2005 Monterey HistoricsA weekend of amazing cars and racing superstars

2005 Monterey Historics
A weekend of amazing cars and racing superstars at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in California.
Editors of MSN Autos

US car theft rings probed for ties to Iraq bombings (Boston Globe)
WASHINGTON -- The FBI's counterterrorism unit has launched a broad investigation of US-based theft rings after discovering that some of the vehicles used in deadly car bombings in Iraq, including attacks that killed US troops and Iraqi civilians, were probably stolen in the United States, according to senior government officials.

Auto Racing Notebook: Cup teams creativity is crushed (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
TALLADEGA, Ala. -- In the wake of a ruling by NASCAR officials that will make the type of rear shock absorbers used this past week at Dover by Hendrick Motorsports illegal in the future, Roush Racing driver Greg Biffle says creativity within the teams is being quashed.

Inability of govt to ban used auto imports alarms industry (Manila Bulletin)
Local automotive assemblers, parts makers and their workers have expressed alarm over the government s inability to enforce laws banning the used of vehicle importation and the importation of right hand drive vehicles.

What's going on with Volkswagen? (Autoblog)
First Porsche buys in, then it s revealed that DaimlerChrysler has been looking at an equity stake in Volkswagen. So, what s going on? This week s edition of The Economist reviews the popular theories about the recent activity. First, German companies have traditionally exchanged shares in each other, partly to keep foreign shareholders out. Second, there are historical and family ties

Hybrids Are Hot
Automakers that used to downplay the viability of gasoline-electric hybrids are now embracing them.
Ann Job

Porsche Cayman S Premieres
The largest show in Europe, the Frankfurt show featured worldwide premieres of 80 concept and production vehicles.
Editors of MSN Autos

New Orleans labor shortage hobbles business recovery (Chicago Tribune via Yahoo! News)
One month after Hurricane Katrina destroyed his home and crippled his business, a bedraggled Stephen Cotsoradis sat in his empty, ancient office in the brick warehouse of Gulf Marine & Industrial Supplies. He was saying he would leave the fate of his business to his children after he retires. The phone rang.

Do-it-yourself auto salvage yard gives customers the pick of parts (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
A self-serve automotive-salvage yard is still a relatively new idea in the Midwest. Pick-N-Pull, a chain of 30 stores in the U.S. and Canada and based in Sacramento, Calif., took over the 23 acres of U-Wrench-It in January, when it bought the smaller four-store chain.