Spy Shots: 2008 HUMMER H3 SUT

TheCarConnection has reported in the past that HUMMER has been planning a pickup based on the H3 SUV and on the H3 SUT concept that's made the auto show circuit. but here's the proof: Judging by this prototype, it looks like GM is poised to expand its HUMMER model range with an H3-based pickup.

Side Airbags Save Lives, IIHS Says

Curtain-style side airbags can cut deaths in accidents by more than half in sport-utility vehicles and by more than a third in all vehicles, according to a new study of data presented by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). The IIHS, an insurance industry-funded research group, says that curtain-style bags are far more effective even than body-protecting side airbags alone, but those side airbags themselves can cut the risk of death in an accident by more than 25 percent. Today, more than 80 percent of vehicles sold in theU.S. have curtain airbags standard or available for order. Automakers are phasing in standard side curtain airbags and have until September of 2009 to install them in all vehicles. Once standard, the IIHS estimates that 2000 deaths per year will be prevented.

Automotive Hall Of Fame Honors Seven

At its annual dinner this week in Dearborn, Mich., honoring automotive figures for their contributions, the Automotive Hall of Fame inducted seven new industry leaders.

They were Nuccio Bertone, world-renowned Italian designer; Dale Earnhardt, late NASCAR champion driver; NASCAR's Bill France, Jr., son of the NASCAR founder and credited with taking Southern-style oval racing to the world's television audiences; Wayne Huizenga, business entrepreneur and founder of auto retailing chain AutoNation (not to mention Blockbuster and Waste Management); Shojiro Ishibashi, founder of Bridgestone Tire, which bridged the way from rubber-soled shoes to world's largest tire maker; Arjay Miller, one of Ford Motor's legendary "whiz kids" who rose to be president of the company, and Bruno Sacco, former chief designer of Mercedes-Benz.

Of these seven, only Huizenga and Sacco were able to attend the banquet in person to receive their awards of recognition.  Earnhardt was represented by his widow, Ishibashi by his grandson, and Miller, age 90, by one of his protégés, twice-retired Ford vice chairman Allan Gilmour.

Directors of the AHOF also recognized six "young" (under 40) industry figures for accomplishments and potential future leadership: Aaron Bickford of supplier ArvinMeritor, Ann Fandozzi of DaimlerChrysler, Michael Gingell of R. L. Polk &Co., and Frank Orsini of Lear Corp.

In addition, AHOF directors voted a special "award of gratitude" to retired Ford PR man Stan Drall for volunteering at the Hall of Fame's museum in Dearborn "five days a week for five years." Drall spent 53 years on the Ford payroll, many of them hustling the company's fleet of media test vehicles, and thus could well be one of the industry's best known-and appreciated-behind-the-scenes figures.

TCC publisher Paul Eisenstein and the undersigned both serve on the AHOF's advisory panel of automotive journalists and historians for recommending nominees.-Mike Davis

From TCConfidential

Death Proof Cometh from Tarantino

This year brought you Pixar's Cars, a sappy kidfest lowlighted by an animated Larry the Cable Guy. Next year the car world gets considerably more adult fare tossed its way at the Cineplex via Grind House, a double-bill splatfest coming your way from Robert Rodriguez (Sin City ) and the hyperspoken Quentin Tarantino. It's Tarantino's half of the project that play to gearheads: in Death Proof, he directs Kurt Russell and Rosario Dawson (Rent) through the story of a stuntman who uses his musclecar to stalk and terrorize women on the streets of a fictional town. Filming now in Austin, Death Proof shares the double bill with Rodriguez' P***t Terror and some fake movie promo reels. Details are leaking out all over the great movie sites like Ain't It Cool, so click here to see some great pics of the Death Proof car and prep yourself for a spring release that could be as cool as Steven Spielberg's Duel-or maybe as turgid as Tarantino's Four Rooms. Either way, it's better than the next Harry Potter, right?

Grind House on IMDB

From EverythingTarantino.com

See the Death Proof car

 

FROM THE SOURCE headlines from the latest press releases

Rare Enzo Ferrari Raises More Than $1.15 Million For St. Jude Children's Research Hospital(R)

Subaru of America Debuts New Retail Environment

Name	Symbol	Last	Change
Autobytel, Inc.	ABTL	2.94	+0.05 (+1.73%)
Autoliv Inc.	ALV	56.50	+0.34 (+0.61%)
AutoNation Inc.	AN	21.15	-0.05 (-0.24%)
ArvinMeritor Inc.	ARM	14.40	+0.10 (+0.70%)
American Axle & Mfr. Holdings Inc.	AXL	17.00	-0.23 (-1.33%)
Ballard Power Systems Inc.	BLDP	5.64	+0.16 (+2.92%)
BorgWarner Inc.	BWA	59.64	+0.65 (+1.10%)
Cummins Inc.	CMI	129.79	+8.26 (+6.80%)
DaimlerChrysler AG (ADR)	DCX	50.67	-0.10 (-0.20%)
Dura Automotive Systems	DRRA	0.25	-0.03 (-9.09%)
Eaton Corporation	ETN	70.50	+0.80 (+1.15%)
Ford Motor Company	F	8.33	-0.23 (-2.69%)
General Motors Corporation	GM	33.13	-0.19 (-0.57%)
Gentex Corporation	GNTX	14.29	+0.18 (+1.28%)
Goodyear Tire & Rubber	GT	14.24	-0.05 (-0.35%)
Honda Motor Co. Ltd. (ADR)	HMC	35.01	+0.14 (+0.40%)
Johnson Controls Inc.	JCI	76.12	+1.74 (+2.34%)
Lear Corporation	LEA	21.35	+0.22 (+1.04%)
Magna International Inc.	MGA	73.71	+0.51 (+0.70%)
Motorola Inc.	MOT	25.73	+0.36 (+1.42%)
Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. (ADR)	NSANY	23.30	+0.49 (+2.15%)
Sonic Automotive Inc.	SAH	23.15	-0.22 (-0.94%)
Siemens AG	SI	86.12	-0.43 (-0.50%)
Sirius Satellite Radio	SIRI	3.95	+0.01 (+0.25%)
Toyota Motor Corporation (ADR)	TM	115.37	+1.74 (+1.53%)
TRW Automotive Holdings	TRW	24.41	+0.22 (+0.91%)
Tower Automotive Inc.	TWRAQ.PK	0.07	+0.00 (+6.06%)
United Auto Group Inc.	UAG	23.99	0.00 (0.00%)
Visteon Corporation	VC	8.12	+0.17 (+2.14%)
XM Satellite Radio Hold.	XMSR	11.72	-0.24 (-2.01%)