Car Theme Today

Car Trouble

GM, the world's biggest auto maker followed by Toyota, lost $1.1 billion in the first quarter and is riding out its worst financial crisis in more than a decade. It has been closing and idling plants over the past four years and will have cut its annual North American assembly capacity to 5 million vehicles by the end of this year from 6 million in 2002. Meanwhile, top Japanese auto makers are adding jobs and assembly lines in North America to meet growing demand there, prompting executives, including Toyota President Fujio Cho, to dismiss concerns that their success would reignite a political backlash. CNN

Now that i have a monthly car payment, I am concerned to find GM loosing 25,000 jobs. As much as I want the U.S. car makers to succeed, I bought a Toyota because I believe in the manufacturer's quality a bit more than the competition. I know they are not perfect. The only real evidence are the anecdotes of my friends. That means a lot to me.

Car Chase

Traffic came to a standstill on the San Bernardino Freeway for more than four hours Tuesday during an armed standoff in Alhambra between law enforcement officers and a suspect they had chased more than 75 miles after a bungled kidnapping attempt in Ventura County. The televised standoff finally ended about 3:15 p.m., when a deputy shot the driver in the arm and chest, officers tossed a smoke grenade into his stalled minivan and a specially trained Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department dog dragged the struggling man from his vehicle. LA Times

Car chases are getting out of hand. I watched a CNN report on a car chase in California (I-10) involving a minivan and many police cars. The C. H. P. was patient and tried several times to stop the vehicle. They finally pinned the vehicle against a cement wall with huge armored SWAT vehicles. They took a poll and dropped a flash grenade with some teargass inside the van. The cops then sent in a police dog to grab hold of the suspect.
This jerk put untold numbers of lives at risk. He busted a U in the middle of the freeway. He nearly ran several cars off the road. I'm starting to think there needs to be a way to disable civilian cars from the helicopter.

Control

A 6-year-old girl darted into traffic to save a turtle and was killed when she was hit by a car, officials said. Emily Kent was riding with her mother Sunday when they spotted the turtle trying to cross busy U.S. 41. Geraldine Kent pulled over so they could help, and Emily jumped out as her mother screamed at her to wait, friends said. The first-grader was struck by a car and died of her injuries. No charges had been filed. CNN

Well, Geraldine, Are you ever going to pull over and help a fucking turtle again? If I were her, I would go out of my way to smoosh a couple of turtles. They don't say whether or not the turtle made it. I hope people understand that kids need discipline. Where are the child safety locks in this story?