The leading source of automotive cost and value study and part of Source Interlink Media, the IntelliChoice.com (www.intellichoice.com) has announced yesterday the top honors in its ninth annual ranking of certified pre-owned (CPO) manufacturer-sponsored programs. Volvo was the overall winner for the best luxury program, beating the world-renowned Cadillac. It was a year after Cadillac put an end to Jaguar's long supremacy in the category. On the other hand, Volkswagen was acknowledged for four consecutive years for the best Non-Luxury program. The rankings were uncovered at the 2008 National Remarketing Conference & Used Car Expo, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

"The luxury field in CPOs is very competitive, but Volvo edged out Cadillac on the basis of a strong compliance program. In general, the top luxury programs offer similar car warranties, and many received high scores, which shows that Volvo had that extra edge over the competition," said James Bell, the publisher and editor of IntelliChoice.com.

"CPO programs hinge on used car inventory," Bell said. "Leasing has not been very popular for the last few years, and that limits CPO vehicles that are on the market today. However, car leasing is gaining in popularity this year due to rising interest rates, and we expect the same will happen in 2008. This in turn will drive CPO inventory in the years to come." Bell added that this year's criteria for the CPO awards differ from last year's, primarily to accommodate consumers' demand for comprehensive auto warranty programs on CPO vehicles derived from their proprietary Used Car Cost of Ownership Analysis.

Sun-powered cars around the globe raced into the Australia outback on Sunday at speeds nearing 100 kilometers-per-hour at the start of the World Solar Challenge.

Thousands of onlookers crowded the streets of Darwin in Australia's tropical north for the beginning of the 3,000-km (1,863 mile) race, a biennial event since 1987, gawking at the sleek foil-like vehicles resembling giant microchips, reported Reuters. The only rule over the mostly straightaway course through Australia's "red centre" in temperatures that can exceed 50 degrees Celsius is that the custom-built vehicles run on nothing but the sun.

"The drivers will be sitting on between 90 and 100 kilometers per hour as much as they can, though most are capable of going faster," said race coordinator Chris Selwood. "But this really is not just about who is the fastest, it's more about energy efficiency and management."

The racers from 17 countries were warned they were likely to encounter gusting desert winds, blazing temperatures, irate truck drivers and even kangaroos over three or four days before hopefully zooming across the finish line in the Southern Ocean port city of Adelaide.

Drivers and crew of the more than 40 vehicles are required to camp out where they end up each night. This is because the race takes place only during daylight hours. "It started out sunny and humid but there were some clouds starting to form, but that's just one more piece in the chess game as far as I'm concerned," Selwood added.

A vehicle entered by the University of Michigan in the United States so far provided the only "hiccup" in the race, colliding with its support vehicle several kilometers from the starting line, Selwood said. "Nobody was hurt and they hope to get back in the race," he said.

Thirty-eight solar powered vehicles are going through their final inspections today at the Hidden Valley Raceway before racing from Darwin to Adelaide, according to ABC Online. Competitors come from 19 different countries, including France, the United States, and South Korea.

Selwood said the Venezuelan team almost did not make if this far after losing a part of their vehicle in transit. "Other teams, from this time yesterday, have been working all through the night getting spare parts from different teams to get that car on the road," he noted.

The Venezuelan team has been replacing car parts that were shipped to Tennessee instead of Darwin. Venezuela's Jorge Clarembaux said there has been a lot of support from other teams. "Belgium helped us with the batteries," Clarembaux said. "Yesterday every team came here and talked with us - 'What's happened, how's your car, your batteries!' so there is so much fraternity here in the World Solar Challenge."

Nuon Solar, 3 times winner, from the Netherlands currently holds the record of 29 hours and 11 minutes.

The highlight of the race will be the time trials, giving the teams their positions for the main event. The winners are expected to finish in Adelaide in 3 days' time.

I was about to log off the internet when I happened to remember visiting Kicking Tires' official website and so I did. Actually I was planning to buy a new car this New Year but I just could find any brand to suit my taste. I am looking for a foreign brand, mostly something like a Japanese car with quality and durability. And then I found the Suzuki SX4 Sport which was actually talked about in Kicking Tires.

Buying Guides' editor William Jackson says something like: "I'd driven the SX4 Crossover before with the automatic transmission and thought it was OK, but not great. The SX4 Sport with a manual transmission was a lot more fun to drive. I didn't push it, but it was reasonably peppy away from stop signs and, given its small size, decent over rough pavement."

He continued, "The large A-pillar didn't bother me, but it did bother Mike Hanley when he had the car for a much longer time than I did, so it's something to check out. (I really liked the little window in the A-pillar, though it's more of a decorative than functional thing. It'd be even better if it were an old-fashioned vent window.) Sedans aren't my thing, but I left the SX4 Sport hoping I'd get the chance to put its Crossover brother, with a manual, to the Weekend Athlete test."

KickingTires editor David Thomas also commented on the Suzuki SX4 Sport: "I just reviewed the Nissan Versa sedan and was looking forward to comparing the two since they're so similar. I immediately found the front seats of the SX4 more comfortable than the Versa's. They both have similar interior room and quality materials. The SX4 loses out to the Versa in the engine department; they're similarly powered, but the Versa manages to feel more peppy."

He said, "The SX4 also doesn't have folding rear seats, like the Versa does, but I would take the looks of the SX4 and its standard 17-inch wheels over the Versa's funky exterior any day. It would be a close call for me between the two. Oh, as for the funky portal windows, I'm kind of between Bill and Mike on the issue. I think you'd get used to them over time, but at first they're distracting." 

Picture this: A combat truck is delivering ammunition and weapons to our nation's forces. Suddenly, there was this unexpected insurgent attack.

No one is harmed.

Possible?

Yes. TerraMax, called the thinking combat machine, could make it possible. The combat truck is a completely unmanned autonomous vehicle used by the military to deliver crucial weapons and ammunition across dangerous territories.

TerraMax is 1 of 35 programmable trucks competing for Defense Department contracts. The vehicle is a self-driving truck, a prototype designed to navigate and obey traffic rules, all while occupants, if there are any, do anything but drive.

During a recent test on property owned by manufacturer Oshkosh Truck Co., TerraMax barreled down a dusty road with its driver seat empty. It stopped at a four-way intersection and waited on staged traffic before obediently lurching on its way, The Detroit News reported. If the Defense Department gets its way, vehicles like TerraMax - about as long as a typical sport utility vehicle and almost twice as high - could represent the future of transportation for the military's ground forces, the report added.

Consider 80 soldiers driving a convoy of 40 trucks across the Iraqi desert, said Joaquin Salas, the spokesman for the Oshkosh, a Wis.-based company. If most of those vehicles could drive themselves, the same convoy might manage with just 10 soldiers. "You're reducing the number of people susceptible to enemy fire," added Salas, who served 8 years in the U.S. Marine Corps. "It's simply amazing technology."

It should be noted, however, that Congress has mandated that 1 in 3 ground combat vehicles be self-driving by 2015. It is an effort to free personnel for nondriving tasks like scouting for the enemy, reading maps, and scanning for roadside bombs.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, has sponsored a series of contests since 2003 in which prototype vehicles must navigate rough terrain and avoid obstacles. TerraMax was 1 of only 5 vehicles, and the only tactical cargo hauler, to complete the 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge's 132-mile desert course.

Additionally, team Oshkosh is now preparing to compete in the third DARPA Grand Challenge, the Urban Challenge, which calls for teams to compete to build an autonomous vehicle able to complete a 60-mile urban course safely in less than six hours. The race will be held on November 3, 2007.

Oshkosh Truck Corporation announced today that TerraMax received an invitation from the DARPA to compete in the Urban Challenge National Qualification Event (NQE), which is set on the 26th through the last day of the month.

At the NQE, vehicles will attempt to demonstrate advanced navigation and traffic skills including correct parking lot behavior, merging with moving traffic, appropriate vehicle separation of moving traffic, defensive driving behaviors, advanced route planning and obstacle avoidance during a traffic jam, the manufacturer said.

Oshkosh Truck has partnered with Teledyne Scientific Company, The University of Parma in Italy, Ibeo Automobile Sensor GmbH and Auburn University to help develop these capabilities. Also, Caterpillar, Inc. has joined Team Oshkosh as a Gold sponsor.

Each of us has his or her own preferences when it comes to cars. Some might prefer performance while some will go for fuel efficient cars. There are also those who put a lot of weight in the safety department. And there are those who are after the appearance of the car.  For families, it is of course a good choice to pick a vehicle which can sit all members of the family comfortably.  It should also be loaded with safety features to ensure the safety of every family member in the unfortunate event of a collision.

For the modern families, one good choice is the new Chrysler Town & Country. The makers of this vehicle will be promoting the said vehicle via a new advertising campaign made just for the modern families which the company is targeting.  The new advertisement for the Town & Country was launched during the new season premier of ABC's Dancing with the Stars.

According to theautochannel.com, the new vehicle is aimed by the automaker towards families with "two or more children who want a versatile minivan for their busy lives".  The new ad campaign is anchored on the theme "Engineered Beautifully".  Some of the features that the new Chrysler Town & County boasts of are its Swivel 'n Go seating and storage system, Sirius Backseat TV and MyGiG multimedia system.

"When it comes to the all-new Chrysler Town & Country, it's not just about the driver, it's about the whole family with features that provide a first class experience in every seat," said David Rooney, the director of the Chrysler brand.  "For 23 years we've understood that some of the best family time moments take place in our minivans. We're extremely proud of how our designers and engineers challenged themselves to imagine the possibilities of how we could serve the 21st century family. This campaign highlights new features that directly enhance the lifestyles of this new generation of families," added Rooney.

As part of their ad campaign, Chrysler has teamed up with Nickelodeon. Boy genius Jimmy Neutron was chosen by Chrysler to help them sell the new Town & Country to families.  The cartoon character is popular with kids and this is one way to catch the attention of car buyers.  Aside from Jimmy Neutron, Chrysler has also tapped celebrity couple Jane Kaczmarek and Bradley Whitford and their three children to star in Chrysler's ads.  The family will be featured in a program called Family Download.  Consumers can download the family's favorite music playlist.