the TCH in this area, sinkhole-proof or otherwise.Local politicians are calling on other levels of government to step up and help solve this issue before it becomes a problem. The provincial transportation department has committed to an in-depth geotechnical investigation over the next few weeks, but asserts there has been no significant changes in the topography over the years. Its worth noting that the nearby community of Springhill was a mining town for ages.Alert readers will note there rarely are significant changes before a major sinkhole event, given that the significant change usually rears its head at the moment all the ground gives way. Caretakers at the Corvette Museum can attest to that
Origin: Trans-Canada Highway may be built right over Nova Scotia sinkhole: report
Micra Cup excitement runneth over
The final race weekend on the Micra Cup 2019 calendar will see 25 Micra Ss take to the scenic Circuit Mont-Tremblant in the Laurentians.Nissan Canada Formula 1 can only dream about being so lucky. This weekends season-ending Micra Cup double-header at Circuit Mont-Tremblant will decide two driver championship titles.Series veteran Kevin King and rookie sensation Marco Signoretti are the last two standing for the overall championship title, with Signoretti holding a 42-point lead (a first-place finish counts for 40 points). The Toronto rookie won both races at Mosport at the end of the summer, clinching the Novice title in the process and setting up this weekends battle with Trois-Rivires King.And in the Senior class, Frdric Bernier holds a slight 16-point lead over Sylvain Ouellet, setting up an exciting dual between the two during the Saturday and Sunday races.In addition to these two title battles, the 2019 seasons final race weekend will see a number of series drivers look to build on successful seasons, including Valrie Limoges, winner at the last Grand Prix de Trois-Rivires, Taylor Near (Signorettis PayPal/Motorsports In Action teammate), Jake Exton and Austin Riley, a young driver with autism.In total, there will be 25 Micras on the grid this weekend, including a number of first-timers. These include: Sacha Gagnon, co-owner of SH Karting and a well-known figure in Qubec karting; British driver Ben Cooper, a three-time karting World Champion who is currently living in Mont-Tremblant where he runs the Jim Russell Karting Academy; and Quebec-based journalist Amyot Bachand, who normally competes in historic car races. Micra Cup rookie Marco Signoretti, left, and veteran Kevin King will decide the overall driver’s championship this weekend at Circuit Mont-Tremblant. Nissan Canada In addition to the races, Nissan Micra and Nissan Z owners are invited to complete a parade lap of Circuit Mont-Tremblant on Saturday and Sunday at noon. To participate, register at micracup.com/eventregistration (closes Sept. 25).Micra Cup drivers will be on the track at least six times throughout the weekend, including two practice sessions on Friday, qualifications and a race on Saturday (2 p.m. EST) in addition to another qualification session and race on Sunday (2 p.m. EST).For the first time at Circuit Mont-Tremblant, the two races will be aired live on the series Facebook page (Coupe Nissan Micra Cup) and on its YouTube channel, Micra Cup
Origin: Micra Cup excitement runneth over
Uber is suing New York City over rule aimed to reduce traffic congestion
Times Square, New York City, New York State, Night, TaxiGetty Uber is suing the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission over a new regulation intended to reduce traffic congestion, saying the rule is arbitrary and cant be achieved.The suit, which seeks to nullify the rule passed August 7, was filed in New York state court in Manhattan, and reported on late September.One part of the new regulation places a 31-per-cent cap on the amount of time that for-hire vehicles can spend on the road without passengers, while another provision bars the issuance of more for-hire vehicle licenses until August 2020.While reducing congestion in Manhattan is an important goal and one Uber has publicly and vocally supported the August 2019 rule is the product of a rushed and unlawful process, including reliance on flawed and arbitrary economic modeling, Uber said in the
Origin: Uber is suing New York City over rule aimed to reduce traffic congestion
VW, Porsche recall about 227,000 over airbags, seatbelts
2015 Volkswagen Tiguan Volkswagen and Porsche are recalling a total of about 227,000 cars worldwide because a software glitch may cause the airbags and seatbelt pre-tensioners to go off even when not warranted.VW Tiguan and CC vehicles from model year 2015, as well as Porsche 911, Boxster, Cayman and Panamera models from model years 2015 and 2016, may be affected by the issue, Reuters quotes German newspaper Stuttgarter Zeitung.In affected vehicles, a bug in the airbag control unit may cause the airbags to go off for no reason. Dealers are planning to update the software in those cars. Roughly 23,500 of the total number of vehicles affected are
Origin: VW, Porsche recall about 227,000 over airbags, seatbelts
Thousands protest at Frankfurt car show over emissions concerns
German Chancellor Angela Merkel speaks at the BMW stand while a Greenpeace activist protests against the auto industry behind on the opening day of the IAA 2019 Frankfurt Auto Show on September 12, 2019 in Frankfurt am Main, Germany.Sean Gallup / Getty Thousands of climate protesters marched past the Frankfurt auto show Saturday, highlighting the simmering tensions between the German car industry and the countrys environmentalists.Make love not CO2, read one protesters banner as activists from Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth joined scores of cyclists to demand that Germany take action to cut the number of cars on its roads, with some calling for an outright ban on SUVs and other large vehicles.Organizers claim that more than 25,000 people took part in the event, which came as the chancellor convenes a climate cabinet tasked with cutting emissions from Germanys transport and heating sectors.The automotive industry makes money by destroying the environment, Marion Tiemann, a transport expert at Greenpeace and one of the events organizers, said at the protest. Were in the midst of a climate crisis.Germany has pledged to cut carbon emissions by 55 per cent by 2030, compared with 1990 levels. But by the end of this year, the country will have reduced CO2 output by only 30 per cent, with transport emissions rising steadily.Record-breaking heatwaves, the dwindling of the Rhine river and a series of powerful storms have turbocharged the climate debate in Germany and lifted the environmentalist Green party to second place in election polls.In the last 50 years, storms, hot spells and floods have increased threefold in Germany, Merkel said in her weekly podcast Saturday. We must act. Cars are an obvious target for climate protesters who on Saturday paraded effigies of Volkswagen, BMW, Daimler and Toyota executives with exhaust tailpipes in place of where their sexual organs would be. Other banners called for Clean air for all as a giant, black, inflatable upturned car drifted over those gathered around Hauptwache, a square that borders Frankfurts main shopping street.Our message to the automakers is: Stop selling sports utility vehicles, said Juergen Resch, executive director of Deutsche Umwelthilfe, an environmental group thats brought lawsuits against German cities where nitrous oxide pollution has exceeded legal limits. Theyre climate killers. Demonstrators on bicycles are pictured on their way over the A 648 motorway to protest against the Frankfurt motor show IAA 2019, in Frankfurt am Main Germany, on September 14, 2019. Daniel Roland / Getty The conflict between German environmentalists and automakers sits uneasily with the fact that around 5 per cent of Germanys economic output depends on car companies.Despite calls for calm, tensions have boiled over several times in recent week. Climate change activists met with representatives from Germanys car lobby earlier this month in an unusually hostile debate in Berlin. A fatal accident last week, when a Porsche SUV crashed into a group of pedestrians in Berlin, prompted a local politician to call for a ban on such tank-like vehicles.Some protesters in Frankfurt on Saturday called for the German government to go further and ban all cars from city centers. Theyd also like Germany to invest billions of euros in its rail network and plot an eventual exit from the internal combustion engine, similar to the countrys decision to quit coal-fired power generation by
Origin: Thousands protest at Frankfurt car show over emissions concerns
Nissan CEO ousted over pay scandal as turmoil at company deepens
Nissan Motors CEO Hiroto Saikawa speaks as he attends a press conference at the companys headquarters in Yokohama, Kanagawa prefecture on November 19, 2018. – Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn, one of the worlds best-known businessmen, was reportedly under arrest in Japan on November 19 in a shocking fall from grace linked to allegations of financial misconduct. (Photo by Behrouz MEHRI / AFP) (Photo credit should read BEHROUZ MEHRI/AFP/Getty Images) Nissan Chief Executive Officer Hiroto Saikawa will step down over a scandal involving inflated stock-linked bonuses, deepening the crises at the Japanese automaker that have come to light since the arrest of former Chairman Carlos Ghosn.Saikawa, Ghosns handpicked successor as CEO, will resign as of September 16 and be replaced on an acting basis by Chief Operating Officer Yasuhiro Yamauchi.A new CEO will be named by the end of October, the automaker said in a late-night news conference in Yokohama, near Tokyo, on Monday.Saikawa has been facing mounting pressure following reports last week that he and other executives were paid more than they were entitled to. That was the final blow to the exiting CEO, who has spent the period since Ghosns shock arrest last November for financial crimes trying to right the carmaker as it grapples with decade-low profits, job cuts and the destabilization of losing a leader who loomed large over Nissan for two decades.An internal investigation by the automaker found Saikawa had been overpaid by 90 million yen (US$841,000) via stock appreciation rights, including tax adjustments. Other executives also received excess pay. Although Saikawas leadership has come under scrutiny since Ghosns arrest, he was reappointed as CEO by Nissans shareholders earlier this year.In June, Saikawa said he should be held responsible for the turmoil at the Japanese automaker since Ghosns arrest, and he wanted the company to accelerate the search for his
Origin: Nissan CEO ousted over pay scandal as turmoil at company deepens
Anti-trust probe opened into automakers that sided with California over Trump
President Donald Trump speaks during a rally at the Tupelo Regional Airport, November 26, 2018 in Tupelo, Mississippi.Drew Angerer / Getty Images The Trump administration has launched a multi-pronged legal assault on an agreement California struck with four carmakers in defiance of the presidents plan to ease national standards on tailpipe emissions.Lawyers from the Transportation Department and Environmental Protection Agency on Friday sent a letter to Californias top air-pollution regulator, urging the state to abandon its pact with the automakers and warning that actions to carry out the agreement appear to be unlawful and invalid.Separately, the Justice Department has opened an antitrust probe into the deal, in which four automakers agreed on compromise tailpipe emissions requirements with California. The administration is also preparing to formally strip Californias authority to set auto efficiency regulations that are tougher than the federal governments, according to people familiar with the matter.The actions amount to a significant escalation of the conflict between the Trump administration and Sacramento over environmental protections. It comes as automakers have urged the administration to moderate its rollback of emissions levels, arguing that a battle with California over the states regulatory powers would leave the industry with uncertainty over the critical standards for years.Automakers want to avoid splitting the market with two different standards a federal mileage requirement in most states versus more stringent rules in more than a dozen states that adhere to Californias standards and account for more than a third of U.S. auto sales.After talks with California and the Trump administration faltered, the California Air Resources Board announced in July an accord with the Ford, Honda, BMW and Volkswagen on tailpipe greenhouse gas emissions regulations.The carmakers had agreed with Californias clean-air regulator to boost the fuel efficiency of autos sold in the U.S through 2026, defying a Trump administration proposal to ease mileage requirements enacted during the Obama administration.Ford and Honda said they would cooperate with the Justice Department, while VW said it was in regular contact with U.S. authorities on a number of matters. BMW of North America said it looked forward to responding to the Department of Justice to explain the planned CARB framework agreement and its benefits to consumers and the environment.In one of the letters seen by Bloomberg, the Justice Department wrote it was concerned that the California agreement may violate federal antitrust laws, noting that the department hadnt reached any conclusions on the matter. The department proposed a meeting to gather additional information about the emissions agreement and communications between the companies about the pact.In the letter sent to CARB on Friday, lawyers for the EPA and DOT said that Californias plans overstep the states authority by intruding on the federal governments power to set fuel economy and tailpipe emission standards.We recognize Californias disagreements with the federal governments policy proposals in this area, but those policy disagreements cannot justify CARBs pursuit of a regulatory approach that would violate federal law, they said.California officials insisted they wouldnt be cowed. California stands up to bullies and will keep fighting for stronger clean car protections that protect the health and safety of our children and families, Governor Gavin Newsom said in an emailed
Origin: Anti-trust probe opened into automakers that sided with California over Trump
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