On the road ahead: a preview (The Plain Dealer) --

On the road ahead: a preview (The Plain Dealer)
-- Smaller cars. Inexpensive cars. A new hybrid car. Fast cars. A car that parks itself. A bunch of trucks. All are headed for American showrooms this year.

Preview: 2006 Porsche Cayman S
Porsche's new mid-engine coupe builds on the Boxster S, but kicks it up a notch in the performance department.
Mike Meredith

Fairfax Weighs MetroWest Fines To Cut Car Use (Washington Post)
The builders of the MetroWest project -- the cluster of homes, offices and stores proposed near the Vienna Metro station -- could be fined almost $500,000 if they cannot persuade enough residents and workers to stop using their cars, according to a deal being considered by Fairfax County.

GREEN Eyes in the Sky / Desktop satellite tools are changing the way environmentalists work (San Francisco Chronicle)
Imagine yourself in outer space, gazing at the blue and green sphere that is our home. Now zoom in, fast, diving toward continents and oceans. Soon rivers and cities emerge, then individual houses, then cars. Zoom closer -- there's a camel in the desert, and...

Gas 'n' Go: Truex needs new cars; Stewart needs new car chief (Fox Sports)
Jeff Hammond says Martin Truex Jr's slow Daytona testing times sent Dale Earnhardt Inc. home early to build new cars for the rookie. And Tony Stewart's isn't missing their driver this week, but he'll be missing a key part of his championship team this season.

Chinese cars to debute in U.S. market (World Peace Herald)
WASHINGTON -- Chinese companies are racing to enter the U.S. auto market. One manufacturer previewed this week at the North American International Auto Show, and another plans to hit dealerships by the end of next year.

IIHS's Top 10 Safety Picks
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety picks the ten safest cars of the 2006 model year.
Perry Stern

Pollo Campero feud over family fortune back in Miami court (Sun-Sentinel)
MIAMI -- For seven years, some $60 million in cash and assets such as real estate, aircraft and cars have remained frozen in the United States as part of a legal feud within the Guatemalan family whose conglomerate controls the popular Pollo Campero fast-food chain.